the overlooked brilliance of hu tao // genshin impact character analysis

hu tao is definitely one of the most popular female characters in genshin impact, yet i personally think she's still overlooked when it comes to her writing. so this is yet another excuse to talk about a character that i love and i just want people to love her more for her cute design & complex personality.
List of clips used in this video: docs.google.com/document/d/10...
【TIMESTAMPS】
00:00 -- intro
03:36 -- hutao's role in her own story quest
08:23 -- hutao in baizhu's story quest
14:16 -- hutao in events
15:48 -- relationship with other characters
email [business inquiries only] - [e-mail]
Music Credits (please check out the artists❤︎):
➤ tnbee
Hu Tao theme but it's lofi hiphop (Genshin Impact)
• Hu Tao theme but it's ...

[@harperlynn1440]

I joined Genshin in December of 2020 but wasn’t liking it. Venti and Hu Tao were the reasons I started replaying Genshin even though I really knew nothing about their personalities. So the fact they are so similar made me even happier. And then when they actually MET in game- that was like the greatest day ever. Hu Tao and venti are friends with Kazuha and he’s my ultimate fav character and Xingqiu was my first ever main and even he’s friends with kazuha and hu tao… I subconsciously drift towards the poetry people

[@phantom.thread]

same!! venti and hu tao have always been my favorites bc theyre both poets and they have an interesting and quite compelling outlook in life 🥺

[@TheAAJYu]

Touching on Hu Tao’s relationships with other characters, one thing that I really like is how those relationships are expressed through gameplay. As someone whose kit incentivizes her to be at low HP to deal big damage, she is directly at odds with Baizhu and Qiqi, both of whom revolve around healing. Zhongli, Hu Tao’s employee, is one of her most reliable teammates as his shield protects Hu Tao while she is at low health. Her good friends Xingqiu, Xiangling, and Chongyun can help boost her damage through elemental reactions and Pyro resonance (moreso the former two). Lastly, while Hu Tao has no inherent synergy with Xiao, both of their kits aren’t so different when you get down to it, being polearm DPS units who sacrifice their own HP, so they can relate to each other on some level.

[@alatus_knight]

Don't compare xiao to this nuisance

[@cezarsoba]

@@alatus_knight What the sugma?

[@alatus_knight]

@@cezarsoba huh?

[@JordanLopez-sv9sp]

It’s so tiring when most of the community believes her to be a psychopathic cold blooded murderer for her business. Straight up mischaracterization. Like the whole “ayaka yandere” thing

[@Ferniture4]

I'm beginning to believe that Hu Tao's character demo delay was no accident. Her tendency to put off Liyue citizens by disregarding social norms and sliding the topic of death in casual conversation would've been as off-putting to folks in China if she were teased during the Lantern Rite update. It's for the best someone veetoed the idea but it would've been a Hu Tao moment if her demo dropped without any regard for the festivities

[@kingalex105x7]

as soon as i saw her trailer she became my fav and i fully crowned her since, she also is just the perfect halloween character who is goofy but also tries to be spooky

[@mariapazgonzalezlesme]

It kinda difficult which one to choose since there's a LOT of misunderstanding about the cast, this is mostly from the viewers's POV, terrible translations and memes that tend to skew their opinion about their actual personalities. Kamisato Ayaka, I've seen many poeple calling her out for "gaslighting" or manipulating the Traveller to help them which is kinda disturbing. There's plenty of shrewd individuals such as Kaeya, Yae Miko, Yelan and Ayato that fall into that category, yet Ayaka seems to recieve the brunt of it, as well being "obsessed with the Traveller" meme. Eula and her concept of vengeace, not mentioning that her attitude serves as physicological wall because of the cruel treatment for beig part of a fallen dinasty. P.S: Anyway, your character essays are amazing! As someone that only enjoys the story and lore but doesn't play the game these analysis are a treat. Wish you a good week!

[@otsuucurry]

thank you for watching! and have a good week as well :)

[@silverhawkscape2677]

They call Ayaka Out because shrewd people like Kaeya or Yae Miko usually end up revealing their use of the Traveller to their Advantage. Ayaka never gets this in the story.

[@JordanLopez-sv9sp]

@@silverhawkscape2677I mean both kamisato siblings worked behind the scenes using their political influence to help the traveler and kokomi out during the inazuman war and the climax of the 2.0 storyline, so there’s that.

[@Miaowzi]

Ayaka is just badly written

[@robin9740]

Ayaka definitely does not gaslight. She is, however, indeed way too obsessed with mc. It's ok that she likes traveler, but they shouldn't have made it the only thing she does.

[@qianyue.c]

she's been my main since i got her back in version 2.2. i lost my 50/50 to diluc after 30 pulls (which is pretty lucky actually). as a new player with few primos, i thought i wouldn't be able to get her. i decided to do 1 more 10 pull and BOOM i got her! i have never had better 5 star luck since then. she is my queen. she's triple crowned, c1, with r1 homa now and i love her so much. thanks for talking about hu tao's wonderful personality and lore. she's truly an amazingly written character

[@sleeper6548]

Same situtation, back in 2.2, i was a new player getting into game after seeing the hu tao teaser on youtube, and in my case, i won the 50/50, but never won any other 50/50 T_T , tho my last 2 pulls (Ayaka and Furina) i did won my 50/50 (luck is changing maybe?)

[@brandonbao7097]

Unfortunately as we can see with Furina's story quest, they continued to emphasize NPCs and commissions when they should be focusing on the character itself. Especially in Furina's quest this narrative choice feels particularly distasteful, given that after 4.2 Archon Quest most people just really wanted to see how Furina was doing.

[@justapotato1176]

live in life is like the perfect song that encapsulates her slightly morbid yet beautiful views about death, completely changed my view on her i wish more people realised her nuances tbf, i remember seeing people saying "she wants people to die to boost her business" like huuh??

[@dominickroberts4653]

Well....

[@hojasz4303]

I just reaaaaally love the clash of personality and ideals of baizhu and hu tao bc even if the realistic and idealistic is a very common topic is still full of nuances thanks to the topic I would love to see an exploration of baizhu character from you

[@strawberygamer6503]

Love this video!! Also I REALLY want to see a Furina and Hu Tao interaction because Furina’s current concept of death for her is unknown and fbsuvdudbs after centuries of suffering, it’s so interesting

[@sp1ritsoother]

this aged well now that they're meeting in lantern rite!

[@kbucket]

i really hope Hu Tao is involved in a liyue archon/interlude quest one day and hopefully with Zhongli and Baizhu involved. Holding out hope for Chenyu vale perhaps. She is my favourite character, I just wish she got the attention she deserves, she has sooo much potential.

[@alatus_knight]

Thankfully she wasn't

[@princemannic]

Yknow I always kinda thought hutao was just a weaker version of yoimiya considering how close there personality are and you seeming just a bit more bubbly but the more I look into tao the more I'm comming around to her character she also just has a deeper way of viewing the world to me

[@Cosmic_Espeon]

Hu Tao was my first five star character and she’s been one of my favorites since. Her trailer is still one of my favorites. Also sad fact: One day, Zhongli will have to plan Hu Tao’s Funeral. I remember a friend telling me this and I got so depressed afterward.

[@Lennis01]

Perhaps not. I think there is more to Hu Tao than we are being told. More than even she realizes.

[@alatus_knight]

Zhongli finds her annoying, he won't care. At least qiqi will live in peace after her death

[@Cosmic_Espeon]

@@alatus_knight you mind backing that up with a source? Because at no point has Zhongli shown disdain, disinterest or dislike of Hu Tao.

[@alatus_knight]

@@Cosmic_Espeon listen to his voice line about hu tao, you just showed your ignorance. He specifically says, "I cannot deal with that child".

[@Cosmic_Espeon]

@@alatus_knight that isn’t hatred, that is a 6000 year old dealing with an energetic child. You know, like most parents.

[@broneedstoshutup]

If you're ever looking for any other character to analyse, I would recommend Kujou Sara !! I think she has so much overlooked depth as a character and isn't appreciated enough by the fandom.

[@Jackson-ub1uv]

My favourite Hu Tao moment is from the most recent Lantern Rite where she says that Neuvillette seems more reliable than Zhongli, scares Furina with a ghost story, and calls out Zhongli for often saying “Is that so?” and “Indeed”.

[@emergency-RedHood]

thank you for making these videos! There are just so many misunderstandings of characters' personalities in genshin from what I've seen that shows that people didn't really payed attention to the story or hate a character for a reason that isn't true or make sense for certain characters. would be nice if you would make more videos for the most misunderstood characters in genshin!

[@TheJH1015]

really liked your video!!! Something I love about the Hu Tao vs Baizhu conflicts in-lore is that while you feel and agree with Baizhu's ideals to save and cure everyone to the best of his abilities, every player *knows* that objectively speaking, and especially with how lingering spirits or remains can screw up even gods (looking at the Yakshas, Delusions made of Orobashi's remains, and now with 4.2 lore the Gnoses/Descenders), Hu Tao is doing the right thing in wanting to put those people and spirits to rest to prevent further harm to anyone else. It's a nice moral and ethical struglle between two very valid outlooks. Another thing I just realized is that with her connection with Venti now, she has even more ties to the dead and the past, since Venti's winds carry songs and memories across time.

[@mrocznyx7282]

finally someone who knows how I feel when I see hu tao, I literally feel the same since she came out

[@memsketch]

I love the way you talk about the characters in this game, and this one in particular I really appreciated. Hu Tao has been one of my favorite characters for so long and I'm so glad you pointed all of this out for the others that might've not seen these sides of her before or in that way. I hope you keep doing these types of videos, and would suggest you talk about more characters that have this somewhat "hidden in plain sight" theme and background, if they are any more. Anyway, good work!!

[@cynical_perks8725]

I've never rolled for her but I remember thinking she was pretty cool after doing her story quest when she came out. Then she was relegated to event appearances and I kinda started to see her as just annoying and generic. Her being so popular didn't help, seeing her in ads and fan art everywhere I went online didn't help that perception, I pretty much forgot why I liked her. Baizhu's story quest reminded me of why I liked her, that being her views on life, her bluntness regarding death and how she tackles her job. It's kinda made me resent hoyoverse for her appearances during events, even though avoiding the topic of her job is probably for the best during these. I just hope whenever she shows up again, Baizhu is also in the room so they can bicker, their dynamic is great.

[@sierrad.7654]

Please talk about furina I was literally thinking right after I finished the 4.2 archon quest “I hope otsuucurry makes a video about her” I would very much enjoy hearing your thoughts :)

[@otsuucurry]

i definitely will! really excited to talk about fontaine characters now that we've reached the end of the archon quest :D

[@richtofenify]

As expected, the quality of your work is high. I am really looking for a video about Navia next!

[@emcee8985]

We have a lot of amazing characters with interesting personalities and backgrounds, however, we have A LOT of characters. Genshin's greatest strength is its greatest weakness. Because it can't dedicate the appropriate amount of time and love to each and every character, so many have fallen out of favor. Not just with playable characters but also with NPCs. When one has played a game like Life Is Strange and Persona, it's hard to care about the NPCs in this game. Take with the latest AQ, I was so tired, I just wanted the lore but I have no feelings for the Fontainian supporting cast.

[@VigilanteAgumon]

There's this woman on KZbin, "Ask A Mortician," who talks about the funeral industry and the "death positive" movement to remove the stigma behind death, dying, and corpses. Hu Tao definitely reminds me of Ask A Mortician.

[@anotherkarma]

I started watching ask a mortician because of Hu Tao lmao

[@shafty8767]

Thanks for the character analysis! I always appreciate them since I place them in my binge playlist 😊

[@walteranurantha5014]

Hu Tao could've been my favorite character up there with Xiao after the chasm event quest, if only Hoyo explores her belief of the cycle of life and death is not a bad luck to Liyue's culture and society with Big G, and towards Baizhu's belief of immortality. But at least they didn't screw her up than Kokomi tbf. Big G: "But Ma'am, I don't want to say goodbye to Meng" :( Hu Tao lowers herself down to him. Hu Tao: "It's okay, you'll enjoy in the otherside of the afterlife, as much as my grandpa passed away, like you and me, in the same way as in the mortal life. Correct? ;)" Big G nods, sheds a tear in one last glance on Meng... Big G: Thank you, Hu Tao," he smiles as he fades away to the afterlife. That's my scene rewrite for Hu Tao's story, more emotional as Venti than what we've got now. Also we didn't get a CG cutscene of what I rewrote, nor the 2D cutscene backstory of herself and her grandpa at the end of her story quest like that one fan made Hu Tao animation on KZbin. Big miss opportunity for Hu Tao to be my favorite character:(

[@kassie4099]

id love if you talked about chongyun I feel like not a lot of ppl cared about him till recently since he never really had any screentime

[@niicespiice]

i love that xingqiu and hu tao are friends but also very common to be paired up together gameplay-wise! i wonder if that was intentional or not...

[@firey_butterfly]

i liked her from being cute but then found out more about her and started to like her more then just being cute

[@j2oro]

proud to say i got hutao the first day she came out in the game 😋😋 og hutao lover SHES SO SILLYYY

[@lefttoe3937]

Me too, i kinda miss 1.3

[@Lennis01]

Call it a feeling, but Hu Tao may get even more interesting when the Natlin region releases. Her powers seem to go beyond that of your average Vision-bearer, and Zhongli's willingness to work for such an unconventional boss is in itself telling. Hu Tao's dismissive attitude toward her own Vision is also rather odd.

[@amberknight7301]

Hu Tao: Likely knows that Zhongli is the Geo Archon Also Hu Tao: Blah Blah Blah, just tell me if I got a point old man

[@mutrad5]

I saw overlooked and hutao in the title and thought this was hard click bait but nope good video

[@realhomiesdie1446]

You should definitely do a video on nahida or furina.

[@air_sejok6852]

I love listening to your video and explaining lore while I'm exploring Teyvat, keep up the good work!

[@sophievosburgh1624]

A lot of people look over how deep she really is, and her backstory is so sad. “She’s just a happy ghost girl!” While she does seem happy she’s also the same person that took over a whole business at 13 after losing a person that took care of her for presumably her whole life and had little to no parental guidance throughout leading that business. Qiqi also mentions that Hu Tao has a “Fake smile”. P.S:Thankyou for the lovely video! (And to whoever read this long comment)

[@wednes3day]

Maybe they can do something for her (maybe in natlan?) as they did for Mona in Fontaine?

[@sonicfraisheya4028]

love this topic, because i didnt expect myself to like hu tao so much, she is my first limited 5 star and i was "eh" on her personality because i hate "prankster" tropes on characters. but i was genuinely suprised when both her story quest and character story does her character well, because "death" means a lot to her and "death" doesnt necessarily mean sad things to her. especially once you go into her "domain" as for the 'NPC' in story quests, i actually dont mind them so much, because it can be taken more metaphorically imho, especially on "how" the character handles the problem of the NPC, it should be taken in consumption alongside the "character stories" from the character profiles. like because of details in character profile X, now when faced with a problem character does things like Y things and so on. i'd love to see you analyse yelan, because i swear, every single detail of her is basically is that she just woke up and chose to become "badass", and this is consistent with her story quest too.

[@nk30020]

I really wish Zhongli was in Baizhu's quest, it would've been great to see his perspective on the disagreement between Hu tao & Baizhu.

[@studyben8379]

Your charecter design looks your related to Hu tao in some way, it looks nice! And the video was very informative on Hu tao, i feel like i understand her more

[@pinkimark1018]

I would really like to see what you think of Furina’s story quest seeing what you said about not really enjoying npc focus in story quests!

[@thunderhunter1992]

To this day, I never understood why hyv didn't just put all the 5 star characters of the first 3 regions in their respective archon quests. They don't necessarily have to be super important lore-wise like Yoimiya, Itto, and Dehya. But they should at least appear and contribute something for the archon quest plot. Otherwise, they don't deserve to be 5 star.

[@e554]

So strange seeing so many people complain about Dehya not having a presence in Sumeru's archon quest bitch did we even play the same game?? Dehya is literally one of the main characters in the archon quest AND she's the one who sends you off to fontaine. Why are so many Genshin players either illiterate or dementia ridden?

[@kurloveskitties8667]

Loved the video as usual! Your video essays always get an excited little jump out of me when i see them on my subscription tab! I would actually love to know if you have any thoughts on the mental illness theme in fontaine so far?? We've gotten an NPC child who talks about possibly having OCD, Furina's PTSD and now with this event, "loneliness syndrome" and Freminet's escapism! (and possibly more, those are the ones i can remember atm) I'm loving that there are being conversations held about these topics but im also slightly uncomfortable with Paimon and the Traveler's reaction to these issues...namely in Furina's SQ and now the event. I'd love to hear it if you were up to talking a little bit about this topic! Obviously, it might not tickle your fancy and mental illness is also a very personal thing, so I completely understand if you choose not to talk about this x) i'll be excited about whatever video you post next and love it, im sure!

[@namikkou]

Xiao and Hu Tao's relationship was alwYs very interesting to me because if you out into perspective who Xiao is close to.....she is seemingly the only mortal to _ever_ become friends with the Yaksha to the point that after a bit of badgering, he actually comes when called. The Traveler definitely isn't mortal, and I wouldn't be surprised if he came when called more freely now. It isn't hard to imagine them possibly crossing paths on Wuyung Hill, Hu Tao seeing Xiao and instantly deciding she's gonna be his friend and he doesn't get a say in the matter. Her dragging him to the Lanturn Rite dinner was absolutely hilarious as well. Everyone was so confused she managed to get him there, and Xiao was so awkward and speechless casually seeing his former archon and another archon who saved him there... Just chilling Pretending they don't know each other. I laughed so hard seeing how dumbfounded he was during that. Also, Hu Tao almost crtainly knows Zhongli is at least an adeptus, if not the Geo Archon himself. Her funeral parlor handled the geo archons 'death'. I wouldn't be surprised if the body was brought there to be checked over and Hu Tao saw it. She is the head after all, and it's such a high profile case. Her not seeing the body at least once seems unlikely. So i definitely believe she took one look at that body, could determine it to be fake and put two and two together with Zhongli there. Also no way did she believe Venti was a regular bard. She definitely could tell something was up with him as well. Hu Tao seems to have a sixth sense for immortal bullshit lol

[@insert_nickname__662]

thx

[@electronicallyscannedarray]

Hu Tao and Furina ❤🩵

[@Hawk.123]

You should make a vidoe on melus and silver since hoyo wrote them very well unlike teppe who wasnt Given enoigh screen time for the players to feel attached to

[@VoidExileYT]

Hey, is there a coincidence that HuTao element is fire and fire is the element that will be present in Natlan, Natlan being the nation of war and war being all about death and destruction? Working with corpses is also a way of honoring the people and Natlan is probably a lot about honor and honoring the warriors who died. HuTao might just flip the role from dislike to respect if she were to work in Natlan. That said, is there any chance at all that HuTao will make an appearance in Natlan? Hmm

[@cqsccmia]

I love your videos so much!! Would you consider doing a video on al haitham? I think hes very misunderstood by the fandom so an analysis would be very interesting!

[@ilysylix]

my beloved hu tao ❤

[@munchkinchalateo]

I'm honestly tired of people thinking her depth is the fact that people find her annoying and it's soo "angsty". Theyre getting her wrong, so thank you!! Anyway guys please listen to Will Stenson's song abt her

[@Streamstresss]

Honestly, the comment of "no one dies in genshin" is such a pet peeve to me. Like, people forget that it took years for a playable character in hi3 to die, and the only playable character death in hsr so far wasn't even the actual character themselves. It is the villain masquerading as her, while she had died before the game got to that point of the story. It took hi3 over three years to kill off a playable character, and they already did all the world building needed and stakes were high enough to warrent it. Genshin just hasn't hit that point yet. And just cause it hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't at all. I'd say stuff like that is going to pop off somewhere around Snezhnaya or a bit later. Just let the writers cook, God damn, lol

[@nuzlocke2266]

Baizhu "cured" the man by turning him into a zombie. That part is important.

[@oblivion2674]

I think part of the reason Hu Tao gets along with the long lived people is that they understand her view of death better than the mortals. They’ve been alive for hundreds of years they’ve seen people they know well die and the mortals in their lives die and as such don’t deny death and view it as something to fear but instead something one must accept will eventually happen. I think they would also appreciate the fact she doesn’t view death as a heavy subject that shouldn’t be brought up without making it seem like life is meaningless

[@ciscokid0517]

i started playing genshin cause of hu tao sense well its megumins VA ria however i didnt get her and didnt really play after that until my cousin got me back into after telling me that she was getting a rerun soon and that she was actually good so i got back into the game and finally got her and ive loved her ever sense as a character and as a carry

[@rats.omnom19]

she was my first 5* (i got her early) and she's been carrying me ever since ar 20 to ar 50

[@raihanrusli2720]

I guess I am gonna rewatch Baizhu's story quest later just to see Hu Tao's view

[@sleeper6548]

My reason to joim this game, hu tao, got her at ar 20, her story quest was my first story quest, i thought it would be something like the dating sim kinda act of hangouts, but it was not, and since the story's focus wasnt much on her, i was kinda disappointed and just stopped doing those, tho i did completed them again later

[@crazypuppet919]

I feel bad for Xinyan, honestly. She fits so well in Li Yue gang, but the only time she interacts with them is when she performed with Hu Tao. Xinyan have deeper connection with characters from other regions then with kids she grew up with

[@Chub624]

While hu tao is not one of my favorite characters I definitely think she was always one of the better female characters during the earliest days of genshin. Also I would love to see you do a video for the traveler since there is always controversy within the fandom whether there just an self insert or their own character and talk about the issues fans have with them as a character.

[@queso_king]

as someone who just started genshin Jan 2023 at the suggestion of my significant other, I knew Hutao was my favorite, design, quirkiness, and BooTao (mascot characters always get me) I spend around $100 to get her and her c1 lol. I agree with your points about her story quest and lack of interactions with the main cast really is annoying. My favorite thing is seeing the characters interact with each other and hope we get additional story quests as this game goes on. Also a more personal observation, my s.o. said she thinks Hu Tao exhibits alot of mannerisms as someone on the spectrum. i know assuming something like this controversial but wanted to know if you felt this as well. Great video overall !

[@qm3220]

Can you do you vid on Navia? I really liked her during the archon quest

[@otsuucurry]

will definitely do a video on her! just waiting for her to drop first so we can find out more about her story/lore beyond the archon quest :)

[@GhostEmblem]

How was that quest about meng!!? the parroting of certain points in this fandom is unreal. People make up head cannons about how lore relevant the characters are and when it turns out they are not they instead think the quest just didnt dive into their lore. To this day people still act like Hu Tao has some hidden relation to Zhongli. I dont know what more you imagined there was to learn about her for you to say I would have loved to know more about her when we literally learned all there is to know in her story quest.

[@vladbyte]

Please make a Yoimiya video🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@oblivion2674]

I feel like Xiao like Hu Tao for 2 reasons. First is that he appreciates her for cleansing the remains of gods. Second is that he was touched by her view on death and it helps him deal with his grief

[@FelixRaycher]

After her trailer dropped - I hated her. And adored "WHO Tao?" meme around the time of version 1.3. Also because she chases Qiqi whenever she has a chance to do so. After the Story Quest - I respect the hell out of her. Still mad about attempts to bury Qiqi, but now I can see why she keeps trying.

[@davidsabillon5182]

I love her Japanese VA ❤.

[@javelinmaster2]

well I just kept on missing out on her... last banner she had to share it with hydro Daddy and I went with Hydro Daddy... but I swear I will get her next time if she doesn't share a banner with new characters. Oh and what is your opinion about our Hydro Archon?

[@cosmics2232]

In the best way possible, I can smell the omori from ur art

[@nnwrtz077]

can you please talk about yanfei? i rarely see anyone talking about her

[@exorcstplagh9966]

She is the one buried the unknown god.

[@TheKing72.]

She is friend material

[@thehollowedhermit7525]

Megumin

[@Remls]

16:53 what

[@TheEulaFan]

Nice video (even tho I honestly hate Hu Tao's gameplay). Can't wait for Eula video. Or Navia. One is a character that I think Hoyo hates (garbage main event appearances, awful dedicated support in form of Mika, still no physical sub-dps, no energy prefunneling, etc). And the other is just amazing.

[@narusas1222]

I wish Hoyo had portrayed her better. Also hoping for a Furina video

[@nana7451]

can u talk about mona

[@arsenyjsharov2239]

How about Albedo?

[@doofensmirztsevilinc.9085]

This isn't because hu COW

[@VoidExileYT]

I have no clue why I like HuTao so much. I feel like if her eyes were more normal and/or I didn't play at the time she came out, I wouldn't have cared about her at all. Or perhaps it IS because she reminds me of Megumin and I happen to like Megumin, so, who knows at this point

[@thunderhunter1992]

Becow🐄

[@KleberDKurosaki]

Others: I Like Hu Tao because she is strong/cute/Megumin I'm different I like Hu Tao because Qiqi hates her and she is an weirdo

[@miwky406]

I love all things spooky, and I love Hu Tao's theme of ghosts, death, etc. but honestly, the thing that annoys me the most about Hu Tao is her very strong beliefs on the subject. Like, she can see the other side; she personally helps to shepherd souls-- she knows the otherside is not a scary place, so it's really no wonder she lives her life so enthusiastically and without fear, but she also absolutely refuses to let others (aside from the traveler) in on that knowledge that affects literally everyone who can die. She comes across as dogmatic, but coupled with her peppy and extroverted nature, she ceaselessly bombards others with the fear of death, while only herself knowing that death is nowhere near as scary as everyone thinks. But because she has access to this knowledge (when almost everyone else doesn't) the story treats her as an authority on the subject; it's framed as if she's in the right. I think she's annoying because she comes across as tone-deaf, and having information that would quell the fears of many, but refusing to divulge it because she believes no one would use the information to live fulfilling lives.. in a world full of people who are afraid to live, because living means taking risks, and risk means dying. Worst still, the world of the story frames her as being correct, so there is no room to question the nuance of her beliefs, because they are founded directly upon the way the world factually works. It deprives the audience from the choice of liking her despite/because of her flaws, and demands that you must respect her for the fact that she is not wrong. Hu Tao isn't really a character in this sense, she's more a device to describe the objectivity of death and afterlife-- almost more like an avatar for the concept of death to describe how it's rules work in Genshin, and in Genshin, death is quirky.

[@moriko-chan1059]

Genshin is waaay better than most media in terms of female characters. When it reached sumeru we got female characters just as good and important as male ones - Nahida, Dehya, Collei (events), Furina, Navia, Arlecchino, Charlotte. Faruzan, Layla have also good charactesisation, strenghts for the time they got. The only bland 5* one is Nilou. So far, Sigewinne and Clorinde played more supportive roles in the Fontaine archon quest so we still have to wait. In Mondstadt, Liyue they were behind cause we got more intereresting, story-relevant characters that are male. But we have good standouts with Hu Tao, Yelan (later added), Ningguang, Beidou, Fischl, Amber (events). Especially the Liyue team has some story important females. Mondstadt will get the hexencircel members sometime so I bet it will get more equal as well. The snoozefest for female characters was Inazuma - but well anyone that isn´t Itto, Scara or Kazuha got lackluster characterisation because of the bad archon quest. Kazuha, Itto were saved by pre-Inazuma, after Inazuma events. Sumeru had more male characters than females so while all were written great again males took the cake but this time not because the women were written worse but genshin was starting to market towards females, gay gamers as well. So Sumeru gets a pass but I can see why at that point many saw female characters written behind male ones. Fontaine now seems equal in good written/important to the story females and males. You could argue genshin beat the females written as less than male curse that plagues most media - if the good trend continues.

[@3dosaber382]

Analysis should always be based on the awarenese that 1)it's a game not a novel 2)it's 12+ so more detailed lores are hidden in random stuff kids won't notice or in your assumption only.A guffy cute beautiful young girl is enough to be a marketing archon,why should they risk any？Now comes Furina,a bit more complex but same logic.

[@lefttoe3937]

bro there are plenty of games out there with magnificient lore, also it being "kid friendly" doesnt serve as an excuse to have bad and lazy writing when they are a literal multi billionare company.

[@bellingtoned]

Im gonna be honest i never liked hu tao in her story quest it felt like she was being cruel because of the adventurers comission (i dont remeber completely) and a bit to high energy when people are being ofput (this could be due to me having lost quiet a few people) and the idea of somebody that got a new liece on life and wanting to stop that feels slightly evil to me because i feel like every day should be lived and it doesnt matter how ... so yea i tend to skip most stuff with hert hough this has given me a bit of extra insight i still dont really like her and imma be honest im okay with that don't need to like everybody

[@logicchick1855]

Hu tao was always a character I could not stand in the story. I found her really annoying and personally did not like her design either so I found myself skipping through her dialogue every time she was involved in the story. I'm glad I watched your video though because now I understand why she was needed as a character in the story and while I still dislike her I appreciate that Hoyo tried something different with her. And she definitelly has more personality than half of the female cast in Genshin that's for sure.

[@Belial289]

i don't like hu tao's personality but her gameplay is ok.

[@Hazarock25]

i liked your video, i am biased, i really dont care abiut hu tao, his lore is interesting but her persnoality is annoying to me

[@user-biscut]

Personally, in Baizhu's story quest, it made me dislike him.

[@BigDauntless]

I think Hu Tao is actually an ok character besides her constantly terrorizing my precious Qiqi and also I kinda refuse to build and use her unless I feel that I really need a pyro DPS with her being the only one I have

[@ajergely6230]

Yea i dont get the love. She has a different view on death than liyue people alright, but this view isnt particularly original. Its been held and expressed for hundreds of years at this point, and ive talked with more people, elderly and sick included, who held views similar to hers than people who saw it as a taboo. This makes her character feel corny. Though that could just be cultural differences and death actually is that much of a taboo in china, so that point might be irrelevant. But there is another thing that i think just doesnt work and that is how she is shown to deal with people in game. The death jokes, the funeral advertisements and discounts, they dont seem like a case of differing views only. They seem more like a case of her simply not dealing with strangers appropriately - like you dont joke or discuss about certain subjects with everyone. I cant know what exactly were the writers intentions, but it ends up feeling more like breaking the taboo for the sake of it (making the character appear edgy or quirky) instead of trying to fight it because one actually believes it shouldnt be. Not only this contrasts with the mature/serious theme which her story alledgely wanted to touch on, it also feels incoherent for a businesswoman who does care about her business to knowingly sabotage her PR like that. Overall it feels like a serious message conveyed rather poorly (and id even say kind of immaturely). I honestly wouldnt call that good writing.

[@Wazzapzowski]

I think hu tao is annoying, ugly and unfun to play.

[@Max-E-Mum]

-yoimiya main

[@Wazzapzowski]

@@Max-E-Mum actually I hate her as well

[@Max-E-Mum]

​@@Wazzapzowskiso?

[@Wazzapzowski]

@@Max-E-Mum idk, you mentioned yoimiya

[@Max-E-Mum]

​@@Wazzapzowskik