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99% of Players Overlooked Genshin Impact Xiao's Design

by Genshin Fans 25 Nov 2024

To date, there have been a whopping 91 playable characters in Genshin Impact. They all have rich backgrounds and stories, and there is no lack of them that make travelers very curious. Among all the characters, there is one character who has charmed many travelers with his mysterious identity, handsome appearance and appearance design full of Chinese elements. Let's talk about Xiao's character design today!

1. Designs on the name "Xiao"

The word "Xiao", as a phonetic translation of the Chinese word, means Yaoguai, demon. This type of Yaoguai has a large upper and smaller lower body. In the beginning of Xiao's character PV, using a mountain forest, moonlit night, and a backdrop, and look at Xiao from an upward perspective, which also creates the feeling of being big on top and small on the bottom.

xiao-genshin-impact

In the official description, "During festivals, people will pray to the adeptus to bless them. But people don't pray to Xiao because Xiao is not a lucky star that can bring good fortune, wealth and prosperity. Rather, it is a 'Yaksha' that fights Yaoguais to the death." As the strongest killing machine under the Rex Lapis, he walks between the mountains and the rivers and swings away all the sins and evils in the world.

2. Xiao yaksha

"Yaksha" is actually the name of a demon, which translates as "Quick", describing quick and swift action. It also translates to "Bitter Life", as it is a life of pain. When reflected in the characterization of the game, Xiao is trapped by karmic obstacles and tainted by the legacy of Gods after a fierce battle with various types of yaoguais, demons and evils.

Genshin-Xiao-Yaksha

In the records, the male Yaksha is ugly, while the female Yaksha is absolutely beautiful. However, for the direction of the game, the male Yaksha is also absolutely beautiful under the beautification of Genshin Impact.

Genshin-Impact-Yaksha

Overall, the design position of Xiao is determined in his title, while the other elements complement the characterization of Xiao as a person. First of all, among the elements, Anemo represents fast. Therefore, there is no problem for Yaksha, to be set as a Anemo attribute. At the same time, "Yaksha" represents a yaoguai that can enter the sky and move swiftly, so the breakthrough in Xiao's "E" skill and the plunging attack in his ulktimate can be considered as the character's design features.

Below is an illustration of the image of Yaksha:

Yaksha_illustration

It's easy to see how the mask, the long-handled weapon, and the green face are all characteristics that Xiao possesses as well. So in a way, this also laid the inspiration for Xiao's appearance. In some of the ancient scriptures, some of the Yakshas were taught by Buddha and eventually became Dharma Protectors, and were listed as one of the Eight Divisions of the Heavenly Dragon. This backstory also seems to fit perfectly with the scene where Xiao is signed up by Rex Lapis to become the guardian deity of the Liyue.

3. Constellation of Xiao

Now that we're done talking about Xiao's connection to the Yaksha, let's take a look at Xiao's constellation, which is a large bird named "Alatus Nemeseos". But why is Xiao's constellation named this? What is the connection between them? According to the Buddhist scriptures, the Yaksha and the Alatus Nemeseos belong to the same constellation of guardianship. So the name of Xiao's constellation is probably derived from this.

Of course, Xiao is also known as the "The saint who subdued the devils" in addition to the title of "Protector of Yaksha". "Taking off the mask is human, putting on the mask is a god" is a perfect fit for Xiao's ability to greatly enhance his ability when he turns on his ultimate, and on top of that, he is the Protector of the Yaksha. Under this, the mask has become the most prominent feature of Xiao. Nuo mask is a symbol of Nuo culture, Nuo mask is the carrier of God in Nuo rite; in Nuo dance, the mask is the role of dress up. And Nuo mask has a "God Statue", "Holy Face", "Ghost Face" and other names. And Nuo masks are very obvious features, such as human and animal unity, fierce and fierce and a blend of horns, fangs, fire eyebrows, gold eyes, black face. We look closely into the change will find Xiao's mask also combines all these features.

Xiao_s-Yaksha-Mask

4. Xiao's Appearance and Clothing

Xiao's appearance and clothing are characterized by the "The saint who subdued the devils". First of all, the shoulder armor uses a design that combines green jade and fangs. Jade has always had the function of warding off evil spirits, so the choice of this element perfectly fits the character's image. The fangs on the other hand maps Xiao's image as the Yaksha. The body color is green, firstly to fit Xiao's own wind element attribute. It also matches the green face of the Yaksha.

xiao-character-design

Secondly, there is the jewelry worn by Xiao. The main purpose of the snake tattooed bronze plaque on the back of Xiao's waist is to dispel ghosts and yaoguais. It is worth noting that the tattoo on Xiao's arm a thousand years ago is significantly smaller than the tattoo on Xiao's arm now. So let's guess, Xiao may have been more and more damaged and gradually unable to suppress the grudge left by the Gods in Xiao's body, thus causing the tattoos to spread; or with the accumulation of time, the mask's repercussions on Xiao caused the tattoos to spread.

Xiao_s-Yaksha-design

5. Liyue' Book "Yakshas: The Guardian Adepti"

For this reason, it is said that the wages of being blessed with supernatural power is a destiny of hardship and eventual destruction. For the yaksha lost all his friends, family, and those he fought alongside. He built up an incalculable karmic debt from the violent deeds his life necessitated, and the consequence was a heart filled with darkness and hatred from which there was no rest. There was no reward to be gained from making an enemy of his own bitterness and hatred from the old days, nor was there any escape from the unbearable suffering. The torment ate away at his heart like an insatiable wolf, and an infinite number of lifetimes could have done nothing to reduce it.

As the character introduction suggests, people don't pray to Xiao. Behind the prosperity of the Lantern Rite, Xiao has to face an endless combats with demonic karma. This battle has neither a winner, nor anyone to witness it, nor anyone to appreciate it. But Xiao doesn't care, because he is the guardian of Liyue, and guarding Liyue is the "contract" he must fulfill.