We’re not the first to say it, and we won’t be the last – Genshin Impact Hu Tao’s rap for the Lantern Rite is… bad. Or at least the EN version, although we’ve listened to a few versions now, and some other languages don’t fare as well either. We are sad. Got hurt. We were so looking forward to our favorite ghostly girl getting a rare moment to shine. But then a butterfly buzzed by and led our hopes all the way to the afterlife.
Okay, that was a bit dramatic – and a bit mean. We are sorry. But after so much hype that this is the first Iridescence Tour to take place in Liyue, let alone take the stage as the final act of the Genshin Impact Lantern Rite, and with two of our beloved fiery girls Hu Tao and Xinyan, we are just a little disappointed, and we’re not alone.
The Genshin community has been on fire since the Blaze Lilies issue dropped, and not in a good way, leading to Genshin Impact memes popping up all over Reddit, Twitter, and beyond. Fans are complaining how unusual her bars are, with some YouTube commentators joke that “Hu Tao has a hidden talent, she should keep it hidden” and “Hu Tao is going to do great business with that rap because it killed me.”
Don’t get us wrong we love Brianna Knickerbocker’s voice and think it suits Hu Tao great as a rule and we collectively have less rhythm than a busted Taiko no Tatsujin drum here at PT so we doubt we can do better. . And above all, it’s clear that this fumble is probably due to translation more than anything else.
The video below compares four different dubs of the same scene, and it’s easy to see that the original CN version outshines the others, with direct translations of the lines making it quite tricky for voice actors in other languages to keep in time with the tune.
But it’s not all lost. We all had a lot of fun with this one and lots of laughs. We personally love LimitFrost’s Real Hu Tao rap video on YouTube, and we’re going to sing “Hu” as in “who put me in this coffin?” Tao as in “I can’t get out!” for days. Plus, one thing’s for sure, whichever Genshin Impact dub you choose, Hu Tao and Xinyan’s performance certainly made for a memorable Lantern Rite.
