Something I just noticed with the upcoming release of Zibai

Each year seems to have a character designed to fit with its Chinese Zodiac animal, don't know what happened in 2022, maybe Dehya was supposed to be released then idk.
And I'm also not sure what character in 2020 could relate if any, but it definitely seems like something they have been doing since 2023 at LEAST.

Commentaires

GettingWokeUp2026-01-06 14:17

Pretty sure Gaming came out in 2024.

HuDat5262026-01-06 14:26

He’s a lion dancer though, not a dragon

GettingWokeUp2026-01-06 14:30

His design is very clearly based off the mythical creature Suanni, who is just as much a dragon as it is a lion

eiridel2026-01-06 14:40

He even has his little suanni buddy doesn’t he?

SigmundFreud1012026-01-06 14:41

Man Chai! :D

Bluecoregamming2026-01-06 16:23

"hehe, sorry pal" *slam*

demiwaltz2026-01-06 21:05

*does 1000000 plunge melt dmg*

Cpastor10552026-01-06 21:04

HAWK TUIT MAN CHAI

snowlynx1332026-01-06 16:13

The Suanni is definitely strictly a lion and not a dragon, it is one of the dragon's nine sons but the word was originally used to refer to lions before the current 獅子 entered Chinese. Suanni is also most likely loaned from a Proto-Indo-Iranian word meaning lion

Okilokijoki2026-01-07 00:13

The Suanni in context and in most mythology is either a dragon or a dragon-lion mythological creature that is specifically NOT a normal lion. It doesn’t matter what the etymology is, the Suanni does not refer to lions in modern chinese.

Nino_sanjaya2026-01-06 15:47

Better than Kinich

AlaindeshoGT2026-01-06 14:18

See, that's why i don't want Zibai: you need to be straight up a scientist to even know the fuck she's talking about

Supreme-Machine-V22026-01-06 14:51

She isn't released yet though

AlaindeshoGT2026-01-06 14:57

Fair enough. Sorry about that

ugur_tatli2026-01-06 14:20

Shanks coming soon

Ehco132026-01-06 14:35

Tighnari is a Fennic Fox, Foxes are part of the Canidae family (Wolves, Dogs, Jackals, Foxes, Coyote etc.), not Feline.

Lubinski642026-01-06 14:38

He ain't got enough haki knots to break through the false sky.

ugur_tatli2026-01-06 14:41

No problem. Mihawk lent him some of his black paint

He'll struggle more at Stygian Onslaught without having nod-krai crew mates

Lubinski642026-01-06 14:44

Nah, he's gonna wait until we clear it and then declare the war on the abyss to be over.

ugur_tatli2026-01-06 14:46

The slander is so good I could die

Radiant-Midnight91012026-01-06 15:07

Mihawk is a fraud unit . Dude loses 80% damage without Miss Goldenweek and his Bis weapon

Binkusu2026-01-06 19:08

The slander is everywhere.

Patient_Piece_80232026-01-06 18:36

Seeing a One Piece reference after seeing a Red Dead Redemption 2 reference makes me feel happy

Araiken2026-01-06 14:22

Klee is the rat

New-Rux2026-01-06 14:31

That's Micah

spursman342026-01-06 14:33

unexpected RDR2 reference

Murky_Blueberry26172026-01-06 15:03

You sir, are a fish

TrainPregnator2026-01-06 15:13

Dutch, you're gay

Affectionate-Arm86402026-01-06 16:11

Gay? As in, homosexual?

Tomezzi962026-01-06 16:30

Yes John. Gay as in homosexual.

Khelthuzaad2026-01-06 15:20

And your mother is a hamster!

Honest_Opposite_79402026-01-06 14:36

I love my horsey and my horsey love me

Supreme-Machine-V22026-01-06 14:50

Watch out agent ross is coming

AdministrativeShip22026-01-06 19:01

My lovely horse.

https://youtu.be/jzYzVMcgWhg

shumnyj2026-01-06 14:56

Don't insult rats please

Jaquemart2026-01-06 15:28

He didn't come out in 2021.

HottieMcNugget2026-01-06 16:19

The way I cackled

the_spiritfarer2026-01-06 16:59

This has not been proven. Marston could be the rat just as well

leakmydata2026-01-06 14:46

Klee is too big to be a rat. Xiao is the rat.

ok_gone53652026-01-06 15:04

Heheh, Unexpected Chinese name pun

r_renfield2026-01-06 16:58

Shout out to the giant african rats that sniff out landmines

wholemealbread692026-01-06 14:56

"Rat from the sky"

qt-isaqt2026-01-06 16:11

Zhongli with his rat tail actually

NoNefariousness21442026-01-06 16:25

The next Year of Rat will be a ZZZ collab with Jane Doe coming to Genshin.

Violet_Villian2026-01-06 14:24

Gaming should be the tiger(lion technically but if Itto was representing Ox then I count it)

GettingWokeUp2026-01-06 14:31

Gaming is the dragon.

Violet_Villian2026-01-06 14:33

But isn’t he a Lion Dancer

Gehrman_ZaWorld2026-01-06 14:37

It's a Lion Dragon fusion

GettingWokeUp2026-01-06 14:38

Yep 👍 he’s based off Suanni, a mythical lion dragon hybrid and a symbol of the year of the dragon

Violet_Villian2026-01-06 14:41

OH WAIT! And Tiger was 2022 so that wouldn’t even matter😅

Siophecles2026-01-06 14:44

Gaming wasn't released in 2021 though.

Unlikely_Hour88072026-01-06 14:29

Tighernari

Ehco132026-01-06 14:35

Tighnari is a Fennic Fox, Foxes are part of the Canidae family (Wolves, Dogs, Jackals, Foxes, Coyote etc.), not Feline.

Ok_Might_46912026-01-06 14:50

Tighnari also uses peacock motifs

Bon-Pon2026-01-06 14:57

r/whoosh

talt1232026-01-06 18:22

Read how he spelt the name Tighnari once more

Bon-Pon2026-01-06 14:57

thanks cyno!

tighnarienjoyer2026-01-06 16:52

this hurts when you know the correct pronunciation of tighnari 😭😭

Bidorchar2026-01-06 18:27

Please do tell. I wish to know and learn.

rokirokino2026-01-06 18:58

the first syllable is like the 'tig' in tigger rather than the 'ti' in tiger; it's basically pronounced exactly how it's spelled, i'm not sure why they say it so weirdly in game

tighnarienjoyer2026-01-06 19:49

It's been driving me nuts for 3 years and I don't even play in English lol. Tighnari's first English VA said at the time that he knew how to pronounce it correctly and did, but the directors "corrected" him to say Tie-nari instead. Sigh.

Tig-nari isn't entirely perfect since we don't have the letters or accents in English needed to pronounce the G in Tighnari, but it's perfect in terms of localising it. It's as close as you can get, and it's not difficult at all. Tie-nari is the worst thing they could've chosen, if you ask me

ban9132026-01-06 19:57

What region of the name from?

SVStyles2026-01-06 20:06

Tighnari's name is derived from the Arab botanist Al-Tighnari, who was born in the village of Tignar.

Entire_Score32072026-01-06 20:20

Which is located in Granada, Spain. Fun fact also, that was one of the remaining Muslim cities in Spain. It survived the brutality that was happening. Many Muslims in Granada pretended to be non-Muslims so they didn't die. It's literally the opposite of what hypocrites would do! The story in that was very interesting, you should watch a video about it if you're interested.

rokirokino2026-01-06 20:20

that's so weird they told him to pronounce it wrong... might be because in english the 'igh' usually just makes the long i sound, but it's not even an english name. up there with xiuhcoatl for "easy non-english pronunciations that are said confidently incorrectly for some reason" (the final l should not be pronounced strongly if at all, iirc?)

Treyspurlock2026-01-07 08:28

How is Xiuhcoatl pronounced in game?

Boempowered2026-01-06 21:08

I know how you feel. German is my third language and every. single. German word/name in the English dub is butchered beyond recognition. It's grating to say the least.

tighnarienjoyer2026-01-06 21:10

Klee, Eula and Diona's names..... 😭😭😭😭

Boempowered2026-01-06 21:16

Not nearly as bad as ‘rah-HERE of Solnari’… 🙄

Jumugen2026-01-06 23:23

Also why the fuck are we always the villains?

ThrowawayPersonAMA2026-01-07 00:43

Well...

Treyspurlock2026-01-07 08:31

Diona is also a name in english pronounced the way it is in game so that one makes sense

Is Klee really not pronounced the way it is in-game? When I put it in google translate it pronounces it the same

99cent-tea2026-01-06 23:25

They “corrected” him because most studios either don’t give a shit (see Yelan and Liyue pronunciations) or they had to dumb it down for English speakers to “understand” it better regardless of what’s correct (QiQi 99% of English speakers say kee-kee when it’s really chee-chee)

I don’t blame the poor EN VA’s, instead I have zero fucking respect for any EN voice/dub studio, they all seriously suck ass

Bidorchar2026-01-06 20:20

Thank you very much \^\^

Toonfish_2026-01-06 21:07

Now I'm curious, do you also pronounce Mondstadt the German way /ˈmoːntʃtat/ instead of the English /ˈmɑːndstæt/?

tighnarienjoyer2026-01-06 21:11

I do :)

A-Chicken2026-01-06 18:06

The wonderful thing about Tigger, is Tigger's a wonderful thing.

Accurate_Instance_522026-01-06 14:29

2032 One Piece Collab confirmed. Leaks reveal a 5 star one handed swordsman that has to consume "knots" in order to function. Lack of supports that supply these knots will make him useless, as confirmed by his leaked voice line,
" I need to find some haki knots in this world, or I'm finished"

Amaranth942026-01-06 14:31

Think the Skirk one is a bit cope, she is a fish if anything else.

Nefer has more serpent like qualities imo.

Particular_Web32152026-01-06 14:35

Other than nefer,I would funnily go eith mavuika as pyro authority comes from natlan dragons who are winged snakes referencing Quetzcoatl

HuTaoFan_692026-01-06 14:53

Skirk's abyssal/elemental power is literally called "The Seven Shifting Serpent" and her Void Energy is called "Serpent's Subtlety"

Amaranth942026-01-06 14:58

But will she be the only character to use this power? Probably not. Her power can be called "Wolf's howl" and design wise would have nothing to do with a wolf.

Usual-Rule-21962026-01-06 15:17

She was the first one, and she kind have some serpent and dragon associations too like the adaptation and survival of these creatures, slit eyes, and having a cold-blood behavior to survive too, so it's not a cope, you that is in denial

yoshi_in_black2026-01-06 15:01

Everyone thought they'd release Baizhu for year of the snake, but they didn't actually.

Akikala2026-01-06 14:34

Oh my god I'm getting pokemon "fire starters represent the zodiac" flashbacks lol.

I'm pretty sure you're way overthinking this and more or less forcing it to fit rather than it being something HYV does intentionally. Zibai I can see as a character released to specifically celebrate the year of the horse but the rest feel like a stretch.

Gehrman_ZaWorld2026-01-06 14:41

Zibai and YaoYao are probably the only intended characters. Since they're released on lantern rite in the china based nation

Akikala2026-01-06 14:42

Ahh yeah, Yaoyao could also definitely be intentional.

Costyn172026-01-06 14:54

They are, and the dragon was Gaming. A suanni is a lion dragon hybrid.

Gehrman_ZaWorld2026-01-06 15:44

I wonder if somehow Lanyan can represent a snake. I don't think so tho

TiredGrass272026-01-06 15:48

pretty sure birds are the farthest thing from snakes (unless you're from Latin America)

SmithBall2026-01-06 15:51

you could make the argument that Lanyan's weapon resembles a Chakram, which is related to indian culture, which also has a good amount correlations with snakes with things like snake charmers. Her also being a dancer and dancers, again, being commonly represented by snakes (though, again, mostly in indian and middle eastern cultures) also adds more flavor to the connection

obviously a massive stretch though, especially since her main inspiration is Miao/Hmong culture and not indian or middle eastern lol

isekai-chad2026-01-06 15:49

Ga Ming I believe was released intentionally in the year of dragon as well.

Affectionate-Bus9272026-01-06 14:41

this ☝️🥸

TheIndoraptor1232026-01-06 14:38

The next one is goat, right? Since Ganyu is the closest we have to a goat (unless they release a goat from Chenyu Vale), the Liyue buffs won't take that long, right?

Best-Girl-Yanfei2026-01-06 16:38

GOAT? CAPITANO REVIVAL IS REALLLL

Junior-Contest-68442026-01-06 16:40

Least delusional Capitano fan

Best-Girl-Yanfei2026-01-06 17:22

1% chance 99% faith

TwinAuras2026-01-06 17:41

And 100% reason to remember the name

DirecterHu2026-01-07 00:23

completely unexpected Mike Shinoda reference

elrelampago19882026-01-06 17:14

Ganyu's mom comes to visit and we have s pekora/peko mama situation that has most fans thirsting after the milf?

TheIndoraptor1232026-01-06 17:50

How's that going to go with Xianyun?

TetraNeuron2026-01-06 21:08

Unadopts Xianyuns child

Lubinski642026-01-06 14:39

Waiting for Taiga Saejima to join the game.

aliskyart2026-01-06 14:41

I don’t exactly agree but I am just here for the Rutile pfp 😍

leolancer922026-01-06 14:42

So Jane Doe coming to Genshin confirmed.

PassionateVeronica2026-01-06 16:01

one of the best zzz designs hands down, let's just not talk about her skin

BloodAffectionate1362026-01-06 17:44

And Ju Fufu

Deep_Try_57862026-01-06 14:42

2020 wouldn't have a character since ghe game was released after the Chinese new year that year. Or the rat could be dottore since he was technically a character back then. Hate that guy.

PEAceDeath14252026-01-06 14:44

In 2022 it was Tigenari

Zukixa2026-01-06 14:44

Pulcinella coming out in 2029 trust

Da101BestBrawler2026-01-06 14:52

Bro there's no shot itto came out almost 5 years ago. Wtf, why is time just flying by?

tehbotolsaya2026-01-06 14:56

Anila is coming to genshin next year

Bon-Pon2026-01-06 14:56

2022 released: **Yae Miko, Kamisato Ayato, Yelan, Tighnari, Collei, Dori, Cyno, Nilou, Candace, Nahida, Shikanoin Heizou, Kuki Shinobu, Faruzan, Shenhe, and the Wanderer (Scaramouche), (lmk if I missed any btw)**

2020 released: **Diluc, Venti, Childe, Zhongli, Albedo (I for the life of me can't find the list of 4*s released then so if anyone knows pls comment and I'll add them)**

Ohh! Zhongli is the rat because he has a rat tail :3 /j

hopefully these help someone put two and two together!

ZBot-Nick2026-01-06 14:57

Just pattern recognition and confirmation bias probably, basing on other comments. Don't worry about it.

AffectionateSign79412026-01-06 14:58

skirk and kinich is such a stretch

AlaindeshoGT2026-01-06 15:02

Hahah

PassionateVeronica2026-01-06 15:48

yea one could argue that gaming fits the dragon one more

Ke5_Jun2026-01-06 14:59

Fyi, Gaming was released in LR 2024, and while he is based off of Lion dancing, Man Chai is a Suanni, which are a lion/dragon hybrid, so he actually fits for Dragon if you stretch it a bit (Skirk is honestly more of a stretch than Gaming here).

I’ve toyed with the idea that you could fit all of Liyue’s characters into the Chinese Zodiac, one 5-star and one 4-star, though some are real stretches. I really haven’t finished fitting them in, but here’s what I’ve got so far:

**Rabbit**: Yaoyao ofc. No 5-star yet.
**Dragon**: Gaming and Zhongli (yes ik Zhongli isn’t actually a dragon but his Exuvia is in that shape and he had a rerun alongside Neuvillette right before last year’s Lantern Rite; he’s clearly Dragon coded if not an actual dragon).
**Snake**: Baizhu and Beidou (mostly because of her ties to Haishan and her constellation being Victor Mare, the sea serpent conquerer).
**Horse**: Zibai (duh). No 4-star yet.
**Goat**: Ganyu (lol) and Yanfei. Yanfei’s inspiration, the Xueyi, is commonly depicted as a goat/ox like creature, so it’s actually a toss up as to which she is here. I put her in both for now because idk which to put her in.
**Monkey**: None yet.
**Rooster**: Oh boy, this one is tough. For now I actually have Xiao (Alatus is based on the golden winged bird the Peng), and Ningguang (her namecard has the phoenix on it). But there are actually a lot of bird themed Liyueans; Xianyun, Shenhe, and Lan Yan. All of which are based on birds that aren’t Roosters lmao.
**Dog, Pig, Rat, and Tiger**: None so far.
**Ox**: Only Yanfei as earlier mentioned.

If you insist on the pattern of a Liyue character being released in each year that represents that year, then Yun Jin could possibly be Tiger (2022) and Yanfei could be Ox (2021). Xinyan would then be Rat (2020), though 2020 did not have a Lantern Rite.

r_renfield2026-01-06 17:01

Too bad the Rooster isn't from Liyue

SectorApprehensive582026-01-06 21:09

wellllll, you never know, he is something of a merchant

hera-fawcett2026-01-06 17:27

patiently waiting for monkey and pig related liyue characters 👁👄👁

Ke5_Jun2026-01-06 17:41

Honestly not that hard to do.

For Monkey, Sun Wukong is like the most stereotypical Chinese inspired character in video games, though I’d be a bit disappointed if Hoyo goes such an obvious route.

For pig, you can go the Boar Route (Boar Princess anyone?) and incidentally, Journey to the West also has a Boar Demon character who happens to be Sun Wukong’s buddy.

LthePanda2026-01-06 19:51

Wouldn't Hu Tao be a decent slot in for Monkey? Playful personality with a proponent to pranks? Also if you look up the monkey zodiac personality breakdowns she matches it pretty well: many point out to monkeys being reliable, creative, and observant which she fits to a tee. It also says their closest friends are the dragon (zhong li) and rat. And technically the snake as well (Baizhu).

Ke5_Jun2026-01-06 19:57

Thank you for the suggestion. I haven’t really looked into the personality or compatibility aspects of the zodiac because every source I look at has slightly different information. I’ve mostly used direct in game symbolism that clearly shows a relation to an animal, rather than look into personality. As I am not familiar enough with the zodiac to understand which is which, I’ve left them blank.

Also the animal/lifeform that Hu Tao symbolizes most is the Butterfly, which isn’t even on the Zodiac, so she runs into the same problems I had with the three bird inspired characters (Xianyun, Shenhe, Lan Yan). Particularly Xianyun is the Crane and Lan Yan is the Swallow.

Zonnebloempje2026-01-06 21:17

But from the posted image, Skirk and Kinich aren't from Liyue, so why only keeping it as characters from Liyue?

Zanely16332026-01-07 01:41

It...Itto isn't from Liyue too...

Literally 3/5 of the characters in the picture are not from Liyue.

Nyanessa2026-01-06 15:00

2022 Collei? Her constellation, a Serval is a little spotted and striped cat. Not really a tiger, but closer than what Tighnari is

Practical_Potato_2122026-01-06 15:00

In a Lunar New Year festival in Genshin Impact 2.4, Chongyun was associated with the symbolism of the White Tiger, in 2022

Wodstarfallisback2026-01-06 15:01

The Rat represents Wisdom, Wealth and Prosperity so... yeah, it's probably Ningguang.

Shenhe was, likewise, the candidate for The Tiger because she embodies core aspects of the sign, that being Beauty, Fear, Awe and Strenght, and the demon she fought as a small child looks like a demonic tiger.

mrzevk2026-01-06 15:10

Wouldn't Tiger 2022 be Wanderer since he was released then and always portrayed as a little cat in the stories, feline

hackenclaw2026-01-06 15:13

2027 year of GOAT we BUFFING Ganyu.

Let me inhale copium now....

CptLonesong2026-01-06 15:14

so next one is literally the Goat?

OloivoFRUIT2026-01-06 15:14

My takeaway from this is that people need to start drawing Skirk as a Snake Girl

daydreamfairybeam2026-01-06 15:18

Sun Wukong for Year of the Monkey

BinhTurtle2026-01-06 15:24

The coming Zodiac animals in order are Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig before we loop back to the Mouse. Ganyu has often been associated with goat among fans (even though Qilin is a completely different kind of mythical beast), so, who knows.

h2odragon002026-01-06 15:24

Stretch TBH

You should be looking at the characters released in LR and not just for the entire year.

RenShimizu2026-01-06 15:27

Sumeru released in 2022, giving us the Rishboland Tiger mob that can be found in the jungle.

CowardlyPrince2026-01-06 15:31

If anything, the entire geo line up could account for 7/12:

Dog (Gorou), dragon (Zhongli), tiger (Xilonen), rat (Kachina), ox (Itto), horse (Zibai), rooster (Illuga).

But it falls apart because now there are 13 + geo MC, and none of the rest have any close animal associations. If I had to take a stab at it: snake (Albedo), sheep (Noelle) monkey (Yunjin), rabbit (Chiori), pig (Ningguang), cat (Navia)

AverageCapybas2026-01-06 15:48

Wukong based character in 2028 then..?

isekai-chad2026-01-06 15:49

Wasn't the Zodiac thing obvious since before?

Luna_MariaHawke2026-01-06 15:51

Huh? I always thought that I was a tiger not a rabbit at my year of birth.

karillith2026-01-06 15:53

Isn't skirk a fish?

shinkuhonou2026-01-06 15:53

Need me an inazuman playable based on Nue fr

jeheys2026-01-06 15:56

pulcinella the rooster in 2029 confirmed?!!??

CryoStrange2026-01-06 16:02

So next year is year of Goat? Which means Capitano playable!!

NoShaftNoLife2026-01-06 16:20

Hoyo be releasing Baphomet next year

Suspicious_Bid56782026-01-06 16:22

Do you think they will release "The Rooster" on the year of the rooster

Hellbiterhater2026-01-06 16:29

Are we gonna get another Cocogoat for next year's Year of the Goat (2027)?

Mimikyuer2026-01-06 16:33

What is this fire starter nonsense

skilllake2026-01-07 00:48

Nefer also fit's as a Snake. Better than Skirk I think.

Beginning_Pace20632026-01-07 07:03

Nefer is the snake, not Skirk.