Does genshin « waifunizes » female character too much?

I never actually gave this question much thoughts but it’s honestly been way to obvious with Columbina, like in the early version she was described like prime king von and now we just have another waifu. I get it that the Tsarisa used her but I feel like they could have come up with something better.

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La-Roca992026-01-19 16:26

Dont look at the differences between Dottore talking with Aether and talking with Lumine then

Puzzleheaded_You96312026-01-19 16:27

Oh yeah I forgot this one lmao

babangelsin2026-01-19 16:26

Out of the 110 playable characters, 0 of them have a canonical romantic relationship or even a romantic interest outside Traveler.

I hope that answers your question.

MiserableYam96462026-01-19 16:28

I mean there will always be fanservice, its a gacha game afterall. But it doesnt really bother me. Columbinas design looks amazing. Its always up to you. I never really put too much attention to these details.

MisterSpacemanStuff2026-01-19 16:30

Let's be real: 80% of the waifunising is on the players jumping to the most indulgent interpretation of any scene.

babangelsin2026-01-19 16:33

Reality is the opposite of that, 80% of the scenes where you think some sort of fanservice is **not** happening, there is absolutely some coded imagery flying under your radar.

Vegetto_ssj2026-01-19 16:44

While in part what you said is true, I can't pretend it's just a coincidence, or totally unwanted. This "waifunization" thing is always with medium tall girls (here and especially in HSR), in fact, the waifu.

In defense, they sometime treat characters like Xiao and Wanderer like Traveler is their only best friend, but at a level that community see them like cuties to defend

MisterSpacemanStuff2026-01-19 16:51

Oh, it's definitely *intentional* that there's room for this kind of interpretation. But they're also very much intentionally avoiding going deeper into it. There's plenty of gacha games where player x character is the default for any release, whereas Genshin just kind of sprinkles some fodder for indulgent fantasy, while keeping the character from truly falling into that track so they can have their own stories proper.

Like, say, the first half of Ei's story quest is walking across Inazuma and trying out the culture. But while this lets some people imagine it's a date, it's very clearly not to Ei.

Heck, we see this play out as early as with Lisa in 1.0. Her story quest is basically just going around to buy her stuff and see how she responds. But the player can ask her if it's a date, and she outright laughs it off and says 'in your dreams'.

Entire-Magazine-42832026-01-19 16:35

I don't even understand all those "waifu" and "husbando" arguments for GI. There are more than 100 companions in this game now and maybe a handful have a slight crush on the Traveller, which still literally goes nowhere. Like, there is no canonical romantic relationship going on between the Traveller and a character. Most of the time, it's just in the players had (overanalysing, taking things out of context, etc.).

Puzzleheaded_You96312026-01-19 16:40

I think you didn’t understand what I meant, I get that a few one can act like if they had a crush on the traveler, they either have one or it’s just their personality. But for the freaking fatui (beside the one who died in Inazuma) acting as friendly towards the traveler as the honary knights (or whatever they’re called), like it’s not logic, they’re supposed to be the traveler’s biggest ops)

MisterSpacemanStuff2026-01-19 16:45

>they’re supposed to be the traveler’s biggest ops

Here's the thing: They really aren't.

Consider this: The first antagonist introduced is a Shade, and the Fatui stand counter to the current divine order. The first storyline in the game has the Abyss Order as the main antagonist, whereas the Fatui are incidental. The Fatui themselves have been stated to have internal conflict since the beginning.

The second arc has us befriend a Fatui, Childe, and then fight him. But he's friendly even while fighting. We then get to see the transaction between Zhongli and Signora, and do not intervene. We're still meant to believe Zhongli is a good guy, and this deal had its purpose.

Even from 1.0, we already had several elements of the Fatui having mixed ranks. They're just an organisation that happened to have a lot of antagonism towards the Traveler, but they weren't ever really set up as the Traveler's 'biggest opponents'.

Entire-Magazine-42832026-01-19 16:49

Mhm, but the Fatui didn't really act friendly towards us at first, right?! Childe did save us from the Guards in Liyue, true, but then he literally tried to kill us. Wanderer hated everything and everybody and also tried to destroy us. The fact that he is an ally now, is the result of a LOT of character growth on his part. And Arlecchino also was not immediately superfriendly with the Traveller.
As for Columbina...she honestly just seemed like a lonely girl to me in the beginning. She ran away from the place she called home and then lived alone in a cave. Traveller befriended her, because that's what Traveller does.

I think you seem to foget that each and everyone of the Fatui Harbingers has their very own goals. Yes, they all work/worked for the same organisation and leader, but in the end, their goals differ greatly and so does their attitude towards the Traveller.

ValuableRuin5482026-01-19 16:36

Who described Columbina as Prime King Von?

TheCapybara92026-01-19 17:11

Some headcanon or another, with plenty of analog horror refferences no doubt.

Lonely_Station_84352026-01-19 16:37

Genshin? No. While Columbina does take a particular liking to the traveler it is at least written decently and left to your own interpretation if it's romantical/family-like/friendly.

When it comes to people mentioning relationships outside the traveler it's near impossible for Hoyo to travel that minefield. ANYTIME a characters gets even slightly friendly with each other we enter the shipping fandom and the haters of said shipping.

When it comes down to it: interpret as you see fit, we can't have things being canon because someone will end up being hurt somehow.

Slight edit: this is my own take, after playing a good handful of gacha Genshin is very, and I mean very, tame in this aspect.

Puzzleheaded_You96312026-01-19 16:41

Yeah genshin is far from being the worse and it’s not badly written I’ll give you that point.

Lonely_Station_84352026-01-19 16:45

I guess it's the expectation of her being a Harbinger and the teasers she's been in making her appear much, much colder. Maybe she got rewritten at one point, maybe she has always been this way.

I do like how she appears cold and closed but gradually opens up to everyone, not just the traveler.

nxtquy2026-01-19 16:59

One point in particular about Columbina: in Luna IV archon quest >!she explicitly states the Traveler is like family to her!<. Obviously there could be a lot more to the bond than that, but at the very least the game gives indication on how the player should view their relationship.

In past regions I do think there have been several characters heavily implied to have strong affection for the Traveler, but agreed that it’s never outright stated as it is in other games between the protagonist and the character in question.

Vegetto_ssj2026-01-19 16:47

Genshin absolutely needs a playable King Von.

Ravemst2026-01-19 16:48

No and if anyone actually thinks that they are really aren't paying attention. Becoming friends with female characters doesn't make them waifus also there's a double standard that it's ok for two female characters to become close. It's not a good double standard.

JiMyeong2026-01-19 16:51

Ehh, its a gacha game its gonna be there whether its subtle or not. Even if its subtle its very obviously there in Genshin.

I will say Genshin's "waifu baiting" is very very tame compared to other gachas though. Especially since its very few units that are affected by it. But when its there its very obvious who its there for, and its not me lol.

WorstSkilledPlayer2026-01-19 17:04

No. A female/multiple females liking the traveler has nothing to do with "waifu" mentality, that's more a harem trope if you wish to categorize it. "Waifu" is entirely a player-centric perspective/mindset. And yes, these two are two different pair of shoes. You can have a canon romance for a character, but still consider every female (playable) character as a "waifu". But obviously, with **self-insert** MCs - despite voiced dialogs - these two concepts overlap when the utlra hardcore crowd bitches about not every female swooning over MC to put it lightly (we all know more extreme cases).

YashamonSensei2026-01-19 17:13

I mean if character isn't friendly to MC then why would they join the party? If she was cold and uninterested she would just be an NPC.

Sabishi19852026-01-19 17:21

Yes, yes they do. But apparently that's what sells the best sooo.. can you blame them? 😅

Spieds2026-01-19 18:38

"like in the early version she was described like prime king von"

Totally, though I have bad memory, can you remind me where it was shown?

LKOShield2026-01-19 23:49

Not at all, no. In fact I wish the characters are more waifu/husbando-ish.

issm2026-01-20 00:34

It's a gacha game mainly trying to appeal to horny lonely men, what do you expect?

You can spare me the "nnooooo Genshin also used to appeal to other people too" BS.

Escoffier's in a naked apron.

They know what they're doing.