We’re not the first ones 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 is, though we’ve listened to a few versions now, and some of the other languages don’t fare too well either. We’re sad. We’re hurt. We were so looking forward to our fave ghosty gal getting a rare moment to shine. But then a butterfly buzzed by and guided our hopes all the way to the afterlife.
Okay, that was a bit dramatic – and a little bit mean. We’re sorry. But, after so much hype around this being the first Iridescence Tour to take place in Liyue, let alone it taking the stage as the closing act of the Genshin Impact Lantern Rite, and featuring two of our beloved, fiery girlies Hu Tao and Xinyan, we’re just a little bit bummed, and we’re not alone.
The Genshin community has been ablaze since the Blaze Lilies’ track dropped, and not in a good way, leading to Genshin Impact memes popping up all over Reddit, Twitter, and beyond. Fans are bemoaning how offbeat her bars are, with some Youtube commenters joking that ‘Hu Tao has a hidden talent, she should keep it hidden’ and ‘Hu Tao is gonna make good business with that rap because it killed me’.
Don’t get us wrong, we adore Brianna Knickerbocker’s voice and think it suits Hu Tao wonderfully as a rule, and we’ve collectively got less rhythm than a broken Taiko no Tatsujin drum here at PT, so we doubt we could do any better. And, above all, it’s clear that this fumble is likely 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 pretty tricky for other language voice actors to keep in time with the tune.
But it’s not all lost. We’ve all had plenty of fun with this one, and there are heaps of great laughs going around. We’re personally very fond of LimitFrost’s Real Hu Tao Rap video on YouTube, and we’re gonna be singing ‘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 – regardless of what dub of Genshin Impact you choose, Hu Tao and Xinyan’s performance certainly made for a memorable Lantern Rite.
