Chinese game developer and animation studio Mihoyo has been dominating the gacha game industry for over a year now with Genshin Impact, which recently won big at the Game Awards 2021 as the best mobile game and best continuing game, as well as awards from Playstation, including the 2021 Grand Award. Genshin Impact boasts insane sales numbers and can be played on multiple devices, including a smartphone, making open-world RPG games more accessible than ever.
The question now is this: could the game potentially be turned into an animation? Genshin Impact is story-driven, and the content to create a donghua is certainly there. Although an animation studio themselves, Mihoyo would likely want support to create a full animated series and would probably not have any trouble finding a partner to help with something so potentially profitable, making it a question of whether the company would source outside of China or ask a Chinese company such as BiliBili to handle this immense task.
The two companies already work closely together and a partnership would make sense, but BiliBili is currently handling several manhua projects, so perhaps it would make the most sense for Mihoyo to partner up with another company. International politics and the Chinese government come into play here, so this article's focus will be on what the manhua would actually entail.
The story of Genshin Impact begins with twin travelers who have visited many worlds together, but when passing through the world of Teyvat, they are stopped by an unknown god. She captures one twin and the next thing the other knows, they're looking at a world in ruins. They run to find their sibling, but it's no use. They fall asleep for an indeterminate amount of time before waking up and beginning a journey across the world of Teyvat to find their twin, along with their companion Paimon.
The donghua would likely choose to follow the male twin -- Aether -- and the first season of the show could actually focus entirely on the prologue for the game, which would be Aether's first stop in the land of Mondstadt. In Teyvat, there are seven nations all ruled by an Archon, each of which has its own way of doing things. Mondstadt is the City of Freedom, ruled over by Barbatos, who hasn't been seen for many years.
Everyone is Teyvat has the chance to earn a Vision -- a tool that allows them to harness a certain element. Visions are granted by the Archons to people with a particularly strong will or dream. Together, with the help of Vision bearers across the world, Aether travels throughout Teyvat on his quest to find his sister. Visions allow for some incredible elemental reactions as well as lending themselves to character building and even humorous moments, making them a great tool to consider when traveling with a party.
Visions aside, the denizens of Teyvat are varied and their backstories create a compelling cast. Many of the starter cast are members of the Knights of Favonius, although various bards, idols and wine tycoons join the adventure through Mondstadt. Jean, the Acting Grandmaster for the Knights of Favonius, is trying to hold things together while the Grandmaster is gone with all the best knights. Kaeya, the Cavalry Captain, has his own preferred way of getting answers, while his estranged adopted brother Diluc likewise has a certain unorthodox way of doing things. Venti, a talented bard, wants to be paid in alcohol. The timid Sucrose tinkers with alchemy, and her instructor Albedo lives on the forbidding mountain of Dragonspine and holds more secrets than any of them imagine. Mondstadt has more than enough material for a first season, especially if Albedo and the astrologist Mona are introduced.
There are always certain characters that would make sense to be traveling with Aether to keep up the banter and make combat more interesting, taking part in fights to maintain that dynamic instead of swapping places in imitation of the game, and these companions can change over time. The show also shouldn't be afraid to lean into its story and its lore. A lot of character backstory gets hidden in details about artifacts and weapons that could instead be integrated into the story in interesting ways to prevent each episode from becoming a chore.
In-game, Aether joins the Adventurer's Guild to get daily commissions, but that wouldn't be necessary or even a good strategy for the donghua, which already has plenty of story to focus on without mindless side quests. It would be best to simply follow the story and avoid any repetition. The plot, new characters and original storylines that could be written just for the donghua would render anything else pointless filler. Since the game updates with new content roughly every six weeks, there would be plenty of content without ever worrying about catching up to where the game is now.
Due to its popularity, storyline and general ability to be adapted, Genshin Impact would seem a smart move to transition into a donghua sometime in the near future. Although not all video game adaptations have been successful, the fact that Mihoyo has already put in the resources for animated cutscenes and character introductions says a lot about their commitment to providing an immersive experience for fans -- one that has the potential to become the next great animated hit as long as Mihoyo jumps on the opportunity in time.
