The Wanderer (Chinese: 流浪者; pinyin: Liúlàngzhě) is a character from the video game Genshin Impact, developed by miHoYo. He first appeared in Version 1.1 of the game in 2020 and became a playable character in Version 3.3 in 2022, along with a boss version of him. He is an artificial lifeform (known in the game as a puppet) created by Raiden Ei, the fictional ruler of the nation of Inazuma. He named himself Kunikuzushi (国崩; Guóbēng), later joined the antagonist organization the Fatui, and was further named Scaramouche (斯卡拉姆齐; Sīkǎlāmǔqí) and codenamed The Balladeer (散兵; Sǎnbīng). In the boss fight, he is given the title Everlasting Lord of Arcane Wisdom (七叶寂照秘密主; Qīyè Jìzhào Mìmì-zhǔ; 'Everlasting Omniscient Lord of Wisdom and Mercy'). He appears as a villain during the Inazuma arc of the game's storyline, but reforms during the subsequent arc set in Sumeru and becomes a ward of the Dendro Archon, Nahida. The Wanderer's name draws from stock characters in kabuki theatre and Italian commedia dell'arte, and his concept takes inspiration from the Japanese deity Takeminakata as well as the Queen song "Bohemian Rhapsody". He is voiced by Lu Yin in Chinese, Tetsuya Kakihara in Japanese, Patrick Pedraza in English and Min Seung-woo in Korean. Critics have expressed mixed opinions about his design and narrative portrayal. While his tragic past was seen as sympathetic, his turn toward the protagonists in the story drew criticism and controversy among some players. His gameplay and combat capabilities received positive evaluations from reviewers.
Design and voice acting
Character design In his early appearances as an antagonist, the character was portrayed as a sharp-tongued and ruthless high-ranking Fatui Harbinger. The Fatui are one of the game's main antagonist factions. His early name, "Kunikuzushi", comes from a villainous character archetype in kabuki theatre, referring to someone who seeks to overthrow a nation through manipulation and deceit. The name bestowed upon him by the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya, "Scaramouche", is taken from the stock character Scaramouche (Italian: Scaramuccia) in Italian commedia dell'arte. Interestingly, here the French version of the word Scaramouche is used as his name, not the Italian; all of the other Fatui Harbingers' titles use Italian such as Arlecchino. The Wanderer's Anemo-themed design is thought to draw inspiration from the Japanese deity Takeminakata who, like the deity Takemikazuchi, was born from the corpse of the creator goddess Izanami in traditional Japanese mythology. The Queen song "Bohemian Rhapsody" has also been cited as an influence on the character's narrative; the title of his gameplay preview trailer, "Any Way the Wind Blows", references the lyric "Any way the wind blows doesn't really matter to me." His debut OST, "Ominous Fandango", pays homage to another lyric from the song: "Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the fandango?"
Voice acting The Wanderer is voiced in Chinese by Lu Yin, who also provides the voice for the male Traveler, Aether. His Japanese voice actor is Tetsuya Kakihara. In interviews, Kakihara described The Balladeer as a "hateful brat" type of character. He initially felt uneasy about voicing such an arrogant and overbearing figure, but in the end the character was beloved by many players, putting him at ease. Kakihara also revealed that when he first recorded the character for the in-game event "Unreconciled Stars" in version 1.1, the script described him as only a "mysterious young man" with the codename "Balladeer" and that he did not yet know that the character's true name was Scaramouche. Because the word "balladeer" (Japanese: 散兵, romanized: sanbō) literally translates to "soldier" in Japanese, he originally assumed it referred to an ordinary foot soldier; it was only after speaking with the development team that he learned of the character's power and importance. The Wanderer is voiced in English by Patrick Pedraza and in Korean by Min Seung-woo.
Appearances
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
