Hu Tao

Fictional character from Genshin Impact

In this Chinese name, the family name is  Hu.

Fictional character

Hu Tao

Genshin Impact character
First appearance|

* Genshin Impact
* March 2, 2021

Voiced by|

* Brianna Knickerbocker (English)
* Tao Dian [zh] (Chinese)
* Rie Takahashi (Japanese)[1]
* Kim Ha-ru [ko] (Korean)

In-universe information
Species| Human
Gender| Female
Weapon| Polearm
Origin| Liyue [zh]
Birthday| July 15[2]

Hu Tao (Chinese: 钟离; pinyin: Hútáo; Japanese: 胡桃; Hepburn: Kurumi) is a playable character in the action role-playing game Genshin Impact. She is voiced by Brianna Knickerbocker in the English dub, Tao Dian [zh] in the Chinese dub, Rie Takahashi in the Japanese dub and Kim Ha-ru [ko] in the Korean dub. Within the game's context, she serves as the 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor within the Chinese-inspired nation of Liyue [zh]. She would make her debut within the second phase of Version 1.3 of the game on March 2, 2021.[3]

## Creation and Design[edit]

In the weeks following the initial release of Genshin Impact on September 2020, some players would discover unreleased characters within the game files with Hu Tao being among them.[4][5] This resulted in leaks that the character would be officially launched in Version 1.3 of the game,[5] but Hu Tao would go without mention in the Version 1.3 preview video released by miHoYo, which disappointed many fans that were looking forward to the character's launch.[6] By the end of February 2021, one month after the release of Version 1.3, miHoYo announced that Hu Tao would be released in the second phase of version 1.3 with her dedicated chapter, “Papilio Charontis",[7] with her event unlocked after players completed the second act of the main story, "Farewell, Archaic Lord".[3] On February 27, miHoYo released a character preview video, in which it was revealed that Hu Tao was the director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor of Liyue within the game, possessing the ability to see ghosts as well as already being well acquainted with Zhongli.[8] In the character demo video released on March 1, Hu Tao's skills and gameplay were showcased,[9] with both the announcement and demo also displaying Hu Tao's playful personality.[10] In terms of her premise in gameplay, Hu Tao adorns the Pyro elemental skill with a forearm as her primary weapon, and her skills requiring health to increase damage output which was requiring the player to manage her health and utilize the abilities from other characters.[11]

The character's Chinese voice was portrayed by Tao Dian [zh]. She described Hu Tao as a "quirky" and "creepy and cute" girl. After getting to know the character in depth, she found that Hu Tao, while being mature and strong internally, maintains the innocent and cheerful nature of a child. On the surface, she often makes light of subjects regarding life and death but secretly has a more genuine and thorough understanding of them, treating the matters with respect.[12] Hu Tao's English and Japanese voice actors were portrayed by Brianna Knickerbocker and Rie Takahashi respectively.[13] Takahashi expressed surprsie by the complexity of the character when she received background information regarding the character. At the recording site, she was further surprised when directed to "make Hu Tao weird" as she had interpreted the character as being more of a tricky personality.[14]

## Characteristics[edit]

### Character Biography[edit]

Hu Tao serves as the 77th Director of the Wangsheng Funeral Parlor which is responsible for funerals and similar affairs although she often goes on breaks during the weekends. Most of the time, she is shown to have a more livelier and active side to her, often times tending to pull pranks on other characters but becomes serious regarding matters to her profession.[15][16] In the early days of Hu Tao's management of the Parlor, she was questioned by the other undertakers because of her young age. Her leadership would be up to the highest Calibur and increasing the prestige, satisfying the other undertakers within. This also led to the subject of funerals being less taboo within Liyue.[17] Hu Tao is also a "famous" local poet as she often travels around to accumulate materials and inspiration for her poetry.[18] She describes herself as an "alley school dark poet" and is proficient in writing doggerel with her works being so recognizable that children tend to recite them.[17]

### Abilities[edit]

After the update of version 1.3 of "Genshin Impact", players can obtain Hu Tao through Wishes within the game.[3] Unlike other five-star characters, Hu Tao can only be obtained via specific banners that are running throughout the update.[19] She was intended as being primarily within offensive usage with good damage output. What differentiated Hu Tao from other offense-based characters was her trait to consume health points to convert attack damage into Pyro elemental attacks and increase the overall damage. Her Elemental Burst consists of a ranged attack with the additional perk of partially restoring her own health if it hits a target. When her health is less than or equal to around half, the damage and healing amount caused by her Elemental Burst can be increased.[20]

## Reception[edit]

Hu Tao grew to become a popular character among players due to her character's backstory and gameplay with fans of the character creating many fan-works because of this.[16] Her character trailer video exceeded one million views in less than seven hours after being released on YouTube.[21] In a Reddit survey conducted in January 2022, Hu Tao ranked as the popular character among male players.[22] On the day of the character's launch on March 2021, Genshin Impact topped the iOS best-selling list in seven regions and ranked in the top ten on the best-selling list in 41 regions.[23] In November of the same year, Hu Tao appeared for the second time in her own banner, attracting a large number of players to the game again, causing MiHoYo's largest server "Sky Island" to have a server implosion. Due to this being the second time where many had logged on simultaneously since the public beta, a queue system was set up to handle the surge of players.[24] On that day, "Genshin Impact" topped the iOS game best-selling list in 31 regions, and it was the first time that Genshin Impact topped the charts simultaneously in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, the United States, Japan, and South Korea.[25] On May 23, 2022, Hu Tao would appear in a card collection as part of a collaboration with Bandai.[26] Later on August 9, 2022, Chinese electronics manufacturer OnePlus announced a limited edition variant of the OnePlus Ace Pro featuring the character.[27] In addition, a popular fan-made preset outfit based on the character would be implemented in the action role-playing game Tower of Fantasy.[28][29]

Sisi Jiang of Kotaku believes that Hu Tao is the strongest character in "Genshin Impact". He argues this based on how she utilizes a high-risk, high-reward gameplay to achieve extremely high damage output, which could lead to producing the highest damage output before Version 2.2 of the game.[30] GameDaily believes that the production team paid attention-to-detail when introducing the characters such as her constellations were in relation to her poetry and to her profession within the Funeral Parlor.[31] In response to players' high expectations for the character, the production team postponed Hu Tao's trailer until after the traditional Lantern Festival to avoid potential negative impact of the character's announcement during the festival with the character being released a few days later. March 2 also corresponded to the Tung Shing, which contained terminology such as sacrifice, enshrinement, and funerals which some perceived as a deliberate decision.[32] In an anaylsis regarding the character's high popularity, Game Grape editor Jiulian Baodeng stated that the character's popularity came primarily from her setting and role within the story. He noted on how the character appeals to the values ​​and actions that younger demographics yearn for.[16] In addition, the launch of Hu Tao has brought considerable economic benefits to miHoYo. According to Sensor Tower statistics App Store and Google Play player payment records, on the day that Hu Tao’s banner was launched, it brought in a revenue of 12.9 million USD to MiHoYo.[33] A similar study was conducted where it was reported that within the first day, her release would bring in around 100 billion yen.[34]

## References[edit]

1. ^ 「原神」に★5キャラ雪晴梅香・胡桃（炎）が新登場. 4gamer.net (in Japanese). March 2, 2021. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
2. ^ Ashcroft, Helen (August 19, 2023). "Genshin Impact: Every Playable Character's Age, Height, And Birthday". TheGamer. Archived from the original on April 22, 2023. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
3. ^ a b c Lada, Jenni (February 27, 2021). "Genshin Impact's Hu Tao Banner Begins This Week". Siliconera. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
4. ^ King, Austin (December 4, 2020). "Genshin Impact Leaks: All Eight New Characters Explained". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on September 22, 2021. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
5. ^ a b Patino, Martin (February 26, 2021). "Genshin Impact Version 1.4 Character Leaks: Is Hu Tao Playable". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
6. ^ King, Austin (January 22, 2021). "Is Hu Tao Still Coming To Genshin Impact 1.3". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on October 6, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
7. ^ Patino, Martin (February 28, 2021). "Genshin Impact Reveals New Events Alongside Hu Tao". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
8. ^ Lada, Jenni (February 26, 2021). "Genshin Impact Hu Tao Trailer Asks If People Are 'Scared Yet'". Siliconera. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
9. ^ Hashimoto, Kazuma (March 1, 2021). "Watch Hu Tao in Action in Latest Genshin Impact Character Trailer". Siliconera. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
10. ^ Lada, Jenni (March 11, 2021). "Genshin Impact's Hu Tao Is Challenging in a Good Way". Siliconera. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
11. ^ "《原神》拾枝杂谈-「胡桃：雪霁梅香」". bilibili (in Simplified Chinese). March 2, 2021. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
12. ^ "《原神》小剧场——「璃月雅集」第四期". bilibili (in Simplified Chinese). December 24, 2021. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
13. ^ Dino, Oni (February 27, 2021). "Genshin Impact Hu Tao Voice Actors Are Industry Veterans". Siliconera. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
14. ^ Dino, Oni (March 13, 2021). "MiHoYo Told Rie Takahashi to Make Genshin Impact's Hu Tao Weird". Siliconera. Archived from the original on February 14, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
15. ^ Dong, Han (2021). "《原神》胡桃角色介绍". 计算机与网络 (in Simplified Chinese). Shijiazhuang, Hebei: 工业和信息化部无线通信专业情报网. 47 (6): 16–17. ISSN 1008-1739. Archived from the original on March 22, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
16. ^ a b c Jiulian, Baodeng (November 19, 2021). "《原神》的角色人设方法论". Game Grape (in Chinese (China)). Archived from the original on February 19, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
17. ^ a b miHoYo (September 28, 2020). Genshin Impact (Windows) (1.3 ed.). miHoYo.
18. ^ "胡桃-原神wiki". miHoYo (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on October 23, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
19. ^ "『原神』声優の高橋李依さん演じる★5キャラ「胡桃（フータオ）（炎）」が登場するイベント祈願が開催中" (in Japanese). Kadokawa. November 4, 2021. Archived from the original on July 30, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
20. ^ Broadwell, Josh; Shepherd, Harry; Martin, Sean (November 1, 2021). "The best build for Hu Tao in Genshin Impact". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on November 1, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
21. ^ Harris, Iain (February 27, 2021). "Genshin Impact devs tease Hu Tao on YouTube, get one million views in seven hours". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
22. ^ 佛陀 (January 25, 2022). "原神海外论坛调查数据出炉,璃月地图最受欢迎,男生最爱胡桃". 游戏日报 (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
23. ^ Wang, Erhei (March 3, 2021). "3月3日7大地区iOS游戏畅销榜:胡桃使《原神》登顶多国畅销榜". 游戏日报 (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on February 19, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
24. ^ Hu, Nanshan (November 3, 2021). "原神第一次炸服,原来胡桃才是人气最高的角色,复刻都这么火". 游戏日报 (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on February 19, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
25. ^ GreyKnight (November 4, 2021). "抽卡抽到服务器排队？《原神》胡桃复刻池首日人气爆棚 当日流水32国登顶". 17173.com [zh] (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 2022-02-19. Retrieved February 19, 2022.+[zh]&rft.atitle=抽卡抽到服务器排队？《原神》胡桃复刻池首日人气爆棚+当日流水32国登顶&rft.date=2021-11-04&rft.au=GreyKnight&rft_id=http://news.17173.com/content/11042021/073024082.shtml&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Hu+Tao" class="Z3988">
26. ^ "『原神』カード付ウエハース第2弾が5月23日より発売。新たに雷電将軍や胡桃、エウルア、神里綾華などが豪華ホロ箔仕様のカードに！". Famitsu (in Japanese). April 28, 2022. Archived from the original on August 18, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
27. ^ Sayyed, Rayan (August 10, 2022). "OnePlus Features Genshin Impact's Hu Tao For Limited-Edition Ace Pro". IGN India. Archived from the original on August 27, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
28. ^ "Tower of Fantasy: Best Genshin Impact Character Presets with IDs". USA Today. August 12, 2022. Archived from the original on June 4, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
29. ^ "The most popular Tower of Fantasy custom characters are Genshin Impact lookalikes". GamesRadar+. August 10, 2022. Archived from the original on November 7, 2023. Retrieved September 2, 2022.
30. ^ Jiang, Sisi (October 28, 2021). "Genshin Impact's Strongest Character To Make Comeback". Kotaku. Archived from the original on February 17, 2022. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
31. ^ 吸吸果冻 (January 2, 2021). "原神：新角色胡桃资料曝光,声优是陶典！命座名字有点问题". GameDaily (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on February 19, 2022. Retrieved February 19, 2022.
32. ^ 淖尔 (February 27, 2021). "原神胡桃上线角色PV,台词大胆被吐槽免费续碑,日版还有JOJO梗". GameDaily (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on February 19, 2022. Retrieved February 18, 2022.
33. ^ liyunfei (March 26, 2021). "《原神》新角色上线首日收入对比 钟离最受欢迎". 3DM. Archived from the original on February 13, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
34. ^ "わずか半年で1000億円超の売上を記録した「原神」はモバイルアプリゲームとして最速で売上を伸ばしている". Gigazine [ja]. March 25, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2022.+[ja]&rft.atitle=わずか半年で1000億円超の売上を記録した「原神」はモバイルアプリゲームとして最速で売上を伸ばしている&rft.date=2021-03-25&rft_id=https://gigazine.net/news/20210325-genshin-1-billion-mobile/&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Hu+Tao" class="Z3988">

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