Genshin Impact characters are the main selling points of HoYoverse’s ARPG game. Players have to spend a lot of resources simply to unlock and gear them up afterward.
The gameplay is a vital part of making characters popular. They must offer some unique playstyle or new features other characters don’t offer. But other parts of their gameplay can’t be neglected to succeed in creating those characters who will post great banner numbers.
Unfortunately, some characters have missed the mark and are now considered the least popular ones in Genshin Impact. That’s the case of Kujou Sara, the Electro archer from Inazuma who was initially released in September 2021.
A poll gathering over 100,000 votes from Chinese Genshin Impact players conducted two months ago revealed the hard truth about Kujou Sara: she’s one of the least popular characters in the game.
Only Beidou earned fewer votes, but this character arguably gained much more popularity in the West after a controversial release due to her peculiar playstyle and bold design.
Kujou Sara’s gameplay is arguably fun, and she can fit in many teams due to the versatility of the Electro element. But that’s not where her design issue lies.
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The archer is driven by her sense of duty, and her personality seemingly ends here. She lives solely to serve the Raiden Shogun. She doesn’t have fun. Sara is quite one-dimensional compared to other characters. She seemingly isn’t supposed to be likable, but she’s not respected either, despite her status.
She features an intriguing background and a tragic story, though. There’s untapped potential to make her more compelling and many Genshin fans have given ideas on how to do that.
In a recent Reddit thread, a player compiled information the developer provided on Kujou Sara’s background and why her story is “the most tragic” of all characters, according to them.
Kujou Sara has no identity of her own
“She is the perfect servant and perfect soldier, whose only aspiration is to serve,” they wrote. Kujou Sara was adopted by the clan that protects the Raiden Shogun and Inazuma from external threats, after surviving in a forest where she almost got killed. “Sara spent her early life without even a name,” the Reddit user added.
Originally, Sara is a youkai (supernatural creature from Inazuma). They often have sad stories, such as Arataki Itto. Those creatures were considered freaks by villagers and lived at the margins of society, except for a few communities.
And when Sara was adopted, she continued to be treated like an outsider. She learned to be obedient and hard-working and outlines in her profile’s voicelines how notions like friendship and fun are unknown to her.
“Upon entering human society, Sara was immediately groomed into military service and religiously indoctrinated by her adoptive father,” the user wrote. “She has known little else but subservience to the authority of Takayuki and the Shogun for her entire life among humans.”
She has no hobbies: her only interests are to train and relax under the sakura trees when she’s tired or stressed out. Her favorite food is “easy-to-carry” meals she can eat “in a battle.”
Sara needs acknowledgment of her struggles and achievements
Sara spent her whole life honing her skills to serve the Raiden Shogun. But she’s only a subordinate to higher representatives and isn’t even respected by some playable characters (such as Yae Miko), while others at least consider her Kujou’s underrated gem (like Kamisato Ayato and Akaya).
One of the main ways to make Kujou Sara more ambivalent would be to add a Hangout Event for her. Those are Story Quests that allow players to discover much more about four-star characters’ personalities and stories. That’s one of the elements that made Beidou’s popularity significantly rise.
A proper quest for Kujou Sara would be an opportunity to show that the character grows as a person after the end of Inazuma’s narrative arc and gets a life of her own, alongside her duty as a member of the Kujou clan.
“I think one of the most tragic parts about her is that nobody really cares,” commented a Genshin player. “With other characters there’s some effort to help or at least acknowledgement of their struggles in the story, but with Kujou Sara it’s just crickets.”
Some players discovered Kujou Sara’s story with the thread, which piqued their interest. Several users commented that they’re now adding her to their Serenitea Pot to give her a place to relax, with a companion pet placed close to her.
