HoYoverse published a second Genshin Impact anime short on August 11, 2022, this time focusing on Sumeru. This is now the second animated short that Genshin got, the first one was released back in February and most notably revealed Ayato's character design before his release.

Overall, it looks like HoYoverse was inspired by other gacha games doing anime shorts and commercials. Most notably Type-Moon and Lasengle's mobile game Fate/Grand Order. FGO is over 7 years-old now, and it's by far one of the most influential gacha games in Japanese-stylized media. And if you take at look at FGO's anime commercials, you'll notice the Genshin anime shorts have very similar vibes to them. They're completely different from the Honkai Impact 3rd anime shorts, which are much longer and akin to AMVs retracing the game's story.

Many companies tried to emulate FGO's success by releasing similar games, like Sega with Idola Phantasy Star Saga, but none managed to hit the jackpot. The main reason being that it's ultimately luck that made FGO as big as it is. It was released at the prefect time under the best circumstances. And with the best luggage, seeing the Nasuverse was already a huge part of otaku culture. In a sense, FGO's success is akin to becoming a popular influencer: there's no formula to it.

Meanwhile, HoYoverse has always been pushing Genshin's promotion to the limit, so it's only natural for Genshin to be getting more of these FGO-like promotional stunts. Maybe we could even see a full time anime version of Genshin in the long run.

In any case, the new anime short officially confirmed the Weapons used by several Sumeru characters. We detailed them below.

Sumeru Anime Short Characters: Weapons, Visions And Rarity

  • Tighnari: 5-Star Bow Dendro
  • Collei: 4-Star Bow Dendro
  • Dori: 4-Star Claymore Electro
  • Althaitham: 5-Star Sword Dendro
  • Cyno: 5-Star Polearm Electro
  • Dehya: 5-Star Claymore Pyro
  • Nilou: 5-Star Sword Hydro
  • Nahida: 5-Star Catalyst Dendro

The rarities details are from leaks, but the Weapon and Vision details are from the official trailers including the new anime short. Except for three characters: Nilou, Dori, and Nahida.

Reliable leaks have stated Nilou is a Sword user, but for now official trailers have only hinted at it with Nilou's dancing. Meanwhile, leaks mentioned Nahida is a Catalyst user, and that Dori is a Claymore user, but there's nothing official on the matter for now.

Regarding the Cyno Vs Alhaitham fight seen in the anime short, it's important to note it's not a confirmation that the two are hostile to each other in canon. When it comes to these types of anime ads for gacha games, the animators just showcase the characters in cool scenes. And this includes action scenes where the characters are fighting against each other. There's absolutely no guarantee Cyno, Alhaitham (and Dehya) will actually have a similar 3-way fight in-game. It's just a stylish way to quickly showcase the character's fighting styles.

The trailer is narrated by Nahida, who has been officially established as an extremely important character in Sumeru's story. Leaks have stated that she is the Dendro archon Kusanali, but for now official details have only hinted at it. Again, it's not like her identity will be a huge secret though, as we'll see her face on Statues of the Seven as soon as Sumeru releases on August 24.

You can watch the English and Japanese versions of the Sumeru promotional anime short below. In Japanese, Nahida is voiced by Yukari Tamura, and in English by Kimberley Anne Campbell.