At that moment, Ms. Yun just shook her head and said with heartfelt emotion:
"This group at MiHoYo manages to write every character well within a grand narrative, and through every character's story, depict the vastness of the universe."
"This kind of skill is truly despair-inducing."
-----------------------------------------
"Moreover, after the entire Penacony storyline, I dare say that Honkai: Star Rail's appeal will reach an unparalleled level."
Rion made a conclusion: "Next, no matter where the story goes, whether the audience is interested or not, they will definitely watch, because they believe that miHoYo can consistently deliver a wonderful viewing experience."
These words were widely recognized by viewers in the livestream.
At that moment, a viewer asked in the bullet comments: "Rion, Rion, can you analyze which character you like the most in Penacony?"
"Favorite character?"
"Ah..."
A pained expression appeared on Rion's face, looking very conflicted: "That's such a tricky question. I really like every character in Honkai: Star Rail, but… if I must choose, I have two favorites."
"Let's not talk about Firefly — that's already widely recognized as a peak character design, and many others have analyzed her before, so I won't go into detail."
"For me, currently my favorites are the Sunday siblings and Acheron."
As she spoke, she posted pictures of Sunday and Acheron on the screen.
...
: Teacher, I think Misha is really touching!
: Yeah, the changes in Firefly in Penacony were incredibly well done.
: Firefly, Firefly, Firefly!
: Black Swan is also a very distinctive character!
...
The bullet comments flooded the screen.
Many viewers had their own favorites.
Seeing all this, Rion could only smile bitterly and shake her head: "I definitely can't talk about all of them. No doubt, every character in the Penacony storyline deserves to be discussed. But from a screenwriter's perspective, there's no doubt that a character like Acheron is extremely difficult to portray — truly worth diving into."
Upon hearing Rion's explanation, the audience finally quieted down.
Thinking about it carefully, it made sense.
Characters like Black Swan can immediately impress the audience upon appearance with a strong personality, making it easier for viewers to remember them.
But Acheron is a character who runs through the entire story and is not easy to summarize.
"First of all, as a character, a character in a drama, Acheron's performance is very 'restrained'."
"This 'restrained' isn't a negative thing — it's a compliment. miHoYo always uses real names for actors in its series, and here the actor playing Acheron is Acheron herself, so we'll just call her by that name."
"When I was watching the series, I noticed — Acheron's facial expressions, body language, and even dialogue are all very conservative."
"This means she can't rely on distinctive lines or exaggerated body language like Firefly or Black Swan to shape her character. Acheron's performance pulls inward — and if not done well, he could easily be criticized as expressionless."
While speaking, Rion reopened the show and pulled up several scenes.
All were scenes of Acheron appearing in the series.
"Look at this — her gaze is always calm, her tone barely fluctuates, but when we watch, we don't think she's expressionless. Instead, she feels mysterious and intriguing."
"Because her eyes act — there's meaning behind her gaze."
"That's the performance side."
"In terms of design, Acheron's character arc is also very restrained. I once worried that such a character wouldn't have a satisfying resolution."
"But as you all know, her indifference stems from the fact that she's an Emanator of Nihility — someone who refuses to fall into Nihility!"
"She clings to the last bits of color within herself to prove the meaning of her existence — to resist the self-annihilation of IX."
"When we discover that someone like Acheron, who seems emotionally indifferent, detached from her surroundings, and possesses immense power — is in fact such a person…"
"Our doubts vanish instantly, and she becomes one of the most reliable characters we've met in Penacony!"
As Rion spoke, scenes replayed on screen.
When she asked Firefly whether she dreams of killing, when she sighed facing Dream Master's coercion and calmly responded —
And finally, when she had a heart-to-heart, recounting the story of that girl and the red color she doesn't want to forget.
"Why? Because we now know she has emotions — and her emotions are the most extreme, the most passionate kind."
"Precisely because Nihility lies within her, the presence of nothingness compresses all the color originally in Acheron's character."
"That's why we develop an uncontrollable sense of security from this lady."
"Humanity must be tested. Words must be judged for truth."
"Whether Emanators' or Path Striders', few can maintain their sense of self and perseverance under the light of Nihility — but Acheron did."
"That's the reason."
At this point, many viewers had a moment of epiphany.
From their perspective, they might not know exactly what Nihility represents, but they instinctively recognize the danger it implies.
Acheron, as an Emanator of Nihility, still chose to keep her promise, even gently waiting for Stelle to awaken rather than forcibly waking her.
Under the lofty concept of Nihility, this gentleness and moral baseline becomes all the more believable and trustworthy.
People are willing to believe that Acheron is someone truly worthy of relying on.
"Now you all understand, right?"
"How hard it is to achieve this — it's like a collective psychological suggestion."
Rion shook her head and said, "What's most rare and valuable is that this kind of character isn't unique to Honkai: Star Rail, but the quality of its execution puts other shows to shame."
"In other shows with similar character settings, they always throw the setup out early, telling the audience: this person is cold and emotionless because of some backstory, but deep down they're actually very trustworthy."
"But Honkai: Star Rail lets the audience guess through Acheron's actions and performance first, only revealing the reason at the very end."
"Did you notice? The show never explicitly states that the Express crew can now fully trust Acheron, not even in implied subtext."
"Yet after the flashback ends, we instinctively feel from the bottom of our hearts that Acheron is the most reliable person."
At this point, Rion paused, visibly shaken:
"And of course, these narrative choices are important."
"But Acheron's own portrayal is nearly a perfect fusion of actor and role, like she literally is the character."
"I honestly can't understand how miHoYo manages to match every character so well with their story."
"Where do they even find these people?"
...
: Seriously, when watching the show, the moment her name was revealed in Tiernan's cut scene, I instantly felt Acheron was a good person.
: Afterward, seeing Acheron brought a sense of peace — I felt we finally had a powerful ally to help us.
: She's the most reassuring woman in all of Penacony.
: The more I hear the you explain, the more I feel like the whole script structure is on another level.
: And every character is exactly what the teacher described — so perfectly aligned with their roles that it feels like they were born to play them. It's insane!
: Plus, there's always some kind of creative twist — I never know what miHoYo's going to do next with these characters.
...
As the barrage of on-screen comments rolled by, seeing the audience finally understand her awe, Rion gave a faint smile.
She adjusted her glasses.
She had already discussed Sunday and Robin during the livestream earlier.
She didn't plan to repeat it now.
But deep down, she had already said everything she wanted.
As a screenwriter, she just loved this show too much.
From the production to the story, every part was filled with imagination and exceeded her expectations.
So much so that it left her with a sense of loss.
The gap was too great.
She'd asked herself: could she write something like this?
The answer was no.
Even without considering the philosophical underpinnings, just shaping these grand concepts into a coherent, self-contained world view was already far beyond her reach.
And this was just a show.
No one makes a full-fledged world view just for a single series. In the screenwriting and film world, it's widely accepted that productions are constrained by time and cost.
Even those sharp, well-written complete dramas tend to lose steam after the first few seasons — they start strong but can't sustain the arc.
Most are written while being filmed.
Only this bunch of lunatics at miHoYo would dare to plan everything with such depth and commitment.
She really wanted to visit miHoYo and ask the writers and the boss:
"What the hell?"
"Aren't you afraid no one will watch it after all this work? Aren't you afraid the investment will go to waste? Aren't you afraid these massive world-building efforts are something the audience won't even care about, since they only care about superficial excitement?"
And then the character design...
How dare they attempt these wild narrative experiments — what if it had all collapsed?
This is Honkai: Star Rail, after all!
The VFX, makeup, actors, props — all of it top-tier, the kind of budget that would be considered explosive even in the film industry.
This is real money. One misstep and the whole thing could tank.
With an IP already stable, shouldn't they play it safe? And yet they dared to introduce a false ending storyline.
But they did it. And they pulled it off.
That's what Rion admired most.
Even the actors who rose to fame because of Honkai: Star Rail seemed to vanish afterward — staying inside the company, not participating in any events.
No scandals, no tabloid news, no PR disasters.
Can only see them in the show, as if they've given everything to this story.
Envy, jealousy, but in the end it turns into powerlessness, shock, and admiration.
This is how Rion feels right now.
What kind of people could create such a series in this day and age?
And at the same time—
Just as Rion is lost in her own thoughts—
Miss Yun on the side is gently sharing her own perspective with the audience.
"As someone working in the arts, my view isn't as complex as Rion's."
"Looking back now, the feeling Honkai: Star Rail gives me is like a colorful, dazzling face painting."
Miss Yun gets a little emotional. As she recalls the story, she pulls out colored pens and starts scribbling on a canvas like a child.
...
Under her strokes, a cute but weighty painting of the world appears.
Simple colors converge into a starry sky, and an exaggerated, out-of-proportion Express bursts through, heading toward the sky.
Next to it are Stelle, March 7th, Welt, Himeko, Acheron, Pom-Pom, and on top of the Express, a cheerful Clockie and Misha.
These figures all appear very cartoonish.
Surrounding them are Penacony elements formed from various musical notes.
Robin hugging her brother, and also Firefly and Gallagher.
"I just purely saw the will to Trailblaze, saw the legacy of the senior Trailblazers and Stelle and the others growing up."
"In Rion's eyes, the Penacony story is one filled with crises, twists and turns, struggles among major powers, and a heavy tone."
"But to me, it's a story full of childlike innocence and hope."
"All the passing, all the resistance, in the end, point toward a future full of dawn."
"That's how it feels to me."
"I just think what makes humans human is hope, is empathy, is those beautiful things."
"You never know what's waiting for you in the future, but when you see these people full of courage and hope, you can't help but look forward to the unknown journey and yearn to meet more people like them."
Miss Yun thought of Mikhail, remembered Acheron's lonely resistance. Thought of how Robin wouldn't give up on her brother.
All of this brought tears to this emotional teacher's eyes. She secretly wiped them and choked up as she said: "If I lived in the world of Star Rail, I think I'd definitely become a Nameless, because I want to see stories like this, to meet people like this."
"And in reality, I'll also look forward to life even more, because I believe everything is full of hope, and we can resonate with each other through it."
"Maybe this is what I understood about pioneering after watching Penacony—that it makes you brave enough to face the unknown and no longer be afraid."
An emotional Ms. Yun made many viewers fall silent too.
But this perspective was sincere enough, emotional enough.
...
: What Miss Yun said kind of moved me…
: In this livestream, one Memory Walker Rion, one Nameless Miss Yun, what a great combo, my brain's spinning.
: Hahahaha, when you put it that way it really fits, but why is Rion a Memory Walker though? Because she always remembers every detail of the show…
: Damn!
...
Tonight.
Reactions like those of Rion and Miss Yun appeared everywhere.
The impact of episode three was simply too strong.
Everyone who watched it searched for resonance online, expressing their lingering emotions after watching.
And at this moment—
Inside the MiHoYo headquarters building—
A lively celebration banquet was underway.