New Overwatch actor addresses the "elephant in the room," says she had to "mourn" her character's redesign: "Let's keep rooting for the version of her that could be"

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DPS Anran's new look isn't the "bold, optimistic swing that we know Overwatch to make"

Screenshot of Overwatch's Anran hero, a woman dressed in orange holding a flaming fan, smirking into the camera.
(Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment)

Anran is a new fire-bending hero joining Overwatch next week as part of one of the game's biggest ever updates, but a big chunk of the discourse around her has been centred on her redesigned, more 'conventional' face. Anran's voice actor Fareeha Anderson has now chimed in on the debate, saying she too had to "mourn" what could've been.

For context, Anran's in-game model isn't the first we've seen of the new damage hero. She previously appeared in a comic and a cinematic trailer - alongside her water-bending brother, the support class Wuyang, who's already in the game - with a slightly different look and sharper facial features. You can see a clearer side-by-side in the post embedded below.

The kirikofication 😭 from r/Overwatch

"I was nervous about this video because I didn't want to not address the elephant in the room, but I didn't want to step on the devs' toes or speak on their behalf because it's this tightrope in my mind of trying to honor the community and everyone's criticisms, because I agree, and also give grace to the developers because they're always trying their best," Anderson says in a recent tweet.

"I got to mourn Anran between the design I had hoped for for her and the design we ended up with, because I think in her comic and her cinematic, Elemental Kin, there was a precedent set by it. There was an unspoken promise that said, 'We're going to challenge the beauty standards plaguing, ransacking media these days.' Right? The ozempic chic, the contour your nose, you have no nose, the tiniest nose. I think because of that precedent people feel understandably let down."

Anderson rightly points out that "Overwatch is a trailblazer at challenging" those beauty standards of "what it means to be good, what it looks like to be heroic," and Anran's design sadly isn't "the bold, optimistic swing that we know Overwatch to make." The actor also takes issue with the fact that the redesign supposedly isn't in line with the character since she "looks like the younger sibling, she looks more docile, somehow, as a fire hero."

"And I've been seeing everyone's redesigns - and quietly bookmarking them - and I wanted you to hear that this concern is important," Anderson continues. "This is a hill worth dying on. It's worth speaking on. Because I believe the more we speak up about the things that truly matter to us, the more we'll see ourselves reflected in the world around us." Anran's VA says they've also shared thoughts with the dev team and was "encouraged to be as open and honest as possible, to not hold anything back."

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Kaan Serin
Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.

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