Waifu Wednesday: Yae Miko (Genshin Impact)

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Conor Evans
December 15, 2021
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Welcome once again to another wonderful Waifu Wednesday here on Rice Digital! Today we’ll be looking at Yae Miko, a character who I have really come to like recently from “Jenshin Impact”. (And people wonder why we don’t take The Game Awards seriously – Ed.)

I’ve written about Genshin Impact a couple of times here, and it’s a game I have an interesting — to put it lightly — relationship with. It’s very much a love-hate type thing.

Before we get into that, if you are a fellow lover of all things husbando and waifu, then you should check out our vast and ever-growing archive of pieces celebrating that subculture of anime that we have become big fans of! Husbandos HERE, and waifus HERE.

Waifu Wednesday: Yae Miko (Genshin Impact)

Who is Yae Miko?

Yae Miko, also known as Guuji Yae, is the head priestess of the Great Narukami Shrine in the Inazuma region of Teyvat. Yae wears clothing along the lines of a traditional shrine maiden, but with a little bit of that waifu-science that Genshin Impact has become increasingly known for. As is required by at least one character in any anime-related game or media, she has long pink hair. You may also have noticed a pair of fox ears as well, as we later find out her origins and who exactly she is.

As she is closely related to the archon of the Inazuma region, Raiden Shogun, Yae is equipped with an Electro vision that can be found on one of her earrings. For those of you who may not know, visions are what allow characters, other than the Traveller, to use elemental powers. After spending more time with Yae and learning more about her, we find out that she is familiar with the Electro archon and she can assume the form of a fox god or kitsune — though we never get to see this form. Who knows, maybe we will when she inevitably become a playable character.

Why we love Yae Miko

I will start off by saying that shrine maiden-type characters are almost never my thing — they tend to be of the overly “pure and innocent” archetype and I personally don’t find that to be the most interesting. If you’ve read any other waifu review I’ve ever done here, you’ll know that I generally very much prefer the stronger, “could very possibly kick my ass” types of ladies in anime.

However, Yae Miko has a very appealing personality that she lets us see as we get to know her throughout our journey in Inazuma. As the head priestess of a shrine, she always maintains a very polite manner with everyone that she meets. But when it comes to characters that she is friendly with — including our protagonist — she becomes much more laid-back and has a nice bit of sass added to her character.

She is fulfilling a unique role honestly; while the Rie Tanaka-voiced Lisa fulfils the onee-san type role by constantly doting on the Traveller, Yae has similar vibes but in a very playful and teasing manner. It’s safe to say that they both hit me right in the kokoro, and when Yae gives the player a charm and says “look at it when you think of me, and I might appear”, she floored me.

Unrelated aside: Rie Tanaka is one of my new favourite voice actors for completely safe-for-work reasons. (Just say she’s Neptune. No-one has a problem with Neptune – Ed.)

Why you’ll love Yae Miko

If, like me, you’re the type of anime and manga fan who likes his more mature, onee-san type characters then you’ll find it hard not to love Yae Miko. When you first meet her, she has an air of mystery to her that leaves you somewhat unsure as to whether or not she is on your side, and what her motives are. Throughout the game though, you will find her more and more appealing and enjoyable as a character — and one that I hope we will encounter again even after we move on from Inazuma.

As her motives become more clear, you can see how much of a wholesome and kind character she is, which adds even more to her appeal — and it really makes me hope she gets added as a playable character at some point in the future. She is a refreshing take on the shrine maiden aesthetic, fully equipped with a sassy attitude — what’s not to love?

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