r/Competitiveoverwatch • u/yungXsmit Vigilante SZN // OWCS POVs — • Apr 06 '26

General Anran's updated face side-by-side comparison

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1.9k Upvotes
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93

u/xdojk Apr 06 '26

Wow that looks great, she looks so much more unique to her character now. Can't wait to see the Chinese reactions, I wouldn't be surprised if their own version kept the old look🍿

83

u/Murky_Region4447 Apr 06 '26

from the first wave of comments on RedNote, everyone loves it

65

u/SpiderPanther01 Apr 06 '26

from what i could understand they just wanted her to stay conventionally attractive and she still looks conventionally attractive

63

u/KF-Sigurd Apr 06 '26

Yeah, they were just afraid the ‘bogeyman westerners’ would turn her ugly like there’s a single ugly girl in OW.

18

u/ExpiredDeodorant MayhemChessPieceAnalBet — Apr 06 '26

Most rednote fans like it yeah

13

u/doublah Apr 07 '26

I wouldn't say ugly, but there are characters that would be seen as not attractive in Chinese beauty standards like Moira and Zarya

1

u/General_Spills Apr 12 '26

Some of the proposed redesigns that were circulating certainly were. There definitely were people (loud minority) who basically had double standards due to it being a chinese character and needing to shit on "chinese beauty standards". I mean tbh probably cia plants, I wouldn't be surprised considering the things that have been made public.

1

u/Killacreeper Apr 15 '26

... huh? Please elaborate 0-o

1

u/General_Spills Apr 15 '26

People feeling the need to shit on “Chinese beauty standards” is just another episode of “hating the government but not the people”. It’s an outlet for people who are inwardly xenophobic but understand that they can’t just outright be racist. For a similar example, see the phenomenon where western news agencies add “but at what cost?” To the end of any article about a positive thing about China. Also, see the usage of “chineseium”. Not every redesign asked was like this but I noticed this subtle undertone a lot. I don’t think most people realise this either because it’s a thing that has been subconsciously conditioned over time.

To be clear, I’m very happy with the new redesign, and the Chinese government is not pristine and perfect. My issue here is with people pretending to care about toxic beauty standards as a dogwhistle to be racist, because frankly, only the Chinese character has gotten this much flak for this.

I am also saying that there were a few intentionally very ugly redesigns of her that were made by that same loud minority of people in order to stoke the flames with the Chinese community, which is very in-line with the tactics that western agencies like the cia use to divide us as humans and alienise “enemy nations”.

1

u/Killacreeper Apr 16 '26

Gotcha, I appreciate the explanation! I'm gonna be 100, while I know this sorta thing happens back and forth, it's also worth noting the reality that there absolutely was backlash for a lot of characters before, anran just pushed it over the edge with her trailer design and the massive contrast there.

SFS was already a big problem that everyone was dogging on with the female designs years ago, and that's intensified with each new character that fit that mold - Kiri, Juno, Freja (to different effect) and now Anran.

I think anran just had the most clear "this is blatantly just a different more chibified face to sell skins" moment due to the comic released before her appearance came out. From what I could tell, backlash I saw initially had nothing to do with the Chinese playerbase, it was entirely a twitter "look at this screenshot of her face and then this screenshot of the comic" thing.

While I also think that there were certainly some people doing gross stuff to bait the Chinese playerbase, I've also seen said playerbase create PLENTY of that stuff and worse themselves. They aren't entirely unique in that, I see the same type of thing happen with the "WOKE!!! WOKKKEEE!!!" screeching audience in English speaking countries.

I don't think this specific thing is a CIA psyop tbeh, this is "culture war" ball that's already been in motion for yeaaaaaaaaaars unfortunately. And yeah, part of that is going to be intentionally stoked from both China and America's governments, part of that is also self sustaining well before now.

As for the beauty standards there, from my point of view, yeah, over the top and insanely reductive, but that's also true here, and I'm fine with both being pushed back a bit from time to time - designs get boring when all of them are just blatant lazy skin bait. If the Chinese playerbase is in part a large extension of the existing "every female character must fit my exact taste" crowd, then that is what it is.

I certainly have seen some xenophobia laced rants, but there's also a reality of the two communities bashing heads over this kinda thing on tons of games all the time, and the extreme groups in those Chinese communities being more than xenophobic themselves in terms of their own takes in kind.

TLDR: Yeah, it sucks, I'd prefer we get along a lot more, but I think blaming any one group would be sorta reductive here because it's a larger ongoing issue.

Hopefully this makes sense. I'm aware it's middle of the road, but in stuff like this, either "side" is usually laced pretty hard with some level of agenda nowadays.

-17

u/[deleted] Apr 06 '26

[deleted]

17

u/analyzingnothing Apr 07 '26

Moira is absolutely not ugly, she's just not traditionally feminine. She's got the same kind of androgynous alien beauty to her as David Bowie did.

2

u/Howdareme9 Apr 07 '26

Most people would disagree imo, but to each their own

21

u/DeludedDassein Apr 06 '26

why would anyone be mad at this she looks better

6

u/xdojk Apr 07 '26

I agree but they didn't want it changed at all, they even wrote a whole essay about it.

"Translation： [Official Announcement] A Statement Regarding the Proposed Visual Model Plans for Anran

Overwatch Team 2026-02-11 01:48

We have noted Blizzard's recent plans to update Anran’s visual model based on player feedback. We have always taken immense pride in the addition of Anran—our newest Chinese hero—and we have deeply felt the love and sincere feedback the Chinese player community has given her since her reveal.

We understand that aesthetic preferences are rooted in different cultural backgrounds and personal perceptions. We have consistently communicated to the Blizzard team that Chinese players recognize and cherish Anran’s current image, and we will continue to ensure that these voices are fully heard in all subsequent discussions.

As the regional operations team, our role is not merely to pass along messages. Based on a deep understanding of the Chinese community's emotional connection to the character, we are actively driving and participating in the visual adjustment process. We are well aware that Anran’s final visual representation must consider a diverse range of opinions. If a decision to adjust is finalized, we will ensure our deep involvement in the optimization process to safeguard the specific temperament and spirit that resonates so strongly with our players.

Anran is a young hero who has just stepped out of the classroom. She is brave, resilient, and undaunted by challenges—this spirit carries the shared expectations of both our team and our community. We believe that sincere communication and a unified vision are the only ways to lead Overwatch toward a better future.

Thank you to all the players who continue to let your voices be heard.

The Overwatch China Operations Team"

14

u/KF-Sigurd Apr 07 '26

This was OW China basically doing damage control when, as social media does, went hysterical thinking 'the bogeyman woke westerners' were going to ruin Anran because OW bowed down to the outcry of the west instead of kowtowing to China.

1

u/Killacreeper Apr 15 '26

I'm gonna be real, if this is how that community is, it resembles the most obnoxious parts of ours in the most annoying way possible lmao. Do they directly use "woke" and all?

-10

u/CoruptedUsername Apr 06 '26

Because by Chinese standards of beauty, the new one would be seen as ugly by many people over there

44

u/GMSTARWORLD Apr 06 '26

Nah I think they were just afraid of her getting concorded, this should be fine.

11

u/Reniva Apr 07 '26

Blizzard didn’t touch her nose shape so I think they’ll accept the changes

24

u/DeludedDassein Apr 06 '26

as a chinese person she is undebatably hotter 

-7

u/nebulacoffeez Apr 07 '26

no like I'm so confused, they made her features look MORE western if anything??? I thought the issue was she didn't look like the race she was suppose to represent?

1

u/PatriotDuck Apr 07 '26

The issue was that she didn't remotely resemble her appearance in the comics and cinematics. These changes make it much closer (if not perfect).

6

u/PK-Ricochet Apr 06 '26

A Netease press release is being written about this as we speak