Episode 57: ‘Akitsu Kimodameshi’ Event

Bee, Feens & Tif were lucky enough to attend the Genshin Concert ‘Memories of an Endless Journey’ at Carnegie Hall in NYC this month. If you’ve got the means and the concert visits a city near you, we truly recommend attending, it was beautiful!

The majority of the Akitsu Kimodameshi event takes place in the Chinju Forest and the surrounding beach. If you are not familiar with this area, it is south of the the Grand Narukami Shrine & Kamisato Estate. It’s always night with blue orbs floating around.

Watch on YouTube: Full Akitsu Kimodameshi Story Quest Genshin Impact 3.3

Al talks about the IRL connection of youkai in Japanese culture. In fact, the youkai we meet in game are actual types of youkai in folklore. This includes the three young youkai from the event but also Itto (oni), Kirara (nekomata), Kujou Sara (tengu), Yae Miko (kitsune), and the other residents of Chinju Forest – the bake danuki.

As Feens reminds us, this is not the first Test of Courage that we’ve come across. We participate in one with Chongyun in his character hangout. While everyone is scared, Chongyun is disappointed to not find an actual ghost.

Itto is a main character in this event and is determined to scare anyone and everyone, especially his gang! Which is also a main theme of the event. Even the shrine maiden running the tests gets in on the action and tries her hardest to frighten us.

We get the option of choosing a partner in the Test of Courage phases and Bee runs thru the slight changes in story and plot based on the person you chose. In the first round we get to choose from Kamisato Ayaka, Kaedehara Kazuha, and Gorou. In the second round we choose from Sayu, Thoma, and Yoimiya. And then in the third round we are accompanied by Shikanoin Heizou.

As Feens mentions, at the end of the event we were offered the Toukabou Shigure sword. An odd looking umbrella sword with one eye and a tongue sticking out. This is no ordinary sword though, its actually a youkai. You can learn about this tsukumogami at the Genshin Wiki (or within the weapon description).

Tif is obsessed with Paimon’s scaring tactics when they run across the three young youkai. What’s your best scare tactic?

Watch on YouTube: Wooga Booga Booga

Speaking of awesome Paimon moments, Detective Paimon during the first archon quest in Fontaine is AMAZING. How could you not laugh when she popped up with the spectacles and mustache?! Feens’ idea of a monocle would have been just as brilliant as well.

The three young youkai kids we meet look like human children wearing masks. Which perhaps was their plan to not scare us away. From top-left to bottom, Hitotsume Kozou is the cyclops, Kappa is the green faced one, and Youko is the one with the cat-like kitsune mask.

Hanyuuda Chizuru, the central character of the quest, is also a youkai. We meet her as a woman with a flower over one eye (that also has a weird little eye as Feens points out). Heizou deduces that she is a tsukumogami type of youkai and her true self is located somewhere on the beach.

It turns out that Chizuru is actually the hagoita paddles from the story of Kamai and the samauri. Their friendship begins and ends with a game of Akitsu Hazura (Haneasobi).

The story of the youkai Kamai Kenji and the samurai Yanagibashi Takuto marks the start of youkai and humans living together.

Watch on YouTube: Story Teaser: Akitsu Haneasobi

And one last note, Sayu is not a tanuki!

Check out our Sayu episode from earlier this season to join the debate.