Users make Genshin Impact’s Venti perform the Persona 4 “Bancho Dance” to mourn his departure

Publication date of the original Japanese article: 2020-10-21 17:29 (JST)
Translated by. Braden Noyes

On October 20, 2020, miHoYo launched the wish event titled “Sparkling Steps” in Genshin Impact, changing the lineup of characters available through the gacha wish system. This event featured Klee, a new 5-star Pyro element character, as well as increased appearance rates for Xingqui, Noelle, and Sucrose.

However, the arrival of a new promoted character also means the departure of the previous one. In this case, that meant Venti was no longer available. Users mourning this sad farewell, as well as those not fortunate enough to have obtained him in time, reacted by creating some rather peculiar videos in which Venti performs the “Bancho Dance.”

Venti is a special 5-star character who was featured in the “Ballad in Goblets” wish banner at Genshin Impact’s initial launch. He is introduced in the main story line as a bard with a rather suspicious air about him. Not only do you see him seemingly able to tame the dangerous Stormterror, but he also dodges questions often and even asks the player to steal the Holy Lyre for him.

Venti wields a bow as his main weapon, but his greatest use comes from his ability to manipulate the wind. Not only is his elemental skill, Skyward Sonnet, great for enemy crowd control, but the storm created by his elemental burst, Wind’s Grand Ode, wreaks havoc on the battlefield. This makes him a great choice as a support character. It also makes for some exhilarating and flashy battles. His elemental skill can also be used to create a vertical gust of wind, which is extremely useful when exploring hilly terrain in the open world. Venti has been ranked a top tier character since the game’s release, and his usefulness in both battles and exploration have made him highly sought-after.

As is often the case with games of this kind, however, high-value characters are not easy to come by. Appearance rates for 5-star characters in Genshin Impact are only 0.6%. The game does have a pity system in place which guarantees at least one 5-star character for every 90 wishes a player makes. In addition, if the first 5-star character you receive is not the current promotional character, then you are guaranteed to get that character the next time a 5-star character appears.

This means you are guaranteed to get the promotional character within 180 wishes. Compared to other games, however, this rate is rather low. This was made even worse by the fact that the “Ballad in Goblets” promotional wish event had other characters and weapons thrown into the mix.

On the PC and mobile versions of the game, a pack of 1,980 Genesis Crystals cost $29.99 USD, which also came with 260 bonus crystals for a total of 2,240 Genesis Crystals. These crystals can then be exchanged in-game for Primogems, which are used for buying wishes. Each wish costs 160 Primogems, which means it costs roughly $21.50 USD to make 10 wishes. In other words, it would cost approximately $385 USD to perform the 180 wishes necessary to guarantee you receive Venti.

This is simply too expensive for most players to afford. Instead, it is more common to collect Primogems slowly over time in the hopes of getting the character you want. Venti, however, was only available for a limited time. The frustration and sense of urgency players were experiencing at the time could be felt on social media, ultimately manifesting in the form of the “Bancho Dance.”

The dance originated with a video uploaded by YouTube user Discourse. In the video, Venti is seen wearing sunglasses and dancing enthusiastically to upbeat music. However, the messages that appear on the screen during the video are dripping with sarcasm. The messages begin with snippets from articles touting the worldwide success of Genshin Impact and the large profits it made in its first two weeks after release.

Venti then proceeds to throw up screenshots of the “Ballad in Goblets” and “Wanderlust Invocation” wish banners, followed by him bragging about how skilled of a character he is. Next comes an image showing his tiny 0.6% appearance rate, complete with him flaunting a couple of the weapons you are likely to get instead of him. Venti’s entire dance is meant to be a satirical representation of Genshin Impact’s bittersweet gacha system, as if to say that miHoYo is aware of the fact they are making money by manipulating players’ emotions.

This dance didn’t appear out of thin air, however. It actually comes from a meme involving the main character from Persona 4: Dancing All Night. The energetic youth from Persona 4 (named Yu Narukami in the anime series), can be seen performing a choreographed dance to the song “Specialist.” Though the original video is simply a kind young man enjoying himself as he dances, the meme involves displaying insults on the screen to make it look as if Yu Narukami is saying them.

These often abusive captions remain on the screen as Yu Narukami dances away in his stylish shades, looking like he doesn’t have a care in the world. This peculiar meme likely grew in popularity due to the striking contrast between the carefree dancing and the rude nature of the captions. (Related Japanese article.) The Venti dance video has taken the same route, with users displaying harsh comments on the screen.

The 3D models for 14 different Genshin Impact characters are publicly available here to download for free in the MMD file format. While users are not allowed to redistribute the models or use them for commercial purposes, the models can be otherwise manipulated. These models are perfect for making them dance, and of course Venti is one of those available to use. This strange dancing Venti meme was born from the masterful combination of the resentment toward Genshin Impact’s gacha system, the public release of the MMD files, and the existing Persona 4 internet meme.

The Venti dance has been making its rounds on YouTube and Twitter, but saw a spike in popularity around the time the in-game lineup of characters was changed. For now, Venti is gone and players will be unable to obtain him regardless of how much money they are willing to spend. This video is most likely meant as a means for disappointed fans to cope with this heavy loss.

The news isn’t all bad, though. When one character leaves, it means another takes their place. After Venti departed, the cute, bomb-wielding Klee quickly gained the spotlight. With each change to the gacha lineup, a new story is born. This is simply one example of the depth and breadth of the Genshin Impact user community. It might also help to note Venti’s is not the only model being used in dancing videos. A quick search for your favorite characters on major social media platforms is sure to turn up a number of examples. Happy watching!

Genshin Impact is a free-to-play game currently available for PlayStation 4, PC, iOS, and Android.