The upcoming Dec. 6 premium banner for Honkai: Star Rail will feature an absurdly handsome fella known as Argenti, a self-proclaimed “Knight of Beauty.” As is tradition, miHoYo has released a trailer to promote the Erudition character, and now we know he is a drama king living his best life. Argenti is center-stage from the get-go. The spotlight on his luscious scarlet locks as he glides through a crowd of faceless people. The choice of imagery throughout the two minutes we get to indulge in is truly splendid, separated into acts by none other than this armored amour. Can we also swoon over the music? Much like Kafka’s trailer a few months ago, classical and dubstep genres are mashed together masterfully.
Yet, perhaps the trailer’s most engaging element is its exceptional deployment of comedy. Following Argenti’s grand title card, the atmosphere comes to a creaking halt as March 7th questions the legitimacy of the Knights of Beauty. What follows is pure absurdism as poor, old Pom-Pom is chased down the Astral Express corridor by this unabashedly self-absorbed spearsman.
To his credit, the latest addition to Star Rail certainly boasts a gorgeous animatic for his Ultimate and he is expected to trounce Path of Destruction Trailblazer regarding squad composition selection rate. Argenti’s facade is broken for a second time at the conclusion of the trailer, however, cementing one key truth. He exudes main character energy but it is all of his own making.
Reacting to the trailer across social media, fans immediately fell in love with the self-proclaimed director, writer, and star of this showcase. “Bro really came, did a monologue, beat monsters, refused to elaborate, and left,” one player wrote on YouTube. “Not to mention he had his own credit scene.”
Over on Reddit, praise was heaped upon rising voice actor Adam Gold for his stellar performance that captured hearts. “I might actually have to switch back to the English dub for a while for this man,” one player wrote. “Immensely glad now that I’ve been saving through the current banner.”
That second comment is particularly important to consider in the grander scheme. A positive, high-impact marketing campaign can often make or break a character’s success in gacha games. Take Kafka, as an example, who somewhat underperformed due to her banner releasing well after the character’s popularity took off back when Star Rail debuted in April.
I doubt Argenti will have much of that problem. He might be super extra but his charm has convinced us to spend extra on bringing him home.
