How Honkai: Star Rail Resonates With LGBTQ+ Players

Summary

Honkai: Star Rail has gained a significant following due to its exciting gameplay and compelling cast of characters.
Players have interpreted certain relationships in the game, such as Bronya and Seele, as romantic, although it was never confirmed by the developer.
Despite the lack of confirmation, many players, especially from the LGBTQ+ community, feel represented and relate to the characters' companionship, emphasizing the importance of representation in video games.

HoYoverse has done a great job of getting players invested in its characters. For instance, its latest title Honkai: Star Rail was released just last April, but it's already gained a significant following thanks to its exciting gameplay and compelling cast of characters. The latter's interactions within the game have notably made the experience more immersive.

Certain relationships in Honkai: Star Rail seemed to have resonated with players, to the point that they started making ships for them. The most popular being "BronSeele," or the tandem of Bronya and Seele, because of how close they've become in the game. Although it was never confirmed, players seemed to believe that Bronya and Seele, and other characters, were more than just friends.

Honkai: Star Rail's Take on Love and Friendship

Honkai: Star Rail players first encounter Bronya and Seele in Jarilo-VI, the first planet they'll travel to in the game. The two characters started out as enemies, but would later develop a very close bond, which players have interpreted as romantic. They also had the same close friendship in Honkai Impact 3rd's universe. For many players, BronSeele represented an LGBTQ+ relationship in Honkai: Star Rail.

BronSeele was just the first couple to catch the attention of Honkai: Star Rail fans. Serval and Cocolia's longtime friendship was also interpreted as romantic. Most recently, the rivalry between Dan Heng and Blade was the focus of Version 1.2, but they seemed to be good friends in their past lives. Some players have theorized that they might have been together—even engaged—centuries ago, which gave more weight to Blade's hatred towards Dan Heng.

It's important to note that HoYoverse never confirmed whether these characters were canonically together. The studio is also based in China, which started cracking down on depictions of same-sex relationships in video games. This meant that the implied LGBTQ+ representation in Honkai: Star Rail have merely been fan theories. Some have even speculated that if a HoYoverse game emphasized that characters were "best friends" or "close friends," it could mean that they were together romantically.

Despite this, many Honkai: Star Rail fans, especially members of the LGBTQ+ community, felt like they were represented in some way. More importantly, they could relate to some of the characters' companionship. Bronya and Seele showed that they could work together for the betterment of the people of Belobog City. In some quests, they also conveyed just how much they cared for each other. It's a similar case with Serval and Cocolia, who were former bandmates before the latter became the Supreme Guardian. Serval once said that they used to share everything, and would often keep each other's belongings because of how close they were. She would continue appreciating their friendship even after Cocolia passed away.

Dan Heng and Blade's story is still ongoing. The running theory was that Dan Heng's previous incarnation, Dan Feng or Imbibitor Lunae, saved Blade from death by making him immortal. However, Blade grew to resent his immortality, and turned to Elio to hopefully fulfill his wish of finally dying. Although the circumstances might have not been ideal for these two, some players still thought it was somewhat touching that Dan Heng saved Blade's life in his past life.

Honkai: Star Rail has a deep lore, and players have barely touched the surface at this point. But what's undeniable is that all the characters have unique relationships with each other, regardless if they're romantic or not. Fans also need to be reminded to not invalidate the LGBTQ+ community's experiences with Honkai: Star Rail and its characters. The same-sex relationships in the game might not be canon (for now), but people still resonated with them. Representation in video games is crucial, and no one should take that away from those who see themselves in certain characters.