Overwatch Voice Actor Critiques Character Design, Fans Urge for Revisions
Fareeha Andersen, the voice behind Anran, Overwatch’s latest fire-wielding hero, has voiced her support for a fan-driven campaign urging a redesign of her character.
If you dive into the comments of any Overwatch social media post, you’ll likely find fans flooding the section with side-by-side images comparing Anran’s in-game appearance to her original look in the animated trailer for Wuyang, her younger brother and a support hero introduced last year. The contrast is striking, with her initial design showcasing sharper features and a longer nose.
In-game, Anran presents a different image, sporting a smaller nose, a rounder face, and a notable resemblance to previous heroes like Kiriko and Juno. This has led fans to label her as another instance of Overwatch’s “same face syndrome,” where many characters, particularly female ones, tend to share similar looks.
With the fan outcry growing, Andersen has responded in a video expressing her support for the movement, urging Blizzard to align Anran’s design more closely with her original concept.
“I’m the voice of Anran in Overwatch!!! ???? I held off on posting about this because I wanted to make sure I could do this discussion justice. Let’s keep rooting for the version of her that could be. I hope you have so much fun playing her!! ????????#overwatch#anran#ow”
♬ original sound – Fareeha – Fareeha
“I got to mourn Anran between the design I had hoped for her and the design we ended up with,” Andersen shared. “In her comic and the cinematic Elemental Kin, there was a precedent set. There was an unspoken promise that said, ‘We are going to challenge the beauty standards plaguing media these days,’ right? The ozempic-chic, the ‘contour your nose, you have no nose, the tiniest nose,’ and I think because of that precedent, people feel understandably let down.”
She added, “Overwatch is a trailblazer at challenging that, right? It tries to break those molds and explore what it means to be good and heroic. The result we got says something else, leaving a bad taste in our mouths. It’s not the bold, optimistic swing we know Overwatch to be.”
Andersen mentioned that she has communicated the community’s concerns to the Blizzard team, hoping they take all feedback into account. She encourages others to express their thoughts with “boldness and kindness.”
Given the overwhelming response (seriously, it’s hard to scroll through Overwatch’s social media without seeing comments about this), it would be surprising if Blizzard doesn’t consider making adjustments, though it likely won’t happen immediately. Anran is currently available in a testing phase ahead of her official launch tomorrow, February 10, alongside four other heroes as part of the game’s upcoming season.
While there may not be time for Blizzard to tweak her design before she goes live, there’s hope that future patches could bring back some of those distinctive features.
