History YMMV / HonkaiStarRail

** [[WrittenByTheWinners Invoked by the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus]]. While Yaoshi's gift did result in numerous problems for the Xianzhou Alliance and some followers of the Abundance do carry out horrific crimes, it can be difficult to side entirely with the Alliance when you recall that their ancestors built the entire civilization for the explicit purpose of finding Yaoshi and wishing for immortality, apparently without once considering the very obvious and extremely well-known consequences of immortality that would have arisen even without the mara. Moreover, the Alliance is currently engaged in a [[FinalSolution seek and destroy mission]] to slaughter Yaoshi and their followers for the crime of... giving them what they asked for? This is especially egregious when it's stated by Fu Xuan that the Mara was not a side effect of Yaoshi's blessing, but something that occurs in all Xianzhou natives. They just happen to either die or reincarnate before it fully manifests. In essence, it would be like wishing for immortality without figuring out a cure for the myriad diseases and disabilities that occur as a natural part of aging.

** [[WrittenByTheWinners Invoked by the Disciples of Sanctus Medicus]]. While Yaoshi's gift did result in numerous problems for the Xianzhou Alliance and some followers of the Abundance do carry out horrific crimes, it can be difficult to side entirely with the Alliance when you recall that their ancestors built the entire civilization for the explicit purpose of finding Yaoshi and wishing for immortality, apparently without once considering the very obvious and extremely well-known consequences of immortality that would have arisen even without the mara. Moreover, the Alliance is currently engaged in a [[FinalSolution seek and destroy mission]] to slaughter Yaoshi and their followers for the crime of... giving them what they asked for?

** On the other side, some players have found the actions of the Disciples inexcusable, citing that [[FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse their backstories aren't an excuse]] to force others to comply with their views and methods of converting people to accept long-life suffering as part of their "healing" and vengeance against Lan. Scenes like a disciple being condescending to the party and [[spoiler:Dan Shu scolding a blind child to not be a burden on others]] certainly didn't help their cause. Not to mention, the Disciples [[spoiler:allying with Phantylia, an ''Emanator of Destruction'',]] was pretty much the nail in the coffin. Sure, the people of Xianzhou asked Yaoshi for eternal life in the past, but none of them asked for a chronic disease to come with it.

* ValuesDissonance: The Xianzhou arc is a {{Deconstruction}} of the Chinese ''[[SpiritCultivationGenre Xianxia]]'' genre, which involves heroes attempting to "cultivate their spirit" via martial arts training in order to achieve immortality, among other things. However, while popular in China, the genre is relatively unknown outside the country, meaning a lot of the themes of the story arc are lost on foreign players. The translation does absolutely nothing to try and help bridge the gap, either.

** While ''Genshin's'' Traveler can be an effective unit depending on build, their initial elements of Anemo and Geo are generally considered their worst elements and they're usually replaced by a 4-star of the same element. In ''Honkai Star Rail'', the Trailblazer's initial forms Destruction and Preservation are not only good units in general, but their versatility and damage output make them outstanding {{Crutch Character}}s for their respective phases of the game.

** "Dan Leng", ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'', "[[EuphemisticNames Dan Hung]]" (1.2 spoilers) - [[spoiler:Dan Heng's past life as "Dan Feng"]]. Other variations include [[spoiler:Daniel, occasionally capitalized as [=DanIeL=], or DHIL (sometimes pronounced like "dill") for his Inbibitor Lunae form]].

* ValuesDissonance: The Xianzhou arc is a {{Deconstruction}} of the Chinese ''[[SpiritCultivationGenre Xianxia]]'' genre, which involves heroes undergoing martial arts cultivation in order to achieve immortality. However, while popular in China, the genre is relatively unknown outside the country, meaning a lot of the themes of the story arc are lost on foreign players.

* BaseBreakingCharacter:
** Story-wise, people seem to be very split on Topaz, as a result of the sheer complexity of her character. Some believe that she's far too hypocritical and unscrupulous to fit the concept of a "debt collector with a heart of gold". Even though she genuinely wants Jarilo-VI to prosper once again, as an employee of the IPC who have improved her life condition, she's [[WellIntentionedExtremist doing things their way]]: Topaz attempts to manipulate Bronya with her backstory in order to push her into making Jarilo-VI into an IPC colony world, strong-arms Svarog into helping her by threatening to override his functions, takes control of Svarog's robots and sicks them on Gepard and his soldiers, and is even adamant in facing off against the Astral Express crew in battle just for them trying to get in her way. And of course, Topaz hides the fact that the success rate of the IPC restoring planets is 63%[[note]]It's higher under Topaz's jurisdiction, but Bronya rightfully points out that it's still a gamble that, if they lose, could devastate the planet forever[[/note]]. It doesn't help that the narrative constantly tries to push the idea on the player that Topaz is actually good by having other characters frequently say that she's not a bad person. On the other hand, there are people who point out that she isn't really as bad as some make her out to be. Topaz gets her soldiers to stop harassing the locals by threatening to dock their pay, does genuinely apologize for some of her deeds by the end of her story, actually backs down when she realizes that Jarilo-VI doesn't need the IPC to help them, and that her coworkers are objectively ''worse'' than she is.
** People have similarly mixed feelings about Ruan Mei's character; in her introductory quest, she drugs the Trailblazer to ensure they don't say anything about her work, effectively strongarming them into assisting her. It's then revealed that even though she creates life, she does not care for it once it's done, leading to a room full of small, adorable creature weeping and trying to understand why they were abandoned, not to mention a clone of an ''[[BigCreepyCrawlies Emanator of Propagation]]'' left in Herta's station's basement. Ruan Mei's opponents are also unhappy with the fact that at the end of her questline, the player has no option to call her out on her behavior, with [[ButThouMust the Trailblazer being friendly regardless of the dialogue option chosen]]. On the other hand, people who like Ruan Mei like her precisely ''because'' she's an unscrupulous, paranoid yet polite MadScientist who has accomplished the impossible - cloning the aforementioned Emanator of Propagation - as well as crafting the universally-beloved "cat cakes".
** Firefly became a somewhat divisive character in version 2.0. Some players fell in love with her, empathizing with her tragic story and finding her instant connection with the Trailblazer sweet and adorable; others thought that her plotline was too rushed,[[note]]"We've known her for 30 minutes" being a common refrain[[/note]] and felt as though the game pushed the Firefly-Trailblazer relationship too hard to the point where it felt forced. Then version 2.1 revealed that [[spoiler:Firefly is Sam the Stellaron Hunter, leading to a whole new division between people who love the BadassAdorable mech pilot, and people disappointed that Sam is not his own distinct person.]] There is also a third group, which likes Firefly but does not like her more ardent fans.

** Ruan Mei ''was'' this back when she hadn't physically appeared in the game and only in Simulated Universe. The fandom ''loved'' her due to the occurrence with her being absolutely game-breaking: either you gain all blessings of a particular path (which is good for collecting them all to get jades), gain 2000 cosmic fragments (which is amazing if you have the curio that increases damage per 100 fragments), enhance all blessings you have (which will save a lot of your fragments), or gain 20 random Curios. There was much rejoicing when drip marketing confirmed her to be playable; however, she became a BaseBreakingCharacter instead when "Crown of the Mundane and Divine"- her playable debut patch- was released and she was revealed to have the personality of an amoral MadScientist.

** Many took an instant liking to Misha, being a PrettyBoy and TheKlutz, as well as his design. Not only that, but his grandfather was a Trailblazer, so Misha himself is enthusiastic about exploring the galaxy like his grandfather and going on an adventure. Needless to say, he greatly admires the Trailblazers on the Astral Express. Many fans want him to board the Express, as he can live out his dreams, expand the group of Trailblazers, and could assist Pom-Pom on the train.