Raiden Mei

Voiced by: Juhuahua ^*菊花花 (Chinese), Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese)

Crimson Impulse

Story-important battlesuits:
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^{Post-Honkai Odyssey appearance}

"Maybe this is for the greater good... But how can I pretend this is the right thing? I only know that deep down... The world means nothing to me... Without you!! You reached out your hand to me on that day. You changed my destiny from the moment we touched. You're the most important person in my life. If rescuing you is a sin, I'll gladly become a sinner."

Mei is the daughter of Raiden Ryoma, CEO of the Master Electric (ME) Corp. When she was young, she was kidnapped by a terrorist organization to be put in a Honkai-related experiment, and in her early high school years, her father was arrested and most of her family's assets were seized due to her father’s criminal activities. This event caused her to be cold and distant towards others, though her friendship with Kiana led her to become more gentle and caring. She also has great power sealed within her, which was unleashed during the Nagazora City Honkai outbreak, causing her to become the 3rd Herrscher. After Kiana stopped her, she joined Schicksal shortly after to learn to control her power.

In the "Post Honkai Odyssey" Open World, 8 years from the present, Mei has become the principal of the St. Freya Academy. While she has lost (most of) her Herrscher powers, she becomes a more formidable fighter and leader. She's the leader of Squad 3, with the Protagonist and Carole Peppers under her wing; they're sent to look for the missing Welt Yang in the South African city of St. Fountain, and later investigate what caused the city to become devastated.

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A-H

Advertised Extra: During the earlier parts of the story, Mei had a comparatively minimal role despite being supposedly one of the three main protagonists. The writers were very much aware of this, as in the more fourth-wall breaking events, Mei will complain how she has little to no presence in the story. This first shows up in the "Winter Rhapsody" event where the orchestrator couldn't find a proper character for her to play but found a cute reindeer costume for her to wear, and continues in the Summer Battle event with her passive ability "Give me more lines or taste 5 Elemental DMG that ignores DEF." However, after chapter 15 she's become much more prominent—several chapters follow her side of the story, she's the main protagonist for the chapters connected to the Elysian Realm, and she has a starring role in "A Post-Honkai Odyssey".
Alternate Self: Her appearance in "Sanka Saga". Without Kiana and Bronya mellowing her out, Mei is far more obsessed with finishing her father's work at all costs, and is overall more abrasive, a far cry from her mainline self.
Always Save the Girl: She has always admired Kiana for her heroism, for how she keeps fighting for the world and her loved ones despite her suffering. But she also finds it hard to accept the fact that Kiana will eventually burn her life away because of it, and even moreso when she finds out about Kiana's disregard of her own life to save people and the world, because of her attachment to the Kaslana girl. Thus when she needs to find a way to save Kiana from her body condition and from her eventual "fate", she ends up having to deal with the World Serpent, accept her "darkness" and turn into Herrscher of Thunder once again, and break her ties with Kiana so that the latter doesn't have to risk her life for her friend's sake again. She even declares in the "Lament of the Fallen" video that the world means nothing to her without Kiana, and that she's willing to become a sinner in the name of saving her friend.
Anger Born of Worry:
- She shows this in ch. 17 when she talks with Kiana after the latter has woken up from her treatment. Mei throws Kiana's jacket at her, then angrily calls out to her on how everyone missed her and why she hid in Arc City without telling anyone.
- It gets a more serious version later on in the "Lament of the Fallen" video. She sternly calls out to Kiana on how she tends to pay no heed to her own life as she saves people. When Kiana's response indicates to her that the Kaslana girl still doesn't get it, Mei shouts aloud that Kiana amounts to the world for her, hinting to her worries; that she will be deeply hurt if Kiana is gone forever.
Anguished Declaration of Love: she does something similar in the "Lament of the Fallen" video, twice, towards Kiana.
Mei: Kiana, you're always like this... Even when you're battered, you'd still force a smile... You saved me and everyone, yet you shoulder everything alone, at the cost of your life!
Kiana: Mei-senpai! Because... that's my mission...
Mei: Saving the world, is it...? Even if I understand that... HOW can I ever endure it?!
Kiana: Mei-senpai... Don't...
Mei: To me, compared to this whole world... you're the one much MORE important!!
Later, after their fight
Mei: That day, you reached out your hand to me. From the moment we touched, my destiny was changed. You're... the most important person in my life... If saving you is a sin, then let it be a sin I bear.
Awful Truth:
- In ch. 17, Tesla tells Mei to talk to Einstein for their analysis on Kiana's condition. Einstein tells her that they recommend to move Kiana to a secure base in Baffin Bay, near the Arctic, to better contain the potential risks. The Sirin persona inside Kiana is worsening her condition, and that stopping it is the key to helping her, but it is something that only Kiana herself can do. When Mei asks what that means, Einstein says that there's nothing they can do about what's happening to Kiana. While she and Tesla thought of removing Kiana's Herrscher cores or using an anti-Honkai serum, Einstein says that they would do nothing to solve the root cause of the problem. Appropriately, Mei reacts with disbelief, and begs Einstein to think of something as she promises to do anything to give Kiana more time. Einstein can only say that they have to put faith in Kiana to fight her infection herself as they continue their search for a solution, and that they would have to prepare for the worst. Tesla later lampshades it, and takes her time to point out Einstein's somewhat Brutal Honesty to Mei, wishing her to not get too worked up over what Einstein said. But the seeds of doubt have already been planted in Mei, no less due to what Raven told her just yesterday about AE.
  Tesla: It's just... too cruel...
  Einstein: Take a few deep breaths, Dr. Tesla. You don't look too good yourself.
- In the same chapter, she gets another one from Kevin, who says that even if Mei can help Kiana from dying due to her condition, the latter will keep throwing herself into danger as long as Honkai and Herrschers exist, for she is a Kaslana.
  His words were razor ice that cut at her heart. She wanted to disagree but failed to find a counter-argument... for she knew he spoke the truth. No sacrifice she makes could change the inevitable.
Back Stab: Shadow Dash has a passive skill that increases the damage dealt if the enemy is attacked from the back. Shadow Dash's team skill will also let her co-op teammates do the same. In Post-Honkai Odyssey, she has a passive skill that gives her a total damage buff for some seconds when she strikes the enemies' backs.
Because You Were Nice to Me:
- This is the big reason why she cares a lot about Kiana, for the Kaslana girl was the one who "extended her hand" (figuratively and literally) to Mei when she was at her lowest, to save her from the "darkness" of her life. This also motivates Mei to try to repay Kiana's kindness in any way she can.
- When she was about to be struck down by Husk - Nihilism, Benares defends her by taking its sword to "her" body, at the cost of "her" life. After Mei becomes Herrscher of Thunder, she revives and transforms Benares out of gratitude and to honor "her" final act.
Begin with a Finisher:
- Mei's Lightning Empress battlesuit has a passive skill where, if she's set as the leader on a team, she'll give her whole team 50/60/70 SP (depending on her suit's rank) at the start of the battle, letting the team use their Ultimate Skill sooner (especially if the team's members have Ultimate Skills that use 50 SP or less). This is also LE's friend skill, which can and will overlap if you also use your own LE as the leader of your team; this also contributes to the joke of "setting LE as friend support gives you a lot of Friendship Points".
- In Coop Multiplayer, Mei's Valkyrie Bladestrike battlesuit's Team Skill is to fill SP for the whole team the more hits they do in their combos; this can be done at the start of a battle, letting them use their Ultimate Skills sooner.
Betrayal Insurance:
- Before she enrolled into St. Freya Academy, she feared that her Herrscher self may one day come out and harm people again. When she asked Himeko to kill her to prevent it, the teacher bright slapped her face instead, saying that she should value her life more. Himeko then suggested that she have a bomb planted near her heart that will go off if her Herrscher self ever resurfaces again. After it's done, she starts studying there.
- In a separate comic, her Herrscher self does come out, which causes said bomb to start a countdown of 5 minutes; it also hurts her chest so she's forced to subdue herself before it's too late. The problem is, she's fighting the clone of Welt at the time, who had overpowered her other friends; this causes her to be defeated and left at his mercy (until Kiana comes in).
- The game's Chapter 8 has her requesting Theresa to deactivate the bomb inside her. Theresa allows it, which later causes Mei's Herrscher self to resurface (albeit with less influence than before).
- In ch. 17, when she and Kevin talk about her re-awakening as a Herrscher to save Kiana, Mei asks him to put her down in case she's controlled by the Honkai again, but he claims that "that will not happen". As she fully becomes a Herrscher again, she manages to retain her consciousness, free from the Honkai's influence.
BFS: This is a feature of two of Mei's Ultimate skills with different battlesuits:
- Valkyrie Bladestrike's ultimate skill is a Super Mode that gives her a blade aura that gives her attacks greatly increased reach, allowing her to attack multiple opponents at once.
- If Crimson Impulse reaches SS rank, she can gain a sub-skill that modifies her ultimate skill so that it also elongates her sword's reach for a duration like Valkyrie Bladestrike after the initial Sword Beam.
- Herrscher of Thunder has an extra big katana with a sheath that she holds with her floating arms. She uses said sword in her stronger attacks, where she usually uses it in a single draw-out-and-resheath slash. In the duration of her Ultimate Skill, one of the normal combo moves with her dragon has her swinging an even bigger version of said sword.
Big Damn Reunion: Played with, when she finally meets Kiana again in ch. 14. To Mei it's a big reunion, with her expressing that she and her friends are waiting for Kiana. Kiana herself, however, feels uneasy because while she does expect to be reunited with Mei in the future (with a lot of different scnearios), she didn't expect to meet her at that time and place (i.e in the underground lab of Heliopolis); not to mention that she has the Arc City's safety occupying her mind, she still feels guilty over what happened and that she could just bring danger to Mei and her friends again. They eventually have a more proper reunion at the start of ch. 17, where Mei finally feels at ease again... but it doesn't last long as she grows desperate in finding a way to save Kiana from her condition.
Blade Spam:
- Her branch attack (and switch-in attack) as Valkyrie Bladestrike is a series of very fast slashes that you can prolong by Button Mashing the attack button. After the Augment Core upgrade, the attack is improved so that she can move around while slashing her target, alleviating the "sitting duck" problem of said attack. The same upgrade also changes her QTE into a flurry of slashes around her as she falls toward the target.
- In Post-Honkai Odyssey, her joint attacks has her either performing multiple stationary slashes like Flame Sakitama's QTE (if done with the "protagonist") or a multiple slashing attack while dashing followed by a multi-hitting Shoryuken with her blade (if done with Carole). In both cases, you can get an upgrade that lets you mash the attack button during her attack so that she can deal extra hits.
- As Herrscher of Thunder, she has 2 cases of Split Second Blade Spam: one in her normal combo where she does a short Flash Step as multiple "slashes" appear around her, and one in her enhanced branch attack where she does multiple slashes in front of her with her normal sword that traces the kanji for "heart" before she does a final slash with her BFS.
Break Her Heart to Save Her:
- As Kevin tells her, "Kiana is only safe when you (Mei) are not with her". He wants Mei to join the World Serpent and fight alongside them to purge the Honkai, so that Kiana doesn't have to do it; when Kiana finds out that Mei is joining said group (as part of her deal with them to save Kiana), she's appropriately heartbroken and questions her friend's decision. When Kevin tells her to say what she wants, Mei has a thought, where she doubts Kiana will understand her reasons, and thinks that Kiana will only end up blaming herself, thus putting her in more pain. Despite having something to say to Kiana in her mind^note, Mei ends up not saying it. Kiana goes on to fight her to stop her from joining the Serpents; Mei has no choice but to put Kiana down in retaliation, act coldly towards her, and beat some sense into her.
- This is referenced in the Dorm: if you put the chibi of Mei as Herrscher of Thunder with Kiana's, the two will have a talk; Mei appears to have something to say to Kiana, but then she stops herself and then tells Kiana that she's busy. Kiana (seems to) takes Mei's hand before the latter can go, as the former asks what Mei is doing. She coldly tells Kiana to let (her hand) go, with Kiana vehemently refusing until she relents in the end^note. After that, Mei mentally apologizes to Kiana.
Brought Down to Badass:
- Mei having the Gem of Conquest (her Herrscher Core) yanked out of her body leaves her comatose for months, but it didn't slow her down a bit afterward, which Rita lampshades in the fight against her.
- This is even better in A Post-Honkai Odyssey. Even though she has lost the majority of her Herrscher abilities, she makes the most of them with her refined fighting style and sheer agility.
Buxom Beauty Standard: She was quite well-endowed from the start and only became bustier as time went on, which several of her outfits highlight.
Call-Back:
- In ch. 16, she reminisces about the events in Nagazora city, how Himeko tried to fight her Herrscher self there, and later put her in St. Freya so that Mei can learn to control her power better, referencing the events in the supplementary comic.
- In the end of ch. 16, she goes on a tirade about how the world, and Raven in particular, treated Kiana badly just because she's a Herrscher, a reference to a similar tirade Kiana blurted out in one of the supplementary comics regarding Mei (and Sakura).
Call-Forward: The "Theater of Thunder" web event (set in her past in Chiba Academy) has Kiana saying "Mei is Mei" when the latter asks her if she knows about the scandal of ME Corp. This is a reference to ch. 17 in the game, with Mei accepting Kiana as who she is, that her "true nature" doesn't matter to Mei, when Kiana gives her the Internal Reveal regarding what Kiana truly is.
Can't Catch Up: This is one of the issues that plagued her in the story after Chapter 9. In her struggles to find and reunite with Kiana, she faces opponents and situations that are out of her league; this, both directly and indirectly, keeps her separated from Kiana, which makes Mei realize that her dependence on the Kaslana girl caused her to not improve by her own. This gives her the resolution to get more strength and determination to make the tough choices and sacrifices needed to save Kiana. Only by accepting the power of the Herrscher of Thunder (and all of its costs) can Mei finally catch up.
Clones Are People, Too: After hearing that the Kiana she knows is not the real her, but a clone, Mei tells her that Kiana's name or true nature mean nothing to her; Mei and everyone else on their side still regards her as a friend, and that they'll always be there for her.
The Comically Serious: The Elysian Realm dialogue draws a fair bit of comedy from Mei trying and occasionally failing to stay stoic before Elysia and Raven's constant attempts to tease her, and the Flame Chasers’ pretty wacky personalities in general.
Cool Big Sis: As one of the older members of the cast, Mei often takes on the role of taking care of the younger members. Bronya, who affectionately calls her "Mei nee-sama" ("Mei nee-san" Ch. 32 onwards), views her as such, and Mei's sweet, caring, and gentle nature was what made Bronya abandon her initial attempt at kidnapping Mei in Nagazora. The children of The Roost also view Mei as one, especially Sora, who likes her cooking.
Criss-Cross Attack:
- Lightning Empress' QTE attack has her criss-crossing in midair to slash the enemy(ies) around her. Her Ultimate Skill is a more powerful version of it, that ends with a powerful falling slash.
- Her older self in Post-Honkai Odyssey can do a similar move for her QTE. An available upgrade for her allows you to mash the attack button during this move so she can hit more times.
Curtains Match the Windows: Her hair and eyes are both purple in color.
Cutscene Incompetence: In Post-Honkai Odyssey's Chapter 2.0, Mei is somehow unable to defend herself against Void Archives, with him tying her with Judah-like chains and leaving her open for "The World" to absorb her Herrscher energy.
Damsel in Distress: She is captured by Anti-Entropy in Chapter 3, and most of Chapter 4 is spent trying to rescue her.
Dark and Troubled Past: Her past is only alluded to in various parts of the game and some of the supplementary comics^notemost of them being a recap of what was shown in Guns GirlZ. A part of chapter 16, and later the "Theater of Thunder" event, show the major parts of her past.
- When she was little, she was kidnapped and put into an experiment that turned her into a Herrscher; she only recovered from the trauma after a few years of therapy. Then, not long after she enrolled in high school, her father, the then-current CEO of ME Corp, was sentenced with jail time (and he actually was framed by Cocolia, who then took over the corporation^note). This caused her family name to fall, her father's old acquaintances to take advantage of it, and her old friends to shun her, as they care more for the Raiden name than her as a person.
- For some time afterward she became cold, aloof, and hardly sociable (and her latent Herrscher powers frequently caused trouble for both her and her surroundings), but her friendship with Kiana and Bronya turned her for the better.
Dash Attack:
- Shadow Dash's branch attack (can also be done after her dodge move, and as a switch-in attack) is her dashing forward for an upward slash that launches enemies upward, and the attack can be continued with a powerful circular slash. Her QTE attack is a more powerful version of it. As Danzai Spectramancer, she still has the "dashing slash after evasion move", but it no longer launches up; it can now be continued into her branch attack without spending her special gauge, but her Ultimate Evasion will be put in cooldown.
- In Post-Honkai Odyssey, her aerial special attack is a dash-through slashing attack towards the target. It allows her to stay in the air for longer and reach the target's back quickly, but it'll consume one unit in her special gauge each time (that is refilled by normal attacks and killing enemies).
Deadpan Snarker: One notable side effect of her parting ways with Kiana and joining World Serpent after becoming the Herrscher of Thunder in chapter 17, is her developing a much sharper tongue, which contrasts with her previously sweet and almost naïve personality. She especially demonstrates it when bonding with Raven in chapter 23-24, and being completely unfazed by the Herrscher of Legion’s poisonous speeches in that same arc.
Deal with the Devil: In chapter 17, Raven gives her an offer, where the "Sire of the World Serpent" can help Mei curing Kiana's condition. She then meets the man, Kevin, who explains to Mei that by re-awakening as Herrscher of Thunder, she will gain her own Herrscher Core, the Gem of Conquest inside Kiana would dissipate, and it'll stave off Kiana's problem for the time being; in exchange, he wants her to join his group. With no other choice (neither Schicksal nor AE can reliably help) and with her resolve to repay Kiana's kindness in any way she can, Mei accepts the deal. And with their help^note, she manages to become Herrscher of Thunder again, saving Kiana in the process; as promised, Mei proceeds to join the group. What makes this especially "devilish" is that Mei has seen what the WS had done (especially to Kiana), Mei conveniently runs back to Raven not long after the Awful Truth about Kiana (see above), and as shown in chapter 12, Kevin can pull out Herrscher Cores by himself (in spite of his claims to Mei that there's only one way to take off a Herrscher Core out of someone's body). As Raven hinted in ch. 16, it's likely that Kevin needs Mei to turn Herrscher for his own (group's) ends, beyond just saving Kiana.
Kevin: You will have time to think about this, and decide if you want to trust me and the World Serpent. Kiana's fate is in your hands, Raiden Mei. I do not need to convince you. This is something you know far better than anyone else... her belief can save the world, except for herself.
Declaration of Protection: When Raven declares her intention to kill Kiana in the end of ch. 16, Mei counters that she won't let that happen.
Mei: I gladly trade my life with hers! She saved my life, and I shall save hers in return! I know I've been hiding behind her and running away. But now there's nowhere to run... I must protect her. As long as I breathe... you will not harm her!!
De-power: She later loses her Herrscher powers in the middle of ch.9, when Herrscher of the Void takes her Herrscher Core from her. However, Tesla notes that she still has some residual Herrscher energy within her; Mei says that she has no control over it. It's apparently enough to be detected by Tesla's Honkai energy detector in chapter 16.
Despair Event Horizon: Her development seems to be about pushing her to a breaking point, primarily by taking her "crutch", Kiana, away from her. ^note All of these lead to the scene within her inner mind where the "voice inside her" gives her a chance to get the power needed to save her friend, but also a warning that her life will change and it's a point of no return. Out of sheer desperation and desire to save Kiana, Mei goes to "accept her darkness"; to accept the power and all of its costs. This allows her to become the Herrscher of Thunder once again, following the theme of the Honkai to tempt potential Herrschers with power when they're in the brink of despair and anguish. After the whole experience, Mei is said to have become colder and more aloof, a far cry from her demure and gentle previous self, so much that Raven (who had interacted with Mei before) is worried about her.
Despair Speech: In ch. 15, after she has realized just how powerless she is in the face of the hectic and ever-changing world around her and Kiana being further and further away from her as her junior is taken away by Durandal, she can only hug the jacket that Kiana left behind and say:
Mei: Nothing I can do at all... Nothing...
Determinator: Ever since Kiana is gone from her side (ch. 9-EX onward), she keeps scouring the world to look for her, and facing ordeals and enemies that are out of her league in the process. After realizing that she hasn't grown any stronger (in ch. 16), she resolves to brave through any dangers or traps on her way to save Kiana. Part of her growth is about her mustering enough determination to "choose/decide" for herself and brave through the consequences, as Raven and then Kevin note. It's through the power of her will and her determination to save her dearest friend, that she's able to make her heavy decision to sacrifice many things that she previously held dear and "walk the path of darkness", condemning herself to her dark fate and becoming a "sinner". And it's through said heavy decision that she can finally save Kiana's life.
Deuteragonist: Effectively becomes this from chapter 16 onwards when she decides to reclaim her powers as the Herrscher of Thunder, with three entire arcs focused on her (chapters 16-17, 18-19 and 29-31) and one where she shares the spotlight with Kiana (chapters 23-25). She’s also the protagonist of the "Elysian Realm" special mode and its Main Story Openworld continuation "Elysium Everlasting" where Kevin sends her to meet the heroes of the previous era to learn more about the true nature of Honkai.
Dirty Business: At the end of ch. 19, she feels bad for accidentally killing^note Owl and Ana, and can only preserve their Herrscher Cores. She understands that they have similar struggles to her and Kiana, and laments that they have to "end" quickly and in tragedy. Raven lampshades it, saying that she knows how it feels to have "things not going as well as you wished them to". What shakes her more, however, was the fact that World Serpent's leader was fine with what she did, which leads her to ask him for explanation.
Do Not Call Me Sir: In ch. 18, when Owl tries to call her "Raiden Mei... sama? San?", she responds with "just call me Mei".
Doppelgänger Attack:
- Shadow Dash can summon shadow clones as her Ultimate Evasion effect to both attack and distract the opponent. Her Ultimate Skill lets her summon a more powerful clone, or 2 less powerful clones if she's ranked SS (3 when she's SSS).
- Shadow Dash's Augment Core upgrade, Danzai Spectramancer, plays it differently: by filling her special gauge with normal attacks, she can perform her branch attack where 2 to 4 clones of her strike her target from different directions. Her Ultimate Skill has her perform a few slashing attack before a Sword Plant that summons delayed shadow clones to attack the target from multiple directions. Using said Ultimate Skill also allows your teammates to summon said clones to attack the target and inflict a Damage-Increasing Debuff on them whenever their branch or Charged Attack hits said target.
- In Post-Honkai Odyssey, one of her Ultimate Skills has her create 4 clones of herself that dash toward the target to strike them, before she does the final strike herself. It then activates a Super Mode where Mei's normal attacks are followed by an afterimage of herself.
- As Boss Herrscher of Thunder, she has an attack where she sends out either 1, or 5 clones of herself in a spread, to attack your player character in a wide range. Then she teleports to the clone closest to you and performs an additional attack. When she charges up her strongest attack (a wide range slash), she may also summon clones to keep you busy.
Dragon Rider: Herrscher of Thunder has a red dragon that used to be Benares' dead body after she transforms it. She summons the dragon in her Ultimate Skill and then rides on it, commanding it to attack her enemies with physical swipes and lightning Breath Weapon. In the boss fight against her, she'll summon the dragon in the third phase of the battle to assist her. In Schicksal HQ open world, she can use the dragon to fly through the environments without needing the Baldur mech or the VTOL plane. In one stage of ch. 17, she rides the dragon to fly towards Kiana's whereabouts, where the gameplay becomes a 3D Rail Shooter.
Dramatic Irony:
- In ch. 18, when Raven complains that she could never figure out what's running in Owl's head, Mei says that it doesn't matter, as long as he can get his job done. Raven later goes to say that Herrscher powers make things so much easier. The twist is that Owl ends up trapping Mei instead of the Herrscher of Ice with the Scepters of Duat, weakening her and leaving her open to the Herrscher's attack. Thankfully, Mei quickly recovered in time by absorbing the ambient Honkai energy around her.
- In the third chapter of Elysian Realm, Vill-V offers to explain to Mei how to defeat Void Archives. Mei declines on the grounds that she's unlikely to fight it ever again. She really should have taken up on her offer; by the point in time players are likely to view this conversation, they would likely have already played through Post-Honkai Odyssey, in which Mei is rendered helpless during the final act of the first chapter by a returned Void Archives in one of Otto's spare Soulium bodies.
Dynamic Entry: In ch. 18, Mei first appears on Coral Island by attacking a horde of Honkai Beasts with her falling from above in a flash of lightning, as Herrscher of Thunder.
Elemental Punch: In the "Lament of the Fallen" video, she can charge her punches and kicks with lightning, including to punch Kiana off the building they're on.
Empathic Environment: Raven and Jackal (separately) say in the mini event that centers on her in Version 4.1 ("Thunderous Sanction") that ever since Mei joined their group, there has been quite some bad weather around them lately. Jackal hypothesizes that it could be because Mei is slowly training and getting adjusted to her Herrscher abilities, or that she simply finds the weather "fitting" for her.
Enemy Mine:
- In ch. 14, she received the distress call that Rita sent out and comes to her... and points her blade to Rita's neck. Rita points out that she's been too weakened to fight, so she tries to strike a deal: Mei gives her aid in defending her against the guards of the building Rita's in, in exchange of Kiana's whereabouts, i.e in the underground lab of the building where she's put in experiments. Mei only agrees after she additionally asks for the mechanical eye that Rita robbed from Gray Serpent, so that she can use it on Ningyo (Gray Serpent's underling).
- In ch. 16, Raven has to help Mei finding Kiana despite wanting to kill the latter, as she has promised to Sora. It's definitely a Teeth-Clenched Teamwork for Raven. Later, after they've fought Benares together, Raven claims that Mei will only be able to "bring the corpse away" because Raven will kill Kiana first, and when Mei lifts her blade in response, Raven smiles, practically expecting this to happen.
- In ch. 18, as part of the bigger Schicksal and World Serpent' alliance, she would have to work with Durandal, whom Mei has faced before as her opponent. She takes it quite well, and later willingly accepts Durandal's help in chasing and fighting the Herrscher of Ice.
Exposed to the Elements: In ch. 18, Mei's outfit as Herrscher of Thunder exposes quite a bit of skin, particularly her back, shoulders and upper arms, and she's running around in Coral Island which has become a frozen wasteland courtesy of the Herrscher of Ice. While being a Herrscher gives herself some resistance to the cold, she eventually starts feeling it the further she goes to pursue the 5th Herrscher.
Eye Color Change: Whenever her Herrscher side takes over, her eye color changes to magenta. This seemingly happens again near the end of ch. 16 where she briefly discharges electricity to knock Raven off her. Later, as the new Herrscher of Thunder, her eyes additionally have a design of a circle with 2 light dots above and below it.
Face–Heel Turn: She ends up joining World Serpent, one of the Big Bad factions, upon re-awakening her Herrscher power. Kiana doesn't approve of this and tries fighting her to bring her back, but the former ultimately fails. In one of the "files" in the "Thunderous Sanction" mini event, it's shown that Kiana is grieving about it after she's taken in again by the Hyperion crew, and everyone in the crew is shocked by this news. However, considering the events of Post-Honkai Odyssey, it won't stay long. Lampshaded by Durandal (who has met Mei before) in ch. 18:
Durandal: I didn't expect you to join the World Serpent.
Mei: I have my reasons. That's all you need to know.
Family of Choice: In a variant, in her Cooking with Valkyries episode, when Himeko says that Mei's cooking has "the taste of home", Mei says this:
After all, the place where you all are... is my home.
Fashionable Asymmetry:
- Lightning Empress has her right arm covered in armor while her left isn't, and many small asymmetrical details (such as belts and scratches) over her outfit.
- Her Herrscher of Thunder battlesuit also has her right arm fully covered in armor, while her left hand is only covered with forearm gloves. She also has a cloth hanging off her left hip armor.
- Her older self's outfit has her "wing ornaments" being put asymmetrically on her upper arms, she wears only a right glove, and that's not mentioning other asymmetrical details on her coat, including a bluish feather ornament on her left breast.
First Friend:
- After her Dark and Troubled Past, she was shunned by the people at large for the scandal that her father was framed-up with. Kiana was her first true friend after so long, as the Kaslana girl was the one who "saved her from the darkness" and was willing to get close to her, and who saw her for who she truly is. Mei was touched with her words, and she then treasures her new friend greatly ever since.
  Mei: The sense of cold loneliness left me on that very day. I don't know how... but I was no longer afraid of the dark. Because I knew there would always be a beam of light waiting for me...
- Part of the "Theater of Thunder's" narration also describes it.
  Yet the thick darkness was pierced by a ray of light. The light was warm and bright. It drilled through the darkness to shine over her, as if telling her that she was not alone. The girl would never forget how she met [her].
  The girl often thought to herself - how lucky it was for her to have a friend like [her]! The girl did not know what a true friend was before meeting [her].
Floating Limbs: Her Herrscher of Thunder battlesuit has 2 floating armored arms, one of which holds her sheathed BFS. She can use said arms to channel electricity through and attack with her extra sword, and it can also used to protect her from attacks, as seen in the final battle of ch. 17 where she uses it to catch Kiana's dimensional cat paw attack.
Foreshadowing:
- In ch. 16, Tesla says that she still has some residual Herrscher energy left in her body. When she's fighting Benares, she's suddenly struck with a violent dizziness that weakens her body. Raven later likens her to Benares when the hooded assassin fought the beast, saying that it felt something like grief, guilt and pain, as well as a desire to protect a Herrscher. Mei then goes on to recall that she felt something strange, yet familiar, when she fought Benares. Near the end, she gets the headaches again when she clashes with Benares again; after the beast's defeated and she fights Raven, she releases an electric discharge from her body that knocks the assassin back, causing Raven to have a sudden change of attitude towards her. In ch. 17, after she meets Kevin who explains that she needs to become the Herrscher of Thunder again to save Kiana, she recalls all of the above, and realizes that it's all coming together to this moment. Her "connection" with Benares also foreshadowed Herrscher Mei taking over its dead body and turning it into her own draconic servant.
- In ch. 16, when she and Tesla talk about the Third Honkai Impact in Nagazora 3 years ago and how she was at the center of it, she gets to say "I know I couldn't turn back time... but I'm always reminded of this disaster whenever I face a choice." Cut to ch. 17 where a disaster happens in Nagazora again, then she gets to fight Husk - Nihilism, a boss that can reverse time. And most importantly, she has to make a big choice - of becoming the Herrscher of Thunder again.
- In one of the Elysian Realm conversations with Vill-V, Mei learns that she is the creator of Void Archives, the first Divine Key with tons of potential, including its will to defy its creator. Vill-V offers to teach Mei the countermeasures, only for Mei to reject her offer, hoping that she wouldn't be fighting it again. Guess what kind of enemy Mei fights against eight years later in A Post-Honkai Odyssey?
For Want Of A Nail: Her backstory here is similar to her backstory in Guns GirlZ. There, while she managed to befriend Kiana, Bronya and a few others, she's still emotionally withdrawn and uncomfortable among other people due to her ostracization following her past. However, here, thanks to Kiana and Theresa's efforts^note, Mei managed to retain her gentle and caring attitude towards everyone.
Friend to All Children: Her caring and gentle attitude makes her easy to connect with children, as shown with Sora in ch. 16 and Joyce in Post-Honkai Odyssey. Both times, it's lampshaded by Tesla and the "protagonist" respectively. Raven also later says that it's thanks to Mei that the refugees can understand that kind strangers do exist, and it helped her move them to a better place, when they used to be afraid of the outside world and other people.
Raven: Just one day, and Sora became so protective of you. You must have enchanted her with some evil magic.
Future Badass: In Post-Honkai Odyssey, as her older self, she combines traits from practically every Mei and Sakura battlesuit into one beautiful, deadly package, being capable of uppercutting enemies into the air, aerial attacks, dashing through her enemies, pursuit attacks, summoning shadow clones, channeling electricity, and more!
The Gadfly: One noticeable change in her personality in A Post-Honkai Odyssey is that she will occasionally tease those around her, suggesting that Elysia's antics during her stay in the Elysian Realm rubbed off on her a bit. This is best shown in the second chapter of the game mode, where she playfully teases Bronya at least twice; one in her conversation event where she misses Bronya so much (including her tendency to refer to herself in the third person), and another during the 2nd and 3rd Squad's investigation at the Arcane Castle, where she sweetly praises Timido's fighting style, to the point she wants to swap Carole for her, which Bronya flatly refuses.
Gathering Steam: With one of her passive skills in Post-Honkai Odyssey, she'll gain increased power the longer she stays in the air. When played right, she can stay hovering in the air for long, allowing her to do big damage to aerial enemies. Another of her passive skills allows her (or other teammates) to deal more damage with her (their) attacks the more combo hits she/the team has done, but only if she's reached S rank or above in the Awesomeness Meter.
Graceful Ladies Like Purple: She is a graceful Lady of War who came from an (initially) well-off family, and her hair, eyes, and a significant part of her wardrobe are purple in color.
Hair Color Dissonance: Her hair color hovers between the shade of dark blue or purple.
Happy Flashback: She experiences one in chapter 16 during her sleep, to the time when she and Kiana were still in the local high school in Nagazora. Mei Herrscher self woke up and caused zombies and Honkai Beasts to roam around, but Kiana had beaten it to submission. They had a close talk about escaping Nagazora, but Mei told Kiana to leave without her, as she feared that her "dark side" could take over her again anytime; however, Kiana just said that she could always beat every danger that come their way and she could whack the "Hershey" down with her "club" anytime, as she knew they were Lonely Together and they "make the perfect team". Amused by Kiana's brashness, innocence and bravery, Mei couldn't help but say that Kiana is "the biggest idiot she's ever seen"... but then she admitted that Kiana made her feel at ease.
Hates Being Alone:
- While she never says it outright, it's implied that her Dark and Troubled Past and her Herrscher problems caused her to be lonely and unable to form a meaningful friendship with everyone until she met Kiana, the only person who could beat her Herrscher self to submission and dig deeper to her. It's likely why she acts nice and caring towards everyone, so she wouldn't lose the people dear to her again. Since then she had lived a relatively normal school life (Honkai notwithstanding) with Bronya and others in Chiba Academy (in Nagazora) and later in St. Freya, but later, when Kiana disappeared from her presence for months, she's feeling the loneliness and longing again, towards the one girl who could connect to her.
  Mei: I stopped counting how many times we missed each other. The Battle of Schicksal... the fight against Rita... and when Durandal took her away... Every single time, I stood aside hopelessly, watching her slipping away from me.
- Kiana herself later makes a note of it when she's talking to Tesla.
  Kiana: I was shocked when I met Mei in Arc City... She changed so much... she looked so exhausted. She pretends that everything is fine, but I know...
- Later, as part of her re-accepting the power of the Herrscher of Thunder so she can save Kiana, the "mysterious voice" warns her that she'll cut her ties with her friends and family. She admits that she has always been alone and thus it doesn't matter. She even accepts that she'll "leave [Kiana] for all eternity" as long as her most important person can be alive in the end.
Headache of Doom: This happens several times in ch. 16, first when she encountered Benares; the headaches become more intense the further the chapter goes. It later comes up again in ch. 17; she would later realize that this is part of her becoming the Herrscher of Thunder again later on, as Kevin asks her to turn into a Herrscher again.
Heroic Second Wind: In ch. 17, in her fight with the boss "Husk - Nihilism", whenever her HP is depleted, she'll be downed for a few seconds, before getting up in a burst of red lightning and getting her HP and SP refilled, all while resolving to keep fighting for Kiana. Then, once she wins, there's a cutscene where Mei finds herself unable to move, the boss reasembles itself again by reversing time, then goes on to kill Mei; it leads to another case of this, where she has an Out-of-Clothes Experience (see below) and ends up re-awakening as Herrscher of Thunder, giving her tremendous boost of power; she proceeds to trash the boss with it and destroy it for good.
Hime Cut: Normally she only has blunted bangs, but her hair as Striker Fulminata is tidier, and as her adult self in Post-Honkai Odyssey, her hair is now straighter and longer with more even bangs, signifying her higher standing and maturity.
Hot as Hell: Lightning Empress has a succubus-themed alternate costume, Eventide Phantom. Its flavor text also plays into the theme, referring to a demoness who "would taunt her hunter or lure her prey with silvery laughter".
Horns of Villainy: Subverted when she becomes the Herrscher of Thunder again. One of the physical transformations is that she gains curved oni-like horns on her forehead. However, while the change has caused her personality to become more aloof and cold, she's still fundamentally the same Mei she's always been and is just as determined to defeat the Honkai and keep Kiana from harm.

I-T

Iaijutsu Practitioner: In Post-Honkai Odyssey, she now fights with her katana this way, with quick draw slashes and resheathings.
Idiot Hair: Mei has an ahoge, and it's longer than Kiana's. She loses it in A Post-Honkai Odyssey, though.
Ignored Epiphany: She has something similar in the third part of ch. 18. She was shaken by Owl's intention to save the Herrscher of Ice, as it reminds her of her own struggle to save Kiana from her "fate". However, she decides to steel her heart and go to pursue said Herrscher, for she knows that it's for Kiana's sake.
Many nights had passed since Mei left her at Nagazora. She knew she had to decide eventually. Mei convinced herself that it was all for her. She did it to foil her destiny. Indeed, that's the big reason why she has to do whatever it takes to seal the Herrscher of Ice.
Informed Attractiveness: In Chapter 31, when Mei first confronts the Herrscher of Corruption, it creates illusions of Mobius, Kalpas, and Vill-V to attack her. However, it muses about holding back the illusion of Kalpas so that he wouldn't leave scars on Mei's "beautiful body"]].
Irony:
- As shown in her flashback dream in chapter 16, back in her and Kiana's normal highschool days where they tried to escape from Honkai Beasts, she wished for Kiana to just go alone without her, as she's afraid that her Herrscher self may wake up again and cause trouble; Kiana just boasted that she could beat every danger coming their way and wake Mei up from being a Herrscher anytime. However, years later in chapter 14, this time, it's Kiana who's having a similar problem and also feels that she'll only endanger Mei and her friends. This time, Mei - who has lost most of her Herrscher powers - feels powerless to do anything about it, especially to repay Kiana's kindness and be the strong friend when Kiana needed it the most.
  Mei: She's been protecting me all along, but I failed to do anything for her...
- When Mei asks Sora about her "sensei", the latter describes her as a helpful and caring person who looks after the refugees in the Roost diligently; this causes Mei to want to know more about this "sensei". Sora also claims that Mei and her "sensei" are much alike and that they could make very good friends. In the middle of chapter 16, the sensei comes out to help Mei fighting Benares... and she's Raven, whom Mei has met before as an enemy. While Raven is grateful to Mei for having been helpful to the people of the Roost when she was away, they end up clashing against each other because Raven wants to kill Kiana.
  Mei: Your sensei is... this woman?
  Sora: Yes... What's wrong? You know her?
- Mei, the 3rd Herrscher who once wreaked havoc in Nagazora, gets to meet the refugees inside the city who were victims of the 3rd Honkai Impact. They don't find out who Mei was, and Raven wishes that they'll never learn the truth.
- Despite once having seen the World Serpent's atrocity (including towards Kiana herself, both directly and indirectly), she ends up having to deal with them to save Kiana's life, because they have the means while Schicksal or AE can't help her. Kiana later points this out to her; Mei, in trying to act Cruel to Be Kind, says that "I don't care" - echoing what Kiana said to Mei about endangering her own life.
- Most notably, she once feared the "darkness" of her life as it consumed her, and viewed Kiana greatly for being the "light" that saved her from that darkness; depicted symbolically with Kiana taking her hand before she could commit suicide. Then later, as it's now Kiana whose life is in danger, Mei tries to save her... by "accepting her darkness" i.e becoming Herrscher of Thunder, cutting the ties to her past (which she treasured greatly), and cutting her ties with Kiana, depicted symbolically by Herrscher Mei "cutting" the image of "Kiana saving Mei", right at the latter's hand in said image - for she fears that she may end up making Kiana "fall down" as well because of her. All to "return [Kiana] to bliss".
- In one of her conversations with Kevin in the Elysian Realm, she silently criticizes the Kaslanas' trait of carrying burdens on their shoulders, yet she acts like a Kaslana more than anyone else at the time, and she is in the right about it. Fast forward to eight years later in A Post-Honkai Odyssey, in the penultimate main mission of that mode, Theresa reprimands Mei with the exact same wording when she is concerned with Mei's wellbeing during the mission.
  Mei: Trying to carry everything on your own shoulders... A typical and annoying trait of you Kaslanas.
  Theresa: (to Mei) Don't try to carry everything on your shoulders. I'm speaking as a friend, not the Overseer.
I Will Find You: A few months after the events of chapter 9, she, Theresa, Bronya and the Hyperion crew (including a few Anti-Entropy members) have been searching around the world for Kiana and Himeko's whereabouts. Mei and Tesla continue their search for Kiana as the rest goes to The Deep, Anti-Entropy's underwater base, and she eventually finds Kiana in Arc City, but their reunion isn't in the happiest of terms and the latter gets taken away by Durandal to Vimur Base in North Africa. Some hours later, Kiana then escapes the base with her dimensional teleportation and reappears in Nagazora City, and Mei and Tesla detect her and go there to look for her. In the end, after an unlikely assistance from Raven, she manages to find the unconscious Kiana and bring her back to the Helios.
I Will Wait for You: Strongly hinted in A Post-Honkai Odyssey. According to her character profile, while she cleanses the remains of the Honkai, she is anticipating a reunion with someone's special to her, most likely Kiana. In the actual game mode, especially in the first chapter, whenever she noted that Carole's behavior reminds her of her best friend or reminiscing her good days during her youth, she often gazed to the sky, especially the moon, implying that no matter what happens, she never stops yearning for her homecoming.
Lady of War: She was initially born into wealth, received classical swordsmanship training from her father, and is as powerful as she is beautiful.
The Lancer: She is the calmer and more level-headed counterpart to the excitable and Book Dumb Kiana.
Literal Transformative Experience:
- She undergoes one at the climax of ch. 17. By discarding her fears and dependence on others, she accepts the power from her "inner darkness" and turns into the Herrscher of Thunder. The end part of "Theater of Thunder" event also has her (symbolically) fight off her issues^note through becoming the Herrscher of Thunder. Kevin also makes a note of it in HOT's tutorial video, saying that after her transformation, her heart is now free from fear and uncertainty.
- Later in ch. 18, the narration notes that Durandal thinks Mei has changed much since their short battle in Arc City.
Ma'am Shock: In one of the base talks in Post-Honkai Odyssey, she feels awkward when she's called "aunt" (she's now in her mid 20s) and feels that she's feeling a similar thing Himeko once felt.
Magikarp Power: Shadow Dash at first isn't all that impressive, with rather weak attacks and Ultimate Skill. Get her to Rank S, though, and she can upgrade her branch attack into something more powerful, as well as allowing her Ultimate Evasion to summon an extra shadow clone. Get her to Rank SS and she can summon 2 clones in her Ultimate Skill. Later on, it also gets an Augment Core upgrade, which gives her new skills that let her both deal good damage and support her teammates.
Male Gaze: During "Once Upon a Time in Shenzhou", Kiana focuses a camera she's holding on Mei's breasts, much to Mei's embarrassment and Theresa's annoyance.
Meaningful Name:
- Both her Lightning Empress and Herrscher of Thunder battlesuits gives her lightning-based attacks, very fitting for someone named after the Japanese god of thunder.
- The name of Herrscher of Thunder's dragon, Kurikara, is taken from the Japanese-Buddhist figure "Kurikara-ryuuou", a dragon that can morph into a sword, owned by one of the Wisdom Kings, Acala (aka Fudou Myouou).
Mechanically Unusual Fighter: Like the other Herrscher battlesuits before her, Herrscher of Thunder has several unique mechanics. She has two branch attacks: one when her Herrscher gauge isn't full^note and one when the gauge is^note; both of them can also recover her SP and HP. Like Flame Sakitama, Goshinsou Memento and Argent Knight before her, dash-canceling her normal combo will let her keep her combo sequence, at least for the first 3 strikes. She has a special debuff called "Blitzlock" that she can inflict on enemies with her Ultimate Evasion or Ultimate Skill's attacks, which paralyzes enemies and deals extra lightning damage and hits onto them. Her Ultimate Skill has 2 parts like Argent Knight before her: the first part summons her personal dragon, Kurikara, and then she rides on it^note. The second part is her jumping off to perform a finishing lightning slash as she falls down from above, giving the control back to her. She can be switched out after she performed the first part of her Ultimate Skill, and when she's switched in again, she'll immediately attack with the Ultimate Skill's second part. This allows for both parts of her Ultimate Skill to be support-boosted separately, leading to destructive damage potential.
Moment Killer: In the third part of ch. 18, when Owl and the Herrscher of Ice have a moment where he tries to "wake her up", Mei calls him as she comes together with Durandal.
Owl: Don't get in my way, Herrscher of Thunder!
Ms. Fanservice: She's a lot curvier in Post-Honkai Odyssey than she was before, even if she dresses fairly conservatively. In particular, her breasts grow to rival those of Himeko, Durandal, Rita, and Elysia.
Narrator All Along: The "Theater of Thunder" web event tells about Mei's past in a puppet play-style theater, with an art style that hearkens back to Guns GirlZ and with the music box remix of "Honkai World Diva" playing in the background. There, there's a narrator that narrates parts of Mei's early life... until the narration shifts to 1st person as the real, living Mei picks up the Kiana puppet.
Mei: Kiana... suddenly disappeared from [my] world. From then on, I seem to have become a mere spectator - one who could only watch Kiana struggle under the stage... Will I stand by and watch my dearest slip through my fingers as before? No... I'm no longer the child who could do nothing but cry. Kiana, you're not leaving my world without my permission!
Nice Girl: She's a kind, friendly, humble, gentle and considerate girl who strive to always help her friends and loved ones to the best of her abilities.
Nice Job Breaking It Heroine: In chapter 25, she temporarily steps out of the Elysian Realm to enter the Will of Honkai’s space to contact Kiana through her Herrscher powers, and provokes said Will of Honkai in the process. It’s at that moment that the nascent Herrscher of Corruption uses her as a vessel to then infect Flame Chaser sims and wreak havoc in the Elysian Realm. Although according to Vill-V, the Herrscher would have found its way to the real world sooner or later, and probably caused a lot more damaged if it hadn’t been contained.
Ninja: She uses a katana as her primary weapon, and is generally the fastest out of all the Valkyries. Her fighting style is also stated to be partially based on ninjutsu, and she holds her blade in a Reverse Grip. As Valkyrie Bladestrike and Shadow Dash, however, she fights more like a samurai.
Not in This for Your Revolution:
- In the "Thunderous Sanction" mini event i.e in the "Herrscher Files", Raven and Jackal (separately) say that Mei's sole raison d'etre for joining the World Serpent is Kiana and that she may not exactly approve of what their "Sire" (Kevin) is doing (in contrast to the Undying Loyalty of the other members), especially if their plan would endanger Kiana in any way. Jackal feels that Mei may turn her back on them someday and she would like to personally dispose of Mei when it comes to that. Aside from that, Mei doesn't seem to get along with the other members all that well.
- In ch. 18, Jackal says to her that "friends are supposed to get along with each other", and Raven tells her that they would have to work together to face the impending Honkai eruption. While Mei claims that she would honor her promise, she doesn't like being treated as a "friend" as she knows they're only using each other for their own ends. Raven affirms that, as they're mercenaries, she doesn't treat anyone as a "friend".
Now, Let Me Carry You:
- In ch. 16, she says that Kiana has helped her a lot and that it's her turn to help her friend now. Especially in the end where Kiana is under the threat of Honkai corruption and her physical condition is deteriorating, which motivates Mei even more to find a way to relieve her from her condition. This leads to her accepting the offer from Raven and dealing with Kevin to help her, in exchange of her joining the World Serpent.
  Mei: Kiana pulled me out of the darkness 3 years ago. She made me who I am. I'll gladly do it to save her life.
- Later in ch. 17, it's shown in one stage which flashes back to her and Kiana's time after becoming Valkyries in-training; while she remembers helping Kiana numerous times in the past^note, she laments the fact that she failed to be helpful for her friend when the latter needed it the most^Spoilers!, or that she's still struggling to do the same now, and it leads to her blaming herself for Kiana's suffering. It gets to a point where she's willing to sacrifice her own self-worth, by accepting the "darkness" within her and becoming a "sinner", all so she can save Kiana's life.
- As Kevin puts it in her Herrscher of Thunder battlesuit's tutorial video:
  Looking back, she could only watch her "knight" fight the "dragon" from afar in the past. But now, to save her knight, she's willing to sever the ties with her past and "become" the dragon.
Odd Name Out: As she's still relatively new in World Serpent, she doesn't have an Animal Themed Code Name like the other members. Raven discusses this with her in ch. 18; she tells Mei to give herself one before Jackal does, and claims that Mei wouldn't like that to happen.
The Ojou: She used to be this. Back in high school, she was the daughter of a wealthy family, and she was adored by her schoolmates. "Theater of Thunder"'s narration calls her as "the happiest bird in a blooming forest". However, her life and status went 180 degrees due to the "scandal" which involved her father, and this led her schoolmates to mock and abandon her for being the "daughter of a criminal".
Only then did it dawn on the girl that she was never the chirping bird she believed she was. She was only a crow holding a chunk of meat in her beak, in the eyes of others. When those surrounding her discovered the meat in her beak was gone, they all flocked away, isolating her.
Onee-sama: In the Japanese voiceover, Bronya calls her "Mei-neesama" and looks up to her. By the events of A Post-Honkai Odyssey, Bronya calls her "Mei-neesan", indicating their closenes
Oni: Herrscher of Thunder takes cues from one. It takes from some legends where young women became onis as a result of resentment and karma, called the "Kijo". She has 2 red horns, red eyeliners, wears a tengu-geta, and has a Background Halo that evokes the mythical Raijin, the God of Thunder. Relatedly, she has allusions to Acala (aka Fudou Myouou), one of the "Wisdom Kings" in Japanese Buddhism; the Wisdom Kings are "fierce gods" or "oni gods" (kishin)^note, explaining her oni-like theme.
The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Her Herrscher self believes that only she is allowed to kill Kiana, because of a grudge that's caused by Kiana having suppressed her (multiple times) in the past.
"Open!" Says Me: In ch. 14, right after Kiana broke out of the People Jars she was held in in the Heliopolis building's basement and fought Tonatiuh, Mei enters the scene by slicing the elevator door.
Out-of-Clothes Experience: This happens in the critical part of ch. 17. Mei, in her mind filled with darkness, kneeling down while all naked (shown only in silhouette), hears a "cold, dangerous, yet familiar voice"^note. The voice asks if she's "no longer afraid"; Mei mentally says that she no longer feels any fear, nor sense of angst or guilt; she feels naught but "serenity". The voice then makes a deal with Mei as the former proceeds to warn her about "going into a deeper abyss", how she's going to leave everything (including her friends and family) behind, how she'll be haunted by mistrust and suspicion and keep going down this path alone, how she will "no longer be at 'her' side, nor see her smile, nor take her hand", and how there's no turning back once she decides to step onto this path. Mei answers all of them with "it doesn't matter", showing that she's accepting her "darkness" and her fate, for it is something she has to do; she has made her choice. Then it cuts to Mei's eye as it glows in the dark while sparking with electricity, as the mysterious voice goes on to say:
Then go. Bury me with your hands. Take up my fury and lament my passing. Take my place and assume your power alone. Tell the world that she has returned as the Lightning Queen... Go now... and become the true Herrscher of Thunder!
Farewell, "Raiden Mei".
Out of Focus: In Ch. 9-EX2, the heroes' group split up; Mei and Dr. Tesla go to find Kiana while Bronya, Theresa and Dr. Einstein go to the Eye of the Deep. Since then she's absent from the story altogether, although she still appears in events. She finally shows up again in ch. 14.
Please, I Will Do Anything!: Two cases of this happens in ch. 17. The first has her saying this towards Einstein, to help her stave off Kiana's condition; the scientist, though, claims that there's little they can do but to put faith in Kiana to resolve it. The second is with Kevin as part of her Deal with the Devil with him, again to help her stave off Kiana's condition. He asks her to join his group, the World Serpent.
Power Copying: In ch. 19, after she was affected by the Scepters of Duat in the previous chapter, she has found a way to "replicate" its ability. She figures out that the Scepters work using electromagnetic waves, similar to an EMP, to disrupt the connection between the Herrscher's core and the Imaginary Space, cutting their source of power. As Herrscher of Thunder, she can recreate the waves using her electricity manipulation, allowing her to potentially subdue other Herrschers the same way. When she first tries it on Herrscher of Rimestar, though, she goes too far and kills them (i.e Owl and Ana), something she didn't expect to happen or like to do.
Power Floats: Downplayed. Unlike the Herrschers of the Void and Reason who constantly float, when she is using the Herrscher of Thunder battlesuit, she floats several feet through the air with each step as she walks, somewhat resembling walking in a low-gravity environment. This is akin to the movements of ghosts and demons in Japanese folklore.
Power Makes Your Hair Grow: Upon re-awakening as Herrscher of Thunder in ch. 17, her hair goes from a short ponytail (as Striker Fulminata) to almost reaching the ground, were it not for her high platform shoes; said hair also "flows" diagonally backward. In the end of ch. 17, she willingly "powers down" after she beats Kiana down and her hair gets short again, which segues to the "Lament of the Fallen" video. There, when Kiana resorts to use the Herrscher of the Void's full power to try to restrain Mei, the latter goes all out and assumes her full Herrscher form again, growing her hair long again in the process.
Power Stereotype Flip: People with lightning powers tend to be either excitable and impulsive, or have their mind be as "chaotic" and unpredictable as a thunderstorm. Mei, however, is generally very calm and gentle. It helps that she fears that her powers may turn her "crazy" and hostile towards others. When she re-awakens as Herrscher of Thunder, her gentleness is replaced by a cold, harsh exterior, but she still remains rather calm, even as her lightning powers become more intense. It helps that she can now perfectly control her power, free from the influence of the Honkai. A narration in ch. 19 gives this:
While lightning and thunder exploded all around her, Mei's mind was as tranquil as a still lake.
Power Tattoo: She has a stigma placed on her left hip; it can be seen in the supplementary comic when her skirt is partly torn. The same symbol of the stigma adorns Herrscher of Thunder's outfit and "extra arms", as well as her special debuff that she can inflict on enemies.
Punny Name: At least in Japanese language, her name can be pronounced the same way as the kanji "冥", meaning "dark". "Darkness" has been a prominent theme of her life, in contrast to Kiana's "(moon)light".
Purple Is Powerful: In A Post-Honkai Odyssey, her color of choice is purple for her attire, her Moon Ring, and her attack animations; symbolizing that she is one of the seasoned veterans from the Great Eruption. It's also possibly to represent the conclusion of her Character Development over the course of her lifetime, that she returns to her gentler personality (represented by the blue color shown in Striker Fulminata) while still carrying the sense of confidence and life lessons she learned from her days when she and her friends went their separate ways (represented by the red color shown in both Herrscher of Thunder and Danzai Spectramancer).
Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: Most of her Ultimate Abilities are named after Japanese mythological figures; Amaterasu (Crimson Impulse), Susanoo (Valkyrie Bladestrike), Takemikazuchi (Striker Fulminata), Tsukuyomi (Shadow Dash). As Herrscher of Thunder, her skills mostly follow this theme as well, not just in her Ultimate (Kagutsuchi's Avatar, Tsukuyomi's Flash, Combo: Susanoo's Frenzy, Amaterasu's Ride, Takemikazuchi's Edge).
Rescue Romance: A platonic example, where Kiana rescuing her from "the darkness"^note caused the aloof and lonely Mei to start trusting someone again after so long. She claims that her life has changed ever since.
Ride the Lightning:
- Lightning Empress' switch-in attack has her fall down alongside a bolt of lightning, striking the enemies close to her.
- In ch. 17's final stage, she - as the newly awakened Herrscher of Thunder - enters the scene with a flash of red lightning. During Kiana's fight with her, she periodically Flash Steps around the arena in a flash of red lightning. As her playable self, at the start of the gameplay she descends together with lightning, and her QTE has her striking the enemies around her as she falls from above with a bolt of lightning.
Rule of Symbolism: As Herrscher of Thunder, she has a dragon named "Kurikara", her signature weapon is named "Key of Castigation", and one of her win quotes is "let the thunder wash away all of your sins". They're loose allusions to Acala (aka Fudou Myouou), a high deity in Japanese Buddhism. The symbolism of this related to her are:
- She's said to have "cut" her attachments to the past and and to the people she depended upon when she decided to become the Herrscher of Thunder, as seen in the climax of ch. 17 and the end of "Theater of Thunder" event. The sword of Fudou Myouou, the "Kurikara-ken", is a sword that can turn into a dragon, that he uses to destroy delusions and sever attachments, and symbolizes "wisdom cutting through ignorance".
- Fudou, like the other Myouou ("Wisdom Kings"), are "fierce deities" or "kishin", sometimes misinterpreted as "oni god" (hence Herrscher of Thunder's oni-like themes). Fudou and the other "kishin" appear "fierce" in order to subdue evil and scare unbelievers into following the way of the Buddha. This is roughly what Mei is doing after becoming part of the World Serpent, with her mission to subdue and pacify any Herrscher that might appear in the future.
- The 5 Myouou are said to be protectors and messengers to the "5 High Buddhas" in Vajrayana/esoteric Buddhism. Fudou, as the central figure of the Myouou, serves as the protector to Dainichi Nyorai (Vairocana Buddha), the central figure of the aforementioned 5 Buddhas, and these two figures are often depicted together. Mei, as "Fudou", strives to protect and do everything for her "Dainichi", Kiana^note.
Sean Connery Is About to Shoot You: In her Victory Pose, she brandishes her sword towards the camera. As Herrscher of Thunder, she points her sword to the camera above her instead.
Sexy Backless Outfit: Downplayed with her Herrscher of Thunder outfit. Her top piece is held with only some thin straps on the back, allowing you to see her almost-bared back whenever she poses with her Badass Back in her victory pose.
Shamu Fu: In the joke event "Mei's Kenjutsu Training", she beats up enemies using a piece of stiff and salty tuna.
Shock and Awe: Her Herrscher power is to manipulate electricity. Lightning Empress is specialized in lightning elemental damage, while Striker Fulminata has electric aesthetics. As her battlesuit Herrscher of Thunder, she gains higher access to her lightning powers.
Short-Range Shotgun: In the "Once Upon a Time in Shenzou" event, her weapon is a double-barreled shotgun whose bullets don't go very far, but fires multiple shots at once in a spread. She can deal huge damage at close-to-point-blank range with it.
Shoryuken:
- Mei's branch attack as Crimson Impulse has her do a jumping upward slash while spinning, launching close enemies into the air. Once she reaches SS rank, it can be done twice in a row. Her QTE attack is a more powerful version of it, ending with a Sword Plant from above that creates a burst of energy.
- Her older self in Post-Honkai Odyssey can do a rising upward slash as her grounded special attack.
Single-Stroke Battle: Valkyrie Bladestrike's QTE attack is a powerful single slash as she dashes through the enemy, which then deals extra damage after she stops. In her Augment Core upgrade, the final slash in her normal combo is changed into this, that also paralyzes enemies hit by it.
Situational Damage Attack:
- Striker Fulminata's Ultimate Skill activation deals damage to the enemies around Mei; the more combo hits she did before the activation, the stronger the damage becomes.
- In Post-Honkai Odyssey, one of her Ultimate Skills (the Thunderwings) can deal more damage per hit the more combo hits she did before firing it (up to 300), but only if you've unlocked the corresponding passive skill for it.
Spin Attack: Aside from Crimson Impulse's Shoryuken attack, Lightning Empress' branch attack is Mei doing up to 3 circular slashes that deal lightning elemental damage around her.
Split-Personality Team: In the last stage of Chapter 8, her Herrscher self comes out to help her to fight against Herrscher Kiana. In particular, Herrscher Mei makes note on how it's rare to have the goals of both sides of her selves align.
Spotting the Thread: She directly encountered the "Will of Honkai", but was able to shield herself from its influence via the EM waves she emits via her power as Herrscher of Thunder. It simply doesn't make any sense for the "Will of Honkai" to be unable to subvert or bypass the powers it gave one of its enforcers. She demands the truth from Kevin, and he sends her to the Elysian Realm in response.
Stage Fright: in the "Summer Memories" event, she's asked to perform in a concert, but she would clam up when she starts performing in front of audiences. So much that her Herrscher self takes over and turns it into a destructively rocking show (zombies at the guitars and all that). After the Captain stops her, he tries to find a solution, and that is to bring Kiana along to perform together. The concert is then a success.
Stepford Smiler: Her 2020 birthday event (only in China) has a scene with her and the Captain, where it's noted that she tends to hide her thoughts, feelings and problems from other people with her smile and helpful attitude. She seemingly cares more about other people than her own feelings; she confesses to the Captain that everyone else seem to have changed a lot while she can only witness them from the sidelines. The Captain then says that it's his duty to look after his Valkyries, so being concerned of her problems is "what [he] should do" as a Captain. He also points out that as Kiana is elsewhere doing what she should do, it's time for Mei to think about what she should do for herself as well. Mei thanks the Captain for it.
Super Mode:
- Valkyrie Bladestrike's ultimate skill is a Burst Mode that gives her a blade aura that gives her attacks greatly increased reach, allowing her to attack multiple opponents at once.
- If Crimson Impulse reaches SS rank, she can gain a sub-skill that modifies her ultimate skill so that it also elongates her sword's reach for a duration like Valkyrie Bladestrike after the initial Sword Beam.
Superpowered Evil Side: Mei's powers as the 3rd Herrscher come with a Split Personality that's more ruthless and considers her regular self pathetic. In separate supplementary comics, when one of her friends is heavily injured by someone/something, it causes her Herrscher self to go on a rampage. She's able to manipulate electricity in a large scale. Ch. 17 has Kevin claim that, even as she lost the Gem of Conquest, she still has "a channel linked to the Imaginary Tree"; i.e it's already her destiny, and that it's possible for her to go back to it. Later, she ends up re-awakening as Herrscher of Thunder once again, with the World Serpent's help. Only that this time, it's all her own consciousness.
Sword Beam:
- Crimson Impulse's ultimate skill is to shoot out a wide, slow-moving, multi-hitting crescent beam out of her sword.
- In Post-Honkai Odyssey, one of her Ultimate Skills is to swing her blade and shoot a big blue bird made of lightning that flies toward enemies, deals multiple hits and paralyzes them afterward.
- As Boss Herrscher of Thunder, she can shoot red crescent beams out of her blade to attack from a distance.
- As Danzai Spectramancer, the last strike of her normal combo has her and her clone perform a slash together that sends out a cross-shaped wave. Said last strike can still be performed even if she's interrupted (either by herself or the enemies).
Sword over Head: She has this moment in the end of ch. 18. She strikes the Herrscher of Ice down, which breaks the "shadow" in her face, and Mei sees "Kiana" in her; then Owl goes inbetween them, trying to protect the Herrscher with his life. She can't bring herself to attack either of them; Durandal calls her out on holding back, then proceeds to go after Owl herself. The Herrscher ends up screaming and releasing mass amounts of Honkai energy from her core, creating a frigid blast that engulfed Mei and Durandal.
Sword Plant:
- In Coop Multiplayer, Shadow Dash's and Lightning Empress' team skills are activated by Mei stabbing her sword to the ground.
- As Danzai Spectramancer, her QTE has her fall down from above while stabbing her sword onto the ground. Her Ultimate Skill also ends with this, which can deal significant damage to enemies' Armor Meter.
Take Me Instead: In ch. 17, during her talk with the "mysterious voice" in her mind, said voice tells her that she's going to "fall into a deeper abyss". Mei says that it doesn't matter, for she'll be taking "her" (Kiana's) place instead; she's going to "walk into the darkness and return [Kiana] to bliss".
Team Chef: She's mainly the one to cook for her friends. Himeko likes her cooking, and Yae Sakura has a dialogue in the dorms where she compliments Mei on some barbecue that she made. One Cooking with Valkyries chapter/episode gives the imagery of her being a "culinary wizard", complete with Robe and Wizard Hat and (in the anime) a Magical Girl-style sequence.
Technicolor Eyes: In Post-Honkai Odyssey, her eyes are uniquely colored: purple at the top half and blue at the bottom. Later in the main story, she also gains the aforementioned eye colors when she becomes Danzai Spectramancer.
Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: With Raven. They don't hate each other per se, and have worked well together when they've had to team up, but they've also come to blows on multiple occasions for a variety of reasons, and Mei dislikes Raven's mercenary nature and can be quite harsh and cutting when speaking to her, especially when she thinks Raven's being extra sneaky.
The Teetotaler: She has apparently resolved to never drink anything alchoholic. When she and Raven are talking in Raven's old bar, Raven offers to make her a drink but she refuses and instead has some milk. In one of her conversations with Eden in Elysian Realm, Eden offers her a drink from her goblet but she refuses, saying she never drinks.
Thousand-Yard Stare: Some of the conversations with her in Post-Honkai Odyssey involve her looking forlornly towards the sky, usually the moon. She would also reminisce about a certain someone while doing so.
Through His Stomach:
- In Rita's Cooking with Valkyries episode, Mei stresses the importance of putting one's feelings and conveying it through cooking, and how it doesn't have to be perfect so long as you can get your message across.
- In the "Theater of Thunder" web event, one of the scenes show how Kiana became happy through Mei's cooking and how the latter promised to cook more for her next time.
  Perhaps that was what sparked the girl's interest in culinary arts... for she learned that food was not solely about satiating hunger.
- In another Cooking with Valkyries episode, Rita figures out from everyone's reactions that this is why Mei makes various toppings and dipping sauce for the nachos.
  Rita: This cannot be achieved by her exceptional culinary skills alone... Miss Raiden always has everyone's taste at heart.

U-Y

The Unfettered: One significant part of her development in ch. 17 is about her deciding to cut away all of her "fetters" in order to pursue a single goal: "to save Kiana's life". As she accepted the power of the Herrscher of Thunder to alleviate Kiana's condition, she also accepted all of its costs: condemning herself to her "dark fate" and leaving all of her old life and attachments behind, including her own ties with Kiana. This is also shown in the end of the "Theater of Thunder" event, where she symbolically "cuts" all of her issues (including her dependence) as she becomes the Herrscher of Thunder in order to prevent Kiana from "leaving her world". Later, it's shown that she chooses to keep going after the Herrscher of Ice despite being shaken by how similar her and Owl's situations to each other (in ch. 18) and she decides against retreating to get more Scepters of Duat from Jackal (in ch. 19) because of the potential danger that the Herrscher poses to the world at large, but also because 1) as far as she knows, capturing Herrschers as part of the WS' project could lead to Kiana's safety in the long term, and 2) she doesn't want the Hyperion, and especially Kiana, to get involved if the Herrscher manages to escape.
Unspoken Plan Guarantee:
- The corollary version in ch. 18. Mei rebriefs her group about their plan: she goes to confront the Herrscher of Ice, Raven does surveillance and gives support fire, and Owl sets up the Scepters of Duat to weaken the Herrscher. So the plan gets explained and it later fails - though it's more because Owl betrays them by trapping Mei instead.
- Played with in ch. 19. When Raven asks her the plan to capture the Herrscher this time, Mei doesn't explain her plan in full - she only tells Raven to retrieve the Scepter of Duat's remains as she goes after the Herrscher again. Later, when they meet each other again and Raven gives the scepter's remains to Mei, the latter figures out how it works, and finds a way to "replicate" its capabilites with her Herrscher powers. But when she tries to use it to stop Herrscher of Rimestar, she ends up going too far and kills them (when she's supposed to nonfatally subdue them) and could only preserve their still active Herrscher cores with her powers, and she feels bad over it.
Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Act 3 of Chapter 30 reveals that when Mei made contact with the Will of Honkai, a fragment of the Herrscher of Corruption latched onto her, and when she returned to the Elysian Realm it came with her. While the Herrscher's fragments in the real world were contained relatively easily because of the careful steps taken to make sure it doesn't gain self-awareness, Mei's experiences in the Elysian Realm cause it to mature rapidly, particularly when it gained the fear of death from Mei's fight with Kalpas. This drove it to go to any lengths for the sake of survival, made all the more imperative when it realized that its "selves" in the real world had begun to vanish. Thus, it began corrupting the Fire MOTH sims, bringing doom to the Elysian Realm just as Aponia had prophesized. Vill-V starts "killing" the other sims so that the Herrscher of Corruption cannot do its job.
Virtual Training Simulation: In the beginning of ch. 18, Mei is training her Herrscher abilities inside one in the World Serpent's base. Jackal, who monitored the whole thing, confirms that Mei is in good control of her powers.
When You Coming Home, Dad?: Back when she was little, her father, Raiden Ryoma, was busy with being the CEO for ME Corp, that he had very little time to be with his child. However, she wasn't truly alone, as the "Swordmaster HOMU" periodically came to her house to be her kendo teacher. In truth, Swordmaster HOMU was Ryoma in disguise, who secretly was proud of her progress and growth. After the "scandal" that left her father behind bars, Mei eventually found out said HOMU's true identity, and it made her realize that "her heart was far from strong".
Willfully Weak: How Danzai Spectramancer (Shadow Dash's augmented version) came to be. After she became Herrscher of Thunder, DS is the form she turns into whenever she chooses to "power down"; said suit is stated to be used in small scale conflicts or covert ops. In story (ch. 19), she changes into that form after the fight with Herrscher of Ice, where Mei focuses her lightning powers to create an EM field that protects her and Durandal against the cold. She would later turn into Herrscher of Thunder again after she parts with Durandal and chases after the Herrscher of Ice.
Wrecked Weapon: Ch. 16 shows that her prior encounter with Durandal left her with her blade (the Raikiri) broken.
Yamato Nadeshiko:
- She was raised by a mentally-traditional family and was trained in ways of tradition, including swordsmanship. She's also a gentle, patient, soft-spoken, nurturing would-be lady who's good at domestic chores and especially cooking, and tends to dress in a more feminine way, complete with Hime Cut. She's devoted to her friends and closest people (especially Kiana) and will always put their needs and wellbeing before hers. As her older self, she shows more of this following her maturity, even as she's more active on the field; she's now more capable to be stern when necessary.
- She's not without some twists here and there, however: she hides a Superpowered Evil Side that she tries her best to suppress, and due to her past, she's emotionally dependent on Kiana - realizing this also makes her realize that she hasn't grown a strong enough "mental core" needed to be a proper Yamato Nadeshiko. This makes her resolve to be brave and more determined to face anything on her way of protecting her dearest friend. She also shows what happens when a Yamato Nadeshiko is pushed to her limits: in trying to devote herself, and be of help, to her closest person, she faces multiple ordeals in front of her that test her patience and tenacity, and it causes her to grow desperate to save her friend, that she decides that her own self-worth, dignity, happiness, and wishes don't matter anymore as long as her "most important person" can be happy and fulfill her dreams in the end.
You Can Barely Stand: In the "Lament of the Fallen" video, when Kiana shouts to Mei that she's not letting her friend go, Mei responds with this, pointing out Kiana's less-than-perfect condition.
You Remind Me of X: In ch. 18, at first, it's only subtly hinted that the Herrscher of Ice's condition - i.e Ana Schariac is trying to fight against the Honkai's influence - reminds Mei of what Dr. Einstein once told her, likely referring to Kiana's own condition. Then, the third part of the chapter has Owl declaring to her that he wants to save the Herrscher of Ice and make her control her own power as he sees that Mei could do it herself; this causes Mei's mind to be filled with conflict and doubt, as she knows she wants Kiana to do the same. In the final stage, as Mei strikes the Herrscher's face, the "shadow" in her face breaks, causing Mei to see "Kiana" in her. This and Owl trying to protect the Herrscher with his life cause Mei to hesitate, as she gets reminded of what happened in ch. 16, i.e her trying to protect Kiana from Raven.
Mei was taken aback. The decision that Owl had made was too familiar... The man had made the exact same choice she did back then.
You Will Not Evade Me: Herrscher of Thunder's Ultimate Evasion effect lets her gather enemies closer to her position before she does a powerful slashing attack.

Characters / Honkai Impact 3rd - Raiden Mei

Raiden Mei

Voiced by: Juhuahua ^*菊花花 (Chinese), Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese)

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Characters / Honkai Impact 3rd - Raiden Mei

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Raiden Mei

Voiced by: Juhuahua *菊花花 (Chinese), Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese)

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Voiced by: Juhuahua ^*菊花花 (Chinese), Miyuki Sawashiro (Japanese)