HoYoverse's Urban Fantasy Action RPG 'Zenless Zone Zero' Announces New Character 'Dianling,' Voiced by Ayana Taketatsu

HoYoverse has announced the arrival of a new character, "Dianling," in its urban fantasy action RPG, "Zenless Zone Zero (Zenless Zone Zero)," officially revealing that popular voice actress Ayana Taketatsu will lend her voice to the role. This announcement garnered significant attention on X (formerly Twitter), quickly becoming a trending topic.

Dianling has captivated players not only with her adorable visual design but also with her distinctive character traits, described as "mesugaki" (a playful, teasing girl), "amusingly provocative," and prone to "blushing easily." X users have flooded the platform with comments such as "Dianling is cute!" "Dianling is so mesugaki, it's hilarious. I'm pulling for her," and "Another interesting woman is joining the roster," clearly indicating that her unique charm has resonated with many players.

Furthermore, Dianling has been confirmed to possess powerful "S-rank Physical Break" abilities within the game. Given that all limited S-rank Break characters released so far have consistently demonstrated excellent performance, expectations for her combat capabilities are soaring, with comments like "Excited to see what her performance will be like" and "All limited S-rank Break characters have been excellent so far, by the way." Some players have also expressed hope, saying, "Please save the Strong Attackers," wishing for her to become a pivotal physical damage dealer in existing team compositions.

Ayana Taketatsu's casting also came as a major surprise to players. While exclamations like "Taketatsu's Dianling???" and "It's Ayana Taketatsu, huh" were common, many players are now reconsidering their gacha plans, with some stating, "Now that Ayana Taketatsu is confirmed as the voice actress, I might have to rethink my Zenless Zone Zero gacha strategy." A large number of users are eagerly anticipating Dianling's acquisition, remarking, "She's cute, has a great voice, and her performance is promising."

Dianling's introduction is significantly influencing future gacha plans. Players are grappling with tough choices, asking, "Am I being forced to choose between Idoly or Dianling??" and "My hesitation about pulling for Lycaon is growing." There are also discussions about how she will fit in with existing characters and unannounced ones like "Zhao," "Bangaku," and "Shunko." With her debut widely expected in the upcoming Version 2.4, potentially coinciding with the half-anniversary season, the Zenless Zone Zero community is abuzz with excitement surrounding Dianling.

The context

This article discusses the highly anticipated new character, Dianling, for HoYoverse's upcoming action RPG, Zenless Zone Zero. HoYoverse is a renowned Chinese game developer, famous for global hits like "Genshin Impact" and "Honkai: Star Rail." Their games are typically free-to-play with a "gacha" monetization system, where players spend in-game currency (often purchased with real money) to randomly acquire new characters or items. "S-rank" characters usually represent the highest rarity and power level in these games.

The announcement that Ayana Taketatsu, a hugely popular and prolific Japanese voice actress (known for roles like Azusa Nakano in "K-On!" and Kirino Kousaka in "Oreimo"), will voice Dianling has added to the character's appeal. The term "mesugaki" (メスガキ), often used by Japanese fans, describes a playful, somewhat cheeky, and provocatively confident female character who might tease or playfully boss around others. This unique character trait, combined with her powerful "S-rank Physical Break" combat abilities, makes Dianling a highly desirable character, leading many players to reconsider their spending plans in the game's gacha system.