6. Natlan - This ignores all my other problems with the region, like the modern technology and whatnot. This arc feels like a generic shonen/harem anime, which I personally despise. Every single main character you meet likes you instantly. I know that ATP the Traveler is world-famous, but come on. Ayaka's dick-riding was less annoying by comparison. Mavuika doesn't strike me as an Archon either, she's too perfect, her plan basically goes without a real hitch, and she's got no personality to speak of. She's just...one of the guys. The main cast is pretty boring and part of a trope (the aloof older woman, the wise one who is secretly an otaku, the loli, the bubbly girl, the aloof loner guy, and the leader who worries they can't lead but turns out to be a great leader anyway).
Even the climax of the story is ripped straight out of a bad shonen, with the first character the MC meets (Kachina) suddenly starting a chant that everyone randomly decides to join in, that gives the protagonists the motivation needed to keep fighting against the big bad. Also I don't find Ajaw endearing, just purely annoying. I know Paimon gets a lot of hate (not me personally, I quite like Paimon), but I'd take Paimon over him any day. I'm glad to be playing in Japanese audio because the English one would have probably made be blow my brains out. The war being against the abyss felt like a huge cop-out. I was expecting a civil war, or a war between people and dragons, but nope, they went with the Abyss, the safest option. Also Chasca's sister dying got zero reaction out of me, I didn't give a shit about yet another generic NPC. Even Fontaine tried to scare people by making it seem Navia would die.
5. Inazuma - Tried too hard to get me to focus on an NPC. I've probably forgotten what Teppei looks like. Pet peeve and probably nitpicky, but the fact that we DO NOT see our grand arrival from Liyue to Inazuma, and instead just get a black screen with text. Ei went from seeming like a tyrannical overlord afraid of change...to a NEET, afraid of change. I'd have preferred the first option. Pretty forgettable IMO, it's ranked higher than Natlan because it did have moments I actually liked, still very low because I had zero fucking idea who Scaramouche was and got confused why The Balladeer knew about the Traveler. No, I was not around for Unreconciled Stars. See the shit you cause, Hoyo?
4. Liyue - Pretty alright. It's really jarring to remember this arc started with the Traveler being treated as a dangerous criminal because they think he might have killed Rex Lapis. You sure as heck won't ever see that today. I don't really recall too much of the actual story, though I'll admit the ending had spectacle, with Ningguang's Not-Gate-of-Babylon and the palace being dropped onto the Leviathan. I've nothing much else to say in terms of story since I don't really remember much and it didn't wow me like Mondstat did.
3. Mondstat - I mean, it's fine, it's the tutorial/first place the players will visit. It's got the aesthetic of your typical fantasy/isekai anime, which I don't dislike as long as it's done well. Even has the dragon right at the start. I've definitely played games with worse starting areas, both in terms of aesthetic and story. Maybe I'm a bit biased, back then before Inazuma existed, I liked the Mondstat story better than the Liyue one. I like the starting characters and their motivations here, they're nothing TOO complex and some of them DO fall into the same trope problem you get with Natlan, but I'm excusing this because it's the first starting area, and by the time Natlan released, Hoyo had proved the story could be great. Possible Nostalgia bias also.
2. Sumeru - Honestly it could have been the first on this list, but I was personally not a fan of the time loop arc. Perhaps biased because I've been burned by the time loop arc in Haruhi Suzumiya, which I hated. Also I just hate desert areas in ANY game and the fact this region is basically half desert...I would have preferred the forest. Really liked the Nahida arc, her birthday trailer helped in making it sink in how she was pretty much despised by the Sages, and the team coming together to help her at the end. Really feels like a team effort IMO, unlike Natlan. Also Dottore is the last guy I can remember who's been a proper villain, and he was a damn good one. As much as I adore Arlecchino she comes off more as an Antihero. Or at least someone who could have been the antagonist but sides with the protagonist because mutual interest.
1. Fontaine - I love Furina's initial brattiness, sue me. I sort of wish they kept it, I know she was acting and theatrics and whatnot, but she's still doing theater. The reveal with the Primal Sea and the people being all Oceanids wasn't something I was expecting. They did a bit better with characters dying here IMO, but again, generic NPCs so not really too hard-hitting. I genuinely don't understand, by this point they had killed off Signora, they had revealed the Yakshas from Xiao's old team, who were long dead but people still wanted, and they would kill off Capitano the very next region. Why not do the same here for Fontaine? I like the characters in this arc, even though the Furina court turned out to be a joke, Neuvillette turned out to be the one who actually "saved" everyone, and the prison arc went on for a lot longer than it should have, it's still my preferred region in terms of story. (Also don't know if it counts but Arlecchino's backstory holy shit).
