  |
This article is a stub. You can help the Honkai Impact 3rd Archives by expanding it.
|
Raiden Mei is a protagonist of Honkai Impact 3rd along with Kiana Kaslana and Bronya Zaychik. She is the natural 3rd Herrscher of the Current Era and a member of the St. Freya team.
Appearance[]
Mei has long dark purple hair and indigo eyes. In her Herrscher Form, her eyes gain hot pink pupils, has dark red horns fading to bright red on her head and her hair becomes a lot longer and parts in the middle into two.
In A Post-Honkai Odyssey, Mei has long hair and bright purple to light blue eyes, and wears a white and black suit with a white, blue, purple and pink feather on it, blue-purple gloves, translucent tights and black shoes.
Battlesuit Appearances[]
- Crimson Impulse: Mei wears a pink and black suit, black thigh highs and pink shoes.
- Valkyrie Bladestrike: Mei wears a red and black dress with a brown top, red sleeves, black gloves, yellow, black and red thigh highs and black and red shoes.
- Striker Fulminata: Mei wears a white and blue hoodie, black gloves, black thigh highs and black shoes. She also has a white and blue scabbard strapped behind her waist.
- Shadow Dash: Mei wears a black and red suit, a black and red cape, and red and black boots.
- Danzai Spectramancer: Mei wears
- Lightning Empress: Mei wears a black and purple demon-like mask above her face, a black and purple suit with a ripped school uniform inside, and black thigh highs and boots.
- Herrscher of Thunder: Mei has red eyes and two red horns on her head, and wears a white, black and red suit, black gloves, a black dress, white thigh highs and black shoes.
- Herrscher of Origin: Mei has
Personality[]
Mei is someone with a long history of neglecting her own feelings. Even before her father was arrested, she was used to silently accepting her loneliness within the home. When she went from being the center of attention at school to a "criminal", though, she grew more jaded. She still had a soft heart, but often put her guard up when people approached. This applied even to Kiana Kaslana.
It was only after Kiana innocently bombarded her with requests for food (despite her lack of skill at the time) that she began to soften again. This would be the start of her love for cooking.
When Mei became the 3rd Herrscher, Mei's Herrscher personality woke. Mei's Herrscher personality was originally very malicious and cold: viewing those lower than her as scum. Her Herrscher personality could not only feel her pain, but also her joy (along with her feelings for Kiana). The Herrscher personality was touched when Kiana caught Mei from the edge of the school rooftop. However, both Mei and the Herrscher personality grew fearful of hurting Kiana and losing this precious bond. The Herrscher personality concealed herself within Mei to study Kiana in secret.
At St. Freya, Mei often took the role of a caretaker-- for both Kiana and the rest of the group. She would often cook for their little family, including packing lunches for her friends. She was always a good student, which carried over to her time in St. Freya. She scored in the top 3 for the first written tests they had to take.
Mei's Herrscher personality becomes kinder as time passes. She is willing to help Mei protect Kiana: fighting alongside Mei as Kiana's consciousness was overtaken by the 2nd Herrscher.
Eventually, Mei grows tired of her powerlessness. She no longer wanted to watch Kiana getting hurt without doing anything. Mei chooses to act on her feelings for once. She ascends as the Herrscher of Thunder, and leaves for World Serpent. Mei's personality then changes slightly. Despite being more cold and merciless than before, she is still kind. The only difference is that she has a new drive: the desire to protect Kiana. Even she admits that the fate that Ana Schariac and Owl suffered was not deserved, as she saw herself in Owl. She tries to keep a tough faƧade, but the concern she showed towards the two proves there's some empathy she can't help but show.
When fighting the Herrscher of Domination she shows a more sadistic and taunting side, using the Herrscher's fear of her to her advantage-- purposely putting herself in the middle of their plans and significantly weakening them with her superior ability.
Relationships[]
Kiana Kaslana[]
Kiana was Meiās first real friend and helped pull her out of the darkness that loneliness brought her. When Mei awoke as a Herrscher, Kiana refused to abandon Mei or allow her to kill herself. Kiana promised Mei that she would protect her from the Herrscher within. Mei truly cares for Kiana, and takes extra care in watching over her. She is always worrying about Kiana, and often stays with her to make sure she doesn't get into trouble.
Kiana often declares her love for Mei in public, much to Mei's embarrassment. She reciprocates if it isn't an inappropriate time for it. When Kiana was captured by Schicksal, Mei could only think about how much she really cared for her. She specifically asked Theresa to disable the bomb next to her heart, despite the great fear she held for her power.
Mei tried her best, but was ultimately unable to do anything against the Herrscher of the Void. The Herrscher added insult to injury by taking the Gem of Conquest away from her. In the wake of the incident, the disappearance of both Kiana and Himeko left a huge impact on Mei. She began to see herself as weak, and unable to protect her loved ones. Mei chased any sign of Kiana, but when they finally met in Arc City, Kiana refused to return, fearing that she would harm her friends. Mei was shocked, and suddenly felt like Kiana was a stranger to her now. She could only watch as Kiana risked her life yet again to save the city, and was intercepted when trying to catch her. Durandal beat her to it.
Mei fought with all her might, but failed to even scratch the S-Rank Valkyrie. She attempted to pursue her afterwards, but could only fall to the ground in exhaustion. She wept at her helplessness alone in the middle of the street. After days of searching, Mei found Kiana at the brink of death in Nagazora. Mei was unable to sleep due to her anxiety. Nevertheless, she put on a smile for Kiana, and didn't say anything when she realized Kiana had been lying to her about her wellbeing. After overhearing Kiana tell the doctors to kill her if they have to, she decided to accept Kevin's offer to join World Serpent.
The final nail in the coffin was when Kiana blatantly said she didn't care if she died. Mei chased after her again, but ultimately realized that she needed to fight. She embraced her Herrscher powers and emerged with a firm heart. Kiana refused to let her go with Kevin, and so they fought. It was in this fight that Mei was finally honest, and said that the world meant nothing to her if Kiana wasn't in it. Kiana was unable to defeat the newly awakened Herrscher, and fell unconscious. Mei gently sat her against the rubble and left.
--
Bronya Zaychik[]
Mei and Kiana ran into Bronya in Nagazora. Mei immediately took her under her wing as a little sister of sorts. She treated Bronya like a human, not a weapon. Bronya had actually been deployed to capture Mei after her awakening, but decided to join Kiana and Mei on their journey. While at first it was only to monitor the two, Mei's care opened Bronya's heart up. Over time, Bronya genuinely came to enjoy her company, and they peacefully lived their days at St. Freya.
In the incident with the 4th Herrscher, Bronya was forced to capture Mei and Wendy. When the time came to face Kiana and the others, she asked them to take Mei and leave. Bronya burnt the biochip in her brain to give them the opportunity to escape. It impacted her enough to put her in a coma. Mei was devastated, and constantly fretted over her in the hospital. Despite learning the truth about Bronya, Mei still cared for her dearly.
After the incident with the Herrscher of the Void, Mei and Bronya were separated, with Mei going to look for Kiana and Bronya heading for the underwater Anti-Entropy base. The two haven't interacted since.
--
Durandal[]
Mei first meets Durandal in Arc City. When she desperately attempted to take back the unconscious Kiana, she was confronted with the S-Rank Valkyrie and lost. Durandal states that Mei's ability lacks in comparison to her will. Durandal then takes Kiana away. This moment begins a series of events that would place Mei on a path leading towards World Serpent. When the two meet again on Coral Island, they agree to work together against a common enemy. When the Herrscher breaks loose, Mei and Durandal work together to subdue it. The two are shown to have a mutual respect for the other's ability.
--
Raven[]
The two meet as enemies, with Raven attempting to kill Kiana multiple times. In Nagazora, the two begin an uneasy truce to deal with Benares and get the orphans out of the ruins. When the truce ends the two battle. Raven at first believed that Mei is a weakling due to her losing her Herrscher powers, however Mei manages to muster strength from the residual power still within her. This turns the fight in her favor and Raven backs off to allow Mei to retrieve Kiana. Raven tells World Serpent that Mei could be a viable member.
After Mei becomes a member, she suddenly treats Raven with as much coldness as anyone else. Even so, she is shown to worry about Raven when she is wounded by Owl. Raven is shown to trust Mei enough to go along with her secret plan. When the two are seen again in the Herrscher of Domination arc, they are much closer, with them stopping in at Raven's bar for a drink before visiting the orphanage together. They also share personal stories during a car ride and a walk on the beach. Their trust in battle is also shown when they are both dragged into the Theater of Domination.
--
Elysia[]
After Mei is recruited by Kevin to join World Serpent, Kevin sends her to the Elysian Realm, telling her that the Realm contains information regarding the nature of the Honkai. Upon entering the Realm, Mei is greeted by a simulation of Elysia, who introduces herself to Mei as the 2nd of the Previous Era's Thirteen Flame-Chasers, and that the Elysian Realm is a digital space hosting the simulated memories of those thirteen.
Mei is initially very wary of Elysia. This is due to her unusually cheerful and seemingly pure demeanour. This wariness is exacerbated as Mei meets more of the Flame-Chasers, who each have their own opinions about Elysia. One of which is Mobius, who openly labels Elysia as a āTraitorā.
However, as Mei ventures deeper into the Realm, she comes to realise that the pure cheerfulness Elysia exudes is her nature. She begins to open up more to Elysia. At the end of the Elysian Realm's 3rd chapter, Elysia reveals to Mei that she is in fact the 13th Herrscher of the Previous Era. Despite that, the two remain strongly bonded. This is seen as Mei is actively involved in the search for Elysia after the latter is seemingly killed in Chapter 29 of the main story.
The two meet again for the last time in Chapter 31 after Eden reveals to Mei that Elysia was never the 13th Herrscher. Through Eden, Mei finds out that Elysia was born a Herrscher, and was actually the very first Herrscher to have existed. Mei finally meets Elysia in her Herrscher form and understands that Elysiaās sacrifice in the Previous Era yielded in her existence as a Herrscher who fought for humanity. The two bid farewell as Mei returns to the real world.
History[]
On April 13th, 1997, Raiden Ryoma and his wife gave birth to Mei in Nagazora City (Honshu, Japan). A few years later, her mother died of cancer. The year she died is not specified. Later, her stigmata awoke, and Ryoma sealed it as best he could. Some terrorist organization kidnapped her in 2004, and it isn't clear how Ryoma got her back.
Mei underwent 3 years of therapy afterwards.
Otherwise, Mei lived a cushy life. Servants would prepare her lunches, everyone showered her in attention, and even with her father often gone for business, she had kendo lessons with Mr. HOMU (who was actually her father) to keep her busy. Life was beautiful. Then, all of a sudden, everything changed. Her father was falsely accused of embezzling funds by Cocolia, and was put in prison in 2013. Ryoma had told her a strong heart is what will get you through battle. She thought her heart was the strongest, but when everything collapsed before her very eyes, she knew she was wrong. The ME Corp assets were frozen, and she no longer had servants to help her get by. This is when Cocolia took over the corporation herself.
At first, Mei's cooking was awful, as she had never cooked a meal in her life. This time, when she asked her classmates to sit with her, they rejected her. No one wanted to hang out with a "criminal's daughter" after all. She realized that because she was no longer an heiress, no one cared about her. All their enthusiasm was for their own benefit. Mei found the Mr. HOMU costume in the training room, and realized her father had been training her all along. Alone, she could not handle the hatred threatening to engulf her. Then, Kiana Kaslana came into her life. Despite Mei being cautious towards this underclassman, Kiana managed to worm her way into her heart. She defended Mei from bullies, ate lunch with her, and gave her more than she had ever experienced before. Mei finally found a real friend. Kiana's enthusiasm for Mei's homemade lunch started a long love for cooking. Mei realized cooking was no longer simply to survive. Kiana told her it didn't matter what her father may or may not have done. She was Mei, and only Mei. The two found solace in each other.
They lived peacefully until the Gem of Conquest was stimulated in Nagazora in 2014. This gem awoke the hidden powers in Mei's stigmata long sealed away. The burst of Honkai energy that arose from her eruption turned almost every citizen into zombies. Kiana was not affected by the Honkai poisoning that plagued everyone else. At that point, another personality took control over Mei: one that hated humanity, and that was much more violent than the mellow friend Kiana had made. Even so, Kiana did not waver, and beat the personality back, allowing Mei to come to her senses. When Mei awoke, she looked on in horror at what she had done, and tried to jump off of the very roof the battle took place. Kiana reached out her hand and told her not to give up. Even after Mei exhausted all of the worries she had, Kiana still urged her to take her hand. Mei took it, and thus her fate was changed.
There is another version of her awakening that Mihoyo has told. Everything is the same except Mei chooses to ascend as the 3rd Herrscher in an act of revenge against all those who harmed her. In this version, Kiana meets Mei as the Herrscher personality. Even though this personality has many chances to kill Kiana, she doesn't. Kiana is still as stubborn as before, and keeps insisting she will save Mei from herself. Eventually, the Herrscher personality grows scared of her kindness and decides to end her life. Kiana reaches out for the Herrscher, and she accepts her defeat. Mei awakens, and begs Kiana to let go, but Kiana refuses. Just like the other version, Mei ends up taking her hand.
The two headed off to explore the city and find a way to survive. During this time, Mei still had doubts welling up within her, and told Kiana to leave her behind. Kiana refused, and promised Mei if she ever lost herself to that personality again, she would beat her as many times as it takes. Mei called her an idiot, but she was comforted by those words. Soon they met Bronya Zaychik, and the three kept wandering until a few months later.
Manga Story[]
Second Eruption[]
Mei briefly appears as a baby crying in her mother's arms as she watches a news report on a television screen in a city.
Escape from Nagazora[]
In the midst of a Honkai attack, Kiana took a fatal blow for Mei, which caused her other personality to take control. The Herrscher personality made it clear that she wanted to kill Kiana herself, so she wouldn't let her die here. Schicksal, having already noticed the spike in Honkai energy, sent the battleship Hyperion to check out the situation. Among the crew was Murata Himeko. The two fought each other for only a little bit of time before Mei managed to heavily damage the battleship. Right when she was on the cusp of winning, the Kaslana in her arms woke up. To everyone's surprise, she shattered the wings of the Herrscher, thus putting that personality to rest once more.
The three girls were taken onto the Hyperion, and were offered the chance to be Schicksal Valkyries. At first, Mei opposed the idea, as she thought the Herrscher power inside her was too dangerous: if she were to be taken over again, the results would be catastrophic. She asked Himeko to simply kill her and get rid of the problem, but Himeko refused. She told Mei that if she's willing to give up her life, she should give it to saving people. Schicksal planted a bomb next to Mei's heart: one that would explode if her Herrscher powers were used for more than 5 minutes. This made Mei feel safer about attending.
AE Invasion[]
Cocolia from Anti-Entropy wanted Mei's power, so she sent one of her clones of Welt Joyce to kidnap her. Neither Bronya nor Fu Hua could stop him, but Kiana swooped in just in time. Mei's Herrscher persona lent Kiana her power, and thus made the Moonlight Empress battlesuit, an alternate version of the Knight Moonbeam battlesuit. The two of them defeated the clone, and he ran off.
In this part of the story we learn that Mei's Herrscher personality actually cares about Kiana, and is afraid of hurting her. However, the Herrscher would never admit it out loud, and keeps up a mask of aggression.
Game Story[]
The girls were on a mission to investigate and find the control room of a battleship named Selene that was flying over a big city. Shortly after Kiana and Mei met up on the aircraft, a Honkai beast Kiana thought she had defeated came back to fight. Kiana was injured, and Mei held off the beast with her sword. Desperate to save Kiana and herself, she let her other personality take over.
The stress on her body was too much, and she collapsed soon after.
Mei, Kiana, and Bronya headed to the first destination on their list: New Zealand, where the Gem of Desire was located. As it turns out, they met a girl named Wendy, who had the gem implanted in one of her legs in a similar fashion to Mei's own implant. The only difference is that the Honkai energy left her unable to walk, and that caused her to hate Schicksal, thus leading to her awakening as the Herrscher of Wind. The girls tried their best to fight her off, but during the battle, Anti Entropy titans (sent by Cocolia) came and subdued both Mei and Wendy. They took off with the two girls, Bronya assisting them (not by her own will).
Mei was kept hostage in the ME Corp, and is saved by Bronya, who destroyed the bio chip in her brain to stop following Cocolia's orders. When she wakes up, she was shocked to find Bronya in critical condition, and fights off the MSR-7 Wotan with Kiana, Theresa Apocalypse, and Murata Himeko.
Mei mostly stayed by Bronya's side, watching over her recovery. She rested for a while, but was awoken to the news of Kiana's capture. Once Kiana was confirmed to be captured by Schicksal, she and the Hyperion crew defected from the organization. The bomb was disabled per her request. She was exhausted, but remarked that she could only think of Kiana as she fought her way through the Schicksal defenses. Mei tried to fight the Herrscher of the Void (HoV), but to no avail. HoV ripped the Conquest gem from her body and nearly killed her in the process.
Next, the crew of Hyperion, including the newly aligned Anti Entropy, set off for Arc City. There they were supposed to meet Grey Serpent, an intel dealer, for news of Kiana's whereabouts. Mei encountered Rita Rossweisse, who had taken out the dealer prior to their landing. She tried to fight her off, but had to run away, as she was too strong of an opponent. They couldn't find Kiana.
After the events in Arc City, Dr. Einstein and Dr. Nikola Tesla (Anti Entropy leaders) informed the group that there were two options to take. One was to continue searching for Kiana, and the other was to head to the Anti Entropy base in the Pacific Ocean to retrieve the Gem of Desire. They ended up deciding to do both. Despite Mei wanting to talk to Cocolia about her kidnappings, she decided she would rather go look for Kiana. Einstein, Theresa, and Bronya would go to the base, while Tesla and Mei headed to Anti Entropy headquarters to repair the Ningyo that they found in Arc City. After completing their first task, Mei and Tesla headed back to Arc City to look for Kiana.
Mei found Rita, who was gathering intel in Heliopolis. With her blade to Rita's neck, she demanded to know where Kiana was located. She also took back the eye Rita cut out of Gray Serpent. This would be useful for the Ningyo's reawakening. Once she got what she wanted, she immediately rushed to Kiana.
In the basement of Heliopolis, the two reunited. Mei rushed to embrace her, but Kiana's quiet resolve shook Mei to her core. Kiana explained that she didn't want to put anyone in danger, and that she would not be leaving with her. They headed outside, where Mei got injured by Raven. Mei watched as Kiana beat Raven, but spared her life. Then, she could only watch as Kiana defused the bomb and fell from the sky. Durandal, who had caught Kiana with the powers of the Sixth Divine Key (Abyss Flower), obliterated Mei in the fight for Kiana. She burst off into the distance and Mei chased her, but to no avail. Mei, exhausted and weak, could only cling to Kiana's jacket as she watched her be taken away. Feelings of uselessness swelled in her heart as she cried.
About three days after the incident, Mei and Tesla caught a strong Honkai signal from Nagazora. Believing it to be Kiana, they arrived as fast as they could. In the midst of their search for Kiana, they stumbled upon Sora, who led them to her home. There, Mei learned there were actually survivors in Nagazora, and that they had someone looking after them. Sora talked about that person's impact on her, and how she was given a reason to go on by her kindness. Mei reminisced in the past, opening up to Sora about Kiana's importance to her. Sora said it sounded like Kiana was like her own teacher was to her. That teacher ended up being Raven, who saved the two from Benares.
For Mei, the 4 months before she found Kiana had brought her to the realization that she hadn't changed. She was still the weak girl who couldn't do anything. She was the one who wasn't strong enough to protect her loved ones. After a confrontation with Raven, her Herrscher powers arose, despite not having the gem within her. Raven backed off, telling her to go get Kiana before she changed her mind. Mei finally found Kiana, but Honkai poisoning had worked its way all over her body: she was on the brink of death.
Tesla managed to successfully save her, but told Mei that Kiana only had two more months to live. Kiana's pain, and the revelation she was going to die, made Mei unable to sleep. She stayed awake until Kiana finally woke up. Mei pushed down her fears and walked into the medical bay, only to see Kiana looking up at her. Despite how happy she was to see her, Mei also scolded Kiana for running away and not even telling them where she was. Kiana tried to lighten up conversation with a compliment, but eventually apologized. Mei informed Kiana of everything that had happened these past 4 months. After a bit of chatting, Kiana said she wanted to go outside. Mei reluctantly accepted and let her go, but also made sure to come along. The two went for a walk around Nagazora, and chatted about their previous travelling through the city. They bickered back and forth, but eventually the mood became serious. Kiana told her that she was K-423, and Mei told her it didn't matter. No matter what, she and the others would stay by her side.
Afterwards, Tesla and Einstein told Mei what their thoughts were on the matter: as Kiana's problem is Sirin herself, they cannot do anything to cure or prevent her death. Basically, it would be up to Kiana alone. Einstein said for now, they wanted to move her to a base and prepare for the worst. Mei asked for elaboration, and Einstein did not answer, but the silence answered for her. They would have to kill Kiana if worst came to worst. Sora arrived right afterward, wanting to say goodbye to Mei, but Mei couldn't muster up the will to smile at her. Feeling bad, she walked Sora back to the Nest, where Raven said World Serpent had a way to cure Kiana's condition, and to come back alone in two hours if she was interested.
Later on, she overheard Tesla and Einstein talking to Kiana about her condition. Kiana expressed immense regret for the hurt she had caused everyone, but especially Mei. She said she took everything Mei had wanted away from her. She asked the doctors to not let her friends come near her if things went south, and that she didn't want to cause them any more grief. Mei could only shed a tear; Kiana had been putting on a mask for her.
Mei's despair swelled when Kiana lied to her about being able to taste the curry she made for her. The one she wanted to help would not even rely on her, so she took matters into her own hands. She met Raven at the Nest and then met Kevin Kaslana. He told her if she became the true Herrscher of Thunder, she would be able to give Kiana more time to live. He told her she would not lose herself this time. Kevin added that he has seen people like Kiana before, and that she would never stop trying to be a hero. He said the only true way to save her was by joining World Serpent and stopping the threats before Kiana could. Mei agreed to his offer.
A while later, she woke up in the streets and ran into Kiana, who was covered in wounds. Kiana told Mei to head back to Helios. She stated that she wanted to use her void powers to close the portal in the sky, and Mei tried to tell her off, but Kiana said she didn't care if she died. Mei looked on in horror as Kiana summoned Benares to fly to the source of the Honkai energy, with Mei left chasing her once again. After running wildly through the city, Mei stumbled upon a wounded Benares, with a sword impaling it. Nihilus, the creature that owned said sword, proceeded to fight her. Although it took forever to defeat, and Mei was heavily injured, she won against it. Suddenly, though, it turned back time and came back. It charged at Mei, and swung its sword down onto her. Benares took the blow, and died in the process. Mei fell unconscious.
This is when she entered a place familiar to her. A void with only purple light. She knew where she was. Her Herrscher personality was surprised Mei came to her first, and asked if she was sure she wanted to become the real Herrscher of Thunder. Mei was resolved. She would save Kiana. Thus, she took up her power alone: the Conquest gem leaving Kiana and transferring into her strength. She took the remains of Benares, creating a new life and renaming it Kurikara. Mei fought Kiana when she refused to let her go with Kevin. When Kiana began to use the powers that were killing her, Mei beat her down quickly. Mei explained it wasn't right for Kiana to suffer in silence, dying for her heroism. Kiana dismissed it, saying this was simply her mission. With an exclamation of her true feelings, Mei broke the lances surrounding her and chased after Kiana. She was quick enough to catch up to her this time. She defeated her and left with World Serpent.
Trivia[]
- Her family name (Raiden) is a reference to the Shinto god of lightning, thunder, and storms (Raijin).
| World Serpent |
|---|