“Mother” pretended to care about her children but only hurt them, so the Knave decided to be a “strict and unfeeling Father” to hide how much she really cares, so no one can use that against her anymore.

If i remembered correctly, in Lyney’s story, he invited “Father” to a birthday party in the orphanage where he shows the kids a magic trick and arlecchino appears. Everyone is so surprised to see her even showing up. And they even eat cakes together. It shows that she really cares about the kids. Even the kids really respects her.

“Mother” was killed under the roof of the building that architecturally resembles a cobweb, a detail that is related to spiders and how they catch and kill their prey. That is top tier detail on point to Arlecchino’s character.

no one talking bout how Scara is just there standing chill and like, welcome to family, u will hate it here

So this is why she's called a "Father" instead of "Mother". 10/10 Sad for Clervie, she was really nice.

hoyo really gave "mother" the dead mom hairstyle huh, 10/10 detail

Scaramouche wearing his coat in the most inefficient way possible because I assume he can't feel the cold anyway lmao

this is rare, genshin showing blood to their creation

I like how even while imprisoned, she’s given a nice little throne to sit on. Guess killing a harbinger demands a certain level of respect even if they are a criminal

This explains why childe and scaramouche called her crazy. Both childe and scara are sentimental about their family and loved ones. And their first inpression of arlecchino would be her reputation which is "This b*tch stabbed her siblings THEN BLEW UP THE ORPHANAGE WITH A HARBINGER INSIDE"

Fun fact : The flowers seen in the trailer are lumidouce bells and according to the lore they mean separation and the desire to be reunited.

She kicks mother into the ceiling, the force of the impact causes the glass sustaining the ceiling to shatter, then she blows her up along with the falling ceiling. What a creative way to kill someone.

That's why she likes cake so much - because her sister loved it. It's probably one of the only ways to relive a warm memory.

Arlecchino became the opposite of her "mother" who appeared to be a loving and caring mother but instead was cruel and psychotic. Meanwhile Arlecchino appears to be strict and unfeeling but I'm sure she actually cares deep down.

So, she just killed a lvl 90 triple crowned harbinger at that age?! MUST PULL!!!

Y'all assuming Tsaritsa is delicate and kind-hearted because she froze the whole palace for Rosalyn and opened a window for Arlecchino so she could see the aurora, but it's the very same person who tolerates a maniac who experiments on humans and a child abuser...

Her Majesty is real, She froze a whole Palace for Rosalyn and here she opened the window for Peruere to see the lights in the sky.

In the CN version, instead of saying “my answer is no”, Arle said “you aren’t worthy.” Which is pretty metal

A lot of details are hidden from the 7 min short animation, so hoyo decided to explain them with a 3h story quest.

After doing her story quest, this animation just hits diff. When Hoyo cooks, they are no less than any 5 michelin star's chef.

Guards: omg she killed the harbinger Tsaritsia: we grant you the rank of master young knave

She doesn't want to be like her old "Mother", so she becomes a "Father" instead.

Imagine if Lyney grows up and doesn’t like how arlecchino does things and decides to call himself mother

Just came back here after finishing arlecchino's Quest and i am now 100% convinced that "The Knave" that scaramouche was talking about was def not about arlecchino bout instead about the Crucabena

01:37 The line "Do mothers usually argue with their daughters?" in CN version meant Clervie is Crucabena's (The previous Knave) biological daughter. And the fact that Crucabena said the line at 03:11 about pruning the Lumidouce Bell, Clervie's flower, is simply gut wrenching. She doesn't care if her own daughter dies.

I just realised that the reason Scaramouche is only partially wearing his coat is because he doesn’t feel cold since he’s a puppet. Like when he’s in Dragonspine, it doesn’t show his breath.

"When we're grown up... shall we go see it together?"

crucabena really broke clervie until death was the only option she saw for a chance of freedom im crying

Scaramouche’s outfit is so funny- they just stuck an oversized coat on his head XD

The fact that Arlecchino, as a child killed a full grown harbinger is just so crazy to me. Makes me wonder how strong she is now😅

Who’s here after doing Arleccino’s story quest 🙋‍♂️

Who watches this anime after completing Arlecchino's story quest?? It hits harder 😭😭

Her dead pet spider really adds to the spider resemblance in her boss form

She killed the Harbinger before her so hard she literally opened up the position for hire.

She is going to be one of the most pulled for banners i just know it

This hits a lot harder after her legendary quest

So now we have confirmation that Crucabaena is the previous Arlecchino. The current Knave’s real name is Peruere. And that once again Pierro is called Director of the Fatui and not a Fatui Harbinger

Hoyo didn't have to draw Scaramouche and Rosalyne in the Harbinger cloak since yk, but I am grateful they took the opportunity from Arlecchino's backstory to do so.

The fact that the wilted flower is the same as clervie's necklace 😢 As far as hair color goes i think the line "do mothers usually argue with their daughters" while Clervie is injured and her mentioning that flower is enough to prove that Clervie is her biological daughter

Mihoyo actually created an original song and a high level animation just for a character trailer

You can tell her arm turned black when Arlecchino was losing the fight, I think the sudden drastic combat ability difference happened because she “released” her curse.

I'd watch a whole 10 seasons of an anime adaptation of all Genshin lores.

There's a Cocolia in every one of their games 😅

I came here after realising that I got *SPOILED* 6 days before Alrechhino Quest came out! 👁️👄👁️

5:13 In the CN version, instead of saying "Mother, my answer is no", she said "Mother, you are not worthy."

A full 7 minute animated short is incedible

I came here after finishing her story quest, and it still hits so different

I feel the vibes of "promise Neverland" But in a different way.

For those of you who missed it, the Bulle fruit _(the orange-looking fruit)_ adorned on a sword at 2:51 is a hair accessory of the blonde girl which can be first seen on 0:26, implying that she also lived long enough along with Arlecchino and Clervie, only to die along with her brothers and sisters in a fight their "Mother" forced them into. Truly a heartbreaking reality for them.

it's pretty clear that Clervie is the old Harbinger's daughter 1. She has a necklace of the Lumidouce bell, 'Mother' had a pot of real Lumidouce Bells. 2. As 'Mother' held the flowers, she was clearly referring to her dead daughter. "I should have pruned this flower long ago, not waited till it wilts.' (speculation) It could be her planning to kill Clervie before Preuere/Arlecchino killed her

4:07 - CAN WE PLEASE APPRECIATE THIS ROTATING SHOT, THOUGH!?!?!? I *KNOW* that motion wasn't easy to draw!

Giving spoiler before the main event, a genshin classic.

Actually it's a great detail that Scaramouche doesn't have his coat closed like the others, being a puppet he can't feel the cold

Children born in mondstadt : 😃🍃 ༄ 🐉 Children born in Inazuma& Liyue : 🥳🎉🎆🎇 Children born in Sumeru : 🧐 🎓 📚 Children born in Fontaine : 💀 🌊 🗡 🩸 Edit: I know every country got their dark side but do you expect me to put the whole lore into the emoji?

6:50 Thank you so much for modifying this dialogue from "Mother" to "Father" in Spanish

Rewatching this after completing the quest is another feeling, more goosebumps..

Something I noticed when Arlecchino was fighting the old Knave and the song started up, one woman's voice was singing and then it was joined by children's voices. It's Clervie and all the children who died under the old Knave supporting Arlecchino to help her win and get their revenge. It's very cool and fits the Fontaine theme. Also, and I might be mistaken, but that shot of the hole in the ground by the dead tree seems to be where Arlecchino buried her spider. The hole being empty symbolizes that Arlecchino has become the spider and harnessed it's powers to fight the old Knave.

The old knave had the "dead mom hair" lol, she was already asking to be killed from the beginning by the plot.

I came here after the Arlecchino story quest😢

5:14 that legit, might just be the coolest kick in anime I have seen Maaan, this whole thing is just so... Are they trying to butter me up? Because it's working!

Glorious subtext moments: 1) The music as Mother tells the story, along with her voice, seem caring and welcoming. While the story depicts cruelty and death. The kids, ignorant of the images, are amazed and happy. 2) "Her curse must be flaring up again." The black fingers being referred to as a curse implies it's either bad for Arle, or makes her more dangerous. Mother just sent her biological daughter to confront an emotionally unstable person while her 'curse' is flaring. The first sign of Mother not caring for her true child. 3) The injuries on Clervie as Arle asks "Do mothers usually argue with their daughter?", paired with the satisfied expression at the well-done bandages, combined with Arle being spotless, implies abuse on Clervie specifically. More maternal hatred. 4) The Lumidouce Bell on Clervie's necklace, giving a possible reason for the maternal hatred: A partner that was taken too soon, perhaps, that Clervie either reminds her of in a bad way, or falls drastically short of. 5) "I heard that in Snezhnaya, the colored lights dance in the sky at night." Arle's BFF here suggests a way for them to escape the pain of their situation, a better life, together. Arle's shocked face at the proposition will come in again later, but already implies a certain amount of hope/listlesness that only Clervie seems to be able to get her out of. 6) Judging from how Clervie is standing up against Arle, and Arle is just standing straight, it can be implied that Clervie impaled herself on Arle's sword. Clervie also seems entirely unruffled as opposed to Arle having blood on her face from someone else's injuries; Not impossible to assume that they teamed up, and that Clervie decided she couldn't live with the situation. "Thank you." for protecting me. "I'm sorry." for making you go through this/not following our promise. It's also possible she had someone elses' sword through her, but that doesn't quite have the same Hoyo touch. 7) Rain. Obvious thematics, but can't help but hear the "Hydro dragon, hydro dragon, don't cry." 8) Bloody sword with the orange and crater with the spear to send the message that yes, the other kids fought and died too. 9) The bandages as Arle walks up to face Mother are a mirror of the bandages Clervie used to patch herself up after Mothers' abuse. 10) The music picking up Opera style to hint that Mother is in fact a Harbringer of the Fatui 11) The plushies of Arle and Clervie on the ground, Clervie's dead on her back and Arle's hanging over it, while a syringe on the foreground tells of the experiments that led to the end of Clervie's life and Arle's childhood innocence. 12) Mother holding the wilting Lumidouce Bell, a plant with 3 flowers now down to 2. Mothers' comments serving both as a disparagement of Clervie, and through the symbolism of the flower, Arle's attachment to Clervie. 13) The early stage of the fight is set to highlight Mother being the more skilled combatant, but also already showing Arle's incredible strength through the cracking of the floor, the wall, and the way Mother keeps being pushed back. 14) The clash of Hydro and Pyro, in all accounts another way of Mother and Arle being of opposite natures. 15) "A bird tied down will never leave the nest. You are no exception." - A direct contrast to the happy-sounding (but kinda depressing) song of the beginning; "May the birds soar from their cage" 16) Arle loses a clash of Elements, as Water and Fire clash into a Vaporize right up in her face. Not power, but attribute. She's been fighting like a berserker, and Mother has been having a fairly good time seeing the fruits of her plan. 17) The curse, triggered by not just sadness, but sadness being worked through? (last time seen to advance with the funeral of her spider), advanced as Arle stares at the Lumidouce Belle. The memories, the childhood, the desire to reunite and the parting. The way is long and the gloom is deep, but there are still embers glowing in the hearth, and those who sing the song hope that she will not be tainted by fate. Nothing to fear. Never look back. Go ahead, as the skipped lyrics state. The curse advances. Arle's emotions settle. Not removed, but controlled, and with her rediscovered cool, pushed forward not by loss but by the sentiments of her fellows; "Though bones and minds were chained You cut down the thorns again and again Your pride will not be slain From the heart to the veins" She rises, her (super)natural strength proving more than enough to practically ignore Mothers' relentless assault. And then the children join the song in truth, the latin being something like 'Fate won't end you, this tribulation won't stop you'. And most pointedly: As Arle's emotions are restrained, Mother becomes more emotional. And ultimately, Arle's cold-minded flames destroy the very foundation of Mothers' pride, before ending her entirely. 18) As Arle is sitting in jail, a snowflake unnaturally waves through the air, showing Arle the Snezhnayan night, with colored lights dancing in the sky. Her face of shock at the sight a direct mirror to the time where Clervie invited her to go see it when they were older. 19) The snowflake being the thing to show her the light and breaking her out of her stupor can be seen as a strong hint that the feelings of hope and trust inspired by Clervie will move on to the Tsaritsa. 20) As the Knave, she adopts the title of Father, vowing to stand in direct contrast to Mother. Mother feigning care and affection, only to treat her Children with callous disregard, as ingredients to be used. Father feigning aloofness and stoicism, while genuinely caring for those in her charge. 21) Costume design. Especially with the more recent stuff, Arle's tux is a great blend of showing an extreme strictness and being tightly wound up emotionally, while also showing off a butler-esque atmosphere; Of someone who cares, and looks after others. If you look deep enough. 22) The Curse, with its coloration and the lines, really remind of Hilichurls, implying connections to the Abyss. Feels like there's something to Arle of all people being the one trusted with Childe's vision with that in mind. But that's probably reading too much into it.

I guess the Knave being cursed with whatever is happening to to her arms and causing her to conjure fire without a vision or delusion is how she was able to tell Furina was also cursed.

The fact that you can visit those ruins in Fontaine is pretty epic.

Hits different after her story quest

Just realizing that Duke Inferno, a literal fire demon, treated his children better than "Mother" did.

It's rather interesting to know that Arlecchino's title 'Father' isn't because she prefers masculine titles being androgynous herself, though that may be part of it but not the whole of it. The real reason why she adopted the title 'father' and not 'mother' is because she did not wish to pretend like she cared for the children of her orphanage but would rather appear cold and unfeeling like a typical father while caring for her children deep down.

Imagine walking and then a lady comes up to u and says: "Come with me. I will raise you as my child. Like a strict and unfeeling "Father".

People are overreacting to this "spoiling" the SQ,meanwhile I felt like the story quest hit much harder because of it and it felt bad how badly misunderstood the situation was during the quest

I love how scaramouche being in the harbingers was entirely Dottore’s fault meaning if scara is there then Dottore was a harbinger at the time and just decided not to show up ( 6:16 )

I dont know why noone is mentioning this, but I always thought that you could see the Surprise in Arlechinno's eyes when her best friend is stabbed. I think she refused to kill her friend so she instead did the trope where she jumped into Arle's sword and that's why she said sorry and "youll be a great King"

I love the foreshadowing in the beginning when the mother is reading the book. You can see that the peruere bunny sit at the top of the throne on one of the pages.

watching this after finishing arlecchino's story RIP Clervie

3:47 I noticed she has a habit of scraping the ground with her blade a lot, she does that in her normal attack animations too. Really cool attention to detail

The location where Crucabena (Former Knave) died was located at Mont Esus East. Is the same place when we fight Arlecchino weekly boss. OH MY GOD I can’t believe it.

Just watched this again and I just noticed the symbolism of cleurvine as the flower that wilted, but never died and was with Arlecchino until the end of the fight. The lyrics of the song made this immensely more powerful too

In the rare case you're looking at the comments section before watching and haven't done Arlecchino's story quest, I recommend you finish the quest first before watching this

An interesting paralel seems to be how mother use cryo abilities alluding to the beautiful and serene appearance of ice but yet cold and unfeeling nature of it as well whereas peruere uses pyro abilities mimicking her scary and dangerous surface but potential for warmth and growth like a bonfire or a hearthflame

I love the dark easter eggs laid around the short. the sewn-up bunny doctor with sharp teeth at 0:16 is probably dottore experimenting and augmenting the children of the hearth just as he does with every Fatui soldier. but the “halo” on his head implies the Knave most likely tricked the children into thinking they were just “check-ups” by a “good” doctor

I‘m glad I didn’t watched this sooner, it would’ve spoiled the hole plot of her quest. Don’t know why you would release it even before the update.

A full 2d animated story huh, guess we're finally seing the results between the Hoyoverse-Ufotable partnership. Hyped for the next contents

Peruere - Arlecchino - The Knave Kunikuzushi - Scaramouche - The Balladeer Ajax - Tartaglia - Childe Rosalyne - La Signora - The Fair Lady

At this point, Arlecchino has solidified my decision as a guaranteed must pull. Also, its now canon that Signora was already a harbinger when the knave joined, yet she outranks her, so seniority isn’t a factor.

Does anyone else feel like they wish this was posted after the Character story was released?

fontain is the dangerous place to live if one is a child

I LOVE THIS OGKMGMGM 6:07 Also lmao the tsaritsa heard someone killed a harbinger and was like “hell yeah”

No wonder Arlecchino Completely changed how the House of the Hearth worked. She's Born into Cruel Circumstances. So she made the best of it.

This is why i am in love Genshin Impact! The music, character design, lore! Congratz of you all.

We got Arlecchino anime before the Genshin anime, LET'S GOOO🔥🔥🔥

It’s absolutely crazy that Arlecchino is like the first solo character (or first time PERIOD) that there’s been a full animated short this long, she’s getting some SPECIAL treatment, *as she deserves!*

Love how the previous Knave had the anime mom hair just so you know she was going to die💀

So Knave is not evil. She just turned her heart off as she doesn't want to feel the pain of losing a loved one again. She acts based on benefits for her and the master she serves.

who knew a seven minute animation could make me feel this many emotions at once

"mad, cursed, strict, unfeeling". Looks like Wanderer wasn't all that wrong about her after all. I'm excited to see her true persona in the next update.

"She killed a Harbinger?" So thats how she succeeded her and became one? This short made this character a whole lot more interesting

Here after doing the quest and man how i wish they hold into this a bit longer. I would've been so good if i had no idea about who she was before the quest

I got goosebumps when he said " My poor, mad, cursed Knave" Best animated short for a Genshin character!

Basically in the CN dialogue, the previous Knave disliked her daughter and choose Arlecchino to be her successor, to become the next King/Knave. Arlecchino said no, but in the end, she did become the next Knave. And now Arlecchino wants Liney to be her next successor, to be the next Knave So its up to Liney if he will do the same thing to Arlecchino, to kill her and become the next Knave.

Clervie’s necklace is a Lumidouce Bell… Mother talks about pruning the actual flower long ago, meaning Clervie… Arlecchino sees it after the explosion, and it gives her strength and determination

I feel like after finishing the quest,i really felt impact even more than the first time i had watched. OMG THIS IS ALL SO GOOD

Am I the only one who has watched this an unhealthy amount of times since it’s come out!?!?