Is Acheron in HSR Really Raiden Mei from Honkai Impact 3rd?

Honkai Star Rail 2.2 has been released and it has revealed a ton of lore about Penacony, Acheron, and everything that has been happening in the story arc, while also providing one of the most mind-blowing endings in all of their storytelling. Among the major reveals in the 2.2 trailblazing missions, Acheron’s real name was also revealed. In one of the ending cutscenes of the 2.2 Trailblazing mission, Acheron reveals that her old name was Raiden Bosenmeri Mei. Now, this has obviously created a major stir in the HoYoverse community, especially in the Honkai Star Rail and Honkai Impact 3rd communities.

Raiden Mei is one of the main characters in Honkai Impact 3rd. Ever since Acheron’s introduction in the game, her similar design to Raiden Mei of HI3 was already in question, and with each new update, players started to see more similarities. So, is Acheron in Honkai Star Rail really Raiden Mei from Honkai Impact 3rd? Here we have tried to answer that exact question by going through the lore of both games.

Who is Raiden Mei in Honkai Impact 3rd?

Now, all Honkai Star Rail players may not be familiar with who Raiden Mei is from Honkai Impact 3rd. Raiden Mei is one of the main protagonists of Honkai Impact 3rd alongside Kiana Kaslana and Bronya Zaychik. Raiden Mei becomes the Herrscher of Thunder in Honkai Impact 3rd — Herrscher are kind of equivalent to Gods/Rulers in Honkai Impact 3rd, similar to Archons in Genshin Impact. Kiana is very important in this conversation because she is the closest friend of Raiden Mei.

Raiden Mei originally had a very harsh personality due to her Herrscher personality, but it changed after Kiana saved her, becoming kinder. Kiana is also a person who would put herself in danger to protect others. Seeing this constantly, Raiden Mei decides to protect Kiana at any cost, even if it means sacrificing everything else.

“If rescuing you is a sin…I’ll gladly become a sinner” – Raiden Mei to Kiana (Honkai Impact 3rd)

This is one of the most famous dialogues in Honkai Impact 3rd, and a big reason for Mei’s fan following in the community, as well as the fact that she can cook amazing food. Although the story of Honkai Impact 3rd is still ongoing, Raiden Mei and Kiana do get a happy ending. Now that you have a basic understanding of who Raiden Mei is, let’s move to her connections with Acheron.

Similarities Between Acheron and Raiden Mei

Keeping aside Raiden Shogun from Genshin Impact, Acheron and Raiden Mei have many things in common. Here is a rundown of everything similar between Acheron and Raiden Mei.

Acheron and Raiden Mei Both Share the Same Name

The biggest similarity between Acheron and Raiden Mei is that they share the same name. In the Honkai Star Rail 2.2 trailblazing missions, Acheron’s real name was revealed as Raiden Bosenmori Mei, which is basically the same name as Raiden Mei.

Acheron and Raiden Mei Share Similar Character Design and Voice Actor

Both Acheron and Raiden Mei have the same Japanese voice actress, Miyuki Sawashiro. On top of that, both the characters have very similar characteristics. Both the characters have long black hair, and similar facial structure, they both use Katanas and wield the power of lightning or thunder.

But that’s not where it stops!

The Kyoden: Cleave Across the Transient World Myriad Celestia Trailer on Honkai Star Rail’s official YouTube channel, shows Acheron’s backstory and it reveals that she had a much different appearance back then. In Acheron’s backstory, she had two horns that are very similar to Raiden Mei’s horns. Acheron’s old self also makes an appearance during her cinematic fight scene against Ten Stone Hearts Aventurine in the HSR 2.1 mission.

Acheron’s Lore is Connected to Raiden Mei and Honkai Impact 3rd

Acheron’s backstory has some major connections with Raiden Mei and the world of Honkai Impact 3rd. To keep things short, Acheron was born on a planet named Izumo, which was one of the two planets rotating a giant black sun. The other planet was Takamagahara, and the giant black sun was IX the Aeon of Nihility. One day, her planet was attacked by beings called Kami from Takamagahara.

Similarity: Every Kami is dubbed as Sovereign of something in the backstory, and sovereign basically translates to Herrschers in German, the god-like beings in Honkai Impact 3rd.

After the people of Izumo defeated the first Kami, they created the Edict Edge, which are powerful swords made from Kami’s body and they were capable of killing Kami. Eventually, they created 12 sentinel swords and turned the tide of the battle against the Kami. However, they eventually failed to defeat the Kami as the people of Izumo turned into Onis. So, they merge the 12 swords into 2 swords, of Origin and End.

Acheron wielded origin and End was wielded by someone else. They eventually fight to dictate the future of Izumo and Acheron is able to defeat End.

Similarity: In Honkai Impact 3rd, Raiden Mei eventually becomes the Herrscher of Origin and Kiana becomes the Herrscher of Finality (or End).

She then combines both swords into one called Naught, which is the current sword wielded by Acheron. Sadly, even after defeating the Oni and the end, she realizes it was all for naught as IX consumes both worlds. Coming to this realization, she becomes a self annihilator, or an emanator of Nihility unknowingly, and continues to look for a way to end Nihility.

Similarities Between Honkai Star Rail and Honkai Impact 3rd

Other than the similarities between Raiden Mei and Acheron, there are plenty of other resemblances between Honkai Star Rail and Honkai Impact 3rd. HSR characters like Welt, Himeko, Bronya, Cocolia, Luocha are also present in the Honkai Impact 3rd, although they are not exactly the same.

Also, the lore of both the games has similarities, like the mention of Finality as a similar concept in both Honkai Star Rail and Honkai Impact 3rd. Both the games share the same name (Honkai), so it is not farfetched to consider that the writers are drawing parallels between the games.

What is the Meaning of Raiden Bosenmori Mei?

Acheron’s true name is Raiden Bosenmori Mei, and it doesn’t mean anything if you consider it’s English name. To understand her name’s meaning, we need to look at her Chinese name Raiden Wàngchuān Shǒu Méiyī (雷電忘川守芽衣).

• Raiden: This is a Japanese word for Thunder or Lightning
• Wàngchuān: This is a Chinese word for River of Forgetfulness. According to Chinese mythology, the River of Forgetfulness separates the realm of the living from the realm of the dead.
• Shǒu: This is also a Chinese word and it means “to guard” or “to protect”.
• Méiyī: Another Chinese word, and it means bud or sprout. This word is also a popular name in both China and Japan.

Using Google Gemini, we also found this poetic translation of Acheron’s real Chinese name. Here is the exact poetic translation:

Guardian of the Forgotten River,
Where memories fade like petals in the breeze,
Mei, the embodiment of lightning’s might,
Stands sentinel, forever watching, forever waiting.

If we put all that together, the meaning approximately stands as Mei (name), the Thunder Guardian of the River of Forgetfulness (title). Now, according to Greek mythology, Acheron is one of the rivers in Hades over which the souls of the dead are ferried by Charon.

If we add the knowledge from Honkai Star Rail Lore, then the meaning of the name Acheron, Raiden Bosenmori Mei stands as Mei, the Lightning Watcher (Guardian) of the River Acheron.

Is Acheron Really Raiden Mei?

Now that we have analyzed everything about both characters, it is time to answer whether the characters are the same or not.

The answer is both Yes and No. Let me explain!

Acheron and Raiden Mei (and even Raiden Shogun to a larger extent) are the same characters but from different timelines. Honkai Star Rail features many of the characters from Honkai Impact 3rd, but many of them are not connected. In my opinion, Acheron is basically a different take on Raiden Mei from Honkai Impact 3rd, where she loses her Kiana, either defeating her or failing to protect her.

Acheron also reveals information about a Nameless female companion she met in Orkron who aspired to explore IX in the Honkai Star Rail 2.2 missions. This companion could be Kiana in the Star Rail world whom she failed to protect, although this is just another wild guess.

So, that’s it. Share what you think about Acheron and Raiden Mei. Whether you agree with my hypothesis or not. Tell us your take on this entire thing in the comment section.