About the new ahri splash art...

Ahrily Dont Ahri·Oct 14, 2014·10 votes·6,049 views

Ok. Here's the deal. I think the artist who worked on this splash art did a great job. It looks fantastic, with nice colors and everything.

**BUT. ** It just doesn't fit Ahri's character. She's supposed to look a bit deceiving, yet looking somewhat innocent. The old splash art did a great job of portraying that.

The new one, however, does not. It only westernized Ahri, with different eyes, curly hair, and a rounder face. It took away everything that made Ahri who she is. The large ears were taken away, and replaced by barely visible tiny ears. The whiskers are barely visible now; you cannot tell by looking at the face that she is not supposed to be human anymore.

Also, the coloring scheme. Does it work? Yes. Does it work for Ahri? Never. Here's why: again, it doesn't fit Ahri as a character. Ahri is somewhat evil, yes. But she is not supposed to be openly evil. Like I said before, she is supposed to be deceiving, and portraying her as a straight-out evil character completely rips off the deceiving part, which is the most important part of Ahri in my opinion, because it portrays her most important skill, charm.

So, here's the summary of my rant. As you can probably tell, I main Ahri and enjoy playing her. I think she is one of the only few champs that have a splash art that really portrays the character of the champion well. I think that this new splash art, while done with amazing artistic talent, does not fit Ahri. This is because:

Her most recognized traits, such as Ears, Whiskers, and Bells were removed or shrunk to a unnoticeable scale. Unacceptable.
Her character is not portrayed well, and gives off a wrong suggestion about her character. Yes, she is Evil, but her character is unique because of how she is very deceiving. The new art completely erases the deceiving part, and brings out wayy too much of the Evil to the front.
I always thought she was an asian, and is supposed to be one if I am not mistaken. I don't mean to be rude, but with the curly hair, new eyes, change of the face's shape, she looks extremely western. To make it worse, she kind of looks like a hooker to me.
Too many annoying side art. The old one focused Ahri by making her tail stretch out over a large area, and adding almost no details. The giant leaves and branches waving around at the front are just obnoxious.

Conclusion: Ahri is best portrayed with a bright background, to portray the "innocence", while making her facial expression like before that she seems like she is hiding something and slightly evil. Also, her unique features must be at a larger scale/ brought back.

Sorry, but majority of the people, Ahri players or not, cannot accept this new splash art. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE ORIGINAL ONE IS KEPT, OR THE NEW ONE BE HEAVILY EDITED PRIOR TO THE RELEASE.

I really hope you don't release the new splash art with a style like this. Please. I don't even want NA east servers anymore. Don't use this.

Pictures attached for comparison.

15 Comments

Deep Terror NamiOct 14, 20145 votes

Everybody is determined to say that the original art is how she is supposed to look. Just because it's what we're used to doesn't make it how she's meant to look. There is no set appearance for her; she is not a real person they are trying to copy so the artist can do whatever he likes.

NagirteOct 16, 20144 votes

Ahri at her core is a seductress. The new skin captures that more than the charming innocent vibe of the older one. It also has her more hidden in the environment and her tails which helps to solidify her as more serious/dangerous/assassin character instead of the "cute but dangerous mage" vibe that the old splash had. The old splash literally contradicts everything that a true assassin would hold dear.

They're not changing her character. Rather, they're choosing one of her directions and focusing in on it more.

Ahrily Dont AhriOct 16, 20143 votes

Yes but then that messy hair all over the face when playing in game, everything you do it pops up at the top and it bothers me to took at something so alienated. And, its a bit late to turn around the entire art concept and her representation, no? Almost no new players play Ahri. IDK why, but people say she's weak without even playing her. I'm afraid changing this will kill it even further.

NagirteOct 16, 20143 votes

You're assuming a lot or just wrong on several points. First you assume that your opinion of the new splash is the general opinion. Second, you assume that your interpretation of the direction and personality of the champion was the intended one. Third, you seem to think that a champion being in game for a while means that they are immune to being reinterpreted or refocused. And fourth, you're saying that new players don't play Ahri. At least from what I've seen, there are many players who play her at all levels of play. She's not the best champion for new players because of the skillshot reliance, and at higher levels of play, the reliance on micro.

JorenciceOct 16, 20144 votes

I agree with ramsay i like the new art.

UnidadOct 14, 20143 votes

Art is subjective. My subjective opinion disagrees with all of yours.

MigrañaboyOct 16, 20143 votes

Liked the asian and fox like traits she had, new one seems western (I thought the nine tailed fox is something really related to japanese culture?).

Ahrily Dont AhriOct 16, 20142 votes

Well I heard about a lot of 9-tailed foxes in korean folk tales, but apparently they are mentioned in tales all over asia.

Doctor DiabetesOct 26, 20143 votes

The only thing I hate about the new splash art is Ahri's facial features being so Westernized. The splash art should reflect the fact that Ahri is a kyubi, a kitsune - a seductive nine-tailed temptress belonging to Japanese (or some other Asian) folklore who eats the hearts of men she had deceived.

I wish that the new splash art be edited to conform with the demands of the community and then be used. Have you seen the new splash arts for Graves, Shen and Wukong? Ahri will definitely be left out if Rito would retain the old one.

Ahri loves to gank and/or assassinate from bushes so I feel that her background in the new splash art suits her identity well. Everything is dark and dreary and it's just Ahri's Orb (of deception) that radiates beauty and light - luring would-be victims like like a lamp to curious moths.

ElphrihaimOct 26, 20142 votes

The only thing I hate about the new splash art is Ahri's facial features being so Westernized. The splash art should reflect the fact that Ahri is a kyubi, a kitsune - a seductive nine-tailed temptress belonging to Japanese (or some other Asian) folklore who eats the hearts of men she had deceived.

gumiho, Korean.

Ahri loves to gank and/or assassinate from bushes so I feel that her background in the new splash art suits her identity well. Everything is dark and dreary and it's just Ahri's Orb (of deception) that radiates beauty and light - luring would-be victims like like a lamp to curious moths.

It is called a hoshi no tama [lit. 'Star Ball'], it is a ball that contains all the souls that she's eaten and is the source of much of her power.

/knowledge

Doctor DiabetesOct 27, 20141 votes

At least I learned something new. Thanks!

ElphrihaimOct 27, 20141 votes

At least I learned something new. Thanks!

I LOVE spouting random facts. Especially about something I actually know a lot about! Kitsune and gumiho myths are really appealing to me because of how diverse they can be, and how they leave a lot to my overly-active imagination.

... I get called Pokedex because of this habit.

I mean, it gives me chance to reference a lot, but those references fly over people's heads. Why bother, at that point, to make the reference? Nobody will get it... But I just have fun doing that. Like how I had fun memorizing every single skill for every single character in every single MoBA that I played*, including their names and often their damages, slow amounts, per-level boosts... To me, it's just fun.

Like correcting myself in that the kitsune's ball is called a hoshi no tama and the gumiho's ball probably has a different name since hoshi no tama is a japanese thing.

*Besides DotA2

Son Olivia HyeOct 26, 20141 votes

Riot pulled the new Ahri splash on pbe.

OraenosOct 27, 20141 votes

I think the designers dont know about lore or a champions gameplay when they work on it. In terms of art quality, the new one is better but overall presentation? The old one has a better face expression and a much MUCH better pose. I give the new art a 6/10 simply because the face is messed up big time.

The did the same with our monk. He looks mad and westernized, nothing compared to the Lee we know.

I may sound like I'm not satisfied with the new art works but that is not correct. I just have issues with a select few.