VALORANT developer reveals inspiration for Yoru

Anime fans might have already noticed the similarities.
Yoru with his Blindside equipped.
Too easy. Image via Riot Games

A VALORANT developer recently explained how Yoru was inspired by the “lone rebel hero” anime archetype combined with Japan’s “rebel street fashion.” 

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VALORANT lore enthusiast Cynprel shared a screengrab from Riot Games narrative writer ParmCheesy explaining how the team put together Yoru’s backstory and style. The Riot team is full of anime and Japanese media fans and was excited to create an agent inspired by these interests. 

The opportunity finally arose with Yoru, the Japanese duelist who can easily outmaneuver enemies with his abilities. ParmCheesy confirmed Yoru is inspired by anime characters like Jotaro Kujo from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, Kazuma Kiryu from the Yakuza series, Mondo from Killer is Dead, and Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop. These characters align with the “cool lone rebel hero” anime archetype.

Yoru’s style comes from the Japanese rebel street fashion, leading to an interesting agent that combines the exciting anime-style archetype with unique streetwear. Yoru might not be the easiest agent to use and learn, but he’s undoubtedly one of the coolest characters in VALORANT. Yoru is one of the agents reportedly receiving significant updates in upcoming patches, meaning players might have more incentive to choose the interesting character. 

The Riot characters team likely has shared interests in other types of media or art, which might influence future VALORANT agents.


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Author
Jalen Lopez
Freelance Writer with over three years of experience at Dot Esports. Mainly covers VALORANT, Call of Duty and other FPS titles.