Famitsu hosted a conversation between Katou Emiri (Sierokarte), who’s been playing since the game came out in 2014, and Kinoshita Sayaka (Phoenix/Hauhet), who started the game after being cast in the 10th anniversary event “Heart of the Sun”. We’ve translated their conversation while we wait for Unite and Fight to start.
This article originally appeared in weekly Famitsu magazine, and was posted in its entirety on their website on September 5th, 2024. The translation is ours, and any errors are vibratingsheep’s.
On March 10th 2024, Granblue Fantasy (GBF) celebrated its 10th anniversary, and we brought in two of its voice cast members to talk about the game.
Katou Emiri plays Sierokarte, Halluel, Malluel, and many more roles in the game, and has been a skyfarer for 10 years. Kinoshita Sayaka joined her after starting the game this year and being cast as Phoenix and Hauhet. We asked them to sit together and share their perspective on what makes GBF fun.
Starting with Relink, then receiving a surprising offer
Famitsu: We have two people from opposite ends of the spectrum here. Katou-san, you’ve been playing since the beginning and are a veteran of 10+ years. On the other side, Kinoshita-san just started playing. Let’s start with Kinoshita-san. How did you first get interested in GBF?
Kinoshita: I started with Granblue Fantasy: Relink (Relink).
Katou: Wow! That’s how you got in? Relink?
Kinoshita: I finally managed to buy a PlayStation 5 a few days before the game went on sale, and I didn’t have any games in my library yet. I happened across Relink at that time, and thought “Isn’t GBF that phone game I’ve seen commercials for? I don’t know much about it, but I’ll try out the game.” That’s how it started (laughs)
Because of that, I only knew Lyria because she was in almost all the commercials and didn’t have a clue about anyone else.
Famitsu: You didn’t know about the sky realm, the primal beasts, any of that?
Kinoshita: That’s right (laughs). But when you play Relink, the in-game terms are all explained to you, and between the Journal and each character’s fate episodes, you get a good grasp of the setting. I was hooked and farming Proto Bahamut for Ascension Weapons when I was offered a role in GBF. I thought that it must have been fate!
Famitsu: Wow, you were in so deep that you were farming Ascension Weapons (laughs)
Kinoshita: I didn’t think I would be that addicted (laughs).
Katou: Those of us who’ve played GBF forever were able to slide into Relink without any problems, but I was really curious how it would be from the other side. Would people who started with Relink understand the world and the characters? Hearing this from you is kind of a relief! (laughs)
Relink‘s fate episodes are strongly tied to the stories in GBF, and the otaku among us who want to spread the gospel of their favorite characters were a little worried that the characters wouldn’t be as appealing to new players.
Famitsu: If you only had Relink‘s fate episodes to start with, you’d only see one aspect of the character. Take Zeta for example. Players who only know her from Relink might come away thinking “She’s a big sister type who’s really nice to kids.”
Kinoshita: That’s exactly how I thought of her at first (laughs). But after I played GBF‘s Society events, I saw a lot of depth in her and how she worked with other characters. Once I knew things like “Vaseraga and Zeta can banter back and forth like that for days” I got to know them and love them more.
That said I still feel like I’ve only seen a small part of the whole picture, and I’m excited to dig even further down.
Katou: I’m so delighted for the chance to listen to a fellow actor talk about getting hooked by GBF and offer such a fresh perspective. It’s awesome! (laughs)
Kinoshita: Oh, all I did was get addicted to a game, I didn’t think I’d get invited to something like this (laughs)
You can strive to be stronger in GBF, or you can sit back and enjoy the story
Famitsu: Your social media posts about your GBF progress are creating a lot of buzz, Kinoshita-san. You’ve gotten pretty far in the story.
Kinoshita: I just made it to Magmell Island in part 3 of the story. Part 2 was such a sweeping and epic story, and now there’s so much talk about the Otherworld…
I only just recently got a good idea of who the Astrals are. I think I should credit reading the entire “What Makes the Sky Blue” trilogy for a lot of that, though.
Katou: I think Kinoshita-san might know more about the main story than we do right now (laughs). I play the main story chapters as soon as they go live, but while I wait for the next part of the story to come out I forget parts of what happened.
Kinoshita: Oh, no, not really (laughs). I’m still a long way away from catching up to the story. Sierokarte’s Knickknack Academy asks you to complete the story up to a certain point, but I liked the story so much that I couldn’t bear to skip any of it!
Katou: (laughs). Have you always been a fan of RPGs, Kinoshita-san?
Kinoshita: I love them!
Famitsu: Is that love of RPGs why you’ve been progressing so far with the Eternals and Evokers?
Kinoshita: I’ve recruited about half of the Evokers and Eternals.
Katou: What?! You’ve only been playing for six months, right? That’s an unbelievable pace…
Kinoshita: It’s so fun to progress in this game (laughs). I can really feel the power and potential of each Eternal and Evoker. Like, my Earth grid was completely undeveloped, but as soon as Caim joined, his The Hanged Man Reversed support ability made it one of my best elements (laughs). On the Eternals side, I’ve been putting Seofon to a lot of work, and he’s a big part of my Arcarum team.
Katou: Just having him on your team makes your charge attacks so powerful!
Kinoshita: That’s exactly how I feel! When I started in March, Tales of Arcarum was running and I couldn’t even scratch the Sandbox area bosses. Now, I’ve built a pretty good party and with the help of the event-exclusive Sephira Guidebook, I can fight them as well as anyone else can.
Katou: Is Earth your strongest element?
Kinoshita: If you’re asking about firepower, that would be my Fire team. I was lucky and got a few powerful Grand characters, but they’re all offensively focused. I don’t have anyone who’s good at healing or defense, so if I’m up against anything that survives the opening salvo, that enemy hits back really hard.
People tell me that if I had an Extinction Blade that would change, but that seems a long way off for me.
Katou: The Revans raids are pretty hard…
Kinoshita: But I’m progressing well, thanks especially to the 10th anniversary campaign. My player rank has shot up a huge amount.
Katou: If that’s how it made every new player feel, then the campaign was definitely a success! (laughs). Before Replicard Sandbox came out, it was really tough to hit the Rank cap…
Kinoshita: Is that how things used to be? My Rank went up so fast that I kept forgetting to do the quests to uncap my Rank and wasted a ton of RP (laughs)
Famitsu: Sierokarte’s Knickknack Academy is meant for new players. How was it for you?
Kinoshita: I’m so glad for it. The tasks gave me a lot of equipment, and thanks to that I was able to challenge a lot of raids solo.
Katou: I’m very much a solo-first player too (laughs)
Kinoshita: It was intimidating to go into the Co-op room and gather up other players for help. But now if I open for backup requests, a bunch of nice Rank 300+ Skyfarers come and help me defeat the boss, it’s so nice (laughs)
Katou: I think that you should tackle the raids at your own pace. If you have the motivation to do so, then taking on the Dark Rapture Zero or Hexachromatic Hierarch is fine, but I don’t think that GBF is the kind of game where you always have be on the bleeding edge of content.
For me, at least, my favorite thing about this game is exploring the world, and then if I have time and motivation, I like playing Unite and Fight.
Kinoshita: Gulp… Unite and Fight?
Katou: Unite and Fight is definitely one of the main motivations for getting stronger. Put another way, if you aren’t interested in getting stronger, then I don’t think you need to play Unite and Fight at all.
GBF is a game that you can enjoy just by making an account and playing the story. You don’t have to be powerful at all for that, and it’s fine just to take your time and enjoy the story.
The most important part of playing Phoenix was a word most people don’t think about
Famitsu: Kinoshita-san, you talked earlier about how you were playing Relink when you were offered the role in GBF. Tell us about what you thought of the 10th anniversary event “Heart of the Sun”.
Kinoshita: I always ask for my scripts in print, and I was shocked at how thick the script they sent me was… it was a little scary thinking about my role in such an enormous story. Once I pushed past that fear and started reading, my first thought was the number of characters I didn’t recognize in the story. I didn’t know who Seofon or Sandalphon were at the time, and after I looked them up, I still only knew a little bit about them.
Famitsu: This was before either of them were added to Relink.
Kinoshita: It was. My first impression of Sandalphon was “A nice, patient big brother type who likes making coffee” (laughs). When I saw the Six Dragons I was all questions, like “Are they dragons? Are they people?” (laughs)
But as I was doing my research, I found out that the Phoenix was part of the first GBF event ever, “Festival of Falling Flame” and was a very important part of the 10th anniversary event. It felt like a big responsibility. They told me “The Phoenix is this event’s boss, a creature who’s lived for 3 billion years” and I couldn’t figure out what I was going to do (laughs)
Everyone: (laughs)
Katou: This was the sequel of an event from long ago, so while it had some elements of going back to the very beginning of GBF, it massively upped the scale and the span of time covered. It must have been tough to have that as your entry point. It brought together characters who had played starring roles in previous anniversary events, and major players in the world of GBF.
Kinoshita: There were some parts that I was in the dark about, and I really felt it (laughs). I wondered if it was okay for someone as uninformed as me to play the character, but I took all the knowledge from Relink that I could and brought it to the studio with me.
Famitsu: Was there any part of your performance that you paid special attention to?
Kinoshita: I wanted to make sure that the 3 billion year old creature didn’t sound too human. But if I tried to sound too inhuman, I would sound like a robot…
Katou: It’s so difficult to play a part that no one is supposed to be able to empathize with. There’s so much about the Phoenix that we don’t know, and from the Phoenix’s perspective its primary focus is the conflict with the Omnipotent, with no care for skydwellers or astrals. It’s the reason that the world of GBF is the way it is, splitting the Omnipotent into two pieces.
Kinoshita: That was a shock to me too! It sliced a god in half! The Phoenix couldn’t be bothered to spare a thought for skydwellers or astrals, but it kept its promises to Fenie and Abramelin, so there’s no telling what it really thinks or feels. You could consider both of those to be the phoenix’s version of kindness and consideration, but the truth is we don’t understand its true intent yet.
Famitsu: What were you thinking about in the studio?
Kinoshita: Phrases like “Good work” and “Farewell”. I remember them saying that I didn’t have to put much emotion into them, but I should impart them with weight.
For a long-lived creature like the Phoenix, this may all have occurred in the blink of an eye, but those seemingly everyday words had a lot of meaning, I think.
Famitsu: What about for Hauhet?
Kinoshita: They didn’t want to make it obvious right away that Hauhet and Phoenix were the same, but since they altered the voice of the Phoenix, I didn’t have to change how I said anything. All I had to do was make her voice a little higher than the Phoenix’s.
Thoughts on everything that makes GBF what it is in “What Makes the Sky Blue”
Famitsu: “Heart of the Sun” has a lot of popular and fun characters like Abramelin and Fenie. How did you feel about them when you first met them?
Kinoshita: As the Phoenix I was supposed to be neutral toward them, but as Kinoshita Sayaka I was moved by Abramelin and Fenie’s stories. Their family drama spanned millennia, but there was a lot you could sympathize with.
Katou: The whole event made me cry, but Fenie’s fate episodes were amazing! It tells you so much about the times she visited in the form of the Phoenix and what she felt in those times. Seeing her talk to Abramelin when he didn’t recognize her really tugged at my heartstrings. “It’s her! Why can’t you see!”
Kinoshita: Fenie is too good of a girl… it’s in her fate episodes so if you don’t have Fenie in your crew you can’t read it. But it’s worth it! I hope every player sees it!
Katou: The other characters also played a big role, but I actually felt a little sorry for Ceodric… And it felt like Seofon did a lot of work behind the scenes of the event. They added more facial expressions for him and I was surprised at how much hotter he got (laughs)
Kinoshita: Oh?
Katou: Yes, I think they made him even more handsome (laughs). He’s the most important member of the Eternals, and it feels like he’ll get involved in the main story of GBF soon, so I’m really interested to know what’s coming.
Kinoshita: Oh, with the Boundary, right!
Famitsu: It’s pretty surprising to hear that word come from a new player…
Kinoshita: I’ve really loved going through the stories, and I’ve learned so much from them. I’m still making my way through the Side Story section, and there are a lot of the event stories I haven’t made it through yet. I’m excited to get through them.
Katou: What was your favorite story event?
Kinoshita: I think it’s the “What Makes the Sky Blue” trilogy.
Famitsu: We thought you’d say that!
Kinoshita: It’s really impressive, the trilogy felt like a movie! I first met Sandalphon in “Heart of the Sun”, so I didn’t know the coffee guy was so unstable when he was introduced. It was a shock to me (laughs)
But as I read the sequels everything was so good, it was like they’d found a cheat code. I’m weak to stories with winged angels, and the whole presentation really drew me in with its amazing quality.
Katou: I think it is especially powerful for female skyfarers! The moment Belial appeared in “Paradise Lost: What Makes the Sky Blue Part II” a huge number of women heard about him and started playing GBF. Belial and Sandalphon are such popular characters.
Kinoshita: Yeah, Belial’s such a great character! The first time I saw him I wondered how this was allowed (laughs)
Katou: Looking back on it like this, “What Makes the Sky Blue” definitely stands out as the biggest swell of popularity in GBF.
Kinoshita: It tells you so much about the astrals and the skydwellers, and it’s so thrilling too. When I first started playing and saw Lucilius, Lucifer, and Lucio, I saw that they all looked the same and had nothing but questions. But now that I’ve read “What Makes the Sky Blue” I know how they’re all related.
Katou: This is a little bit of a tangent, but when they ran the Granblue Museum in 2022, there was a 4D ride version of the Lucilius and Sandalphon battle done in 3D.
Kinoshita: What? I think I’d go nuts if I saw that! (laughs)
Katou: It was amazing! You can’t see it anywhere other than the Granblue Museum and it feels like such a waste. I hope they release it some day so more people can see it!
The joys you can feel as a new player
Famitsu: You’ve ended up talking a lot about your favorite characters. Who’s your favorite character right now, Kinoshita-san?
Kinoshita: I loved the Dragon Knights in Relink, and of those four my favorite is Lancey (Lancelot). Lancey is sitting on my home page right now (laughs). I thought I wouldn’t make it until Grand Lancelot joined my crew, but he came home just a few days ago!
Katou: Did you see the fallen version of Lancey in “And You”?
Kinoshita: I did! I saw him! I tried out every single dialogue option in that event (laughs). “And You” was a great event too, and as a Dragon Knight fan, seeing what happens to Lancey in a world without Vane made my heart ache…
Famitsu: How do you feel about the Dragon Knights’ series of story events?
Kinoshita: To be honest with you, I haven’t started them yet. Well, more accurately I have them sealed away until I have the time to go through them all at once. I like to save the best for last! (laughs)
Famitsu: I see. (laughs). What’s your favorite among the events you’ve already played?
Kinoshita: I love the Robomi series, it’s so different from the usual style of story. It talks about ancient civilizations, but I compared it to the 3 billion years of the Phoenix in my head. I liked “Together in Song” as well, it was a wonderful story.
Katou: I really liked “Together in Song” too! When it ran for the first time, everyone wanted Caro as a playable character… so when the event reran and Caro became playable, people were so happy.
Famitsu: There have been a lot of cases where characters are released with the rerun, like Sui for the rerun of “Falsetto in the Autumn Gray”.
Kinoshita: I really liked that story too! I feel like I’ve only been giving positive reviews this whole time (laughs)
Katou: Seeing people transcend the barriers of race and species is one of GBF’s special treats, I personally loved “A Peace of the Pie” for that reason.
Kinoshita: I haven’t played that one yet…
Katou: Have you played “A Walk on the Wild Side” yet? It’s so fun.
Kinoshita: Not yet… but hearing you talk about these stories makes me excited to read them! When you find a character you like in the side stories, you get excited to see them again and that really gets its hooks into you. You start looking for them and you don’t stop, and you suffer from an overabundance of great choices.
Katou: A lot of newer players fall in love with characters via their fate episodes, or their usefulness on their teams.
Meanwhile, there are more and more veteran players who love a character who they wish was playable and finally get their wish granted (laughs). There’s no shortage of good food for the fans, and that’s another great way to enjoy the game.
Kinoshita: I think I’m in the middle of the exact process you’re describing, and it’s been a lot of fun. There are so many characters I like and when I learn about them, I find even more characters to like, and it turns into the best kind of feedback loop (laughs).
What the veteran skyfarer and the fresh crew member want in GBF
Famitsu: When we talk about favorite characters, we have to mention Katou-san’s love for the Evoker, Lobelia…
Kinoshita: Lobelia? That freak? (laughs)
Katou: That’s the one! (laughs)
Kinoshita: I’m in the middle of building The Tower in Arcarum, so he hasn’t joined my crew yet, but that man sure made a lasting first impression…
Katou: People often put him and Nier in the top tier of Evoker danger levels.
Kinoshita: I think he’s worse than Nier (laughs)
Katou: Thanks!
Kinoshita: Was that a compliment? (laughs) I’m really curious about him now, so maybe I’ll recruit him as my next Evoker.
Katou: His abilities aren’t suited for Full Auto, but he really does a lot to make you stronger when you’re a newer player.
It takes a while to set up, but his Renegade Firebrand lets you turn any ability into damage, so even Miserable Mist and Clarity become damage skills.
Kinoshita: Wow, really? That’s really sold him to me (laughs). I’m at the stage where I really want to expand my roster, so sales pitches like this really work well on me.
Katou: Right now my greatest joy in GBF is spreading the gospel of my favorite character, so I’ll go into a full lecture if you let me (laughs). I mentioned earlier that there are so many ways of enjoying GBF, and for me that means putting my man Lobelia into every team I possibly can.
Kinoshita: I know how you feel there! I can’t tell if he’s powerful or not yet, but seeing Grand Lancey attack 4 times a turn is so much fun (laughs).
Honestly, I thought that there would be so many hurdles to overcome to join a game in its 10th year, but there’s so much content you can enjoy without having a cutting-edge party built, and it’s plenty of fun just getting new crewmembers and following their stories!
Famitsu: Although it seems like you do want to tackle the harder raids, Kinoshita-san.
Kinoshita: I’m currently farming for the Omega Rebirth weapons, and after that I have my sights set on the Revans raids. I think that once I have a few Revans weapons in my grid, the world will look entirely different to me… but I don’t know if that’s in my reach quite yet (laughs)
There’s so much to learn about the raids in this game, especially with how many versions of Bahamut you have to fight. I keep asking things like “Which one’s Super Baha?!” But I’ll keep learning.
Katou: The Ascendant Prayer feature is good for players who want to play and learn solo, so you can use that to take on those raids too.
Famitsu: What are the two of you looking forward to the most in GBF? What are you hoping to see?
Katou: Like I said, my joy in GBF is in finding new ways to love Lobelia, so I want to see the Evokers turn into more of a group and build some relationships.
Kinoshita: That’s true, the Eternals are actually a crew, but…
Katou: The Divine Generals and the Cardinal Saints are a tightly knit group too, but out of the Evokers only Katzelia and Haaselia have anything to do with each other. The recent Tales of Arcarum events have made it easier to get to know the Evokers even if you haven’t recruited them yet, so I’d like a story event starring them.
Kinoshita: Nier was the first Evoker I recruited, and it’s more than a little frightening to think about what would happen if those two got together, but that makes it even more fascinating (laughs). As for me, as a new player I would like more items that are worth weapon XP.
When I first played Rise of the Beasts, I couldn’t actually level any of the weapons to 200, so I couldn’t recruit the Cardinal Saint.
Famitsu: Wow, that’s an unexpected roadblock.
Katou: I’ve been playing for so many years, there is almost nothing I’m short on. But that does sound tough for new players…
Kinoshita: My cups are drained, so all I can do is use Journey Drops and pray for Grand Success each time (laughs)
Katou: You have the Draconic and Dark Opus weapons waiting for you next too, and those will eat up those same resources. I feel like new players could really benefit from a lot of weapon XP handouts.
Kinoshita: I’m short on quartz and the other materials to level up my summons, so I’m spending some time in Angel Halo right now. The veteran players told me that Angel Halo was rough in the days before you could skip it, so thanks for those who came before me for smoothing out so much of the game! I’m going to keep playing and I hope I can talk to you again about GBF some time, Katou-san!
Katou: I’d love nothing more than that! (laughs)