Honkai: Star Rail, a 2023 role-playing video game developed by miHoYo, features a wide range of characters set within a vast science fantasy universe. The story follows the Trailblazer, a player-named protagonist, who travels aboard the interstellar train known as the Astral Express alongside companions. The universe is shaped by cosmic ideologies called Paths, each overseen by a godlike being known as an Aeon. Characters that are granted power directly by an Aeon are Emanators, while those who only follow Paths are Pathstriders. Throughout the story, the Trailblazer and their companions become entangled in the affairs of various worlds, working to contain crises brought on by mysterious entities known as Stellarons. As the fourth installment in the Honkai video game series, the game reimagines some characters from earlier titles, such as Bronya and Himeko, as alternate versions of themselves.

The characters of Honkai: Star Rail have received positive reception from critics, who praised the game's cast for its distinctive personalities, animations, and visual designs. Reviewers highlighted the characters' strong individuality and appeal, noting that both playable and non-playable characters contribute to the game's narrative and world-building.

Creation and design Honkai: Star Rail producer David Jiang stated that the development team places strong emphasis on character creation, noting that drafting narrative text for a single character typically takes around a month. The production team emphasized the importance of making the game's characters feel as though they genuinely inhabit the fictional world. According to the writers, their role is not to direct the characters according to personal intent but rather to document the words, actions, and events of characters as if they were real individuals within the setting. To enhance authenticity, character traits are often inspired by real-life individuals encountered by the development team.

According to lead game designer Chengnan An, the development team adopts a "character-first" design philosophy, wherein personality and narrative are prioritized over gameplay systems. He explained that creating gameplay systems before developing the characters often limited their creativity, stating that "we ran out of inspo really, really fast" when doing so. Characters undergo multiple rounds of visual iteration and feedback to heighten their aesthetic appeal, often becoming "prettier and even more handsome and even more cool with each iteration." The team is also known for incorporating distinctive, unconventional traits to make the characters more memorable. For example, the character Dr. Ratio attacks with an oversized book to reflect his egotistical intellect, while Himeko is portrayed calmly sipping tea amid a fiery explosion during her ultimate move.

Regarding the design of character artificial intelligence (AI), Jiang explained that, to enhance immersion in Honkai: Star Rail, AI technology was integrated into non-player character behavioral patterns to reduce rigidity and create more natural interactions, aiming to create a more immersive sense of a living world. He also noted that current AI applications are limited to serving as development aids. However, he suggested that the future use of AI could potentially expand character dialogue and interaction content.

In terms of character backstories, Jiang stated that the game's narrative and worldbuilding are developed around its characters, who in turn serve as the primary means of conveying the story and its underlying themes. The developers drew inspiration from road movie storytelling, featuring the protagonist and companions travelling across diverse worlds with differing social, technological, and cultural structures. These structures are used to highlight character development and interpersonal dynamics across varied settings.

Prior to a character's official release in the game, miHoYo promotes them through its official social media channels by releasing promotional videos. After release, additional characterization is provided through main story content, side missions, and supplementary in-game materials. Companion Missions in particular offer deeper insight into each character's backstory and personality traits that may not be fully explored in the main narrative.

In terms of gameplay, the development team stated that gameplay systems are closely tied to character design. The game introduces a system known as Paths, which functions both as ideologies and gameplay roles. In lore terms, a character's Path represents the philosophical route associated with an Aeon, while in gameplay terms, it defines a character's combat role, such as damage dealer, support, or healer. At the game's launch, playable characters were divided among seven Paths, with additional Paths introduced in later updates. In addition to Paths, playable characters are also categorized by seven damage types.

Astral Express crew

The Astral Express () is the main setting of the game. It travels along a star rail, a network created by Akivili, the Aeon of Trailblaze, that connects various planets. The inhabitants of the train are called the Nameless, a term that also refers to former inhabitants. They follow the Path of Trailblaze.

Trailblazer

Voiced by: Qin Qiege (Chinese); Caleb Yen (2023–2025), Shaun Mendum (2025–present) (English); Junya Enoki (Japanese); (Korean) (Caelus) Voiced by: Chen Tingting (Chinese); Rachael Chau (2023–2025), Chloe Eves (2025–present) (English); Yui Ishikawa (Japanese); (Korean) (Stelle) The () is the main protagonist of the game. An artificial receptacle, in the form of a human being, that contains a Stellaron. Players can choose to play as either the male (Caelus, ) or female (Stelle, ) Trailblazer and may enter their chosen name to be used throughout the story. After being awakened by Kafka and Silver Wolf in Herta Space Station, they joined the Astral Express to eliminate the threats posed by the Stellaron. It is revealed that they were previously part of the Stellaron Hunters prior to the start of the game.

Dan Heng

Voiced by: Li Chunyin (Chinese); Nicholas Leung (English); Kent Itō (Japanese); (Korean) Dan Heng () is a reserved young man who acts as the train's guard. He often spends more time in the Astral Express data archives than in his bedroom. He conceals his true identity as a Vidyadhara, a dragon-like species, from the inhabitants of the Xianzhou Luofu. In a previous incarnation, he was known as Imbibitor Lunae (), the title of the Luofu's high-ranking Vidyadhara leader. Though he has since inherited that incarnation's powers, he has never formally held the title himself because it is reserved for another Vidyadhara, Bailu. During the Xianzhou Luofu chapter, his past is revealed when the Astral Express crew is drawn into a conflict involving the Xianzhou Alliance's armed forces, known as the Cloud Knights. He later reawakens his powers while remaining loyal to the Astral Express.

March 7th

Voiced by: Nuoya (Chinese); Skyler Davenport (English); Yui Ogura (Japanese); (Korean) March 7th () is a cheerful girl with no memory of her past before the Astral Express crew rescued her from being encased in ice. She took the name "March 7th" as it marked the date of her rescue. During the events of Amphoreus, a protective alter ego known as Evernight () emerged, seizing control of March and becoming the demigod of Time.

Murata Himeko

Voiced by: Lin Su (Chinese); Cia Court (English); Rie Tanaka (Japanese); (Korean) () is a scientist who fixed the Astral Express when it became stuck in her home world of Planarcadia as a teenager. She later becomes the train's navigator and de facto owner and is the most senior active member of the Nameless, a group that travels aboard the Astral Express to follow the Path of Trailblaze. During the Planarcadia chapter, it is revealed that Himeko, in her childhood, was stricken with a hereditary curse that would kill her. The curse was instead inherited by an imagenae she created, a sentient creature native to Planarcadia brought into existence through wishes. The imagenae called Motoko () eventually faded away, curing Himeko and allowing her to live on.

Pom-Pom Voiced by: Jiang Li (Chinese); Christine Sposato (English); Miki Nagasawa (Japanese); (Korean) () is the conductor of the Astral Express.

Sunday

Voiced by: Xu Xiang (Chinese); Griffin Puatu, Amber Lee Connors (young) (English); Takeo Ōtsuka (Japanese); (Korean) Sunday is a zealous and revered Halovian, a humanoid species with angelic features. He is the former head of the Oak Family, a political house, as well as Robin's brother. He was secretly a Pathstrider of Order and the main antagonist of the Penacony chapter. In order to seek atonement for his actions in the aftermath of the Stellaron incident, he left Penacony to join the Astral Express as a passenger. During the Astropolis chapter, he becomes an official crew member after being invited by Himeko, an offer he accepts.

Welt Yang

Voiced by: Peng Bo (Chinese); Corey Landis (2023–2026), Brian T. Delaney (2026–present) (English); Yoshimasa Hosoya (Japanese); (Korean) (), whose real name is (), is the second-most senior active member of the Nameless and the former leader of the anti-cataclysmic organization Anti-Entropy. The events that occur in the aftermath of Honkai Impact 3rds open world mode A Post-Honkai Odyssey Chapter 2 and its supplementary manhua Alien Space eventually led to his appearance in the game.

Characters by world Herta Space Station

Herta Space Station () is named after its founder, Herta, and orbits her home world, the Blue. Originally built as a warehouse to store a collection of interstellar relics known as Curios, it was later inhabited by researchers from numerous planets across the cosmos and has since become a scientific research base.

Voiced by: (Chinese); Dani Chambers (English); Ryoko Shiraishi (Japanese); (Korean) Arlan is the head of the space station's security department.

Voiced by: (Chinese); Felecia Angelle (English); Chinatsu Akasaki (Japanese); (Korean) Asta is an astronomer and the space station's lead researcher who comes from a wealthy family from the resort planet Astropolis. Arlan often has to rein in her spending.

Voiced by: Hou Xiaofei (Chinese); PJ Mattson (English); Haruka Yamazaki (Japanese); Kim Seo-yeong (Korean) The space station's true master and the interest-driven member #83 of the Genius Society. Herta is an Emanator of Erudition who controls her namesake puppets, loosely modelled after her younger self, scattered throughout the space station. To distinguish herself between the puppets, she refers to herself as The Herta ().

Voiced by: Zhang Wenyu (Chinese); Emi Lo (English); Saori Ōnishi (Japanese); (Korean) Ruan Mei is a biological sciences expert and member #81 of the Genius Society. She is a completely amoral scientist with dreams of becoming an Aeon herself, though she regrets being unable to emotionally connect with her creations.

Jarilo-VI

Jarilo-VI () is an ice planet. It is uninhabitable outside the city of Belobog due to a winter storm, called the Eternal Freeze, that was caused by a Stellaron. Belobog is governed by the Silvermane Guards, who are followers of the Path of Preservation.Jarilo-VI Trailblaze Missions:

Voiced by: Xie Ying (Chinese); Madeline Reiter (English); Kana Asumi (Japanese); (Korean) The commander of the Silvermane Guards and Cocolia's adoptive daughter. Bronya became the ruler of Belobog after Cocolia's death.

Voiced by: Zisu Jiuyue (Chinese); Emily Sun (English); Rina Hidaka (Japanese); (Korean) (Clara) Voiced by: Wang Yuhang (Chinese); D. C. Douglas (English); Hiroki Yasumoto (Japanese); (Korean) (Svarog) Clara is a mild-mannered young girl and a self-taught mechanic. She is often accompanied by the robot Svarog ().