Like a lot of characters in Netflix’s Arcane, Vi is a victim of circumstance. A young girl thrust into a series of harrowing events in which she needs to protect her loved ones, fight back against oppression, and become the person Piltover and Zaun want her to be.
Fortiche Production co-founder and Arcane co-director Pascal Charrue doesn’t believe Vi wants to be a fighter at all, but is pushed into defending herself at every turn after everyone she cares about is either killed or taken away from her. It’s a miserable existence, but one that throughout the upcoming second season is sprinkled with fragments of hope.
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“Vi was not a violent person in the beginning, she was a very sweet girl,” Charrue explains. “When we go back to the first [character] design on the bridge at the start of season one she was very kind and loving, just like Powder, but then she saw her parents die. And during this moment, she changed.”
Vi is forced into becoming not only a protector, but a physical presence in Powder’s life that can defend, provide, and eventually build something for both of them. When Vander dies at the hands of Silco and Powder is left behind, Vi only retreats further into herself. Fortiche wanted this rebellious tenacity to bleed through every facet of her character in Arcane, while still leaving room for softness on the periphery.
Without Caitlyn, nobody is there to bring Vi down or give her love. And she needs that love.
“She had to grow up as an orphan, she had to protect Powder, and she’s totally in rebellion,” Charrue adds. “Vi is in rebellion during both seasons, but she is still a kind girl that has to retain that frustration. She’s hungry all the time, and so she has to be [violent].”
Charrue then brings up the role that Caitlyn plays in Vi’s life, a foil of sorts to her violent ways and a promise of a better life if things had turned out a certain way. Yet she’s also a reminder of everything Vi is fighting against, including the enforcers that murdered her parents. After a fateful meeting in the first season, the two become an unexpected duo that, thanks to forces outside their control, are gradually pushed apart.
“She kept expecting something from Caitlyn,” Charrue admits. “But without Caitlyn, nobody is there to bring Vi down or give her love, and she needs love.”
The first act of season two, set to arrive on Netflix later today, has Vi join up with the enforcers and appearing to be in a more serious relationship with Caitlyn. Arcane hinted at this connection previously, but I’m told it was a part of the story that Fortiche along with its writing team pushed from the very beginning.
Creative director Barthelemy Maunoury makes specific mention of writer Amanda Overton and showrunners Christian Linke and Alex Yee when it came to Vi and Caitlyn’s relationship, and how it forms a part of the main narrative.
“On the topic of the second season, I think most, if not every, artist in the studio expected to work on or develop [Caitlyn and Vi’s relationship] either from a storyboard or the animation aspect,” Maunoury says. “Without spoiling too much or saying too much, that’s something I can say we are most proud of in season two. At least personally, we pictured the romance between the two of them in a very cool way, and we’re pretty proud of it.”
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Arcane has been in production for eight years, so Fortiche has spent a long time building out unique versions of characters and taking their stories to bold new places. In the case of Vi, it saw her original design pulled out of the male gaze and depicted as a more butch girl with a clear queer identity at the centre. When exploring how Vi looks, speaks and moves, this was one of the first things on their minds.
“When we first arrived in front of these characters, we wanted them to be more balanced and to find more personality,” Charrue explains. “The designs were done years before, and Vi is one of the characters we didn’t know at this stage at the beginning of Arcane. We know Jinx very well because we did a music video, we know Ekko because we did a trailer for him, and Caitlyn, you know, has a big hat. We said, ‘Okay, maybe that is something we can remove’.
“Vi was one of the main characters we wanted to focus on in the story because we can tell you all the ways she will change and how she becomes a champion, and it was easy for us to approach because of that. She is a stronger character in the family because of her father, Vander, who changes one day because of all the horrible things he’d done, realising violence was not the most important. [Vi] is just like him. She wants to defend, she’s a protector of the family, and knows the aspect of taking charge.”
This tragic backstory eventually led to the rebellious personality and aesthetic that Vi is now iconic for, as Charrue is quick to add. “At the beginning, we looked for something more modern, more real. Not to delve too deep into symbolism and stuff, but we tried to create a grand rock ‘n’ roll model and evolve it throughout the story.”
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Maunoury builds on how character design is not the only important factor, but also physical presence, body language, and how they compare to the rest of the cast.
“We brainstorm and talk about every champion on the show, especially main champions like Jayce and Vi. There are a lot of conversations about how they should look, how they should behave, and even body language is something we care about and think about. Vi was one of the characters we were looking for, and once we did, it was very easy to make her evolve.
“The final design she has in season two actually came maybe more easily because we knew the character, we knew what she went through, and so the final design makes sense. The same goes for animation. As an artist, we spent eight years with this character, so you begin to feel comfortable developing and working with her.”
To pull our talk to a close, I wanted to ask Charrue and Maunoury what they think about the state of animation right now, a medium where original stories and characters are becoming difficult to explore.
Arcane finds itself in a unique position as it uses an established universe with so many characters and ideas that go their own way. And by dedicating eight years to Arcane, it has put itself in a position to pursue its own stories and ideas going forward.
“For us, we are trying to do our own IP,” Charrue tells me, likely referencing the upcoming Penelope of Sparta. “But it is difficult to build a good budget, to have the time to enter deeply into the evolution of a character, the arc of character and everything. All this time, and eight years is a long time for a lot of people, but the success of Arcane is linked to all the animation, the love that all the artists I’ve worked with. We are not doing something in another world, but we want to make something great, to build characters and spend time with them.
“It has been very difficult for us at moments, but when you see the final result, and people like you or others who love one character or another who has a big impact on their lives, it’s a big victory. And these characters also have a big impact on our lives after eight years. You can’t find projects like that every day, so when you have one, you are sharing the moment.”
Set in the League of Legends universe, Arcane focuses on sisters Violet and Powder (later Jinx) as they end up on opposite sides of a growing conflict between the wealthy utopia of Piltover and its dark undercity whose citizens wish to break away from their oppressors. Hailee Steinfeld, Ella Purnell, and Kevin Alejandro star in this animated adventure.