Wang Yuanji

Wang Yuanji (rōmaji: Ō Genki) is a figure who only appears in The Book of Jin and does not make an appearance in Romance of the Three Kingdoms. She is Wang Su's daughter and is historically Sima Zhao's wife.

Her character's height for her Dynasty Warriors counterpart is 160 cm (5'3"), and she is Sima Zhao's fiancée in the franchise. She was voted the most popular character in Gamecity's character popularity poll for Dynasty Warriors 7. She placed third place as the character fans would want as their girlfriend according to Famitsu's character survey.

Dynasty Warriors
Jin's Story Mode has her mainly featured as support for the Wei army. She at first begrudgingly fights beside Sima Zhao, being the one who persuades him to rescue Zhuge Dan at Dong Xing. She rightly places blame on him since their downfall is Sima Zhao's fault. She gradually learns to accept him and helps him overcome his laziness. In their faction's ending, she accompanies the landless Sima Zhao.

Her first Legendary Mode has her participate in a mock battle staged by Sima Shi. They both want to correct Sima Zhao's laziness and seek to discipline him in their battle. Wang Yuanji's second Legendary Mode allows her to personally subjugate Zhong Hui's revolt.

Wang Yuanji resumes her role as Sima Zhao's companion in the eighth title of the series. She is first seen joining the Sima clan's suppression of the rebels at Xiangping. With Zhang Chunhua's encouragement, Wang Yuanji continuously lends her support to Sima Zhao and his brother during their campaigns.

Warriors Orochi
Wang Yuanji was one of the many officers stationed and killed in battle at Ueda Castle during the original timeline of Warriors Orochi 3. Taishi Ci and company hurry to her rescue before she is overwhelmed by the serpent army. Unlike Zhuge Dan, she believes Sima Zhao when he explains he came from the future and agrees to their idea to raise an army. Following Sima Zhao's forces throughout the game, she helps the effort to rescue Taigong Wang and company, Lu Meng, and assists protecting Da Ji against the forces led by Sima Yi and Sima Shi.

In the PSP port of the game, Wang Yuanji participates in one of the new stages involving Ueda Castle. This time, she personally leads the charge against Yuan Shao's army in an attempt to prevent the castle from falling right into their hands. Her efforts in repelling both the demon troops and the unknown generals impress the mysterious Seimei Abe who later offers his services to the Coalition.

Development
According to the producer, Wang Yuanji was added as an "adult" character and deliberately sought to balance her with the rest of the female cast. She went through several iterations during her design process, but Suzuki believes that she fills the spot for "tsundere" of the series. He notes she quickly became popular with fans in Japan and was frequently asked questions regarding her before the game's release. Her high popularity rating has surprised the development team each time. Suzuki has responded that it's the first time that a new character has been so well received during their debut. Even by the time of the newest entry, he and Jun Miyauchi are still mystified by her popularity with Japanese fans.

The reason why Koei decided to collaborate with Lawson was because the public relation departments from both companies were acquaintances with one another. At first, Lawson representatives didn't want to allow a clothing option for a character. However, once they looked at the rough design for the concept, they approved it. Wang Yuanji was chosen with hopes to avoid offending fans of the returning cast.

Personality
Despite her conservative and quiet countenance, Wang Yuanji is a caring and gentle woman to the weak and innocent. A perceptive woman who thinks of the greater good for her country, she rarely has tolerance for procrastination or excessiveness. Whenever possible she seeks to reach quick, efficient, and decisive conclusions to conflicts. Although she may seem like a passive stoic, Wang Yuanji is gregarious enough to congratulate her comrades with an open smile. If Wang Yuanji confesses her genuine feelings to someone dear to her, she becomes rather bashful with her sincerity. In the Japanese script, she always formally addresses her spouse and brother-in-law by their style names.

With Sima Zhao, however, she spares him no sympathy and is rather curt with him. More often than not, she is usually patronizing him to take responsibility for his actions. As she watches him mature through his struggles, Wang Yuanji genuinely accepts him and his faults. She usually shows her concern for him indirectly, her cold shoulder belying the respect she has for him. Both Sima Yi and Sima Shi are aware of her lover's faults, asking her to not misunderstand the Sima family due to Sima Zhao's behavior. For her Warriors Orochi appearance, she has special conversations with Taishi Ci, Sakon, and Nene.

Voice Actors

 * Tara Platt - Dynasty Warriors 7 (English-uncredited)
 * Kanae Itō - Dynasty Warriors 7~8, Warriors Orochi 3 (Japanese)

Quotes

 * See also: Wang Yuanji/Quotes


 * "I must go out and live up to the responsibilities I have been entrusted with."
 * "I'm first place? I thought it was some kind of joke, not that there would be any good reason to... It's not like I'm happy or anything... Don't misunderstand me..."
 * "My lady, might I speak with you?"
 * "What do you want? I'm not in the mood to listen to your whining."
 * "Come now, don't be like that. You're all I have."
 * "Then, why don't you listen to my complaints sometimes? Like the one about the guy who is always complaining to me...."
 * "Forgive me."
 * Sima Zhao and Wang Yuanji; Dynasty Warriors 7


 * "Master Sakon, will you lend me your knowledge? I'm trying to motivate someone who hardly does anything."
 * "You're too perfect, that's your problem. It makes people come to depend on you. Why don't you try playing dumb? Men really go for a woman who needs to rely on them for help."
 * Wang Yuanji and Sakon Shima; Warriors Orochi 3

Dynasty Warriors 7
Wang Yuanji is affiliated with throwing knives in this appearance. When she is equipped with it, she can perform a unique attack exclusive to her. Upon performing her Musou techniques, she will automatically use the weapon in her attacks.


 * EX Attack:, , , undefined, undefined: Jumps up and throws knives in a large radius towards the ground.
 * Musou - Stardust (天狼七星陣): : Hurls knives in a wide cone in front of her.
 * Aerial Musou - Falcon Kick (飛炎脚):, : Spins counterclockwise while airborne and descends to the ground in a flaming spiral.

Her moveset has been changed in Warriors Orochi 3.
 * Warriors Orochi


 * undefined: Shoots knives in a fan-shaped formation.


 * , undefined: Hurl knives at a low angle, returning back like a boomerang as the user lands on the ground.


 * R1: Throws weapons swiftly into the enemy ranks.

Dynasty Warriors 8
Wang Yuanji keeps the same moveset from the last expansion title, but also gains additional attacks to her repertoire of techniques.


 * Alternate Musou - Celestial Strike (天狼八掛連陣): R1 + : Hurls daggers that fly forward in different trajectories, sometimes homing in on the nearest target. The assault ends with a rising kick that sends out more daggers in a fan formation.
 * Awakening Musou: Tosses five daggers in a row while spinning around slowly. The attack motion ends with the user performing an aerial spin kick to knock back surrounding foes. During the extended version, the user starts dashing while throwing daggers at a faster rate than normal before leaping upward to send out an array of blue-tinted projectiles in all directions.

Weapons

 * See also: Wang Yuanji/Weapons

Dynasty Warriors 8
Wang Yuanji still uses the throwing knives as her default weapon in this title.

Historical Information
Wang Yuanji was Wang Lang's granddaughter and Wang Su's daughter. She was a well studied child as she could understand Shijing, Lunyu, and the Sangfu when she was eight years old. She was loyal to her father and faithfully performed the chores around her household. Wang Lang was proud of her character and was said to have wished her to be another grandson. These words have also been interpreted as him lamenting her headstrong, tomboyish nature during her childhood.

When she was fifteen years old, she was married to Sima Zhao. During their marriage, she gave birth to Sima Yan, Sima Ding'guo, Sima You, Sima Zhao, and Sima Guangde. Her devotion to her family extended to her mother-in-law as she served her well. Wang Yuanji was a loving mother to her sons and was known to be a strong figure for their wives. With her knowledge in various literature, she would fortify the maidens with virtue and integrity.

At one time during Sima Zhao's reign, Wang Yuanji apparently foresaw Zhong Hui's eventual betrayal. To him she personally confided, "Zhong Hui is one who moves for his own merit and forgets his duties to you. He will surely rebel if left unattended." Her predictions of his character proved correct as he revolted not too many years afterward.

After her father died, she dressed in clothes of mourning and wept for him ceaselessly. She was named Empress Dowager after her husband's death during Sima Yan's reign. Wang Yuanji was admitted to the court yet sought to be simple and practical with conducting herself. However, since her followers apparently disapproved of her methods, her vassals were disorderly and instigated fights against one another. For this reason, she was said to have kept a low profile in political matters. It's not clear if the harsh charges against her were caused from her own ineptitude or due to purposeful slander from discontent retainers. She died in 268 with the honors of an empress and was buried at Chongyang Tomb with her husband.

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