Bluetracker
Tracks Blizzard employees across various accounts.
As a South Asian person, I just want to say that seeing Akshan makes me very happy
For most of my life I wasn't someone who cared about representation in media, but as I've gotten older and more self aware, I've come to appreciate the impact it has. Seeing an upcoming champion that is obviously South Asian, from his looks to his name to his champion theme, is very refreshing
When I was growing up, I was ashamed of my skin colour, my ethnic name, my South Asian features, etc. There were no cool characters in the media I enjoyed that looked like me. Yes a cartoon character doesn't have to look like you for them to have a positive influence, but for a self conscious kid, it might've made my years of self-loathing and shame a little more bearable
Unlearning these feelings takes years, so I'm sure many of us can appreciate the diversity of champion backgrounds in League. The diversity of champion body types could use some work though lmao. Anyways I just wanted to gush about how excited I am for this champion, no matter how frustrating he ends up being to play against, solely for the fact that South Asians are going to be able to look at Akshan and think "he looks like me, and he's a total badass"
And just a note: His name isn't pronounced like "action" but rather more like "uk-shin"
Cashmiir
Bollywood was an inspiration for mainly his grappling hook. Jag wanted a really flashy ability that was action packed and fun to watch. The intent was not to design a champion who is essentially a Bollywood ripoff. And if the quote in Champ Insights misled you that's my bad.
Cashmiir
Could've also been me! No worries my dude!