Genji

Genji, the Cybernetic Ninja, is a Ranged Assassin Hero from the Overwatch universe. Genji flings precise and deadly Shuriken at his targets, and uses his technologically-advanced katana to deflect projectiles or deliver a Swift Strike that cuts down enemies.

Once the carefree youngest scion of the Shimada clan, Genji was cut down by his own brother for refusing to take part in their illegal ventures. Grafted into a cyborg body by Overwatch, Genji walks his own path as one who fights for what’s right.

Background
The cyborg has made peace with the augmented body he once rejected, and in doing so, he has discovered a higher humanity.

As the youngest son of the master of the Shimada ninja clan, Genji lived a life of luxury and privilege. He had little interest in the family's illegal businesses, and although he excelled at and enjoyed his ninja training, he spent most of his time pursuing a playboy lifestyle. Many within the clan considered the carefree Genji to be a dangerous liability, and they resented his father for coddling and protecting him. Following the clan leader's untimely death, Genji's older brother, Hanzo, demanded that Genji take a more active role in their late father's empire. Genji refused, enraging Hanzo. The tension between the brothers built to a violent confrontation that left Genji on the verge of dying.

Hanzo believed that he had killed his brother, but Genji was rescued by and the intervention of. The global security force saw Genji as a potential asset in its ongoing operations to combat the Shimada clan. As Genji's injuries left him clinging to life, Overwatch offered to rebuild his body in exchange for his help. He was put through an extensive process of cyberization, which enhanced his natural speed and agility and augmented his superlative ninja skills. Transformed into a living weapon, Genji single-mindedly set about the task of dismantling his family's criminal empire.

But as time passed, Genji felt increasingly at war with himself. He was repulsed by the mechanical parts of his body and could not come to grips with what he had become. When his mission was complete, he abandoned Overwatch and wandered the world in search of meaning. He drifted for many years before crossing paths with the omnic monk Zenyatta. Though Genji initially rejected Zenyatta's wisdom, the benevolent omnic would not be deterred. In time, Zenyatta became his mentor, and under the monk's tutelage, Genji reconciled his dual existence as both man and machine. He learned to accept that although he had a cyborg body, his human soul was intact, and he came to see his new form as a gift and a unique strength.

Now, for the first time in his life, Genji is free. Even he cannot say where his path will ultimately lead.

Gameplay
Genji is an opportunistic, mobile Ranged Assassin who can tear apart a weak backline. While his innate health pool is quite low, which makes him susceptible to enemy crowd control abilities, he does have several escape mechanisms that allow him to escape dangerous situations.

Strength

 * Mobility
 * Takedowns
 * Damage
 * Initiation

Weaknesses

 * Sustain
 * Crowd Control
 * Support

Abilities

 * See Data page for a table of scaled values at key levels.

Trivia

 * Genji first appeared in Overwatch (May 2016).
 * Genji is voiced by Gaku Space.
 * Genji hails from Japan, and is 35 years old.
 * Master Dragon Genji was inspired by Master Chief from the Halo series.
 * Neon Dragon Genji was inspired by Eva-01 from Neon Genesis Evangelion.
 * The developer team started working on Genji around mid-late August 2016. When the developers started working on Genji, they approached the idea of allowing Deflect to function as it does in Overwatch, where it reflects most abilities/projectiles. The first issue they found was that there were a lot of odd scenarios in the Nexus—how does deflecting a Flamestrike or Blizzard work? They tried to address this by having Genji constantly aim the deflection, but that felt pretty bad given its short duration and the fact that you had to constantly mash W. On the technical side of things, Genji's Deflect was very difficult and time consuming to develop, and required a large number of special case setups. In the end, they settled with an ability that they felt fit the game a bit better, and they added a talent that brings some of that flavor back in and rewards players for deflecting high damage abilities.
 * One of Genji's gag quotes references Grey Fox, a cyborg ninja from Metal Gear Solid (September 1998).
 * Genji's Home screen music is from the Overwatch animated short "Dragons" and the used part of the music can be heard between 4:56-5:26 of the short.
 * One of Genji's gag quotes references the famous catchphrase "My body is ready!".