History of Genji From Overwatch

Introduction

Genji Shimada is a playable character in Overwatch. He is the brother of Hanzo Shimada and the son of Sojiro Shimada. Genji in Overwatch is an augmented cyborg that uses his wazikashi or katana to ward off incoming projectiles and his shurikens for attacks.

He also has a Dragonblade ultimate move that can deliver deadly attacks to enemies for a short period. Genji can also scale walls using his Wall Climb ability. Genji Overwatch is also a playable character in Heroes of the Storm.    

Backstory and History

Early Life

Genji is the youngest son of the ninja clan master of Shimada. His elder brother, Hanzo both lived succulent, enriched lives. Their clan, the Shimada family is a tribe of assassins.

The Shimada clan was established several hundreds of years ago. Over time, the clan became powerful and influential.

The clan was feared and revered for its family of deadly assassins who were well trained in the art of combat and the use of deadly weapons. The Shimada clan also traded in weapons and drugs.

Genji was very proud and arrogant. He had no interest in the assassin business of the clan and he never partook in activities that brought the clan together. Genji Overwatch had no love for his clan members hated him.

Death of Genji’s Father

After the death of his father, Hanzo became Genji’s custodian. The leader of the clan went to the eldest son who was Hanzo.

Hanzo took over the clan’s criminal activities and controlled the entire business empire. Hanzo was a good leader who possessed the instincts and intellects of a leader.

Also, he was a good fighter who could use the bow and arrow as well as his sword. He was also skilled in the use of martial arts.

Hanzo sought to change Genji and make him a more active member of the clan. Genji was a lazy playboy who had no interest in the running of the clan.

Hanzo got angry because of this. The elders of the clan were also pissed off with Genji’s attitude and they asked his brother to make him change. But, Genji did not heed to his yearnings.

The Plot to Kill Genji

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The elders of the clan came together with a plot to kill Genji. They directed his brother, Hanzo to carry out the plot. Then attacked him and they fought. He fought Genji Overwatch and left him for dead.

The elders of the clan were pleased, but Hanzo was heartbroken at the death of his brother.

Hanzo left the clan for good due to his grief. He wandered the earth, looking for ways to do good and atone for what he did to his blood brother.

Without Hanzo and Genji, the Shimada clan had no leader. That didn’t stop them from carrying out their deadly activities.

They continued with their assassinations, drugs trade, and weapon trade.    

The Resuscitation of Genji

However, Genji survived. The Overwatch organization rescued Genji and a doctor named Dr. Angela Ziegler aka Mercy rebuilt his body, thus giving him a cyborg body.

The Overwatch organization had been watching the Shimada clan and studying their activities. Accordingly, Genji was a suitable person to carry out their plans to take down the criminal Shimada clan.

The Overwatch organization made Genji an offer before they healed him. Genji was too help the Overwatch organization take down his former clan, the Shimada clan in exchange for saving his life.

He accepted their offer and thus, Mercy and other doctors in the Overwatch organization rebuilt his body. He passed through a cybernetic enhancement program.

They improved his speed and made him very agile. In addition, they also enhanced his ninja abilities. 

Genji in Overwatch

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Since then, Genji in Overwatch worked actively to destroy the Shimada clan. Genji became a terror to the clan and he became feared by them.

Obviously, their ordinary bodies were no match for his cybernetic enhanced body. Unlike the Overwatch organization, Genji had insider information to the clan.

He knew all their weaknesses as he had studied and lived with them under the tutelage of his father and his brother.  

Genji in Overwatch took down the members of the Shimada clan and everyone thought that the clan was no more.

But that is not the case. A clan as large and as powerful as the Shimada clan is hard to dismantle. There are still tiny pockets of the clan in existence.

In fact, these tiny pockets work together to engage in illicit and illegal criminal activities.   

After Genji took down the Shimada clan, he completed his mission. His part of the deal was fulfilled and eventually, he left the Overwatch organization.

But Genji of Overwatch still felt unfulfilled. He loathed himself and felt out of place in the world. The cybernetic modification had affected him a lot and he didn’t feel human. He felt more like a killing machine than a human.

 

Genji and Zenyatta

Genji roamed the world until he came across a monk called Zenyatta. At first, Genji wasn’t so friendly with Zenyatta and he resisted his words.

But, Zenyatta persisted and didn’t give up on Genji. Thus, Zenyatta became a source of inspiration to Genji and he ultimately became the mentor of Overwatch Genji.

Genji became fulfilled and he accepted the fact that he was part-human, part-machine. He embraced both parts and found himself.

He understood that even though, several of his body parts were mechanical, his human soul was still a core part of his being.

Genji understood that his human soul remained untouched and he was still a passionate being that could feel remorse, guilt, happiness, joy, kindness, laughter, and other feelings like a regular human. At last, Genji embraced his uniqueness.         

 

Media History of Genji

Genji has appeared in several Overwatch media like the game, animations, merchandise, comic book, and more.

He first appeared in the Overwatch game in 2016. Next, he appeared in his first Overwatch animation. In 2017, Genji featured in Heroes of the Storm, thus becoming a playable character in the game.

In fact, his abilities in Heroes of the Storm are the same as Genji’s Overwatch abilities.

Genji will also appear in a cinematic animation for Overwatch 2. This means that we’ll see Genji in Overwatch 2.         

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