Murata Himeko () is a character from the Honkai video game series developed by miHoYo. The character originally appeared in Guns Girl Z as the commander of a squad dedicated to fighting a supernatural destructive force called the Honkai. The character has since appeared as distinct iterations in the two subsequent games in the series, Honkai Impact 3rd and Honkai: Star Rail. In the former game, she is the daughter of a brilliant scientist who became a warrior and teacher after her father's death, training students to fight the Honkai. She later sacrificed herself to save the game's protagonist, Kiana Kaslana, from being controlled by the Herrscher of the Void, dying in the process. In the latter game, she rebuilds the Astral Express train after it crashes on her home planet of Planarcadia. Afterwards, she became the train's navigator and leader, helping to guide its crew through major conflicts across the universe.
As of 2026, six playable battlesuits have been released for Himeko in Honkai Impact 3rd. In July 2026, an alternative playable version of Himeko in Honkai: Star Rail, called Himeko • Nova (), was released. Himeko was generally received well, and the lore and stories between the Honkai Impact 3rd and Honkai: Star Rail iterations were generally compared. However, Himeko's gameplay in Honkai: Star Rail was generally criticized for her poor damage output.
Design and voice acting Himeko first appeared as a boss character in version 1.8 of Guns Girl Z, also known as Houkai Gakuen 2, in 2015. Before her first in-game appearances in Honkai Impact 3rd and Honkai: Star Rail, she debuted in the manhua Escape from Nagazora and was teased through a cameo appearance in the manhua Alien Space, respectively. In version 1.1 of Honkai Impact 3rd, Himeko was released as a playable character, or Valkyrie, in 2016, alongside two battlesuits: Battle Storm and Scarlet Fusion. Since her release in the game, Himeko has received six playable battlesuits, the latest of which, Vermilion Knight: Eclipse (), was released in 2018. miHoYo first revealed that an iteration of Himeko would appear in Honkai: Star Rail upon the release of the game's first trailer on October 7, 2021, although they first revealed information about the Himeko which appears in Honkai: Star Rail on April 10, 2023, where she appeared in a trailer which showed her combat abilities. On May 19, 2026, miHoYo revealed that this Himeko would receive a new form called Himeko • Nova.
All Himeko iterations are voiced in Chinese by Lin Su and in Japanese by Rie Tanaka. Honkai Impact 3rd does not offer English or Korean voice-overs, but in Honkai: Star Rail she is voiced by Cia Court and , respectively, in those languages.
Appearances
Guns Girl Z In the Retrospective Chapter, Murata Himeko encounters the game's protagonists, Kiana Kaslana, Raiden Mei, and Bronya Zaychik, after they board Hyperion, the flying battleship under her command. Himeko mistakes the trio for infiltrators from Anti-Entropy, an organization opposed to Schicksal, the anti-Honkai organization she serves. Theresa Apocalypse, the head of Schicksal, clears the misunderstanding after recognizing Kiana's voice, and the trio is recruited into St. Freya High School. Sometime later, Bronya is briefly manipulated by Anti-Entropy and attempts to destroy Hyperion's reactor. Himeko and Theresa lead the academy's defense against an Anti-Entropy assault. During the battle, Himeko rams Hyperion into the enemy battleship Moonlight Throne, allowing Kiana, Mei, and Bronya to infiltrate it and disable its power core. When Moonlight Throne later crashes into the academy's church, Himeko and Theresa search the wreckage for the missing Kiana. During the search, Himeko learns that the academy was built atop the remains of the Second Herrscher. A Herrscher is a human influenced by the destructive supernatural force known as the Honkai. She also learns that Schicksal had secretly studied Herrscher power to counter future threats. After Kiana is revealed to have fused with the Second Herrscher's core and triggered a Final Eruption, she transforms and acts under the Herrscher's will. She turns on her former allies and kills Himeko, Theresa, and Seele Vollerei, one of Bronya's fellow orphans. Kiana ultimately destroys all life, ending the timeline. The world is subsequently reset into a new cycle, whose events are depicted in the Reborn Chapter.
In the Reborn Chapter, Himeko reappears when she rescues Raiden Mei during a Schicksal operation against an Anti-Entropy facility. She introduces herself as a Schicksal Valkyrie and instructor at St. Freya. She takes Mei under Schicksal's protection and trains her alongside fellow students Kiana Kaslana and Houraiji Kyuushou. Their time at St. Freya is disrupted when Welt (no relation to Welt Yang), the leader of Anti-Entropy who is posing as Kiana's father Siegfried Kaslana, reveals that the real Siegfried had died years earlier. Welt then attempts to forcibly transform Kiana into a Herrscher. Kiana's Herrscher powers awaken, creating a massive rift known as the Subspace Fault. As St. Freya collapses, Himeko attempts to evacuate the students and witnesses Kiana's mother, Cecilia Schariac, sacrifice herself to suppress Kiana's rampage and seal the rift. After St. Freya's destruction, Himeko, Theresa Apocalypse, and the surviving students form a rogue faction. Learning of Schicksal archbishop Otto Apocalypse's human experiments and plans disillusions Himeko, prompting her and Theresa to permanently break away from Schicksal during the organization's collapse. They later rebuild a defensive force while protecting civilians and rogue Valkyries. During the final battle against the Will of Honkai, the mastermind behind the Honkai, Himeko and fellow Valkyrie Mushoku Kika pilot a battleship and activate the Nexus System. The weapon is powered by Herrscher energy and consumes its user's life force. Although severely injured, their sacrifice contributes to humanity's victory. Himeko survives, recovers from the Nexus System's effects, retires from active duty, and later lives peacefully in the post-Honkai era while remaining close to Theresa.
Honkai Impact 3rd
Story
Murata Himeko was born in the Far East in 1987 to a scientist named Ryusuke and an unnamed mother, and by age fifteen she graduated high school as valedictorian and presented a paper at a conference. Interested in exploring the stars, Himeko enrolled at the California Institute of Technology's Aerospace and Space Engineering Program, studying under teachers such as Welt Yang. She was also interested in aliens, having traveled to New Mexico to investigate a sighting of one. Tragedy struck her in 2005, when her closeness to Welt and her father made her an unsuspecting target for the forces they were fighting against, and she was nearly killed by them and knocked unconscious. After she woke up, she was told that her father had died and that Welt had disappeared. Wanting answers, she earned her PhD and joined Schicksal, the anti-Honkai organization Welt worked with, to investigate her father's death. She underwent grueling training and was accepted into an assault squad at 19 years old. In 2010, an incident occurred that led to the destruction of the Assault Squad, with Himeko being the only survivor. She joined St. Freya High School afterwards as a teacher to the game's protagonists, Kiana Kaslana, Raiden Mei and Bronya Zaychik, and instructs them on fighting the Honkai.
She promised to bring Raiden Mei control her power as a Herrscher. Later, when Kiana was kidnapped and taken to Schicksal, Himeko led a mission to rescue her. Guided by Fu Hua, St. Freya's class monitor, Himeko took up the prototype battlesuit Vermilion Knight: Eclipse, donning it to gain the strength needed to confront Sirin, the Herrscher of the Void, inside an imaginary space. Himeko defeated Sirin, saving Kiana from being controlled by her in the process. However, Himeko was gravely injured in battle, and died. Eventually, Earth is threatened with an alien invasion. Welt and Void Archives, an entity formed from a group of sentient weapons, infiltrate one of the alien ships, which eventually leads to them being stranded in outer space and finding out that the Sky People, an ancient civilization that destroys worlds, are targeting the Himeko from Honkai: Star Rail. Welt thus was brought into the alternate universe of Honkai: Star Rail so he could save her.
Gameplay Himeko has six different playable battlesuits: Battle Storm, Valkyrie Triumph, Scarlet Fusion, Blood Rose, Arctic Kriegsmesser, and Vermilion Knight: Eclipse. She uses a greatsword in battle.
Battle Storm is a B-rank Biologic-type battlesuit that allows Himeko to accumulate up to three stacks of energy before unleashing it in a powerful attack, with her ultimate allowing her to spin her greatsword in a wide, sweeping motion that strikes multiple enemies at once. Valkyrie Triumph is an A-rank Biologic-type battlesuit that centers on the ultimate "Blade Field", which immobilizes all enemies within its area of effect, allowing Himeko to charge a powerful greatsword strike. The battlesuit also grants her shield-breaking capabilities. Scarlet Fusion is an A-rank Mecha-type battlesuit that draws on nuclear fusion as its primary source of offense, dealing high-damage Lightning attacks capable of paralyzing enemies. Blood Rose is an S-rank Psychic-type battlesuit that specializes in dealing Fire damage, igniting enemies through her ultimate's explosion and through an evasion-triggered counterattack. While her ultimate gradually drains her own health, she becomes stronger as her health decreases, making the battlesuit unexpectedly resilient in combat. Kriegsmesser is an A-rank Psychic-type battlesuit awakened from Battle Storm that specializes in manipulating Ice, performing well under freezing and slowing effects. It accumulates a resource called Threshold through basic attacks and evasion, and its battle performance is significantly enhanced once Threshold Mode is activated. Vermilion Knight: Eclipse is an S-rank Mecha-type battlesuit that combines Physical and Fire damage through a high volume of rapid attacks while maintaining mobility in combat.
Honkai: Star Rail
Story Himeko was born on the planet of Planarcadia. When she was young, she attended art school. She later found the Astral Express train having crash landed on Planarcadia, and helped to rebuild it. Eventually, she met Welt, Dan Heng, March 7th and the game's protagonist the Trailblazer, all of whom became passengers on the train once it became operational again. Himeko serves as the train's navigator and de facto leader. On the planet of Penacony, Himeko helps interpret a strange invitation to a festival and eventually helps guide the group in a fight against the planet's leader, Sunday. After the Express is asked to look into Amphoreus, a mysterious and isolated world threatened by a Lord Ravager called Irontomb, she leads the group into combat against him and helps form a cosmic alliance against the Destruction.