Byleth (Fire Emblem)

Byleth
Fire Emblem character
Both gendered versions of Byleth; male (left) and female (right)
First Episode Appearance	Fire Emblem: Three Houses July 26, 2019
Final Episode Appearance	Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes June 24, 2022
Designed by	Chinatsu Kurahana
Character played by	English Zach Aguilar (male) Jeannie Tirado (female) Japanese Yūsuke Kobayashi (male) Shizuka Itō (female)
In-universe information
Full name	Byleth Eisner
Alias	Ashen Demon, Fell Star
Nicknames	Teach, Chatterbox
Occupation	Mercenary, professor
Affiliation	Church of Seiros
Weapon	Sword of the Creator
Family	Jeralt Eisner (father) Sitri (mother)
Origin	Garreg Mach Monastery

Byleth Eisner, better known simply as Byleth is the player character and main protagonist of Fire Emblem: Three Houses (2019) and the main antagonist of Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes (2022). Originally a wandering mercenary, Byleth soon receives an offer to serve as a professor at Garreg Mach Monastery. They possess the mysterious Crest of Flames and can wield the Sword of the Creator. Byleth gained widespread attention after being publicized through their playable appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018), the fifth installment in Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games. Byleth received mixed responses from critics, with some criticism directed towards a perceived lack of personality.

Appearances

In Fire Emblem: Three Houses

Byleth is a central character whose name and gender can be customized by the player. Byleth serves as a professor at Garreg Mach Monastery. They possess the mysterious Crest of Flames and can wield the Sword of the Creator.

Throughout the game, Byleth's only known relative is their father Jeralt Eisner, a renowned mercenary who once fled Garreg Mach Monastery. It is later revealed that they carry the goddess Sothis within them as a result of Archbishop Rhea's experiments into reawakening her mother. Byleth was the child of Sitri, an artificial "vessel" created to carry the Crest of Flames crest stone. While Sitri was unable to unlock its power, she fell in love with Jeralt on account of her incredible kindness, and had a child. Due to Sitri's secret inhuman nature, the child, Byleth, was stillborn with no heartbeat. As a result, Sitri voluntarily gave the child her crest stone to allow them to live, though at the cost of her own life.

Jeralt, suspicious of Rhea as the cause of Sitri's death, used a fire as cover to escape the monastery. Byleth grew up in Jeralt's care, but they still lacked a pulse. Their lack of emotions was also evidence that they were being kept alive by the crest stone, until such time as the sleeping Sothis made herself known to Byleth, albeit in the underdeveloped form of a young girl. When Byleth attempts to sacrifice their life to save Edelgard from bandits, Sothis grants Byleth the ability to use Divine Pulse, a power that can both stop and turn back time to a limited extent.

Rhea's attempt to resurrect Sothis ultimately never comes to pass. When the villainous mage Solon traps Byleth in an otherwise inescapable void, Sothis is forced to merge her consciousness with Byleth's, making them the Enlightened One and retreating into their subconscious. In most of the game's endings, Byleth retains this divine power and succeeds Rhea as the leader of the Church of Seiros. However, in the game's Crimson Flower route, in which Byleth allies with Edelgard against the Church, Sothis' crest stone is destroyed and Byleth becomes a living mortal for the first time, as well as Edelgard's confidant. Regardless of the ending, Sothis remains permanently merged with Byleth as a shared consciousness.

Byleth also appears in Fire Emblem Heroes.

Byleth was later announced to return as one of the main playable characters of Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, a musou spin-off set in a parallel universe from Three Houses.

In other media

Outside of the Fire Emblem series, Byleth is a playable character available as downloadable content in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, being voiced by Zach Aguilar and Jeannie Tirado.

An amiibo figure of the male Byleth, based on his appearance in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, has also been released. In addition, a figure of the female Byleth, distributed by Good Smile Company, has also been confirmed for release.

Voice actor controversy

In July of 2019, the former voice actor for the male variant of Byleth, Chris Niosi, was alleged to having physically and emotionally abused his friends, significant others, and colleagues, to which he admitted to on social media. A statement from one of his ex-girlfriends claimed he would seek out roles for television and video games for media one of his victims enjoyed as a form of emotional abuse, she also claimed this included his role for Byleth which he used to mock said victim suggesting he would inevitably voice the character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

Niosi's name was removed from the credits of Three Houses and Heroes by Nintendo for violating an NDA and discussing his role prior to the game's launch. In September of 2019 he was replaced by Zach Aguilar, and his lines re-recorded. It was speculated that Niosi was also removed for the abuse he admitted to.

Reception

Byleth has received mixed feedback from critics, with some calling the character lacking in depth. Matthew Zawodniak of Nintendo World Report rated Byleth the worst avatar character in the series, saying that even compared to the other avatars, their lack of customizability "breaks down the illusion that Byleth is a representation of the player". Stating his belief that the "defined" nature of Byleth conflicts with their indeterminate personality, he also criticizes points where the player can only reply with one line of dialogue, noting that not fully voicing Byleth was likely a cost-saving measure. Theo Ciccareli of The Punished Backlog criticized the female version's outfit design. Maddy Myers of Kotaku called it "kind of creepy" how Byleth spied on their students all the time. However, Sisi Jiang of the same publication reacted positively, calling Byleth a "great" example of a nonbinary character, noting that there is no gender select for Byleth, only selecting a "form". She also praised the fact that the player was forced to affirm Byleth's humanity, making them more than just a vehicle for the player's own gameplay experience. Hirun Cryer of USgamer remarked that Cindered Shadows, the DLC story of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, "goes a long way toward helping Byleth feel like a real character with a real arc and not just an avatar". Remarking that Byleth felt more like a tool to help the player connect with the game's world during the main storyline, he noted that the plot about Byleth's mother Sitri allowed Byleth to connect emotionally with someone other than Jeralt.

The decision to include Byleth in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate has resulted in some criticism from players. During the poll on ResetEra, Byleth was voted mostly by people as the most boring Fighters Pass character in Ultimate. Ian Walker of Kotaku called the inclusion of Byleth "refreshingly simple", while Tyler Treese of GameRevolution expressed disappointment and called Byleth's addition "boring". Byleth was also met with criticism by Western fans, largely due to several other Fire Emblem characters being playable in the base game. Masahiro Sakurai, the creator and director of the Super Smash Bros. series, agreed that "there are too many Fire Emblem characters", but he also noted that he did not directly select the DLC fighters. To alleviate criticism of another sword-wielding fighter, Sakurai and the development team designed Byleth to utilize the Sword of the Creator alongside the signature regalia of the three house leaders in Fire Emblem: Three Houses: Failnaught (Claude's bow), Areadbhar (Dimitri's lance), and Aymr (Edelgard's axe). Despite the criticisms, Byleth has nevertheless become a fairly successful character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournaments, thanks primarily to professional player MkLeo.