Overwatch: Ranking Every Cinematic Short (So Far)
7. Rise And Shine
A painful yet hopeful piece that focuses on the resilience of its protagonist, Rise and Shine was a gutpunch of a short, especially for a character so undeniably pleasant and sunny.
Mei was always known as Overwatch's sweetest character, with her genuine insistence that "the world is worth fighting for". Some who have read her backstory know of her tragic origins, but this cinematic presented it in full, with Mei and her environmental research team hibernating during a massive ice storm and with Mei waking up nine years later, Overwatch having fallen while they were trapped in Antarctica.
The only surviving member of the team, and having designed the cryo-chambers in the first place, Mei is weighed down by her team's deaths and her own loneliness and loss.
The fact that she's able to get up and work for a better future, despite all odds against her, encapsulates what makes Mei's character so lovable, with excellent voice work by Elise Zhang, who, despite having a hard time speaking English, delivers Mei's fully English dialogue with genuine sweetness and gravitas.
It's the longest cinematic at 10 minutes, and while it shines, there are still others who do just a little better.