Daily Debate: If You Could Pick a Anime Art Style for a Zelda Animated Film, What Would You Pick?
Posted on February 14 2020 by Michaela El-Ters
There’s a lot of fan art of what a Zelda animated film might look like, with many artistic renditions of Link and Zelda drawn in Studio Ghibli’s signature art style. While I love Studio Ghibli films and think it’s a fine choice, I can’t help but think of another studio’s art style that might be better suited to bringing the Zelda universe to life in film form.
If I had to pick, I would go with Comix Wave Films. If you’ve never heard of them, the studio primarily produces movies created by Makoto Shinkai, the director of the hit anime film Your Name and the newly released Weathering With You. Even if you’re not a fan of anime, if nothing else, just watch these films for the stunning visuals.
Shinkai’s films have a reputation for looking absolutely incredible, blending 3D compositing and 2D animation with bright colors that make the setting feel incredibly real. From lush forests to sprawling cities, the lighting and cinematography in every scene invokes a level of beauty that can’t be matched by just painted backgrounds (the images on the left are screenshots from Your Name).
The Zelda series is known for its fantasy world settings and sprawling landscapes, and I think an art style that takes full advantage of creating photorealistic backgrounds that look so real to the point that they look magical would be absolutely amazing. Plus, many of Shinkai’s fims explore the themes of connection and growing up, and Breath of the Wild‘s story beats revolving around Link remembering his past and reconnecting with Zelda would make it a perfect fit.
What to do you think? If you could pick a studio’s art style for a Zelda animated film, what would you pick? Let us know in the comments!
Feature art by @caelum_y
Michaela El-Ters is a Senior Editor for Zelda Dungeon. She is also an Senior Writer for Boss Rush Network, and writes blogs and streams games on Objection Network. Her favorite Zelda game changes with the seasons, but the series as a whole is near and dear to her heart.
