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As the 40th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda approaches, the anticipation surrounding Nintendo’s plans to commemorate this iconic series continues to build. However, fans now have clarity on at least one thing that won’t be part of the celebration: a Zelda anime.
Next year marks the release of a live-action movie based on The Legend of Zelda, a project that has stirred up quite a mix of opinions among fans. While some may see it as an exciting new direction, there’s a significant portion of the fanbase that has long yearned for an anime adaptation of the beloved franchise. In light of recent statements from Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa, the dream of a Zelda anime seems more distant than ever.
During an interview with the Japanese newspaper Kyoto Shimbun, Furukawa discussed the company’s strategy to extend its influence beyond the realm of video games. Despite these expansion efforts, which include the forthcoming Super Mario Galaxy Movie and the live-action Zelda film, he indicated that the creation of an anime series or film based on The Legend of Zelda or any other Nintendo property is highly improbable.
Nintendo Boss Shuts Down The Idea of a Zelda Anime – But All Hope Isn’t Lost
In a recent interview with Kyoto Shumbin (a daily newspaper in Japan), Furukawa revealed that fans’ hopes for a Legend of Zelda anime series — or any other anime about a Nintendo franchise, for that matter — are exceedingly unlikely. The interview centered around Nintendo’s recent efforts to expand its brand beyond video games, such as with its upcoming Super Mario Galaxy Movie and the live-action Zelda film.
Furukawa explained that Nintendo’s goal in creating these films is “increasing character exposure beyond our games.” He further explained that “Films allow us to reach people even in regions where game consoles are not yet widespread.”
This concept of expanding the reach of Nintendo’s characters naturally led to a discussion about anime. When asked about anime adaptations of popular Nintendo IPs, Furukawa explained that he felt “it would be quite challenging to get to that point”, though he didn’t completely shut down the possibility for the future. After all, Furukawa acknowledged it would be worthwhile if anime could provide a way to “create distinctive works that are unique to Nintendo.”
It’s figuring out how to make something interesting and unique that seems to be Nintendo’s main concern. In short, Nintendo doesn’t want to just create a Zelda anime because it’s what diehard fans want; they would only do it if they felt it would add real value to the Zelda IP beyond fan service.
Zelda and Anime Visuals Have Gone Hand-in-Hand Since The Franchise’s Earliest Entries
Anime adaptations of video game franchises are nothing new because Japan has always been an industry leader in the video game space. As a result, fans have seen classic anime adaptations of game series like Street Fighter and Arc The Lad in the past, and even recently, iconic IPs like Neir: Automata, Devil May Cry and Castlevania continue to receive anime series. And that’s not even mentioning Pokémon.
However, there are few video game franchises as distinctly interconnected with anime as Zelda, especially considering it has never had an actual anime made of it (no, the 1989 The Legend of Zelda animated series doesn’t count).
Anime-style visuals and cutscenes have been a part of Zelda’s identity from as early as the very first game in the series, when the instruction manual took on a distinct manga art style. From there, acclaimed mangaka Takashi Tezuka would go on to pen some of the most iconic promotional images for early Zelda titles like A Link to the Past and Link’s Awakening — the latter which featured anime-style cutscenes that pushed the humble graphical capabilities of the Game Boy to its limits.
By the time The Wind Waker came to feature an obvious Studio Ghibli-inspired art style, the anime design philosophy for the Zelda universe was already firmly set in stone. That’s ultimately why the past 4 mainline Zelda games (Echoes of Wisdom, Tears of the Kingdom, Breath of the Wild and Skyward Sword) have steered clear of realism in favor of a cartoonish style of graphics that utilize cel-shading.
The Zelda fandom has never been wrong for wanting a Zelda anime series — anime is quite literally in the franchise’s DNA. At the same time, if Furukawa’s new comments are any indication, an anime seems to be playing it too safe for a series that has always been about pushing the boundaries with every entry. Fortunately, with Zelda’s 40-year anniversary coming up next month, fans may not have to wait much longer to see what Nintendo has next for Link, anime or otherwise.
For those Zelda fans who are desperate to see what an anime starring Link might really be like, The Legend of Zelda manga series by Akira Himekawa is a great place to start.
