An artist has recreated iconic Princess Mononoke imagery with the core characters from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
There’s certainly something special about Breath of the Wild. Nearly four years after its release, many are still having a good time with the game’s mechanics and open world, sometimes to humorous results. Breath of the Wild’s 97 Metacritic score speaks to how critically acclaimed it is. The title has also inspired Studio Ghibli-styled art. The famed Japanese animation studio is responsible for classics such as Castle in the Sky, Spirited Away, and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Breath of the Wild mixes quite well with Ghibli’s art style. Now, you can see how the Zelda characters would appear if they were dropped into the 1997 fantasy epic, Princess Mononoke.
Originally published last year, these Princess Mononoke scenes that were redone using Breath of the Wild characters recently resurfaced on Reddit. The artist behind them is Cait, who has done quite a few Zelda pieces. Check out the artwork below.
Fans of Ghibli’s highly acclaimed work will instantly recognize the scenes the art references. Once again, this makes us sincerely want a Legend of Zelda anime in the style of Ghibli. In fact, a group of talented people actually created a fan trailer for a hypothetical project. Like the above artwork, the video makes a superb case for a Breath of the Wild anime adaption.
Will a Zelda anime, let alone from Studio Ghibli, ever happen? Back in September, 2020, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa revealed the company was working on “visual content expansion projects” for 2023 and beyond. Next year sees the release of the animated Super Mario movie. This appears to just be the beginning of Nintendo’s expansion into visual media. It’s not known what else Nintendo has planned, but most agree Zelda is perfect for a high-quality epic, whether it be in live-action or animated form. Breath of the Wild’s beautiful open world, and Calamity Ganon’s terrifying presence is just too good not to do at some point in cinema. Now that would be quite an announcement for The Legend of Zelda’s 35th anniversary this year.
