Capcom’s Western-style action-RPG Dragon’s Dogma is premiering its very own anime series on Netflix and it’s airing in just a couple of months.
The streaming giant announced earlier this year that an animated series was being produced by Sublimation based on the hit action-RPG Dragon’s Dogma.
According to Netflix, the anime is slated to debut this September 17, and is being developed by a team comprised of Shinya Sugai as the director, Taiki Sakurai from Netflix as the Executive Producer, Hiroyuki Kobayashi and Takashi Kitahara as Capcom’s co-producers, and Kurasumi Sunayama as the show’s writer.
Character design will be care of Iku Nishimura, while the animation is being done by Japanese studio Sublimation.
Only the Arisen can face the Dragon and defeat the apocalypse. Here's your first look at the anime series adaptation of Capcom's action fantasy classic Dragon's Dogma, arriving September 17th. pic.twitter.com/UxJMcUrsdp
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) July 14, 2020
The tale of a man and his missing heart
Judging by Netflix‘s synopsis, the series is sticking closely to the video game’s storyline, as the show will revolve around a male protagonist named Ethan who’s out for revenge after a vicious Dragon literally steals away his heart.
The hero seemingly loses his life trying to protect his family and village from the beast but is later revived as an “Arisen”—the one who is destined to battle against the Dragon and save the world.
Arisen have the ability to command “Pawns,” and since Ethan is one himself, he is immediately joined by a Pawn named Hannah. Together they set out on an epic adventure to retrieve his heart and takedown demons representative of mankind’s seven deadly sins.
What the hero doesn’t know is that slaying each of those demons will cost him a bit of what makes him human.
In a recent press release, animation studio Sublimation stated that Dragon’s Dogma will be their first solo title since they previously partnered up with other studios only to assist with CGI. They also announced that the upcoming anime would feature “cel-shaded animation that carries hand-drawn textures.”
https://twitter.com/DragonsDogma/status/1283191069501530119
The video game roots of Dragon’s Dogma
Publisher and developer Capcom initially released their third-person hack and slash RPG Dragon’s Dogma back in 2012 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
A year later, an enhanced edition called Dark Arisen hit the shelves for the same consoles, which was later ported to the PC in 2016, the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 in 2017, and finally the Nintendo Switch in 2019. The updated version brought in more polish and additional content.
Both editions were met with generally stellar reviews, praised for its enjoyable combat, innovative “Pawn” system, and interesting vocations. Some even called the game a good substitute for Dark Souls or The Witcher 3.
A world of adventure awaits you, Arisen… 🔥🏹🐉⚔️🔥
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen is available on #NintendoSwitch! pic.twitter.com/YGdloAkjoi
— Capcom Europe (@CapcomEurope) June 18, 2019
Netflix hasn’t given fans a peek at the Dragon’s Dogma anime in action just yet, though the stills they shared look pretty darn gorgeous. If the animated series turns out anywhere near as good as Castlevania, it’ll definitely be worth the watch.
Image courtesy of Dragon’s Dogma/Twitter