Imagine The Legend of Zelda Transformed into an Anime Series

Uploaded to YouTube in January, the two-and-a-half-minute short film produced by a second-year class at the Chungkang Animation School interprets Breath of the Wild’s cast as an energetic band of heroes embarking on a quest to save Hyrule. Set to the 2021 Japanese pop single “RGB” by Yoasobi, the short is the kind of bittersweet fan project that always tugs at my heartstrings; a piece of animation that looks so damn good, I’m both elated it exists and deeply saddened it isn’t an actual tease for a full-blown series.

It’s impressive how convincingly this short clip manages to replicate the visual tropes and editing of a traditional anime OP. The pensive opening shot, the ominous glimpses of Calamity Ganon roaring against a blood red moon, and of course, the running montage. The animation team have also been sharing behind-the-scenes looks at the character model sheets, Genga key animation, and more on the clip’s official profile and the team’s respective accounts on X. I have no idea what they’ll be working on next, if anything at all, but I’ll be following their careers with avid interest from this point on.