Resident Evil 4 Goes Vintage Anime With Nippon Animation... No, Really

Remember "Heidi, Girl of the Alps" or "Rascal the Raccoon"? Resident Evil 4 went full vintage anime thanks to Nippon Animation with a new trailer. Check it out here 😂


Published: March 19, 2023 10:37 PM /

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Resident Evil 4 Masterpiece Theater anime trailer screenshot

The release of the Resident Evil 4 remake is just around the corner, and Capcom came up with a rather... unexpected way to advertise it.

If there's one thing that is probably difficult to associate with Resident Evil is anime, especially cute, wholesome vintage-style anime. That's exactly what you're going to see today in the trailer, which is structured like the condensed version of an anime episode. 

Titled "Leon and the Mysterious Village" it's actually animated by Nippon Animation. If you're an old-school anime fan, you probably didn't need me to tell you that, as the style is unmistakable. 

The trailer is indeed named "Masterpiece Theater," which is a homage to "World Masterpiece Theater," a subgenre of anime based on classical books, mostly featuring western protagonists. They were very popular between the seventies and the nineties.

Among these Nippon Animation (and its previous incarnation Zuiyo Eizo) produced classics like Heidi, Girl of the AlpsA Dog of Flanders (which appears to be the direct inspiration for this trailer), Marco, 3000 Leagues in Search for Mother, Rascal the Raccoon, Anne of Green Gables, Story of the Alps: My Annette, Katri, Girl of the Meadows, and many more. Incidentally, Hayao Miyazaki worked as an animator in some of them.  

You can check out the trailer below. Luckily, the Asian arm of Capcom was kind enough to provide a version with English subtitles.

Resident Evil 4 is coming on March 24, 2023, for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Its "Chainsaw Demo" is already available if you want something definitely grittier than the trailer you saw today.

If you'd like to know more, you can read our review of the game, which is definitely as enthusiastic as you expect. Capcom has another winner in its hands. 

Incidentally, I mentioned that this kind of advertisement is surprising, but that's only true if you haven't seen the hilarious puppet show trailers Capcom released in Japan for Resident Evil Village.

Have a tip, or want to point out something we missed? Leave a Comment or e-mail us at tips@techraptor.net


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More Info About This Game
Learn more about Resident Evil 4
Game Page Resident Evil 4
Developer
Armature Studio
Publisher
Capcom
Release Date
January 11, 2005 (Calendar)
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