I started screaming in Kotaku Hesitantly when my colleague (and staff writer) Isaiah linked screenshots of Dragon Age: Absolution. My favorite western fantasy RPG getting an anime adaptation? Sign me up. But then I started watching the trailer, and my enthusiasm dwindled immediately. Absorption doesn’t look like a show made for fans of the original material.
Dragon Age: Absolution is a six-episode anime set in Tevinter Imperium, a country where magicians rule over people without magic. Netflix promises that it will introduce a cast that is completely original and remains faithful to the lore. The show will be animated by the same studio behind Netflix The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf.
I wanted to like this so badly. But as the camera pans through the buildings and the characters look so generic, I get bored. There’s dramatic geometry to the way BioWare designs in-game cities, and the Tevinter concept art should suggest its architecture is narrow and claustrophobic. If you tell me I’m watching a trailer for DOTA: Dragon’s Blood, then I will believe you. I don’t see anything that tells me this is a Dragon age suitability.
I bought Dragon Age: Inquisition the art book right after the game came out and I wish that AbsorptionThe characters of the game look like Inquisitor #24 concept art. Even wearing the cape, I associate the game’s characters with strong silhouettes. I don’t see a single memorable character in the entire trailer. It was so terrible that I began to wonder if I could tell the two apart. Voltron: Legendary Defender had the same problem with the unattractive character design.
Of course, I don’t blame the staff here. ‘s studio Witcher anime looks significantly better than Dragon age Summary. It’s a tough time for Netflix animators right now, and shows are definitely impacted by the amount of budget they’re given. Netflix recently lay off 70 people from its animation division last month and animation projects like Wings of Fire, with respect from kindergarten, and Antiracist Baby to be completely cut. Even if Absorption well, we can’t watch season two. Just look at what happened to Tuca and Bertie.
In the end, it’s just a trailer. Probably AbsorptionYour story will make up for in me feeling a little warm about the image. But anime is a powerful medium because it tries to combine story with visual storytelling. Absorption felt the stretch right out of the gate.
