Summary
The new teaser forGuilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulersshows off 3D CGI animation that captures the style of the fighting game franchise’s most recent entries. While faithfully adapting the look and feel of a video game is a dicey proposition, Arc System Works' game has the advantage of having perfected the anime look long before.Dual Rulers, therefore, has less of a hurdle to clear in making its adaptation “look correct”.
Despite many incredible anime using 3D in breathtaking ways, series that employ the technique often have trouble looking right, whether it’s because of low frame rates, lighting issues, or just a vague “realism” not being attained. But what is normally a warning sign may turn out to be a clever move for SANZIGEN, the studio responsible for theGuilty Gearanime due in 2025.
Thanks to the franchise’s recent entries already helping fans get used to its unique look,Dual Rulers’sown visual quirks could be justified as just aping what its source material already does.
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Guilty Gear Visuals a Perfect Fit for Adaptation
Flat Colors and Computer Graphics Are Not Forbidden, but Expected
Dual Rulers’teaser trailerreveals its core cast: Sol Badguy, Sin Kiske, and newcomer Unika, rendered in computer graphics. Most of the time, those words are a death knell for viewer interest, as it is regarded as shorthand for low-grade art.Dual Rulersmay seem to carry on this stereotype, with its low frame rate and solid shades not comparing well togame-changing 3D anime likeTrigun Stampedeor the more recentGirls Band Cry. But in a twist, these decisions make it only look more accurate toGuilty Geartoday, in light of games likeXrdandStrive.
Anime adaptations of video games tend to be hit or miss, especially when cost-conscious art leaves characters looking and moving nothing like in the original work. Arc System Works, meanwhile, establishedGuilty Gear’scel-shaded animation as far back as 2014 - not only has any controversy of the switch from sprites to 3D models long burned out, but the developers have shown their characters moving at near the same level as an animated series. With that precedent set, SANZIGEN has the excuse of providing simpler, more stylish, slightly choppier animation, which is simply in line withGuilty Gear’svisual identity now.
While a goodGuilty Gearshow will need many more things - writing, choreography, and music - at the very least, it’s crossed the hurdle of looking the part. The series has toyed with animation and spin-off manga in the past, neither of which convincingly captured the look of the older games. This time, however,Dual Rulersis devoid of any dissonance, and it truly does look like the characters just walked out of a copy ofStrive. Where adaptations are concerned, getting that right is the most important part, andGuilty Gearmight be one of the better examples of it.
