If Nintendo was ever to grace us with a Studio Ghibli crossover and it resulted in an anime adaptation of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, it would probably look something like this incredibly well-made fan project.
In this exceedingly pleasant 30-second teaser from RwanLink, we see a Ghibli-esque Link approach Hyrule from a distance and then gallivant around Castle Town. We also see some Deku Scrubs dancing around the Great Deku Tree and Malon, the rancher's daughter from Lon Lon Ranch, also makes a brief appearance.
To be clear, this is just a teaser for a bigger video that'll explore Castle Town in greater depth when it releases on November 21, in celebration of Ocarina of Time's 25th anniversary. RwanLink says the whole thing started "as a fun side project" as a way to test out a new art style, obviously inspired by the imitable work of Hayao Miyazaki, and now it's grown the point of having 30 characters.
- This indie mashup of Zelda and Studio Ghibli is gorgeous, though its creator didn't want to "mimic" the iconic animation studio, but to "find out what makes it special, and recreate those watercolor movies in a game"
- A Zelda movie is finally happening, but Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto used to adamantly oppose the idea even "if Steven Spielberg himself" wanted to do it
While it's unlikely Nintendo and Studio Ghibli will team up and release anything like this in an official capacity in the near future, the Zelda series has branched out into other forms of media in the past. You might remember the Zelda cartoons that aired as part of The Super Mario Bros. Super Show! from the late '80s, and there are a number of manga adapting various games from the series, but sadly they've yet to be made into anime series.
If you're into the whole Zelda meets Ghibli vibe, and you like games, Europa mustn't be missed.
