First episode is out now
As you may have heard, A-1 Pictures (who worked on Sword Art Online, among many other shows since 2006), is producing a Final Fantasy anime. It’s set for a five episode run — six if you opt for the special edition of the game in September — and all of it will be free.
It’s called Brotherhood, which is fitting, as it’s a good old fashioned brodown that highlights the relationship between Noctis and his crew. This is a rather genius idea from Square, as I’m still not 100 percent sure of everyone’s names even after playing the Duscae demo, but this will hammer it into my brain before the game comes out — the same goes for the overall conflict, as the show doesn’t waste any time. Square was also smart to just provide a subbed version, as anything attached to this game has seen enough delays for one lifetime, and scrounging up a dub cast right now would take away precious time from basically anything else related to the project.
As for the animation, it’s top-notch, as every character has a distinct personality without coming off as grating, unlikable, or over-the-top. I love the guitar twang and western feel of the diner area, as it heavily reminds me of Trigun — there’s even some food-based bro humor to boot which is so completely Vash. Several scenes also parallel exact footage from the games without overdoing it.
Cross-media initiatives are nothing new, especially in Japan. Yo-Kai Watch achieved complete Japanese domination with a television series, best-selling toy line, record-setting films, and games. Square Enix is poised to do the exact same thing with one of the most recognizable brands on the planet, and despite Final Fantasy XV‘s multitude of delays, people are clearly still hungry for it. After waiting for roughly a decade, I’m satisfied with getting two demos and a TV show to assuage the wait.
There’s also going to be a full film with some big-name talent like Sean Bean and Lena Heady coming later this year, and new episodes of Brotherhood will appear on the official YouTube channel as they arrive. Give the first one a watch for yourself below.
