The first proper look at the new Lord of the Rings anime movie, The War of the Rohirrim, has been unveiled, and there’s a wave of relief among fans.
In case you didn’t know, we’re getting anotherThe Lord of the Rings moviethis year.The War of the Rohirrimis ananime moviedirected by Kenji Kamiyama and produced by Sola Digital Arts, and the first images are garnering a positive reaction.
Three stills are doing the rounds,perEntertainment Weekly: one depicting Héra, the main hero and daughter of King Helm Hammerhand, another showing Wulf, the central villain, and a group shot with Helm, Héra, Haleth, and Hama.
All three have been met extremely well, with the consensus being surprise at just how anime this whole thing actually looks.
Today we were given our first look at The War of the Rohirrim! I love the visual style and can’t wait to see it in theaters this December. ⚔️pic.twitter.com/9izpPRu73T
“This is animated by a Japanese anime studio and directed by Kenji Kamiyama. They are COOKING!” reads one response on X/Twitter.
“That is some of the most gorgeous animation I’ve ever seen!” said another. “These images are super encouraging to me and love the animation style. 100x more hype for this now,” afanon Reddit commented.
This is a distinct change of pace from how J.R.R. Tolkien’s universe has been adapted previously. The iconic trilogy ofaction moviesfrom Peter Jackson and theTV showThe Rings of Powerare both distinctly western in their depictions, and it’s similar for many of theLord of the Rings gameswe’ve gotten.
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Anime and Middle-earth just haven’t really mixed until now, but given how common classic fantasy tropes are used within Japanese animation, it’s a match that makes more sense than you might think. At the very least, it’s something different at a point when this property is getting quite a bit of stimulation.
Anthony McGlynn is a Senior Anime Writer on Dexerto’s UK team. An expert on animes like Demon Slayer, Solo Leveling and My Hero Academia, he also has over 10 years experience covering games and pop culture for outlets such as Variety, IGN, Den of Geek, PCGamesN, PCGamer, The Digital Fix, and many more. You can contact him at: anthony.mcglynn@dexerto.com
