This fan-made Studio Ghibli x Zelda crossover is the dream anime Nintendo probably won't ever give us

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Castle Town is the closest thing to a Studio Ghibli Zelda anime we'll probably ever get

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.

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.

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Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick
Staff Writer

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.