A new trailer for Sekiro: No Defeat, the feature-length anime adaptation of FromSoftware's 2019 game Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, has been unveiled at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival. The trailer showcases the martial arts violence that defined the original game.
Director Kenichi Kutsuna cited Mamoru Oshii's Patlabor 2 and Studio Ghibli's Princess Mononoke as significant influences on the film's aesthetic. The adaptation appears poised to retell the game's narrative, featuring notable boss encounters such as Wolf's battles against Genichiro Ashina, Gyoubu Oniwa, and the Senpou Temple monks.
Sekiro: No Defeat is being produced by anime studio Qzil.la, with Shunsuke Fukui as assistant director, Takahiro Kishida handling character design, and Shuta Hasunuma composing the music.
According to the official description from Crunchyroll, the story is set in a fractured Japan embroiled in conflict. Ashina, a land of ancient mystery, faces a new threat from the Interior Ministry. Genichiro, grandson of Sword Saint Isshin Ashina, resorts to forbidden powers to defend his homeland. The fate of the nation rests on the Divine Heir and his protector, a shinobi known as Sekiro.
The anime will open in Japanese movie theaters on September 4 for a three-week run. A streaming release on Crunchyroll will follow at a later, unannounced date. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is currently available on PlayStation 4, Windows PC, and Xbox One. The PC version is on sale on Steam as part of the Steam Summer Sale.