WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Netflix's Sol Levante.
Netflix's Sol Levante truly was a visual spectacle, albeit it did feel way too short in just four minutes. However, we saw the power of 4K HDR and what it could bring to the anime industry, painting one of the most gorgeous pieces of art in the genre, and animation in general.
But while we didn't get too much in the way of story, from the snippets we saw here, there is potential for Production I.G. (Ghost in the Shell) and the streaming service to actually turn this into anime's version of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
LOTR is one of the world's most beloved and most lucrative franchises. From the novels to Oscar-winning movies to video games, it's ingrained in pop culture in ways many properties wish they could be. What really appeals is how expansive Tolkien and director Peter Jackson built the world to be, with realms interwoven into each other and unique species, which while they're common in most fantasy stories, just feel like they've done with more nuance here. And Sol Levante teases this could also be the case for a world torn apart by magic and war.
In the short film, we see a mage being given some sort of relic and sent on a quest to either protect it or deliver it to someone special. Off the cuff, it feels like Frodo and Gandalf, as well as the fellowship as they take the One Ring to Mordor's Mount Doom. But as the being embarks on the journey, we see golems, warrior trees like Ents, and mystical eagles helping it on its way, all elements we've seen in LOTR. From the haunted forests to then going over Kaiju-infested oceans and a volcano, you can tell Sol Levante has a lot of Tolkien influence in it, to the point it can fuse Legend of Zelda and LOTR to really create something deep and profound.
We also have fire dragons emanating from the volcano, attacking the hero, reminding us of a ruthless Smaug, and when the being almost dies, it's transported to meets its lover in an aquatic realm -- similar to Galadriel stepping out into the light as a new female warrior is born to seemingly carry on the fight to save the day. The story ends there but you can tell this is a world where elves, dwarves, and mages fit perfectly. It's also much more action-oriented and meant for adult audiences than say, The Dragon Prince, so you can see battles a la Helm's Deep playing out, or even armies of the undead rising up. Seeing as we don't know who the heroes, villains, or rival kingdoms are, or what the magical relics are, this adventure has no limits. It's a blank slate that can be turned into something huge and gain traction the way Game of Thrones did for HBO.
You can see more mature stories being told here, so it's easy to picture a gorier journey along the lines of Castlevania where love, lust, and unfettered warfare all come undone. After all, anime is famous for churning out these kinds of stories, as seen with Vampire Hunter D and so many others, thus you can see Netflix rivaling Amazon's LOTR series with one of its own. The potential is there and while it would take very long to produce -- as this short took two years -- a full-fledged Sol Levante series would be worth the wait.
Directed by Akira Saitoh and animated by Production I.G., Sol Levante is available to stream on Netflix worldwide now.