Legendary Final Fantasy Concept Artist Puts His Work in Motion

Deva Zan will be the animated film directorial debut of Final Fantasy concept artist Yoshitaka Amano.

Reading the manuals for the original Final Fantasy through Final Fantasy VI (and Final Fantasy IX), one might notice the gorgeous, almost abstract character designs of a man named Yoshitaka Amano. Amano has become known for the style of his designs on the Final Fantasy series, and is now working towards his animated directorial debut that brings that same style into motion with Deva Zan.

Deva Zan looks just how you’d expect a moving Amano painting to look. That is to say, fricking sweet. Just in case you’ve never seen Amano’s work before, here are a couple of examples of his work from Final Fantasy IV and Final Fantasy IX.

I never thought that Amano would animate his gorgeous art, but apparently I was wrong. Deva Zan replicates Amano’s watercolor-ish style so accurately, my mind is blown. There might be a little fanboyism at work here, I admit.

Deva Zan‘s multi-language official website is light on details, but the film will be set in a time period where the Jinshō (Buddhist divine generals) “were defeated by darkness and became lost in time,” according to Anime News Network. The world “descends into chaos,” but Zan, an amnesiac samurai, shows up to assemble an army to battle the “legions of darkness” by traveling through time and space. I’m in.

Deva Zan‘s first trailer shows Zan slashing through some of that darkness, and then riding off on his kick-ass, obsidian Amano cat. For some awesome reason, Amano even created a life-size statue of said cat. I don’t think he can get any cooler. Here’s Amano standing next to it.

Deva Zan will launch simultaneously worldwide in spring 2012.

Source: Anime News Network, via GameSetWatch