Ghost of Tsushima’s style began with reference trips, thousands of photos, research, watching movies… you name it. It also meant obsessing over the work of artists that pioneered various styles in the samurai genre. Ghost of Tsushima’s setting is meant to transport you and leave an impression upon you with movement, color, and simple compositions.
The character designs are inspired by our favorite movies and historical references, while stylistically having more contrast and detail to push through to the foreground. All of this is in an effort to craft a love letter to what has inspired us to make this game, and to deliver the ultimate wandering samurai fantasy with a beautiful, but dangerous world.
On our journey to create the style of this game, occasionally we get to work with some of the artists that have inspired us from the beginning. Artists that connect with our audience and bring forth a flavor of the samurai fantasy that we so sincerely want to deliver to people. When we decided to craft a small portion of our world in a manga style, we couldn’t have asked for a better partner than Takashi Okazaki.
We love what he did with Afro Samurai and think his style lends itself perfectly to Ghost of Tsushima, which is why we’re proud to announce that he’s created four original pieces of art based on our game. Each piece showcases a different part of Jin’s story: the wind that guides him, the flames that destroy his home around him, the mask he wears as he becomes the Ghost, and his wrath as he fights back against the Mongols.
Takashi Okazaki shared the following statement with us about his work:
I love to create things I myself want to see or be passionate about. Ultimately, I love it when I see or hear people get passionate through my work. Even before I was offered the opportunity to collaborate, Ghost of Tsushima was something that captured my heart. I love “Gekiga” style mangas, and Ghost of Tsushima had a similar vibe to it. I took some inspiration from this, and took on the challenge of incorporating it into my work which I hope you’ll enjoy!
I know the team here at Sucker Punch were excited when we announced this collaboration, and we hope you enjoy what he has crafted. If you want to enter for a chance to win physical prints of them, you can find details of a sweepstakes on Funimation’s blog (rules here)*, or you can download your own mobile wallpaper versions here.
Ghost of Tsushima is weeks away from release on July 17, and we can’t wait to share more with you!
*NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT IS NECESSARY. Legal residents of the United States or the District of Columbia (excluding Rhode Island and U.S. territories) and Canada (excluding residents of Quebec) who are 18 years of age or older (or the majority in the jurisdiction of their residence, whichever is older) may enter to win beginning 9:00 am PT on 6/12/20 until 11:59 pm PT on 6/18/20. See Official Rules at funi.to/GhostRules for complete details. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: Funimation Global Group, LLC.