Japan’s Lara Croft anime redesign proposal rejected by Tomb Raider’s original creators
TL;DR
Tomb Raider co-creator Paul Douglas revealed that Japanese publisher Victor Interactive once floated an anime-style redesign of Lara Croft to appeal to Japanese audiences, even sending a fax with design ideas like oversized eyes. Toby Gard reportedly didn’t want to alter Lara, so a compromise was reached: manga-style visuals appeared in manuals rather than changing Lara herself. The images surfaced from early 2020s concept work, while Crystal Dynamics is pursuing a ground-up remake named Legacy of Atlantis and a new Lara Croft project with Amazon called Catalyst, set to take Lara to Northern India.
- Tomb Raider publishers floated a Lara Croft anime redesign in Japan, but the original developers refused it Eurogamer
- Core Design's Japanese publisher wanted Lara Croft's model to be changed "to appeal more to a Japanese audience" GamesIndustry.biz
- TOMB RAIDER CO-CREATOR REVEALS PUBLISHER'S REQUEST TO ALTER LARA CROFT TombRaiderChronicles
- Huge Eyes? Big Head? Lara Croft Almost Looked Very Different For Her Japanese Debut Time Extension
- Lara Croft's design could've gone full FF7/Street Fighter in Japan to appeal to audiences in the mid-'90s, says co-creator, but 'All that was changed was the manuals & guide' PC Gamer
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