The world of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (here our review) could soon expand beyond videogame boundaries. In the past few hours, Kadokawa has recorded the Web Sekiro-Anime.jp web domain, suggesting that an animated adaptation inspired by the famous Frommoftware title is currently in progress.
The discovery took place through Japanese domains monitoring tools, which reported the creation of the site explicitly linked to the Sekiro brand and the word “souls”. At the moment, the domain does not host any active content, but the mere fact that it was purchased and assigned to Kadokawa Corporation immediately rekindled the speculations between fans and insiders.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, launched in 2019, is one of the most appreciated titles of the developer Fromsoftware, winner of the Game of the Year at The Game Awards and capable of establishing itself with a unique artistic direction and a deep combat system. Set in an alternative feudal Japan, populated by mythological creatures and corrupt samurai, the game has always shown a narrative potential capable of lending itself to an animated adaptation of a high level.
Kadokawa is not new to operations of this type. The Japanese society is one of the main giants of publishing and the Japanese animation, and holds a significant participation in the Frromsoftware itself, together with Sony Interactive Entertainment and Tencent. Precisely this synergy has already led to the realization of transmedia projects in the past, such as the official novels of Dark Souls and other themed publications.
Although the registration of the domain is a rather explicit signal, it is important to emphasize that no official confirmation has yet come by Kadokawa, FromSoftware or other partners. It could be a simple operation for the protection of the brand, but the surge of interest and the relevance of the transmedial strategy in the Japanese market suggest an imminent announcement.
In the coming months we could therefore witness the official debut of the first anime adaptation dedicated to a from FromSoftware. If this were the case, Sekiro would represent a natural choice, thanks to his imagination strongly linked to Japanese culture and a visual style that would well adapt to the language of animation.