Capcom are remaking Resident Evil 4 in the form of hilarious anime shorts
Leon And The Mysterious Village has two episodes, out now
Resident Evil 4 Remake is just over the horizon - coming March 24th - but Capcom are remaking the action-horror classic in a cheerier form, too. Over the past few days, Capcom have released two 1-minute episodes of the Resident Evil 4 anime Masterpiece Theatre called Leon And The Mysterious Village, a childlike take on the classic gothic journey. It’s beautifully animated and hilarious, even without context for Resi4. The only problem? These shorts are too damn short!
The first episode follows a kid version of Leon as he enters the village and squares up against bag-faced Salvador. My favourite part has Leon asking the villagers about Ashley’s whereabouts, only for them to turn around and grunt something that “[Leon doesn’t understand.]” I know their unintelligible language is down to them being infected, but their red eyes make them look baked out of their head. That’s funnier reasoning, in my mind. Lore, be damned. VidBud Liam also pointed out that [Leon doesn't understand] sums up a lot of the series in general.
Episode 2 dials up the romance and focuses on a reunited Leon and Ashley. Although this doesn’t last long, as we’re moved onto a montage that has Leon repeatedly saving Ashley until he's mummified in bandages. They’re effortlessly cute, and remind me of the Saturday morning cartoons I’d watch on holidays abroad. Just pure innocent fun. Plus, seeing a literal child version of Leon carry a gun like it’s nothing? Can’t beat that. The first two episodes were released two days apart, so hopefully we can look forward to more snappy vignettes pretty soon.
If your Resi 4 appetite is still roaring, the free Chainsaw Demo has plenty of whacky mods available, including one that replaces Leon’s weapons with a banana and spoon combo. Another mod similarly reimagines Salvador for a fit-for-children audience, this time swapping his model out for noughties icon Shrek.
The event this is all leading up to, the release of the Resident Evil 4 Remake on the 24th, sounds like it'll be worth the wait. Liam’s glowing review says, “Resident Evil 4 is a rambunctious thrill ride that is as good - if not, dare I say it, a bit better - than the original game.”