Atelier Ryza Gets Her Own Anime

With the sensation Atelier Ryza has been creating, you’d think she was the first Atelier to ever exist….but that’s very not so. Koei Tecmo’s Atelier series of RPGs goes back to the PS1 with a solid TWENTY games, all titled “Atelier Somebody” and all pretty much flying under the radar. What’s so special about THIS one that it catapulted the entire series out of obscurity?

We have no idea. Our theory is that the right butterfly flapped its wings in the right way and, suddenly, everyone cared about an Atelier game. Ever since Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout was released for PS4, Switch and PC in October 2019, Ryza’s star has been rising. The low print run, typical for an Atelier title, suddenly became a problem and the game became a sought-after collector’s item. Koei has responded with reprint after reprint — another one is coming soon for Ryza and its sequel, which together have now moved over 1.6 million copies. There’s a Ryza 3 about to release on Switch, PS4, PS5 and PC, and from there, who knows?

Thanks to all the hoopla Ryza is about to become the first Atelier character to get her own anime. The trailer was released this weekend, and the show will star the Japanese voices from the game. Liden Films is animating, with Ema Yuzuriha overseeing directing duties. Yashichiro Takahashi will serve as main script writer, Tomoyuki Shitaya is the lead character designer and Kazuki Yanagawa, who scored the three Ryza games, is scoring the music.

We have no idea if this also means a Ryza 4 but Ryza’s popularity has boosted the Atelier series’ visibility overall. A remake of the very first game, Atelier Marie, is planned for release this summer, so people can see what they missed. The Atelier Ryza anime will be out shortly after that.