The Tomb Raider Netflix anime has been revealed in a very brief teaser that provides a first look at Miss Lara Croft. Unfortunately, her outfit has resulted in war online with some fans happy while others are simply tired of seeing more of her Survivor design.
Netflix released the trailer during their Drop 01 livestream. This 90-minute showcase predominantly focused on Castlevania Nocturne, but it also showed trailers for a new Sonic series as well as Scott Pilgrim and Devil May Cry. Among all these massive franchises, the Tomb Raider anime was one of the most anticipated. The trailer is only a minor tease, but its first look at Lara Croft has already split the fanbase.
Survivor Lara Croft in Tomb Raider Netflix anime
The Tomb Raider Netflix anime trailer confirms we are getting more of Survivor Lara Croft.
Although the trailer is only one minute long, it shows Lara Croft wearing the same outfit as in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. She is also still rocking the bow and arrow as opposed to her dual pistols.
The trailer doesn’t provide any dialogue at all, nor does it tease any story. However, we do know that the anime’s purpose is to connect young Lara Croft from the Survivor trilogy to the gunslinger from the very first Tomb Raider back in 1996.
Crystal Dynamics has confirmed that the Survivor trilogy origin is now canon, and the aim is to unify all three timelines: Original, Legend, and Survivor. While the anime will connect the dots between Survivor and Tomb Raider 1996, not all fans are happy about seeing more of England’s leading lady with a bow and arrow rather than dual pistols.
Fans react to Lara Croft’s design in Tomb Raider Netflix anime
The Tomb Raider fanbase is split over the return of Survivor Lara Croft in the Netflix anime.
Some fans have reacted with disappointment. A few on Reddit and Twitter are simply tired of the origin story getting to Tomb Raider 1996, which is understandable considering we’ve had three games to tell an origin that still isn’t finished.
Some have dubbed it the return of ‘crybaby’ Lara, and some were hoping to see unified elements like in the recent Call of Duty skin that, weirdly, resembles former adult film actress Sasha Grey. However, most comments are people wanting the classic Lara Croft to return whether during the series or at the end.
YouTuber and mega Tomb Raider fan, Melonie Mac, shared her reaction on Twitter. She’s a fan of the face, but is tired of Survivor Lara, too. She’s also not a fan of Lara reminiscing about her friends from TR 2013 as ‘that’s not Tomb Raider’.
On the other hand, there are lots of fans excited. Some are patient enough to see another continuation of the origin that began a decade ago, and there are fans out there who actually prefer Survivor over classic Lara Croft.
The Survivor vs. classic Lara Croft division has been consistent since 2013. Many fans want classic to return because that’s what they grew up with, meanwhile, Survivor is all that the youth of today have known.
Fortunately, everyone is getting what they want. The upcoming anime is a continuation of the Survivor saga, and the Tomb Raider remastered trilogy is coming out for PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and Nintendo Switch on February 14th.
Crystal Dynamics is also developing a new installment that utilizes the Unreal Engine 5. It is a unification that takes place after Tomb Raider Underworld, and this is all we know as of writing.