Lady Dimitrescu, the tall 9’6 “vampire villain from Resident Evil Village, has cast a shadow over social media since fans realized she was, really long. It’s probably the best marketing publisher Capcom could ever hope for – but it’s such an ahem, thirst reaction? According to art director Tomonori Takano, it’s all amazing.
‘I do not think anyone [on the team] could have predicted how wonderfully fans reacted to Lady Dimitrescu, ”he said as part of an interview with IGN. “Personally, I was particularly struck by comments such as: ‘I want to be chased by her. ‘Maybe Takano was just shocked to hear that the internet has exactly the same fetish.
However, Lady Dimitrescu is more than just her frame – she’s not really your typical vampire. Her sense of fashion is more Edwardian than utterly gothic, and while her yellow eyes give her other worldly qualities, she’s glamorous – a recent trailer shows, for example, how she uses make-up! This is of course all according to design.
‘In the early stages of planning, we decided to move on [a] castle and vampire motif, ”continues Takano. “However, we did not want to be limited by how vampires are portrayed in different forms of popular entertainment.” Lady Dimitrescu is thus more seductive and stylish – apparently inspired by real-world people like Elizabeth Báthory, a 16th-century Hungarian serial killer.
Capcom’s art department is one of the best in the business, so it’s no surprise that it’s capturing the game’s imagination again with another memorable character design. However, Lady Dimitrescu’s stars are somewhat unprecedented – it’s going to be fascinating to find out more about her when the game launches later this year.