Atelier Lulua Horse was Removed from the Box art for being “too distracting”

Japanese illustrator Mel Kishida, known for designing the characters in Koei Tecmo’s Atelier series, recently revealed the unusual reason behind a change to the cover of Atelier Lulua: The Scion of Arland. According to the artist, the Atelier Lulua horse was removed from the final illustration because it was drawing too much attention away from the main characters.

Released in 2019, the game belongs to the Arland subseries of the Atelier franchise. The original artwork featured the protagonist Elmerulia Frixell riding in a carriage pulled by a beautifully detailed horse.

First version of the boxart:

However, when comparing the full illustration to the final box art, the Atelier Lulua horse was almost entirely cropped out, with only faint, blurred traces remaining.

Final boxart

Why was the Atelier Lulua horse cut from the art?

Kishida explained that the art team asked him to modify the composition because “the horse was overpowering the characters.”
Indeed, side-by-side comparisons show that the horse occupied as much space as Elmerulia herself, rendered with equally meticulous detail. This made the animal unintentionally steal the spotlight from the protagonist.

The early version of the cover, which still included the horse, was briefly seen before being replaced with the final art focused entirely on Elmerulia. While the result was visually cleaner, many fans found the reasoning behind the cut amusing.

Fans react and meme the Atelier Lulua horse

Kishida’s revelation quickly spread on social media, especially on X (formerly Twitter), where fans began joking about the Atelier Lulua horse.
Some even edited the game’s cover to make the horse the main focus, overlaying it with the Uma Musume: Pretty Derby logo — a playful nod to another franchise famous for horse-themed characters.

Others lamented the loss, saying the horse was “too beautiful to cut,” though many agreed that the decision made sense to keep the spotlight on the characters instead of the carriage.