The future of Lara Croft Tomb Raider has never before been shrouded in so much secrecy than that which conceals the tentatively titled Tomb Raider 7, currently in development in Southern California by U.S. game-makers Crystal Dynamics. However, one clue on the future direction of Miss Croft has been the recent revelations that the next game will be heavily influenced by Manga anime, a popular style of art developed in Japan.

Manga is the Japanese terminology for comic book or graphic novel, a serialisation predominately made up of pictures or illustrations characterized by stylized colourful art and futuristic settings. By definition, Manga is commonly confused with anime - both formats are closely related and frequently cross over. Expanding by including a by-product on definition, Manga is usually created first, and if it becomes popular then the market is deemed capable of supporting a much more costly animation based on it.