In a gaming landscape like mobile gaming, it's impressive that Marvel Snap has managed to quickly carve out its own spot. At first glance, it appears as nothing more than another licensed card game, but it does a lot more than simply providing cards with famous Marvel characters on them. Marvel Snap is built with the player in mind, as matches last no longer than a few minutes, and the game itself is easy to learn and pick up.
As with any mobile game, there are microtransactions, and with Marvel Snap most of them revolve around acquiring variant card art created by the best artists around. These creatives are commissioned to deliver Marvel characters in various themes and art styles, and those themes range from Noir and Venom-inspired to anime and sports.
7 Gamora
Ever since James Gunn and Marvel introduced The Guardians of the Galaxy to the greater world via their two Marvel Cinematic Universe films, fans can't seem to get enough of Gamora. The deadliest woman in the galaxy played a big role in the Thanos arc of films and is also a stout card in Marvel Snap.
AQUA is the artist who was commissioned with bringing an anime variant of Gamora to life in the game, and their choice was to have the formidable combatant standing strong, with a gorgeous purple space serving as her background. Outside of her green skin, AQUA delivered a version of Gamora that could easily be seen fighting off giant human monsters in the world of Attack on Titan, and she'd probably be pretty good at it considering her skill set.
6 Wolverine
Now, one would hear about Wolverine drawn in an anime style and assume that it's one of the best variant art cards in all of Marvel Snap. MUGENUP did deliver a dope Wolverine variant, but the reason it falls in the bottom half of the best anime variant art cards comes down to a few details. This version of Logan isn't hairy enough to feel like a true representation of the X-Men adjacent violence generator, but also he seems a bit slight of frame.
Wolverine tends to be a little bit thicker and stout and this art paints him as a slighter-framed anime protagonist. That being said, heroes from the perspective of other cultures may take on different designs, and in the end, no one will ever turn down the chance for more Wolverine designs in the world.
5 Captain Marvel
MUGENUP, the colorist and artist on Captain Marvel's anime variant art in Marvel Snap once again brought a piece that screams anime from every angle. Carol Danvers is flying through the air, ready to strike any incoming evil that steps foot in her path. Based on the shape and design of her face this variant art feels much more in the vein of the ever-popular Chibi aesthetic.
This type of art is meant to showcase characters in a childlike fashion and exaggerates certain facial features such as the eyes and eyebrows. MUGENUP manages to keep Captain Marvel fierce and imposing, while also making her equal parts adorable and endearing.
4 Spider-Man
Despite Spider-Man as a property having numerous animated series under its belt, MUGENUP's anime variant art for the web-slinger immediately instills a desire for a proper Peter Parker anime.
Movement in animation is a glaring difference between Western and Eastern animated entertainment, so seeing how others would translate Spider-Man's fluid and momentum-based movement as he glides across New York would be rather special. In the meantime, there's at least a piece of variant card art in Marvel Snap that satiates the Spider-Man fan's desire to see arguably the world's most popular superhero from a different perspective.
3 Storm
Artist and colorist Frontier Agent took a neat approach to their anime variant art for the Queen of the Weather, Storm. Surrounding by glowing beams of lightning, she is positioned in a commanding pose as she directly stares into the soul of anyone observing her at this moment.
When comparing it to all of the other anime variant art cards in Marvel Snap it definitely separates itself as it is meant to give off a more realistic aesthetic. Of course, it still sports slightly larger than normal eyes, but the lighting, shading, and composition make it feel like a cross between anime and something drawn by legendary comic book artist Alex Ross.
2 Angela
Angela is often relegated to being labeled as nothing more than simply Thor's sister. It's a shame considering how strong and capable she is, and in recent years has served as a central character in some solid Marvel Comics storylines and events. The anime variant art for Angela was produced by artist Alaine Baybayan, who managed to deliver something that feels tangentially Sailor Moon, but at the same time uniquely its own.
Angela's card is also quite useful in Marvel Snap as she gains +2 power for every additional card that is played at the location in which she resides. This means that fans who acquire her anime variant art will be able to see it as often as they'd like.
1 Sera
Though the anime medium is often seen as a singular aesthetic, those in the know understand that the number of art and animation styles vary quite drastically. Though Dragon Ball Z is often lauded as an iconic 90s anime that inspired a generation, Sailor Moon also had quite an impact on Western audiences as well.
Alaine Baybayan, who did both the art and coloring on this anime variant art for Sera likely drew from Sailor Moon as an inspiration for this piece. Sera herself is rather important in Marvel Comics in terms of representation of the trans community, so it's nice to see her getting love via captivating variant card art in Marvel Snap.
Marvel Snap is available on Android, iOS, and PC.