Arcane Episode 1-3 Review: A Mature Series That Does Not Disappoint League Of Legends Fans

Stars: Shohreh Aghdashloo, Miles Brown, Remy Hii

Director: Christian Linke, Alex Yee

Streaming Platform: Netflix (watch from here)

Ratings: 4/5 (four star) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Amazement, curiosity, satisfaction. With these three sensations in the heart, start our review of Arcane, the series based on the video game League of Legends and distributed on Netflix in three weekly appointments, on 7, 13 and 20 November 2021. But let’s see these sensations in order: amazement at what we have been able to watch, or should we say admire, in preview; curiosity to understand how and how much longtime fans and avid gamers of the game will love the animated series Riot Games; satisfaction for an adaptation that seemed very complex, given the nature of the game from which it started that began its journey in 2009 (the series was announced on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the game), and is also accessible to those who are without food.

Arcane Episode 1-3: Review and Analysis

Let’s start from the last point and from Arcane’s ability to immerse anyone, whether or not they are familiar with the world of League of Legends, in a setting that welcomes the viewer and reveals itself little by little, from scene to scene, but intrigues and conquers. from the very first bars with its atmosphere and richness. In fact, the depth of the setting in which we are immersed is immediately evident, as well as the awareness that the authors have of it. We are in the world of Runeterra, but Arcane focuses its attention on a small region that maintains a delicate balance between the rich city of Piltover and the squalor of Zaun, a tension that mounts and risks exploding: if on the one hand a new one emerges. technology called Hextech that makes magic democratic, and dangerous, from

A tension and rivalry that is fertile ground in which to sow ideas to be developed over the nine episodes of the first season, but also characters capable of emotionally involving the viewer with their personalities and businesses. Characters largely borrowed from Championsof League of Legends, consolidated and already popular with the game’s public, but of immediate impact also for those who will meet them for the first time in Arcane. We think of Vi, voiced by Hailee Steinfeld, who immediately strikes for her pink-haired look, but intrigues for the evolution that seems to promise starting from her role as a petty criminal in Zaun; on the opposite front in Piltover we find another prominent figure like Jayce, voiced in the original by Kevin Alejandro, with an important role in the invention of the Hextech.

But the list is long and the cast of Champions of Arcane is substantial, from Jinx, sister of Vi, to Caitlyn Kiramman, from Mel Medarda to the mighty Vander, Viktor and a Yordie like Heimerdinger. A set of characters that comes with a character design and an on-screen rendering of evident value and care, but which ensures a variety of situations and a wealth of stories to be told, not only in these nine episodes of the first season but also for any developments futures that seem very probable to us.

If we talk about the future it is because the greatness, care and attention placed in the first episodes of Arcane and these first animated steps of League of Legends seem such to make us think of an ambition to be projected over the long distance, to give to the animated counterpart of the video game. a longevity and reach of equal importance. Arcane is not an adaptation for its own sake, it is not a mere transposition designed to exploit a popular brand without adding much to the source material, but a series that has the will and the ambition to exploit that breadth of content in terms of setting. and characters to build something independent, sensible and profound. Something that can walk on its own legs with an autonomous and mature dignity.

A Series That Hits The Mark

And they are legs as strong as they are agile. Powerful both from an artistic and a technical point of view, for a visual rendering of great impact. You remain speechless for the whole system of the series, from the chromatic choices to the well-kept scenography’s and the attention to detail, but you let yourself be carried away by a solid and dynamic staging, made up of shots that are never banal, functional to the story. but with a precious added value. Even from a purely technical point of view, Arcane it is a joy for the eyes, with a fluid and overwhelming animation that works both in the most action and atmospheric moments, original design choices and a very valid support also from the audio sector in every aspect, from the sound that makes the world alive of Runaterra to the songs, starting with the opening signed by Imagine Dragons and the whole soundtrack that will be made available at the end of the series, from November 20th.

The Last Words

the series inspired by the world of League of Legends by Riot Games, which rests on the solid foundations of the starting material to build something autonomous and equally strong, capable of involving even those who he is fasting from the videogame launched in 2009. Rich setting, intriguing characters, a technical sector to leave you speechless and a staging that is never banal, which immediately strikes and keeps the viewer glued.

What We Liked

• A rich and self-aware setting.
• Visually intriguing characters that promise depth in narrative development.
• A careful and never banal staging, made of impactful choices but functional to the story that is conveyed.
• Surprising technical level, with fluid animations and an overall high level rendering.

What We Didn’t Liked

• The graphic style chosen, personal and artistically refined, may not meet the taste of some viewers