LODOSS-TOU SENKI

DESCRIPTION

CAST

MOVIE ActionHajimari no Boukensha-tachi: Legend of Crystania
OVA ActionLegend of Crystania
TV SHORT ComedyMeshimase Lodoss-tou Senki: Sorette Oishii no?
MANGA AdventureLodoss-tou Senki: Pharis no Seijo
MANGA AdventureLodoss-tou Senki: Haiiro no Majo
NOVEL ActionLodoss-tou Senki
ANIME ActionLodoss-tou Senki: Eiyuu Kishi Den

REVIEWS

• 

  MinTsubasa

  70/100
  Overall good character, story and sound but execution can be better.

  I started watching Record of Lodoss War is because of the rpg Lodoss War Online. Upon researching the game, I discovered the anime and plan to watch it, finally start to watch few weeks ago.

  To be honest, Record of Lodoss War has a good plot but the execution is not good enough for me to feel enthusiastic throughout the series. I become bored and a little frustrated about some characters until Episode 8 came. This anime is enough to rate 6.5 and max 7/10 but I will like to break it down and see if the rating will go up or stay within the range.

  Story: 6.5/10
  So basically, this is a dark fantasy anime featuring our main character Parn who grow up from a novice to Hero Knight of Lodoss. The history of Lodoss is a brief summary of the narrator, there are important characters who heavily relate to the series but are not given more explanation.

  The pacing of the anime is also all over the place, not the worst anime but definitely should be better. Episode 1 is their adventure in a tunnel with some fighting against minor monsters and a dragon, they manage to escape and the episode end with them at the exit. The narrator says their journey will not stop but from Episode 2 onwards, the adventure pretty much disappear, more like completing quests from the Kingdom, pursuing enemies and stop their sinister scheme. Episode 1 could have scrap off and focus more on Parn's training because his swordmanship needs more polishing than ever.

  The dragons who appear in the opening show up at the last episode and only features their a little of their fight, and not to mention the awakening of the water dragon basically just wake up and do nothing..

  There are many flaws on plot development but dark fantasy can never grow old and so I still enjoy it in some extent as I continue watching despite being distracted for so many times.

  Characters 7/10:
  As I say, many important characters such as Karla, Wort (especially) doesn't have enough background information for us to relate.
  Wort is a great sage who I presume had lived 500 years? He is neither dead or alive but he doesn't do unnecessary things other than watching the world. Karla is a witch who lived 500 years inside a ornament and she has to possess a body in order to move. She is deemed as an evil person from the start but her real motive is reveal as the series progress. The anime do mention Karla's background through words, i feel that a proper flashback is better to taste her suffering and understand her choice.

  Parn, as many Heroes-To-Be fantasy main character who has a bad swordmanship and hardly improve, suddenly can fight some monsters but at the end facing great foes, their weakness come out again. There are many times I just see him standing one side not moving, especially last episode. Well given an anime from 1990 (but hey there are many other anime who did a great job!), I can just let it go.

  Deed, a high elf skilled in spells, her personality in Episode 1 is getting on my nerves, making me questioning the intelligence of an elf. But she is still lovable and did MORE than what Parn did, so still a better female protagonist.

  Villains, to be honest, the villains has more development than the main party, there are a lot of sides, not just ambitious and coldness, there are also pride and perseverance, and a little empathy. Pretty much they are the ones who drive this anime.

  Animation: 7/10
  I can say it is fluid? I am not good at discover animation flaw or maybe I just don't bother them too much. As long as I don't discover it, I can safety rate a 7/10

  Artstyle: 7/10
  1990 anime, how do I exactly rate it when I watch it from 2018. I like first Karla and Ashram design, their looks and aura fits their character and background color is good.

  Sound: 7.5/10
  I have lesser knowledge about sound, all I take notice is op/ed which are decent in terms of 90s. The opening has this romantic fantasy feel, it sounds better than better after listening few more times.

  Total: 7/10
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• 

  ThyMrMan

  65/100
  Decent work, but not enough episodes for a solid execution of the story.

  What happens if you decide to turn you D&D campaign into an anime, well you would kinda end up with Record of Lodoss War. From the first episode it just screams D&D, starting with the characters and their stereotypes. And continuing on with the story and the way things developed throughout. Unfortunately for it, I feel like the show tried to create a world and story larger than it had the space to use. Often you have entire fights against massive monsters and villains occurring in 5 minutes at the end of the episode, with character development occurring in small short almost disconnected moments scattered throughout.

  The first episode I feel captured what I would have wanted the best, it seemed to set up a clear goal of escaping the caves. Set up the characters and some quick character traits and showed off who they are. And wrapped the whole thing up with a satisfying final battle of the episode. It all just felt really tight and solid, something I don't feel like the rest of the show ever captured for me.

  The show sets up multiple villains and a rather large cast of evil characters, and gives them all a surprisingly large amount of development. They all seem to have goals and motivations, or at least most of them. The final villain I feel like had a rather weak and for me, slightly confusing reason for doing what he was doing. In many ways I feel like the villains were gifted with more development than the good guys.

  On the side of good, or light as is mentioned many times. The cast is large and fits all the roles you would expect to find in a well rounded D&D party. With the leader being inexperienced new knight Parn, who is being championed as the new Hero. And as the story progresses, you watch the Hero grow as a swordsman until he is strong enough to defeat the main villain, so pretty standard stuff. Outside of the Hero, the other character that received a surprising amount of development was the elderly Dwarf. On a personal quest to save his savior, who just happens to align nicely with the Hero's quest. A section I wish got more development was the romance between Parn and the love interest Deed, who is the High Elf and becomes a major importance later on. Moments of romance and development between the two appear, and leads to the appearance of a relationship, but nothing ever seems to develop further really.

  Quick mention of animation and art style, well it was decent. Nothing amazing or incredible really, but all of it good enough and constant that it never looked strange or cheap. Outside of some strange moments when things didn't move in ways you would expect, and ended up looking a bit fake. But overall it was of good quality.

  The highest point for me would have to be the Sound and Music. Man I loved all of it, with the OP and ED being great and never getting tired or boring for me. Various musical pieces fit into the world very well, and when applied helped to boost the scene and whatever was occurring on screen.

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• 

  douveAtomique

  60/100
  Japanese high fantasy's baby steps; an unapologetically conventional, nostalgia lacquered, feast for the eyes

  This review is spoiler-free

  It began with the forging of the Great High Fantasy Animes. For within these animes was bound the strength and will to govern each fanbase... But they were all of them deceived... for another anime was made. In the land of Japan, in the fires of Madhouse studio, Ryou Mizuno forged in secret a Master Anime that preceded all others... and into this anime he poured nothing special.

  More than 30 years before Sousou no Frieren came crashing down on everyone's favourite animes list, Lodoss-tou Senki ushered the era of Japanese high fantasy animes.

  If the world is your playground, the possibilities are limitless. However, when it comes to high fantasy, stories tend to be cautiously articulated around very rigid concepts such as good vs evil, justice vs chaos and light vs dark, in a world bathed in magic, inhabited by humans, elves, dwarves, and many more races. The story of a party of heroes setting out on a perilous adventure in order to defeat a demonic entity and release the world from the shackles of evil is as standard as it gets, but some series offer an interesting twist on this formula such as Rokka no Yuusha that narrates the struggles of Among Us players before the heroes depart on their journey or the beloved Sousou no Frieren which takes a reflective journey down memory lane after the demon lord's defeat. Lodoss-tou Senki, however, is not meant to challenge the high fantasy paradigm, quite the opposite, it's one of the pioneers of high fantasy animes. Transcripts of actual Dungeons and Dragons game sessions were adapted into light novels and subsequently into animes, namely the Lodoss series. Hence, much of what transpires in the show follows the events of those DnD-like sessions. Is Lodoss-tou Senki's story creative? Not at all. Is it fun? Kinda! Truth be told, I have a soft spot for this kind of setting, and I'm sure most people familiar with JRPGs, Dungeons and Dragons-style games, or even Zelda will find something enjoyable here, evoking a feeling of blissful nostalgia.

  I've made multiple references to Sousou no Frieren and Lord of the Rings already, because I'm sure most people are familiar with these two and they come in handy to describe what exactly Lodoss-tou Senki is. An incongruous party of motley adventurers on a quest to bring peace to the world, a warring world where peace is as fleeting as the treaties that guarantee it; it's to be expected since Dungeons and Dragons is directly inspired by Tolkien's work, the great haberdashery from which each high fantasy author draws to weave their own story. Lodoss-tou Senki takes you to the roots of Japanese high fantasy. As much as Sousou no Frieren is a kind of deconstruction of a classic high fantasy story, Lodoss is simply its construction.

  We thus follow our protagonist, Parn, an exceedingly kind-hearted young man who finds himself, alongside his party, in the midst of a war opposing two former friends, the King of Hyrule and Ganondorf - I mean Fahn and Beld. From slaying goblins to kobolds, Parn's journey doesn't offer much food for thought as characterization through flashbacks or introspection takes a step back in favor of a focus on rather scarce dialogues between characters and action scenes. The lack of characterization and development unfortunately makes it hard to care for our heroes. For example, in episode 1, Deedlit the elf remarks that she doesn't understand humans at all, but this aspect of her character is never explored in greater details. The same goes for villains - except for Karla - whose intentions remain mostly unfathomable or reduced to a simple desire for conquest and power. This stark Manichean narrative, coupled with poorly developed characters and plot, offers an easy-to-digest but also forgettable story.

  

  If there's one thing Lodoss-tou Senki does right, it's the visual aspect of the anime, which stays consistently impressive throughout its entire run. While the backgrounds are pleasing without standing out much and the animation is clean, the character and creature designs are truly wonderful. Art is obviously very much subjective, and one might like generic anime designs more than Lodoss-tou Senki's, but it would be criminal not to praise the sheer amount of details, the impeccable line work and shading in every single shot from the latter. The 90's aesthetic, combined with remarkable artistry, creates a very powerful visual impact. It's only fitting for Lodoss-tou Senki to have been animated by Madhouse, the same studio behind Sousou no Frieren, and they're clearly showing off just how good they can be with this early project.

  I'm sure it's now pretty clear what Lodoss-tou Senki entails. I've written much without really saying anything about its story or characters, because there simply isn't much to go through. Lodoss-tou Senki, the godfather of Japanese high fantasy, thrives on conventionality, placidly riding on the wave of its stunning art direction. Desperately self-aware and content with its identity, it's hard to really dislike it: charming, yet ultimately forgettable.

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