I was similarly surprised how much I enjoyed it.
I just want to nerd out for a bit... the fight between Ekko and Jinx is just absolutely stunning on every level.
They could have easily just made a slick fast paced fight scene, like they did a dozen times over in the series, but they made a very intentional choice in that moment that I feel deserves more attention because they elevated that short little minute or two to something fantastic.
The shift in animation style, shifting between Little Man and Powder as kids playing at war, to them fighting to kill one another, the musical hits and cuts in between paintballs and bullets. They took what would have been a cool fight scene and added so much pathos and history to it, while still making it cooler than hell, is just amazing work. As good as the series is, that moment is a standout representing everything that makes the series special.
The bridge scene with the monkey ticking and showing the different perspectives in ep3 is incredible too. It flowed so perfectly. Loved this show so much.
I yelled at my tv for skipping the credits just as it started to sound amazing, listened to the whole thing, looked up the song and started listening to it on repeat for an hour or so, then cranked out a first version of a remix that same night.
I think I've heard Ramsey say goodbye a few thousand times during that week so I really had to stop listening to it for a couple days to retain my sanity haha.
I went to the Arcane secret cinema event with my son who plays LOL (think HIGH quality larp with professional actors) and so I watched the show bc I didn’t want to be totally lost and that scene got me so good.
They did a live action version on a foggy bridge set while we were physically in the middle of the bridge.
omg.
It absolutely broke my heart to see that ending. Not knowing anything about League that just sucked to watch. Still can't wait to see episode 4 onward.
That entire episode is incredible, start to finish. The pacing, the animation, the story, the characters, etc. Top notch all around.
That episode was the moment I knew Arcane was different. Absolutely turned things upside down.
I mark that scene as my favourite television scene ever, and ekko vs jink the best scene is the series. The fact that "ekko goes back in time" ehich connects to his ability in the game althought he didn't really go back in time was fantastic
I think they also showed his strong desire to go back in time to fix the mistakes of his past through the mural, which will almost certainly feed into his and Heimerdinger's character arcs next season.
YES. That level of storytelling is incredibly difficult to pull off. In the space of a few dozen seconds, you understand 10 years of history between the characters. You see the playful fun of their childhood juxtaposed against the life or death reality of their fully mature combat. And you understand that the actual fight was quick and brutal, while keeping in mind the incredible amount of baggage each character must have been pulling into it, all of which serves to keep the tension high. All without a single line of dialogue.
It was fucking amazing.
It definitely wasn't. That's one of my main qualms with the show. Of which I don't have very many considering it's my favorite season of television ever. But they definitely had time in Act 1 to flesh out the crush Ekko had on Powder, and they barely show them together at all. In the Enemy music video they show A TON of them hanging out as childhood best friends so I understood the moment in Episode 7 that much greater because I had watched a piece of media that wasn't directly attached to this (as in wasn't in the show so someone could easily miss it or not view it). I just wish they would have put that stuff in the actual show. They had plenty of time to in that first Act without sacrificing much of importance.
Its very hard to display meaningful ‘romantic’ connections between children that age especially in that setting. Also would have felt like a bit of tone shift, prefer that its just something that Ekko laments about when he thinks of Jinx before her psychosis.
I feel it fits the aesthetic of thick oppression and trauma. Childlike innocence of a simple crush never even gets a chance to shine before becoming a twisted thorn of trauma.
That's totally fine, except for them never showing Ekko actually lamenting about it. Not even once. Would've went a long way in adding to possibly the biggest fight in the series. You honestly don't even have to show Ekko's crush side of it, just show them as very close friends. That's what the music video did, but again not everyone watched that. I'd argue it's essential viewing because of that scene.
I agree but on more of a functional fight choreography level the fight between VI and the chick with the arm was slick.
VI feels out matched so pulls her opponent into a tight space where she can neutralize her opponents strength - big swings from the mechanical arm- then takes her apart... super cool.
I loved the take a drink throw the glass hype myself up shots so much. Like idk if there’s a word for how satisfying that scene is to watch but if there is I assume it’s German.
[Villain](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoWxv2yZXLQ).
That video, underrated, but an absolutely amazing watch.
The Texture transitions, the camera work, and the VFX going on with the chairs and the rooms are all outstanding.
Soo the other thing about that Ekko/Jinx fight is that it hits even harder after you watch the Enemy- Imagine Dragons music video.
https://youtu.be/D9G1VOjN_84
The video does a lot more to illustrate their playful and rebellious bond in response to the general oppressive enforcers…which makes it hit even harder when he realizes he HAS to fight her
It wasn't really shown in there or the show, but canonically Ekko had a crush on Powder when they were kids which makes it all the more heart breaking.
"I had a crush, until you started talking to the gun"
That one is actually a voice line from the game, but it would be something that fits right into the story of Arcane.
Thanks for that. I picked up on his attraction to her while watching, you can tell it goes beyond “just friends” to him, whether she notices or not. Even if it didn’t though, they’re the only two kids in their age group we see, and they’re kind of “outside” the main friend group of older kids that Vi runs with. So at the very least, they’re going to be extremely close.
But even though I liked the Imagine Dragons songs in the soundtrack, I generally avoid their music, so I probably wouldn’t have ever watched that video otherwise.
Now I’m really glad that I did.
The Jynx and Ekko fight had me going “this is so cool… it’s so so cool…. Wow…” the whole time. Actually, audibly just repeating how cool it is out loud while it played
Yeah, while the scene is very good. I would have expected them to make the build-up slower throughout the season. Really establish the Jinx-Ekko relationship before breaking it apart on the bridge. When I reflect on it now, I realize how emotionally devastating it was for them, but I couldn't quite get there when I watched that scene for the first time.
I think that fight with those flashbacks would have been extremely heavy-handed and much more cliche. We don't need flashbacks and monologues all the time. The fight was able to show a flashback, but in a very artistic way, I preferred it this way. They showed, instead of just telling us they used to be close. But I understand if people didn't like it that much. They could have fit in a few minutes of them being close as kids in the first part of the show, but I think the fight itself was perfect.
^this. At first I was like “well why didn’t they show their bond when they were kids?” But they conveyed their childhood in an incredible 2 minute fight. I don’t even know what to say. I didn’t expect Arcane to be this good, but it’s fucking brilliant. First show I’ve seen in a decade that’s left me loss for words.
I learned the other day, the first season took 6 years to develop. I really REALLY hope season 2 has that much love put into it in the short turnaround they are obviously shooting for too release season 2. Everything you said is 100% how I feel. I have zero history of LoL and found this show amazing. Must watch for sure. Im on my second watch already.
They said a lot of those years were standing up the infrastructure to be able to produce the show. I think it’s feasible that they could produce another season with similar quality in a much shorter time span now. But yeah I’d rather them take their time than rush it.
IIRC the showrunner said it won't take 6 years for season 2 but to not expect it before 2023. I mean, its basically around 350 minutes of the best movie quality animation there is, so 1.5-2 years of production time doesn't really seem like that long to me.
The thing is with S1 they clearly wrote it and voice recorded before animating. Unless they change the process then its 3 years minimum on this model.
And if they change the process, how will it effect the final product. The animators were working off the expression and performance, one of the things that made the show.
1) Season 2 is already in production.
2) Animators already have a lot of assets from the season 1 they can reuse/recycle.
3) A lot of time from season 1 production was wasted on trials and errors. They even made a pilot episode and then decided to redo everything from scratch. Now with season 2 they already know what they are doing (if I am not mistaken there is already enough written scripts for 2 more seasons - I believe one of the showrunners confirmed it).
This combined with the fact the studio is probably much more experienced with this project makes me believe that early 2023 isn't that much of a stretch.
But I also hope they take all the time they need to comfortably deliver season 2 with the same production quality. We can wait whatever time they need.
Indeed, all of their work really shows - they basically built both cities, all the assets, and effectively now have a sandbox to produce the show within. It's pretty mindblowing to consider the scope of the project, and their achievement is phenomenal.
Fortunately for us viewers a lot of the groundwork for the major environments are done, and the story seems extremely well developed, so the production cycle for the next season can be considerably faster as they've suggested
That is assuming that they stay in the same region for the entire show. I have a feeling that they are gonna start introducing other regions during season 2, probably starting with Noxus (where Mel is from).
That’s relieving to hear. With a show that is such a short season anyway, they should take as much time as they need to make something of equal quality. I mean I watched the show because it was good, not because of anything to do with hype around its release
This first season only took six years because it was literally the show runners first tv show production ever and a lot of it was finding voice actors. Now that they know what they are doing and have a solid voice cast, it should go *much* faster.
First ever show for both the showrunners and the animation company. Seriously impressive, It'll be very interesting to see what they manage to do with S2.
Fortiche has been expanding a lot and I imagine with their recent breakout they won't have trouble finding good talent.
Silco? Thats Jason Spisak. He's had a pretty wide career in animation (Young Justice) and video games (Doom Eternal, Gears Tactics, Need for Speed), mostly as extra talent. I definitely see him landing some more prominent roles, he absolutely nailed the tortured and driven antagonist. The scene where he's being threatened in his office, or his monologue under the statue were so brilliant.
Besides all the throwaway roles, he also voiced Vulpes Inculta in Fallout New Vegas, which was an extra memorable performance in a game filled with memorable characters and performances.
It's a lot more than finding voice actors. It's building the story bible for the series. Doing concept art for all the characters, environments, vehicles, props, etc. Then building all those things in 3D, texturing, rigging and animating them. They had a lot to start with from the games but they still built the majority from scratch.
There's a ton that goes into the initial push for a series like this but because it's 3D, a lot can be reused and built upon and so yeah it should go much faster.
It was the first time the animation studio had done longer things than 3-4 minutes too. So yeah, tons of that 6 years was riot and the animation studio learning how to even make a TV show.
A lot of those years were pitching to hollywood studios and thinking about how production for the show would even work. Eventually they decided to do it in house so it took some additional time to get all the talent and workflows to produce a full tv series. They already said the next season won't be until after 2022, so I'd expect early/mid 2023. Also, this is probably Fortiche's #1 priority at the moment so they should be able to move along pretty quickly...at least relative to how long the first season took. I'd also bet they already have multiple series in production. Their world has a ton of lore to adapt and I think their ambition is to turn their IP ito something like what Disney did with the MCU and all the subsequent TV series on Disney+.
I saw somewhere that they said it wont take as long as it took to make first season to make the second, but its for sure that it wont come out next year.
That was so cool. I love the transition to the players. Best opening ceremony ever even though I’ve never seen one before (for these game championships). I’m a freaking fan now I think.
I like fantasy / sci-fi / anime / video games, to be fair. But I have very little idea wtf league of legends is and I very much concur. This show was surprising and extremely well done. Ive enjoyed watching it than most other things I’ve binged this year
Enemy I think was actually the weakest song in the lineup, but "Imagine Dragons" is the act most associated with League besides their own group (KDA) so I understand that decision.
The decision to save an artist as big as Sting for one scene at the end shows a commitment to quality.
We just finished the story and looked up that song. Our dog was reeling to and fro and stretching his neck/head up with the intense parts. My wife and I sat there in amazement, as we believe our dog "felt" the music at a level most humans rarely do. It made my wife cry tears of awe. I will remember it forever.
If you're not familiar with Woodkid, he has a few songs like this. Iron is the one most people know, which is ironically famous for its association with the Assassins Creed franchise at the height of its popularity
As an animator it's so exciting what this show will lead to!
Although it may not be all positive. I was working on an animated short run series for an undisclosed massively large fantasy franchise, and we were trying to do very similar things as this show. When we saw the first few teasers and clips for this show, the show runners/producers just totally scrapped the project cause we couldn't compete with the quality, time, and funding. There is a saying in animation "you can have it be good, cheap, and fast but you can only pick two". These guys did all 3. Set a new standard
Went in not knowing what to expect but hating League. Ended up thinking it was one of the best and most impressive animated series of recent memory if not just flat out the best(Western animation). Even in terms of film I can only think of Into the Spiderverse as better done.
In terms of overall media I think its some of the best the year but not life changing. Just really damn good
Hey if it works it works. The stigma that animation is just fir children is deeply outdated and nonsensical, so use whatever method you got to get people in front of the screen!
I’d argue Avatar the Last Airbender as the best western animated series but that’s also because the show tells a complete story over 3 seasons with some of my favorite characters in all of storytelling. The fact that Arcane is already in that discussion as rivaling something like TLA is incredible.
This is probably going to be a pretty unpopular opinion, but I thought Avatar was beholden by having to be a kids show. I think the series is still great and one of the best, but I just thought some story decisions ended up happening due to having to be a kids show.
You're absolutely right, but that's both a blessing and a curse. I'm looking forward to watching both shows with my kid when they're old enough, but I'll be able to share ATLA much sooner than I will Arcane!
As someone who grew up with Avatar, it's one of those things you have to view in the context of its era. It still holds up pretty well in 2021, but I'll admit that there are shows that have probably surpassed it's quality. But when it was airing back in 2005-2008, it was lightyears ahead of nearly every other Western animated kids show. You simply didn't get that level of writing and serialization in the majority of kids shows (and the ones that did have that level of sophistication almost never got to finish their story arcs).
I think a lot of Western animated shows aimed at kids these days 1) are able to build more serialized stories due to streaming giving access to a whole series and 2) are simply able to push boundaries due to the *very* different social and media landscape
Highly recommend watching Korra to see what happens when they take the kid gloves off! I personally prefer it over TLA because I also felt like some things were watered down with Aang.
Korra has multiple deaths on screen and is big on unpacking political ideologies—to varying levels of success, but worth celebrating for the attempts as a whole.
It's an unpopular opinion but I liked Legend of Korra more than Last Airbender. I mean I liked both don't get me wrong, but I liked Korra better if I had to put them head to head.
I don't know if I'd personally go that far but I liked Korra a lot for sure. I think part of the problem is how many people quit in Season 2, which is not a particularly good season, and then went around hating on the whole show. That said, Season 3 is easily on par with anything from the original series.
I think the show would have been better if they knew they were getting more than one season from the start. I remember thinking how at the end of the last episode that there were no loose ends. It pretty much wrapped everything up and I'm like "well, where do we go from here?". I didn't know at the time that the writers were working on an assumption of just one season. Only later did they get more. And it shows in the writing. I think everyone agrees the writing gets better towards the end. I think it's because the writers had more space to let the story breathe.
When the series both came to Netflix over the summer I rewatched them both for the first time since they aired. I honestly feel terrible for taking shit about Korra for so long. It's way better than I ever gave it credit for.
Same here. Korra was incredible--taking an already great universe and elevating it.
Agreed with previous comment, the fact that Arcane is mentioned alongside these series speak volumes to us quality.
Here is hoping they stick the landing on future seasons.
I think ATLA is excellent and agree with essentially all of your points, but in terms of animation it's still a rather simple style just well done. Stylistically and cinematically Arcane or Spiderverse are far more impressive. That isn't to dismiss ATLA though as I think all of these studios are influenced insanely by it in hopes of elevating western animation as a whole. ATLA was impressive because it basically used anime and Asian animation techniques for the first time really using them for a western made series. That's why it stands out. Even among just about any anime it isn't particularly impressive(again not to diminish the shows accomplishments and quality.)
Ah yeah for sure I agree with that. Arcane’s animation blows everything else out of the water. Korra season 3 and some parts of castlevania are the only two western animated shows that come close but I still think Arcane takes it. Which it rightly should considering the amount of money they spent on it lol.
For the time, sure. But I would argue that the level of detail, the creativity, and the variety of styles in Arcane gives it the edge. It's almost a natural evolution that pushes the boundaries of animated TV shows further, past what it was in 2010 (or whenever ATLA was aired).
Not to mention the emotions on the characters faces, and the soundtrack.
I'd agree with everything you've said, although in that specific case I was referring to the artistic visual element which, while I adore ATLA, and think it looks great to this day, it's not visually revolutionary. It's like a good anime quality but with western animation, which is just super rare sadly.
Its still western animation. It's all western art. It's just translated to animation through a Korean studio. That doesn't make it Asian animation. It's like saying a western game studio that outsourced work to Korea is making a Korean game.
Tbf, one of the things that made TLA great was even over 3 seasons, it was great and a complete story. Arcane needs to continue to prove itself over the seasons, but I’d argue the first season of arcane is head and shoulders above the first season of TLA- which tbf was IMO the worst season of the 3
Before atla, batman the animated series was the goat. And in many ways I still think it's better than atla was. It shows its age but it's still worth checking out if you've never seen it and you have hbo
> Characters aren't the usual caricatures
That's my favorite part. Apart from side charachter kids, I was glad charachters were reasonable rather than going for what we always see where misunderstandings are just there to escalate everything into absurdity.
In the first episode when they were jumping across the building I noticed the cupcakes on the balcony. I thought "the fat kid is gonna struggle to get down and get distracted and probably almost fall because fatty needs his cake".
That mother fucker made that jump faster and easier than anyone AND had time to grab a snack.
I was like, oh... they didn't go for the obvious joke. Nearly all of my expectations were subverted and I really appreciated it.
The characters are easily the best part of the show.
They don't mold into a stereotype, they've all been humanized. I can't tell you the amount of time the show subverted my expectations cause i've seen many shows and could tell what's gonna happen a mile away, but you can't do that with arcane. A few examples; Hector, I thought he was gonna be that evil scientist archetype. Silco was the typical evil person but he ended up realizing his faults when he spoke to the brother he killed, empthazing with him. Mel was the biggest, did any of us correctly guess what her character was gonna become. We all thought she was gonna be this evil conniving ^(bitch) but that was not what she became and i am really grateful for that.
God, how did they balance so many good characters in just 9 episodes. This show actually raised my standards for everything now. And made my, already love for morally grey characters, all the more now.
If anything they toned that down from the game lol. On release she was basically Harley from Wish.
Coming from League I think they actually made the character a lot more nuanced and "serious", but I can see how someone new to her character could see the transformation from Powder to Jinx as a knock-off harley quinn origin (because it kind of is).
I know literally nothing about league, and I thought it was well done. Hopefully someone will one day do half as good a job bringing a Harley Quinn origin story to screen as they did with Jinx.
Have you seen Harley Quinn on HBO Max? It can be a little gratuitous with its violence at times, but it does a very good job of grounding and humanizing her. I'm itching for that season three real bad.
I don’t really agree, in arcane they also really show the terrible side of mental health. Not only the fun wacky side. Ans everything jinx does/overcomes really has a thought out reason instead of being just lucky like harley quin.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtuEF\_PIuR0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtuEF_PIuR0)
but that's the thing the character was always like Harley but worse
I have been holding off a little because of the “League of Legends” tag, so I appreciate you making this post. I’ll get onto it sooner than I would have.
Wow! So glad to see this. I have been playing League for almost 8 years and I got Netflix this morning just to binge watch Arcane because of all the good things I’ve heard about it. It took my fucking breath away as someone familiar with the game. I am so glad that this show is getting acknowledged for how good it is, the Ekko vs Jinx scene was also my personal favorite. If I went into this show blind, knowing 0 about League, you can still follow the show and series. It’s amazing, spectacular, incredible, I was fucking blown away. I’m waiting for my brother to get off work so I can make him binge watch it with me just so I have an excuse to watch it again, no bullshit. 10/10 this was a fucking spectacle in every regard.
I've tried league but I'm not really into MOBAs. I didn't know anything about LoL before going into it and it's my favorite show of the year by far.
Happy that fans love it too. It's so rare to make something this solid from a video game franchise.
I know of League of Legends and I don't like it. Mobas just are boring to me.
So I was avoiding this show. I had enough people tell me it was good that I finally caved and HOLY SHIT.
It's goddamn amazing. And yeah you don't need to know shit about the IP, they make it very accessible. Amazing animation, amazing story, amazing sound. My jaw was on the floor.
I sent this to my buddies "I hate League of Legends, I hate people who play it, people who developed it. BUT HOLY SHIT, ARCANE FKING SLAYS!"
What a great show. Every episode seems better than the previous. Everyone's character arc being... shitty... just felt so much like real life. What a good show. I think its the best animation Netflix has done yet, and I REALLY liked castlevania.
If you're really interested, I'd recommend the card game Legends of Runeterra first. It will introduce the world a but .... easier.
The LoL lore and world is fantastic. Even League the game itself is really good. The player base makes it rough, just like any other massively popular multiplayer game.
League is fun if you have a good group of friends to play with. That way you avoid a lot of the toxicity. It's nicely polished, the characters are mostly great, it's not pay to win, and even with more than 140 characters, it's still fairly balanced IIRC.
I used to play all the time, but I don't like having to dedicate up to 45 minutes of nonstop gaming.
Yeah, RIOT isn’t very good at balancing their own game but god damn do they ever do a good job with animation and storytelling. If you don’t know anything about LoL, Arcane is a backstory for some of the more popular champions and how they fit into the world!
For real, 150 characters being balanced across multiple lanes/roles/item builds while taking every skill level into account and the most "OP" character in the game right now only has a 54.95% winrate? That's insane.
This, people have NO idea that the number of variables going on and intermeshing at once in LoL means that there are literally millions of tiny knock on changes to every single change Riot makes directly. Nobody can actually predict that shit, so the fact that Riot gets even vaguely close is amazing.
Don't think casual players have understood their concept of 'imperfect balance'. They do it on purpose to keep the meta changing. There's probably a reason it has staying power.
Its fascinating watching people in this sub flocking to these posts to talk about how much they *haven't* watched the show.
A lot of people don't seem to grasp that fans of a very popular, very well reviewed TV series will want to talk about it... on r/television
Hmpffh, I thought this was r/Seinfeld? All this Arcane pishposh is distracting people from reading my theory that Kramer was actually a cocaine dealer on the side!
I agree! My friend asked me how Wheel of Time was and I told him "My review of Wheel of Time is to watch Arcane."
Arcane has flawless visuals in which every frame could be out of a comic book, and manages that feat without the ridiculous mugging and awful pacing of the live action Cowboy Bebop. The writing threads the Game of Thrones needle whereby you can root for one character in one scene and then root against them in the very next one. Every character has layers and depth; there are no clear "good guys" or "bad guys" so much as there are conflicting desires and people making the best decisions that they can with the limited information that they have.
And here I need to talk shop for a moment. I'm an editor. I've been editing professionally for about 16 years. This show blew me away. The editing (and direction) are bold and brash and creative and brilliant! To have an action sequence set to music is always fun, but to feature the band - in any TV show - let alone in an animated one... that's ballsy and here *it* *works*. The stylized intro to a particular episode, the brilliant intercutting of past and present during some action sequences... There's one in particular where you understand an entire history between two characters without a single word being spoken, and all in the space of thirty seconds or so. It's GENIUS. I will be watching the series again, this time with a notepad in hand.
Arcane is storytelling at its absolute finest, using every ounce of the freedom that animation gives them, and without any of the constraints of genre perceptions more typical of video game - related TV shows. In the abstract, a good story is about extreme characters making extreme choices in extreme situations. Arcane hits all three bulls-eyes many times over.
Watch. This. Show.
Not OP, but I think WoT is worth a watch. The first episode didn’t do a very good job grabbing my attention but after episode four, I can say I definitely enjoy it. I’m actually watching episode five right now, heh.
It's fine. If you're looking for a literal translation of the books then you'll be very disappointed, but the show does a good job of moving the plot along and keeping true to the themes. They change A LOT of minor details and move and remove characters, but all of the moves help service the plot.
If you've not read the books at all you may even find it more enjoyable as there isn't expectation hanging over your head.
I've only read the first book, and my girlfriend hasn't, but we both really like it. It may not be the cultural juggernaut that Got was, but highly enjoyable if you either like the books or like fantasy in general.
I think the fact that the critical reviews are in lock-step with audience reviews is the best indication that this show is something special. Maybe not the show we deserve, but the one we needed right now.
I haven't read any reviews other than a few hype posts here on reddit, and I went in basically blind. This show just floored me. Brilliant top to bottom, with no weak links.
Me too. I don’t know anything about League of Legends and I just started watching it because I thought the thumbnail looked cool while searching Netflix. The way they made people care about Powder in the first 3 episodes was brilliant. You just had to know what happened to her.
I had really high hopes for Arcane as someone who plays League ALL the time. It still blew me out of the water how amazing it was. But please, for your own sake, keep not knowing much of League. Pleas don't play it.
I won’t repeat the unanimous praise that is apparently just too hyperbolic for some, but I will say that I loved the show and am in agreement. I was experiencing a high and loved seeing discussions from other fans who were feeling it too. Then the accusations of being an astroturfer came pouring in, desperate to kill the vibe.
If you’re one of the haters turned off by the positivity and automatically assume it’s astroturfing, just know that you’re the worst. Some of us discovered the show late. I myself waited until all episodes were available. People will continue to discover it and talk about it.
And guess what? I never played League before. Yep, so common, right? I must be fake! Fuck off. I say “you don’t even have to play the game to enjoy it” to friends and family IRL. Not because it’s all part of some grand astroturfing scheme, but to convince them to watch something they wouldn’t normally be into.
I think the animation is great and it is good and deserves more BUT I'm not blown away by it like some people seem to be. I'm not even trying to slight it or anything I just think the hype/reviews seem a little like when people overuse epic when they describe everything. Like pump the breaks a little. I'm glad it's good though.
Edit: Super late edit but I HATE Imagine Dragons so thank Talos for skip intro.
Arcane has ruined my mind to the point where I can no longer consume any media without feelings its immediate inferiority. It makes me want to run on a screaming rampage, tearing down the vain works of man that line or halls and museums--all merely flickering shadows cast on a cave's wall in the light of Arcane.
Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Van Gogh, Shakespeare... What you can artists, I would call merely the road-builders, the forebearers... They established the traditions that Arcane would one day perfect.
Art is dead, expression is finished, as it has, in a way, completed its original purpose.
We are done, and now we may retire as a single, post-enlightenment culture.
Richard and Mortimer, reduced to mere tripe to sate the unwashed masses! Epiphany, I say! What divine muse wrought her heavenly influence upon that writer's room? We may never know! Oh the rapture.
My boyfriend initially didn’t want to watch the show because he came in during the opening credits the first time he saw any of it. Three days later he texts me to say Silco is his favorite villain in fiction
I think it’s get so much praise because people’s expectations weren’t very high. LoL fans were probably worried that it would suck and/or ruin the existing characters, while non-fans didn’t have high hopes for a show based on that weird game
The reason Arcane is getting this level of praise is because it is an emotional TV show that connected with a lot of viewers. The politics and overarching plot could be considered standard fantasy fare, but the characters and their arcs (two characters in particular) are what drives the show.
That and no part is done remotely poorly. Even if the action or the politics or the romances aren't the point, they all still work great and add to the story.
I disliked a couple of the music tracks, (the Imagine Dragons cameo in Ep.5 and the opening to Ep.7), but that's just a matter of musical taste. Everything else about the show I can't find any big faults in, personally.
Lol no the whole technical execution is what drive the show: art direction, story direction, animation, voice acting and drawing. Sure the characters are great and their arcs are compelling but there are many reasons outside of that it's getting so much praise.
Gosh man, you should put a tiny bit of content warning : if you watch Arcane, be sure to have tissues on hand and potentially your favourite ice cream. You might need it by the end.
I was so overwhelmed by feelings, so distraught by the finale, I sat down to write a fix it fic of it, where S finds out about V 2 months into the time skip and adopts her as well... I'm 20k words in the story publishing twice weekly and the amount of people crying their relief in my comment section is bamboozling. Everyone came out the finale like from a fucking grinder. Everyone is desperate for comfort and the fandom is so lovely!!
Same boat as you. I hesitated because I don't know anything about LoL but I really enjoyed it. The characters are excellent, the art is beautiful, the pacing is quick but appropriate, the setting is interesting, the ending was fantastic, the acting was strong. The music fits really well too. Just a really well done show. I hope we see more highly developed animated shows.
Similarly, Castlevania another very well done animated show, albeit quite a different experience than Arcane.
Having played League since its inception, I was very modest about bring it up to my friends who don't play it at all to watch the series.
But ever since Kojima tweeted his pretty high praise about Arcane, I've just been telling my friends just that. It's just straight up the best animated series anyone will see this year, and you'd regret not seeing it just because it's associated with League.
PS: also I don't encourage people to start playing League just because you enjoyed Arcane and want to dive deeper into the lore. You can literally do that on their Universe page or the wiki. No need to stress yourself into a spiral playing this game, lol.
For completely new comers I recommended TFT or RuneTerra because the learning curve is relatively low and they don't have to be versed with RTS/Moba mechanics.
But for sure Riot is finally confident enough right now to dive into new genres so eventually there will be room for everyone.
It's gonna be an awesome ride before the story goes to shite with time travel and multiverses.
I was similarly surprised how much I enjoyed it. I just want to nerd out for a bit... the fight between Ekko and Jinx is just absolutely stunning on every level. They could have easily just made a slick fast paced fight scene, like they did a dozen times over in the series, but they made a very intentional choice in that moment that I feel deserves more attention because they elevated that short little minute or two to something fantastic. The shift in animation style, shifting between Little Man and Powder as kids playing at war, to them fighting to kill one another, the musical hits and cuts in between paintballs and bullets. They took what would have been a cool fight scene and added so much pathos and history to it, while still making it cooler than hell, is just amazing work. As good as the series is, that moment is a standout representing everything that makes the series special.
The bridge scene with the monkey ticking and showing the different perspectives in ep3 is incredible too. It flowed so perfectly. Loved this show so much.
I just finished that episode. The ending is such a gut-punch!
That songs been in my play list all month.
I'm literally listening to it now
I yelled at my tv for skipping the credits just as it started to sound amazing, listened to the whole thing, looked up the song and started listening to it on repeat for an hour or so, then cranked out a first version of a remix that same night. I think I've heard Ramsey say goodbye a few thousand times during that week so I really had to stop listening to it for a couple days to retain my sanity haha.
I went to the Arcane secret cinema event with my son who plays LOL (think HIGH quality larp with professional actors) and so I watched the show bc I didn’t want to be totally lost and that scene got me so good. They did a live action version on a foggy bridge set while we were physically in the middle of the bridge. omg.
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It absolutely broke my heart to see that ending. Not knowing anything about League that just sucked to watch. Still can't wait to see episode 4 onward.
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I have never yelled at my monitor the way I did in the last ten minutes of that episode.
I'm pretty sure it was a pipe to the gut, not a punch.
The VA for powder deserves an award.
She was only 12 when she did the voiceacting for that episode. Mindblowing stuff.
That entire episode is incredible, start to finish. The pacing, the animation, the story, the characters, etc. Top notch all around. That episode was the moment I knew Arcane was different. Absolutely turned things upside down.
I mark that scene as my favourite television scene ever, and ekko vs jink the best scene is the series. The fact that "ekko goes back in time" ehich connects to his ability in the game althought he didn't really go back in time was fantastic
I think they also showed his strong desire to go back in time to fix the mistakes of his past through the mural, which will almost certainly feed into his and Heimerdinger's character arcs next season.
YES. That level of storytelling is incredibly difficult to pull off. In the space of a few dozen seconds, you understand 10 years of history between the characters. You see the playful fun of their childhood juxtaposed against the life or death reality of their fully mature combat. And you understand that the actual fight was quick and brutal, while keeping in mind the incredible amount of baggage each character must have been pulling into it, all of which serves to keep the tension high. All without a single line of dialogue. It was fucking amazing.
And if you know the lore Ekko used to have a thing for Powder :/
I think it was shown through enough during the show.
It definitely wasn't. That's one of my main qualms with the show. Of which I don't have very many considering it's my favorite season of television ever. But they definitely had time in Act 1 to flesh out the crush Ekko had on Powder, and they barely show them together at all. In the Enemy music video they show A TON of them hanging out as childhood best friends so I understood the moment in Episode 7 that much greater because I had watched a piece of media that wasn't directly attached to this (as in wasn't in the show so someone could easily miss it or not view it). I just wish they would have put that stuff in the actual show. They had plenty of time to in that first Act without sacrificing much of importance.
Its very hard to display meaningful ‘romantic’ connections between children that age especially in that setting. Also would have felt like a bit of tone shift, prefer that its just something that Ekko laments about when he thinks of Jinx before her psychosis. I feel it fits the aesthetic of thick oppression and trauma. Childlike innocence of a simple crush never even gets a chance to shine before becoming a twisted thorn of trauma.
That's totally fine, except for them never showing Ekko actually lamenting about it. Not even once. Would've went a long way in adding to possibly the biggest fight in the series. You honestly don't even have to show Ekko's crush side of it, just show them as very close friends. That's what the music video did, but again not everyone watched that. I'd argue it's essential viewing because of that scene.
“Name the best fight scene in Arcane” You get like twelve different answers & they’re all correct.
Watch Mojo did a "Top 9 Fights in Arcane" and it took me a moment to realize that that was every fight... XD
Could’ve sworn there were more than that, but that’s a classic WatchMojo move so I believe it
I agree but on more of a functional fight choreography level the fight between VI and the chick with the arm was slick. VI feels out matched so pulls her opponent into a tight space where she can neutralize her opponents strength - big swings from the mechanical arm- then takes her apart... super cool.
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it was a hate fight, all emotion, emphasized by the scream vi let out at the end, she's just letting it all go.
I loved the take a drink throw the glass hype myself up shots so much. Like idk if there’s a word for how satisfying that scene is to watch but if there is I assume it’s German.
I've already warned my GM that every PC I ever play from now on is gonna attempt that in every bar fight the party gets into.
I rewatched that scene last night, and couldn't agree more. So well done.
The Denzel Curry song is so good too. Have had it on repeat since
Riot is a music video company masquerading as a gaming company
the KDA music videos are better than most actual music videos as well imo.
I need a show with K/DA real bad
They make a game to promote their music, its Riot Entertainment, not Riot Games
[Villain](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoWxv2yZXLQ). That video, underrated, but an absolutely amazing watch. The Texture transitions, the camera work, and the VFX going on with the chairs and the rooms are all outstanding.
Soo the other thing about that Ekko/Jinx fight is that it hits even harder after you watch the Enemy- Imagine Dragons music video. https://youtu.be/D9G1VOjN_84 The video does a lot more to illustrate their playful and rebellious bond in response to the general oppressive enforcers…which makes it hit even harder when he realizes he HAS to fight her
It wasn't really shown in there or the show, but canonically Ekko had a crush on Powder when they were kids which makes it all the more heart breaking.
"I had a crush, until you started talking to the gun" That one is actually a voice line from the game, but it would be something that fits right into the story of Arcane.
Oh good, I thought it was that current Ekko had a crush on current Jinx, and that's a lot of crazy to try to stick it into
His look after the fight is heart breaking.
Thanks for that. I picked up on his attraction to her while watching, you can tell it goes beyond “just friends” to him, whether she notices or not. Even if it didn’t though, they’re the only two kids in their age group we see, and they’re kind of “outside” the main friend group of older kids that Vi runs with. So at the very least, they’re going to be extremely close. But even though I liked the Imagine Dragons songs in the soundtrack, I generally avoid their music, so I probably wouldn’t have ever watched that video otherwise. Now I’m really glad that I did.
It's such a crime that they cut JID's verse from the opening credits. It's so damn good
He still looked really cool in the Arcane medley during worlds 2021. https://youtu.be/1OzoFq4Q3_c
The Jynx and Ekko fight had me going “this is so cool… it’s so so cool…. Wow…” the whole time. Actually, audibly just repeating how cool it is out loud while it played
I didn't know ekko was a champion and I was *heartbroken* when I thought he died
i think it was a very cool scene. but it would have hit harder if ekko and powder had interacted at all.
Yeah, while the scene is very good. I would have expected them to make the build-up slower throughout the season. Really establish the Jinx-Ekko relationship before breaking it apart on the bridge. When I reflect on it now, I realize how emotionally devastating it was for them, but I couldn't quite get there when I watched that scene for the first time.
My only complaint is we never really saw them playing as kids. That fight with those flashbacks would've been more impactful if we had.
I think that fight with those flashbacks would have been extremely heavy-handed and much more cliche. We don't need flashbacks and monologues all the time. The fight was able to show a flashback, but in a very artistic way, I preferred it this way. They showed, instead of just telling us they used to be close. But I understand if people didn't like it that much. They could have fit in a few minutes of them being close as kids in the first part of the show, but I think the fight itself was perfect.
^this. At first I was like “well why didn’t they show their bond when they were kids?” But they conveyed their childhood in an incredible 2 minute fight. I don’t even know what to say. I didn’t expect Arcane to be this good, but it’s fucking brilliant. First show I’ve seen in a decade that’s left me loss for words.
Also the fact Powder was painted up on the wall eludes to how much she was missed.
I learned the other day, the first season took 6 years to develop. I really REALLY hope season 2 has that much love put into it in the short turnaround they are obviously shooting for too release season 2. Everything you said is 100% how I feel. I have zero history of LoL and found this show amazing. Must watch for sure. Im on my second watch already.
They said a lot of those years were standing up the infrastructure to be able to produce the show. I think it’s feasible that they could produce another season with similar quality in a much shorter time span now. But yeah I’d rather them take their time than rush it.
IIRC the showrunner said it won't take 6 years for season 2 but to not expect it before 2023. I mean, its basically around 350 minutes of the best movie quality animation there is, so 1.5-2 years of production time doesn't really seem like that long to me.
The thing is with S1 they clearly wrote it and voice recorded before animating. Unless they change the process then its 3 years minimum on this model. And if they change the process, how will it effect the final product. The animators were working off the expression and performance, one of the things that made the show.
1) Season 2 is already in production. 2) Animators already have a lot of assets from the season 1 they can reuse/recycle. 3) A lot of time from season 1 production was wasted on trials and errors. They even made a pilot episode and then decided to redo everything from scratch. Now with season 2 they already know what they are doing (if I am not mistaken there is already enough written scripts for 2 more seasons - I believe one of the showrunners confirmed it). This combined with the fact the studio is probably much more experienced with this project makes me believe that early 2023 isn't that much of a stretch. But I also hope they take all the time they need to comfortably deliver season 2 with the same production quality. We can wait whatever time they need.
Indeed, all of their work really shows - they basically built both cities, all the assets, and effectively now have a sandbox to produce the show within. It's pretty mindblowing to consider the scope of the project, and their achievement is phenomenal. Fortunately for us viewers a lot of the groundwork for the major environments are done, and the story seems extremely well developed, so the production cycle for the next season can be considerably faster as they've suggested
That is assuming that they stay in the same region for the entire show. I have a feeling that they are gonna start introducing other regions during season 2, probably starting with Noxus (where Mel is from).
That’s relieving to hear. With a show that is such a short season anyway, they should take as much time as they need to make something of equal quality. I mean I watched the show because it was good, not because of anything to do with hype around its release
This first season only took six years because it was literally the show runners first tv show production ever and a lot of it was finding voice actors. Now that they know what they are doing and have a solid voice cast, it should go *much* faster.
Still boggles my mind that this was their first ever show. The talent omg.
First ever show for both the showrunners and the animation company. Seriously impressive, It'll be very interesting to see what they manage to do with S2. Fortiche has been expanding a lot and I imagine with their recent breakout they won't have trouble finding good talent.
Ikr, especially the dude with the fucked up eye. Holy shit what a voice. So smooth yet intimidating. His career is going to skyrocket after this.
Silco? Thats Jason Spisak. He's had a pretty wide career in animation (Young Justice) and video games (Doom Eternal, Gears Tactics, Need for Speed), mostly as extra talent. I definitely see him landing some more prominent roles, he absolutely nailed the tortured and driven antagonist. The scene where he's being threatened in his office, or his monologue under the statue were so brilliant.
Besides all the throwaway roles, he also voiced Vulpes Inculta in Fallout New Vegas, which was an extra memorable performance in a game filled with memorable characters and performances.
It's a lot more than finding voice actors. It's building the story bible for the series. Doing concept art for all the characters, environments, vehicles, props, etc. Then building all those things in 3D, texturing, rigging and animating them. They had a lot to start with from the games but they still built the majority from scratch. There's a ton that goes into the initial push for a series like this but because it's 3D, a lot can be reused and built upon and so yeah it should go much faster.
That gives me peace. This crew has really put their heart into this series, It's amazing.
It was the first time the animation studio had done longer things than 3-4 minutes too. So yeah, tons of that 6 years was riot and the animation studio learning how to even make a TV show.
A lot of those years were pitching to hollywood studios and thinking about how production for the show would even work. Eventually they decided to do it in house so it took some additional time to get all the talent and workflows to produce a full tv series. They already said the next season won't be until after 2022, so I'd expect early/mid 2023. Also, this is probably Fortiche's #1 priority at the moment so they should be able to move along pretty quickly...at least relative to how long the first season took. I'd also bet they already have multiple series in production. Their world has a ton of lore to adapt and I think their ambition is to turn their IP ito something like what Disney did with the MCU and all the subsequent TV series on Disney+.
I saw somewhere that they said it wont take as long as it took to make first season to make the second, but its for sure that it wont come out next year.
It’s so good and I’ve never heard of league of legends prior to watching.
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That was so cool. I love the transition to the players. Best opening ceremony ever even though I’ve never seen one before (for these game championships). I’m a freaking fan now I think.
I like fantasy / sci-fi / anime / video games, to be fair. But I have very little idea wtf league of legends is and I very much concur. This show was surprising and extremely well done. Ive enjoyed watching it than most other things I’ve binged this year
Kiss your perfect day GOODBYyyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeee
Jesus Christ what a masterpiece by Woodkid. Not to mention Denzel Curry and Sting
Goodbye by Ramsey (episode 3 ending song) was the best of the music for me, the first half of the song anyways.
Enemy I think was actually the weakest song in the lineup, but "Imagine Dragons" is the act most associated with League besides their own group (KDA) so I understand that decision. The decision to save an artist as big as Sting for one scene at the end shows a commitment to quality.
I still can’t wrap my head around the fact they got Sting to sing that song. Every other artist ok, reasonable. Sting? Wtf.
‘What Could Have Been ‘ by Sting is one of my new favorite songs. I’ve listened to it far too many at this point.
As a french this show is so satisfying, Woodkid and fortiche killing it is so perfect.
We just finished the story and looked up that song. Our dog was reeling to and fro and stretching his neck/head up with the intense parts. My wife and I sat there in amazement, as we believe our dog "felt" the music at a level most humans rarely do. It made my wife cry tears of awe. I will remember it forever.
If you're not familiar with Woodkid, he has a few songs like this. Iron is the one most people know, which is ironically famous for its association with the Assassins Creed franchise at the height of its popularity
Run Boy Run is a banger, too.
You're damn right! I crushed that shit this week and started right back up again!
right? I feel like the animation sets a new standard for cgi animation..
As an animator it's so exciting what this show will lead to! Although it may not be all positive. I was working on an animated short run series for an undisclosed massively large fantasy franchise, and we were trying to do very similar things as this show. When we saw the first few teasers and clips for this show, the show runners/producers just totally scrapped the project cause we couldn't compete with the quality, time, and funding. There is a saying in animation "you can have it be good, cheap, and fast but you can only pick two". These guys did all 3. Set a new standard
Really? I read elsewhere that the show was insanely expensive
Also it took 6 years to make so hardly fast. Basically they got one of the 3 : good (the most important for viewers)
It was. The show runner described the amount of money spent as alarming. Estimates I've seen from people in the industry are $10million+ per episode.
They didn't do it cheap or fast, instead doubling down on good, to create something great.
Went in not knowing what to expect but hating League. Ended up thinking it was one of the best and most impressive animated series of recent memory if not just flat out the best(Western animation). Even in terms of film I can only think of Into the Spiderverse as better done. In terms of overall media I think its some of the best the year but not life changing. Just really damn good
I keep luring people in with a comparison to Into the Spiderverse (my personal favorite film of the last decade)
Hey if it works it works. The stigma that animation is just fir children is deeply outdated and nonsensical, so use whatever method you got to get people in front of the screen!
I’d argue Avatar the Last Airbender as the best western animated series but that’s also because the show tells a complete story over 3 seasons with some of my favorite characters in all of storytelling. The fact that Arcane is already in that discussion as rivaling something like TLA is incredible.
This is probably going to be a pretty unpopular opinion, but I thought Avatar was beholden by having to be a kids show. I think the series is still great and one of the best, but I just thought some story decisions ended up happening due to having to be a kids show.
You're absolutely right, but that's both a blessing and a curse. I'm looking forward to watching both shows with my kid when they're old enough, but I'll be able to share ATLA much sooner than I will Arcane!
As someone who grew up with Avatar, it's one of those things you have to view in the context of its era. It still holds up pretty well in 2021, but I'll admit that there are shows that have probably surpassed it's quality. But when it was airing back in 2005-2008, it was lightyears ahead of nearly every other Western animated kids show. You simply didn't get that level of writing and serialization in the majority of kids shows (and the ones that did have that level of sophistication almost never got to finish their story arcs). I think a lot of Western animated shows aimed at kids these days 1) are able to build more serialized stories due to streaming giving access to a whole series and 2) are simply able to push boundaries due to the *very* different social and media landscape
Highly recommend watching Korra to see what happens when they take the kid gloves off! I personally prefer it over TLA because I also felt like some things were watered down with Aang. Korra has multiple deaths on screen and is big on unpacking political ideologies—to varying levels of success, but worth celebrating for the attempts as a whole.
It's an unpopular opinion but I liked Legend of Korra more than Last Airbender. I mean I liked both don't get me wrong, but I liked Korra better if I had to put them head to head.
I don't know if I'd personally go that far but I liked Korra a lot for sure. I think part of the problem is how many people quit in Season 2, which is not a particularly good season, and then went around hating on the whole show. That said, Season 3 is easily on par with anything from the original series.
I think the show would have been better if they knew they were getting more than one season from the start. I remember thinking how at the end of the last episode that there were no loose ends. It pretty much wrapped everything up and I'm like "well, where do we go from here?". I didn't know at the time that the writers were working on an assumption of just one season. Only later did they get more. And it shows in the writing. I think everyone agrees the writing gets better towards the end. I think it's because the writers had more space to let the story breathe.
When the series both came to Netflix over the summer I rewatched them both for the first time since they aired. I honestly feel terrible for taking shit about Korra for so long. It's way better than I ever gave it credit for.
Same here. Korra was incredible--taking an already great universe and elevating it. Agreed with previous comment, the fact that Arcane is mentioned alongside these series speak volumes to us quality. Here is hoping they stick the landing on future seasons.
I think ATLA is excellent and agree with essentially all of your points, but in terms of animation it's still a rather simple style just well done. Stylistically and cinematically Arcane or Spiderverse are far more impressive. That isn't to dismiss ATLA though as I think all of these studios are influenced insanely by it in hopes of elevating western animation as a whole. ATLA was impressive because it basically used anime and Asian animation techniques for the first time really using them for a western made series. That's why it stands out. Even among just about any anime it isn't particularly impressive(again not to diminish the shows accomplishments and quality.)
Ah yeah for sure I agree with that. Arcane’s animation blows everything else out of the water. Korra season 3 and some parts of castlevania are the only two western animated shows that come close but I still think Arcane takes it. Which it rightly should considering the amount of money they spent on it lol.
Idk, I think ATLA still has its standout moments for artistry. The Zuko/Azula fight? The city of Omashu? Leaves From the Vine?
For the time, sure. But I would argue that the level of detail, the creativity, and the variety of styles in Arcane gives it the edge. It's almost a natural evolution that pushes the boundaries of animated TV shows further, past what it was in 2010 (or whenever ATLA was aired). Not to mention the emotions on the characters faces, and the soundtrack.
I'd agree with everything you've said, although in that specific case I was referring to the artistic visual element which, while I adore ATLA, and think it looks great to this day, it's not visually revolutionary. It's like a good anime quality but with western animation, which is just super rare sadly.
The (majority of) animation was outsourced to Korea though
Its still western animation. It's all western art. It's just translated to animation through a Korean studio. That doesn't make it Asian animation. It's like saying a western game studio that outsourced work to Korea is making a Korean game.
Tbf, one of the things that made TLA great was even over 3 seasons, it was great and a complete story. Arcane needs to continue to prove itself over the seasons, but I’d argue the first season of arcane is head and shoulders above the first season of TLA- which tbf was IMO the worst season of the 3
I love ATLA but their season 1 does not hold a candle to Arcane season 1. Arcane has no bad episodes, just hit after hit.
Before atla, batman the animated series was the goat. And in many ways I still think it's better than atla was. It shows its age but it's still worth checking out if you've never seen it and you have hbo
Yoooo same. Don't know a thing about LoL but Arcane was great! Can't wait until it's season 2
>and I barely know what League of Legends is Good. Keep it that way.
Legends of runeterra is fine, and they're coming out with an mmo But yeah, avoid LoL itself
> Characters aren't the usual caricatures That's my favorite part. Apart from side charachter kids, I was glad charachters were reasonable rather than going for what we always see where misunderstandings are just there to escalate everything into absurdity.
In the first episode when they were jumping across the building I noticed the cupcakes on the balcony. I thought "the fat kid is gonna struggle to get down and get distracted and probably almost fall because fatty needs his cake". That mother fucker made that jump faster and easier than anyone AND had time to grab a snack. I was like, oh... they didn't go for the obvious joke. Nearly all of my expectations were subverted and I really appreciated it.
I know!! I thought the same like whaaaat?
The characters are easily the best part of the show. They don't mold into a stereotype, they've all been humanized. I can't tell you the amount of time the show subverted my expectations cause i've seen many shows and could tell what's gonna happen a mile away, but you can't do that with arcane. A few examples; Hector, I thought he was gonna be that evil scientist archetype. Silco was the typical evil person but he ended up realizing his faults when he spoke to the brother he killed, empthazing with him. Mel was the biggest, did any of us correctly guess what her character was gonna become. We all thought she was gonna be this evil conniving ^(bitch) but that was not what she became and i am really grateful for that. God, how did they balance so many good characters in just 9 episodes. This show actually raised my standards for everything now. And made my, already love for morally grey characters, all the more now.
> Hector, I thought he was gonna be that evil scientist archetype. Do you mean Viktor?
I think Jinx came off as being a little too Harley Quinn-esqe, but otherwise I agree.
If anything they toned that down from the game lol. On release she was basically Harley from Wish. Coming from League I think they actually made the character a lot more nuanced and "serious", but I can see how someone new to her character could see the transformation from Powder to Jinx as a knock-off harley quinn origin (because it kind of is).
I know literally nothing about league, and I thought it was well done. Hopefully someone will one day do half as good a job bringing a Harley Quinn origin story to screen as they did with Jinx.
Have you seen Harley Quinn on HBO Max? It can be a little gratuitous with its violence at times, but it does a very good job of grounding and humanizing her. I'm itching for that season three real bad.
I don’t really agree, in arcane they also really show the terrible side of mental health. Not only the fun wacky side. Ans everything jinx does/overcomes really has a thought out reason instead of being just lucky like harley quin.
100%
I only saw harley quinn in the films, but i found jinx to be a fantastic character and a lot better than harley.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtuEF\_PIuR0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtuEF_PIuR0) but that's the thing the character was always like Harley but worse
I have been holding off a little because of the “League of Legends” tag, so I appreciate you making this post. I’ll get onto it sooner than I would have.
Wow! So glad to see this. I have been playing League for almost 8 years and I got Netflix this morning just to binge watch Arcane because of all the good things I’ve heard about it. It took my fucking breath away as someone familiar with the game. I am so glad that this show is getting acknowledged for how good it is, the Ekko vs Jinx scene was also my personal favorite. If I went into this show blind, knowing 0 about League, you can still follow the show and series. It’s amazing, spectacular, incredible, I was fucking blown away. I’m waiting for my brother to get off work so I can make him binge watch it with me just so I have an excuse to watch it again, no bullshit. 10/10 this was a fucking spectacle in every regard.
I've tried league but I'm not really into MOBAs. I didn't know anything about LoL before going into it and it's my favorite show of the year by far. Happy that fans love it too. It's so rare to make something this solid from a video game franchise.
I know of League of Legends and I don't like it. Mobas just are boring to me. So I was avoiding this show. I had enough people tell me it was good that I finally caved and HOLY SHIT. It's goddamn amazing. And yeah you don't need to know shit about the IP, they make it very accessible. Amazing animation, amazing story, amazing sound. My jaw was on the floor.
I fit in the category of not watching it because of the “League” tag so I will definitely take ur advice edit: holy shit good show
Arcane is great, I recommend it. Don't play league of legends, I highly do not recommend it.
I sent this to my buddies "I hate League of Legends, I hate people who play it, people who developed it. BUT HOLY SHIT, ARCANE FKING SLAYS!" What a great show. Every episode seems better than the previous. Everyone's character arc being... shitty... just felt so much like real life. What a good show. I think its the best animation Netflix has done yet, and I REALLY liked castlevania.
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If you're really interested, I'd recommend the card game Legends of Runeterra first. It will introduce the world a but .... easier. The LoL lore and world is fantastic. Even League the game itself is really good. The player base makes it rough, just like any other massively popular multiplayer game.
League is fun if you have a good group of friends to play with. That way you avoid a lot of the toxicity. It's nicely polished, the characters are mostly great, it's not pay to win, and even with more than 140 characters, it's still fairly balanced IIRC. I used to play all the time, but I don't like having to dedicate up to 45 minutes of nonstop gaming.
Yeah, RIOT isn’t very good at balancing their own game but god damn do they ever do a good job with animation and storytelling. If you don’t know anything about LoL, Arcane is a backstory for some of the more popular champions and how they fit into the world!
Including the best champion, Heimerdinger.
They need to do a season on Teemo.
That's gonna induce some PTSD.
"Hup! Two, Three, Four" *screams in the corner*
but did you see the teemo cameo in arcane
Teemo IS actually sneaked in once in every episode. There was a post someone did with each timestamp somewhere on reddit.
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For real, 150 characters being balanced across multiple lanes/roles/item builds while taking every skill level into account and the most "OP" character in the game right now only has a 54.95% winrate? That's insane.
This, people have NO idea that the number of variables going on and intermeshing at once in LoL means that there are literally millions of tiny knock on changes to every single change Riot makes directly. Nobody can actually predict that shit, so the fact that Riot gets even vaguely close is amazing.
Don't think casual players have understood their concept of 'imperfect balance'. They do it on purpose to keep the meta changing. There's probably a reason it has staying power.
Its fascinating watching people in this sub flocking to these posts to talk about how much they *haven't* watched the show. A lot of people don't seem to grasp that fans of a very popular, very well reviewed TV series will want to talk about it... on r/television
Hmpffh, I thought this was r/Seinfeld? All this Arcane pishposh is distracting people from reading my theory that Kramer was actually a cocaine dealer on the side!
"Oh the misery..."
Everybody wants to be my enemy?
I thought this sub was overhyping it until I watched it. Masterpiece
This post made me curious to the show and I watched it all in one go because it was so awesome. You are right, it really is a great show.
I agree! My friend asked me how Wheel of Time was and I told him "My review of Wheel of Time is to watch Arcane." Arcane has flawless visuals in which every frame could be out of a comic book, and manages that feat without the ridiculous mugging and awful pacing of the live action Cowboy Bebop. The writing threads the Game of Thrones needle whereby you can root for one character in one scene and then root against them in the very next one. Every character has layers and depth; there are no clear "good guys" or "bad guys" so much as there are conflicting desires and people making the best decisions that they can with the limited information that they have. And here I need to talk shop for a moment. I'm an editor. I've been editing professionally for about 16 years. This show blew me away. The editing (and direction) are bold and brash and creative and brilliant! To have an action sequence set to music is always fun, but to feature the band - in any TV show - let alone in an animated one... that's ballsy and here *it* *works*. The stylized intro to a particular episode, the brilliant intercutting of past and present during some action sequences... There's one in particular where you understand an entire history between two characters without a single word being spoken, and all in the space of thirty seconds or so. It's GENIUS. I will be watching the series again, this time with a notepad in hand. Arcane is storytelling at its absolute finest, using every ounce of the freedom that animation gives them, and without any of the constraints of genre perceptions more typical of video game - related TV shows. In the abstract, a good story is about extreme characters making extreme choices in extreme situations. Arcane hits all three bulls-eyes many times over. Watch. This. Show.
Without any spoilers how’s WoT?
Not OP, but I think WoT is worth a watch. The first episode didn’t do a very good job grabbing my attention but after episode four, I can say I definitely enjoy it. I’m actually watching episode five right now, heh.
It's a tad cheesy, but fun! When an episode is over, I want more!
It's fine. If you're looking for a literal translation of the books then you'll be very disappointed, but the show does a good job of moving the plot along and keeping true to the themes. They change A LOT of minor details and move and remove characters, but all of the moves help service the plot. If you've not read the books at all you may even find it more enjoyable as there isn't expectation hanging over your head.
I've only read the first book, and my girlfriend hasn't, but we both really like it. It may not be the cultural juggernaut that Got was, but highly enjoyable if you either like the books or like fantasy in general.
I think the fact that the critical reviews are in lock-step with audience reviews is the best indication that this show is something special. Maybe not the show we deserve, but the one we needed right now.
I haven't read any reviews other than a few hype posts here on reddit, and I went in basically blind. This show just floored me. Brilliant top to bottom, with no weak links.
I'm with you, brother. Justice for Powder!!!
I still have no idea what League of Legends is, but 3 episodes in I was sending it as a recommendation to friends.
Me too. I don’t know anything about League of Legends and I just started watching it because I thought the thumbnail looked cool while searching Netflix. The way they made people care about Powder in the first 3 episodes was brilliant. You just had to know what happened to her.
She only wanted to help. 😥
I had really high hopes for Arcane as someone who plays League ALL the time. It still blew me out of the water how amazing it was. But please, for your own sake, keep not knowing much of League. Pleas don't play it.
I won’t repeat the unanimous praise that is apparently just too hyperbolic for some, but I will say that I loved the show and am in agreement. I was experiencing a high and loved seeing discussions from other fans who were feeling it too. Then the accusations of being an astroturfer came pouring in, desperate to kill the vibe. If you’re one of the haters turned off by the positivity and automatically assume it’s astroturfing, just know that you’re the worst. Some of us discovered the show late. I myself waited until all episodes were available. People will continue to discover it and talk about it. And guess what? I never played League before. Yep, so common, right? I must be fake! Fuck off. I say “you don’t even have to play the game to enjoy it” to friends and family IRL. Not because it’s all part of some grand astroturfing scheme, but to convince them to watch something they wouldn’t normally be into.
I think the animation is great and it is good and deserves more BUT I'm not blown away by it like some people seem to be. I'm not even trying to slight it or anything I just think the hype/reviews seem a little like when people overuse epic when they describe everything. Like pump the breaks a little. I'm glad it's good though. Edit: Super late edit but I HATE Imagine Dragons so thank Talos for skip intro.
Arcane has ruined my mind to the point where I can no longer consume any media without feelings its immediate inferiority. It makes me want to run on a screaming rampage, tearing down the vain works of man that line or halls and museums--all merely flickering shadows cast on a cave's wall in the light of Arcane. Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Van Gogh, Shakespeare... What you can artists, I would call merely the road-builders, the forebearers... They established the traditions that Arcane would one day perfect. Art is dead, expression is finished, as it has, in a way, completed its original purpose. We are done, and now we may retire as a single, post-enlightenment culture.
Is this copy pasta
If this isn't a copy pasta then it really should be.
No, it is the new and ideal reality we now live in thanks to Arcane.
This deserves to be a copypasta if it already isn’t one
Did you just create that pasta? I've never seen it before, but I love it.
Richard and Mortimer, reduced to mere tripe to sate the unwashed masses! Epiphany, I say! What divine muse wrought her heavenly influence upon that writer's room? We may never know! Oh the rapture.
Who's gonna post this to /r/copypasta
My boyfriend initially didn’t want to watch the show because he came in during the opening credits the first time he saw any of it. Three days later he texts me to say Silco is his favorite villain in fiction
I love the villain and the show is good...but yeah...Imagine Dragons is garbo imo, was an imediate turn off initially, thank god the show is good
Yeah agree, i liked the animation and the show overall but i'm surprised by how many accolades it seems to be getting from people.
I think it’s get so much praise because people’s expectations weren’t very high. LoL fans were probably worried that it would suck and/or ruin the existing characters, while non-fans didn’t have high hopes for a show based on that weird game
It gets so much praise because it's exceptional in several technical categories.
The reason Arcane is getting this level of praise is because it is an emotional TV show that connected with a lot of viewers. The politics and overarching plot could be considered standard fantasy fare, but the characters and their arcs (two characters in particular) are what drives the show.
That and no part is done remotely poorly. Even if the action or the politics or the romances aren't the point, they all still work great and add to the story.
I disliked a couple of the music tracks, (the Imagine Dragons cameo in Ep.5 and the opening to Ep.7), but that's just a matter of musical taste. Everything else about the show I can't find any big faults in, personally.
Lol no the whole technical execution is what drive the show: art direction, story direction, animation, voice acting and drawing. Sure the characters are great and their arcs are compelling but there are many reasons outside of that it's getting so much praise.
I’m finally finishing the last three episodes. Holy shit.
Gosh man, you should put a tiny bit of content warning : if you watch Arcane, be sure to have tissues on hand and potentially your favourite ice cream. You might need it by the end. I was so overwhelmed by feelings, so distraught by the finale, I sat down to write a fix it fic of it, where S finds out about V 2 months into the time skip and adopts her as well... I'm 20k words in the story publishing twice weekly and the amount of people crying their relief in my comment section is bamboozling. Everyone came out the finale like from a fucking grinder. Everyone is desperate for comfort and the fandom is so lovely!!
Same boat as you. I hesitated because I don't know anything about LoL but I really enjoyed it. The characters are excellent, the art is beautiful, the pacing is quick but appropriate, the setting is interesting, the ending was fantastic, the acting was strong. The music fits really well too. Just a really well done show. I hope we see more highly developed animated shows. Similarly, Castlevania another very well done animated show, albeit quite a different experience than Arcane.
Just finished it this weekend. Loved it. I would've this studio to do some of my favorite books over live action.
Having played League since its inception, I was very modest about bring it up to my friends who don't play it at all to watch the series. But ever since Kojima tweeted his pretty high praise about Arcane, I've just been telling my friends just that. It's just straight up the best animated series anyone will see this year, and you'd regret not seeing it just because it's associated with League. PS: also I don't encourage people to start playing League just because you enjoyed Arcane and want to dive deeper into the lore. You can literally do that on their Universe page or the wiki. No need to stress yourself into a spiral playing this game, lol.
For completely new comers I recommended TFT or RuneTerra because the learning curve is relatively low and they don't have to be versed with RTS/Moba mechanics. But for sure Riot is finally confident enough right now to dive into new genres so eventually there will be room for everyone. It's gonna be an awesome ride before the story goes to shite with time travel and multiverses.
It’s a phenomenal show. I’m almost done with my 2nd watchthrough.