mireille44 - 2016-07-11 09:02:39

Based on the original novels by Yoshiki Tanaka, Arslan Senki, or the Heroic Legend of Arslan (hereby referred to simply as Arslan) carries an immense amount of pedigree, and with pedigree comes baggage. Thankfully, it seems this show was able to live up to the hype. The Arslan novels carry the same cultural cache in Japan that the Lord of the Rings does here in the west, so already, it has a prestigious background. Combine that with Hiromu Arakawa (of Fullmetal Alchemist fame) adapting the first few books into a manga, and said manga being adapted into an anime by Noriyuki Abe (Yu Yu Hakusho, Flames of Recca, Bleach) one has to expect Arslan to live up to a certain standard. Thankfully, it delivers. 

Arslan is the crowned prince of Pars, a prosperous country that maintains its stranglehold on the surrounding lands through constant warfare, led by the king Andragoras. Unlike his war-mongering father, Arslan is a gentle young man, and his whole world is shaken when he meets a young slave who challenges his entire world view. Jump ahead three years, and Arslan is leading his first battle on the fields of Atropatene to drive off the enemy Lusitanian heathens. Unfortunately, the Parsian army is outmaneuvered due to one of the Marzban--the elite warriors of Pars--turning traitor. Arslan is able to escape with his life, due to the fiercely loyal Daryun, but the capital city of Ecbatana is taken by the Lusitanians. Now, Arslan must assemble an army to take back his home country from the invaders; along the way, he picks up the master-strategist-turned-painter, Narsus, along with his squire, Elam; the travelling musician, Gieve; the stunningly-beautiful yet deadly priestess Farangis; along with a colorful cast of characters. 

So Arslan has a gorgeous look--Arakawa's distinctive and unique style really lends itself well to the middle-eastern inspired world of Pars. The characters are varied, yet all feel like they inhabit the same world, much like Arakawa's previous work. The backgrounds are beautiful, the designs are clean, and the world feels full, well-realized, and inhabited. The animation is largely OK; liberal use of CG during large battle scenes can sometimes yank you out of the experience, and there are some unfortunate cases where fights that should feel fast-paced and breathless feel like they chug a bit. But no one goes off-model, and it's never ugly or cheap looking, which is a blessing. "Economic" is the word I would use--it maintains an even level throughout the show, which is an overall excellent quality.

The music is equally as gorgeous and weighty as the visuals. The score adds a delicious flavor to the epic proceedings, but special attention must be paid to the OPs and EDs. They fit in well with the show and don't clash with its tone, like a bog-standard JRock song might have. Extra special attention must be paid to the second ED--One Light by Kalafina is a marvelous song all on its own, and it just adds a soaring note to the ED that makes the whole thing sing. 

The voice acting is strong across the board in both languages; Yoshimasa Hosoya lends a lot of presence to Daryun, while still imbuing him with a sense of humanity and humility that is fucking required for this character. Daryun is a challenging tightrope to walk, and Hosoya-san makes it work. That being said, I feel like special attention must be paid to the English dub. If you don't automatically poo-poo on Dubs, I highly recommend you check it out if only for Arslan and Hilmes. Aaron Dismuke--an actor who has been with Funimation for a long time, but is rarely used--lends a quiet sort of dignity and softness to the character of Arslan. Hilmes, on the other hand, is played by Vic Mignogna--one of the most recognizable and possibly-distracting voices in Western anime dubs, but he is so worth it. The man is one of the most talented VAs we have working today, and he does something with Hilmes that I've never heard from him before. It's a unique performance, and makes the Dub worth it on his own. Christopher Sabat also offers much-needed presence to Andragoras--an element that was missing in the Japanese. My only gripe is, unfortunately, a spoiler. There is one character that is played a touch too masculine (in both languages) to make a later reveal believable, but they seem to have tightened up both performances in the second season.

While I compared this to LOTR earlier, it is actually much more similar to the series, The Wheel of Time. The story is an intricate knot, full of double-crosses, mysteries, relationships and battles. So many battles. But because all these characters are so endearing, you want to see them succeed. You want to see them try and you want to see them stand triumphant. There is always someone plotting or scheming, there's always someone six steps ahead, and nine times out of ten, there's a new development throwing a monkey wrench into plans out of the blue. But you want these things to happen, because the longer Arslan's trial is, the more satisfying it is. And satisfying is definitely one thing I can say about Arslan overall, from the battles to the characters to even the comedy, it's a satisfying experience that will leave you wanting more. If you like Game of Thrones, you will love Arslan, but unlike GoT, Arslan's glue is not who will stand triumphant, but its characters. Despite the high-fantasy, medieval drama setting, these characters are strikingly human, with real human foibles at their core. The cast is basically mythic at its center, full of classic themes of tragedy, pride, hubris, and fear. This is an epic, in the most classic sense of the word, and is definitely worth every tear and bitten nail on the trail to Arslan's sovereignty. I cannot recommend this show enough.

patsy.weimann - 2015-09-23 15:33:07

Arslan Senki starts off a bit slow but it worth sticking out to the end. Much of enjoyment comes from building a connection to the characters. Once that is built, it becomes easy and enjoyable to ride into battle along with the characters.

Fight scenes are impeccably exciting and the sounds of battle send chills down your spine and cheer when the worst of situations become the best.

Coupled with a brilliant cast of diverse characters and personalities, Arslan Senki proved to be a fun and epic ride!

epowlowski - 2015-09-08 16:03:55

It has a nice steady story line. Came to like this more from the Manga. I would recommend this t anyone with patience and don't hate crybaby/sensitive protags.

cortiz - 2015-08-09 06:05:21

Arslan Senki is an enjoyable anime with a lot of good points going for it, but it sometimes seems to fall short of epic. 

Alright so for starters I'll let you all know that I've never watched the original Heroic Legend of Arslan, nor do I plan to. This review will be purely based around the new Arslan Senki series. 

Story: 
   Alright to start things off I'll let you know I'm enjoying the story for this anime greatly. The series starts off by introducing us to a family of three, the King, the Queen, and the Prince. The King is a warlord who has abandoned diplomacy for a more militaristic command. The Queen is a cold woman who seems to attract the most powerful and royal individuals to her side. Finally we have the Prince... who doesn't seem to be like any other form of royalty. Immediately the Prince is shown to be friendly, kind, and humane. When he had the chance to execute some disruptive teens who caused him distress, he instead ordered their immediate release. 
   So without spoiling much, the story progressing into a full on war between two powerful nations. The nation of Pars, in which our Prince is the heir to, and then we have the nation of Lusitania, which seems to be ruled by a religious command. They provide a good viewpoint on what war would of been like several hundred years ago. They're ruthless, they kill anyone who doesn't honor their deity, but at the same time they're very religious and would die for their beliefs. 
   Some things happen and the crowned Prince Arslan is forced out of his home, now accompanied by some powerful and honorable knights, he has to build up an alliance to rival the power of his conqueror, Lusitania. All of this happens within the first 5 episodes or so, so hopefully I've limited any spoilers. 

Rating - 8/10 
The story is good but at the same time a bit cliche. The story at times is predictable, but at the same time it makes me wishing for the next episode immediately. 

Animation:
   Here's where we have some issues, the animation is definitely clunky at times. You see, the animation is decent, but it quite often (especially during major battle scenes) relies too heavily on CGI over true animation. This makes scenes seem three dimensional and heavy, instead of smooth, fast paced, and sleek. 
   During the more calm moments the animation is spot on, it's not completely still with moving mouths, it has moving hair, body features, and it accurately portrays character's facial features without looking gross. 

Rating - 7/10
The rating is A 7/10 since it does have many problems with fighting scenes, while at the same time keeping quality decent enough to warrant a 7. In no way is the animation bad, don't get me wrong... but it's not amazing either.

Sound:
   Sound quality has always been spot on, I've never heard any problems nor lack of quality soundtracks. The battle scenes are definitely made intense through the audio and it never seems to draw away from the anime. Not much to say... it's not great, but it's not bad.

Rating - 7/10
Not much to say... it's not bad sound, but it's not amazing either. The soundtrack is fine.

Character:
   I was looking forward to this part the most, the characters in this anime are some of the best I've ever seen. You see, even the side characters are enjoyable, and each have great stories and pasts. A great example of this would be the young male aid Elam, who is only really on the show to befriend the prince and provide a support role. However Elam has intrigued me, he makes me wonder why he serves Narsus, why he seems so attached to Narsus. He says his family used to be slaves until Narsus set them free, but if that's the case... how did he get to meet Narsus? So many questions. 
   Hell I've even considered the possibility that Elam is a quiet homosexual character with romantic attachments to Narsus, which if that's the case I think Elam may become my favorite character in this series. You see Elam get jealous when the female character Alfreed flirt with Narsus, so it's always a possibility. 

Rating - 9/10
I would rate it higher but sadly I only give straight tens to a show which has truly fascinated me beyond control. Perhaps when the series/ season is over I'll update this review with a different rating, we'll see. 

Enjoyment:
   I've been surprisingly entertained by this anime series. At no point was I bored nor wishing it wasn't so cliche. It's definitely not a Game of Thrones clone, it doesn't kill off many of it's characters off (at least after the 6th episode or so), but it's still heavily enjoyable and stresses me out when fights occur. 
   Arslan Senki has done something I wouldn't think it could... it's made it to my favorites list, before it even finishes. I'm genuinely interested in how Arslan is going to take back the throne, I want to see ten years into his rule and how his kingdom has grown. He's a kind individual, a strong willed prince with a lot of unique viewpoints. 

Rating - 9/10
I would've rated it a solid 8/10 but I thought it over and decided it deserved a 9/10. I've been entertained by each episode, no episode seems like a filler. At many points throughout this show it makes me wish the next episode was already released. 

Overall:
   Overall it's a decent anime based around betrayal, deception, and honor. It has some magic aspects in it, but not overbearing. It's more about Arslan and watching as he grows into probably the most heroic and generous Kings we'll ever see in his time. 

Rating - 8/10
A solid 8/10, nothing really to say except that I'm looking forward to the next episode and seeing what comes of this. 

maggio.alicia - 2015-07-31 10:42:31

An excite for everyone, full of a well-flowed story-line with characters who are full of character. An Anime that will get you going until the end, without any disappointments.