It's An Anime Thing

The Heroic Legend Of Arslan

Hey guys I'm back again with another fantastic anime! Lets get to it then shall we?

The Heroic Legend of Arslan is an epic fantasy filled with memorable characters and an interesting plot. The whole series is twenty five episodes long and it has a couple of OVA's. If you don't know what OVA's are, they are episodes that don't really move along the plot but they can be interesting. Tokyo Ghoul (the anime I talked about in the last chapter) has two OVA's. The OVA's in Tokyo Ghoul don't really support the main plot but they are extremely important when it comes to the character development. So whenever you see an OVA available, I think it's good to watch it. 

Summary- The year is 320. Under the rule of the belligerent king Andragoras III, the prosperous kingdom of Pars is at war with the neighboring empire, Lusitania. Though different from his father in many aspects, the kind young prince Arslan sets out to prove his valor on the battlefield for the very first time. However, when the king is betrayed by one of his most trusted officials, the Parsian army is decimated and the capital city of Ecbatana is sieged. With the army in shambles and the Lusitanians out for his head, Arslan is forced to go on the run. With a respected general by his side, the loyal Daryun, Arslan soon sets off on a journey in search of allies that will help him take back his home. However, the enemies that the prince faces are far from limited to just those occupying his kingdom. Armies of other kingdoms stand ready to conquer Ecbatana. Moreover, the mastermind behind Lusitania's victory, an enigmatic man hiding behind a silver mask, poses a dangerous threat to Arslan and his company as he possesses a secret that could jeopardize Arslan's right to succession.With the odds stacked against him, Arslan must find the strength and courage to overcome these obstacles and allies who will help him fight in the journey that will help prepare him for the day he becomes king.[Written by MAL Rewrite] (This was pulled directly from 9anime's summary of the show as to give you a better idea of what this anime is about. I am in no way claiming rights to this summary. I didn't write it.)

Plot- The plot was good. It was sort of on the slow side at times I had to make myself stick with it. I will say that there is room for a second season. They do end it on a pretty good note, but they also left a lot out there to be used for another season. The last couple of episodes though kept me on the edge of my seat and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Characters- The characters were my favorite part for sure. They didn't dive into anyone's past really which was kind of sad. I loved Gieve he was my favorite! Gieve is a bard/warrior? He has good street smarts and he is talented in many ways. I love his character design! I also loved how they played him as a heart-felt romantic. You could tell his charms worked on most women, just not on one of the other characters he was trying to woo the entire time. The other characters also stuck a chord with me I really loved them all. All in all the writers did a great job with allowing me to fall in love with them. 

Art- This by far is one of the best anime's I have ever seen when it comes to stunning art! I will say an anime really hooks me when I can tell that there is good art involved and when I first saw this anime as a trailer I was stunned and watched it immediately! The writers were not lazy at all there is so much detail from the color of Arslan's eyes to the clothes everyone wore. In fact, every city had a different style and culture just based on their wardrobe! On top of all that, the colors were radiant and simply breath taking! Oh I just ate it up! I will put a link to the outro of this anime above. I have shown it to so many people just because the outro has stunning images that come with it! The song is also quite beautiful! One of the lines in it is just image poetry, "The crescent moon so high in this dark and lonely sky. An ocean of obsidian tangled in the light." Tell me that doesn't give you goosebumps?!

Voice actors- Welp I watched it subbed, surprise surprise! I did watch a small snippet of this anime dubbed. I about died. Yes, it was that bad. Well It wasn't a baaaad dubbed per-say... it just didn't have the same essence that the original cast had. There were some particularly sexy voices in this anime you would miss out on. Also Arslan's Japanese voice actor did an amazing job he was way better that the dubbed voice actor. Oh, and just a little side note encase anyone wanted to know. The person who voiced Elam also voiced Kaneki from Tokyo Ghoul. The person who did Arslan also did Subaru from Re:Zero. The one who did Narsus also did Shiro from K Project. And lastly the voice actor who did Farangis also did Ciel from Black Butler. (All subbed) You are welcome fellow Otaku's.  ;) And yes I am aware I'm a geek, no I don't care. 

My Thoughts- I thought this story was very interesting. I will admit, it was a tad bit slow feeling. I think the show could have easily been twelve episodes instead of twenty five. Yet at the same time, they needed that many episodes to really have the audience connect with the characters, which were pretty amazing to get to know. Accompanying Arslan was a diverse group from a bard, to a barbarian thief, to a civil tactician. As for Arslan himself, he was simply adorable! His heart and his character just makes me melt. The plot was pretty simple I've seen it before but they did it well and I would definitely give it a watch. I would rate this anime a three our of five. 

Age Range- This anime was fairly clean from what I remember. There is blood and fighting, as well as wars. A lot of horses end up dying in battle... Ferangis (one of the women protecting Arslan) dresses a little on the immodest side if that bothers you. But this was a fairly decent anime without anything unnecessary. I would say you'd be ok to watch it thirteen and up. 

Where to get the anime- 

Crunchy Roll (not my favorite but safe)- http://www.crunchyroll.com/

WatchCartoonOnline (Use it when I have to...)- https://www.watchcartoononline.io/

9Anime(Not as safe but never had a problem, this one is my favorite)- https://9anime.to/ 

Be sure to watch the video I linked up above! It's stunning!

Enjoy! if you watch it, feel free to dm me or leave a comment. If you liked this review or found it helpful, vote and get my book trending so that we can make the anime fandom bigger! Thanks!