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A Review of “Arcane: League of Legends Season 1 & 2 (2024)”

 

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I am no League of Legends fan. I played it a long time ago but I wasn’t particularly into the lore or story or anything. When I first heard of an animated project based on the game, admittedly, I wasn’t that interested. Not until I saw the first trailer that my curiosity was peaked.

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Firstly, the animation is phenomenal! The style has this unique hand-painted look to it that makes every frame look stunning! The characters have incredible facial animation that easily allows us to see the nuance in their feelings. The excellent mix of 2D and 3D animation is done in a way that makes the animation here so incredibly unique. I also adore the steampunk meets fantasy world of Piltover and the grimy gloom of Zaun. The show is also elevated by the amazing soundtrack. Every song choice feels purposely chosen to illustrate and elevate a scene to even greater heights. There are many action scenes in the series that are exceedingly well-choreographed and just a blast to watch!

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What makes this animated series a near masterpiece is how compelling the story and characters are. The story delves into many themes you’ve seen before, such as rich vs poor and the dangers of creating new technology. However, it is done in such a wonderfully endearing way that it all feels new. The main plot line of sibling rivalry between Vi and Jinx is extremely engaging, as you like both of them. The captivating lore and the magnificent world-building, keep you engrossed in the world of Arcane. The writers do a phenomenal job in making the lore of the world so easy to digest that even someone with no understanding of League could get it. The story also benefits from being an animation aimed at adults. This allowed them to explore darker storylines and violence that made it stand apart from typical fantasy stories. The characters are also very nuanced and have many layers. None of them were one-dimensional archetypes and even characters closer to that of an antagonist were easily sympathetic in many ways. The likeability of the characters was also thanks to the terrific performance from the voice cast which is stacked! Special mention goes to Ella Purnell as Jinx who I believe nailed the performance of the unhinged yet sympathetic nature of the character. Season 1 alone is a masterpiece and I would easily give it a 10/10.

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However, season 2 takes quite a dip in the quality of the writing department. What is most noticeable is how the pacing is way too fast. Characters will do 180 in personality within a couple of minutes, constant time jumps throughout the season, and a bunch of random things happening without much explanation. There are some interesting developments for the world and characters in season 2 but they just aren’t explored enough. Many plotlines and developments needed more room to breathe to let it sink in for the audience. They just immediately jump to the next crazy thing or straight up forget about things. The series also does some weird things in my opinion. It introduces a group called the Black Thorns which was easily the most uninteresting plot line in Season 2. They are just introduced with minimal foreshadowing and don’t even get a satisfying wrap-up by the end. It feels like they were there to set up a future Arcane sequel or spinoff show. They also gave screen time to a certain character that Vi meets that seemed like they would be important as they had a mysterious vibe. However, they end up doing nothing relevant and don’t even get a backstory so I wonder what exactly was the point of them? On that note, Vi who was one of the most important main characters in Season 1, doesn’t have much to do in Season 2 which is such a shame. The ending is also quite rushed.

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Overall, even though season 2 is disappointing compared to the first, it still maintains the amazing soundtrack and art style with great direction. Episodes 6 and 7 in season 2 are phenomenal even despite the whole season’s shortcomings. Arcane is no doubt one of the best-animated shows to come from the West. It is also one of the best game adaptations I’ve seen. With a near-masterpiece season 1 and a pretty good yet flawed season 2, the show is no doubt a Legendary show. I hope we get more future animated shows of this calibre!

 


 

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