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Season 1 of Arcane gets a review (2021)
Reviews of television shows
I know I’m a month late to the party, but I just completed watching Arcane, a Netflix League of Legends series. I had no prior knowledge of the game and assumed it would be akin to World of Warcraft, along with all the conventional fantasy trappings that the word Arcane implies. My assumptions turned out to be completely incorrect, but I’m not complaining. Since Netflix’s amazing video game adaption Castlevania, this is definitely the greatest animated series I’ve watched this year. Have they struck it rich with this typically disastrous subgenre? Let’s get started.
The sparkling City of Progress Piltover and the filthy, disease-ridden Undercity of Zaun are the settings for Arcane. Piltover is managed by a council of seven society’s most powerful people, but Zaun is headed by Vander (JB Blanc), a former brawler and rebel who now preaches peace. Vander adopts sisters Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) and Powder (Mia Sinclair Jenness), as well as Mylo (Yuri Lowenthal) and Claggor (after a failed insurrection) (Roger Craig Smith). Vi makes a terrible target choice when she takes the other kids on a botched home theft expedition, and the results are devastating.
It was tough to figure out how to approach Arcane. The primary plot seems to be one thing for the first third of the season, but then the program throws you for a loop, and I was completely taken off guard. Keep it that way if you know as little about the original material as I do. Every story twist and each character was a surprise, and I had no idea what to anticipate. I’m not sure how much of this is taken directly from the game and how much was created just for the series, but the impact is stunning. From the opening scene of the first episode, “Welcome to the Playground,” Arcane piqued my curiosity. As Vi and Powder find their deceased parents, the atmosphere and lack of words explain it all. When Vander discovers the girls and throws away his boxing gloves, his body language and facial expression are magnificent.
The sights of Arcane are breathtaking. Since Into the Spider-Verse, this is the most distinctive, eye-catching art style I’ve seen! Many films and television programs have attempted to combine conventional hand-drawn animation with computer animation in recent years. Due to financial limits, the effect is generally squandered on television productions. Arcane is a masterclass in blending the qualities of the two art styles into something beautiful rather than distracting. The character designs are also fantastic; each character has an unique appearance and feel. I really like the appearance of the creatures in this planet, both humanoid species such as Heimerdinger and non-humanoid monsters such as Rio. Again, I’m not sure how faithful the characters’ looks are to the game, but they work very well in the setting of Arcane. The action moments are breathtaking, with fast-paced battle choreography and tense visual embellishments. The scenario is a dystopian horror mingled with a steampunk paradise. Piltover and Zaun seem to be from two distinct universes, as if they originated from two different programs. This is a fantastic way to show the inequality between the classes and the injustice at hand.
But it’s the way Arcane portrays its tale and characters that matters the most. Later in the show, there is a combat scene in which two characters band together to fight the “villain.” It’s a stunning, thrilling, and magnificent action that brilliantly demonstrates the two’s skills and how well they operate together. When the dust settles, one of them recognizes they’ve made a huge mistake, while the other wants to keep going. When they discover that one of their victims was a kid, it’s a terrifying moment; for one thing, this is just the reality they live with every day. The other, on the other hand, puts down his weapon and looks for another route. Aside from the lovely animation and smart character development, there are two things I enjoy about this. What seems to be a heroic moment for the protagonists quickly reveals itself to be a myopic, self-aggrandizing assault on others who are unable to protect themselves against such technology and ability. Do you recall Rian Johnson’s now-famous comment about expectations being subverted? That’s how you do it right. Second, Arcane never offers simple answers to its major issues. Every significant character (as well as a slew of supporting characters) has their own take on the issue and how to solve it. Magic is mentioned as a possibility, as well as releasing Zaun from Piltover’s control. But, as is so frequently the case in real life, each possible solution comes with its own set of obstacles. Arcane does not preach about social injustice or class struggle; rather, it shows them as very real issues that are explored from a variety of angles. Several people have already praised Arcane for the attention to detail it devotes to each character’s ideas, even the primary antagonists. My father, for example, thought the season’s major villain made the most sense from a practical standpoint. This is quite refreshing. Even a minor character like Heimerdinger has well-developed justifications for his beliefs. Arcane, on the other hand, delves into the contradictions that exist within each stream of thinking. It doesn’t make you right just because you have a reason, and it doesn’t imply the recommended course of action will work for everyone or at all.
And don’t even get me started on the characters’ relationships. Vi and Powder transform from loving sisters to protectors and wards on opposite sides of an impending reckoning. Jinx and Silco are an even more intriguing pair, and I wish the first season had given them more time to develop their relationship. I spent the whole of the season debating whether Silco actually cared for Jinx or whether she was just too important an asset for him to risk losing her support. Arcane recognizes that even though love is genuine and well-intentioned, it may still be poisonous and destructive in the end. I don’t remember seeing it in much media; in movies and television, relationships are either lovely and supportive or destructive and unstable. But, in actual life, they’re often both, and Arcane handled this very well. The amazing voice cast and their grounded, emotionally real performances are responsible for a lot of this. Hailee Steinfeld leads a cast of multi-talented actors that have worked in both voice acting and live-action roles. I also wish the program had showed more of Vander and Silco’s history, such as what pushed them apart, how their brotherhood used to be, and so on. I was even hoping for a comparison between them as “brothers” and Vi and Powder as sisters.
My only genuine criticism to Arcane’s first season is that I wished for more of practically everything. I was left wanting more background and growth even with the love entanglements. Thankfully, a second season has already been ordered, with many more to follow. This is a unique opportunity. Because Arcane is unexpected in more ways than one, I attempted to avoid big spoilers here. That isn’t to say I won’t return to it in the future in a spoiler-heavy context.
What did you think of Arcane as an adaption if you’ve played League?
Plot – 9
Acting – 8 points
8.5 Progression
10 Production Design
9 – Character development
8.9
Great
Arcane is absolutely one-of-a-kind, particularly in today’s world. It has fully developed characters, complicated relationships, and real-world issues with no simple solutions. It’s worth seeing for the animation alone, but you won’t want to miss out on the characters and worldbuilding.
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