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Record of the Lodoss War

Record of the Lodoss War is a pretty standard D&D spinoff, so if you like D&D inspired fantasy, you'll like this. Just don't expect anything too original. Lodoss War is a 13 episode OAV series that covers the adventures of an aspiring knight, Parn, and his companions as they attempt to stop the Emperor of Marmo and his armies from acquiring the Scepter of Domination. With the Scepter, the Emperor will be able to control the Goddess of Destruction. This, of course, is bad news, and all of the assembled forces of good are out to stop them. This being a D&D style fantasy, under-trained Parn and friends are right in the center of all the action. During their adventure they'll face mauradering armies of beast-men, dark elves, and be forced to raid the lairs of ancient dragons in an attempt to get teh scepter before Marmo does. Luckily, the villains aren't united, and the only real threat they face is Ashram, the Black Knight. Ashram is a spectacular villain, and the most likable character in the series. On the plus side, the art work is superb, and the character designs are excellent. I enjoyed the movie, despite it's formulaic plot. The character of Ashram in particular stood out, which is probably why he's in both of the sequels. The soundtrack is also very good, especially during the opening sequence. Unfortunately it seems as if the studio was given too small of a budget for the scope of the series. While the art is great, the animation is sub par, particularly with the Dragons, which are a central piece of the story. Many shots are reused, and it shows. If you're a fan of D&D, or just want to see a classic fantasy anime, then Record of the Lodoss War is for you. The series has been immensely popular in both Japan and the US, with two spin-off series, and a Sega Dreamcast Game. The series is itself a spin-off of a popular series of Japanese novels based on D&D. I'm not aware of any plans to translate the novels or release them in the US.

Record of Lodoss War - The Complete Series (DVD)

posted by Madog at 8:48 PM