One thing I love about this OVA, and I don't really see it touched on by others, is how they do magic. Too many series just do a flick of the hand and out pops the effect. Here, you have the chanting, the channeling, arcane focuses, hand gestures and sometimes material components. It gives magic a real weight and impact.
That is actually a really great point and I wish I had thought of it while writing this video! It's not something that really ever crossed my mind, but you are 100% right.
That's something I noticed a lot too on my first viewing back in the 90s, especially with Slayn right from the beginning. I loved that he had to really concentrate and chant but, moreover, that casting spells left him exhausted and vulnerable giving a practical need for companions to protect him to have space to chant safely and also after when he's rendered very weak and vulnerable. Another one that struck me in a similar way was Dragonslayer (1981). I loved the way they conceived of magic in that one as something still very mysterious but requiring reagents and chants and artifacts to utilize. Vancian magic is actually my favorite system although it seems very divisive. It seems extremely grounded to me in the analogical sense of only being able to carry finite ammunition into battle. We can know in advance that a spellcaster has only memorized 3 magic missiles, 1 sleep, 1 mirror image, and 1 fireball as an example: knowing their precise limitations and rules by which they have to abide. Then once they cast those memorize spells, they're spent and cannot cast any more until they spend a good amount of time "re-supplying" by re-memorizing the spells they've used and forgotten.
And they don't just forget to do it like in Naruto. And don't tell me 'if you're experienced you don't need it' Zabuza and Kakashi wouldn't have shown off the signs otherwise.
I love how Vanilla this show is. The tropes are played out perfectly. It's epic and beautiful. A very nostalgic and emotion inducing show. The epitome of the Epic Fantasy genre in Anime form. Nothing can best it in that department.
@@Garl_VinlandIt reminds me of that Dragons Quest series that got a TV show and a recent game. The one where scorerers and warriors cannot have both skills except the one who bears the mark of the dragon.
OTOH to an extent it's vanilla because it's so close to D&D, and D&D plus LOTR set a lot of the standards for the genre that others make variations on.
We need more fantasy like this that just plays the tropes of genre straight and with sincerity. Too much of it is either trying to be "subversive" or "original", which ends up meaning gimmicky and try-hard in practice. Of course this anime is even more enjoyable for those of us who play tabletop RPGs.
I couldn't agree more. I enjoyed some of the goofier spins on fantasy when I was younger, but I can't just pop them in and watch them like I can with Lodoss these days. Taking the genre seriously gives in staying power. It also helps that the artwork is wonderful and so it has aged quite well.
Special mention is deserved for the timeless music. Maybe it was forgotten in making this through all the enthusiasm. I feel like rewatching this show every 3 years or so it seems.
I admit, it is something that fell by the wayside but not so much that I had forgotten it. As it turned out, I discovered some interesting things about the music in the OVA. I had a faint memory of hearing one of the "battle themes" in a commercial on TV, or a trailer of another movie, years ago but couldn't quite remember where it was that I had heard it. I instantly recognized it from the OVA and thought it was strange to hear it in something that was not associated with Lodoss in any way. I decided to research it while working on this video to see if I could dig up what it was, I had heard the music in. It was then that I had discovered that several of the pieces in the OVA were actually songs that were apparently lifted (and had their speed increased) from the Jerry Goldsmith score of the film 'Leviathan.' I didn't think I could do justice to discussing all that in the video considering there isn't a ton of information I could find as to "why" this happened. So, I decided to just leave it out. If you are interested, I did manage to track down a video on TH-cam that does a back-and-forth comparison of the songs in question: th-cam.com/video/q1YiG8uxBCc/w-d-xo.html
@@VansAnime Those are just generic tension/action tunes. Besides the intro song these are my favorite melodies: Parn's intention th-cam.com/video/dxEDNpPXgGQ/w-d-xo.html Deedlit's theme th-cam.com/video/1_7eoAEjxWY/w-d-xo.html Parn's theme th-cam.com/video/uh16yQdoUwU/w-d-xo.html Chika Sinden th-cam.com/video/3I41RkZoM3Y/w-d-xo.html
@@FlorisDVijfde Oh, I completely agree with you. It was just something I found interesting when I discovered it and wanted to mention it but ultimately decided not to do so. But you're right, the original scores from the OVA are fantastic. I probably should have added at least a quick mention about the music one way or the other. The intro is an instant nostalgia trip for me. Of the ones you listed above, I would have to say Parn's theme is probably my favorite, but they are all wonderful.
The team worked on Gundam 0083 Stardust Memories, also one of the pinnacle of Mecha anime. As for high fantasy, Elden Ring for video games is akin to what Lodoss to the anime genre
It's not the really stereotypical stoic kick ass chick she has a more gentle approach, is very feminine, girly even and uses magic more than her blade. I think she's a popular fantasy for being fun, giggly and cute but also wise (she's supposed to be 200 years or so?) and in tune with nature, besides being fascinated by humans. Great animation art and wonderful voice acting (I happen to adore the English dub) finish it.
@@FlorisDVijfde You are not alone. There are fans of the dub. How do I know this? Because when I gave a panel about LODOSS at DerpyCon last year the audience was intrigued throughout, and one audience member in particular was really delighted to hear me cover the English dub cast. I was so pleased especially since the Lodoss OVA dub is a favorite of mine.
As a huge fan of Lord of the Rings and fantasy-like stuff, I always knew Lodoss by name, but never took the time to watch it. I'm too young to have seen it on TV as a child. Now that I've seen it, I can tell that I loved it ! Everything is simple and yet perfect. The animation quality blew me away, modern animation can be impressive but really does not have the same charm, grain, details, facial expressions than 80-90s anime had. I really wish we could have modern production with that same old hand-drawing vibe. I recommend to everyone who loves top tier animation to watch Vampire hunter D Bloodlust, it's amazingly beautiful. Anyway, thank you for motivating me to watch Lodoss OVAs with your video, it became one of my favorites !
Record of Lodoss War and Vampire Hunter D were my first anime on the sci-fi channel. I feel in love with anime then and there. That was over 30 years ago I think now. Thanks sci-fi channel for showing these 2 anime.
This is my favourite anime of all time. It's so fucking classic. Yes it has a lot of repetition and more still shots than true animation, the characters are SO well done and defined and the music is INCOMPARABLE
She wasn't supposed to. She lost her immortality at the alter before Parn rescued her. That was part of the theme in the OVA, she was mortal after that incident and had but a life to live with Parn. Prior to that she was an immortal elf still vested with that power, and supposedly, the last of her kind. The dark elves were all long lived but fully mortal. I know that the books had another theme in mind, but for the OVA it was integral that she lost her long life and immortality having it sucked out to wake the evil god. It was why she was the target. Only an immortal soul could wake the god.
@@meatybtz What's your source on this? It's being pretty contradictory with recent novel sequel/spinoff to the original (The Pledged Diadem) that's set 100 years after and has Deedlit still living while others have long perished. Wonder Labyrinths seems inspired or even set in that time period.
@@KonaKonaKaabisteru Based only on the base source material and the OVA. Which came first for me since the rest hadn't even come out yet. So from my perspective it was all retconned. You are correct in that is how they changed the ending and the later production materials. But as far as official cannon, you are correct. But since the old OVAs and material are the only materials I consumed (I didn't enjoy the later works as much) that's just what sticks with me. Frankly the later works make less sense as far as a love story. Makes it more shallow, reduces sacrifice and "price of adventure".
I just re-watched it for the first time in 18 years and holy shit! It's so good! The art style. Character designs. Tone. Colors are gorgeous. I love that you mentioned their use of limited animation as I find it in this era of 80s and 90s to be an art form. Controlled animation and using it wisely is such a masterful animation technique. Kids today watching all digital won't understand the time it took for animators to use cell and painted backgrounds. Great review!
I only had the chance to see a few episodes of this back in the 90s. I was impressed how it used the basic (Red Box) version of Dungeons & Dragons, like the fact that Elves are both fighters and magic-users.
It doesn't use that. Lodoss is based on a Japanese ttrpg known as Sword World. In fact, the novel on which the anime was based was itself a transcript of a game of Sword World.
@@hian aaronc4899 is actually right - Lodoss and its OG cast originated all way from a "replay" of Basic/Red Box Dungeons and Dragons-campaign on Comptiq-magazine in 1986, done to coincide with the 1 year anniversary this Dungeons and Dragons' release in Japan in. The popularity of this replay led to Part II and III getting made, which then led to creation of two RPG systems specifically for Lodoss in 1989 (Record of Lodoss War RPG... and Sword World)
That's because it is based on a campaign using the Basic DnD-version all the way from 1986! The entire campaign can be read fully translated through Archive-site. Genuinely cool and interesting stuff.
I loved the series so much as a teen! It was the closest approximation to how I imagined a D&D story adapted to the screen while growing up on D&D books and games as a boy. There's something about that style of anime that seems so perfectly well-suited for sword and sorcery fantasy, like the closest economical adaptation I've seen yet of the equivalent of an animated version of Larry Elmore's D&D illustrations. I also loved the Capcom D&D arcade games (Tower of Doom and Shadows Over Mystara) in much the same way of how they conceived the D&D world: everything from the character designs to the animations, backgrounds, music, and sound effects. I rewatched RoLW recently and it didn't age quite as well for me as I hoped, although I still think it's such a wonderful fantasy depiction. I think ideally it would have had at least twice as many episodes given how much of an overarching story it told so that I could spend more time getting to know each of the characters and their backstories.
I just started watching Frieren based on a recommendation from another comment. I have only managed time to get through a couple of episodes as of yet. I am not a big viewer of modern anime, but I am impressed with it so far. I can definitely see how fans of that would enjoy Lodoss and vice versa.
@@VansAnime in that case, I feel like I need to warn you: Frieren is not normal in modern anime. It is by far an anomaly. The manga itself was sort of an accident as the author had a very simple idea, but then during the process the world-building and interwoven nature of the story took over. Frieren is more like a very good fantasy novel told in visual form through the manga. Which was adapted very faithfully. That's the reason for the pacing and narrative focus being very different from what is nowdays typical of anime. It is imo best anime of the decade and worth a watch. And a rewatch or two as it becomes even better with more and more narrative layers and parallels and allusions revealed through flashbacks. Enjoy it :)
@@NexusNoxCS Yeah, I had a feeling stuff of this quality is likely the exception and not the rule these days. I knew by the end of the first episode that it was going to be worth watching. The problem is finding peace and quiet time to sit down and enjoy it - or anything for that matter lol.
RoLW as a Sword and Sorcery anime has more in common with Lord of the Rings than it does with other fantasy anime. It has a serious tone that other fantasy anime generally lacks and has generally adult characters that don't act childish. It's also not cheesy and suffers from curtness like others do as well. There are "rules" that all anima fantasy follow like a boring repetitive bible that RoLW did not follow at all, instead borrowing rules from western publications like TSR, Michael Moorcock, Tracy Hickman & Margaret Weis, R.A. Salvatore and Robert Jordan. This is why I liked it, it felt like a proper fantasy done in anime rather than an anime fantasy.
Hickman and Weis are a particularly salient reference, I think. When I first saw a bit of RolW (one of my brother's friends had brought over a fansub of it, and I came in in the middle of them watching it) I thought for a moment I was looking at an anime adaptation of the Dragonlance Chronicles. The storyline and characters aren't actually all that close to Dragonlance, but the themes and overall structure (a D&D PC party having adventures against the backdrop of a major war, with their actions having disproportionate effects on the outcome of the greater conflict) are quite similar; I expect the original DM and author was familiar with the Dragonlance novels and adventures and drew some inspiration from that series. The _look_ of Lodoss also draws inspiration from the art created for the Dragonlance setting by Larry Elmore, Jeff Easley, Keith Parkinson, and Clyde Caldwell. In particular, the final image in the opening credits, of the five dragons looming over the dais where the six central heroes stand, is a direct homage to Elmore's cover for "DL14: Dragons of Triumph," the final game module in the original Dragonlance adventure series. Deedlit's character design also owes something to Elmore's design of Laurana Kanan, though the super-long elf ears are pure Lodoss; IIRC, RolW was the show that first established that look for anime elves. It's since found its way back across the Pacific to influence the design of elves in the art for the Pathfinder RPG.
@@alexharman9001 This waa the Golden age of anime, directors in Japan were inpired by things like Bladerunner, Terminator, Aliens, Mad Max and by artists like Mobeus and Frazzeta. When you look at anime/manga like Akira, Fist of the North Star, Ghost in the Shell, Neo Tokyo, Wimgs of Honeimise, Demon City Shinjuku, Angel Cop, Wicket City, Black Magic M66, Ninja Scroll and so many other in thar era you see the influence. The directors back then were individuals who weren't trying to emulate each other or fallow a "rule". It made for such incredible and unique anime. There was mo "industry standard" I hate calling it anime because it's too limiting. Instead I say this was a Yoshiaki Kawajiri movie or a Katsuhiro Otomo movie and that says more than "it's anime". However now it's all the same. It looks a certain way, anime isn't unique from each other and hardlines their own tropes from the Industry Standards. Instead of each director being influenced by unique things they're all influenced by each other making an inbred standard, much the same as Marvel and D.C. comics and why I left them.
The part when bard sings the legend of hero's party, is for me best rendition of a bard giving a preformance. It grabbed my attention immediatley. Its up there with Priscilla's song in Witcher 3
I love the Lodoss franchise, as it was one of my earlier experiences with anime. Still have my original VHS collector's box set of it from way back when, even! Definitely a quintessential entry in both the fantasy and anime spheres that still holds up today. After I grew up a bit, my friends and I participated in a drinking game while watching the OVAs - take a shot every time Parn gets his sword knocked out of his hand, or when someone throws a knife. Nobody lasted long.
Man, brought back some memories of a long, LONG time ago. I saw this for the first time when I was in the Navy. I even had the Dreamcast game (it's horrible). I'm an old man who appreciates the anime of my 20s (yikes!), so I subscribed. Keep making these. They're really good takes on classic anime.
@@falconeshield I don't know, I'm old enough that KRULL is one of my favorite movies. If you haven't seen it, take a high fantasy world and have it invaded by aliens. It's also Liam Neeson's first film. Highly recommended!
@fiatfan83 Oh I say all the time I'm the world's oldest boy. It makes me a good dad, especially since we started a family late in life. I don't care that I'm 45, I'm happy to build a pillow fort with my kids. After 22 years in the military, being a cop, firefighter, and EMT, this is all I ever wanted out of life. None of my awards and achievements matter compared to the time I spend with my boys. We've even started on some of the anime of my early years. Heck, I remember when Robotech was first on television. I still have my Rick Hunter action figure!!!
@fiatfan83 The best part about Robotech is how quickly they establish the setting and characters, and how events will stay in the story. Rick will always remember Ben Dixon and Roy. When years later, as an adult, they made Macross Plus, adult me in the military got to watch my favorite show as a kid grow up with me. That's an incredible experience. Enjoy!!!
I have been looking for a medieval, DnD like series, and have not found much. Thought I'd check if an anime existed for it (the saying goes that if it exists there is an anime of it), so I checked and checked, couldn't find much since I am generally not a fan of anime...but man, I just found this series, gave it a few minutes of a watch and it is EXACTLY what I was looking for! The general vibe, setting, look, it is perfect. Gonna be giving it a watch for sure.
If that is what you are looking for, this is probably the best option. I have not come across an anime that scratches the DnD fantasy itch quite like Lodoss does, imo. Don't get me wrong, there are some good anime in the fantasy genre out there, but this will always be my favorite.
@@StewNWT There are a lot of options out there but I think it largely depends on the era of anime people are into. I grew up loving Slayers but it is far more comedic than something like Lodoss. Berserk is a good choice for fantasy anime that takes itself more seriously. Black Clover is another good option. I also recommend Vision of Escaflowne for those who don't mind some mecha blended with their fantasy anime. But that is just what I can think of off the top of my head.
Excellent review. I only found Lodoss after the release of Frieren, and fans were mentioning the work. Lodoss is as you say, super excellent High Fantasy done with seriousness. The still art is stunning, and evocative, but the animation lacks a budget which forces the artists to take a still piece of its own art and slowly move it across the screen. Constantly riffing through still pictures is only a suggestion of animation. But any anime fan of High Fantasy, should watch this kind of story done right in Lodoss.
I just started watching the anime after finding a lot of the tapes being sold for a good price online and I gotta say that I’m loving it so far. The Art is fantastic, the characters have a somewhat nostalgic Tolkien feeling to them, and the opening is a masterpiece!
Cool!🤩 I am relatively new to anime and was born in 94 in Nigeria, so i could not watch this but i absolutely love fantasy! I recently bought the OVA on the Microsoft store snd your review makes ne even more excited to watch it. Thanks 👍👍
While Parn is annoying (idiots who stupidly charge in deserve to wind up dead, especially if they keep doing it and/or scream while doing it), it does have so many other iconic characters. Pirotess, in particular, is the reason for female dark elves being an anime/JRPG staple. One of the most influential anime characters of all time.
Lodoss the island cursed by the world. A place where man has to struggle to survive where demons and monsters thrive without question and where only those of strong Minds for magics and arms for blades can survive. An island of adventure that awaits those brave enough to challenge it.
i love lodoss so much. some of the very best and deserves more attention or even more chapters. i read one of the light novels and wasn't in love with it but loved wonderlabrynth.
Really liked this video. Improved compared to the previous one and you already dropped the Plinkett-style jokes. This is a good review of a good OVA and hope to see your next video soon.
As a lifelong Record Of Lodoss War fan. I'd like to thank you for this video. This is legit my comfort anime...also thr Venus Wars shootout (fantastic). Still to this day it's the best high fantasy anime in my book. I dont think we'll ever get back to this quality of anime again....not dissing what we have now , but that energy and type of effort and style seems hard to rekindle.
Time for a rewatch! Idk what it is about Record of Lodoss War in particular, but it conjures really strong feelings in me. It was one of the first great anime I saw as a kid, after graduating from Saturday morning stuff like Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z. It also reminds me of a time when a show- in particular a fantasy anime- could take itself seriously and fully exist within its own world completely removed from the trappings of modernity.
i'm pretty sure i looked like parn when he was enamored with cashew in the ball scene when I was watching this as a kid, ashram is to this day one of my favorite anime characters.
@@StewNWT I always that idolatry came because Kashue so strikingly resembles Tessius: Parn's father. There's even a clip in one of the earlier episodes that shows Kashue walking away from Parn and they show the lighting and shot in exactly the same way Tessius looked walking away from him when Parn last saw him, so I always thought there was going to be some twist reveal that Kashue was actually Tessius in disguise who managed to survive despite being stripped of his rank to become a mercenary king.
Agreement and nostalgia aside, great video! Saturday morning on sci fi, Record of Lodoss War (and Vampire Hunter D) were the first anime I’d seen and was floored. I always rewatch every so often, Designs, characters, music, and a world that made me want to know more. I remember I saved my allowance back then to buy both the Japanese and English version VHS box sets as I HAD to have them. Great times as a kid and now! Thanks again for making this video!
This series also intertwined with my childhood/teen years. I remember showing one of the VHS episodes to my DnD group and my DM was amazed by it. Media was harder to come by in the 90's so this was a cool artifact.
I finally got the chance to watch it recently in 2024 and yeah the first thing that came to my mind was 'this is pretty much a DnD session'. They have warrior guy, warrior/mage elf, mage, cleric, rogue, and dwarf fighter. They clearly power up through the episodes too especially Parn, without it really being shown on screen as if they gained levels. Magic has casting time for the most part, and they fight dragons goblins ogres etc... Not that this is a bad thing, modern fantasy anime are almost all isekais with ever more unhinged premises by comparion. Some of them are still good but most are 'wtf is going on here' or give the MC world ending powers by episode 3 which make everything happening later on irrelevant. I thought there was gonna be more episodes and char developpement tho. They speed from one location and to the next fight really fast. Which also sounds DnD like I guess.
If you are interested, ROLW Chronicles of the Heroic Knight might be what you are looking for in terms of more episodes and fleshing out some of the characters. The production quality of the show is not nearly as good as the ROLW OVA, but it does continue the story in a more "faithful" way to the source material (the RPG replays/light novels). Chronicles of the Heroic Knight takes place after episode 8 of the OVA and replaces episodes 9-13.
OKAY, my story of my introduction to ROLW. I was already, FINALLY, finding anime that wasn’t censored to Hell. I had VHS tapes of Dangaioh, Bubblegum Crisis and Akira. While hanging out at a comic shop, I caught a flyer stating that a Japanese-Canadian club at a local college had fansubbed the first 8 episodes and were screening them. Went, sat through all 8, fell in love! I eventually saw the whole OAV series. I couldn’t really get into the TV series, though.
I never knew this was loosely based of an actual campaign. I'm glad you showed Louie the Rune Soldier at the end. I only learned about Louie just a few years ago.
I couldn't get into it, but the music I will always love. I might dive in again one time, it seems like one of these things that you can really immerse yourself in.
It is. Admittedly, it is probably much easier to get into if you are a fan of Dungeons and Dragons or high fantasy already. Nostalgia for those of us who saw it back in the day goes a long way as well. But the music is certainly wonderful.
@@VansAnime i know that nostalgia feel from other shows and music. I'm not too much into DnD however I like high fantasy, on the newer front i can recommend Made in Abyss - it is really amazing .)
I remember watching this as a kid when it first appeared on Saturday Anime bloc and I would just sit my butt down every Saturday morning in front of the TV to catch the second but it nevered aired.
Great review , The music is also what makes this anime so spectacular. I still remember the day I watched the opening theme of the dub version and became mesmerized by Sherrys voice . I would watch the opening over and over again. Record of lodoss is also the first anime soundtrack I ever bought , well my dad bought for me lol. I ordered it off a Japanese music website . It took 2 weeks to get to me and I still have it to this day. Apple Music also has all the record of lodoss wars soundtracks !
This Series is a Classic of Classics. The Scenes I like the most were the Ones showing Parn and Ashram wielding Their Kings Swords and made it Their own.
Thank you for spelling out everything I felt about this anime. When I watched the D&D cartoon they first put up, I felt it didn't do the genre any justice. Meanwhile, Tomino and Takahashi had released an anime in Japan based on high fantasy featuring robots, and they did it better. Although the viewers were pretty much befuddled by the concept back then. (There was no Dragon Quest (Dragon warrior) or Final Fantasy back then) It was only when I watched RLW that they really captured what we wanted from this genre. It's interesting that the character designer for Diedricht said he got that inspiration for the elf ears from Kira in the Dark Crystal film.
I bought my DVD Special Edition set from Fry's back in 2002. It sits next to my Dungeons and Dragons boxed set. This is *the* definitive fantasy anime. It's actually based on a Fighting Fantasy campaign run by the creators. Deedlit and Parn were a whole lot different in their campaign.😂
Just watched it thanks to your video and I couldn’t agree more with your points. I loved its sincerity in its setting and characters, the beautiful artwork and music. Sometimes, a “cliched” high fantasy story executed perfectly can contain great storytelling too and this ova proves it. There happens a lot in 13 eps, it never slows down. Also, nothing against subversive or more deconstructive takes on the genre, but sometimes I do get a bit tired of the more nihilistic or cynical approaches. Classic heroism is neat (even though Parn is a very stubborn lad, he gets his ass kicked A LOT). Also, I’ve been playing DnD for 2 years and it does feel like a campaign, but not in a bad way. Loved it!
Hell yeah I rented this on VHS in the early 90s it's so good. I've got the collectors edition dvd now and it has some cool artwork on the packaging. There's a guy on youtube with the channel Happy Console Gamer and he's a huge fan of classic anime, I think he'd love this channel it's right up his alley
Just ordered the blu ray collectors edition. Will be the perfect blend in on my shelves next to the Berserk collectors edition and Vampire Hunter d bloodlust collectors edition :)
Orson is hands down my favorite fantasy character and he only has 10 lines?! He's so devoted and such a bad ass in the humblest way.😢 And say what you will about The Heroic Legend but the did his death perfectly.😭
Good times... I remember my young me, sneaking to the TV at night because there are "different cartoons" to watch. This was my first one ever. But I trouble to keep it up with the modern stuff, something is off about that.
Thank you, Van. Because of you I started watching Record of Lodoss War, and it's pretty neat. Your videos are very interesting, thanks to them I've discovered a couple of hidden gems. Also, I wouldn't mind hearing your thoughts on Jin-Roh The Wolf Brigade.
One thing I love about this OVA, and I don't really see it touched on by others, is how they do magic. Too many series just do a flick of the hand and out pops the effect. Here, you have the chanting, the channeling, arcane focuses, hand gestures and sometimes material components. It gives magic a real weight and impact.
That is actually a really great point and I wish I had thought of it while writing this video! It's not something that really ever crossed my mind, but you are 100% right.
That's something I noticed a lot too on my first viewing back in the 90s, especially with Slayn right from the beginning. I loved that he had to really concentrate and chant but, moreover, that casting spells left him exhausted and vulnerable giving a practical need for companions to protect him to have space to chant safely and also after when he's rendered very weak and vulnerable.
Another one that struck me in a similar way was Dragonslayer (1981). I loved the way they conceived of magic in that one as something still very mysterious but requiring reagents and chants and artifacts to utilize.
Vancian magic is actually my favorite system although it seems very divisive. It seems extremely grounded to me in the analogical sense of only being able to carry finite ammunition into battle. We can know in advance that a spellcaster has only memorized 3 magic missiles, 1 sleep, 1 mirror image, and 1 fireball as an example: knowing their precise limitations and rules by which they have to abide. Then once they cast those memorize spells, they're spent and cannot cast any more until they spend a good amount of time "re-supplying" by re-memorizing the spells they've used and forgotten.
Except for Karla. But that was specifically to underscore that she was the only survivor of Kastuul, the Kingdom of Sorcery.
And they don't just forget to do it like in Naruto. And don't tell me 'if you're experienced you don't need it' Zabuza and Kakashi wouldn't have shown off the signs otherwise.
@@falconeshieldwhat you talkin about
The anime with peak elf design
Crappy elf design.
Hell yes!
They're so beautiful
@@VikingMale
Stop the cap
@@VikingMaleyou’re high
I love how Vanilla this show is. The tropes are played out perfectly. It's epic and beautiful. A very nostalgic and emotion inducing show. The epitome of the Epic Fantasy genre in Anime form. Nothing can best it in that department.
couldn't agree more!
This and the Tower of Doom Capcom arcade game go hand in hand
@@Garl_VinlandIt reminds me of that Dragons Quest series that got a TV show and a recent game. The one where scorerers and warriors cannot have both skills except the one who bears the mark of the dragon.
OTOH to an extent it's vanilla because it's so close to D&D, and D&D plus LOTR set a lot of the standards for the genre that others make variations on.
At the time it's wasnt though. There is no previous example besides Tolkien himself
The way it was drawn. So pretty. To think this used to be the quality standard.
Back in those days companies had little choice as computers weren't what they are today.
@@mrnygren2limitation breeds innovation
@@pinkmann8399 And pure talent.
We need more fantasy like this that just plays the tropes of genre straight and with sincerity. Too much of it is either trying to be "subversive" or "original", which ends up meaning gimmicky and try-hard in practice.
Of course this anime is even more enjoyable for those of us who play tabletop RPGs.
I couldn't agree more. I enjoyed some of the goofier spins on fantasy when I was younger, but I can't just pop them in and watch them like I can with Lodoss these days. Taking the genre seriously gives in staying power. It also helps that the artwork is wonderful and so it has aged quite well.
Fully agreed. I love how straight this show is in the execution of its tropes.
@sumerian11 which makes the show kinda boring.
Don't worry, Baldur's Gate III and Vox Machina probably launched a new golden age of high fantasy interest
Until isekai dies and pure strain fantasy returns to prominence. 😊
Special mention is deserved for the timeless music. Maybe it was forgotten in making this through all the enthusiasm. I feel like rewatching this show every 3 years or so it seems.
I admit, it is something that fell by the wayside but not so much that I had forgotten it. As it turned out, I discovered some interesting things about the music in the OVA. I had a faint memory of hearing one of the "battle themes" in a commercial on TV, or a trailer of another movie, years ago but couldn't quite remember where it was that I had heard it. I instantly recognized it from the OVA and thought it was strange to hear it in something that was not associated with Lodoss in any way.
I decided to research it while working on this video to see if I could dig up what it was, I had heard the music in. It was then that I had discovered that several of the pieces in the OVA were actually songs that were apparently lifted (and had their speed increased) from the Jerry Goldsmith score of the film 'Leviathan.'
I didn't think I could do justice to discussing all that in the video considering there isn't a ton of information I could find as to "why" this happened. So, I decided to just leave it out.
If you are interested, I did manage to track down a video on TH-cam that does a back-and-forth comparison of the songs in question: th-cam.com/video/q1YiG8uxBCc/w-d-xo.html
@@VansAnime Those are just generic tension/action tunes. Besides the intro song these are my favorite melodies:
Parn's intention
th-cam.com/video/dxEDNpPXgGQ/w-d-xo.html
Deedlit's theme
th-cam.com/video/1_7eoAEjxWY/w-d-xo.html
Parn's theme
th-cam.com/video/uh16yQdoUwU/w-d-xo.html
Chika Sinden
th-cam.com/video/3I41RkZoM3Y/w-d-xo.html
@@FlorisDVijfde Oh, I completely agree with you. It was just something I found interesting when I discovered it and wanted to mention it but ultimately decided not to do so. But you're right, the original scores from the OVA are fantastic. I probably should have added at least a quick mention about the music one way or the other. The intro is an instant nostalgia trip for me.
Of the ones you listed above, I would have to say Parn's theme is probably my favorite, but they are all wonderful.
The team worked on Gundam 0083 Stardust Memories, also one of the pinnacle of Mecha anime.
As for high fantasy, Elden Ring for video games is akin to what Lodoss to the anime genre
I came cause I wanted to hear the music again. So good always brings me back to this magical place
That first episode is just chef's kiss, a perfect, self-contained D&D adventure.
Deedlit was my first childhood crush. I've had a soft spot for elves and female characters that kick ass ever since.
She certainly kicks ass. I have a feeling she is a childhood crush for a fair amount of people.
It's not the really stereotypical stoic kick ass chick she has a more gentle approach, is very feminine, girly even and uses magic more than her blade. I think she's a popular fantasy for being fun, giggly and cute but also wise (she's supposed to be 200 years or so?) and in tune with nature, besides being fascinated by humans. Great animation art and wonderful voice acting (I happen to adore the English dub) finish it.
Nadia was my first anime crush but Deedlit is close second. 🤩
@@FlorisDVijfde You are not alone. There are fans of the dub. How do I know this? Because when I gave a panel about LODOSS at DerpyCon last year the audience was intrigued throughout, and one audience member in particular was really delighted to hear me cover the English dub cast. I was so pleased especially since the Lodoss OVA dub is a favorite of mine.
Deedlit and Lina Inverse
As a huge fan of Lord of the Rings and fantasy-like stuff, I always knew Lodoss by name, but never took the time to watch it. I'm too young to have seen it on TV as a child. Now that I've seen it, I can tell that I loved it ! Everything is simple and yet perfect. The animation quality blew me away, modern animation can be impressive but really does not have the same charm, grain, details, facial expressions than 80-90s anime had. I really wish we could have modern production with that same old hand-drawing vibe.
I recommend to everyone who loves top tier animation to watch Vampire hunter D Bloodlust, it's amazingly beautiful.
Anyway, thank you for motivating me to watch Lodoss OVAs with your video, it became one of my favorites !
Record of Lodoss War and Vampire Hunter D were my first anime on the sci-fi channel. I feel in love with anime then and there. That was over 30 years ago I think now. Thanks sci-fi channel for showing these 2 anime.
This is my favourite anime of all time. It's so fucking classic. Yes it has a lot of repetition and more still shots than true animation, the characters are SO well done and defined and the music is INCOMPARABLE
Watching Frieren , i can see Lodoss was a big inspiration.
Absolutely! Frieren is so good! My goodness. Definitely can see some inspiration there!
Watching Frieren now makes me kinda sad thinking of Deedlit living on for centuries after Parn...
And that is the plot of the game that mentioned in this video, Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth.
She wasn't supposed to. She lost her immortality at the alter before Parn rescued her. That was part of the theme in the OVA, she was mortal after that incident and had but a life to live with Parn. Prior to that she was an immortal elf still vested with that power, and supposedly, the last of her kind. The dark elves were all long lived but fully mortal. I know that the books had another theme in mind, but for the OVA it was integral that she lost her long life and immortality having it sucked out to wake the evil god. It was why she was the target. Only an immortal soul could wake the god.
@@meatybtz What's your source on this? It's being pretty contradictory with recent novel sequel/spinoff to the original (The Pledged Diadem) that's set 100 years after and has Deedlit still living while others have long perished. Wonder Labyrinths seems inspired or even set in that time period.
@@KonaKonaKaabisteru Based only on the base source material and the OVA. Which came first for me since the rest hadn't even come out yet. So from my perspective it was all retconned. You are correct in that is how they changed the ending and the later production materials. But as far as official cannon, you are correct. But since the old OVAs and material are the only materials I consumed (I didn't enjoy the later works as much) that's just what sticks with me. Frankly the later works make less sense as far as a love story. Makes it more shallow, reduces sacrifice and "price of adventure".
@@meatybtz those OVAs were apprandly made when the books weren't completely done yet. so Deelit losing her immortality might have been OVA only.
Now that isekai animes are becoming stale this days, i think ill go back to watching old gems like this again.
I just re-watched it for the first time in 18 years and holy shit! It's so good! The art style. Character designs. Tone. Colors are gorgeous. I love that you mentioned their use of limited animation as I find it in this era of 80s and 90s to be an art form. Controlled animation and using it wisely is such a masterful animation technique. Kids today watching all digital won't understand the time it took for animators to use cell and painted backgrounds.
Great review!
Record of Lodoss War is the original Critical Role
I love how this anime based on novels based on Dungeons & Dragons campaign of the author are regarded as classics
" Record of Lodoss War - Fantasy Anime Perfection " AMEN to that !
I only had the chance to see a few episodes of this back in the 90s. I was impressed how it used the basic (Red Box) version of Dungeons & Dragons, like the fact that Elves are both fighters and magic-users.
The good old days
I think it's in Crunchyroll
It doesn't use that. Lodoss is based on a Japanese ttrpg known as Sword World. In fact, the novel on which the anime was based was itself a transcript of a game of Sword World.
@@hian aaronc4899 is actually right - Lodoss and its OG cast originated all way from a "replay" of Basic/Red Box Dungeons and Dragons-campaign on Comptiq-magazine in 1986, done to coincide with the 1 year anniversary this Dungeons and Dragons' release in Japan in. The popularity of this replay led to Part II and III getting made, which then led to creation of two RPG systems specifically for Lodoss in 1989 (Record of Lodoss War RPG... and Sword World)
That's because it is based on a campaign using the Basic DnD-version all the way from 1986! The entire campaign can be read fully translated through Archive-site. Genuinely cool and interesting stuff.
The Silmarillion, Conan the Barbarian and Record of Lodoss war, these are the best
You have the taste of a legend
One of the last big handdrawn animes. That opening sequence too 😭 So beautiful!
I loved the series so much as a teen! It was the closest approximation to how I imagined a D&D story adapted to the screen while growing up on D&D books and games as a boy.
There's something about that style of anime that seems so perfectly well-suited for sword and sorcery fantasy, like the closest economical adaptation I've seen yet of the equivalent of an animated version of Larry Elmore's D&D illustrations. I also loved the Capcom D&D arcade games (Tower of Doom and Shadows Over Mystara) in much the same way of how they conceived the D&D world: everything from the character designs to the animations, backgrounds, music, and sound effects.
I rewatched RoLW recently and it didn't age quite as well for me as I hoped, although I still think it's such a wonderful fantasy depiction. I think ideally it would have had at least twice as many episodes given how much of an overarching story it told so that I could spend more time getting to know each of the characters and their backstories.
After the third Frieren rewatch I was suddenly very much reminded of this old masterpiece. Went and watched it again. And it is as good as always.
I just started watching Frieren based on a recommendation from another comment. I have only managed time to get through a couple of episodes as of yet. I am not a big viewer of modern anime, but I am impressed with it so far. I can definitely see how fans of that would enjoy Lodoss and vice versa.
@@VansAnime in that case, I feel like I need to warn you: Frieren is not normal in modern anime. It is by far an anomaly. The manga itself was sort of an accident as the author had a very simple idea, but then during the process the world-building and interwoven nature of the story took over. Frieren is more like a very good fantasy novel told in visual form through the manga. Which was adapted very faithfully. That's the reason for the pacing and narrative focus being very different from what is nowdays typical of anime. It is imo best anime of the decade and worth a watch. And a rewatch or two as it becomes even better with more and more narrative layers and parallels and allusions revealed through flashbacks. Enjoy it :)
@@NexusNoxCS Yeah, I had a feeling stuff of this quality is likely the exception and not the rule these days. I knew by the end of the first episode that it was going to be worth watching. The problem is finding peace and quiet time to sit down and enjoy it - or anything for that matter lol.
RoLW as a Sword and Sorcery anime has more in common with Lord of the Rings than it does with other fantasy anime. It has a serious tone that other fantasy anime generally lacks and has generally adult characters that don't act childish. It's also not cheesy and suffers from curtness like others do as well.
There are "rules" that all anima fantasy follow like a boring repetitive bible that RoLW did not follow at all, instead borrowing rules from western publications like TSR, Michael Moorcock, Tracy Hickman & Margaret Weis, R.A. Salvatore and Robert Jordan. This is why I liked it, it felt like a proper fantasy done in anime rather than an anime fantasy.
Hickman and Weis are a particularly salient reference, I think. When I first saw a bit of RolW (one of my brother's friends had brought over a fansub of it, and I came in in the middle of them watching it) I thought for a moment I was looking at an anime adaptation of the Dragonlance Chronicles. The storyline and characters aren't actually all that close to Dragonlance, but the themes and overall structure (a D&D PC party having adventures against the backdrop of a major war, with their actions having disproportionate effects on the outcome of the greater conflict) are quite similar; I expect the original DM and author was familiar with the Dragonlance novels and adventures and drew some inspiration from that series.
The _look_ of Lodoss also draws inspiration from the art created for the Dragonlance setting by Larry Elmore, Jeff Easley, Keith Parkinson, and Clyde Caldwell. In particular, the final image in the opening credits, of the five dragons looming over the dais where the six central heroes stand, is a direct homage to Elmore's cover for "DL14: Dragons of Triumph," the final game module in the original Dragonlance adventure series. Deedlit's character design also owes something to Elmore's design of Laurana Kanan, though the super-long elf ears are pure Lodoss; IIRC, RolW was the show that first established that look for anime elves. It's since found its way back across the Pacific to influence the design of elves in the art for the Pathfinder RPG.
@@alexharman9001
This waa the Golden age of anime, directors in Japan were inpired by things like Bladerunner, Terminator, Aliens, Mad Max and by artists like Mobeus and Frazzeta. When you look at anime/manga like Akira, Fist of the North Star, Ghost in the Shell, Neo Tokyo, Wimgs of Honeimise, Demon City Shinjuku, Angel Cop, Wicket City, Black Magic M66, Ninja Scroll and so many other in thar era you see the influence.
The directors back then were individuals who weren't trying to emulate each other or fallow a "rule". It made for such incredible and unique anime. There was mo "industry standard" I hate calling it anime because it's too limiting. Instead I say this was a Yoshiaki Kawajiri movie or a Katsuhiro Otomo movie and that says more than "it's anime".
However now it's all the same. It looks a certain way, anime isn't unique from each other and hardlines their own tropes from the Industry Standards. Instead of each director being influenced by unique things they're all influenced by each other making an inbred standard, much the same as Marvel and D.C. comics and why I left them.
Bro that opening fucks up my soul. This was so important to my growing up lol
Artist: "How big do you want the pauldrons?"
Director: "Yes!"
You have 4 sizes in pauldrons:
- Small
- Realistic
- Large
- Space Marine
You: Pauldrons
Others: You mean Shoulder pads?
Us Smart people: Do your history and know your terminology "Others".
The part when bard sings the legend of hero's party, is for me best rendition of a bard giving a preformance. It grabbed my attention immediatley. Its up there with Priscilla's song in Witcher 3
I love the Lodoss franchise, as it was one of my earlier experiences with anime. Still have my original VHS collector's box set of it from way back when, even! Definitely a quintessential entry in both the fantasy and anime spheres that still holds up today.
After I grew up a bit, my friends and I participated in a drinking game while watching the OVAs - take a shot every time Parn gets his sword knocked out of his hand, or when someone throws a knife. Nobody lasted long.
One of the best animes ever!! Everyone needs to experience Lodoss Wars in all its glory
Man, brought back some memories of a long, LONG time ago. I saw this for the first time when I was in the Navy. I even had the Dreamcast game (it's horrible).
I'm an old man who appreciates the anime of my 20s (yikes!), so I subscribed. Keep making these. They're really good takes on classic anime.
You're not old man you're just experienced lol. A fantasy fan is always welcome no matter the age!
@@falconeshield I don't know, I'm old enough that KRULL is one of my favorite movies. If you haven't seen it, take a high fantasy world and have it invaded by aliens. It's also Liam Neeson's first film. Highly recommended!
@fiatfan83 Oh I say all the time I'm the world's oldest boy. It makes me a good dad, especially since we started a family late in life. I don't care that I'm 45, I'm happy to build a pillow fort with my kids.
After 22 years in the military, being a cop, firefighter, and EMT, this is all I ever wanted out of life. None of my awards and achievements matter compared to the time I spend with my boys. We've even started on some of the anime of my early years. Heck, I remember when Robotech was first on television. I still have my Rick Hunter action figure!!!
@fiatfan83 The best part about Robotech is how quickly they establish the setting and characters, and how events will stay in the story. Rick will always remember Ben Dixon and Roy. When years later, as an adult, they made Macross Plus, adult me in the military got to watch my favorite show as a kid grow up with me. That's an incredible experience.
Enjoy!!!
I have been looking for a medieval, DnD like series, and have not found much. Thought I'd check if an anime existed for it (the saying goes that if it exists there is an anime of it), so I checked and checked, couldn't find much since I am generally not a fan of anime...but man, I just found this series, gave it a few minutes of a watch and it is EXACTLY what I was looking for! The general vibe, setting, look, it is perfect. Gonna be giving it a watch for sure.
If that is what you are looking for, this is probably the best option. I have not come across an anime that scratches the DnD fantasy itch quite like Lodoss does, imo. Don't get me wrong, there are some good anime in the fantasy genre out there, but this will always be my favorite.
i wish iw as you all over agian.
@@VansAnime any suggestions?
@@StewNWT There are a lot of options out there but I think it largely depends on the era of anime people are into. I grew up loving Slayers but it is far more comedic than something like Lodoss. Berserk is a good choice for fantasy anime that takes itself more seriously. Black Clover is another good option. I also recommend Vision of Escaflowne for those who don't mind some mecha blended with their fantasy anime. But that is just what I can think of off the top of my head.
What did ya think???
Wonderfully made video dude, you sold me. Love to see people share their nostalgia
Thank you!
Excellent review. I only found Lodoss after the release of Frieren, and fans were mentioning the work. Lodoss is as you say, super excellent High Fantasy done with seriousness. The still art is stunning, and evocative, but the animation lacks a budget which forces the artists to take a still piece of its own art and slowly move it across the screen. Constantly riffing through still pictures is only a suggestion of animation. But any anime fan of High Fantasy, should watch this kind of story done right in Lodoss.
FIrst anime I ever saw as a kid and I fell in love. I've only seen a handful of animes, but I'm glad I got to see this.
I just started watching the anime after finding a lot of the tapes being sold for a good price online and I gotta say that I’m loving it so far. The Art is fantastic, the characters have a somewhat nostalgic Tolkien feeling to them, and the opening is a masterpiece!
Couldn't agree more, a Classic and well worth watching even to this day 30 years after it came out.
Love it. I still have the VHS.
Same here. Although, they are barely watchable these days. I wore those poor tapes out lol
this anime is such a hidden gem that i didn't find out about it until i ask chatgpt for recommendations lol
I never thought to ask AI for anime recommendations. I might have to try that out myself!
Cool!🤩 I am relatively new to anime and was born in 94 in Nigeria, so i could not watch this but i absolutely love fantasy! I recently bought the OVA on the Microsoft store snd your review makes ne even more excited to watch it. Thanks 👍👍
I'm here because I emulated the game on my Nintendo switch emulator and it's the type of metroidvania RPGs I like I had no idea it was an anime
The game is pretty great!
Bruh, you would love the anime.
It’s also on Crunchyroll right now. Both versions
While Parn is annoying (idiots who stupidly charge in deserve to wind up dead, especially if they keep doing it and/or scream while doing it), it does have so many other iconic characters. Pirotess, in particular, is the reason for female dark elves being an anime/JRPG staple. One of the most influential anime characters of all time.
Lodoss the island cursed by the world. A place where man has to struggle to survive where demons and monsters thrive without question and where only those of strong Minds for magics and arms for blades can survive. An island of adventure that awaits those brave enough to challenge it.
You sold me on cool fight scenes and hot chicks. I was tired of everything set in high school I will watch this one
I was rambling about this needing a remaster/remake multiple times to my friend this week; I think he's fed up hearing it
...tell him again 🤣
i love lodoss so much. some of the very best and deserves more attention or even more chapters. i read one of the light novels and wasn't in love with it but loved wonderlabrynth.
Really liked this video. Improved compared to the previous one and you already dropped the Plinkett-style jokes. This is a good review of a good OVA and hope to see your next video soon.
Thank you!
As a lifelong Record Of Lodoss War fan. I'd like to thank you for this video. This is legit my comfort anime...also thr Venus Wars shootout (fantastic). Still to this day it's the best high fantasy anime in my book. I dont think we'll ever get back to this quality of anime again....not dissing what we have now , but that energy and type of effort and style seems hard to rekindle.
Time for a rewatch! Idk what it is about Record of Lodoss War in particular, but it conjures really strong feelings in me. It was one of the first great anime I saw as a kid, after graduating from Saturday morning stuff like Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z. It also reminds me of a time when a show- in particular a fantasy anime- could take itself seriously and fully exist within its own world completely removed from the trappings of modernity.
Ashram = absolute stud. Pirotess > Deedlit. But you've always known where I stood on these hot takes.
i'm pretty sure i looked like parn when he was enamored with cashew in the ball scene when I was watching this as a kid, ashram is to this day one of my favorite anime characters.
@@jovanleonardi1574 I love Parn's gay man crush on Cashew.
@@StewNWT I always that idolatry came because Kashue so strikingly resembles Tessius: Parn's father. There's even a clip in one of the earlier episodes that shows Kashue walking away from Parn and they show the lighting and shot in exactly the same way Tessius looked walking away from him when Parn last saw him, so I always thought there was going to be some twist reveal that Kashue was actually Tessius in disguise who managed to survive despite being stripped of his rank to become a mercenary king.
Logos war and samurai troopers were always my favorite. I miss old anime compared to what we get now
Agreement and nostalgia aside, great video! Saturday morning on sci fi, Record of Lodoss War (and Vampire Hunter D) were the first anime I’d seen and was floored.
I always rewatch every so often, Designs, characters, music, and a world that made me want to know more. I remember I saved my allowance back then to buy both the Japanese and English version VHS box sets as I HAD to have them.
Great times as a kid and now! Thanks again for making this video!
I too first saw it on Scifi's Saturday mornings of the rising sun, the first anime I ever saw I recognized as anime and have loved it ever since.
This series also intertwined with my childhood/teen years. I remember showing one of the VHS episodes to my DnD group and my DM was amazed by it. Media was harder to come by in the 90's so this was a cool artifact.
Studio Madhouse put they're foot in this anime as well
I finally got the chance to watch it recently in 2024 and yeah the first thing that came to my mind was 'this is pretty much a DnD session'.
They have warrior guy, warrior/mage elf, mage, cleric, rogue, and dwarf fighter. They clearly power up through the episodes too especially Parn, without it really being shown on screen as if they gained levels. Magic has casting time for the most part, and they fight dragons goblins ogres etc...
Not that this is a bad thing, modern fantasy anime are almost all isekais with ever more unhinged premises by comparion. Some of them are still good but most are 'wtf is going on here' or give the MC world ending powers by episode 3 which make everything happening later on irrelevant.
I thought there was gonna be more episodes and char developpement tho. They speed from one location and to the next fight really fast. Which also sounds DnD like I guess.
If you are interested, ROLW Chronicles of the Heroic Knight might be what you are looking for in terms of more episodes and fleshing out some of the characters. The production quality of the show is not nearly as good as the ROLW OVA, but it does continue the story in a more "faithful" way to the source material (the RPG replays/light novels).
Chronicles of the Heroic Knight takes place after episode 8 of the OVA and replaces episodes 9-13.
I really appreciate this video. Randomly stumbled across it and just finished the OVA. Definitely one of my favorites I’ve seen. Thanks for this!
this was the first anime i ever watched, good times.
OKAY, my story of my introduction to ROLW. I was already, FINALLY, finding anime that wasn’t censored to Hell. I had VHS tapes of Dangaioh, Bubblegum Crisis and Akira.
While hanging out at a comic shop, I caught a flyer stating that a Japanese-Canadian club at a local college had fansubbed the first 8 episodes and were screening them.
Went, sat through all 8, fell in love! I eventually saw the whole OAV series.
I couldn’t really get into the TV series, though.
It straight up plays like a DnD campaign and I love it for that.
I rented the box set of this anime from Blockbuster when I was a kid. Still remember it fondly.
character design nd world design is top tier reminded of concept character sheet of fighting games
I never knew this was loosely based of an actual campaign. I'm glad you showed Louie the Rune Soldier at the end. I only learned about Louie just a few years ago.
The soundtrack both in sub & dub is amazing & still holds up to this dau
Thanks for the suggestion. Ill look it up.
I couldn't get into it, but the music I will always love. I might dive in again one time, it seems like one of these things that you can really immerse yourself in.
It is. Admittedly, it is probably much easier to get into if you are a fan of Dungeons and Dragons or high fantasy already. Nostalgia for those of us who saw it back in the day goes a long way as well. But the music is certainly wonderful.
@@VansAnime i know that nostalgia feel from other shows and music. I'm not too much into DnD however I like high fantasy, on the newer front i can recommend Made in Abyss - it is really amazing .)
@@eden4949 I will certainly add it to the list to check out! Thanks!
12:50 "Like Venus Wars". Absolutely agreed.
I remember watching this as a kid when it first appeared on Saturday Anime bloc and I would just sit my butt down every Saturday morning in front of the TV to catch the second but it nevered aired.
This is still the best fantasy anime decades later.
So glad i found a channel that focuses on retro anime.
This show is so good. I'm always amazed when my D&D buddies say they haven't seen it
This was one of those animes you could show your nonanime friends and let it do its thing for you
Great review , The music is also what makes this anime so spectacular. I still remember the day I watched the opening theme of the dub version and became mesmerized by Sherrys voice . I would watch the opening over and over again.
Record of lodoss is also the first anime soundtrack I ever bought , well my dad bought for me lol. I ordered it off a Japanese music website .
It took 2 weeks to get to me and I still have it to this day. Apple Music also has all the record of lodoss wars soundtracks !
If I remember correctly as a kid I had a SEGA Dreamcast game with this title. I could not stop playing it.
Ashram! I like him so much last time when I first watched the OVA. The part about him being a stud got me 😂
This Series is a Classic of Classics. The Scenes I like the most were the Ones showing Parn and Ashram wielding Their Kings Swords and made it Their own.
Thank you for spelling out everything I felt about this anime.
When I watched the D&D cartoon they first put up, I felt it didn't do the genre any justice.
Meanwhile, Tomino and Takahashi had released an anime in Japan based on high fantasy featuring robots, and they did it better.
Although the viewers were pretty much befuddled by the concept back then.
(There was no Dragon Quest (Dragon warrior) or Final Fantasy back then)
It was only when I watched RLW that they really captured what we wanted from this genre.
It's interesting that the character designer for Diedricht said he got that inspiration for the elf ears from Kira in the Dark Crystal film.
I bought my DVD Special Edition set from Fry's back in 2002. It sits next to my Dungeons and Dragons boxed set.
This is *the* definitive fantasy anime. It's actually based on a Fighting Fantasy campaign run by the creators. Deedlit and Parn were a whole lot different in their campaign.😂
This with Vampire Hunter d and Berserk is just peak. Also the game on the Dreamcast was just brutal hard
Lodoss is the best, the design, the music, the world building, everything is perfect
I did happen upon this video by accident and thank you for your suggestion!
TH-cam RECS ARE AT IT AGAIN.
Just watched it thanks to your video and I couldn’t agree more with your points.
I loved its sincerity in its setting and characters, the beautiful artwork and music. Sometimes, a “cliched” high fantasy story executed perfectly can contain great storytelling too and this ova proves it. There happens a lot in 13 eps, it never slows down. Also, nothing against subversive or more deconstructive takes on the genre, but sometimes I do get a bit tired of the more nihilistic or cynical approaches. Classic heroism is neat (even though Parn is a very stubborn lad, he gets his ass kicked A LOT).
Also, I’ve been playing DnD for 2 years and it does feel like a campaign, but not in a bad way. Loved it!
talks about D&D,
shows a picture of heroquest
"son. you just started a war"
Yea this was amazing back in the day and still now. Can't believe we lost quality like this.
Thanks for this, brought back some good Memories... Subscribed.
5:25 😂 that was hilarious! Parn was looking at her like, "that's a bad bitch." 😅
Hell yeah I rented this on VHS in the early 90s it's so good. I've got the collectors edition dvd now and it has some cool artwork on the packaging. There's a guy on youtube with the channel Happy Console Gamer and he's a huge fan of classic anime, I think he'd love this channel it's right up his alley
This was one of my intros to "japanamation" and rented it over and over from my comic shop
Just ordered the blu ray collectors edition. Will be the perfect blend in on my shelves next to the Berserk collectors edition and Vampire Hunter d bloodlust collectors edition :)
Have you seen Frieren? It reminds me a lot of Record of Lodoss War. A DnD world set in Medieval Europe
I haven't. However, thanks to your comment I looked it up and I am intrigued. I'll be checking this out in the near future! Thanks!
Love this movie I remember watching this one early Sunday morning on sci fi channel!
Record of Lodoss War is my favorite anime. I'd love to see it revisited, or even the newest novel animated.
Subscribed because very few talk about this anime.
Orson is hands down my favorite fantasy character and he only has 10 lines?! He's so devoted and such a bad ass in the humblest way.😢 And say what you will about The Heroic Legend but the did his death perfectly.😭
The english opening and closing are amazing and it’s sad they never did a full version of either🫡
Good times...
I remember my young me, sneaking to the TV at night because there are
"different cartoons" to watch.
This was my first one ever.
But I trouble to keep it up with the modern stuff, something is off about that.
god i watched my old vhs' of the ova to death as a kid. I love this story so much
Thank you, Van. Because of you I started watching Record of Lodoss War, and it's pretty neat. Your videos are very interesting, thanks to them I've discovered a couple of hidden gems. Also, I wouldn't mind hearing your thoughts on Jin-Roh The Wolf Brigade.
Have the whole series on DVD and LOVE it! One of the first Anime series i watched... 😊
A better adaptation of Dungeons & Dragons I have still YET to see. Remains steadfast in my top 5 anime of all time.