“Arcane” is a steampunk, action-adventure Netflix animated series, animated by the French animation studio Fortiche, that premiered November 6 2021, based on the popular game “League of Legends” created by Riot Games.
“Arcane” is set in the city utopia, Piltover, and the oppressed underground of Zuan, which is a city located under Piltover. “Arcane” explores the backstories and world of the characters in the game “League of Legends,” but mainly focuses on the two characters, Powder “Jinx” and Violet “Vi”. Despite what people think about the game, upon its release “Arcane” the show astonished both critics and the general public and was a pioneer in the recent game-to-series trend.
“Arcane” opens to a smoky, flame-filled sky as Zuan revolutionists, who were mounting an uprising against Piltover, are being tossed around and killed by the full-body armored Enforcers, who successfully quelled the opposition. We then meet orphans Violet and Powder, whose parents were among the piles of bodies during the failed uprising, being taken in by an ex-revolutionist named Vander. A few years later Vi, Powder, and a few other kids decide to start a heist in Piltover and are barely able to pull it off. Through this and many other heists in the past, Powder gains the nickname of “Jinx”. After a few events and one or two tragic incidents later, Vi and Jinx are separated and are eventually reunited after a few years, although not in the way either of them would have hoped.
“Arcane” excels with its art, sound, and mood painting. Although it specializes in those aspects it still does an excellent job with its characters and character development, voice acting, and theme. While “Arcane” strays from most typical flat-ish animation styles, adopting a more 3-D look, it doesn’t lose out against the likes of Disney, Pixar, or Dreamworks.
Art in “Arcane” definitely sets the mood for the series. Nothing is perfect and everything has a rugged, slightly messy and chaotic feel to it, mirroring the world around the characters. Although the style might not suit everyone’s preferences, the art doesn’t feel out of place and meshes perfectly with the surroundings and tone. For example, the shadows are greatly exaggerated during more sad or serious scenes, greatly increasing the immersion of the audience. Colors play a pretty influential role in any piece of media, and “Arcane” is no exception, flaunting its either vibrant colors or its dreary, dulled-out colors, with no in-between.
Animation in “Arcane” is extremely detailed, down to the slightest movement, and watching character's move is similar to watching a master painter create their magnum opus. Every character moves in an exaggerated way that makes the character’s personality shine while also showing slight details in the character’s reactions that not everyone will notice, but will still contribute to the feeling of “being alive”. Based on the character’s build and weapon choice they move and fight differently, from slow, powerfull, and clunky, to swift, precise, and fluid. Combining this animation with their art style flaunts the amount of anatomy the creators know about the human body, which is arguably the hardest thing to master when it comes to human art.
Sound in “Arcane” reflects the dedication and work that was put into this series, with clear effort towards a balance between realism and more fictitious designs. Reducing and increasing the sound in different moments and scenes pulls at the viewer's heartstrings, making them feel each and every emotion the characters do. Sound can be difficult to manage and balance with the voice actors’ voices, but “Arcane” shows off its auditory prowess in this area, somehow making voices just quiet or loud enough for the audience to hear the character, no matter what is happening in the background of the scene.
Combining all of these visual and auditory elements create authentic and relatable characters that may not look completely real, but feel as if they are people, each with different stories, principles, and personalities. Characters in “Arcane” cannot function without the other characters. No one can shine in the series without being accompanied by the rest. This results in every character feeding off of eachother, adapting to each other, and changing based on those around them. It makes the cast feel like one whole, completed being, instead of fragmented characters constantly fighting over who is in the spotlight.
Character development and theme can run hand-in-hand at times, and when it eventually gets pulled off, the effect is stunning. The theme of “Arcane” relates to the duality of life and how there must be balance between good, evil, and neutral. Through the series we see multiple stories with characters constantly changing and adapting to things they have done or had to live through in the past and applying that to their future, making them do both “good” and “bad” things.
Although the stories may sometimes seem chaotic, when you look at them carefully, you start to see patterns. The patterns people might notice throughout the series are the importance of balance, portrayed as good against evil, safety against danger, and trailblazing against imitating. The themes present in “Arcane” apply to the real world, too, enhancing the immersion of the show.
Overall, Riot Games and the animation studio Fortiche hit every mark that makes a series work. Through paint-like finesse with art and animation, immersive sound design, and a compelling story of tragedy and trauma, “Arcane” paints a future towards modern entertainment, setting a milestone in game-to-series history.
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