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| Reviewer: RPL |
Run Time: 75 mins |
Format: Subbed |
Distributor: CPM |
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R E CO R D O F L O D O S S W A R T V |
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The first thing that grabs you is the intro – bloody hell it’s good! The music is beautiful, and the title sequence is stunningly directed. It rings all the right bells, and goes down as the best animated intro sequence I’ve seen in years (yes, better than Escaflowne!) So that’s about 90 seconds worth of your money, what about the rest of the tapes? Well, the story is pretty formulaic, but the start of episode one is engaging and you’re soon swept into the story. As I suspected, you don’t need to have seen the original OAV’s to understand what’s going on, but some background knowledge will make the experience richer. Without giving too much plot away, Ashram, the Black Knight from the OAV series is alive and well (goodness knows how, but what the hell) and Parn, now a legend in his own right, stumbles onto the scene in time to learn about his nefarious plans. Cue assembling of various “dungeon parties” and allocating of resources before the adventure begins. The original character designs haven’t altered much – a little simpler perhaps, but not so you’d really notice. Even Parn doesn’t look that much older, despite the passage of five years. Not even any stubble… The new characters are brash, young and lively, but interesting and likable anyway. The animation itself isn’t breathtaking, but again, it works. The TV series takes us through an initial story, the battle at Fire Dragon Mountain, before whisking us ten years into the future to start a new battle. Jumpy yes, but fun. Where Lodoss does let itself down is that, at times, it seems drawn out. Whilst the quest, and the relationship between young knight Spark and young magician Neece is pivotal to events, the political machinations do seem to take their toll on your interest, and some characters, such as the Elf, Leaf, sem to fall into the background, which is a shame as it feels as if there are many other stories to tell here. 
The series and its style draws from sources such as Lord of the Rings
and Dungeons and Dragons, and fans of either will be well served here
- the series is atmospheric and in turns, dark, atmospheric and romantic.
7/10 - Wonderful to look at, with some fantastic character designs, but in the end it's a little too shallow to deserve a higher score. Back to Menu |
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| More fantasy adventure... |  |
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Take a look at Fushigi Yugi for more other worldly fantasy - full of
cute girls, handsome guys and a storyline that'll have you laughing
and crying in equal measure.Read the Review |
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