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- According to Forbes, Arcane has the highest Rotten Tomatoes rating of any Netflix Original. Its accomplishments as a video game adaptation are unparalleled. The series, which has achieved overwhelming success, was renewed for a highly-anticipated second season the day the season one finale was released.
Jan 10, 2022 · Video game movies are notoriously bad, so how did Arcane, the animated Netflix adaptation of Riot Games’ League of Legends, escape the curse?
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Arcane didn't start off as a half-baked marketing move to cash in on a popular franchise, like the vast majority of video game adaptations do. It was the passion project of individuals within Riot who fought for years to get it approved by the company brass.
- A classic in the making, and the nail in the coffin of the so-called “video game curse.”
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- Verdict
- Arcane Season 1 Review
- More Reviews by Rafael Motamayor
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By Rafael Motamayor
Updated: Nov 23, 2021 12:05 am
Posted: Nov 20, 2021 8:01 am
All episodes of Arcane Season 1 are now streaming on Netflix.
Arcane boasts a massive world with complex characters you either love to root for or love to hate, a simple yet immersive and layered story, and absolutely gorgeous and groundbreaking animation with a unique visual style. Though it was already starting to crack, this League of Legends adaptation puts the final nail in the coffin of the “video game adaptation curse” by shattering preconceptions of what the animation medium is capable of, delivering a once-in-a-generation masterpiece that is sure to inspire both fans and storytellers alike for years to come. It does all of this all while delivering an exhilarating kick-ass story whether you know the entire history of Runeterra or you're just looking for the next event series.
Based on the lore of League of Legends yet serving as a prequel to many character and story elements from the games, Arcane is set in the city of Piltover and its undercity district of Zaun. Arcane is mostly an upstairs, downstairs story, centering on the brewing tensions and social unrest in Zaun, where people live in harsh conditions and under the constant threat of Piltover's brutal enforcers. From the start, Arcane does a fantastic job of introducing its expansive world full of rich history and lore without bombarding us with exposition by relying on visual storytelling and using easter eggs to hint at a larger world. The mechanical architecture of Zaun, the way a tavern changes its look from one arc to the other, and the statues referring to deities or past warriors all help tell that larger story without the need for many verbal explanations — much in the same way the original Star Wars did.
The actual plot focuses on two parallel storylines across the two locations. In Piltover, we follow Jayce and Viktor, two scientists on the verge of being able to harness magic through technology, and the societal cost of rapid technological advance. On the streets of Zaun, we follow orphan sisters Vi and Powder as they get involved with a heist gone wrong and the start of a gang war in Zaun with big consequences for both cities. Despite many moving parts and an abundance of plot points and worldbuilding, Arcane succeeds by staying grounded in its two intimate storylines. Sure, the show does explore important events with big ramifications for the world of Runeterra. Still, if you have never played the games (confession time, I have never even touched any of the Runeterra-set games), the character stories are what keep you engaged episode after episode; the lore is just icing on the cake to deepen everything within a larger story. This is a stark contrast to Netflix's DOTA animated series, which focused so much on its lore and pleasing longtime fans it ended up a confusing mess for casual viewers.
Yet well-written characters are just part of it, as Arcane also boasts an impressive voice cast that helps bring a layer of emotion to the characters, from Katie Leung’s soft-spoken Caitlyn to Shohreh Aghdashloo's regretful Grayson. Ella Purnell especially blends Jinx's outbursts of rage with enough vulnerability to inspire both fear and pity whenever she's on screen. At the same time, Hailee Steinfeld steals the show with her phenomenal portrayal of Vi's entire arc throughout all nine episodes, bringing a worldful of pain and emotional baggage covered by a thick layer of toughness. Make no mistake, as cool as the fight scenes are, Arcane is more often than not heartbreaking, especially if you know the games and where certain characters end up. But even if you don't, the show is full of surprises and plot twists that enhance the character journeys. There is a clear vision to make this the first stepping stone into a much larger world, one that seeks to join the likes of the MCU in terms of ambitious connective storytelling (albeit with a more visually inventive approach). Still, even as a self-contained season, Arcane ends on a satisfying yet equally heart-wrenching note.
Against all odds, Arcane delivers a killing blow to the idea that video games cannot be masterfully adapted into other mediums, with compelling characters, an endearing story, and fascinating lore and worldbuilding, as well as striking visuals that break new ground for what is possible in TV animation. Like Into the Spider-Verse, we’ll be talking a...
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masterpiece
Arcane is the first video game adaptation that’s truly a masterpiece, breaking new ground for what’s possible in TV animation.
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Nov 9, 2021 · The series -- deftly animated, well-written and imbued with life by a talented cast -- is quietly a triumph for video game adaptations, an infamously difficult type of source material to successfully translate to film or television.
- Senior Staff Writer
Apr 7, 2022 · According to Forbes, Arcane has the highest Rotten Tomatoes rating of any Netflix Original. Its accomplishments as a video game adaptation are unparalleled.
Jan 20, 2023 · My favorite among these newer adaptations is the stellar Arcane, a 2021 animated series that loosely adapts the massively popular game League of Legends. Arcane takes existing characters and...
Nov 6, 2021 · Which is why Netflix and RiotGame’s Arcane, based on the decade-old League of Legends multiplayer online battle arena game, is such a revelation.
