Arcane: Bridging the Rift

Since Arcane was deleted from Letterboxd I have to rewrite my entire review for it here. RIP. I'm sure if you're reading this review, chances are you are either familiar with Arcane or League of Legends. If you're not, League of Legends is a 5v5, competitive video game that came out in 2009. I've had the pleasure of playing it for roughly 12 of those 15 years. It's a solid game with an infamously toxic player base. Because of that reputation, many people miss out on playing the game (which might be for the best). The champion roster consists of almost 200, wildly diverse characters that play many different roles on a team. The problem is that a vast majority of the people playing League know nothing about them. Unless you take the time to dive into their lore or catch a few random voice lines here and there, you're not going to have any information on them. When Arcane was announced a lot of people, myself include, felt like it was gold mine. The animation looked incredible and with the enormous potential that is the League of Legends world it's basically a guaranteed success. Riot, the game's developers, have also put out many awesome music videos and animated shorts for years. Long time fans knew that there was crazy promise for this show. Season 1 Review: The first season of Arcane came out a few years ago and it was fantastic. I can comfortably say that it lived up to the hype and then some. It's basically perfect. One of the best seasons of television, period. Who would have thought? The best part about Arcane is that it appeals to just about everyone. Sure, long-time fans will appreciate the finer details and easter eggs, but at its core it's a story about family ties, lust for power, and the impact of technology. These are themes that anyone can understand regardless of the universe they take place in. The story has twists and turns, betrayals, heartbreaking and heartwarming moments, romance, and loads of action. There's something for everyone and very few will leave this first season disappointed. Vi and Jinx are the two lead characters that were chosen for the story of Arcane. They were a perfect anchor for a League based story since they are some of the few champions with a foundational backstory. That said, the writers still didn't have much to work with. There are several other iconic characters from League found in Arcane and they did an excellent job bringing them to life and fleshing them out. This show introduced something interesting when it was released with its three act structure. Essentially Netflix released the season in three chunks of three episodes weekly. I actually really liked this idea. Not only does it give you plenty of content to watch, discuss, and theorize of for a whole week, but it also makes it so you can watch that act at your own pace. The episode pacing is designed around the layout, as well. I'd be amiss to not talk about the incredible art and animation. I recently said in my review for *Transformers One that many new animated projects are overhyped due to the impact of anime culture. Arcane* is a perfect fit for that audience, but it deserves all of the attention and praise that it's been receiving. The art is similar to that of the Spider-Verse movies, but takes it a few steps further in detail and color. It's also not as much of a comic book feel. The animation is super fluid, the "shots" are very dynamic, and the action scenes are exhilarating. The music in Arcane is top notch. There are some absolute bangers throughout both seasons. Many of the episodes open up with music video-esque segments which is a super cool way to call back to the studios roots while also finding a creative way to progress the story. The way they tie the songs into the scenes is flawless. The show would still be good if the music wasn't on the same level, but it's significantly enhanced by it. No spoilers, but this season ends in a great spot that had many people talking for months. There were a couple of things teased that still had to be brought into the spotlight, but for the most part things were headed in a direction that made sense. So what about season 2? Season Rating: 5/5 Season 2 Review: Excitement was at an all-time high after the three-year-long wait that many of us experienced waiting for the new season. For the most part, I'd say the second season delivered, but it's a significant stepdown from season one in a single area. The art, animation, music, voice acting, and action are all on the exact same level as the first if not better. It's no wonder this season took so long to make. The only flaw, albeit a major one, is the pacing. The writers claimed that they always planned on Arcane being two seasons, but after watching the season several times on my own, I can tell you there's no way that's true. There were reported budget issues, but with Netflix in the mix I'm sure they had something to do with it. I hate to make this comparison given the backlash it received, but this season reminds me a lot of the Game of Thrones final season. You can tell that there was a desperate attempt to wrap up a ton of storylines in a short amount of time. They never lost the respect for the fanbase or their appreciation for the story, but there were a few choices that didn't make sense given the release's tight window. It's such an interesting viewing experience. Every episode (and I do mean every episode) could have been a 5/5. That's not to say season 2 is void of 5/5 episodes. You can feel the potential in every arc that was written for each character and the intention behind the story beats. It just feels like there was meant to be so much more time spent on every aspect. All in all, despite the messy nature of the season I like where everything ends and most of the moments along the way are great. It's just a shame that things had to be so haphazardly thrown together compared to the neat and tidy package that was season one. The more I think about it the more some things bother me, but I also love hearing about much everyone else is enjoying it. Arcane is still a fantastic series and worth checking out whether you're a gamer or not. Sidenote: I actually watched this documentary and it's alright. A little bloated with some stuff that no one cares about, but still has some interesting behind the scenes tidbits. Seeing some of the early character designs and test footage is really cool and it's impressive to see just how far they came from where they began. Season Rating: 3.75/5 Series Rating: 4.4/5 *Documentary Rating: *3/5 List: 2024 Ranked Last Review: *Moana 2*