Lodoss Wars - yes or no?

[NausicaaBoy]

http://www.animenfo.com/image/anime_304.jpgHey everyone I picked up this series at the store today and sat down to watch the first 3 eppies. My first impression is that it has a lot of potential - I picked it up because I was craving a good fantasy story. Anyway I know its an older series circa 90 - so I was wondering what everyones opinions are on it.

hoping for lots of replies

p

P.S. IM A JUNIOR NOW! =)

[soundchazer]

It was a great series for those days, and it created a lot of expectation both in Japan and abroad. Unfortunately, it hasn't aged pretty well, and to modern standards, the reuse of cells and sequences is a big no no (although several older series used to do that).

I still enjoy it though.

[NausicaaBoy]

Yah I didnt notice the re-use of frames and was a little thrown off - however it doesnt reck the story

oh and some fight scens are just straight up gay haha standing there with chib arms and not moving at all - big no no...

[soundchazer]

Just for the record, we are talking about the OVA, right?

[NausicaaBoy]

yep the original - I havent seen the heroic or whatever its called series

anyway what did you think of character development, I liked how the characters were introduced at incriments through the first eppies however, I wish they hadnt done the usual one step forward, two steps back and another 3 foreward....you know present past story continues kind of deal

[soundchazer]

Well... this is not a very long OVA, so you can't expect an incredible amount of character development. In those cases, you would be better served looking at it from the story point of view.

[NausicaaBoy]

I must say that I am a little confused with the direction of the plot even after three episodes - Parn skips from the kings side - to the village - to the quest so I assume that the village episode was a step back in time and the companions are still searching for the old mage. P.s. is the guy with red hair the dragon?

haha im soo excited to be talking about a fantasy again - its my favorite genre!

[Apolyion]

Good for its time, not really up to modern standards in production values though. When I first watched it, it was one of my favorites, though.

Does a good job with its villains and antagonists, which is always a plus for an anime and is pretty rare. The major bone I have to pick with it is that Parn was quite possibly the most annoying male lead in any anime before Shinji came along.

The very beginning starts out with the characters already together and on their quest to meet Karla I think, which is about in the middle of the story chronologically from what I remember - mind you it's been years since I've watched this. So as I recall, much of the story in the first few episodes is taking place in an extended flashback. Eventually the flashback catches up with the chronological story and from the middle onwards things are happening in proper chronological order.

[Rove]

The major bone I have to pick with it is that Parn was quite possibly the most annoying male lead in any anime before Shinji came along.
So much truth in that sentence.

In response to Record of Lodoss War, I still love it, much like I did almost 15 years ago, and I think it passed the barrier of time quite well. Yes, the plot is not that original, nor the character personalities, but if there's something that can be praised to the high heavens is Deedlit's character design. How a guy such as Yutaka Izubuchi who is ten times as famous for his work in mechanical designs created Deedlit (and the rest of the cast) is amazing to say the least. Sure, he had Ryo Mizuno's art to work with but still!

Anyways, great fantasy series, owes a lot to the likes of Lord of the Rings and generic RPGs, has one f*cking annoying hero, and has one amazing elf (that can probably be blamed for making pretty much all future female anime elves have long, blond hair). The TV series Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight is entertaining as well, though I never liked the new characters as much as the old, stereotypical ones, and still plead loyalty towards the original OVAs. All manga and artbooks by Ryo Mizuno are a great (and beautiful) addition to anyone's fantasy manga collection as well.

[NausicaaBoy]

yah I know what you mean but thats part of its charm - you can tell its an aged story. the lead character is already getting on my nerves though. the elf daedi or however you would spell its awsome.

I love the symbolism of the wine being poured on the floor. Its nice to see some of that extra styling you dont see much of that anymore

[7Raven7]

Yeah, the OVA (OVA in name only) is not a shining example of what a good medieval anime series can be and the 13 episode format is no help.

The animation will not completely bother those who are used to anime from this era and it is not a major gripe of mine, but it is extremely painful to watch this after watching Chronicles so you picked the right order. This could easily be called Lodoss:The Abridged or Lodoss: The Lesser, it is about as much fun as eating a can of soup... no, not the actual soup... but the can. Luckily this title is usually pretty cheap.

Do yourself a favor, take decent breaks and wash your mind out with something flashy, like FLCL, whenever you feel the need. And check out Chronicles afterwards.

[NausicaaBoy]

I was taking my breaks with DNAngel and eureka lol

[Zelkiiro]

Chronicles of the Heroic Knight is definitely the superior series.

* Zelkiiro loves the chibi sequences at the end of each episode.

[soundchazer]

I'm actually with Rove on this one. I prefer the OVA better, plus I like the character designs more than on the TV series (please do NOT confuse with animation... the TV series for the most part has better animation just due to the fact that it was made with more modern techniques).

[Taleweaver]

I'm also very much in favor of the old OVA series. In my opinion, the story is more coherent, and while it certainly hasn't aged well in terms of art and animation, it brings back fond memories of my old AD&D sessions. Everything was better back then, wasn't it?

[Mouse]

I gotta jump on the bandwagon here of OVA lovers. I could never get into the TV show. The new approach to the characters just bothered me too much because I loved the original so much. Nor did I really like the new ones they added. Plus, I really hated those chibi sequences at the end.

I think I'm probably the only Lodoss fan alive that wasn't bothered by Parn. I guess I was too young and watched the episodes spread out enough that I didn't catch on to whatever he does that annoys everyone else. And Deedlit really is an awesome character; I absolutely loved her and the various villians throughout, especially the dark elves. It's been awhile since I've seen it though, I can't remember too many details. :/

Edit @ Taleweaver: Yes, everything certainly was better back then. ^.^

[NausicaaBoy]

Im actually really enjoying watching this one. Deedlit is awsome and Parn is just a douche...but its kinda of fun watching something that was made when I was born. I feel like im expanding my perspective on anime.

anyway Im on eppie 4 now and enjoying it. seems like LOTR might have been used in the process of designing the story? dunno any thoughts?

anyway its great to get responses from everyone who was around to see the series released.

more comments and opions would be great

I have no idea if anyone cares - I know the animation is dated but the local comic shop is selling the collectors set for 30 canadian and I know they ship. So if anyone wants this dated anime I can give you the shop name.

[soundchazer]

Parn was a necessary evil. His shortcomings made Deedlit an even better character.

Loved the Art Nouveau styled artwork in the Ending sequence for each episode.

[NausicaaBoy]

im starting to see that in parn - he had to be the way he is for the story to really work... still hese a douche lol a neccississary douche but still a big fat douche lol

[KiraraKim]

I don't know the series borrowed way too much from Lord of the Rings/Dungeons and Dragons type fantasies for my liking. I just couldn't get into it. Maybe because I've read a lot of the books in the genre that have done the same type of story much better.

[NausicaaBoy]

yeah im also I fantasy genre reader and the story was fairly stereotypical but im still enjoying the series as something new and fairly interesting to watch

[Apolyion]

I remember the Lodoss Wars OVAs fondly because wen I watched them, they were the first time I'd seen the high fantasy genre done as anime. And it was relatively good, much better than most of the high fantasy movies or TV shows that were produced in the time period.

Almost nothing can compete well with books though, except maybe movies or shows that were based on books - but I'm not sure that's really competing.

[soundchazer]

That is exactly why it was so popular. The D&D genre had pretty much gone unnoticed by anime before Lodoss. A lot of younger viewers didn't have to live through that since a healthy number of anime inspired by lodoss were produced afterwards.

For us old timers, this is why the series was so special.

[KiraraKim]

Almost nothing can compete well with books though, except maybe movies or shows that were based on books - but I'm not sure that's really competing.

I am not comparing it to any book I just dislike any fantasy stories that copy off of Tolkien's world whether it is a book, live action movie or anime. The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings were great because the world was so well thought out. But I don't want to see or read about that world again I want something new. I have very set opinions when it comes to Fantasy.

Now Vision of Escaflowne is to me what a good fantasty story is all about.

[soundchazer]

Good fantasy stories? Hmmm...

The Cat Returns
Kiki's Delivery Service
Spirited Away
Castle in the Sky
Howl's Moving Castle
Berserk
A tree of Palme

[NausicaaBoy]

pffft way to forget those who hunt elves! lol jk...thats funny..and bad..and good all wrapped into one


mmm fav fantasy would be Nausicaa...

[KiraraKim]

Escaflowne was just an example I enjoyed a lot of the other fantasy anime mentioned as well. Especially some of the Miyazaki films mentioned. :)

[PsychoSaiya-jin]

Good fantasy stories? Hmmm...

The Cat Returns
Kiki's Delivery Service
Spirited Away
Castle in the Sky
Howl's Moving Castle
Berserk
A tree of Palme

No 'Twelve Kingdoms'? I've only seen half of it but I liked what I saw. The frist episode is misleading/offputting but don't let that fool you. 12K has one of the most interesting fantasy worlds I've seen.

I liked the Lodoss OVA, never watched all the TV show. I still listen to the OP /ED song to this day.

[soundchazer]

PSJ, you are a genius! 12 Kingdoms is a great example of a good fantasy anime, although like Berserk the main theme is more of an epic/political struggle than a "let's slay the dragon / rescue the damsel in distress" type.

[NausicaaBoy]

12 kingdoms was excellent - though the books were not to my taste

the begining was a little odd dont you think - the whole honor student thingy etc? to suddenly..(said story)

[bigal60]

I liked it alot it was probably the third anime i had ever seen and I loved it

[laborpilot86]

Record of Lodoss War OVA is important because it was among the first Anime series to make an impact, unedited, in the USA. And yes it is better than most live-action/cartoon fantasy productions available at the time.

[JigokuHime]

I love PARN! ^^ This series was great! I liked the mini adventure's that they had in there. Very cute ^^ And i love the opening song

[laborpilot86]

I prefer Slayn myself. He's such a great dude to have at your side in battle