Recently, one of my friends recommended me to watch Fallout, a TV series adaptation of a popular video game franchise that has recently arrived on Amazon Prime Video. After watching and getting amazed by the series, I remembered that another gorgeous video game adaptation, titled Arcane, was released in 2021, and I never got around to watching it because I wasn’t sure how it would turn out and if it would match my tastes.
However, I decided to watch Arcane a few days back, and oh my God, I was instantly mesmerized by the animation and the incredible storyline. To be honest, it’s not just a TV series but an experience that will raise your expectations for every other animated project.
Based on the League of the Legends universe, Arcane’s plot takes place in Utopian Pitover and the polluted undercity of Zaun. It follows Jinx and Vi, two sisters who get separated in childhood and after growing up they find each other to be entirely different people. Saying this is barely scratching the surface. The storyline has a depth to it that will keep you hooked and the portrayal of complex emotions throughout the series has wooed me.
What Makes Arcane So Good?
Arcane has a 9/10 rating on IMDb and a 100% average Tomatometer rating. Looking beyond the ratings, what makes it so good? Well, I had first-hand experience with it so I can share why Arcane should be on your watchlist if you missed it (like me).
Masterpiece Animation
It is one such animated series that can stun you with the facial expressions of the characters. On the other hand, the fighting sequences are animated so nicely that you will always want to get more of it. Sometimes, it can also make you forget that you are watching an animated series; it looks so close to reality.
From the characters to the places, everything is terrifically animated. The combination of 2D and 3D animation is so masterfully done that in every scene, I thought that there was a cameraman who was shooting the entire scene. From the start, the beautiful color palette of the show had me awe-struck, and I said to myself, “It was silly of me to ignore this for too long.”
Storyline That’ll Stay with You for Years to Come
As I previously mentioned, the storyline of Arcane revolves around two sisters, Vi and Jinx, who, on an unfortunate day, lose each other. Vi becomes a prisoner and Jinx takes the bad company of Silco. For several years, Jinx holds anger inside of her towards Vi and becomes a twisted person who has no regard for innocent lives. When Vi returns, she fails to find her little sister in Jinx, she only sees an evil pawn of Silco who has killed countless people.
Arcane does a beautiful job of setting up Vi and Jinx’s story. The music and direction of the series are so fantastic that you get emotionally connected to the sisters in just the first three episodes. I actually teared up a little when Vi and Jinx got separated in episode 3, all thanks to the beautiful cinematography and direction.
The pacing of the series is also top-notch. There isn’t a single episode that goes out of context or distracts you from the main storyline. The show doesn’t sideline other characters in the story. The dynamic between Viktor and Jayce is equally entertaining to watch, and I couldn’t help but wonder how their stories will end up.
The story of Arcane is written in such a way that while answering some important questions, it also raises several questions and hints at upcoming events, maintaining a sense of mystery throughout.
Complex and Flawed Characters
Besides that, the universe of Arcane is full of flawed characters. To be precise, in most television series, we see flawless cookie-cutter characters who are loved by the audience from the beginning. However, Arcane is different.
Similar to the anime character Naruto, Arcane has several main characters who aren’t perfect. Jinx’s little mistake at the end of the third episode costs many lives, leading to the demise of many of her friends. But even then, I couldn’t help but feel bad for the little girl; that’s the beauty of this show.
These characters make mistakes, learn from them, and evolve. For instance, Vi knew that she pushed her sister into darkness by going away from her, so she did everything to get her old little sister back.
Furthermore, given the characters’ backstories, their present-day actions begin to make sense. Silko, for instance, was one of the oppressed, so he had immense hatred for the rich; however, he wasn’t heartless. His fatherly love for Jinx laid the foundation for his ultimate demise. So, I can also say that the creators left no stone unturned to introduce a perfect world-building.
The animation series also occasionally features brief fan services, but there’s no denying that we can only spot them where they make sense.
After watching the nine episodes, I couldn’t resist questioning my choice of not watching it when it was first released two years back. Well, now that I have built a friendly relationship with Arcane’s universe, I am curious to see what happens next in the second season that will grace our screens in November 2024.
Watching Netflix’s Arcane has motivated me to watch more video game adaptations. Despite the disappointing track record of video game adaptations, I feel that things are changing for good and I’m excited for upcoming adaptations.
