Arc The Lad

Genre: Fantasy / Adventure
Parental Guidance Recommended
Credits: 1999. Itsurou Kawasaki (director). Akemi Omode (author). SPE Visual, Bee Train. WOWOW.

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Cover Description:
Join Elk, the youngest member of the Hunters Guild, who finds himself propelled into an epic odyssey across a mysterious world in search of the enigmatic outlaw known as Arc The Lad. Together with the mysterious Lieza and the powerful warrior Shu, Elk must defeat a sinister organization that's creating half-human monsters and find his way to Arc, whom Elk believes responsible for the destruction of his village!

(26 episodes)

Anime based on RPGs should be this good! >>> by firesenshi
I've seen some anime based on RPGs (role playing games). Tales of Eternia, whose game I really really loved turned out to be bad. At least, there are good ones like Majutsushi Orphen and this one. What I loved about this one is that the story and the characters are intriguing. First off, the setting of Arc the Lad is in a modern society plagued with intense political conspiracies and intrigue. The political stuff here isn't as complex as say... that of Gundam Wing. As much as I love Gundam Wing, I'm actually thankful for this. It's enough for me to figure out what's happening since the story begins in the middle, wherein details of the characters' past and mission are revealed bit by bit. The main character, Elk's motive is revenge. Sure, that's a common thing for RPG heroes but things take a different turn. Let's just say his party is joined by Shew, a handsome and skillful hunter; Pandit, (let's just say he's a mysterious strong beast) and [insert name of the girl here], who has an affinity with a lot of beasts. Of course, there's the mysterious Arc, the leader of a group that was banded by the leading government as 'terrorists' and Elk's proclaimed nemesis. Here's where it gets exciting when the details unfold. You wonder who are the real villains are and wonder about the motives. Like in good RPGs, the micro picture we see as simply Elk plotting revenge turns out to be part of a bigger political figure that ... whoa... endangers the world.

Those who think that a modern setting does not fit with the concept of magic (Elk is in fact a magic user of fire) should see Arc the Lad. Note that this not tops in terms of animation but totally ranks high in story and plot. Characters are also given good exposure and development here. You can see a budding relationship between Arc and [insert name of girl here] as well as Shew's.

This is based on the RPGs Arc the Lad I and Arc the Lad II which is part of Arc the Lad Collection (a trilogy) that will be released in English for the Playstation. Play the game and you will see how that was based here. Party members of Arc the Lad I are aboard the Steel Noah [confirm name] while Elk and his party appear in Arc the Lad II.

Individual Rating: Art/Animation 7; Story 9; Characters 8; Sounds 7