'Arcane' Sets The Bar As High As It Can Go

Wow wow wow wow wow wow wow. This one's gonna be pretty short.

Everyone knows that adapting video games into other mediums typically results in a product that's mediocre at best, with few exceptions ('Sonic' was not bad). I mean, do I even need to list all of the high profile video game movie failures? Well I'm gonna.

- 'Warcraft', I'm still hurt about this one

- Every 'Resident Evil' movie

- Any 'Tomb Raider' movie

- 'Mario'

- Pick a 'Mortal Kombat' film, none of them are very good

- 'Street Fighter'

- 'Doom'

Ok I'm not going to list all of them but you get the picture, it hasn't been good (for reference, the only movie listed above that has higher than a 50% on Rotten Tomatoes is the most recent 'Mortal Kombat', sitting pretty at 54%).

So yeah, it turns out that hour and a half long movies trying to squeeze in stories from eight to twenty hour long video games may not be the best way to go about this. Recently, the idea that episodic media works better for video game stories seems to have finally taken root, starting with the reasonably successful and pretty entertaining 'Witcher' series, and now cemented with Riot's 'Arcane'.

'Arcane' is a story told from the surprisingly rich lore of the competitive multiplayer game 'League of Legends', and focuses primarily (but certainly not entirely, having racked up quite the roster of known characters) on the origins of two popular characters from the game; Vi and Jinx, two sisters growing up in the rough undercity of Piltover. I won't go into more detail about the plot here, as the story is best experienced fresh.

You may be asking yourself, "what exactly sets 'Arcane' apart from previous attempts at video game adaptations?", and the answer seems to be pretty simple; Effort. Every facet of this show has been so well-crafted that 'Arcane' puts itself leagues (ha) ahead of so much of the low effort guff that has been offered up to video game fans. Between the beautifully realized action sequences, gorgeous locations, stellar 2D and 3D animations, and excellent voice-acting, episodes can easily fly by as you find yourself constantly absorbed by what's happening on screen.

Alright, that was the general stuff, let's hit up a quick breakdown (which won't be overly detailed to avoid any possible spoilers).

Plot/Characters: As I mentioned above, Arcane focuses primarily on the sisters Vi and Jinx, and how their lives are upended by the struggle between the elite classes of Piltover and its poorer denizens in the Undercity, but there's a lot going on beneath the surface (politics, rebellion, corruption, family drama). Arcane has a lot of stories to tell in its nine episode run, and it tells most, if not all of them, quite well. It even turns the fairly common "class inequality" media tropes into something interesting, by making us care about, and understand, people on both sides of the conflict. It makes the triumphs so much more satisfying, and it makes the moments of grief so much stronger. This show is not an easy-going kids show: the stories it has to tell are rather dark, it gets pretty heavy.

These stories are enhanced by the shows rich characters, who are in turn brought to life through some truly excellent voice acting and facial animations. I found myself caring quite a bit about many of them, even the ones who didn't get as much screen time as I would like (namely Ekko, a personal favorite of mine). With the emotional highs and lows the series hits, the voice actors really have their work cut out for them here (considering how difficult it can be to bring emotion to a voice acting role) and all of the actors, the two leads especially, are more than up to the task.

Action/Animation: This show looks GOOD as HELL, with lovingly hand-painted textures, exceptional animation work, and flawlessly incorporated 2D effects. Even relaxed moments showcase gorgeous artwork, whether it's skyline shots of the shining Piltover, or the glowing neon signs and shabby alleys of the Undercity. These exciting visuals are turned up to 11 when the action kicks up, with most, if not all of the action scenes leaving my jaw on the floor.

Strong art direction and great shot composition help every frame of the series to feel like a work of art, and enhance the impact of the already excellent work done on the animation. I mean, just look at this fight scene. That's 'Into the Spiderverse' levels of awesome.

Soundtrack: I think you know where this is going by now, look, it's really good. Everything about this show is good. Even the song by Imagine Dragons isn't bad, and if I'm saying that you can trust I mean it. I appreciate that Woodkid was included in the soundtrack, an ever-underrated artist.

Honestly, I don't even have any sort of serious issue with this series. Maybe I could make the argument that the show doesn't really pick up until episode 2 but even that rings hollow because the first episode held my attention the whole way through. My only complaint is that I have to wait for season 2. I've been wracking my brain trying to think of more things to say about this show without spoiling anything, but that's really the bottom line. Arcane is easily the best work of animation we've gotten since 'Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse' in 2018, and I hope it heralds an era of video game media where all content is of a similar quality. This should be the goal that all studios shoot for from here on out.

A well-deserved 5/5, do not sleep on this one.