Heroic Legend
wow. after what feels like maybe 9 or 10 years, i've began rewatching The Heroic Legend of Arislan again. back when i first heard of anime, my mom bought me these random tapes from some store, the first two volumes (1 hour ova's i think), and i was just drawn to it. there was just something about the style in the character design that i liked. finally last weekend at Anime Central i just randomly stumbled across the full series on DVD (apparently it's four parts and was never completed). nevertheless, for 15 bucks, i couldn't pass it up, especially since it was more or less the first anime i ever really watched.
and now, after all these years, it's still great. i should mention first off that it's apparently based on the journey of a prince of the same name who is the protagonist of an old epic poem based somewhere in persia. this immediately changes the art direction, differentiating it from some of those other warring kingdoms anime. it looks much more middle-eastern in direction. secondly, when a japanese writer decided to author a novel based loosely on the epic, the man chosen to illustrate his novels was yoshitaka amano - the man behind the oil-based conceptual artwork for the final fantasy games. strange how after so many years the same art style can evoke the same emotions.
Prince Arislan
Lady Pharangese and the minstrel Gieve
-----------------------------------
Prince Edgar Figaro
Lady Celes Chere
the anime, though based on the art direction of the novels, probably didn't directly involve amano. but the influence is there.
okay. the next thing i want to mention is how it almost EXACTLY follows the formula of a Suikoden game. the anime begins with a battle between two warring countries, Palse and Lusitania. after a Palsian soldier betrays his king, the Lusitanian army more or less overruns the Palsian capitol. the Palsian king is taken prisoner, and his son Arislan, along with a loyal Palsian soldier Daryoon, escape the slaughter. together, the two seek out a once brilliant tactitian Narsus, who agrees to aid Arislan after a few tests of character. Narsus had once been a Palsian tactitian, but grew tired of the king's reliance on strength over wisdom, and left to live the life of an artist. more heroes gather around Arislan as he retreats toward the Palsian border, where soldiers still loyal to Palse have gathered and regrouped, so that the Prince may have a large enough army to pose a threat to the invading kingdom. there's plenty more back story and such, but that's the simplest way i can draw parallels between the anime and Suikoden, which is a series i love.
i think i may just be drawn to stories of armies and generals, heroes and beautiful queens, military tactics, and all that stuff. and the artwork is still very inspired by amano whether or not he was directly involved with the anime. and he's just awesome.
i also have given the name Pharangese (pronounced fair-N.-gaze-E.) to my new sword.
and now, after all these years, it's still great. i should mention first off that it's apparently based on the journey of a prince of the same name who is the protagonist of an old epic poem based somewhere in persia. this immediately changes the art direction, differentiating it from some of those other warring kingdoms anime. it looks much more middle-eastern in direction. secondly, when a japanese writer decided to author a novel based loosely on the epic, the man chosen to illustrate his novels was yoshitaka amano - the man behind the oil-based conceptual artwork for the final fantasy games. strange how after so many years the same art style can evoke the same emotions.
Prince Arislan
Lady Pharangese and the minstrel Gieve
-----------------------------------
Prince Edgar Figaro
Lady Celes Chere
the anime, though based on the art direction of the novels, probably didn't directly involve amano. but the influence is there.
okay. the next thing i want to mention is how it almost EXACTLY follows the formula of a Suikoden game. the anime begins with a battle between two warring countries, Palse and Lusitania. after a Palsian soldier betrays his king, the Lusitanian army more or less overruns the Palsian capitol. the Palsian king is taken prisoner, and his son Arislan, along with a loyal Palsian soldier Daryoon, escape the slaughter. together, the two seek out a once brilliant tactitian Narsus, who agrees to aid Arislan after a few tests of character. Narsus had once been a Palsian tactitian, but grew tired of the king's reliance on strength over wisdom, and left to live the life of an artist. more heroes gather around Arislan as he retreats toward the Palsian border, where soldiers still loyal to Palse have gathered and regrouped, so that the Prince may have a large enough army to pose a threat to the invading kingdom. there's plenty more back story and such, but that's the simplest way i can draw parallels between the anime and Suikoden, which is a series i love.
i think i may just be drawn to stories of armies and generals, heroes and beautiful queens, military tactics, and all that stuff. and the artwork is still very inspired by amano whether or not he was directly involved with the anime. and he's just awesome.
i also have given the name Pharangese (pronounced fair-N.-gaze-E.) to my new sword.