Vi and Jinx take center stage.
It is really impossible to leave League of Legends. Jinx, even if you haven't played a second of League, you've undoubtedly seen her in a variety of cross-promotional materials. Now that she and Vi (along with a few others) are included in the animated Netflix series Arcane, my understanding of the character has completely changed. That program, Arcane, had its premiere this past weekend and has generated a lot of interest. After seeing the first three episodes, I believe it lives up to the hype—more episodes will air every week. Here are some impressions from Arcane.
The animation style was the aspect of Arcane that struck me the most right away. The animation produced by Fortiche Production surpasses even the current Marvel releases of the What If series, demonstrating their superiority over previous efforts. To really evaluate it, you must see it in action in each episode, but so far, the adage "every frame a painting" is accurate. The backgrounds in Arcane were so beautiful that I could put much of the structural artwork on my wall without anybody noticing. Being able to relate to these characters is crucial since there is a lot of drama throughout, which makes many of the characters more expressive owing to the work put into the animation style.
The casting, which combines vocal talent with conventional actors to provide humor when required while maintaining a serious tone and avoiding camp aesthetics, is spot-on as well. The rivalry between the upper city (Piltover) and lower city (Zaun) frames each character's goals, so the interpersonal drama never really devolves into soap opera territory. Both sides have a lot of subtlety, which adds more insight into the universe of League overall.
To be clear, you can enjoy or begin playing Arcane without actually needing to be a fan of League. The classist elements are quite evident for most viewers to pick up on, thus it's fairly simple to follow without too much explanatory language. Having said that, if you are a fan, you will benefit from it more; for example, you will recognize a Champion the moment they come on TV. Since I've played League from the beginning, a few appearances have had me gasp out a few times. However, the show's ability to explore more in future seasons excites me to watch it through. I wasn't even sure whether I would see it till last week.
Whatever your thoughts on the show's drama and storyline, writing, or acting, most people can agree that it looks amazing and has put in more work than many previous video game adaptations, especially those from recent years. Rather of handing over the intellectual property to a third party, Riot Games decided to build the series from the ground up, with animation handled by Fortiche Production.
Occasionally, one is reminded of Riot Games' financial clout compared to many nations, which allows them to release games that another company would have used as a cash grab. Although other gaming worlds have come and gone, since 2009, Leagueof Legends has been a constant presence. I understand why some players may not like MOBAs or any of the other games Riot has launched so far, but at the very least, Riot makes it simple to get involved.