Arcane (2021) Review

★★★★½

Everybody wants to be my enemy

Vi and Powder are sisters who were orphaned at a young age. They grew up in Zaun, the neglected underbelly of the utopian city, Piltover. After tragedy strikes, the two sisters are separated and find themselves on opposing sides of a war between Piltover and the independence seeking Nation of Zaun.

Arcane is an animated series based on Riot Games’ League of Legends. Even having never played the game myself, I thought the show was great and thoroughly enjoyed it. Although I’m not usually a fan of the steampunk genre, the worldbuilding and characters were well-developed and unique. Having no prior knowledge of the game, it was interesting to see each character’s origin as they evolved throughout the series spoiler-free. 

My favorite part about Arcane was its style of animation. It felt super unique, almost like a comic book or similar to the animation in the Borderlands games. The style fit the show exceptionally well, giving it a unique and gritty feel. I also liked the parallels between the perfect utopia, Piltover, and the far-from-perfect, Zaun. Each side had its own issues, but while Piltover is focused on achieving progress through Hex-Tech (arcane magic achieved through science), the drug Shimmer spread throughout Zaun, giving gangsters and criminals unnatural mutations.

The series also had a fantastic voice cast, including Hailee Steinfeld, Ella Purnell, Katie Leung, Kevin Alejandro, Jason Spisak, Harry Lloyd and numerous other great additions. I thought each actor did well in their respective roles, contributing to the quality and immersion of the series.

I will say that the series didn’t grab me at first. After the first episode, I said “ehh.” But I am glad I persevered because after the second I was far more interested. After the third episode, I knew Arcane was living up to all the hype and would be well-worth watching. 

Netflix did a fantastic job with Arcane and I would rate it 4 ½ / 5 stars. While season 2 of Arcane has already been confirmed by Netflix, I wouldn’t be surprised if we start to see other animated series based in the League of Legends universe, or even series from other franchises follow suit. Even if you’re not usually a fan of animated series or the steampunk genre, I’d still recommend giving Arcane a shot. What drew me to it was the high praise, and after watching it myself, I can safely say it is well-deserved.