Record of Lodoss War Review
Record of Lodoss War is one of those oldtaku “classics” that a lot of people have heard of but in my experience you find less and less who have actually seen it, especially with the oldtaku continuing to age out and newer younger generations joining the fandom in much larger numbers. Nowadays it’s kind of most notable for being that thing Lisa Ortiz was in before Slayers, and that series that Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth was based off. I only know two people who have seen Record of Lodoss War other than me, both only saw it once and
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one saw it over 20 years ago. Where I live, in the US, we have only received a handful of Lodoss properties but in Japan it’s quite a bit bigger with multiple novels and games in addition to the couple anime that were released in the 90s. However the two anime are meant to stand on their own and the OVA series was the first of these two making it the entry point to the series for many people, such as myself. Did it succeed in properly introducing and explaining the world of Lodoss Island to fresh audiences? Kinda.
Lodoss is a by the books fantasy story. What's the first thing that comes to your mind when I say “fantasy adventure party”? The mental image you just got there is identical to the composure of the Lodoss group. We get Parn, the warrior, his friend Etoh, the priest, Slayn, the wizard, Ghim, the dwarf, Deedlit, the elf, and Woodchuck, the thief. None of them are really all that notable other than Deedlit, who is strikingly beautiful and has a personality that isn’t as easily summed up as just stating her character class. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Parn, who at times comes off as so empty he feels like an RPG player character still awaiting a player to come in and personalize him. Parn is the main character. The people in charge of the anime though clearly knew who you were gonna watch it for however. Both the opening and ending heavily feature Deed, with the ending cutting all party members who aren't her. Pretty artwork of a pretty elf to keep you going. But other than the party make up what is Lodoss like? Pretty standard.
The basic plot outline of Record of Lodoss War is that the party is on a quest to stop an invasion by the evil emperor of Marmo, Beld, and to take down his powerful ally, the witch Karla. Ghim and Slayn are looking for Leylia the daughter of Ghim’s friend Neese who went missing seven years ago. If you want to know the particulars of why, read the novel. An English copy currently has an asking price of around $70 so hopefully you got one while they were still in print. Salyn and Ghim get roped in with Parn and Etoh after they help them fend off some goblins attacking the town they live in. They meet Deedlit when she shows up to warn them of the attack. Woodchuck they meet in prison when the party is arrested for a miscommunication later in the series. However this is not where Lodoss chooses to start. Instead the first episode is smack in the middle of their adventures when they are already on their way to meet the sage Wort. Unlike some series, Berserk for instance, having the first episode set ahead then flashing back does not help establish a tone or foreshadow anything. Instead it’s more akin to Violence Jack, just having one random episode out of order. It’s odd and confusing because the viewer doesn't know any of these characters yet and they've just been thrown into the middle of the story. In addition Parn’s first two lines are both negging Deedlit which doesn’t help endear him to you. This weird out of order episode left one of my friends so confused it effected his ability to understand the story. He told me “Yeah they were like ‘okay we’re gonna go see the wizard’ then the next episode they’re like ‘okay now that we saw the wizard’ and you never see them go there!” I had to tell him they did, they just did it in the first episode then flashed back for seemingly no reason. However this is not the biggest flaw of Record of Lodoss War. It’s biggest flaw would be its pacing.
The strength of any fantasy rests on the back of its lore. From Lord of the Rings to Game of Thrones all successful fantasy franchises have had deep lore. Record of Lodoss War is no different. It opens every episode with a brief summery of the history of Lodoss’ creation. However there are only 13 half hour episodes of the original OVA franchise, they were never going to be able to pack everything in. This did not stop them from trying. Things move at an absolutely break neck pace in Lodoss War. In those 13 episodes alone there are 4 separate villains. That means there are 4 separate climaxes. You barely have time to rest on the end of one part before the series has moved on to the next. Okay they’re fighting Beld, now they’re fighting Karla, now they’re fighting Ashram, now they’re fighting Wagnard. Those last two take place during the final three episodes leaving them feeling even more rushed and crammed than anything that came before them. Characters can be introduced and then made lifelong friends or bitter enemies in what seems like an instant because the show cannot slow down if it wants to get everything in there at once. I’ve watched it multiple times and I can’t say for sure if Wagnard is possessed by Kardis, the god of destruction, or if he just remembers his evil scheme in the middle of a battle. Personally I don’t think he should have been in the series and that they should have cut both his and Ashram’s battles using those last 3 episodes to slow the series down a bit and ending it with their battle against Karla. She was the villain with the most connection to the main party and the battle against her felt the most climactic out of the 4 villain battles. If, however, you can get past a level of pacing so fast it would pass an F-1 qualifier there are things to enjoy in the series.
Lodoss has some genuinely good fantasy action and designs. The dragons are huge and intimidating. The sorcery, while standard at times, gives you that classic fantasy magic feel. And the larger party means there’s more of an opportunity for individuals to use unique class abilities. Not to mention for those into that sort of thing Deedlit is total eye candy. Her ability to commune with the spirits of nature sets her magic apart from the type used by Slayn so it doesn’t feel like they just did the same character abilities twice. And for those willing to put in the time and attention to detail there’s some pretty interesting lore behind the scenes. Such as how emperor Beld wields the demonic sword of the demon king that he previously felled and that it grants great power but in exchange will corrupt the user. I also think the sword my crave blood and has a mind of its own but it is hard to tell given the speed at which this information is dumped and how easy it all can be to miss. Ghim’s obsession with rescuing Leylia, while lacking in the motivation provided by the novel, ads a more personal component to the group’s questing beyond just “stop evil thing from destroying world”, a personal connection later echoed when Parn has his battle against Wagnard at the end of the series. Karla makes for a fairly interesting antagonist. Unlike many fantasy villains who’s motivation is “I am evil because I am evil” Karla is trying to strike a balance in the world. She believes that the world can be neither fully good nor fully evil and will throw her weight and influence behind whichever side she deems weaker in the sake of maintaining a perfect balance. If you’re willing to look past the under cooked characters and rushed delivery you can appreciate Lodoss on its aesthetics and world then later return and finish cooking the characters yourself with additional research. It’s a very standard fantasy, but that also means it’s not a poor fantasy.
In the end it’s hard for me to recommend Record of Lodoss War, and this is entirely because of its insanely fast pacing. I personally enjoy it, and found that I liked it even more on my second viewing than on my first when I wasn’t all that impressed. The more layers of the Lodoss onion I peel off the more I enjoy it. However taken as a stand alone this OVA series is ridiculously rushed. It bites off far more than it can chew and both story lines and characters suffer because of it. It would easily be a much stronger show if it cut down on a couple of plot threads and gave the others room to breathe. The creators of the show don’t believe in pruning their trees however, and allow every tiny branch to suck away the energy of the whole rather than cut them off to allow the stronger ones to continue to grow and flourish. If you’re the type of person who really loves fantasy stories, or this sort of pacing issue isn't a dealbreaker for you then I would say go ahead and give Lodoss a shot. On the other hand if you're not big on fantasy and really need a strong, slow story to feel a deep connection with the characters then just go ahead and pass on this one, it’s not going to offer much for you. I would say it is the stronger of the two Lodoss anime but that doesn’t mean its fantastic or that it is for everyone. In the end its a heavily flawed work and the enjoyment is going to vary wildly by individual. I like Lodoss, it’s not my favorite, its not going to be topping my chart of all time greatest fantasy stories, but it’s an enjoyable way to fill my time and is a world I can get into. Maybe that will be how you feel, maybe not. But in the end the only way to really know for sure is decide if thats an adventure you want to take.
7/10
Jan 15, 2023
Lodoss-tou Senki
(Anime)
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Mixed Feelings
Record of Lodoss War Review
Record of Lodoss War is one of those oldtaku “classics” that a lot of people have heard of but in my experience you find less and less who have actually seen it, especially with the oldtaku continuing to age out and newer younger generations joining the fandom in much larger numbers. Nowadays it’s kind of most notable for being that thing Lisa Ortiz was in before Slayers, and that series that Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth was based off. I only know two people who have seen Record of Lodoss War other than me, both only saw it once and ...
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 12, 2022 Mixed Feelings Spoiler
This is marked spoiler as a technicality. Personally I believe I spoiled nothing as the plot point addressed is so heavily hinted at anyone could figure it out but it is revealed on the last episode so I figured better safe than sorry. If you're worried about major story elements being revealed in this review don't be.
My friend asked me to review this series because he was upset he couldn’t find a review of it by anyone who had any prior experience with the franchise and he knew I liked the original series. I watched the series for me, but this review is ... for him and hopefully someone else might find it helpful. Right off the bat I’m going to state this will have spoilers for the original Battle Athletes Victory, it’s basically unavoidable since ReSTART is a sequel and has many references, call backs, and easter eggs to the original baked into it. So if that’s something you’d rather not have to deal with then I recommend you stop reading and go watch the series. The original Battle Athletes Victory is a very special show to me and is one of my top 20 anime. It’s a show I feel so passionately about I own it on both DVD and Blu-ray and would get it on laserdisc even though I don’t own a player. Needless to say ReSTART had some pretty big shoes to fill, but I tried to go in with an open mind and not let the shadow of its predecessor loom too large. The primary cast consist of Kanata Akihoshi, Shelley Wong, Yana Christopher, Lydia Gurtland, Eva Gallenstien, and Paliga Resphigi. Fans of the original will note several familiar surnames, that and the fact this is set in 5100 roughly 101 years after the original series, would imply that these girls are descendants of those from the 90’s show. Also, and I don’t even consider this a spoiler because of how obvious the show makes it, Kanata is Akari Kanzaki’s granddaughter. She looks exactly like her, minus the signature hair antennae, lives in the country like Akari did, constantly talks about her grandmother who taught her how to compete, and when she gets really intense about the competition will grow her own mini hair antennae. You might wonder how this could be since human beings typically don’t live to 116 and to that I say GRANT OLDMAN WAS OVER 2 000 YEARS OLD. Long before the show officially reveals Kanata’s ancestry anyone who saw the original will have figured this out. The other girls have varying degrees of relatability with their older counterparts. From Yana, who aside from her brief tryst with terrorism (a plot point I shall address soon), might very well serve as Kris’ temperamental clone, and Lydia who shares the same arrogance and determination as Jessie, to Shelly and Paglia who have so little in common with Ling Pha and Anna that the surnames seem like they might be coincidental(Not sure you could coincidentally name someone Rasphigi though). While the girls evoke their ancestors with their names and sometimes even their looks, they are very much their own characters with their own struggles and personalities. ReSTART is not a rehash of the original. It very much wants to be it’s own thing, for better or for worse. ReSTART takes a much more serious tone than the original Victory did. While the series plenty moments of levity, overall the tone is much more serious than its predecessor. The original Battle Athletes Victory was a fairly light hearted comedic show that was more focused on the girls and their relationships than it was with a focused plot with a firm destination. The entire plot about needing to save the world from alien invasion was explained in about half an episode four episodes before the series ended. There had been hints beforehand but nothing major, and the series had mostly been about competition and friendship. ReSTART on the other hand introduces the endgame at the start. The first scene is Kanata being begged by an injured girl who just crash landed in her farm to become the Cosmo Beauty so she can save them, then immediately after that you are introduced to the Solar System Control Committee, the shadow organization who controls all the politics behind the scenes. The show also features a lunar civil war that is happening among the Beginners and with weapons provided by the Gurtland group. I instantly was confused by this. The Beginners are a religious group of technology shunning pacifists. For them to just turn toward using advanced weaponry to kill each other threw me and I never fully recovered. If I were to tell you Indiana had erupted into urban warfare amongst the Amish, while not 100% out of the realm of possibility, you would feel pretty weird about it. Ending this war is Yana’s chief motivator as just like Kris she too is a Beginner, as well as Lydia who wants to end the carnage caused by her family. This causes tension between the two as at first Yanna blames Lydia for the violence in her homeland and Lydia is too arrogant to just admit how she feels about it. Paglia is a doctor from Pluto and has come to seek the power of the Cosmo Beauty to help her finance hospitals on her impoverished home world to cure them of a terrible epidemic. Shelley is missing an arm and a leg, having both replaced by cybernetic prosthetics, and wants to prove that she’s still as strong as she used to be. Finally Eva is a genetically modified super athlete who is being manipulated by the Solar System Control Committee so that they shall always be in control of the Cosmo Beauty. This is a good time to point out that in ReSTART the Cosmo Beauty isn’t just the winner of a sporting event but is also a grand political figurehead. That’s not at all how it worked in the original series but apparently things changed between the two. There’s also a detective, Jeff, who is investigating a series of bombings around university satellite. This is way more plot threads than the original had, with less than half the run time. In my opinion the focus on a much more serious storyline actually hurts the audience investment at some points. While Kanata’s promise to Eva has much higher stakes, it lacks the emotional connection of the dying wish of Tomoe for her daughter to attend University Satellite. Kanata has the more important reason to go, but Akari’s feels more real. ReSTART spends so much time setting up plot threads and developing lore that it sacrifices the character interactions that made Battle Athletes Battle Athletes. Not to say that there’s nothing there, Kanata and Shelley have genuinely sweet and heartwarming moments together, but at other times the relationships between the girls seemed rushed or even neglected. Because no one knows that Kanata’s grandmother is the famous Akari Kanzaki the show sidesteps making her feel like poor copy of Akari as there’s no famous example she has to live up to. The flip side is that she feels a lot more akin to a Mary Sue than Akari ever did. While Kanata isn’t the singular greatest athlete in the batch right off the bat or anything she doesn’t struggle like Akari did which unfortunately makes her feel slightly unremarkable. Problems between the girls are often resolved quickly after a brief period of struggle. This sadly takes away from the impact. Yana and Lydia have a much more fraught relationship on paper than a pair like Akari and Ichino, but nothing in their history had the same impact as Ichino’s jealousy over her friend’s talent leading her to injure herself trying to surpass Akari. Then both blaming themselves while being too ashamed to apologize to the other. For a grander world ReSTART sacrifices smaller personal details the original excelled at and I don’t think this works out in it’s favor. This isn’t to say that it’s all bad and has nothing in common with the original Battle Athletes Victory. It keeps at least one major element of the original series, lesbians. Following in the footsteps of her grandmother Kanata allows you your choice of ships. You can either pick Shelley or Eva. Both have their share of heartwarming moments and awkward flirting. The moments between Shelley and Kanata where the two bond both as friends and romantic interests are where I think the show truly shines. It’s not afraid to be even bolder at times than the original was, with Kanata refusing to run from her emotions the way Akari did. Yana and Lydia also have the sprit of romantic rivalry within them much like Lahrri and Mylandah. Though Yana and Lydia are given more time to develop so they have their moments of tenderness as well. There are also some pretty funny gags whether intentional or not. To imply rural yokel Kanata sounds like she's from the upper midwest. This is such a 1997 way of dubbing anime it’s honestly charming to see it in something released in 2021. Some people might find it irritating but I found it endearing. In addition to this Jeff, the detective, is black and every time he shows up they play a song that sounds almost exactly like Axel F, it’s funny every time. While it may not hit the mark all the time I respect it for not trying to just be the original again and build on that even if what they built ruins my head canon ships. If I had one major gripe with the show it would be the implementation of “The Divine Light of God”. It didn’t need to be there and if it had to be there then it didn’t need to be there the way it was. In both the original OVAs and television series “The Divine Light of God” was mostly flavor text about an almost zen like state achieved by athletes when they surpassed all worldly interference and were truly focused on the competition, and it basically only happened when running. In ReSTART it seems almost like going Super Saiyan, this comparison is not helped by the fact that Kanata’s hair sticks up every time she does it. It also was something neigh spiritual that could only be achieved by an athlete striving for a goal for themselves. This is why it happened to Akari but not the mind controlled Tomoe Midou in the original despite the fact that Tomoe Midou had been the first to experience it. In ReSTART the emotionless Eva is able to pull it off multiple times. It was a confusing addition that didn’t need to be there to remind us of the original in a show where half the characters share last names with original characters. All in all I couldn’t really recommend Battle Athletes Victory ReSTART to anyone other than fans of the original. Not just because the original is the better show but because ReSTART doesn’t offer too much to those unfamiliar with the original series. While you could technically follow the plot just fine without having seen the original there’s a good deal of stuff that would go over your head. Also since they never specifically say that Kanata’s grandmother is Akari, even when they officially reveal it, an unfamiliar viewer would just be confused. The plot itself also isn’t all that strong as to stand on its own that well. Especially since they wrap things up in a fairly rushed manner. Similar to Record of Lodoss War it wants to do too much in too little time and would have benefitted from cutting a plot thread or two. But if you are a fan I’d say go ahead and try it out. Is it as good as the original Battle Athletes Victory? No. Does Akari finally get married to and live happily with Kris Christopher? Also No. Will I write a fanfic later rectifying this? Maybe. But even though it’s not its predecessor it’s still worth a watch, if for no other reason than it’s nice to see the series get some more love these many years later. It’s trying to follow in the footsteps of a giant while also being its own individual thing. It stumbles and it doesn’t always succeed, sometimes it just flat out fails, but in a way that is the most Battle Athletes Victory thing of all. 7/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 12, 2022
Battle Athletess Daiundoukai (TV)
(Anime)
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Recommended
I discovered Battle Athletes Victory when I asked a guy at an anime convention “Do you know any good anime that are really obscure?” and he responded “Have you seen Battle Athletes?” I want to dedicate this to that guy.
Every so often one might choose to watch a random anime that you have never heard of before and know next to nothing about. Sometimes you will discover a hidden gem, sometimes its a huge piece of crap, but more often than not it’s something serviceable but fairly unremarkable. I am pleased to say, that for me, Battle Athletes Victory was the first ... option. There are two anime productions in the original Battle Athletes franchise, a 6 episode OVA and a 26 episode television series. For my part I prefer Victory, the television series, to its OVA counterpart. Not only are the characters more fleshed out but I find the choices made by Victory to be more interesting than those in the OVA. Battle Athletes Victory uses its extra time to great effect to enhance the story. At the same time Battle Athletes does not over stay its welcome or belabor itself to pump out more episodes. Its 26 episodes contain 3 different arcs, and each wraps up cleanly and in a satisfying manner. The most typically viewed type of shonen is the battle shonen and these typically drag out for quite a long time with training and tournament arcs that often over stay their welcome and feel repetitive. Ironically Battle Athletes, which is all training and tournaments, manages to avoid this feeling of repetition and clears up in timely manner. This isn’t to say that Battle Athletes contains nothing but fresh ideas and presentations, it has many tried and worn cliches, but I am of the opinion that cliches, if done right, can be quite enjoyable. For those interested I will attempt to summarize the three arcs while avoiding any major spoilers Overview: Battle Athletes takes place in the year 4999 and focuses on Akari Kanzaki as she strives to improve herself in all things athletic and aim for the title of Cosmo Beauty, the highest honor in the sports world. Akari is the daughter of the most legendary Cosmo Beauty of all time, Tomoe Midou. Despite this pedigree Akari does not seem to possess her mother’s abilities for all things athletic and is actually quite bad. Tomoe Midou herself has been killed by anime parentitus and her dying wish was for Akari to attend University Satellite as she did in her youth. The first arc focuses on Akari’s time at the training school, which is a school that girls go to so that they can train in intense future athletic events so that the best of them may go to the satellite school where they may then compete for the title of Cosmo Beauty. In the training school we are introduced to the other students such as Ichino Yanigida (Akari’s best friend), Jessie Gurtland (the immensely talented American), Ayla V. Roznovsky (the almost equally talented Russian), Ling Pha Wong(the comic relief), and Tanya Natdhipytadd (who is a kinda racist African character). The first arc despite being the most comedy focused of the three, deals with some pretty serious themes such as jealousy and expectations. The core message of the arc, and the series as a whole though is on friendship. Throughout the entire series the focus is generally set on the relationships between the various girls. Kindhearted Akari wishes to be friends with everyone, but it’s not always that easy. There are those like Jessie who are laser focused on excellence and competition, and who like any true shonen rival, respect only power. This arc can go from silly things like dawning face paint to try and gain the favor of the god of running, to serious moments of intense jealousy over raw talent similar to those in the film Amadeus. It is also in this arc we see the first hints of Akari’s natural athleticism, which she is eventually able to tap into and propel herself to a spot in University Satellite which is where the second arc begins. In University Satellite Akari is separated from her training school companions and assigned two new teammates, Kris Christopher and Anna Respighi. This is also the same Arc covered in the OVA series. Like in the first arc Akari, and her team, do not perform well at the beginning. Their trainer is a man named Mr. Miracle(not the super hero). He is a man who has trained 7 Cosmo Beauties in his time, but since he spends most the entire series doing nothing for the girls I’m practically convinced this was sheer luck. Differing from the first arc the initial failure comes from the girls inability to perform as a team. Akari becomes too focused on winning and is unable to utilize the talents that Anna and Kris bring to the table, choosing instead to trust only in herself. Like I said friendship is a big theme. Another major theme is lesbians. Battle Athletes provides viewers with a choice of ships, you can either pair Akari with Ichino or Kris. The first arc is littered with hints that the relationship between Akari and Ichino might be more than just platonic. The second arc is a little less subtle. Upon meeting Akari for the very first time Kris Christopher exclaims “I’m in love!” Kris wastes no time in conveying her feelings to Akari, immediately expressing her romantic interest. Akari is shocked and often runs from Kris’ affections however the two become incredibly close friends and when confronted Akari is reticent to say that she and Ichino are anything more than just friends. And without spoiling anything I would say that Akari and Kris have a level of connection that rivals that of fellow 90s anime LGBT icons Utena and Anthy. Like in the first arc they manage to claw their way up out of defeat and make it past the prelims. At this point they are split up and must compete individually for the title of Cosmo Beauty. This arc also features two antagonists, Larrhi Feldnaut (which for some reason seems to be pronounced Fernando) a two time Cosmo Beauty winner who has trained herself to become a record breaking athletics robot, and Mylandah Akar Walder who is an over the top villain that is carted out to her matches in chains which she then immediately breaks and kept in a cell for the rest of the time because she likes to physically beat her competition. In fact during one match Mylandah crashes down into the stadium creating a crater around her, then slaps a girl so hard she breaks through a wall. If I were playing charades and the category were anime bad guy this is exactly what I would act out. After the Cosmo Beauty title is claimed on episode 22 the show begins its third and final arc. This 4 episode arc is the shortest in the series and can at first feel unnecessary because the end of the Cosmo Beauty arc felt final and like good end to the series, it was even where the OVA ended. However, there was one loose end that needed to be tied up. Without going into any spoilers something happens before the Cosmo Beauty competition and this arc addresses that event and what the entire Cosmo Beauty title had been about. There are some hints buried in the series about the reveal but most people won’t really absorb them on their first time though. This 4 episode arc is mostly a showcase of the “best of” of Battle Athletes characters. Most all major girls return for a final team match that the will impact the whole world. At times it seems like a lot to pack into 4 episodes but Battle Athletes ability to trim the fat really shows here. The training portion of the arc took up only half an episode and I myself wondered why they hadn’t done more before realizing that it would have accomplished nothing. All these girls were at the end of their personal character arcs and any future development between them (which should be the only reason extended periods of training episodes) was not necessary. There is are a few final emotional hurdles for Akari to overcome in this arc but I’ll leave what those are a secret for those who wish to watch the series. Overall Battle Athletes Victory is fun, exciting, and surprisingly deep series. It’s not going to be winning any awards for high art, but there are many, many worse ways to spend your time and I will definitely be returning to this series in the future multiple times. 8/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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