Record of Lodoss War: A thorough review of the charm of fantasy and profound story

Record of Lodoss War: Journey through a legendary fantasy world

Record of Lodoss War is an OVA series produced and released between 1990 and 1991, and is known as a milestone in fantasy anime. The work is based on the original novel by Yasuda Hitoshi and Mizuno Ryo, and was published by Kadokawa Shoten. The 13-episode series has shipped over 550,000 copies in total, and has been loved for a long time, even being reissued on DVD in 2006.

■ Story

Lodoss Island is an island with many terrifying places, such as the Forest of No Return, the Desert of Wind and Fire, the Island of Darkness, and the Writhing Underground Labyrinth. Behind the Dark Emperor of the Dark Island of Marmo, Beld, who is plotting to rule the island, is the witch Carla, who possesses great powers. Parn, a swordsman living in the remote village of Saxon, dreams of becoming a hero and sets out on a journey with his best friends, the priest Eto, the dwarf warrior Gim, and the magician Suiren. Eventually, the elf Deedlit and the phantom thief Woodchuck join the group, and the adventure begins.

■Explanation

Record of Lodoss War was produced while the original novel was still being serialized, so the ending of the OVA differs significantly from the original. Also, episodes depicted in the original novel were omitted, and characters who died in the original novel survived, and vice versa. In particular, the second part, "The Demon of Flame," was made into a radio drama with the same voice actors. This work was a pioneer of fantasy anime, and moved and excited many viewers.

■Cast

One of the charms of this work is its stellar cast. The voice actors who play each character, such as Takeshi Kusao as the main character Parn, Yumi Touma as Deedlit, Yoshimasa Sakaguchi as Gim, Kappei Yamaguchi as Eto, Hideyuki Tanaka as Slaine, Norio Wakamoto as Woodchuck, and Yoshiko Sakakibara as Carla, portrayed each character in a deeper and more realistic way. Veteran voice actors such as Osamu Saka as King Fern, Shuichi Ikeda as King Cashew, Tamio Oki as Wart, Taro Ishida as Beld, Akira Kamiya as Ashram, Takeshi Aono as Bagnard, Sakiko Tamagawa as Pirotess, and Ichiro Nagai as the narrator, also have a strong presence.

■ Main staff

Many talented staff members were involved in the production of Record of Lodoss War. The original story was written by Hitoshi Yasuda and Ryo Mizuno, the executive producer was Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, the producers were Noriaki Ikeda (up to episode 7) and Masao Maruyama, the general director was Akinori Nagaoka, the series composition was Mami Watanabe, the character draft was Yutaka Izubuchi, the character design and general animation director was Nobuteru Yuki, the sub-character design was Yutaka Minowa, the art director was Hidetoshi Kaneko, the director of photography was Kinichi Ishikawa, the sound director was Yasunori Honda, the coordinator was Yumiko Takanashi, the planning was Takeshi Tamiya, the music was Mitsuo Hagita, the animation production was supported by Madhouse, and the production was handled by Kadokawa Shoten, Marubeni, Tokyo Broadcasting System, and Kadokawa Media Office. Thanks to the cooperation of these staff members, Record of Lodoss War achieved high-quality animation and a deep story.

■ Main Characters

The appeal of Record of Lodoss War lies in its diverse characters. The main character, Parn, is a swordsman born in Valis who spent his childhood and adolescence in the village of Saxon. At first, he was a hot-blooded young man, but he was influenced by his best friend Eto and began to preach the justice of the Supreme God Faris. Although he had a strong sense of justice, he was stubborn and inflexible, but he began to take reckless actions to help his comrades and gradually learned to cooperate.

Deedlit is a female high elf fairy from the Never-Returning Forest. She is a spirit user who summons and commands spirits, and is also a magic swordsman with sword skills. She has been with Parn for a long time, and is characterized by her cheerful, active personality. Her physical characteristics are her long blonde hair, small, pointed ears, and almond-shaped, slanted eyes.

Gim is a dwarven warrior who accompanies Pern on his journey for a certain purpose. Eto is a priest of the supreme god Faris, and is Pern's childhood friend from Saxon Village and his best friend. After completing four years of training at the Faris Temple in Alania and returning to Saxon Village, Pern invites him to go on a journey and share many adventures with him. He has a gentle and serious personality, but at the beginning of the story, he is a little reckless, perhaps due to his youth or the influence of Faris. As a priest, he was a novice priest at the beginning, but in the Faris Temple, which was too dogmatic because Faris was also the god of law, he had true faith rather than superficial teachings, and was not afraid to lie if it would save the other person, even if it went against the doctrine, and he rose to the position of high priest as the successor to the reform of the cult promoted by high priest Genart.

Slaine Starseeker was treated as an oddball by the villagers of Saxon, but at the same time, his gentle personality and wealth of knowledge earned him the trust of the village as an advisor. He has a strong desire for knowledge and loves to share it with others, a typical magician's personality. He is generally gentle and does not like conflict, but by being involved with Parn, he often gets caught up in fights, and since he set out on his journey with him, he has lived a life far from peace. He calls himself "one who seeks stars" and calls himself "Starseeker", and is convinced that Leilia is the "star", and passionately proposes to her. He seems to be more desperate than usual, and he successfully wins Leilia's heart, even though she initially rejected him.

Woodchuck is a thief from Alan, the capital of Alania. Woodchuck is his nickname; his real name is Jay Rankard, but he chose his surname out of vanity. He was arrested for theft and spent 22 years in prison, but was released on a pardon following the birth of the Prince of Alania, where he met Parn and the others and accompanied them on their journey. Despite having a gap in his life, he is the one with the most worldly knowledge and experience of the party, and he also has a kind heart. However, perhaps due to a sense of crisis about his own future, he can also be fixated on money and ambition.

Carla is a person from the time of the ancient magical kingdom of Castur. As the "Grey Witch," she has been interfering with the history of Rhodes for over 500 years, standing in the way of Parn and his friends. Her name in her human days was Alnakarla, and she was a magician of the Enchantment School, and also the true identity of the "Nameless Magic Warrior," one of the Six Heroes. She is a person who manipulates the history of Rhodes from the shadows, and possessed Leilia when they visited the Temple of Taba. Although Parn and his friends later removed her circlet, Woodchuck willingly possessed her again.

King Farn was the most promising young Holy Knight in the Holy Knights of Valis, a great power in Rhodes that worships the god Faris, and was known as the "White Knight" and "A Knight Once in a Century." However, as a devout Faris follower, his earnest personality and sense of justice caused friction between him and the formalized religious order and the secular knights of the time, and he also had many enemies as an ardent supporter of Jennat's radical reforms of the religious order.

King Kashu, whose real name is Kashu Arnagh I, is the King of Flame and is also known as the Mercenary King. He wields the magic sword "Solid Slash", is from the continent of Aleclast (the most likely birthplace is the fortress city of Prisis in the east), and is the sword master "Rufus" who was once hailed as the strongest on the continent.

Wart is an eccentric old magician who built a tower on top of the "Deepest Labyrinth" and lives in seclusion there. He intentionally avoids getting involved in worldly conflicts, but appears on the battlefield with Flabe during the War of the Evil Gods.

Beld reigned as the Dark Emperor of the Marmo Empire and was formerly known as the "Red-Haired Mercenary", the strongest warrior in Lodoss. Immediately after killing Fern in the War of Heroes, he fought against Cashew but was killed in battle after being caught off guard by a stray arrow. He possessed the magic sword "Soul Crush" that he stole from the Demon King, and its magical powers kept him young.

Ashram is a dark knight who always wears black armor called "Shadow Wilder" and is known as the "Black-Clad General" leading the Dark Knights of the Marmo Empire. After Beld's death, he inherits Beld's magic sword "Soul Crush" and becomes a member of the Council. He becomes Pern's destined rival in battle, and later reaches Crystania, where he is known as the Drifting King.

Bagnard was a court magician, and after Beld's death, he became part of the council. He led the magicians of his school, including Groder, and was called the "Black Mentor." Due to the constraint (geas) magic of his master Larcus, casting spells brings excruciating pain that is unbearable for ordinary people, but his strong will allows him to use magic without losing concentration. He mastered the secrets of necromancy magic from Salban's grimoire, and began a search for two keys based on the knowledge he gained from the "Crown of Knowledge." With the power of the evil god Cardis, he was reincarnated as the "No Life King," which became more certain.

Pilotess is a female dark elf under Ashram's command, and is also in love with Ashram. She is Astal's younger sister, and at first she was after Ashram's life for the vain death of her brother, but she was set up as Ashram's partner to deal with Pern and Dietrit.

■Subtitle

Each episode of Record of Lodoss War has the following subtitles:

• Episode 1: Prologue to the Legend
• Episode 2: The Departure of Flame
• Episode 3: The Knight in Black
• Episode 4: The Grey Witch
• Episode 5: King of the Desert
• Episode 6: Sword of the Dark King
• Episode 7: Hero War
• Episode 8: Warrior's Requiem
• Episode 9: The Scepter of Domination
• Episode 10: The Demon Dragon of Fire Dragon Mountain
• Episode 11: The Magician's Ambition
• Episode 12: Final Battle! The Island of Darkness (Marmo)
• Episode 13: The Scorching Earth (Rhodes)

■ Theme songs and music

The opening theme of Record of Lodoss War is "Adèsso e Fortuna ~Flame and Eternity~", written and composed by Akino Arai, arranged by Mitsuo Hagita, and sung by Sherry (Izumi Kato). The ending theme is "Kaze no Fantasia", written, composed, and arranged by Akino Arai, and sung by Sherry (Izumi Kato). These songs are important elements that add to the atmosphere of the story.

The appeal and evaluation of Record of Lodoss War

Record of Lodoss War is a masterpiece of fantasy anime and continues to be loved by many fans. Its appeal lies in its deep story, unique characters, and beautiful animation and music. Below, we will take a closer look at the appeal and evaluation of Record of Lodoss War.

The appeal of the story

The story of Record of Lodoss War depicts an adventure in a fantasy world, but also carefully depicts human drama and character growth. Parn and his friends' journey is not just an adventure story, but depicts universal themes such as friendship, trust, justice and courage, deeply moving viewers. In addition, the ending of the original novel and the OVA are different, providing viewers with a new perspective and making them feel the depth of the story.

Character Appeal

The characters in Record of Lodoss War are all unique and charming. The protagonist, Parn, starts out as a hot-blooded young man, but grows and learns to cooperate as he travels with his companions. Each character's background and personality are carefully drawn, including Deedlit's cheerful and lively personality, Gim's pride as a dwarf, Eto's faith as a priest, Slaine's thirst for knowledge, Woodchuck's worldly knowledge, and Carla's profound history. The growth and relationships of these characters enrich the story.

The charm of animation

The animation of Record of Lodoss War is beautifully drawn, making full use of the technology of the time. The attention to detail in the character movements, expressions, and background depictions enhances the worldview of the story. The depictions of battle scenes and magic are also realistic and powerful, drawing viewers in. In particular, the high-quality animation, produced in cooperation with Madhouse, brings out the beauty of the fantasy world to the fullest.

The appeal of music

The music of Record of Lodoss War is an important element in enhancing the atmosphere of the story. The opening theme "Adèsso e Fortuna ~Honoo to Eien~" and the ending theme "Kaze no Fantasia" were both written and composed by Akino Arai, and Sherry's (Izumi Kato) singing voice enhances the worldview of the story. In addition, the background music by Mitsuo Hagita also effectively expresses the tension and emotion of the story. These pieces of music help the viewer to become immersed in the story.

Evaluation and impact

Record of Lodoss War is highly regarded as a pioneer of fantasy anime. Its long-lasting popularity is evidenced by its cumulative shipments of over 550,000 copies and its DVD reissue in 2006. The work also had a major influence on later fantasy anime and games. In particular, its techniques for depicting character growth and human drama have been incorporated into many works. Additionally, the work is praised for achieving high-quality animation and a deep storyline, made possible by the cooperation of a stellar cast and staff.

Record of Lodoss War Recommendation

Record of Lodoss War is a work that can be recommended to anyone who loves fantasy anime. It is especially recommended for those who want to enjoy a deep story, unique characters, beautiful animation and music. In addition, since the ending of the original novel and the OVA are different, it will provide a new perspective for fans of the original work. Furthermore, as a work depicting an adventure in a fantasy world, it will surely impress and excite many viewers.

Record of Lodoss War is a masterpiece of fantasy anime that has been loved for a long time. Its appeal lies in its deep story, unique characters, beautiful animation and music. Please watch this work and enjoy the adventure of Lodoss Island.