Why Everyone Needs to Watch Arcane
By: Lydia Donaldson
Arcane is the brand-new Netflix original based on the popular online MOBA, or Multiplayer Online Battle Arena, League of Legends. Six episodes of this unique animated show have been released so far. There are going to be nine episodes total in this series, each about 40-45 minutes long. The last three will come out on November 20.
The long-anticipated animated series has been a hit. Rotten Tomatoes gave Arcane’s first three episodes a 100% score and IMDB rated it 9.4/10.
Arcane follows the story of young Powder and her older sister Vi in a region called Zaun, built beneath the city of Piltover. Along with the sisters’ friends Mylo and Claggor, they decide they are ready for a mission to steal valuable trinkets from a Piltover laboratory, kicking off the events of the show.
At the same time in Piltover, a student named Jayce is trying to create magic with machines. All his peers and professors are doubtful of its success. Magic is perceived as dangerous in the city, pushing Jayce to work through these challenges and more throughout the series.
While Arcane is based on much of the lore of League of Legends, playing the game or understanding the stories beforehand is not crucial to understanding the story. Riot Games did a great job of incorporating many big and small details from the game into the show, but you will not be lost if you don’t know about them.
Arcane is, in a way, revolutionary for the gaming community; there’s never been anything like this! There have been a few movies and TV shows based on video games, such as The Witcher series and the Sonic: The Hedgehog film, but Arcane represents one of the biggest gaming communities in the world.
Since 2009, when League of Legends was released, fans have been wanting different forms of media representation. Finally, there is an amazing TV show we can enjoy with our families and friends. We can share the stories of the characters we play every day in a completely new way. I think it is safe to say that no one is disappointed with Arcane, and that this is the first step to sharing Riot’s stories outside of video games.
Watch Arcane. You do not need to know anything about League of Legends beforehand to appreciate how well Riot Games did on this series. It’s an incredible story with gorgeous animation – lots of vibrant imagery and details that will make you feel like you are a part of Powder’s world.