ロードス島戦記 / Record Of Lodoss War

A classic from 1990.

ロードス島戦記  AKA Record of Lodoss War has got to be one of the most beautiful Anime ever made in terms of animation & soundtrack.  If you were a fan of RPG, watched the Conan films, played Legend of Zelda, Golden Axe & Final Fantasy, enjoyed Dungeons & Dragons and read J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord Of The Rings, this Animé is definitely for you.

This is a direct-to-video animation series produced back in 1990, which unfolds over thirteen half-hour episodes. Adapted from the fantasy novels of the same name by Japanese author Ryo Mizuno, Lodoss is a classic good-vs-evil story, exploring the chronicles of six adventurers: these include Parn, a young, inexperienced warrior eager to (literally) jump at any chance to clear his father's tarnished name; Deedlit, a spunky, mystical high elf who tries (with varying degrees of success) to prove her love to Parn; Etoh, a loyal, good-natured cleric; Slayn, a gentle wise mage; Ghim, a gruff and tough dwarf; and Woodchuck, a wanted criminal who nonetheless provides loyalty (and occasional chagrin) to his pals. 

Your RPG heroes come to life!

...to defeat powerful dragons!

The story is hardly original, and the plot tends to jump around ; from one event to the next (for instance, the first episode starts off in the middle of the heroes' quest; chronologically, it'd be best to see eps 2-5, 1, and then 6-13)--yet the overall show is so engrossing that this fault (in addition to a few others I'll come to in a moment) becomes irrelevant.

It's the characters which make Record Of Lodoss War so much fun, and much of the best scenes belong to Parn and Deedlit; especially in a royal banquet episode where she forces Parn to dance with her (one of my favorite sequences from the show). As is typical of a elf-dwarf rivalry, Ghim and Deed bicker about each other's differences yet maintain a somewhat begrudging level of self-respect. It's Parn, however, whose plight stays with you long after the show approaches its climax. Eager to discover whether his father died in disgrace or not, he finds a father figure in Kashue. (This gets on Deedlit's nerves; she continually competes with the king for Parn's attention--a running gag that plays out unfortunately for only a couple of episodes.) In the latter episodes, we meet two new characters who don't get much screen time but are no less fully realized. Shiris, the hotheaded young mercenary who vies with Deedlit for Parn's affections is strongly depicted, as is her partner (and secret love), Orson, the moody Berserker, who becomes an angry, uncontrollable monster at the sight of Shiris in trouble. 

 

Friendship and loyalty.

Darkness and all that's bad.

Even the bad guys are richly developed. Ashram, as mentioned, isn't driven so much by malice as he is by what he believes is right; in fact, he becomes the most three-dimensional of the villains for that reason alone. For support, he has a Dark Elf accomplice named Pirotess (the opposite of Deedlit) who'll do anything to prove her loyalty to him... including sacrificing herself. Karla, incidentally, is no ordinary villainess. Her primary goal is to bring to Lodoss the balance she feels has been so greatly disturbed... yet her psychologically unbalanced persona leads her to cause far worse chaos with deadly consequences. She is shifty, cunning, manipulative -- an almost deadly combination. Wagnard, on the other hand, is just plain evil -- every bit the equivalent of Kefka from Final Fantasy III who cackles fiendishly as he puts his dark plans into action. When we first meet him, he appears to be a nondescript character, but when he becomes possessed by Kardis, he becomes frighteningly villainous. (Every scene he's in sends shivers down my spines.) 

Its the strength of the characters and their chemistry as well as the compelling (if jumpy) plot that make Lodoss as a whole that one can overlook its occasional shortcomings, notably the animation, which, although gorgeously drawn, uses a low cel count resulting with some stiff movements. Taking into account that this is an older show, however, this doesn't really detract all that much (although there are some later episodes where some of the same footage is reused, for cost cutting purposes). 

 

Deedlit & Pirotess.

Amazing artwork!

No fantasy adventure would be complete without a stirring soundtrack, and Record of Lodoss War delivers this in style. The musical score by Mitsuo Hagita is mostly symphonic, although it is (obviously) generated by electronics. Yet the compositions were so beautifully arranged that I still think the soundtrack is great. Equally lovely are the opening and ending theme songs, Adesso e Fortuna ; and Fantasia of the Wind, both of which are excellently sung in Japanese by Sherry. As a nice bonus, these songs were even translated for the English version; the woman who sings the dubbed songs, Lisa DeSimone, sings with an equally splendid voice. 

I remember, and this is a blurry memory, the first time I read about this Animé it was when I got one of those Animé magazines that were so popular in the 90s, I'm not sure which one exactly, but I think it was either Newtype or Otaku. Anyway, the mag featured a bonus CD-ROM which included music (in MP3 format), a selection of pictures from the Anime shows of the time, and of course a video section with openings of various shows. Obviously, Record of Loddos War opening was there with 4 songs from the soundtrack. This must have been, circa 1996 and it was my first exposure to today's anime in review. Luckily for me, I had several otaku friends that had quite a decent collection of Anime VHS tapes, so during 96's summer we watched Record Of Loddos War for the first time.

Graphic violence! Dark and gritty Anime!

Is that a nipple?

 

Record of Lodoss War has received its share of detractors over recent years, probably due to its cheap production values and/or inconsistent plotting. However, it is important to remember that these shortcomings; are mainly because it's an older Anime series. While Lodoss may show its age in places, its infectious appeal and complexity rings true even after other shows of its ilk, and like most classics, it can stand against the test of time.

 

here's the opening featuring the beautiful "Adesso E Fortuna" song:

 

 Here's the ending with the equally beautiful "Fantasia Of The Wind" song:

Here's a 30 minute walkthrough of "Record Of Loddos War: Deedlit In Wonder Labyrinth" the new videogame made by fans, that despite being in early access stage, it's already available on Steam for PC gaming enthusiasts: