Also known as Arcane: League of Legends
Genre Action-adventure, Adult animation, Drama, Science fantasy, Steampunk
Created by Christian Linke, Alex Yee
Based on League of Legends by Riot Games
Showrunners Christian Linke, Alex Yee
Directed by Pascal Charrue, Arnaud Delord, Bart Maunoury
Voices of
Hailee Steinfeld
Ella Purnell
Kevin Alejandro
Katie Leung
Jason Spisak
Toks Olagundoye
Harry Lloyd
JB Blanc
Reed Shannon
Mick Wingert
Amirah Vann
Ellen Thomas
Brett Tucker
Theme music composer Imagine Dragons, JID
Opening theme “Enemy”
Composers Alexander Temple, Alex Seaver
Country of origin France, United States
Original language English
No. of seasons 2
No. of episodes 18
Production
Executive producers Christian Linke, Marc Merrill, Brandon Beck, Jane Chung, Thomas Vu
Running time 39–50 minutes
Production companies Fortiche, Riot Games
Budget $250 million
Original release
Network Netflix
Release November 6, 2021 – November 23, 2024
What is there to say about Arcane that hasn’t already been said by hundreds of other critics? There has been universal acclaim for the plot, the characterization, the art, the animation. The budget for the show—a 18 episode cartoon series, right?–was a gasp-inducing quarter of a billion dollars. For that amount of money, you would be reasonable in expecting something truly extraordinary, and that’s exactly what we got. I gave a high review for the first season, and the second (and final) is even better.
While gathering material for the second review, I came across something I missed the first time—the animation was done in France.
My attitude to French animation is similar to my views on Korean TV drama: it’s a large step above what anyone else is doing. They spent over two years getting it right.
It’s the meta of the series that truly makes it a work of art. An autocratic and classic society has stumbled across a technology (“The Arcane”) that seemingly would eliminate the economy of need. The magic-based influx would be adequate to afford every living being a well-above sustenance level of living.
Instead, it’s used only to facilitate trade, vastly enriching a tiny portion of the society and leaving the rest in grinding poverty. Revolution was already in the air before the new order arrived.
Two sisters, Violet and Powder, born into the lower realm, were lucky enough to have a father who is a significant figure in the ghetto of Zaun, slowly building a force that with luck might bring about a much-needed equalization of wealth without pulling the entire society down around their ears.
The sisters engage in comparatively frivolous raids until they elect to strike at a tower in the remote idyllic area of Piltover. They stumble across mysterious blue crystals and grab them, assuming they are just trinkets to the wealthy. One explodes when the younger sister drops it, causing significant property damage, which brings the wrath of Piltover down on them.
Violet snaps at Powder, telling her she is unready, and a jinx. In so doing, she inadvertently crushes the already-fragile ego of the sister, and they become estranged, and eventually the deadliest enemies in the world, Vi and Jinx. Vi is a natural leader, Jinx a genius at contriving weapons and other devices. They take their places in a wide and variegated systemic convulsion of their entire society.
The implications for the western world couldn’t be clearer.
Even if animation isn’t your thing, watch this. It is pure genius, start to finish, and tells an extraordinary tale of an amazing array of characters.
Note: If you have already seen the first half when it came out in 2021, watch it again first. There is an amazing amount of intricacy to the first season, and a refresh will serve you well for the even more challenging second half.