Record of Lodoss War

Lodoss, the accursed island. Born in battle and baptized by fire, it has seen wars ravage it's kingdoms four thousand of years. Now, an evil beyond any it has ever faced before is awekening, and a party of six are drawn together to battle for the future of everything dear to them. Among them: Parn, a young fighter who lacks experience and is driven by his desire to redeem his father's tarnished name; Deedlit, a young and haughty elf who is both attracted to the young fighter and infuriated by his lack of interest; Ghim, a grizzled dwarf warrior haunted by a personal failure; Etoh, a young priest; Slayn, a skilled magic user; and Woodchuck, a cynical but good-natured thief.

Six who barely know each other. Six who must learn to act with a single purpose. Six who are destined to become heroes as they encounter enemies and allies beyond their wildest imagination. (resume taken from the back of the first Lodoss tape)

If your the kind of person who goes nut over fantasy type stories like myself, then I'm pretty sure you will love Record of Lodoss War. Even if the story follows the guide line of the usual fantasy adventure story or RPG game (a group of different people getting together in order to face an evil that threaten the land), the story is very interesting. Especially with the ways it was done: in the first episode, we see the six heroes in action, in the middle of their quest. Then, in episode two, the story really begins from the start (since the first episode was cool, you get to wonder what lead the heroes to that situation). And the end... Well, you just got to see it. I know I really, really love it and I'd like to watch it over and over again. Fact is... it's the best thing I have watched yet!

I like the artwork very much. It's the kind of drawing style I especially like. It's realistic enough and everything is moving the way it should. I especially liked the scene where the heroes fight that dragon in the first episode. The only thing I don't like is the usual cliche that a bad guy most look like a bad guy (big, dark, evil...). But since it's an adaptation from a novel, I guess there's nothing the animation artists could do about it. Beside, it's true that a bad guy who would look like your neighbor Bob or Joe wouldn't be as interesting as a bad guy who really looks evil.

Record of Lodoss War is available both subbed and dubbed. I haven't seen the subbed version and I don't care much to see it, since I find the dub really good. I think the main characters voice are a good match and I especially like the work of Lisa Ortiz as Deedlit. It's really good and strange enough, there's a real difference with what she does in Slayers. If it wasn't for her giggles and the fact that I knew from the start that she was voice acting in Lodoss (it was the main reason why I tried the dub first), I might never have made the link between Lina Inverse and Deedlit. I believe this is another fine example that shows that people who say ALL dub anime are bad are damn WRONG.

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Last updated December 24th 1997