What Arcane: League of Legends Did Right

The Arcane: League of Legends animated series on Netflix is undoubtedly something you need to watch. It’s one of the best game choices to become a TV series. After all, the lore in League of Legends is quite immersive and large on a grand scale.

League is one of the most popular MOBA games in the industry, right after Dota 2. However, the series smoothly separates itself from the game, adding only a few references. What we mean is that it does not need to rely on the game for its script.

Instead, Arcane masterfully portrays the lore in League of Legends through clever dialogue and story progression. Yet, it does make use of in-game references from time to time. We’ll explain in a moment.

Note: This article talks about moments in the animated series. This is your official spoiler warning.

Why is Arcane: League of Legends Good?

If you think about it, how can Arcane not rely on the game, League of Legends? The answer is quite simple. Arcane seamlessly introduces characters from the game without the audience having background knowledge.

People often believe that if you make an animated series from a game, it would become a success. After all, you would have a large player base as your audience to stream it on Netflix. However, that is not always the case.

The amount of viewers who had no knowledge of League of Legends is overwhelming. However, they appreciated the lore and world-building without relying on the game. It speaks volumes about the amount of pre-planning and scriptwriting the series underwent.

Even more, unlike Dota: Dragon’s Blood, Arcane took a different approach. It did not try to encompass the large continent of Runeterra. Instead, it focused solely on specific cities: Piltover and Zaun. Once it established the setting, the series simplified the League of Legends universe.

When Arcane established the region of focus, it seamlessly introduced characters that hooked the viewers. They immediately related to the caste system present in the series, showcasing the difference between Zaun and Piltover.

Characters in Arcane

Players enjoyed the series because it showed characters straight out of the game— especially Jinx. Some of them are fan favorites while others were essential to the lore and story. Here’s a list of the characters you can find in the series:

• Heimerdinger
• Jayce
• Jinx
• Vi
• Viktor
• Ekko
• Singed
• Warwick

Although we don’t officially see Warwick in the movie, fans assumed that he is Vander. After all, Warwick is a result of experiments by Singed in Zaun. However, we do see a glimpse of him in the final episode of the series.

We also saw different characters from other regions, such as Noxus. Although they are not present in the game, their appearance progresses the story further. It also allows us to get a glimpse of inter-regional relationships.

However, what was impressive was the portrayal of these characters. Everyone expected Jinx to be another cartoonish and crazy individual, offering chaos and conflict. Yet, in the series, we see that it stems from deep childhood trauma with her sister, Vi.

It allows us to understand the characters and how they became who they are in the game. Another example is Caitlyn, in which everyone expected to be a prim and proper crime fighter. However, it shows us that she was the only one willing to get her hands dirty to protect the people.

The animated series also showed us the trauma and development of the main characters: Jayce, Vi, Ekko, Viktor, and Heimerdinger. However, none can quite compare to Jinx’s character development. After all, it blew us all away— figuratively and literally.

Why You Should Watch Arcane: League of Legends

Overall, Arcane is a must-watch on Netflix. It not only does it portray a better understanding of the characters but also their growth. It also seamlessly introduces the League of Legends universe to non-players without the need for game knowledge.

If you liked this article, check out more on our website. We write about everything and anything gaming to help gamers worldwide. You can also follow us on social media to stay updated with the latest esports and gaming news.