The review
I played League of Legends in college to hang out with friends I liked, not because I enjoyed MOBAs. I picked my heroes for their looks, begrudgingly followed the lane rules, and never once bothered with the lore. None of that contributed to my enjoyment of this show. The story is just GOOD, League player or not.
The animation is unique, and I'll be honest about the friction. Fortiche paints every frame over 3D, and it looks like nothing else on TV, which is the problem for some people: anime fans aren't used to it, Disney and Pixar people aren't used to it, and non-animation watchers have never seen anything like it. The show risks being othered for its look. That's not a criticism, it's an encouragement: if you never started, or stopped at episode one because of the style, push through. I love art, so I was hooked immediately. Your mileage may be two episodes.
What the animation is backing up is the strongest character work I've seen in a show. Every single character has motivations and decisions that make sense, with emotional weight you can feel. The writers trust their audience: a lot of show, very little tell, which is refreshing. Villains and heroes are complex but their goals stay clear. The show tests the line between a good story and a convoluted one and never crosses it. It explores psychology with you instead of telling you what to think, and it lets you decide. Characters walk the grey line, and instead of coming out indecisive or senseless, they come out compelling. Even the weakest character for me is still a 7.
Vi and Jinx can't exist without each other. Jinx is designed to steal the show and take you on a roller coaster; without Vi grounding it, and Vi's own struggles underneath, the ride would be too much. Someone more critical would keep asking why the scum did Jinx do that, at the council, at the tea party, with Isha, but to me her psychology and her actions match, every time. Silco is one of the best villains I've seen: compelling, delivered to perfection, written with care. Vander's story is heartwrenching in the good way; as a father, it tugged at my heartstrings. Jayce and Viktor's ending goes very weird and metaphysical, and it landed hard for me. And yes, Caitlyn's season 2 arc gets less room than it deserves, which is like being served a king's banquet and complaining that the apple isn't ripe.
The original music is gold. Enemy by Imagine Dragons is obviously banging, but it's the whole catalog: every track is on point with what its episode wants to say. My wife especially loved the dance scene set to Ma Meilleure Ennemie by Stromae and Pomme, because she dances, and it is well done. And then there's The Line by Twenty One Pilots, which gave me goosebumps on the show and chills live: Tyler Joseph sang it for the first time at the Game Awards in 2024 with the Arcane footage behind him, and the part he sings softly on the record, he screamed. Watch it. No skipping parts. It stayed in my head for a while.
These people actually cared about what they were making, and it shows: in the behind-the-scenes footage of how they drew it, in every interview with the team and the studio, and on screen. Here's a good one if you want to watch: Arcane: Bridging the Rift, Riot's five-part documentary on YouTube.
Season 1 is a great origin story. It warms you up to the characters and the world just enough, never draggy, so that two seasons later you still understand why everyone does what they do. Don't expect pedal to the metal from the start; think of it as a superhero origin story, except this one is actually necessary. The second half picks up the pace, and it's chef's kiss. Season 2 picks up without the drag of an origin and goes hard and goes deeper, into all of it. Almost no show like this beats its first season. I say this one matches it. Ten and ten.
I watched it on Netflix, alone the first time. Then I dragged my wife into a season 1 rewatch, her first time, so we could watch season 2 together. She recommended Arcane to everyone she met for the next month.
Arcane: a king's feast for the body, mind and soul. Now go watch it. Scummer's orders.
