Bard is amazing in every possible way || Casual Champion Review 

I love how Bard is above good and evil It's the Cthulhu thing of "being literally too powerful and ancient to care"

The Princess Mononoke is a very serious and not-for-kids Ghibli film that is also excellent, and if you watch it you'll see how it inspired Bard about 1/4 of the way in.

Something really interesting to me is how Bard and Fiddle are portrayed vary similarly. Both of them are incorporeal anchient beings who were born in the first sounds of creation and when they came to runaterra they fashioned themselves bodys out of random junk they could find and became folklorik characters across the entire world. + neither can really speak speak. Fiddle mimics sounds he hears and Bard jingles.

Bard's design just perfectly gives the impression of mysterious but not threatening, it's so easy to make other-worldly characters too creepy, but Bard still looks friendly and whimsical without being creepy (and touching on the anime topic, I'm also someone who never really got into it, there's just not many that catch my attention, but I will say anime is basically just "animation from Japan" and just like any region, anime varies a lot in genre, artstyle, and tone. Something like Spirited Away is wildly different from Jojo, and that's wildly different from like a harem anime, and those are wildly different from Attack on Titan, what I'm saying is there's absolutely an anime out there that will be up your alley, it might just not be the typical anime and might take time to find it, but it's out there).

Yeah the anime part is certainly a hot take. You should open yourself up to it a little. Saying you don't like it because its for a "horny demographic" is not a very good way to look at it. Its like saying you don't like anything animated at all because its "for kids". you know, like all those media companies seem to think as they slowly can every animated series they have. But I also havent watched many Ghibli movies either. Not out of avoidance, just because I never get around to it.

The fanart is gonna be amazing on this one

Man, I'm happy Bard exists and sad League might not revisit these types of designs again. Season 5 was really just banger after banger champions.

I can't wait for Polypuff to find this gem of a vid. Keep it up, love your twitch streams and vids

From talking about Bard to why u dont like anime to talking about dinosaurs Damm i love u

Honestly, Bard's one of the most fun-to-play characters in the entire game. Objectively.

les go finally early edit: probably should make use of this opportunity to tell you nicky that you make some of the nost entertaining yt content and me and probably many more absolutely love you for it

5:34 pro tip, ulting the tower to get the chime would be really funny

My boy is here! Finally!

Anyone else reminder of swagkage a little bit with this commentary?

Can't wait for you to reach Redacted to see the community artworks

brotha really compared anime to mlp

Happens the same to me with the MMR...

Prehistoric Planet is awesome but it always ends too soon 😔

Why do you always have hecarim on the enemy team

Just wait til the champions that start with “K”

Ghibli moves are pretty wholesome so you should be good. There are some "special" parts of the internet to avoid like certain subreddits but all and all I'd say they're safe for someone who doesn't like fanservice.

just in time for the goat

I never really understood the "i don't like anime cuz i don't like anime" opinion specifically because it's a style. You can make any kind of show with an anime style. If there isn't an anime that you find interesting you just haven't found it yet.

Congratulations on lv 7

I mean anime is just a style of animation; there are a lot of cringe anime but some thing like vinland saga is different u should try the "realistic" ones

I can’t wait for my favorite champion Zeri!… oh yeah 😀

Heard you saying Bard Bard was the worst skin he has, so I gotta come out here and point out how wrong this is, as a Bard main I'm deeply offended

Nicky boi while i like you i think your making a big mistake. While I do agree that some anime are tasteless and have lots of booba, there are tons of cool shows and movies in the anime genre that explore concepts that havent been done in western animation in years. I just think that putting a blanket over an entire genre just because it came from a specific region of the world is extremely close minded and hope that u could at least give them a chance to show what they can do before jumping to the conclusions that it's not made for you, I am not asking that you like them, but it seems like you haven't even watched any of them and come to this conclusion which i have seen many times with critics of both anime and critics of animation in general

B. Yes.

I have a lot of Fun with Bard. I mostly play it on Aram and he is a Menace. The best moments were on Urf, cause there was a mordekaiser in the other team, and I constantly ult him and then he ult me on revenge, and there it was a moment where he ulted the ADC, and I ulted the exact moment he ulted and stay frozen inside of Brazil, it was Urf so everybody laughed, even once he just came to me and asked to ult him cause it was funny

Anime is just something animated though; it’s not a genre. I’m not sure it’s really possible to dislike anime. MLP is one cartoon, the same argument would have to be you dislike all cartoons because you expect them to be like MLP.

BARD

YAAAAAAAAS

Bard

Hi :]

It's very much your choice not to like anime, live life however you I can't stop you, but that is one of the dumbest reasons not to watch anime or mlp. If a show is good, almost nothing is gonna stop me from watching it and enjoying it whether that be Anime, MLP, breaking bad or game of thrones. Also do you not watch any cartoons or pieces of animation "because your not the target audience"? Cause that just seems like it sucks to miss on a whole artist medium because "you are not the target audience."

first

The first 🅱️ champion 🅱️oys

Bard is in the high echelon of champions, like Braum or Jhin. Characters so unique; cleverly designed, memorable and fun that everyone who plays league rememberes them well and most likely respects them. Alot of other champions just dont have that stainless status those 3 have. Im sure there are more, but those two come mind along with bard. Real icons of league

I've only seen a single ghibli film which was Spirited Away. I gave it a go because I was making my way through the animtation oscar winning movies and it's genuinely really good. It's entirely wholesome and should definitely not leave you feeling uncomfortable. No fan service just beautiful art and a lovely wholesome story

I'm also not huge into anime, but the best way I can think to describe something like Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke or My Neighbor Totoro... is you know how there are genres of music you love, and genres you don't care for at all, but sometimes there's just that ONE song from a genre you normally dislike that just hits you in some special transcendent way because it's so good that even YOU like it? That's how I feel about some Studio Ghibli movies. They're just such works of art. (EDIT: And don't worry, no fanservice. That stuff makes me incredibly upset too.)

I absolutely love bards chaotic playstyle. It feels like he has nothing but then he ends up doing the most random stuff and winning

As a polypuff enjoyer, bard is indeed amazing in ebery conceivable way

Honestly, in my opinion, this is my favourite series of yours! Not only does it remind me of more chill gameplay videos of old RU-vid, but your humour stil tends to shine alot even in these "half-scripted" casual videos! Keep up the the great upload pace! Love from Serbia! 🇷🇸🇷🇸🇷🇸

Honestly i felt the same way you did about anime a long time ago, Its just my love for animation in general pushed me over the barrier. Is there a lot of fan servecy horny anime? oh way to many, es. But Ghibli doesn't have any, it's pure animated magic rly with good themes and storyteling all over it so i think many can safely say that the Ghibli movies are in between anime and disney esqe animated movies (they are just more mature) Anime movies are far more safer then series like Satoshi Kon, Makoto Shinkai and Hayao Miyazaki's works or many other movies. And there are plenty of non horny quality anime shows out there, they are just hidden cuz nowadays to tell a meaningful story is not smth i consider popular.

As someone who despises most anime: Studio Ghibli is very not-anime, which is one of the highest compliments I can give it. Completely different vibe which if you give it a chance you can really enjoy. It's like Avatar for western animation. Very unique, very different.

I absolutely love how bards kit reflects his character. He doesn't care for human struggles and has a sort of cosmic indifference to things. He is neutral in the world and his kit reflects that through his portals and ultimate. His portals allow both his teammates and his enemies through them and his ultimate affects both teams. If he wasnt a truly neutral being his portals would only affect his team and hiss ult would only affect his opponents

Writing off an entire medium cause some of it is overly horny is certainly a choice......... kinda feels like not reading books because romance novels exist or video games because DOA exists

Nicky killed Graves and Heca when healing Ahri because that Echos mythic item he got was what caused it. Basically when you damage a champ you get a stack on the item and then when you heal an ally, the stack turn in a bolt that damages an enemy champ I think. As for the anime reasonings: I get what you mean and it comes down to get an acquired taste of liking anime. I didn’t really get into anime until I started to watch a few anime series which eventually helped me get used to it. Now I do like anime and try to keep up to date. Also yes fandoms can get crazy (like with anything there’s that one part of it that makes it uncomfortable) and certain animes are over sexual, but there are a lot of genuinely. good ones. Just got to try it

I think you should definitely give Studio Ghibli a try, does not feel like your standard serialised anime in the slightest, and I can't recall them ever being horny. They're just pretty, heartfelt and sweet animated movies

The question is: Would Bard team up with Ryze? Would Bard trust Ryze with the worldrunes or would he try to take them from him? Would they fight over the worldrunes, because they are afraid that the other one might misuse it? Also the fact that Bard views creation and destruction as a song could be a reference to the Silmarillion. In the Silmarillion everything is created by song. Harmony created good things while discord created bad things.

Design-vise there's a champ similar in concept of design to bard, but inverted. Fiddlesticks. Same idea, humanoid shape out of random materials, but when Bard looks comfy and somewhat appealing, Fiddle is pure uncanny valley and horror tropes incarnate.

Bard is the whole reason I started playing league, I was like wtf is this cringe looking game but then saw art of bard and thought "oh...oh, hello there" and the rest is history So glad your video is about appreciating him as much as I do (((:

Bard + Time + Skill at Critical Moment = Good Results. He's the champion your support could support like. I'm on a horse.

Never seen a Ghibli film???? Bruh there's not liking anime, then there's just shutting out beautiful stories with wholesome lessons just cause of its Medium. Plus, Ghibli is EASILY the least horny of anything anime out there! I get what you're saying, but yeah please give ghibli a real shot. if the mains reason you avoid anime is the fanservice ghibli is the anime you'll find comfortable but also again i get where you are coming from, I'm horny on main and even I be like "really? Is this necessary?" Sometimes watching anime)

Anime is a medium like how there are movies for children and there are movies for adult, horror movies, comedy, action or psychological thought provoking movies, so you can't really compare something like Princess Mononoke with let's say Highschool of the dead. Thinking all anime are the same is like thinking all movies are the same.

really loving this series, i enjoy listening to each of their lore, and this is a great way for me to "casually" listen in on it. Please keep em up!

The mask gives you an otherwordly feel to Bard? To me, honestly, it just reminds me of a shyguy Which is also my personal reason as to why he doesn't speak

Honestly missing out on anime just means you are missing out on some of the greatest stories period. The My little pony example is a bit weird since thats a show/genre when anime is a medium in that both big anime girl slice of life and cyberpunk edgerunners exists. So yeah if you dont want to try it don't but ur missing out. You also clearly enjoy a ton of things in league that are inspired by anime

As a Bard main, I’ve been dying to see this Champion spotlight!

Anime is just a name to describe a certain visual style of media USUALLY from japan but not restricted to that. The word has a strange history. Dismissing it all under the label though is like "I don't like cartoons" or "I don't like visual novels" or "I don't like live action movies" There's a LOT of absolutely garbage anime with terrible content, and the situation is made worse by weebs who reccomend that nasty shit to random people with seemingly no social awareness of what they're doing in the process. It sucks that there's so much garbage content out there, especially it being popular, but there's also a lot of great anime with none of those problems. I'd seriously reccomend looking into ghbli films first, and branch out. Full metal alchemist brotherhood, cowboy bebop, mob psycho 100... Just... Be wary of lists like "anime for non anime watchers" I swear they are all written by socially oblivious people who don't realize how wierd the shit they're suggesting is.

Studio Ghiblli is barely anime. The American dub is really well done so you don't even have to watch it in Japanese! Even if you don't watch any other movie (I'd recommend My neighbor Totoro for family feels and just really touching story, and Kiki's delivery service for a story about finding yourself and your place in the world) Every Ghibli movie is very much not just directed at kids, but adults too! As for Bard, as an adc main I have a love-hate relationship with Bards. XD I'm sure you can see why.

Ok first of all: you dont need a reason to dislike something, let alone one everyone else agrees with . But like, i dont think about waterboarding while enjoying a glass of water. Why would i think about "The Jar" while watching MLP? Just because humans have the special skill of turning anything into some messed up stuff doesn't mean we cant appreciate the subject itself for what it is. Heck, even LoL is not safe from the horniness.

I'm sorry but I hate when people try to compare anime to a single show, anime isnt dragon ball, or high school dxd, or elfen lied, its not really big fighties with very little story, or very big horny with very big booba, or very big blood with very big entrails, its an entire media form, saying "i dont like anime" is basically the same as saying "i dont like movies" or "I dont like tv" or "i dont like books" you cannot tell me that any single person in the world will not like anything from an entire media form, i do understand if you dont like going to the cinema, or dont watch that much tv, or dont really like reading, but every single one of those are actions that lead to that media form, not saying that you dont like that media, i do understand if you preffer something over the other, that much is a given, but you cannot not like every single anime, or every single movie, or every single tv show, or every single book, etc etc. I know i'm probably making this way bigger than it should be, but you cant compare not liking 1 show like you said "my little pony" with the entirety of anime, even if we count like the 10 different shows and 20 movies from mlp, we have like tens of thousands of anime and a big difference from 1 show, there are hundreds of genres, millions of characters, hundreds of thousands of stories, please don't say "i don't like anime" specially if you simply don't watch it because its animated and not "irl"

Bard is a champion i feel like people should go through training and get a permit before playing

Byrd, The Bellringer from Runeterra is an even better example than Junk Construct.

You gotta watch ghibli movies. They're magical. Just like bard 😊

All that talk on anime just to draw horny catgirl in FNF style is kinda... eh.. You know what i mean ?

Oof, the big old man take on anime had huge "all cartoons are for kids" energy

I also just got level 7 Bard last night. After taunting me with one token for AGES, I got two tokens in two days. Bard rewards us when we least expect it, it seems.

honestly this series is one of my fave constants every week :))

I was hoping for more meeps love! Those little guys are so cute like little pikmin. And I love collecting them as the game goes on.

I was in aram. I faced a Burst Bard. Bard is the strongs mage in game.

It'd be extremely close-minded to assume all anime is just lolis and.. whatever else people have come to think its about. Probably thanks to overusing the most hyperbolic memes to paint people's opinions without even giving it a try on their own. Its a medium, not a genre, you can find an anime covering just about anything. And Ghibli is the peak of trying to tell simple stories in fantastical settings. I hope you do give it a shot, maybe even find "experts" to help point you in the right direction. Lord knows there's alot of anime youtubers scuttling about that are more than happy to say what's what.

I fully respect your want to not watch anime, 100% valid opinion. But to be fair, you don't have to interact with the anime community to like an anime. I certainly don't. Then again i just like animation in general and don't really care where it comes from or who else likes it/ is "horny" about it. Stuff like Spirited Away, Nasaca, Kiki's Delivery Service. Even stuff like Belle, Wolf Children, Summer wars, Your Name, A Silent Voice, ANYTHING BY SATOSHI KON. If it's breath taking animation and a gripping story, why would I care that it happened to be made in Japan?

ok Nicky doesn't like the horny animes (which I don't like too *cough* 90% of the shitty isekais *cough*) so if you see this Nicki I'd recommend action packed anime genres like Jujutsu Kaisen and One Punch Man, or feel good slice of life animes like Violet Evergarden or Bocchi the Rock

Echoes of Helia is athene's unholy grail that also deals damage, very cool and fun item. Also the problem with blanketing "Anime" as a whole like with the MLP example is anime is simply, Japanese animation, there's all sorts of different styles and genres, your mlp example would be like barring yourself from simply any cartoon at all because of MLP. Studio Ghibli films are very comparable to renaissance disney in style and whimsey, a very easy recommend from me.

Why’re all the chapters named after Gear characters? Edit: RAD CHAD THE MAD LAD??????

Bard was one of my first "I LOVE THIS CHAMP" moments in league. He's just a big floofy goober doing his own thing which I love. First champ I just binge bought all skins for, pretty sure he was one of if not my first M7 as well. I did what you did with Ivern and just took him everywhere and especially mid, mid Bard was my absolute favorite thing to do and if the item rework back in season 11 didn't completely obliterate the ability to do that I reckon I would still be playing this goofy goober more today. I just hate bot lane with a burning passion so sadly he doesn't get much play time anymore but is still easily one of the few characters I have the absolute most fun with to this day.

ghibli isn't anime tho.... they're animated and from japan but they're movies. and Miyazaki is *Bonk* itself embodied. there is ZERO horny in all his films, only platonic friendship. Given Bard is based on that universe/style, and you love him... wouldn't that imply you'll like the material that inspired him? don't really bother watching any other anime though...

Mastery 7 is calculated by how well you perform *compared to other bards* ..... I dont know what to think-

I swear the chimes whisper. Kardashian People who say they don’t like anime are interesting to me because like it comes in so many art styles, genres, formats. Like I’m watching a murder mystery anime about a dude who works at a jewelry shop with deep BL undertones. You can find almost any genre you want. Anywho BARD IS LOVE

Bard vs Soraka Bard doesn't have the problems of Soraka because he is far beyond her power level, not because of the make up of his body. Similarily, Sol didn't even bother to get into a body, he just became a physical star dragon. Similarily, bard didn't really bother. He needed some physical parts to interact with artifacts so he took the first thing he came about. Anime A conparison often used but simply not applicable. "Anime" isn't ONE show, it's a medium. You cannot compare it to MLP and a "target demographic" as a medium as a whole. It's like saying "oh no I don't watch real live movies, I saw breasts once and thus avoid things recorded with a camera". You can have a preferred medium for sure but defaulting to rejecting an entire medium based on that argument is just super weird to me every time I hear it. Bard gameplay I love and hate that guy. On one side you can have insane fun against the right enemies, on the other side they took away so much of his off meta capabilities that I can't have consistent fun with him. I get that he gets too strong quickly through his ult but it's just sad I must say. Still fun at the right time tho. Skins Yes. The end. All bard skins are perfect, elderwood is the best with close second from cafe cuties

Anime movies and anime series can be quite different. Studio Ghibli is great and I would recommend Spirited Away, Castle in the Sky, Nausicaa, and Whisper of the Hearty. Mononoke is great too. But there are other great anime films besides studio Ghibli as well.

I absolutely despise anime, sorry not sorry I have yet to find one that I like for reasons other than nostalgia. I don’t mean that their bad, but my cartoon taste buds just can’t enjoy Japanese animation. However, Gibli movies are the great exception to this. I haven’t seen many, but every single movie I’ve seen (Howl, Porco Rosso and Ponyo) are really beautiful. I’d describe them as “chill”, they immerse you in a very relaxed world and atmosphere. So, as a fellow anime non enjoyer, I highly suggest you give them a try

You know I understand your reason for not liking anime. The online community on the surface is highly unhinged, and has turned away many. Though I'd say that anime is not to be looked at like that as a whole. Anime is more or less a medium for art. Studio Ghibli movies (which I grew up with living in Japan) is an excellent choice for a watch, even if you don't like anime! I'd suggest Spirited Away for your first watch, but also respect your decision if you don't choose to watch if you are still on edge about it.

On the Prehistoric Planet bit, YOU WATCHED IT TOO? Banger documentary series, it does such a good job at breathing life into the extinct animals it presents!

I'd recommend Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away if you wanna watch any Ghibli. I'd recommend Attack on Titan or Haikyuu for some shows that are good shows for a pretty wide demographic. There's loads of different art styles to explore, comparing a whole medium of art to my little pony seems a bit redundant to me. If it's not for you then it's not for you which is ofc fair enough!

Nicky please go watch a Studio Ghibli movie, they're not like a classic "anime" as you imagine. They're Disney style fantasy lands or adapations of classic novels like Howl's Moving Castle. Whatever stereotype you have in mind for anime is not what that studio follows at all.

On the topic of anime, I myself have watched enough to have an opinion on the medium but not enough to consider myself someone that watches anime. The best way I can describe it is: anime is like league's character design, some of it is super artistic like Bard and the studio ghibli comparison, some is just cool and "manly" like Sett and JoJo and then there's the bottom of the barrel horny basic shit. Anyway, I respect your opinion, which is similar to Bricky's funny enough.

next week is gonna be interesting

i don't reeaaaaally like anime anymore tbh, but it's the best place to find my favorite genre of fiction, ever, which is subversing expectations in horror (good example: i LOVE madoka magica)

I always think of Princess Mononoke whenever I see Bard cause of how much the Meeps look like Kodamas. You should definitely give it a shot despite it being anime, Ghibli films are almost in a category of their own being meant for kids or adults depending on the movie and having no fanservice to speak of.

Nicky, I hope you can get OVER that aversion to anime because in a lot of ways, you're right. Anime fans are kinda a mess to be around, but anime is just a style of animation and production that is like... An art form? Saying you don't like anime is like saying you don't like music, there is something out there you will fall in love with but just like any fans of a band or artist you like, there will be people that are weird about it. Don't let them ruin that experience for you.

I would like to give a huge recommendation for the anime "Mushishi". It is one of the quietest pieces of media I have ever seen, it is beautiful and thought provoking, and it has nothing I would consider fanservice. If I remember correctly, there are some seens where characters have less clothing, but it's handled extremely maturely and is always an intentional choice within the narrative.

I disagree on the anime take. That’s like saying you wouldn’t play video games at all because Bayonetta exists. All mediums have their over sexualized sides, and it isn’t too difficult o avoid them. Studio Ghibli especially is the complete opposite.

Studio ghibli is very bright and very pure... If you like bard you would love as well... Also, there are more mature animes, I'm watching Vinland Saga and i feel you would love it

The "song of the universe" is interesting cause we know the void is trying to destroy reality to make it SHUT THE FCK UP and be able to back to sleep. in real world also we know that space is full of noise, every planet and star is "singing" is song made of electromaegnetic waves and vibrations

Nicky, you can watch whatever you want, but anime is just a type of animation medium. Studio Ghibli films are probably a great starting place if other anime you've tried is crummy shonen or has too much fanservice. They tell some great stories and have amazing animation.

Of course there is a shit ton of anime that have the same , boring (at this point) artstyle and awful fanservice but theres also gems like Ghibli films, or Attack on Titan, it's worth to give some series a try despite them being in the "bad film" category. Just like someone doesn't like certain type of music but there's like 1-2 songs from that type that have good vibe