The Magic of Arcane 

I gotta say, the other stand-out voice actor for me was Powder's voice actor. She was absolutely phenomenal to create the utter hopelessness and rage as a child and make it so believable. Her screams were such a deep gut punch that I can't forget them, can't imagine what it would take to record that as a young actor.

There's so many flourishes in the animation that Fortiche didn't *have* to do but they did. The way Vi steps out of the elevator before it stops moving, the way characters fidget when they're nervous or anxious, all of the subtle (and not so subtle) facial expressions. Every aspect of the show is truly a step beyond.

The way they handled Jinx was really quite brilliant. Between Ella Purnell's voice acting, the animations and the special effects that we constantly see when she's on screen, it really sells the insanity of the character; from hallucinations to ADHD and PTSD. Whenever Jinx talks you can really feel the confusion, the pain, the hate, and the crazy in her voice.

One of the most interesting aspect of this show's world building is that the characters actively build the world. The same way Jayce and Viktor became the catalyst for progress, Jinx became the catalyst for destruction, tearing down the new status quo the former two have built over the story arc. While not every character is mega impactful, they all have just enough contribution to the ever shifting status quo.

i may not be speaking for the majority, but as much as i liked silco's character.... i just.... can't forgive him for child labor, exploiting jinx's trauma for his goals, countless murders that most likely took place to get him in power... and literally drugging almost everyone in the undercity... yes he did love jinx, but just because he does one good thing, doesn't mean i have to let go of everything else he did... ofc yall dont need to agree with me, this is a personal opinion after all. great vid as usual btw ✌️

I can’t wait for people to do individual character analyses, especially with Jinx, Silco & Victor who imo were the most compelling characters overall

A voice acting bit that really wowed me was when Jayce sees the dead kid in the factory. The way his voice cracks ever so slightly when he says "the next parent that gets the message their kid isn't coming home, i..."

I've seen some people kind of complain about the firelights mv... But honestly it was another use of "show dont tell". Instead of having ekko talking and narrating their story and ideals they just show you in a badass way

Fun Lore Fact: originally both cities were Zaun but then in order to open a canal (which would come to be named The River Pilt) they blew it up which caused the poor side of Zaun to collapse into the ground, the sea gods Janna saved a lot of people but then over time they became two different cities, Piltover and Zaun, cause in the games lore they were never the same after that

Next video: Arcane is HEXTECH

Love the editing, and commentary. Arcane, in my opinion, is the best western animation. Seeing these characters from the game come to life in such a faithful way is truly satisfying. I'm glad you enjoyed it and I hope we get more adaptations/shows like it.

Arcane makes you feel proud about videogames as a hobby. I've never played League, don't intend to and I've heard what a cesspool of degeneracy the community is but Arcane really is about what we love in videogames. Great writing, story and characters that evoke emotions and tackle difficult themes with nuance. It's also the raw talent and artistry of the makers that make me marvel at their craftsmanship from the animation to the music and the voice acting. It's a love letter to videogames and the best to date. Even better than Castlevania and that already set the bar high and probably opened the door at Netflix for this kind of content.

If you interested in the lore, then card game Legends of Runeterra (LoR) and the new turn-based RPG "Ruined King" are great games for you. LoR is also just very good card game on it's own, so if you like those, you will fall in love with it instantly (also, animation and art in this game art insane).

"From the dead?" That line from Silco, in episode 5, kills me every time. I completely agree the voice actor was phenomenal. And the dialogue with Vander in episode 3! Great video. I have so much I want to talk about with this show. I legit cannot come down from the hype and the emotion. I have to pause the video now and then to calm myself. And I have to do that with Wheel of Time at the same time, which is just my favorite thing in life. Yes, I'm quite the fanboy right now. So I'll say a few things here: - I loved Silco. Such an evil and twisted character, but so compelling. When you were evoking his ideology for season 2, I thought about Sevika, who does not get talked about a lot, but who will take over for Silco in my opinion. - The music video bit is so cool, and will be very polarizing as you said. I kind of did not like it in episode 7 on first watch because it is not really my taste in music, but on re-watching, it's just so good... Now, Ekko vs Jinx is one of my favorite moments in the whole season. - Not knowing about League avoids spoiling where the story is likely to go and who is important. At the same time, I was somewhat invested in the champions from the game before Arcane, but seeing them come to life in the show and become such deep and complex and tragic characters was just magical. - One thing I appreciated in the show and you did not really mention: the show is relentless and does not miss a beat. Stuff keeps happening and you get hit again and again. The release schedule was actually perfect for that. After act 2, I thought Arcane would be standalone and all wrapped up in a tight package by the end of episode 9. Well, now we will get more instead, which is awesome, but the season 1 is still the full package, with many complex characters, intense emotion, action and hype, story and worldbuilding, politics, insane pacing, and everything else! Regardless of what comes next, for me act 1 and season 1 both stand on their own as masterpieces.

In French "fortiche" is... kind of a cutesy way of saying "really good at something". And yeah they are.

It's not just the best video game adaption I've seen. It's not just the best animated film/series I've ever seen. It's up there with the Wire or Breaking Bad in terms of writing making it one of the best things you can watch on a screen. Ngl... "Modern day Shakespeare" is fitting praise. And if I'm honest... it's probably better than that.

Finished watching it for the second time tonight

"European studio" we don't do that in europe :). we name the country, we fought each other for thousands of years not to be referred as a European country. It's a french studio.

Arcane is so gut wrenching that I am afraid to rewatch because of heartbreaks after heartbreaks from all the tragedies. I will defend the show with my life, but it's so hard for me to rewatch it 😭

Legends of runeterra, ruined king, stay the fuck away from League of legends like Singed said : " please understand this is for your own sanity"

The animation is god tier and I absolutely love all the characters. This is going to a show that is going to get a few rewatches for me before season 2. The voice actors were unrecognizable in their respective roles. I still can’t believe that Silco voiced Wally West in Young Justice. The voice actor for both jinx and powder both absolutely broke my heart. From displaying the mental breakdowns to the emotional turmoil in just their voice made me want to jump into the screen just give them a hug. This show was really something special and any complaint I had was so minuscule that it isn’t even worth a mention. This show made me fall in love with the world of League of Legends and this is coming from someone that has never played the games. PS. I also wanted to say that I loved the thumbnails of the videos. I realized that they are just screenshots of the show with text over them but good lord are the screenshots beautiful.

Silco's monolog about water was so masterfully written. I could listen to it again and again!

ngl i just heard about this series 3 months ago even though I've played league a lot before and i thought that i would like this just because i played it and am familiar with the lore and assumed that the casual watchers wouldn't because, y'know.. it's a series based on a video game which is a taboo at this point because it almost always never works out but my god i could never forget the first time i watched the first act like I can't believe it would be possible for people to do it right....also super proud of fortiche i hope they keep prospering because that was exactly what we needed in western animation right now

It's a masterpiece but even better, it's the closest thing to perfect I've watched

Great vid. Agreed completely with everything expressed here. The animation detail is so damn impressive. There's a moment when silco sits down In his chair and they animate him getting back up and shuffling back down to get comfortable. Like, the fact they took time to sit and animate that tiny insignificant detail just to add a touch more realism is fantastic to me. Then when it really matters the animation of the characters faces is so good it doesn't even need dialogue to be 100% effective at telling a story for example When VI meets powder on the water tower during the flare scene Vi's face literally quivers so realistically as she's trying to hold back her emotions. Also jinx looking up after her fight with ekko when he stops as he realises powder is still in there and he can't stomach hurting her, powders face here was so beautifully animated here words weren't necessary. The show doesn't have any weaknesses and is utilising 100% of it's potential at all times which is just an absolute masterclass of pacing and storytelling and the voice actors for me particularly powder jinx and silco where fantastic. You know it's good writing when the thing that hurts the most is the conclusion of the main antagonists story. The worst thing about arcane is how high it's now set the bar for everything that follows 👍

""Every scene should look like a wall paper""... I see that the teachings of the savior Zack Snyder wasn't forgotten.

i think the music video bits ONLY ADDED so damn much to this show

Arcane is love Arcane is life

The part about every scene being a wallpaper is so true. There are so many amazing shots and I was actually thinking a lot of the time "This would make an excellent wallpaper".

I really want to commend you for the way you deliver the things you want to express. Your storytelling is almost the same process of painting a picture, but through words. Even your stuttering and the somewhat annoying yet emotional repetition of words carry weight, which add to the overall feel and atmosphere of your video. Just like the series itself, this review is magical.

Was I the only one who was satisfied with the ending? Like, honestly, I’d prefer if season 2 went to another region instead for a new story. That ending felt right for me honestly. I won’t say no to a season 2 with Vi and Jinx, but if it ended there, I would still be satisfied.

I have to agree: without a doubt, Jason Spisak was the MVP of this show's voice cast.

After watching it 7 times I finally realized how well their eyes are animated Every subtle movement their eyes make like actual people

Not sure about them being "Twin Cities", Zaun is literally the forgotten underground/back alley slums of Piltover where its citizens are forgotten and looked down upon for being vagrants and poor... anyway just a nitpick :P

Ey, I see what you did with that title. And man, I really hope Season 2 lives up to this season, it’d be a shame for the magic to fizzle out. And I have to say, what really stands to me in Arcane, above the characters, story, voice acting, above everything, is their use of colors. They’re so vibrant and beautiful while also able to be subdued and menacing.

when i watched the final trailer on october i thought "wow the animation looks great but i highly doubt its gonna be good because its a videogame tv show" OH BOIIIII I WAS WRONG i watched it and i can't stop thinking about it

Subbed for the Arcane vids, keep em comin'

can we be ral and say this is the best anime ever? you can say whatever show is more fleshed out but the animation of arcane puts it over the top

Rewatched the series, act-by-act, and read up on some in-game lore. And I have one major gripe. Ekko's and Sky's could've had more screentime. Ekko, based on the game and "Enemy" music video, was more involved in the group. So I would like to see his past in the next season. And Sky, was just... there. She seem to be really importamt to Viktor show I hope we also get to learn more in the upcoming seasons. The show is a 10/10. Just hope that they slow down the pacing this next season to focus more on Ekko and some supporting characters. P.S. I know this is not really presenting new information but I feel I must share my stance.

I don't know a single thing about League of Legends, yet I decided to give Arcane a shot. And boy, after a 2 day binge session I was mad that I almost didn't go through with it. I picked up my phone ONCE during the marathon and that was to put it on silent. I'm right there with you in that this show gets a perfect score from me. I feel sorry for those who discount/won't watch this masterpiece simply because it is tied to the League of Legends negative stigma.

no, it’s not magic. It’s a human made masterpiece!

As a wise man once said "It's not state of the art, it is the art"

Imma loose all my shit if they shadow-drop an Act 4 tomorrow...

When it first came out, I already felt this way but I didn't want recency bias to influence me. But I watched it again this weekend, and it's the best adult animated show I've ever seen. it's beautiful, tells a tale as old as time, has an antagonist you eventually feel sympathetic for, and shows a world where Vi/Caitlyn is so normal that it's not even necessary to say anything about them other then "they like each other." Every time I see the Monkey Bomb scene, I tear up. This show is everything, and I've played exactly 1 game of LoL and was shit-talked out of ever doing it again. My expectations were low going in, and by the time I finished Part 1/ep3, I knew this was something very, very, very special. There's nothing like it. So pumped for Season 2, and that we're getting more Silco via flashbacks.

I love how each of the champions shown in the show would all have motives to theatrically fight each other. Seeing Jayce vs Vi or Ekko vs Cait in future would be cool. It's a very complex world they created.

Jason was absolutely sensational as Silco. However... He was only second best. Mia Sinclair Jenness blew EVERYONE out of the water as Powder. She only had three episodes but she absolutely obliterated everyone else, not just in Arcane but its the best, most realistic (and, in ep3, soul destroying) voice acting Ive ever heard period, at least in english. The fact that she was only 11 years old when recording absolutely blows my mind. I dunno if there is an Oscar for voice acting but if there is its an absolute joke that she didnt get it. If there isnt, they should friggin make one and give it to her. God damn, that girl got some insane talent.

Jinx destroying the council at the end, had me warped with emotions and her accidentally killing mylo, clagger and Vander made me cry

Aside from all the love i have for Arcane (it even inspired me to learn to draw and i might do a review aswell lmao) I really love your videos, just the way you talk is so intriguing and catches your attention, well done gained a sub!

About the soundtrack, I would've liked to see less Imagine Dragons and shitty pop songs and more unique stuff. I liked the song that introduces Zaun, it's got a cyberpunk vibe to it. I liked the Denzel track that plays when Jinx and Ekko remember their childhood games as they faced off. I would've loved to have some punk/grunge style songs in that because it Zaun literally has punk bands in it, so it would show off some of the culture of the place through the soundtrack. Imagine Dragons and the Sting song felt like purely business/fanservice decisions, NOT artistic ones. They pulled me out of the show and not in a good way, but in a way that made me cringe.

I'm not a gamer at all. I know nothing about League of Legends. But this show was incredible. I'm probably going to get disowned by several friends if I don't shut up about it. It's absolutely brilliant. Worth every minute of viewing time. I saw it just a couple of weeks ago, and I'll be watching it again from the start soon. Epic stuff.

I never saw Silco as the main character. Most of that was really taken by Vi, Jinx and Jayce.

About having music video in every episode, that reminds me a lot of vivziepop, in every helluva boss episode there is a new song. It’s pretty much an artistic choice, and ofc some may not like it

it was the best animation experience i've EVER watched, and all i do is watch animations all day

The only in-series music video that took me out instead of taking me in was the Imagine Dragons cameo.

Well in lore they are all heroes on their own story. Except seraphine!!! Change my mind

Arcane is a masterpiece

i hate dramatic commentary. just speak like a human.

Arcane is in my opinion, the best animated show ever made, hands down

Hey man! Love a bunch of the visual editing/cuts that you do for this video. I've been working on an Arcane video essay for a bit now - I just finished the introduction. I came to study the way that you make different cuts etc and learned some things, I figured you might like some constructive input as well! The video was very exciting, and if that was your sole goal you definitely succeeded, but in that, I will also say the pacing and consistent dramatic vocals created an anxious experience. If you slowed down a bit I think it would make these videos a lot more consumable. I would love to hear your thoughts on my introduction for my video so far - if I could find a way to contact you.

Silco is a top3 villain of all time.

Fortiche is French! Btw.

Why do you talk like that?

Ummm hextech, not magic

Worth buying all the skins! League produces top tier content

Still not over this show, love it too much.

Forget about LoL the MOBA, try Ruined King instead, it's a story focused turn-based RPG based on LoL (it's great they are expanding out of MOBA into other game and media genres, there is also project L, a fighting game), Ruined King focuses on six characters and locations from LoL which might appear in Arcane if they do expand the universe in future seasons (like Miss Fortune)

9:00 you know i have heard people say before about other shows that they actually genuinely dislike and get annoyed by everyone you meet seeming like they have their own anime worthy story and seeming like truly well thought out and real people even if they only show up for literally 5 minutes of the entire show but personally im a guy who LOVES not just a good world, but who LOVES LOVES LOVES LOVES my characters in the shows i watch ALL feeling truly real. i dont mind if i never get to learn everyones story even if i wouldnt mind hearing them all but the mere fact that no matter what happens and no matter what may arise i love that no just in shows that understand how to make real people but honestly real life, that no matter how much is lost or whatever may happen its a matter of so long as your alive there are always more people to meet and more journeys to start and that until you stop breathing you can always find another story to make :)

On my first viewing the music videos were hit or miss with me. Some felt out of place and jarring, while others were so good they pulled me completely in. But on my second viewing I started liking the other bits more for the piece of art that they are.

What do you mean by "it did not do much" regarding the jinx vs ekko scene?

14:25 Oh god, what have you done. You've already escaped! Why did you return!

Based upon the world-building and storytelling methods that win the show in addition to the amazing art that was clearly handcrafted with care this is one of the few shows that regardless of your opinion on it it is an objectively amazing show

When you mentioned "magitek", the nostalgia flows in.

Very much enjoy your reviews. And you have a great voice too.

Please react to League of legends mangas, it in their website

I'm so glad someone out there loves arcane as much as me

Good review and good points all throughout 👍

Your videos are my favorite on RU-vid

Might want to throw a spoiler warning

whats up that breathy voice you put haha

Thanks for a great review.

my man waited for this one

I'm still not over it T_T

Weird take: virtual idols are safer than real life idols.

great review mate.

hi I know who you are

Nailed it

nice vid

I didn't think Silco's voice acting was the best, not because Jason Spisak didn't do a good job -- he did a fantastic job -- but because I thought everyone else was voice just as well. Upon repeat viewing I could tell there's actually a lot more layers to Silco's voice throughout the season. He was pretty sinister throughout most of Act 1 and a lot of 2 and 3, mainly when speaking from a place of authority, be it to Deckard, to Sevika, to the other Chembarons, to Marcus, etc. But when he speaks to Jinx, his tone ever so slightly changes, and especially throughout ep9, you hear his voice go through so many layers of change, as he grappled with the choice of giving up Jinx for his dream of independence, finally understanding Vander (his monologue to Vander's monument) and his admitting to Jinx that she's the most important thing to him, his dreams be damned, yet the differences were always so subtle, and never over the top. Still, I have to give the best (if only by a tiny bit) voice acting to Ella Purnell, the VA for Jinx. After listening to Powder's VA for 3 episodes (a rare, superb job done by a teen/child actor), I was ready to be disappointed by whatever voice they gave to the grown-up Jinx. Instead I was floored by the depth of Jinx's voice, always teetering on the edge with an air of over-the-top playfulness as if to compensate for her trauma-ridden psyche and at any time ready to completely breakdown. Then when Vi showed back up in her life, you hear very subtle bits of Powder poking through, always quickly snapped away and back to the manic Jinx. Her voice in both the reunion scene at the end of ep6 and the dinner party of ep9 were both brilliant; especially at the dinner party, I found myself paying attention almost subconsciously to her every inflection, to try to figure out "who's talking right now", be it Jinx or Powder. And it NEVER felt like an obvious "split personality" cliche where the VA does two distinct voices, because there was never a "split" in her personality; Powder simply grew up to be Jinx. Yet the subtle change in tone still reminded us of what state of mind she's in at any given time, be it closer to her more innocent "Powder" past, or her more pragmatic "Jinx" present. Purnell's fantastic portrayal of Jinx actually made me find faults in Steinfeld's acting as Vi, which is a shame, because she also did a great job, but just by the fact that Vi was mostly playing the "straight woman" for the audience, she just didn't have as much material to work with.

Great video!

How many videos can we milk from saying the same thing over and over lol

What a tremendously good video my guy ! I got attracted by those gorgeous « miniature » as we say in French and you gave us a good analysis of everything ✌🏾