It’s been five weeks since I set off through the entire Record of Lodoss War series. I had just come off a cyberpunk binge, and figured that I should immerse myself in the genre’s diametric opposite — high fantasy — to lighten the mood. Since I had been sporting a Deedlit avatar for nearly an entire year, I figured I’d start with the Lodoss series. Until this point, I had seen the OVA a couple times and the TV Show once, and read a bit of the Deedlit arc. But I hadn’t read through any of the other manga. Despite its simplicity, Lodoss always had a special place in my heart (perhaps the combination of seeing the OVA when I was starting to get into high fantasy, along with being in my early teens, helped carve a lasting impression on my psyche). So I figured, why not finish the series to flesh out my understanding of something that I hold dear? Now that I’m at the end of my journey, I figured I’d do a little recap just to confirm that I didn’t just waste five weeks on mindless entertainment.
For those who don’t know, Lodoss is part of the early-to-mid 90s canon of Japanese High Fantasy that was sparked by the D&D craze (thanks to the Lodoss novels and manga themselves) and games like Dragon Quest. It rests alongside other classics like Slayers and Ruin Explorers. While each of these series occupies a different role and tends to deviate a bit from the classic Fantasy model, Lodoss is about as pure Advanced Dungeons and Dragons as you can get. That is, at the same time, both its greatest strength and its greatest weakness. Its settings and characters are all basic D&D archetypes: the burgeoning hero, the gruff but caring dwarf, the snooty but wise elf, the quiet and decrepit mage, the kind cleric, and the selfish thief all fighting an evil wizard or witch who threatens to disrupt the peace of their green hilled, forested homeland by plunging it into chaos. The Lodoss series itself is based off a series of campaigns played by Mizuno and his friends at Group SNE, and while the plots and setting of the series fulfill these archetypes well, they give the impression that their DM didn’t think much outside the box. As a result, the characters (especially in the OVA) feel flat for the most part, and there aren’t really any truly memorable moments that fans will talk about on random Internet forums 24 years later. It’s best described by what I saw one poster say “so classic it hurts.” For this reason, I’m a little apprehensive about recommending the series to anyone who isn’t already invested in D&D or High Fantasy, and even then, I imagine some players will still be put off because Lodoss doesn’t do much that’s new or exciting with the AD&D world. I can’t speak for the novels, though, since to my knowledge they haven’t ever been fully translated to English.
Yet I’m willing to accept Lodoss’ flaws. The series summons up memories from the past that we will never be able to relive. It’s a reminder of the days when we were younger, when we could come home from school or go to a friend’s house and play games or just make up stories without a care in the world. The days when we could make do with shoddy video game plots and fill the gaps in with our own imaginations, and then talk about them for years to come. It was a time where we could make these narratives truly personal, and incorporate them into our own being. For this reason, Lodoss is a powerful nostalgic artifact to a niche crowd. That, and both the OVA and Ocarina of Time both... influenced... something about me today. So yeah. Good memories.
If I were to give my experience with Lodoss an arbitrary number score, I’d give it a 3.5/5. Don’t come searching for deep commentaries on the human condition or complex societies that are analogues to modern-day political systems. It’s something where you can sit back and relive those childhood memories, and it’s light on responsibility. And maybe you will realize that, in the end, you are moving forward through time after all, and that your actions in the present are tinged by those heartfelt experiences in the past. Lodoss isn’t something I’d clear my entire backlog for unless, like I said, you really like High Fantasy. But if you ever need anything to read and watch where you can just sit back and enjoy the setting and mood, then Lodoss is there. It’s simple, good fun.
As for each chapter in the Lodoss canon... I’ll provide a breakdown, if only to organize my thoughts. It’s really a series where you have to go through the entire thing to feel satisfied. The animations do a few things better than the manga but in the end, don’t truly capture its whole spirit.
This is the chronological order of each entry:
0. The Lady of Pharis (prequel)
The Grey Witch
The Demon of Flame
Deedlit’s Tale
Chronicles of the Heroic Knight
This is the order I recommend watching/reading them in:
OVA
The Grey Witch
The Demon of Flame
First 9 episodes of the TV Show
The Lady of Pharis (or you can read this after the OVA)
Deedlit’s Tale (I finished on this, which works too)
Rest of the TV Show
Chronicles of the Heroic Knight
There are a couple spinoff series as well: Rune Soldier Louie and Legend of Crystania. I haven’t read RSL, but it takes place on the main continent of Forcelia (the world Lodoss is in) and is completely disconnected from the Lodoss characters and setting. Crystania is an epilogue 300 years after Chronicles following Ashram and Pirotess after they and the Marmo refugees colonize the mainland, but once again involves none of the Lodoss characters aside from those two.
And now, each individual entry:
Record of Lodoss War (OVA): Thirteen episode OVA that skims the entire series, and what most people know when they hear “Lodoss.” Visually, it’s very pretty, and it starts off fairly strong. It establishes that it is an AD&D animation and portrays the start of an epic journey of six adventurers who are caught up in battles that will determine the fate of their homeland. It starts to fall off about six episodes in, though. Budget issues in the animation start to show, especially in the battle scenes. The pacing gets screwy as the writers try to tie together three different plots in so many episodes. Dialogue becomes flat and unmemorable, and the ending is completely altered from the source material due to time constraints. It’s an admirable attempt at covering a lot of material in only 13 episodes, but it ultimately ends up being kind of a confused mess that I can see being boring to a lot of people. Still, if you set aside the janky pacing and the lack of overall character development, it’s an entertaining watch solely for the D&D setting. The OVA also sheds light on how it influenced countless fantasy games, manga, and anime in the years to come. It’s why every other female elf protag is blonde, good-natured, and wears a green tunic, and it’s why Ganondorf looks the way he is (King Beld is almost exactly OoT Ganondorf, right down to the hair and the armor). For this reason, it’s worth watching just to see these basic influences. That, and it seems to be the launching pad for a lot of seiyuu who would go on to other big projects. It’s just a shame that this is where you have to start if you want to get into the Lodoss series, because despite looking beautiful, it has the worst characterization and storytelling of any of the entries.
The music is quite good too. The OVA’s intro still makes a certain longing for the past well up inside me.
I still really don’t like that ending. It’s such a weird and sudden shift in character that I can’t accept it. And after watching the show and reading the final arc, you realize that it was entirely unnecessary save for the fact that they couldn’t introduce and develop the true “doorway” in only 13 episodes.
Chronicles of the Heroic Knight (TV Show): 27 episode series that “retells” the Shooting Star arc of the OVA and the Advent of Kardis arc of the OVA... which is actually the entirety of the final arc of the manga. More episodes means more room for characters to develop, as well as more room to actually tell a coherent story. And that it does. Its greatest weakness is that its production values. There are a lot of “why the heck are they just standing there instead of saving him?” moments and weird unexplained character blips (a few disappear for no reason, and one from the beginning is absent for far too long and feels more like a reference to something the viewers are supposed to know from the novels than anything). The animation is passable, though many character faces look ugly when zoomed out. Deedlit’s face in particular keeps getting messed up. You know how a lot of cartoons and comedy anime have characters drastically change their faces into weirder and weirder appearances as they keep cutting back to them? Yeah, it’s like that, except this isn’t a comedy. Ugh. Why do I like characters that nobody can draw correctly.
Anyway, it’s worth a watch if you enjoyed the slog of the OVA enough to find out what really happens in canon. I originally hated the show because I had only seen it dubbed. The “subs over dubs” rule seems to be stronger than ever here, and it’s far more enjoyable with the original Japanese voices. Deedlit is also less annoying here, due to her being more mature and settling into her barely-existent relationship with Parn.
Each episode has a chibi segment at the end that recaps everything you just saw, except, well, in chibi form. Chibi bits are something you either adore or loathe from the depths of your very being because they break the mood of the episode and because of their reliance on that certain brand of Japanese slapstick humor (male characters acting like doofuses and female characters scolding them, gender role jokes, lots and lots of puns). Unless you’re indifferent to most things like me, in which case you don’t really care either way. Butterknife ear Deedlit was something I kind of had to work up to. Oh, and these are based on the chibi comics called Welcome to Lodoss island, which are rather difficult to find. I guess nobody cares enough to scanlate them, for obvious reasons.
I will say that the op to the show is pretty amazing. It’s composed by Yoko Kanno of Bebop and Escaflowne fame, and you can listen to it here:
I really don’t know who that dog is. It’s never in any of the animations, nor is it in any of the manga. Maybe it’s from the novels. Who knows.
The opening is also animated far better than the actual show itself, so you can see where all the budget went. If the quality of the animation were up to par with that intro, this would be a show that I would readily recommend to people.
Oh well. Still pretty decent. Nothing amazing, but worth checking out if you have the time.
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An animated chibi series separate from the mini episodes in the Chronicles show that covers the entire Lodoss series also exists. It’s very hard to find, and it only seems to have German subs. What a pity.
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There is one other animation in the Lodoss series, but it is so appalling that I refuse to recognize it as part of the canon. It’s the Legend of Crystania OVA, a 90 minute movie detailing what happens after Pirotess and Ashram go found their new colony. Which sounds promising, but it
is
terrible.
Neither Ashram nor Piro look like they do anywhere else in the series. Animation and drawings look like they were done by students who had just left college and were looking for work, the main character is literally a white dude with brown hair in a red shirt, dialogue is more meaningless than usual... the entire thing is just lifeless. watching it made me feel like my soul had been sucked out of my body. A friend of mine described to me as making him feel uncomfortable, like he wanted to be anywhere else but there watching Crystania. And that’s exactly how I felt, even if I watched the first ten minutes, skipped around the middle, and then watched the pointless ending with completely unfitting credits music. Just... avoid this.
Apparently the manga for Crystania is decent, but seeing as how the OVA spoiled my view of the story, and how it has no Deedlit in it, I’m not too motivated to hunting it down and reading it.
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Now for the manga.
The Lady of Pharis: 19-part prequel manga that follows the first party of heroes, including characters who would show up tangentially in the OVA/first arc. Also explores more of Karla’s backstory.
LoP is probably the most D&D an entry can get in a series that rides entirely on its D&D setting. A band of heroes fights demons and descends a labyrinth of ancient ruins to confront Diablo an ancient demon lord and free the land from a taint that threatens to engulf all of Lodoss. Dwarf-elf squabbles and soul searching ensue.
Decent characterization, the main paladin girl undergoes some introspection to understand her role in the world, etc. Fun read, even if you’re not all that into D&D. The art is nice and a little grittier than the rest of the series, but does run into some classic “wtf am I looking at?” issues. If there were a Lodoss reboot, it might be a good idea to start with LoP, since its story is so classic fantasy that it would probably turn a lot of people on to something that seems like an anachronism, at least when compared to what’s out these days.
The Grey Witch: 22-part series that provides the basis for the first arc of the OVA. Reads very much like an adapted D&D campaign, which is what it is. Plot is simplistic but the characters are actually fun to see interacting this time around when compared to the OVA. Deedlit has more agency and her past is touched upon a bit more, which is something with which I am perfectly fine. Parn is also not a complete dweeb. He’s more confident and self-assured while also clearly still being a rookie with much to learn through his adventures, and he and his priest friend both visibly “level up.” The art is acceptable all-around, can’t really say much more than that. Some of the exclamations and dialogue are mind-numbingly straightforward at times, but overall it’s a satisfying read, and maybe my favorite arc besides Deedlit’s Tale. Just take it for what it is — a D&D campaign some guys wrote up in their spare time — and you can sit back and watch the story unfold.
The Demon of Flame: 8-part series with longer entries than the previous two arcs. The weakest arc, in my opinion. Follows Parn and Deedlit after the events of The Grey Witch as they try to help end a civil war between a fire clan and a wind clan in the desert as they summon their respective elemental overlords (now that sounds totally unfamiliar). The first half is slow, and Deedlit is conked out for most of it. It’s the second half where the manga’s D&D roots pick back up, and it becomes good simple fun once again. The art ranges from passable to ugly at times, except for when the artist clearly needed to put effort in a panel depicting a billowing firestorm or a sprawling desert city. There’s also an odd feminist undercurrent coursing throughout the story. I say odd because it’s either never fully developed, or I just haven’t bothered thinking about it much. It’s not terrible, but DoF is probably the least-memorable arc in the series. Still worth a read because its events are touched upon in the next two arcs and in the show.
Deedlit’s Tale: The shoujou entry has the most emotional progression, who would have guessed.
12-part series that stars Donglit herself and her search for self-meaning. Also features lots and lots of ears. Delves more into her backstory, her homeland, and her relationship with her cardboard knight friend. DT has the best character growth of the series, as well as the strongest theme development. It explores the one potentially-engaging concept in the entire series: the conflict between tradition and personal growth that drives human kind forward, and between the murky mists of self-creation from which we draw our present selves. That’s probably giving a light comic about a bunch of elf people too much credit, but it’s definitely an active theme within DT. That’s probably what makes it meaningful to me.
I think my greatest issue with this entry is that Parn never reciprocates his affection for Deedlit. Her interest in him is interesting, but he just seems to see her as something to protect and be around. It’s even acknowledged in text, but he never truly comes around either. I guess that’s another problem with the series in general.
Oh, and the art is decent. Nothing amazing here either. But if you’re going to choose one arc to read, I’d recommend this one.
Chronicles of the Heroic Knight: 39-part series that follows the third party’s quest to save the world... again. It's also the canon ending for the series. Art is nice and clear for the most part, and the protagonist + a few other characters show some clear development in their character. It’s almost exactly like the TV Show until about halfway in, at which point he plot deviates pretty drastically. A stupid minor villain from the Show is actually a central character in this arc, and it also explains a bit of Vagnado’s past and why he’s more than just an evil dude. It doesn’t really go into Ashram’s conquest or his motivations for leaving the island, nor his final encounters with rival Parn, which is one strength that the TV Show has over this manga. Despite feeling rushed at the end, this entry is overall solid. I’m getting kind of tired of writing, so I’ll just leave it at that. A good way to end the series.
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For some reason, there is no manga arc of the Shooting Star series, which takes place in between The Demon of Flame and Deedlit’s Tale. Which is odd, because it has some characters that appear in Deedlit’s Tale unannounced. It’s also central to developing some of the characters, or would be if the series actually did a better job at that.
So would I like to see a reboot? Of course. Do I have any idea who should do it? ...Not really, no. This series has a lot of potential that was never fully tapped, partly due to sticking too closely to its D&D setting. Maybe Japanese writers just don’t know what to do with certain genres, I dunno. Whatever the case, there is one thing that Lodoss has going for it that could make it more meaningful and interesting, and that’s the concept of time and nostalgia.
Whereas cyberpunk tells us that we cannot escape from the systems within which we operate, no matter how hard we try, most fantasy typically tells narratives of characters who complete their quest for self knowledge. Fantasy provides us with a framework of the imagined past wherein we can place out present day internal conflicts. its characters typically draw upon shared arcane, magical knowledge to bridge the gap of interpretive murk into the present, where they can make new realities for themselves. In short, Fantasy connects us with a fictional primal self and recreates a vital part of the human experience. And despite how shallow Lodoss can be at times, the Deedlit arc and an exchange between Ashram and Vagnado in the show (surprisingly) touch upon this search for staking out new identities in the present. The Deedlit arc actually does a pretty decent job of doing just that.
If someone picked up this series and went into remaking it with that idea in mind, I think it could be a pretty cool series that a lot of people could connect to. Maybe. It doesn’t need to do much other than present a traditional fantasy world with engaging characters, but I think that’s a pretty central theme for any high fantasy story to be successful.
But until that time, I’ll just keep searching for another passable Deedlit figure.