How Arcane Solved the "Video Game Problem”

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Set in utopian Piltover and the oppressed underground of Zaun, Arcane follows the origins of iconic League of Legends champions-and the power that will tear them apart.
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[@shazmodeus2795]

Why is Arcane incredible and successful? Riot kept Hollywood out of it. It's that simple.

[@erwincandelaria5438]

That's what I always tell others whenever they ask as to why Arcane is successful. No Hollywood bull and just pure love about their IP.

[@blondymonk1535]

Truer words have never been spoken... Money and politics is the only thing that people hollywood concern themselves with...

[@julient.6311]

True ! but not only that. 6 years dude ! 6 years to produce this masterpeace. Riot gave TIME and confidence to showrunner and animation studio Fortiche. With this show, they remind to the world that to create something good, Art need TIME (and money sure ;), not silly marketing schedule.

[@francesccampos1343]

Totally... i still remember this infamous moment: "And the Oscar goes to... BOSS BABY!"...

[@IceyKnight]

@@francesccampos1343 the people need there own cinematic award show where we get to vote on the best without Hollywood or political involvement 😆

[@AscendantStoic]

Credit were credit is due, French animation Studio Fortiche is also responsible for Arcane as much as the creative team in Riot, they did collaborate with them on several music videos like Rise and the first KDA video (both which have the same 3D style with beautifully painted textures), even back then in 2018 everyone (myself included) were begging them to create a show using that exact style, and here we are now three years later with this wonderful show, hopefully season 2 will be as good as season 1 or even surpass it.

[@valdencampbell1262]

Yeah this is the biggest thing riot has control over it. A lot of video game adaptations don't have the people who created the game as the head of the creative team. Also the real reason is because league was just the 12 year lore for creating arcane

[@ekimolaos]

and the Jinxed music video. That's what started it all.

[@AscendantStoic]

@@ekimolaos Yup, It was also one of the videos that got me to follow LoL YT channel in anticipation of more similar videos even though I don't play LoL.

[@peterfmodel]

The animation has a very French feel to it, so all credits to the animators, but the two writers were both long term RIOT employees. The story was created by these two, as well as one other RIOT employee, and one professional from outside the company. This really looks like something created by fans with passion and it shows. The structure of the TV-show is not my favourite, lots of sub-plot-arcs all mixed up together. I understand why they did it and it allows you to introduce lots of characters in the shortest possible time, but it does mean its difficult to engaged with any character until you get well within the TV-series. This is normally a dangerous structure, but I suspect the main audience was the League of legends fans, who already knew the characters so were already engaged. Clearly this also attracts non-fan as well and I suspect that was due to the animation, it is beautiful and unique.

[@teemo7714]

yeah idk why ppl were praising netflix, they didnt do shit

[@alexqzd4625]

While I would argue that Castlevania was the one to solve "The Video Game Problem", Arcane is borderline a masterpiece. I would add that the soundtrack is also one of its strongest points.

[@HardcoreWeeaboo]

Arcane is garbage

[@DouglasDoMetal]

@@HardcoreWeeaboo Very insightful, cool

[@franciscoOrellana29]

@@HardcoreWeeaboo seek attention 🗿

[@gabrielribeiro448]

@@HardcoreWeeaboo poor bait, try harder next time kiddo

[@josh-to3ze]

Well, personally I don’t think Castlevania really was the one to solve the dilemma. Did it prove that the video game adaption circus could be something more than just for laughter and empty jokes? Yes. But at the same time, you have to consider that it really didn’t have the same renown, popularity nor sheer level of quality arcane demonstrated. Plenty of people still don’t even know it exists. Don’t get me wrong, Castlevania is simply phenomenal, I just feel that Arcane was the one to actually fully solve the problem due to it literally beating Squidgame :).

[@reedschadegg9023]

Arcane is an example of a story with a focus on "show, don't tell" made by people that seem to love the material they work on...two primary things that made it successful imo.

[@petriew2018]

it's also a great example of disciplined storytelling. They had dozens of characters they could have included as fan service but had the good sense to keep the story laser focused on just a few of them. Anything unnecessary to the narrative was at best hinted at or simply left for later. So many shows get badly bogged down in their 'extended world' that so much of it winds up as merely filler because it's not advancing the plot Just taken as a stand alone work, Arcane is a textbook example of the importance of knowing the story you want to tell. The work it's set in is frankly insane to anyone not familiar with it already, but it doesn't matter because the story is not about that world. It always comes back to the core narrative and the characters that matter only to that narrative. honestly this is the element that's missing from most modern hollywood productions. They focus too much on the style or building their 'extended universe' to set up the sequel... and forget the story they're supposed to be telling along the way.

[@McSenkel]

Made by some seriously talented people.

[@mindandbody9427]

Precisely.

[@hiddenleaf414]

Another huge point in the flashback fight between Ekko and Powder/Jynx is that Ekko learned and memorized Powder/Jynx’s shooting sequence so he was able to dodge all of her shots. Deep message that somethings never change.

[@SCharlesDennicon]

Jeez. Comments like yours make me even more obsessed with this damn show. Too many awesome details I've ignored. Gotta watch that shit a second time.

[@jacobb5484]

It also foreshadows his future time travel powers and fighting style built around learning from his mistakes.

[@niksonrex88]

And then because he remembered he couldnt hit Powder that he saw in Jinx.

[@anyanova2513]

He didnt just learned it just because hes smart and cant totally do it he learned it and memorized it because he had a crush on her when they were little buut just like the voicelines she started talking to the gun

[@luminaria227]

Detective Pikachu and Sonic walked so Castlevania could run and so Arcane could blast off to another fucking galaxy.

[@fcasias7]

Detective Pikachu and sonic were the guys that burned themselves with fire, castelvania used it to cook. Arcane used it to create jet engines.

[@Josh-hh4kp]

@@fcasias7 the sonic movie was a success how did it "burn its self with fire"

[@SCharlesDennicon]

@@fcasias7 Come on, you can't compare Sonic with Detective Pikachu, Sonic is a POS movie, Detective Pikachu is smart, well crafted and fun.

[@Josh-hh4kp]

@@SCharlesDennicon sonic was a pos shit movie lolll take this with you 🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡

[@frantisekfojt8688]

Well said

[@aldrensiscar3988]

Fun fact: the singer in "The Curse of the Sad Mummy" is Christian Linke, one of the showrunner of Arcane. Great video.

[@magnusio5292]

Wait, I never realised! That is cool.

[@nameless4086]

WHAT

[@RosyRecluse]

I need amumu in arcane now

[@Daniel-wz3yv]

And there's a documentary about the making of the album for character soundtracks/curse of the sad mummy and also pentakill's first album, lots of scenes with Christian talking about the background work of their music/art team while creating the mv and album, it's pretty cool if you're interested in music.

[@twentyonetortas5921]

I remember seeing Amumu's vid and how sad his situation was. Knowing he's involved in Arcane it all makes sense now. Man loves to make us cry

[@aikordcz4424]

The thing I love most about Arcane is how real the characters are. Take Jayce for example (spoilers for Arcane ahead): At first it looks like a boring story I saw milion times before. Our hero is zero, but has great ideas. He team up with a guy who is also a zero but can help him and then they have success. Later our hero is popular and he starts to be selfish, doesn't listen to his friend who helped him get to the top and makes mistakes because of his selfish behavior. And now take a look at Jayce. Begining is same. Zero to hero story. But now Jayce is different, he listens to the ones with experience (listens to Heimmerdinger to not showing new Hextech inventions), his friends (he cares about Victor and listens to him), he still wants to sacrifice his lifes work for greater good. This is what I love, the feeling that every character is acting becuse of their experience and becuse of who they are. Awesome video by the way :) (sorry for bad english, its not my language)

[@oliverpasztor788]

Exactly! Those characters are incredibly well written and behave like real people would. For every single one you can pinpoint their motivation and they all act accordingly. This is something I was missing from almost every movie and series I watched in the last 5 or so years. That's what you get when a show doesn't underestimate its audience and has competent writers, who want to tell a good story, something extraordenary and fulfilling to watch.

[@nickyminaj709]

@@oliverpasztor788 i agree, every little character in arcane have impact on another character, even so when they die, their stories still live thru.

[@pecoguy]

Arcan is doing real story telling, where Hollywood forgot what it is (hello trashy sequel and remake ! Charlie angels, Terminator, star wars, marvel eternals, and so on). They do show case of minority, like you can do showcase of video games caracters. Hollywood showcase minority like they were doing trashy fan service "let put a black, some LGBT, let's put one billion minority in the movie, but not a single real person ! "Good guys with minority (but no personnality and story) fight bad guys (with no caracter and story), that's a good movie story ! "

[@Kenny-xx7je]

I think the turning point for my perception of his character was when he left Mel to go see viktor in the hospital. I fully expected for Jayce to throw him to the side but time and time again he never forgot about viktor. Even in the last episode he never forgot about what he set out to do.

[@AnnaEmilka]

I think that overall Arcane plays and subverts popular tropes. Jinx in-game was a Manic pixie dream girl, now we see her as broken and mentally ill person. The Piltover council actually listenes at the end and agrees to set Zaun free, which also doesn't usually happen in situations like these.

[@AzA609]

Arcane almost makes me want to play League of Legends... _almost_

[@nickmilo932]

Jk

[@fcasias7]

Nah, only sadomasochists enjoy league. Almost anyone can enjoy Arcane

[@zealot491]

I... I have fun with League :*(

[@mortarion9813]

As a League player, I warn you to _not._ It is a spiral of agony 🗿

[@zz7073]

@@zealot491 Same, then again I pretty much only play aram with friends and it's hella fun.

[@RegalPixelKing]

I'd say that the first truly outstanding video game animated series was Castlevania. As it turns out the secret to converting a video game to a series/movie is making a good series/movie, but you base it around a video game. It's so simple but so many directors seem to think fan service and references will carry the whole movie.

[@jonathanjohnson6727]

That's key, don't just get random directors(no matter their name). Actually have those who are apart of the source material/care about the world and characters. And I'd add understanding which medium fits the imagery necessary to properly convey the environment/emotions.

[@schplorgus8140]

castlevania had some good moments, but it also caused me to roll my eyes something about the interactions between trevor, sypha, and alucard just irked me. too many quips maybe it was animated great at the good parts, but it didn't look very interesting to me for the majority of the show

[@shaiii1148]

@@schplorgus8140To me though, the main Trio's interactions were really good as I was getting out of my weeb phase and Castlevania just did that to me, it made it even better just to contrast their serious sides.

[@MALICEM12]

The first season of Castlevania was good, but eeeehh, it started sliding afterwards.

[@MsRuneGirl]

@@schplorgus8140 I feel like if the series didn’t have those moments, it would be far too heavy and depressing.

[@signupstuff]

I remember an interview by Peter Jackson where he said he and his co-writers put together what they thought would be a compelling story for LOTR, and then satisfied with the results went back and tried to incorporate as much Tolkien lore as possible. I feel like Riot did the same thing with Arcane. At it's core this is a great story well-told. They probably came in after several passes of the script and then said OK, what can we put in from the LoL lore without detracting from the heart of the story. Which is where I think a lot of VG adaptations go wrong - they start with a laundry list of 'must-haves' from the game and then try to create a story out of it.

[@MefoWho]

i dont think thats the case. You should watch necrit's interviewing the 2 directors of arcane on the day it released. As they said they have alot of choices but the story of jinx n vi came to mind first. And part of what make it good is nothing feel shoved into it because its a league of legend adaptation.

[@Zeverinsen]

You're forgetting the fact that League already had a bunch of interesting lore! They already had a bunch of base story elements to pick and choose from in order to create a relevant story, and THEN cherry pick lore details. Unlike LOTR, League already had a billion dollar audience which pretty much guaranteed enough viewers to rake in a profit. Because the game has such a dedicated fanbase, they had to deliver lore relevant details, because not doing so would make their target audience *very angry.* I used to read the lore in "the old days", so I'm interested in seeing how this turns out. They have so much fun stuff to build upon!

[@MefoWho]

@@Zeverinsen and league lore isnt "established", theyre like a sneak peek here and there in places on Runeterra, so theres more creative freedom when it comes to show like this without messing with the existing lores, ppl call it an adaptation but really theyre just writing a book with existing properties ( kinda like game of thrones, showing how shit it can get if you dont get the right creative directors)

[@Robothuck]

@@Zeverinsen yo fam i agree but you know those lord of the rings movies were based on some pretty succesful source material themselves right

[@MistyKathrine]

It's one thing to true again, it's another thing to be shackled to it.

[@YamiAi]

I completely agree. When studios trust the talent that made them what they are, that is when good games and stories continue to be produced. It is when companies forget or disregard their talent (for instance, turning to a completely unafiliated company to adapt their game to a movie) that we get mediocrity.

[@gorzillak2793]

Not only for show biz, I have seen so many times even corp upper mgmt guys believe hiring completely unaffiliated consultants or some sort will get better results on a project than their own talented team who have been working with their customers for years. Those projects just flopped big, and money wasted. Too many boards and c-levels just don't have the talent to recognize talents within their own house. So sad but happens often. I'm glad to see this is done right with the Arcane project thou.

[@rinzzler366]

Just look at the warcraft movie, that's what happens when you don't trust your own team

[@Call-me-Al]

The DC cinematic universe is a classic example of too many fuckups, they would be doing as well as Marvel if they only had given control of their live action stuff to their animated movies/series team.

[@XXX3RX0]

When I first saw Arcane getting 9.3 on IMDB, I was intrigued, but jaded by the history of videogame adaptations and my hatred for LoL as a video game. And then I watched it. I didn't think a story like this was possible, yet I came away with a profound love for every single character. Yes, I love Vander as the father figure, but I can't even explain how well done Silco's story was because I don't fully understand it myself yet. It's on another level. He quickly became my favorite character, closely followed by Jinx. Their tragic past against their 'siblings' they looked up to is, not only sympathetic but empathetic to me. I've heard some people complain that the story isn't really that good and that people are fooled by the visuals, but they fail to see what the visuals actually accomplish. They're not only there to be seen. Sure, the visuals are absolutely beautiful, but more importantly, they tell a story of their own. There were so many scenes without a piece of dialogue or plot point that still spoke volumes due to the sheer attention to detail in the facial animations, camera work, lighting, music choice, pacing, and so much more. This show is nearly perfect in every aspect of storytelling.

[@Dwellerinshadow]

Not a fan of LoL either but after seeing so many videos in my feed about how good arcane is, I had to check it out. To no one's surprise I was hooked from episode 1 lol.

[@Call-me-Al]

I think people who dismiss it as just a lot of flashy visuals aren't actually paying attention to said visuals. There is so much constant show and not tell in Arcane, it's like live action acting where a single look can tell a whole story from a skilled actor yet applied to a whole show. The visual story telling is so wonderful rich.

[@ck-1649]

What makes that score even better is that it was the same score that Avatar got. So you know it's that good

[@ViolenVaymire]

Take it from somebody who grew up in a chaotic hell: They Did jinx PERFECTLY. I'm convinced that they had a real survivor of a shit childhood on there creative team. Ain't no way her story was made by some on lookers. The best Depiction of real childhood suffering there will ever be.

[@Baldur1005]

Well the "good" characters were written perfectly too: Jayce, Mel, Heimerdinger, Victor, Caitlyn... I failed to remember so much good writing and character development since first seasons of Game of Thrones.

[@jaijaihankcockvegavandam8785]

Arcane is what I call an anomaly of beauty and genius of art. Especially in 2021

[@tritran7565]

Jinx's hat as a kid immitate a bird too, and the bird behind Jinx is actually a Raven with the upper beak longer ,Raven represent evolution, change, the third eye,.... it's usually mistaken for a crow, usually represent bad luck.

[@alexirmendoza3600]

I'm willing to wait for season 2, may they take their time.

[@sojensgames]

i rather wait for 6 years to get a second season like the first one and not a rushed second season to keep the hype train going this show is a masterpiece and they should uphold it to the standard they set

[@EbiLMunkeY]

A lot stood out for me in this series but one of the biggest ones was how they managed to include a lot of modern topics that tend to come off as preachy, forced, or awkwardly thrown in to pacify certain people (gay relationships and women empowerment, especially), and make them feel very natural. It didn't feel like it was trying to scream some woke message in your face, but was rather a result of well-planned character development.

[@rey6708]

the problem other stuff has is that it shoves you gay or trans people in your face instead of having them be like, normal people u know what i mean?

[@dabdabthethird2410]

One of my favourite things about arcane is its portrayal of women. They have the “crazy but cute” stereotype in Jinx but she’s *developed* instead of a another Harley Quinn and her attractive appearance is never a plot point/joke. They have women who are built, badass and muscular but also feminine. The way they portray female relationships is also incredible without fetishising it by being overly sexual like a lot of shows have a tendency to do but still including a more intimate element with Caitlin and vi. Also the redesigns from the game characters are great and also make more sense, Jinx still has a cropped shirt and tighter clothes without her deign being sexual to the point of impractically, caitlyn still has a feminine dress sense while also not being impractical. It *works* I can honestly say arcane is the best portrayal of women in this kind of environment ever

[@Sigrdrifaz]

I never played the game, didn't care about the lore, but this was the only show I've binge watched on Netflix since tiger King. The story was better then most Hollywood films in the last 5 years, the animation was inspired, the characters were captivating.

[@SCharlesDennicon]

Yeah it kinda crushed 99% of what Hollywood is making in our days of intense conformism. Riot and Fortiche have made something that looks better than most animated films that have a theatrical release. The frontier between cinema and "television" is gone.

[@ThalesVlk]

I remember talking with friends after watching the Warcraft movie and asking ourselves why Blizzard didn't instead created a movie with their animation studios? They produced awesome intros and videos for them before, know the lore and animated movie is not a handicap nowadays. Riot proved this concept may work much better than trying to incorporate Hollywood, more creators not that familiar with the subject, creative struggles, etc. I guess that after seeing Arcane people at Blizzard are asking themselves... what could have been? :-)

[@Marksman3434]

Well… First Blizzard needs to get the hell out of the shithole they find themselves in right now before they consider doing new content outside of video games, lol

[@yandrak3935]

I understood that reference XD

[@VSasseville9]

Yo watching the last episode of Arcane as a blizzard employee must have hit differently. There are some parallels to be made.

[@kira-dk2mx]

I thought about that too. Warcraft or even Overwatch could've been something hot with their animation skills under their belt, but when I mention this idea once all those Overwatch playe mouthbreathers are like "Lore?! Who wants lore? I just want to shooty, shooty bang-bang, and nerf Mercy!"

[@Call-me-Al]

@@kira-dk2mx huh, weird. I have seen a lot of fan art of the stuff that clearly displays a desire for story. I have never played Overwatch and I know too much about the characters only thanks to fandom comics and the like. I guess they're just very different types of fans.

[@TomWalks]

Well concluded. As a parallel, few years ago I had the chance to attend a keynote with former Marvel CEO who explained the exact same thing: the reason why the MCU has been so successful compared to other superhero adaptations (which used to be overly mediocre compared to what came after) is because they gave full power to the creative minds, basically let artists do what they do best, let the others do what they do best. Sadly, lately creatives have been put aside in favor of themes and messaging.. I'm so happy Arcane has managed to show everyone that creativity is the true driver of success, whatever your story tells and whoever your characters are.

[@Call-me-Al]

Yeah, I am still bitter DC didn't give creative control over their live action movies after the Bale batman movies to their animated movies team. I grew up with both Marvel and DC (and many others) and to see DC do so poorly when they so easily could have gotten so many fantastic live action movies and stayed as cinema relevant as Marvel is saddening.

[@22darius22]

The creators weren’t making the show for league fans. At least not only for league fans. That’s why it’s awesome for everyone.

[@BeNice108]

If Arcane is the result of a PvP game having a pent-up need to tell a story, then we need more narratively suppressed PvP games to have a series! (Knowing full well of the failures already.) Or lets just stick with Arcane since they seem to have good ideas and do it ever so beautifully. I sure hope they take their sweet time with season two.

[@DM-Raven]

One of the reasons Arcane succeeds where other video game adaptations fail is it's willingness to let go of the game mechanics and focus on the narrative. Game movies and shows often tell stories that incorporate game mechanics into the narrative, and that often leads to stories that feel forced and un-natural. Video games are in a unique position where they can incorporate narrative and gameplay mechanics because the audience is actively involved in the experience so the mechanics (well designed) can flow seamlessly into the narrative. Shows and movies, on the other hand, are limited in how they can interact with their audience. When a game mechanic isn't being employed by the audience, trying to incorporate it into the narrative feels forced and un-natural. It's like trying to heavily incorporate reading into a movie, It can work, but the engine isn't designed for that medium. (If you have a movie that is constantly forcing the audience to read, you're going to start to lose the audience.) In any event (TLDR), Arcane works where other Video Game adaptations fail because it leans into the medium (TV show/visual) using high quality animation, character development, world building, music, and storytelling rather than trying to push the "this is a video game" narrative too hard.

[@sceleratus955]

Arcane is just pure beauty

[@Space0fox]

I want to add one thing - Arcane also solved the problem with LBGT and strong female characters in shows! Everyone there have their own personality and it is amazing, I hate when all I see on screen is 'another strong independend perfect woman' or 'another LGBT+ character who have no personality instead of being LBGT'. I'm so happy to finally see strong female characters who arent perfect and glorifield as well as LBGT characters who have their own personality traits, goals, fears and etc unrelated to their sexuality.

[@fabricatorgeneralcaz534]

Yeah, the animation, voice acting, and story are absolutely brilliant. I am very impressed with Riot and the studio they partnered with to make this.

[@jls7099]

"The answer is in trusting the creatives that were already a huge part of what made this property loved by its fans." That right there is the answer. Or part of it at least. This should be memorized by everyone who would place themselves in the infrastructure of a creative production. Screw Clownwood. Let them sniff their farts (and cocaine).

[@GameBreaker1055]

This goes for most things not just creative production. You can try to get the hottest people in the business or the most famous veterans and have them attempt that will likely fail at creating a worthwhile result. It's better to trust those who are already there, working towards a goal and have them develope. Ironically, that is why North America is such a failure of a region in League of Legends. Instead of building up a team, they import what's hot and only leanr the hard way that 5 good random might not magically work perfectly as a team.

[@gorzillak2793]

Love ur comment, especially the "entrusting the creatives that were already a huge part of what made this property loved by its fans". That is absolutely true and a rare find from a corp and board perspective now a days, so kudo to the Riot management team for that.

[@jellyendeavor7526]

I have never really gotten into league of legends, I've listened to the music and know very little about some of the characters backstorys but that's about it. When arcane came out I was worried that I was going to get most of what it was talking about but I could understand exactly what their world was like and honestly I almost cried seeing how astonishing it was. This is just a 9 episode show and everything about it just made me want more and more especially with the last part of ep.9 everything for the council and the two cities were looking up while the main characters situation was looking down and going into how twisted powder really became it's honestly a show that was completely worth watching in my personal opinion

[@laralepo1071]

Yeah the world building in arcane is truly insane imo. It allowed me to get immersed right away

[@hartssquire9386]

There's something you missed in that fight, it wasn't just an analogy. The call back to their childhood is why ekko won, he uses the familiarity of the game they used to play to trick jynx into firing in a particular pattern. If you watch jynx shoots in the same pattern as powder and ekko moves to dodge prior to jynx even shooting. He trapped her into doing exactly what he wanted out of muscle memory, think of the bridge scene from that MiB movie that used time travel where he already knew where the next shot would come. Ekko just proved why he's exactly the person to use time manipulation better than anyone else in the world, because he doesn't even need it to know exactly what you're going to do.

[@Remyria]

arcane is quite an amazing thing

[@pepolite4082]

This was excellently said. Gave me shivers in some parts. Thanks man 🙌

[@danielmugisha3725]

They did such a great job with this show easily one of the best l have seen in a really long time. Great video.

[@davidkesterson]

some VERY GOOD POINTS you made here thanks for making and uploading great material

[@NBJ97]

This is the best video essay on Arcane I have seen yet. You are refreshingly concise and clear. "Hyper-stylized, bite-sized moments of intense visual metaphor" is a really neat way of describing the music video scenes in the show - and I agree: They stand out so much and return so frequently that they really come to define Arcane. Cheers!

[@Appyaddle]

Hey ^^ loved your analysis on Arcane's success and music video based style-your webtoon counds really cool too

[@jasonpauldegraaf]

Solid review. Very well done!

[@dzibanart8521]

This show is a love letter to the game, the fans, animation and art alike.

[@ashleightaylor7426]

An absolutely stunning sum of Arcane's development and accurate imo, of what makes Arcane such a moving and powerful piece of visual media

[@leo4087]

This show was such a nice surprise

[@ndbern42]

Aw, your webtoon is supercute & I really like your style! Also great video keep it up!! 🙌

[@helloidontknow4543]

what ive noticed about the dozens and dozens of youtube videos praising and explaining the beauty of arcane is that each youtuber is able to take a different scene that captivated them and tell us why and there are so many different scenes talked about. its crazy how dense arcane was with amazing, in depth and meaningful scenes and so many different people; artists, writers, league fans etc are able to tell us from different how great every part of the show was.

[@Seraphimvgames]

Ekko's relationship with Jinx is more complicated in the lore. He had a crush on her, he loved her but all that went away as she became Jinx

[@ninab.4540]

Ekko's crush is still there in the first 3 eps, its just subtle

[@karolinakuc4783]

His crush is shown but it is implied. He looks at her with eyes full of hope and admiration. It would be cool if they showed in season 2 how those two became sworn enemies.

[@minako009]

Watched just 2 times. I will not stop. Every time i discover new things

[@user-dk7ic1ci2z]

arcane is a game adaptation that doesn’t feel like a game adaptation, and it’s an origin story that doesn’t feel like an origin story i don’t like either of those things but arcane is elevated

[@noanproduction3300]

You know, I've been a League Player since Season 2 and I stopped playing it regulary a few months ago. But I still love this universe. Riot achieved to create a universe that is so versatile and still somehow feels connected. They put so much effort in creating stories around these characters even they wouldn't have to. Only a few people actually read the lore but those are really invested into the stories because they are still written with so much care. And to be honest ... I couldn't imagine Arcane to be bad. It has a way too good base for that. But that it would be such a masterpiece? I couldn't comprehend what was happening when I first watched it. My mind was just blown away. I never expected them to create such an intimid story. We all knew Fortiche animation would be stunning but that they would deliver maybe the most exciting work of animated art since Into the Spiderverse - it just makes me happy to be part of this community. For once I can be proud to say that I love League without feeling weird about it because it got such a bad reputation... You know what makes me even more excited? We will get a freaking League MMORPG!!! And this could change everything.

[@Zeverinsen]

League had such an interesting lore from the start, and they've been dabbling in animation and music for years now. After I watched that 1 hour+ Chinese fan animation, I knew I wanted to see a series like this! I haven't played League in a few years now, but I'm definitely excited to see how this will develop further. Remembering all the lore I used to read and seeing how they sinned it into a masterpiece of a series, makes me hopeful!

[@sorenkair]

great. now i gotta go rewatch that scene again

[@F1lip3JF]

Fantastic video!

[@elodiepollock7326]

It wasn't explicitly stated in the video, but just the way the "writing" is just beyond incredible, so much depth and you can tell there is basically nothing that will not tell you something about the characters or foreshadowing or explaining the "lore" in more detail. Everything fits. It truly is amazing and what makes it so rewatchable for me

[@user-if4zv5nj5m]

There is a joke that you can pause arcane at every moment and you`ll see a perfect wallpaper, and it really works. Visual style is just perfect. While watching I was forgetting that i`m watching cartoon, not a film, and just remembered it from time to time

[@skyefox]

Castlevania walked so Arcane could run.

[@nickmilo932]

It flew

[@myself2noone]

@@nickmilo932 It stumbled.

[@Sierra2S9]

Reminder that 343 and Microsoft are making a Halo TV show that we're gonna all get to point and laugh at REALLY hard now. XD

[@rimurutempest4945]

Best part is, one of the directors of Arcane was the guy who sang Curse of the Sad Mummy

[@shadowravem]

I would have to argue the compelling thing that makes arcane so intriguing is in fact the lore.. the fact that from the beginning of the games release they kept its story highly intertwined with the game. From books to in game newsletters to eventually the online whole history is a show to the thought and life they breathed into each and every character rich with its history. The director and animation team did as amazing as possible but give leagues its due. Its never not been a lore driven game

[@nnndaprilster]

staaaahp the way you narrated the fight between ekko and jinx made me cry 😭

[@julient.6311]

I agree ! Arcane shouldnt be reduce as a "Video game adaptation" or even "anim serie" it goes far beyond thoses restrictive "category". Anim, serie, movie...who cares, it's all about telling a Story. And Arcane do it in such an awesome way. This show succed where 99% of other SiFy movie/serie/anim failled the last decade. This production gave me hope again in the fact that TIME, LOVE and PASSION cant create mastepeace again. Thx Riot and Fortiche

[@Sarcastic_Asmodeus]

Never played League Of Legends until i watched Arcane. I decided to give it a go to see what the game was about. It's.. really toxic.. Like, really, really toxic. Haven't played the game since. Anyways, can't wait for the second season of Arcane!

[@Tulkash01]

Just play Aram and don’t mind the chat, you’ll have fun.

[@pachydactylus7662]

Well, you can always mute assholes and enjoy the game or tell toxics to fuck off and watch them cry all game.

[@amandaslough125]

Most competitive multiplayer online games are toxic. League isnt even the worse of them. Though, if you wanted to, try the mobile version Wild Rift. It's much more lax, and doesn't have a decade of bent up frustration. Or Legends of Runeterra, the card game that's very lore centric.

[@johnpauljonesisabadass8134]

Just mute the chat bro

[@TheUglyThinGay]

The good thing about Arcane is it has its creative freedom being it only a PVP with only a backstory of a character to work with. Unlike other video games that has real storylines and cinematic cutscenes like The Last Of Us, Resident Evil, Tomb Raider or other games with real narrative they can have problems with adapting it with little to no creative freedom, cause once you changed something out of the game it changes its stories and the gamers wont feel connected at all. PS I cant wait for season 2 😍😍😍

[@ParkBongSig]

Neekos Light and Shadow song makes me cry. Its so pretty.

[@MistyKathrine]

0:38 I didn't play league that much, but I have played it and didn't remember it having any kind of a story. I actually just finished watching Arcane with my mother, and we watched this show because of the netflix trailer that appeared after we finished watching another show. Credits started rolling and my mom went into the other room for a minute, and I started looking at my phone and she comes back into the room and the trailer is playing and my mom asked "what's this?" I looked up to see what was playing and I'm like oh that show's called Arcane, I don't know much about it but my friend (who's very much NOT a gamer) said it was really good. So my mother and I started watching and totally loved it. I don't even know how this show was connected to the games, I didn't recognize any of these characters or names (actually I think I do vaguley remember a character being named Catlyn, but that's about it), and it was pretty easy to forget this show was even connected to a video game. Honestly that might have been for the best as I had no preconceived notions on how anything is supposed to be or turn out. This show was very good and I enjoyed it very much, and I'm not sure if it would have resonated with me quite as much if I knew all of these characters and what was going to happen. Good example: For the first 2 episodes I think Powder was my favorite character in the show, she's really lovable and likable, but after what happens in episode 3 she takes a heel turn and becomes one of the main antagonists of show. So by episode 5 I'm started to really identify with VI and understand what's she going through and share than sense of loss that she's feeling as I'm saddened by the fact that this sweet learn girl, who was stricken with a terrible tragedy, had turned into the evil witch who seems to have the personality traits of both Gollum and Harle Quinn. There was a real sense of loss that made me really invested in her story and that show. If I had known powder was destined to become a villain, I'm not sure I would ever become nearly as invested in her character as I did and experienced that same sense of loss that let me connect with Vi and her struggles the way I did. I already want to watch it again, heck, I already wanted to watch it again before I was even done watching it the first time. Unfortunately that will have to wait for another time, because I pretty much only watch TV with my mother, so it's usually something my mom wants to watch. The fact that the first episode of this show was compelling enough that my 67 year old (very much NOT a gamer( mother wanted to watch speaks volumes about the show.

[@jabbergingerart1253]

This video made me cry 😭

[@Kattlarv]

I have basically only heard good things about Arcane. To what I've heard, it sorta also fixes the massive issue with female characters as well. Possibly not "hormonally", but in general I've heard only positives in that regard. That it's going against the enforced media stereotypes.

[@zz7073]

The best thing is they are still feminine in many ways- they don't have to look or act "like men" to be strong women. They felt natural but strong in their own ways. Jinx was brilliant in her engineering and could fight- though not in a physical way like Vi. It's refreshing to see that without it feeling political or fake, they felt real and understandable.

[@Kattlarv]

@@zz7073 Yeah, I've heard good things as said. I'm always interested in shows that break from the "Women are only allowed to be 3 things" archetypes. It's like... stupid how few shows that dare to let women step out of that cage. It doesn't seem like Arcane touches much on "hormones" from what I've been told. But: That's not necessary considering its not that type of show. But, would love to have a cartoon do that some day.

[@Call-me-Al]

One of my favorite things about it is that it lets women have unattractive facial expressions when they're grieving or angry and the like. It's as dumb for women to have to look pretty when they are suffering extreme grief as men having to look handsome and attractive even if they are suffering extreme grief, yet it was incredibly common that only "evil" characters get to have unattractive facial expressions when they are women (and sometimes men too). It's been slowly changing the past maybe five years, and it's fantastic. Not being constantly attractive doesn't make a heroine or hero less of an appealing character.

[@Kattlarv]

@@Call-me-Al Yeah, that is also something that has slowly improved. Heck, I've even seen a slight return of the "mundane girl" in anime. Also: Yes. Certain things being restricted to "evil" characters has also been really stupid. I thing the biggest trait there is how women have *never* been allowed to be "selfish" without being portrayed as evil to some degree. It's the same with how women aren't allowed to be anything outside of the 3 status quo roles once they hit puberty.

[@unknown_individual7050]

It allows females to be NATURAL and REAL. The females in this story are capable of showing raw emotions that so often are disallowed to media females. It also allows the females to not only give punches and hits but take them as well. It allows for an actual realistic portrayal of people who are fighting for what they believe in or what they think they believe in which hollywood so often discards in order to maintain a "perfect female character"

[@siaanparkar7188]

kato i love ur videos and what a fucking intro man like props to u

[@ChincerDante]

It is a story, and later have fan service, rather than being pure fan service, it works even if league doesn't exist. It communicate without using the classic "monologue" in everyone's favorite fight you know what's happening and ekko and jinx aren't saying a single word, but you can tell what they would say with just the well done expressions

[@The_Story_Of_Us]

I can’t really say Arcane “solved” the video game problem. It’s a masterpiece for sure, but they didn’t have to adapt the game, they adapted lore. Big difference. The gameplay doesn’t factor into it at all. A show like The Last Of Us however is a recreation of the same story that plays out in the game, and so it’s kind of on them to solve the real video game problem, which is adapting the video game itself whilst somehow making sure the lack of gameplay doesn’t change the experience too much. Other things where video game adaptations fail can more or less be choked up to artistic incompetence, rather than actually having a unique creative problem to solve. It’s the same with book adaptations, you need to compensate for what you lose by telling the same story in a different medium. Edit: the hint is in the name: ”Adaptation” What is Arcane adapting? Not League of Legends the video game, that’s for sure? It’s an adaptation of online text-based League lore, not a video game. So it’s literally not a video game adaptation.

[@psy_99]

I don't think how much gameplay is involved really matters here. How much of Castlevanias actual gameplay is involved in it's adaptation? The same goes for detective Pikachu, the sonic movie, and even the Angry birds movie. Like Arcane they just adapted the lore with nods to certain abilities and weapons. This is like saying that only 3D RPG adaptations could be considered truly tackling the video game problem when it really isn't the case. The main problem is how videogame stories are perceived by people who don't play the game and how they choose to adapt it.

[@The_Story_Of_Us]

@@psy_99 You just said there are several good movies and shows based on video games already, so how is Arcane breaking new ground there (besides being undisputed top of the pecking order)? Arcane isn’t an adaptation of the game, it doesn’t create the same experience for a different medium. This is something video game adaptations have so far not gotten right and it’s been that way for ages. The only groundbreaking thing about Arcane is how amazing and popular it is, not that it actually managed to translate the experience of the game to a series format. People aren’t gonna watch Arcane and then go play League and get anywhere near the same deal. People don’t watch Sonic the Hedgehog and then go start playing Sonic games like ”just what I remember”, not with detective Pikachu and not with Castlevania. But if for example The Last Of Us series is good, people will watch it, then they can go and play the game and experience the same thing but with an interactive element. If Uncharted is a fun action-adventure movie, people will go to the games and experience the same thing, except their hands are on the controls. That’s the real video game problem, translating the game’s experience to a medium that is not interactive.

[@lolicongang.4974]

@@psy_99 They also put lore that was in characters backstories in the show. But they are mixing them all together.

[@faeb.9618]

tbh i think that's exactly why it solved the issue. because a lot of adaptations focus so much on having to incorporate the gameplay side one way or another that they don't realize this isnt a game, it's a movie or a show or whatever it is. there is no interactive element like a game, so the lore is what needs to have the attention, not the game part.

[@The_Story_Of_Us]

@@faeb.9618 I’m not talking about incorporating gameplay, I’m talking about compensating for it. When you take away gameplay, you’ve removed a contributing component, and if you don’t counterbalance that, the experience will be less. Plain and simple. But Arcane doesn’t have that problem. It is not an adaptation of League of Legends, it is an adaptation of League of Legends lore and has nothing to do with the actual experience of playing League of Legends, it is not an adaptation of a game. It is an adaptation of short stories based on video game characters. Not the same. Arcane hasn’t solved that, it’s like saying you solved the ”making a good Pancake” problem by sidestepping it and making a delicious cupcake instead.

[@KingOpenReview]

7:42 Yeah..."Friend."

[@helloneighbour2408]

Gotta disagree on the reddit ruination post. This wasn't ''minor inconsistency''. I can tell you liked Arcane but that doesn't mean that any criticism against other stories from League aren't valid.

[@willevalle9371]

Fantastic art, design, the world, the weapons, the clothes, what the characters look like. jinx, eco etc.

[@WiqidBritt]

Honestly, yeah, thinking back to The Curse of the Sad Mummy, it really shouldn't have been a surprise that Arcane was so emotional for me. Especially now that I know the guy who sang/wrote that song is one of the showrunners. That video still makes me tear up.

[@ArchReverend]

I have never played LoL, only seen the Jinx intro cinematic and the KDA popstars video so its safe to say i know 0.000% of the story of the game but i was aware of if because, try as i may, its unavoidable to not see advertisements or twitch streamer playing it. That said i absolutely LOVE Arcane. The story telling, the animations, the emotions, the characters, literally everything about it made it instantly one of my top 3 animated series of all time. This is because games and game worlds can have very amazing stories and settings that are obviously meant to be experienced by playing the game rather than watched, but for a game like LoL this is a great vessel to deliver a story you cant get in game. Arcane proves that an Overwatch show could be possible, or an ARK show because these games have story just not really detailed in the gameplay. It also proves that even with well established stories, you could make shows around games if its done right and given the time to articulate that world. Movies just don't have enough runtime to tell game stories.

[@pendragon6769]

Castlevania barely scratched the surface of Video Game Film, and Arcane is proof of that

[@marekdzurak1867]

i will give it 6.5/10 best part was Striga in day armor . There was lot of potencial but Arcane ...Arcane is ...you need whoel new system to even valuete that i mean 10/10 is not enough for Arcane

[@axelpettersson1482]

Well I mean there are other great game adaptions like castlevania and steins gate So I dont think it changed everything but I do agree that it is one of the best game adaptions to tv format.

[@AppleBaron]

It did. Arcane is first video game adaptation, that received so much praise from critics, fans of League, gamers and people, who never even heard of League or don't play games. It is not only easily the best video game adaptation of all time, but one of the greatest shows of all time. Because of Arcane's success people now will take both video game adaptations and animated shows more seriously, then before, which is not a small feat.

[@lamarabbit]

Any season past 1 in Castlevania was animation and story wise, a mess. And the last season the voice actors even gave up on uplifting even the most brilient lines.

[@axelpettersson1482]

@@lamarabbit well I completly dissagre

[@sachanadeau5444]

@@lamarabbit I can see an argument made for season 3 and past but I thought season two was excellent

[@butters742]

From the building the rift documentary on KZbin for Arcane... I love that quote "There's enough video games where the audience asks for a movie or a show for years and years and years, and they make it and it sucks. And then guess what people stop asking. We were afraid of that. We were like, if we make something that... isn't at least good then we're really really harming the league IP..." I have never played League of Legends. I know i would like it. But never had the time too. Hearing just that makes me realize how much the studio cares. That by itself. More so because they made a show that topples most shows nowadays... Deserves my attention.

[@Tyrinath]

Left field take: I enjoyed Arcane immensely and quite frankly its up there with one of the best shows I've seen ever. But here is the kicker, I went in blind, I do not play LoL I know nothing of its universe of characters outside of the KDA video for being insanely catchy and going viral. So that makes this the highest praise possible when I say: Arcane stands on its own, LoL could burn off the face of the world tomorrow and Arcane would still be amazing. I have no idea which characters would enjoy "Plot armor" and which ones were disposable inserts or what the general evolution some character would follow would be. The show is good through and through, Visuals like a once in a lifetime perfect cake, exceptional writing, sound design that feels like it was agonized over. If Arcane wants to make any bold statements about video game properties and making media based off them it should be this: Focus on making a good show that can stand on its own first, and perhaps, only do that, make a good show.

[@ouroboros1809]

Arcane and castlevania proved that game to movie adaptations can be done right. They should all learn from arcane success

[@lizzfrmhon]

I also cried with Amumu’s animated video. It’s heartbreaking.

[@gibarel]

The Witcher adaptation is also pretty damn good. I have never played the games nor read the books, but i thoroughly enjoyed the first season, and i believe I will enjoy the second as well.

[@TerrifyingBird]

The videogame itself is a book adaptation, tho, and the series mostly draws from the books AFAIK (never actually read them, but played the games). It's more of a book adaptation than a videogame adaptation. Even if Cavil being a huge Witcher videogame fan made his portrayal of geralt very similar to CD Projekt Red's.

[@Smilinturd]

ehhh season 2 is abit off in regards to Yenn's story arc

[@ninab.4540]

@@Smilinturd Yen was miscast to begin with, but that's not the actor's fault

[@karolinakuc4783]

True that Witcher Netflix adaptation has its moments like Geralt and Ciri moments. But videogame is far better. You do not have to play just watch gameplay and see how great animation it is

[@honey.suckle.plant_]

I was so sure he was gonna say “They are, the moment”

[@craftpaint1644]

This reminds me of what President Putin told a politician once, "Be careful sir, if you invite discontent it's not men like you and I who will be fighting in the streets, be careful with your words." This example was paraphrased of course, but the spirit of the message is preserved 👩‍💼🇺🇲🛠️🇷🇺

[@abadyr_]

I'd personally like to know how much was planned by the LoL writers, and how much was added by the animators at Fortiche. Like: who decided on the emphasis on characters' expressions most of the time, or: was there back and forth between Riot's people and Fortiche's people to decide how a scene should be presented?

[@allan7236]

I think they worked together, fortiche made 0.75s of animation per day, i think it's a Very close collaboration

[@kaisombatchareun1475]

I was with ya until you said the bit near the end saying League's pull has no lore baked into it, after the big retcon of the old lore and all the interactions between Champs in-game showing us what they would most likely say if they ever met eachother, and the fact that a good number of people do follow League just for the lore behind the champions because they can't stand to play the game with a toxic community. I really do think the lore team brings a big magnet to our small indie company's game.

[@ElmTheWar]

I did love this show. It was fun listening to your take. What impacted me the most from the show was how they showed the different classes of people. While those in the poorer district became more street smart and reliant on eachother those on the rich side were academic and drawn together by promises of power. Caitlin was an awesome bridge between the worlds and I think Caitlin and Vis friendship is a prototype for real life relationships.

[@kira-dk2mx]

I'm willing to wait another three years for this magic. Considering they've got so much planned before the first season even came out, I have faith.

[@robofistsrevenge3288]

As someone who knew (and still knows) absolutely nothing about League, I also ended up watching the entire series three times in full. I never once felt like I was missing anything from this show because I had never played the game. There were never any moments that jumped out at me as "I guess that's a reference for the fans?" or something. It felt _complete_ as a story, which...arguably no other video game-to-movie/TV show has really done well before? At least to my knowledge. Netflix's Castlevania is literally the only other one that comes to mind. Don't make a movie or show for the sole purpose of bringing in the fans. Make a movie or show because there's an actual story you want to tell in that universe and the fans will come.

[@nanopix5305]

For many years I wondered what the fuck was Riot doing, they had so many characters with their own stories, they had places, people, culture, lore, amazing music, and so much more, yet there was only League of Legends. Why werent they expanding on what they had,?why isnt there more ways to enjoy this world they have been building?? And then a couple of years ago, they announced a few new games and thats when I knew, we would be in for a journey. Legends of Runeterra? Arcane? this is just the beginning, I can't wait to see the massive universe they will have in 5 years. Arcane 2 will be out, maybe Arcane 3 will be in the works aswell, or after Arcane 2 they will make a different series, focused on the other side of runeterra, maybe Ioania, or Freljord. We will have more games to enjoy, specifically Im super excited about their MMORPG!! I can't wait to be able to "physically" walk around the streets of Piltover or explore the beautiful region of Ioania. Runeterra is so vast and deep, I am so excited to experience what it has to offer through different mediums of entertainment.

[@Steast]

I have yet to watch it due to my previous league addiction. I'm glad they're doing well, loved the toxic game so so very much

[@qualityconcepts5762]

Honestly could get behind more video games getting turned into shows if they run the project the same way they did Arcane.

[@Lesminster]

Imo this show is even better(if that's possible) to those who don't know LoL lore at all. Absolute masterpiece.

[@WartyWarthogHogger]

TLDR Question. How did Arcane make a good video game motion picture or television show? Answer: It was made by their own hands. They didn't hand it off to some studio to make, they made it themselves.

[@mandarue5104]

You first had me at Arcane, then you had me at Webtoon. I'm running away to subscribe to your webtoon, then I'll be right back.

[@paintedember3684]

Yeah, so I just finished binging it for the first time, after watching a Cinema Therapy video about it. I am, in fact, a sobbing mess. And I hope never to recover.

[@Baldur1005]

Difference between this and Squid Game is that Arcane promise vast world and universe for many sequels and spin-offs to come, while Squid Game sequels is cash grab (they already exploited the idea)

[@RumForBreakfast]

Something tells me this guy hasn't seen the lore vault with the massive amount of lore there. League has a MASSIVE amount of lore written.

[@danielaustin3563]

Absolutely agree with you. How I see league of legends is the what if story grabbing characters from the world of runeterra (and alternate what ifs with LoL skins). That’s why there can be duplicates fighting each other. These characters are legends taken from different areas after the culmination of their arcs with only whispers of their lore through the words given which can get the story wrong. Arcane is a look behind the curtain imo and the caricatures given through Lol showing the birth of legends, both good and bad. As an aspiring multimedia artist and storyteller. I can only dream and work to make a story as amazing as Arcane.

[@_-_-_-_-__--_-_-_]

You'll get there some day homie keep ur chin up 💪

[@danielaustin3563]

Thanks, I appreciate it

[@ageekywriter]

Castlevania solved the problem. Arcane perfected the solution.

[@mrcroob8563]

Man, I've been playing league since 2010 and at this point, I'm either bored or annoyed at any given point. Its never what I would call "fun"...

[@MALICEM12]

That's the general opinion of LoL. Most people I know who played but stopped and treated it like quiting cigarettes. I have a friend that is scared to watch Arcane for fear of getting back into LoL

[@ElZedLoL]

As Riot games headquarters is in LA its really surprising (and great) they didn't just let this be made in hollywood but trusted a too small group of passionate people in france to make this :)

[@FullCaber]

still wish rito started awknowledging old champions,imean im glad singed got noticed,but damn they forgot yoricks,ghoul army lul

[@karolinakuc4783]

Yeah would be cool if they made a story about Annie. So little films with adventure that teach about dealing emotions. So little good fantasy films with magic growth that feels earned