A History of Elves in Anime

[@Stevem]

SOURCES docs.google.com/document/d/1sCpASnEKx_KW-jJI1ZnZakMuX9vTcx0WbVapxk8UWwY/edit?usp=sharing

[@networknomad5600]

It’s neat that people are discovering non-isekai fantasy anime and enjoying it, Record of Lodoss War and its various adaptations I thought were basically forgotten at this point.

[@Stevem]

well there was a game that came out last year at the very least and i hope to see them keep the franchise about if that means keeping prior adaptations around or even idk maybe a nice movie animation of lodoss war would be cool

[@Miraihi]

Record of Lodoss War may've been revolutionary in its time, but it's not great by the modern standards. It didn't have a good animation, and the animation couldn't be good even in theory, considering the period in which the anime has been produced. Isekai doesn't automatically mean "bad", just for a long time it's been a crutch for the authors on "shousetsuka ni narou" to do a gradual worldbuilding in a certain "diary-like" format. Nevertheless I can name a number of Isekai titles better than The Record of Lodoss War and even elaborate why this is the case. And I'm not a hater, just want the new fans to temper their expectations, and the old fans to take off their nostalgia googles.

[@Stevem]

@@Miraihi Deedlit is the best part of the original anime but yeah the ova is uneven but has strong episodes especially the first

[@Wired4Life2]

_"Calm down, son, it's just a drawing, not the real thing."_

[@Stevem]

id be worried to see the real thing lol

[@NonCanonGanon]

>The next day after seeing Deedlit. "Son, I'm divorcing your mother and I'd like you to meet your new mom: Deedlit."

[@RebeccaCyberloli]

Is this a reference to that twitter post about the guy getting mad about elves recently?

[@Stevem]

@@RebeccaCyberloli first ive heard about that

[@maxmega42]

"Your feelings for her are not real." "She is real to me!"

[@bicyclelife7088]

Lodoss War is the OG. The soundtrack was amazing.

[@NelsonStJames]

Still listen to that snd track to this day. The opening theme for the series was a banger as well.

[@danmaertens7872]

It’s a masterpiece

[@realkingofantarctica]

For the longest time, there were no such thing as elf girls. There were only girls; the pointy ears were merely a result of animators never having seen a real woman before.

[@Stevem]

noooo...

[@Gunsight-One]

LMAO!!! 😂

[@LowellLucasJr.]

@@realkingofantarctica that's what the dwarves want you to think!!! 😆

[@geoffreyrichards6079]

The trend of elf girls has quite an interesting pop-cultural evolution. Starting arguably with Lord Dunsany’s Lirazel from “The King of Elfland’s Daughter”, which inspired Tolkien’s Arwen, which inspired a ton of RPG OCs, which inspired “Lodoss War‘s” Deedlit and the rest is history.

[@Lemuel928]

They have a elven council way far back in their prime before they slay demons!

[@Gunsight-One]

Deedlit from Record of Lodoss War has been and always will be my favorite anime elf girl.

[@Stevem]

she is the OG

[@keiichimorisato98]

Im partial to piratess. I love me some chocolate.

[@MrJacksspleen]

That female dark elf though....

[@danmaertens7872]

Pirotess is better

[@themanwithnoname5310]

The best elf related fiction I’ve ever read isn’t anime or manga but heavily influenced by them: Elfquest. If you haven’t read it do yourself a favor and grab the omnibus.

[@IAMA1]

What a nice video to end off the year. Both Frieren and Dungeon Meshi were in my top 3 for the best of year for their respective years, so it's cool to learn a bit about anime Elf history. I actually added Lodoss War to my watchlist recently just looking for fun* older fantasy anime. I didn't know it was so monumental

[@Stevem]

sword world rpg is still about to this day, it has lasting power

[@residentialpsycho1075]

I own the VHS for this series. It is charming. The art and music are absolutely fantastic. However, character depth, character development, story line, and so forth are relatively lacking. I like Deedlet, Pirotess, and the villains, though.

[@LowellLucasJr.]

I blame Deedlit for my forever love of anime elves. I got ro thank Lisa Ortiz herself for bringing such a mysterious beauty to life for me.❤ What an enchanted meeting that was!

[@Stevem]

oh she was the english voice actor i take it

[@LowellLucasJr.]

@Stevem yes. She was also the English voice of Lina Inverse from Slays, Amy from Sonic X( and others) and Serenity, Joey( Jounoichi) Wheeler from Yu-Gi-Oh....to name a few!

[@crzyboy190]

Didn't some of the staff members for the OVAs preferred Lisa Ortiz performance over the original VA?

[@Stevem]

@@crzyboy190 never heard it myself but they don't speak english so i dont know if it would mean much

[@LowellLucasJr.]

@crzyboy190 I'm not sure. I haven't heard about that but that's awesome!

[@Lextorias]

crazy to think that elves didn't exist until Frieren invented them

[@Stevem]

how did we cope

[@haldir108]

I'm probably reading too much into it, but in my head, you're still miffed about how people talk about your take on frieren's demons. (I've certainly seen people painting a target on you, with zero-context clips and screenshots, making it seem like you think coolsville sucks)

[@Lextorias]

@ if I can’t bring up Frieren without people assuming it has something to do with my video, then I don’t think I’m the one who’s not letting it go lol

[@justincholos.balisang6884]

Almost as if there are certain kinds of people that almost made them extinct, those who hunt elves.

[@LuisSierra42]

@@Lextorias I agree with your take

[@Meliae]

marcille might be the newest "modern" elf to win me over but the world needs more barbarian elves like moka from ozanari dungeon

[@Stevem]

ohhhh interesting title

[@WereCrow]

Another SteveM banger, thank you so much for including german Marcille and the best friends bit hehe Also great history deep dive as always!

[@Stevem]

i thought those were funny haha so i went with it

[@Capo98y]

I can't belive that all those popular Isekai anime are adaptations of basically fanfics from a website

[@Stevem]

So the fanfic era was over by 2012 the site is basically a creative writing hub now

[@Capo98y]

@Stevem Oh sorry, my mistake, by fanfic i meant amateur stories

[@Stevem]

yeah most isekai's although not all come from the naro website. The format was kinda woven from the culture of the site and things those writers were into, it's actually very grass roots with a lot of freedom. Which then became big enough that people like kadokawa and others started scooping them up left and right.

[@richatdastkey3555]

that's super interesting about wizardry having such a close tie to dungeon meshi. I've heard a lot of discourse about how good the magic system and food science and all that is in the show but it does feel video game-like even when compared to other anime that literally have thier characters using video game UI elements to interact with real world elements. a GOOD video game at that

[@Stevem]

i kinda feel frieren is also very wizardry at points when it does dungeon crawling especially with the mapping and stuff, though it could just go back to table top

[@akumakilla4]

I cannot describe how much this video has genuinely blown my mind. Fantasy is my favorite genre when it comes to anime and I never thought how much history there was up until now. Love this vid.

[@Esirre]

with the popularity of elves im surprised we haven't gotten an official LoZ anime yet.

[@Stevem]

nintendo is very protective so the best you might get is like opening of that remake

[@pablocasas5906]

At least there's plenty of The Legend of Zelda manga, and there's even a comic book drawn by Shotaro Ishinomori, the creator of Cyborg 009, Kamen Rider and the first two Super Sentai series

[@Esirre]

@@pablocasas5906 ah wow damn, gotta read that one. I just got into toku in 2023

[@williamjanak2013]

There was an American cartoon. That scared them from letting someone do that again to their IP.

[@mdraj5655]

I always liked elfs but frieren is gotta be my favorite elf of all time. We need more strong elfs in anime

[@Capo98y]

you mean more shows that have no consistensy? where the characters can make anything and its going to be justyfied as "magic"? A show that has no tension because the magic has no rules so any character can pull any power that the author wants at any moment making the fights meaningless?

[@webmaster3575]

​@@Capo98y Frieren's Magic system is very close to real magic. The word magic literally means the power of apparently influencing events by using mysterious or supernatural forces. Chakra from naruto Curse energy from JJK Nen from HXH Alchemy from FMAB Stands from Jojo Etc etc Are all glorified magic systems too Frieren have a soft magic system but there are clearly rules set on. Anything is possible long as you have enough imagination and mana but those resources are not unlimited therefore no character is invincible. It is made very clear in the show mastering any spell takes years of practice and making a new spell is equivalent to making a new invention in our world. It is one of the most interesting things about frieren if I say so myself. I doubt you even watched frieren whole in the first place

[@tasogarerubica]

I also love the divergent elf species we got in the early 90s of the space Elves from novels like Crest of the Stars and characters like Lena from Star Ocean. Also cannot forget Queen Azalyn Goza from Irresponsible Captain Tylor too

[@Stevem]

that database , couldnt keep the elves in one space

[@basedhalcyon]

Crest of the Stars mentioned, holy shit. Loved watching it on Anime Unleashed

[@extraful1]

Based Crest of the Stars enjoyer

[@micketm3]

Crest/ Banner of the Stars !! And I don't think they're elves... they were created... rebeled against humanity 😅

[@TrackZero]

Regarding the Dark Elves in Lodoss War, they were based off the AD&D 1st edition "Dungoneer's Survival Guide" (1986) which had introduced them. But had not yet turned them into the "Drow" that R.A. Salvatore's books did in the early/mid 90s. It was that original incarnation which Japan's AD&D and derivative games built their early lore from. Side note; for those who want the best modern Wizardry experience, I suggest Busin 0 (Zero) for the Playstation 2. There's translation guides out for it and it's hands down the way you'd want to experience the series today.

[@Stevem]

I know there's a remake that came out this year of wizardry 1 though it's gonna be old school and gog has wizardry 8

[@Just.Kidding]

the best wizardry experience is hands down wizardry 8, which i'd say doubles as the best modern wizardry experience - for a given value of "modern"

[@Stevem]

@Trackzero so i had a look at the dungoneers survival guide drow is in there though it didnt say much just they worship spider queen not always trustworthy etc

[@TrackZero]

@@Stevem Ahhh, my old memory being off. Good to know the name was there at the start!

[@Miraihi]

Interestingly enough, dark elves in Japanese media have brown skin instead of the ashen grey. The first creators were probably looking at the black and white illustration and assuming that the darker tone meant "tanned", like it's usually done in manga.

[@ColemakesMADs]

I've been binging Stevem's videos this holiday, glad there's a new one.

[@Stevem]

lets gooooo, there's a few of them put out 5 videos over the last few months

[@codys1528]

The tracing of long ears back to the 80s and the pre hackson-lotr "elf" to the 80s was an interesting cross into my first exposure to an Elf. Not quite anime, and made by an American couple - ElfQuest is/was a running graphic novel series that draws on the same ideas of what an elf is

[@DrPluton]

In the Land of Leadale had a unique elf character. She's technically a human spat out into a video game after the video game was closed, but she came out as an elf. It's a comedic anime.

[@TheWeebCrewPodcast]

It's interesting to me how they've started giving elves these Otaku elements. Elda from Edomae Elf being the most apparent example given her fixations on gachapon and anime and the like, but even Frieren and Marcille to an extent exhibit similar sort of coping mechanisms. A large part of Frieren's character is how much she loves magic and collecting spells. Very Otaku coded. It will be interesting to see if they will continue the trend as this reign of elf supremacy continues.

[@Stevem]

Those who live forever becoming hoarders of trinkets doesn't surprise me, especially when those things might outlive the people around them

[@masonarseneau2414]

I find your videos so fascinating. Teaches me so much and helps me appreciate many things I would normally probably not even notice. Fantasy isn’t my favorite genre and yet the way you present it has me so excited learning about elves and how they changed throughout anime

[@Stevem]

glad you enjoyed!!!

[@ajdynon]

Another anime that maybe qualifies as an early influence on elves in anime is Fight! Iczer-1. It’s sci fi rather than fantasy and Iczer-1 is never called an elf (she’s an alien android), but she does look very elf-like. And actually I’ve seen a few elf like aliens in science fiction anime (Crest/Banner of the Stars is another that comes to mind), so it seems probable that Spock from Star Trek is another influence.

[@fandyllic1975]

Elves in anime became more distinctive in that they tend to have longer pointy ears that stick out to the side. Most elves in Western fantasy media have pointy ears that stick up more and tend to be shorter (except Warcraft where they are really long, but not to the side).

[@Themanwithnoscreenname]

Dark elves implies that there are light elves, though, which are like regular elves, but 1/3 fewer calories. Heyhihellohowareyou, I do this for the algorithm.

[@kinosa11]

I just want to point out that its really funny you chose a clip of Aura instead of Mare when you noted that boy elves are also getting some limelight at 17:20

[@Stevem]

;)

[@lxdead5585]

Fun thing is that in Slayers elves not as common, but all the dragons that takes human form have... long, pointy ears. Those that I find interesting for their designs and character, temper are Deedlit and Marcille. Overall I'm just happy that we are again receiving high quality fantasy anime. I remember growing up watching Slayers, Record of Lodoss War and few other fantasy shows, I loved them, especially Slayers and lets be honest, we were flooded with sht-load of isekai fantasy stories, which in vast majority were mediocre at best and now Frieren, Dungeon Meshii.. they are like a fresh air, a light of hope for fantasy genre to be reborn - I hope so.

[@Stevem]

well such is genre work, theyll be stuff that stands out more than others, like i was kinda shocked how few proper elf related shows actually came out in the 90s and yeah the results are a bit mixed

[@Miraihi]

Currently the pointy of ears in Japanese fantasy signifies the connection to magic. Mazoku (Demonkind) have them, dragons have them, but elves still have the longest and pointiest ones.

[@ninjaws]

Ryoko Kui, the mangaka of Dungeon Meshi, is a huge fan of Wizardry and other western RPGs. She *may* have had a few chapters near the end of the manga get delayed because she was playing so much Baldur's Gate 3

[@Stevem]

yeah i mention later about it theyve brough up wizardry 6 as an influence on dungeon meshii in designs etc

[@fordesponja]

The arab coded space elves with w40k tyranid type ships from Irresponsible Captain Taylor should count, the princess is a nice character.

[@Stevem]

i didnt really touch like scifi coded elves but im sure theres a few out there

[@chunksss]

What a wonderful way to end the year. Thanks as always Stevem

[@Stevem]

thank you for the support always!

[@LilMissThor]

Can't wait for the assuredly in the works video about anime dwarves! :D

[@Stevem]

Might take a while before dwarfes has as many options as elves

[@LilMissThor]

That's okay. I just want a video where you discuss Senshi from Delicious in dungeon anyway. :D

[@ENSIBDumb]

Great video. I know some of my friends love elves and may appreciate this listen.

[@Stevem]

im glad for it to be shared!

[@Stevem]

Best Elf in anime~????

[@bredmond812]

Does Nyu in Elfen Lied count as an elf?

[@Stevem]

@@bredmond812 not really or i wouldnt personally

[@wiphosphophyllite]

Elda from Otaku Elf..

[@Stevem]

@@wiphosphophyllite good choice

[@bredmond812]

@Stevem oh man. All these years, I've been "lied" to about there being elves in Elfen Lied.

[@xyanide1986]

Your comedic delivery in this one was great. Funny little video that feels less long than it is.

[@Stevem]

thank you!

[@randomthrowawayaccount7721]

another upload by the goat

[@Stevem]

last of the year!

[@zainmudassir2964]

Saw this after watching 'we are living in Elf Renaissance' by another KZbinrs

[@Stevem]

i guess im not the first to say but honestly finding an actual breakdown historically was not easy had to do the leg work myself

[@richatdastkey3555]

THE TENCHI UNIVERSE IS TRYING EVERYTHING THEY CAN THINK OF 😂

[@fordesponja]

@@richatdastkey3555 it's even worse, those are novels written in the 90s. And the late anime adaptations going full videogame isekai with all the bad tropes that plague the genre. The writer went full joker when he wrote it almost 3 decades ago and made the bad clichés that are popular today, the Tenchi Muyo franchise is the Metal Gear Solid 2 of shitty anime

[@__diosito__]

​​@@fordesponja 90s tenchi Muyo was good, you just have sht taste

[@Oddmanoutre]

3:21 "Which would have taken some major dedication," you do remember that you're talking about Japanese otaku in the '80's? A group of people with time on their hands and an unshakable belief in their ability to succeed?

[@retroanimemike]

Well i am a blind one - first i saw the Wizardry ova and promptly forgot all about it never learning of its historical significance, and then i saw the Elf 17 ova and read what little of the manga is translated in english and completely missed the different ears. Good work, Stevem!

[@Stevem]

no problems at some point the manga might also change the ears but hard to pin down where since ive only seen the volumised covers have longer ears too

[@minespatch]

I might be the random weirdo but I like the maid elf character Myusel from Outbreak Company. She's a proactive character who wants to learn the Japanese culture but is discriminated by other people in the setting she's in. Yet the discrimination doesn't hold her back. So it's a endearing character. Love the rest of the show but Myusel was a favorite.

[@Stevem]

oh this sounds cool

[@simplemindedsage]

For another modern example, Metaphor: ReFantazio has a variant of the "90s anime elf" with the Roussainte Tribe. I have a lot of nostalgia for Lodoss War and 90s anime elves. It's one of the reasons why Hulkenberg is one of my favorite characters in the game.

[@Stevem]

she does have the big ears for sure

[@raptorskilltor4554]

This makes those two elves in unicorn overlord make a lot of sense now

[@Stevem]

well im glad it brings some clarity

[@alexgentry6675]

My favorite anime elves are Frieren and Marcille. Gotta love them both. Absolutely iconic the both of them.

[@nonamek3697]

Wow! So Record of Lodoss War is the precursor to Critical Role & Legend of Vox Machina. It's neat how history repeats/rhymes.

[@ShadoFXPerino]

17:26 "Maybe a boy or two" --shows Aura 😅

[@Saxolotl0]

I will always find it interesting that Wizardry was a major driver of the initial fantasy craze. It makes me wonder what drew their initial interest.

[@Stevem]

it sold really well, theres a cool interview with one of the members of the team and oshii and you get an idea of what he thinks the appeal was back then

[@Saxolotl0]

@ Ah thank you for being such a fount of knowledge Steve! I will definitely go read it 😄

[@Stevem]

@@Saxolotl0 i think its on the wizardry website for the game that came out in 2024

[@Nspark9001]

You might say that this guy could be considered among...Those Who Hunt Elves

[@Stevem]

did they hunt all the male elves

[@TallicaMan1986]

Wizardry Anime is so good. Just a dope dungeon crawling campaign.

[@Stevem]

i Cant say i was that impressed it hits the beats i suppose

[@TallicaMan1986]

@@Stevem For what Wizardry really is. I'm really glad they didn't jam pack a bunch of rando stuff.

[@ericlewis3444]

HAHAAH I knew it! Lodoss was one of my favs

[@Stevem]

lodoss is the og

[@xvct2661]

Nice video to end the year just barely made it

[@Stevem]

thank you!

[@loodwich]

It is not high fantasy, but for me, one of the most influential elves in anime is Lafiel from the family of Abriel, from the saga 'Seikai' (crest of stars, and barner of the stars) Also, I like Frieren, which helped me learn more German.

[@LowellLucasJr.]

The more anime elves the better!❤️ - Disgraceful Dwarf Smith

[@Stevem]

lol

[@MrRourk]

What happened is the Elves became hunted. There was a whole anime about hunting elves. No mention of the best pal elf a Black Swordsman can have Puck.

[@Stevem]

he's like a pixie elf so he's not exactly what i'm talking about, also he doesn't exist as a character in the anime until what the 2016 version of which im not interested in talking about.

[@TheEvolver311]

Record of Lodoss War is still the best D&D media ever produced.

[@Just.Kidding]

planescape: torment would like a word with you

[@JTVega]

There is a Mangas that was release in 2018 that had Deedlet.

[@CornishCreamtea07]

I wonder, do you think elves had a huge influence towards 90s character designs? The designs of prolific artists, Tsukasa Kotobuki and Takehiko Ito, both have a very elvish look to them.

[@Stevem]

Don't know really youd have to ask them, when asked about elf changes the author of lodoss war said the vibe towards elves at the time is of them having harsh features and being scary

[@professorq4081]

When it comes to Dark elves I will always prefer the brown skinned ones. I would like for once to see a story around a Dark elf. The only thing close was Karla from Kono Healer, Mendokusai.

[@onizame5480]

Kos-nos and T-elos are my fave Elves

[@RYClaude]

time to be friends with elves

[@Stevem]

yay!

[@muamua101]

My 1st WAIFU when waifus didn't exist yet XD

[@CiganoCorinthiano]

Elfa engraçada na thumb já merece o like.

[@Twoseconds001]

There won't be any manga nor anime that can top how good Frieren is

[@CaseNumber00]

I believe in Elf supremacy.

[@Stevem]

well this is a good place to be hahah

[@fishfingers4548]

Pesky knife ear... go back to your tree huggin' (From a rotund fellow fond of his gold, blacksmithing, beer and other manly traditions. Btw its not always a fondness of literal toxic hobbies.)

[@stevencasteel]

I capitalized on the Elf Girl thing for the music I published on my channel.

[@MSaint]

around elves... watch yourselves

[@Kaytsey]

Now, I would be interested in fantasy animes and its tropes in general. Some anime seem point to specific cliches all the time.

[@martijn9560]

Marcille is best elf for this year But deedlit is hard to beat after almost 3 decades

[@lupinsensei7456]

The Bard will rejoice when he sees this video

[@Stevem]

which bard haha

[@MrBishnuu]

I want that jacket

[@hemangchauhan2864]

2:35 Wizardry OVA is an excellent 50 min adventure, that covers all the basics of ORIGINAL Wizardry videogames for Apple II/NEC. Class synergy, how magic is used and final boss being Wedna. I heavily disagree in not being accurate (though you can argue about the elf-ness of the characters).

[@Stevem]

i never said it wasnt accurate, more so the quality is isnt up to the standard other adaptations

[@crzyboy190]

I was always curious about this lol.

[@DKaelynd]

Legend of Cystania is actually in the same world as Record of Lodoss War.

[@Stevem]

yeah its part of the broader sword world rpg landscape

[@kandicemir2514]

0:43 I am aware that there exist a lord of the rings anime (sort of) I mean yes there do exist the recent war of the Rohirrim but there was one before known as the hobbit that was aired in 1977 and was a co production between rankin bass and top craft studios just wanted to bring that up

[@Stevem]

i was gonna bring it up, but it felt like a deadend since top craft were kinda separate from most of the industry and it was made for the states. There's a very small appearance of an elf but its so divorced from the convo and its almost demon like from what i recall.

[@zainmudassir2964]

I recently saw War of the Rohirrim. No elves tho

[@LowellLucasJr.]

@Stevem Your probably referring to woodevkes of Mirkwook from the Hobbit. Despite their appearance, they were armed and dangerous. A stark contrast from Elrond and the elves of Riverdale.​

[@Stevem]

@@LowellLucasJr. yeah theyre green arent they and menacing

[@LowellLucasJr.]

@Stevem yeah a greenish blue hue. But they they're supposed to be ( visually at least) a stark, dark. Warlike elf vs their Caucasian brethren.

[@marktaylor6491]

No mention of 'Crest of Stars'? Aka. Sarcastic Space Elves in Anime. For shame.

[@Stevem]

Space elves are kinda a thing on their own I suppose

[@marktaylor6491]

@Stevem true

[@kennethrapp1379]

[elf nonsense]

[@mamaharumi]

I'm a big fan of the Lodoss anime, and the SNES game.

[@TheGahta]

Funny backstory to record of lodoss war i never knew as i slid into the anime/manga world after my tabletop rpg phase (and even then it wasn't through the dnd but their german descendant dsa) so i never got the connection and just saw it as a well made take on dnd instead of it being a legit ripple down creation in its own right

[@sambelanger8647]

Comment for algorithm 😎 greatest channel

[@Stevem]

thank you!

[@GenesisAria]

Anime elf girls are blessed. I hope we invent them alongside catgirls some day.

[@Stevem]

I think they should stay 2d lest we create some abomination

[@GenesisAria]

@@Stevem Idk, if you have seen some non-scuffed photorealistic ai generations of these, they actually look just fine. It's usually about execution rather than principle. People imagine grotesque or uncanny versions of things until they see one that works. When people talking about catgirls or whatever, they usually mean like actually engineered one (maybe subspecies like nekopara), not bodypart grafting freakshows lol.

[@Stevem]

@@GenesisAria im not really for unnessacary genetic mutations for aesthetic reasons, nor ai image lol

[@GenesisAria]

@@Stevem i mean it'll happen regardless of people's opinions on it lol.

[@Vaennylla]

I find Celestine to be one of the most incredibly beautiful elves I've seen so far. Don't ask where Celestine's from. If you know, you know.

[@ViewTube_Dan]

This year Frieren became my favourite elf of all time. She hit all the right emotional buttons in so many good scenes.. Hands down the moment that surprised me the most in Frieren was when she game ended Aura. But then there were also shots like when Himmel and her stood in a pose in which Himmel gives her a ring.. and there is a clocktower right in between them.. showing that time stands in between Himmel and Frieren being together. From the music.. artstyle.. writing.. I have never had such a 10/10 feeling since FMA.

[@AEspiral]

Record of Lodoss war still deserve a whole and faithfull adaptation...

[@Stevem]

in doing so you may remove some of deedlits qualities, im not sure faithful is always best, but im not against new versions coming out

[@AEspiral]

@@Stevem Not really, i am reading the novels right now, they are WAY, way better than the anime. But the character personalities in the anime are well done, with exception of Parn that is made to be a total idiot in the anime for no reason. All the other characters are pretty spot on. Being faithful only makes the story better. Mushoku Tensei is proof of that, ROLW deserved an adaptation with the same love. And you can rest assured that Deedlit personality will not change.

[@Stevem]

well they talk about her quite different it seems

[@AEspiral]

@@Stevem Try the novel, you will understand, she is a little bit more "grounded", but personality nothing changes.

[@StudyofSwords]

Including Fam, chef's kiss*

[@Stevem]

she has some long ass ears

[@pablocasas5906]

I don't if we are in a sort of fantasy anime renaissance, I mean, we got Frieren, Dungeon Meshi, that weird Lord of the Rings anime film, but I think the majority is still comprised of Isekai stories, which I consider a sort of separate genre even if they're fantasy based. I'd love to see a new Lodoss War anime, or perhaps something inspired by Greek myths like Yoshikazu Yasuhiko's Arion, but if we had to resort to Iseakai, at least I want to see a fantasy mecha series like Dunbine (though this yeas Sunrise made some Dunbine shorts) and Escaflowne. The thing I really liked about the two most popular anime elf girls from this year, Frieren and Marcille, is that they're both voiced by the same voice actress in the Latin American Spanish dub, Erika Ugalde 12:00 Those who hunt Elves was a late-night anime? I used to watch it as a kid, it was shown on the Latin American channel, Locomotion, which later became Animax Latin America

[@Stevem]

yes those who hunt for elves was a really early late night anime in japan from 96 , something they brought attention to even in the outros for the next episode apparently

[@pablocasas5906]

@@Stevem that's funny because here in Latin America, Those who hunt Elves was aired in the mornings and I used to watch it as a kid more than twenty years ago

[@Stevem]

@@pablocasas5906 i mean they may have censored it or made changes for broadcast standards there but it wouldnt be the first time a more adult esc anime is put in a kids block

[@Doomroar]

That "male" elf from Overlord is actually a crossdressing female elf, and frankly i am not even sure if the twins are even elves Now if we are talking male elves, there's Zel from Interspecies Reviewers but that may be too spicy for YT, that said i did peek some Erufuda in there trying to lose weight so maybe it is all fair

[@Stevem]

Zel can go in the cabin with the dude from frieren

[@HaydenTheHistorian]

frieren burger gif

[@Stevem]

its good!

[@jointdavidlunacardozo1410]

Hehehe I specially like Lucia from DnD Tower of Doom and Shadow over Mystara, funny how the developers wanted to make initially a Records of lodos war game, to find later they were dealing with the game it originally came from.

[@Stevem]

lucia is defo capcom branded deedlit

[@NotOrdinaryInGames]

Who would have guessed, if you make a female character INTERESTING ON SCREEN, in addition to merely beautiful, people would actually remember her for years to come! Such brilliant writing choice, if only more writers thought of that.

[@Stevem]

its interesting since the light novels shes seems quite different

[@NotOrdinaryInGames]

@@Stevem Another example as to why the source material is not always this sacred document that must not be altered.

[@cthellis]

It was always our destiny.

[@cthellis]

Deedlit and Pirotess are the One True Elf™️ Yes, both of them.

[@cthellis]

Elves eat the borgar!

[@Tetsuito]

I'm posting about Lufa from Dragon Half because I'm old.

[@Stevem]

hey shes here too to be fair

[@barrymaslow8441]

Lodoss, Lodoss, LODOSS!

[@barrymaslow8441]

Record of Lodoss War is AMAZING. (BOTH versions)

[@Stevem]

@@barrymaslow8441 well youre in the right place

[@chipper7554]

Meru's Theme? How random.

[@Stevem]

its a good theme

[@Kuudere-Kun]

Earlier this year I did a whole post on my Blog about how these Lodos War inspired Anime Dark Elves are nothing like the Drow, but then you come along and just go "oh they have darker skin so they're Drow basically" completely undermining all my hard word.

[@Stevem]

Not what i said at all but go off, drow don't have tanned skin it seems blueish if anything. the dark elves in lodoss war predate drow technically

[@Kuudere-Kun]

@@Stevem Well what you said was easy to misunderstand.

[@Kuudere-Kun]

@@Stevem Likewise my comment came off more hostile then I intended, I was going for just mildly annoyed.

[@Mikesamen]

And then you have So I'm a Spider isekai with its elf genocide

[@Stevem]

oh dear lol

[@fishfingers4548]

Think you'll find that the Hasbro is trying to retcon that... Drow are just misunderstood. They don't do the "S" word anymore, it rhymes with "paves" for those that don't know. When it comes to D&D Elves I still think it's important to point out that Corellon Larethian still wears dresses. I think they're probably nice dresses with pretty patterns, but you wouldn't get no Dwarf wearing a flimsy dress like that. It might help if elf-boi god stopped swapping genders but I blame the dude for having too much wardrobe space tbh. Other things that concern me is the prevalence of friendly demons, vampires, and other outwardly evil creatures in media; D&D Tieflings are usually just a (PG) rated trend... coz a red dude with horns and Daddy issues or (insert other family member of choice here) wouldn't instill fear and terror in the local populace at all. I 'spose It's not hard to see why ppl like Frieren though.

[@Stevem]

​@@fishfingers4548I don't think hasbro has any jurisdiction over naro self published works picked up by kadokawa

[@MarXPaseos]

At least Deedlit from Record of Lodoss War did marry Parn the Hero and not like Frieren who took more than 80 years to realize his love for Himel.

[@Bones12x2]

Surprised you didn't mention how important elf girls were to the "plot" of Viper RSR. 😏

[@Stevem]

I don't think I mentioned viper at all lol

[@andrewbenner6349]

*Dark Elf Maid*

[@Stevem]

It's a thing I'm sure

[@NelsonStJames]

No mention of Elven Lied??

[@Stevem]

not elves