The greatest League of Legends trailer in years! || Naafiri: HOUNDS OF IRON breakdown

[@Cazzzz321]

One of the stand-out qualities of this animation from a lore perspective to me is that is seems the overtaking of the packs' consciousness is actually difficult and grueling for her. Its bloody, scary, all of the RED, it reminds me much of old-day werewolves that are human by day and the transformation of claws and bone and hair growing and shifting is absolutely horrific and painful when night falls. Its a radical animation and its amazing.

[@luckas221a]

Yess, I love how the team didn't make her escape from her imprisonment in the weapon look like a straight up power fantasy. It's gruesome and scary.

[@azuredragon8388]

And yet in the end she finds some form of clarity

[@Cazzzz321]

@azuredragon8388 and thats exactly what makes it so cool, Im very excited to see how this champ plays out haha

[@WhisperWings_]

I some how knew that this animation would summon another hour long animation break down. Time to grab a snack and a drink and enjoy.

[@ryliepridgeon97]

Lol me too, I got like 30 seconds into the trailer and thought “TB is gonna make a video about this”

[@ghostea6479]

I love doing this whoever skyen makes new long videos like this😊 I like to grab a cup of tea and a muffin and snuggle in

[@frozenice9051]

For the makeup on Naafiri, I excuse it for one reason. Darkins are supposed to build their bodies from their victims flesh with hemomancy however Naafiri has been "eaten" by the pack so she is bound to her hound form, the only thing that remained "human" on her is her eyes trait, symbolising what she was trapped in and what traumatised her the most. The only thing left of "her" is that fear of every darkin has, being trapped again, and a way to show it is with the peculiar eye linked to the dagger's eye.

[@rtxy_truest4985]

You can also kind of see dark eye liner on the blade a little too

[@Ajehy]

Kohl (eyeliner) was very common in ancient Egypt regardless of gender, for protecting the eyes from the sun.

[@RoyJrthe2nd]

It really speaks volumes about the torture of the Darkin imprisonment that they would immediately and reflexively plunge themselves into the consciousness of the first thing that touches them. Even if it means sacrificing themselves to a collective consciousness.

[@g00gleisgayerthanaids56]

Gives real "I have no mouth and I must scream vibes."

[@Blueeyesthewarrior]

An it turns out that all we needed was friendship all along!

[@kiddo6393]

THE UNENLIGHTENED MASSESS

[@Nostroman_Praetor]

​@@kiddo6393THEY CANNOT MAKE THE JUDGEMENT CALLS!

[@yourluckynumber7]

​@@Nostroman_PraetorGIVE UP FREE WILL FOREVER

[@ThePoisonLotus]

This video kinda answered the question of "why dogs" for me. Naafiri didn't CHOOSE to be dogs, the dogs were the first beings that actually touched her, and she possessed all of them at the same time through no fault of her own

[@atlasdwyer8220]

The whole main sequence really feels to me like Naafiri attempting to force her consciousness into a new body, only to be immediately lost amongst the dozens of other consciousnesses that make up The Pack. It is a congealed mass of teeth and claws and hunger, impossible to tell where one being’s mind starts and the next being’s mind ends. In that temple part, she has a choice, just like the dialogue in the animation tells us: be drowned out as an individual, or take up a place as one of the many. Run from the Pack, or with it. Sink, or swim. And she makes her choice. The Pack changes and stabilizes her, and she-like the drop that overfills the bucket- changes the Pack.

[@Bladius_]

It's not just visual/mental imagery either, the Power of the Daarkin is Blood Magic; they can craft flesh as they please. Her ult shows this too, she merges into a mass, then splits into more Dogs. She took the whole pack's body and minds into a single entity, and recrafted all of it in her image.

[@Nika-cl2gg]

Beautifully put

[@GreyscaleFady]

The segment where one of the dogs stalk through the temple is gorgeous in an understated way. It really feels like they let an animal loose in Hathor's Temple in Dendera, and you're just walking through this loooong line of ancient columns.

[@mleppp1546]

It looks very similar to the temple in As We Fall! It’s a great tie to Varus

[@greenin5537]

could it be that in all the darkin " mind consumption" processes, this temple always appear? Is that the temple where the first darkins were sealed in the chalicar and some managed to escape?

[@mofunomicon2207]

The simple scene of the empty dagger on the floor, with a shaking hand reaching towards it really cements how traumatized Naafiri is. She's so massively traumatized and in disbelief that, to see her cage from the outside for the first time in millennia, is absolutely HORRIFYING for her. Being a victim of continued trauma can make it difficult for that person to actually get out, when confronted with the opportunity and we see that in just the few frames the shadow of her hand passes over the dagger. Its almost like she wants to pick it back up, because as horrible as it was, its what she knows. And she's afraid. Just having a darkin break free from their prison in general is massive for lore reasons as well, perhaps the aspect's seal is growing weaker?

[@FarronMoon]

Or perhaps, that enough minds can break through the prison doors. We've already seen that multiple souls allow for more stability so it seems the Pack was just the thing Naafiri needed to wholly break free

[@PabAng]

I don't think the breaking out is literal, it's more like she now has a vessel (the pack) to be able to exist again; it's less that she's free from the seal and more that she had to choose whether to refuse and stay dormant in the dagger or awaken and become part of the pack and let the balde fuse with the pack.

[@han-pq3qp]

@@PabAng i disagree, the dagger looks dead and silent from naafiri's pov and the broken neckless on it too, she is free of it, she is free.

[@Ajin173]

@@han-pq3qp if she is free. She wouldn't need the vessels (pack) and be back to her former form

[@not58me]

​@@Ajin173But thats the thing, she was running away, but was given a choice, either go back to the dagger or join us. Thats how I interpreted it anyway, and the voiceover seems to support that.

[@freshlymemed5680]

While the design isn't as monstrous as I expected from a monster champ, a freaking blade dog with a mantle of swords with the sword being fused to the skull is really interesting design. Also a lot of Hellsing influence in this one.

[@horuho245]

reminds me of pochita but more metal, quite literally

[@betterthanyu]

Lyanrock dupe

[@jsands5555]

Hellsing yes! I said the same thing. Big Alucard vibes with the horror/thousand eye sequence

[@Jaded_Jinx]

​@@horuho245"Pochita but more metal" Friend, you have no idea

[@fallenangeldraco3778]

While the monster design is tame, it does still scratch that otherworldly itch that the darkin thrive off of

[@shuraizo2877]

I've just noticed watching your analysis that the man is more concerned about the knife than his own life while being attacked by that pack of wolves (?), pointing out he is well aware of what the dagger is

[@vidgealz]

Which means he was looking for Darkin weapons intentionally. The question is: Why? Was he looking for power or was he hired to hunt for it? And was he just looking for any Darkin weapon, or was he searching for Naafiri specifically?

[@justabeholder4753]

I'm so ready for the hour long video about a 2 minute animation

[@farrrpa]

lmao First thing I thought too hahhaha

[@ernestorodriguez791]

That's what I am saying!

[@not58me]

Well you gotta expect it when every frame is a wallpaper

[@SirAroace]

2.5 secs of animation per minute

[@hozimina]

I felt this was an absolute perfect way to represent Famine, a pack of wild hounds in the desert. Good on Riot to not make a non- four horseman Darkin.

[@celaz2825]

what was the other three?

[@puapogonadenicolas]

Aatrox = Death, Rhaast = War, Varus = Pestilence. Aatrox wants to end everything, to kill all. Rhaast just wants bloodshed and fighting. Varus’ connection is more tennous but there’s lots of mentions of corruption, blight and stuff in his abilities and even his new voicelines, and also his ult spreading that around, which ties in with him/his corruption being like a pestilence.

[@celaz2825]

@@puapogonadenicolas hmm understandable thanks 👍

[@QuangMinh-kd1bn]

⁠@@puapogonadenicolasAatrox is War and Rhaast is Death, since the scythe is Grim Greaper weapon

[@rtxy_truest4985]

​@@Oscar97oVaarus is conquest/pest cause he has the bow

[@Pteriidae]

One thing I really liked about the transition when the hounds bite into Naafiri is how the whole universe shatters and _expands,_ literally going from the more cinematic, panoramic view into one with more vertical scope (the black bars on top and bottom are being pushed away). Really neat stuff, been quite a while since I've seen it being utilised!

[@RaptieFeathers]

Looking at it again, the black bars aren't pushed away... They actually are getting _eaten_ That's awesome

[@Pteriidae]

@@RaptieFeathers Yeah, I should have written dissolved but my mind blanked on the word so I went with the next best thing to get my point across. Really cool!

[@forbiddenphoenix765]

I appreciate the restraint shown in her design a lot. I worried she’d be this huge hulking animal, but the point is that she’s not one single creature, but an entire pack. Love it.

[@unrulycrow6299]

I yelled about it in the cinematic trailer's comment section... But I need to say it here, I LOVE the references in this trailer. The way the hounds behave like African Wild Dogs, how it looks like Doggo!Naafiri is eating the sun/moon the way Sköll and Hati do at Ragnarok... This is such a wild cinematic, I really lost my mind while watching it and replayed it again and again because of how amazing it is at establishing Naafiri's character. The music in it also slaps so much.

[@dragonkingofthestars]

"Best of all she reads memos Varus, She remembered the double A thing Varus!"

[@gabrieldossantos1116]

Varus really has middle brother vibe doesn't he lmao.

[@Tortferngatr]

“Aatrox, I read the memo. The double ‘A’ thing is absurd and you know it.”

[@RethShannar]

Something I noticed that you don't seem to have mentioned- Naafiri in blade form has the same flow as the heads of the dogs. A subtle thing, but it seems relevant. As for the eyeliner, it *might* be a reference to the Egyptian themes of Shurima? If you look at the ancient Egyptian murals, everyone has that eyeliner pattern. Not saying that is the case, just what it brings to mind to me.

[@TheSpeep]

One thing I kind of like with these lower framerates is that theyre 100% a stylistic choice, but in a way not all people might realize. Because where with 2D animation, you were always limited in your framerate by the amount of drawing you could make, 3D software will automatically interpolate between keyframes, so its actually more work to achieve that lower framerate, not less. And in that way, it is actually similar to pixel art, in a sense; It intentionally tries to evoke the feel of an artistic decision originally born out of the limitations of a medium, be that the amount of images per second youre able to create for (2D) animation or the size of those images youre able to display on the screen for pixel art, even now that we no longer need to adhere to those limits because technology has advanced past the need to do so. But rather than making those choices simply because the technology demands it, it does so because their inclusion can be used to add to the art in some way; its no longer a necessity, but a stylistic choice. And cool stylistic choices are what makes art.

[@radish_dash4155]

I know the stereotypical "She girl, give make-up" is a little odd but honestly it helps in a very fun way I think. Naafiri is an animal, that makes her a hard to relate to on a design level, but with in game her facial animations are impressively expressive and I do think the smaller details on that face help

[@thetuerk]

38:26 I think the lashes are fine. If you look at the few moments where the eye in the dagger is visible (39:07), you'll notice that it is quite beautiful, almost egyptian, with a sharp, black outline. Yet it not only seems like a part of the weapon, but also a part of something peaking out from behind a very narrow hole. Now, when Naafiri finally does break out of her prision she notes on how she isn't starving anymore, and that vitality is now shown through the eyes. I know it was just a nitpick, but I am just as excited as you are for this chanpion!

[@RprShadow]

Something I didn't think about until this review is the scene where naafiri is falling and there's tons of grasping hands and body parts and limbs reaching out from the walls mirrors what we saw in the varus's cinematic when we see varus bonding to valmar and kai. I wonder if that fall into a pit of limbs and tortured looking bodies is not just universal to the experience of bonding with a darkin, but also maybe somehow represents darkin trauma or fallen comrades or just all the general death and despair they've seen and experienced.

[@1Henrink]

Something that I think I picked up, is that when she is running on the corridor she already has many "dog like" sensitivities. Her vision is desaturated, the likes seem to work as if by sound (better hearing) . So it's as if she is already part of the pack , but she hasn't fully grasped that yet.

[@owlson2527]

I needed this, as an epileptic it was incredible that I could actually see the cinematic this way. Thank you TB! ❤

[@notthisnow589]

Really happy with her. I expected Naafiri to be an amalgamation of hounds instead of a kinda alpha hound with blades, yet, good to see some new champs design.

[@Yoshyguy21]

Tbf I feel like that wouldn't look as good, specially in game

[@1greninjawolfbossdeath648]

I imagine that is her ult. Like she becomes that big dog we see for a sec.

[@artydragon520]

@@1greninjawolfbossdeath648she summons a bunch of extra dogs

[@peckypork]

@@artydragon520 she also becomes a big dog amalgamation before splitting up to individual dogs

[@1greninjawolfbossdeath648]

@@artydragon520 yeah, for me at the time of my comment it was not revealed.

[@anthonyrodriguez9232]

It makes me happy to see other people are happy with her, I've talked to a lot of people in public places like youtube and discord and most of them say they don't care for her because she is "just a dog" which is weird to me. I've also said she is a cool monster character imo but others have said if she is a monster than Yuumi is an I feel like that is just ignoring the fact that a murder dog is a lot scarier than a cute cat.

[@ThePunkina1]

Do people not understand that what makes her so monstrous is the same way zombies are monstrous they are one host of serval bodies they are inhuman like I'm sorry thats more scary than another just kinda a demon

[@gimmeyourrights8292]

On top of that. Naafiri resembles a Hyena which are known for having strong bone crushing bites. "Just a dog" is the worst arguments. It's a possessed Hyena!

[@natanaelalbertoeusebiomato526]

Seems like they lack braincells honestly 😅

[@smutnejajo5149]

These are the guys Riot makes hot girls and guys for

[@zwiebeldogs]

Officially, Yuumi and Lillia count as monster champions. But we all know what a monster is supposed to be

[@ThePunkina1]

This trailer is art I swear the studio behind them are really talented

[@gabbyn.3049]

Riot and Fortiche artists should be deeply preserved and cared for, they are Blizzard's best manifest. No agenda, just pure storytelling and visual meth.

[@ardoa8838]

I also love the moment during the ‘dogs combine with naafiri as she rises up to eat the Sun’ scene because the way they shoot it it almost makes it look like the sun is pulling AWAY from Naafiri. Like it’s trying to climb away from her and escape. Naafiri isn’t actually seen for a few brief frames as it focuses on the sun and then WHOOM- Naafiri is there and CHOMP, sun is gone. An awesome little bit of storytelling :) Love your animation breakdowns!

[@mustangcody]

I just want to hear the reaction voice lines from the other Darkin to what Naafiri has become.

[@AnimeManiacAndres]

Did you hear the new Vaarus voice lines? I’m so excited!

[@mustangcody]

@@AnimeManiacAndres Don't know who Vaarus is but I do know a Varus.

[@maxoweenie]

@@mustangcodyTHE DOUBLE A THING, VARUS

[@hasturthekinginyellow5003]

All the other darkin are kind of surprised that Naafiri could overtake the pack, and Naafiri is rather cordial with them, pitying Aatrox and actually making jokes with Rhaast about his situation

[@gr00vedrifttreh88]

At around 23:40, the first instance of Naafiri replacing the eye of one of the shape language of the blade gets muddled to look more like the top half of a canine head/skull (like the is it a duck or a rabbit illusions). The base of the hilt becomes a snout, the bauble becomes a wicked fang, the spurrs of the back half of the blade become molars, and the tip of the blade becomes an ear all centered around the same eye. We saw this blade for months, and it did not register until now. (However I think they missed an opportunity and made the blade show up reversed on the left side of her face)

[@teradul2480]

Naafiri was always an interesting concept but HOLY FUCK this trailler makes her SO AMAZING

[@АшкаэльБетрезенов-з9х]

38:30 i think this was done to signify that 'this thing belongs to higher powers'. In ancient Egypt murals the gods who transformed into the beasts and their servants were signified by the big line around eyes,and as shurima is kinda egypt-esque already this could'vs been used to say :'hey,that dog serves to someone who is cooler than her". Sourse-ancient murals and myths,and also my thoughts

[@3lmanuuu]

you get it so right.. is not only she becoming this " thing" it's is also Naafiri seeing the pack memories , the feeling of the hunger and instinct , the urge for feast , the anger ... all of it at once.. and that what makes this one of the best champion trailers ... it's shows you so much about the origin of Naafiri in a matter of seconds

[@nella_paulina]

I hope she's happy now, or at least more at peace now that she has a whole pack with her, I mean, what's better than a dog? A bunch of dogs! Hopefully in game her emotes allow her to pet the dogs/play with them somehow

[@nella_paulina]

@coldchary9244 hopefully, yea. I'm done with riot and its sad characters, everyone has a sad backstory and no happy ending or just no ending in sight

[@nella_paulina]

@coldchary9244 yes please! Found family is such a good troupe 🙏 hopefully we see her at least starting to bond with her pack and heal

[@Falloutlover1011]

We might get a deeper insight into her emotions when we get the obligatory new champion short story.

[@AurelionSass]

@coldchary9244 Sad thing is the Darkin and "happy endings" don't really go together very often.

[@PabAng]

I mean she is extremely traumatized yes but Darkin canonically caused inmensurable amounts of death in their wake and having their wars, I don't think she's innocent by any means 😅

[@liwayway9645]

god i am literally so excited for naafiri. after the disappointment that came with bel’veth being mostly in her human form, having a full monster who looks this badass and interesting is just amazing. if milio’s incredible design and wonderful gameplay is any hint to how naafiri will be, i’m even more hype. with the darkin being some of the most tragic and interesting groups in runeterra im even more excited to the lore expansion. naafiri so far seems like a very loved and cared for design which is so refreshing.

[@dinodude722]

i absolutely love how the black border shatters along with everything else when the 3 dogs bite the dagger and they only return at the very end when we see her in her new form, but they are still gone in those last few chaotic flashes as the zoom in slowly stops. that kind of change is just a great simple way to subtly show real world vs symbolic mental stuff, and it also just makes that glass breaking shot SUPER effective cause it literally expands the screen.

[@ND-xb3hx]

19:17 Little biological detail, when there is an adrenaline surge (like when someone is on cocaine or having a fight or flight response), the pupils tend to dilate instead of constrict, although you were initially correct that the pupils do constrict when exposed to light and dilate in darkness to adjust the amount of light going into the eyes. I think the tunnelling you mentioned refers to the "accommodation reflex", during which there is pupillary constriction, convergence of the eye globes towards one another , and increased convexity of the lens to allow you to focus on a near object. Thank you for the fantastic video! Thoroughly enjoyed it.

[@stellasilverr]

One really interesting thing I noticed about the very short part of Naafiri's memory that depicts the Void is that in the trailer audio, there's a very quick audio glitch/static and I think it serves to help enforce the idea that the Void is this awful corrupting presence that has deeply scarred Naafiri, even in her memories, which is a very neat little detail Also just to play devil's advocate with the eyeliner, it could possibly be a nod to the fact that Naafiri is from Shurima and Shurima is definitely insipred by Egypt where rulers and nobility had this kind of eyeliner, which would make sense as she was an Ascended warrior who probably held a great deal of respect

[@jiyu230]

The new Varus voicelines are so strong as well. Im Hyped for naafiris release

[@yamazakisouma438]

30:42 this statue can also be a missing part of the broken face of xolaani (zelani)statue since xolaani is the one who did this to her … remembering her past .. remembering the traitor

[@ninjaxstrikerz1132]

I was gonna say that too, it most likely is considering every darkin is out get xolaani.

[@thaisan4992]

One detail u might miss is that when she woke up after the transformation, the blade and the image became grey cause dogs are colorblind, and she was a dog.

[@marylopes6745]

Honestly watching this trailer just made me REALLY want Riot to make a horror movie like, the Fidle, Warwick and now Naafiri trailer's are all soo good, just imagine how a whole, full fledged horror movie would look like!

[@ajmalkristof3241]

I think the eyeliner thing you're referring to was just a weird way to draw the dog's eyes outline. If you check the normal uncorrupted dogs, they have this dark outline on their eyes, i think this wants to be that, it just comes through weirdly.

[@ViralN9]

Your comment on how being in a group being the key for a more mentally healthy Darkin works for Rhaast as well. Sure his relationship with Kayn is *far* more adversarial than Naafiri's relationship with the pack or even Varus's relationship with Valmar and Kai, but Rhaast is in far better spirits than Aatrox is in-game. Actually that'd be a pretty cool way to progress Kayn and Rhaast's storyline, have them stop fighting and start working together. Possibly even achieving something similar to what Naafiri seemed to and actually free himself from his weapon.

[@craddadyfishfries7147]

The eyeliner thing is actually based on desert animals as the eye shadow is used two help with seeing during the day so her having eyeliner at the end makes sense because she's a pack of desert dogs who probably have to both hunt at day and night and deserts get bright during the day and during a full moon.

[@gigachad6401]

I love the idea of a pack, but the only concern I have is how they are gonna fit a pack on a single "character area" if that makes sense.

[@pandoragoldspan7012]

maybe they don't. Like Wolf, Bel'veth's void fish, or half of yorrick's kit

[@gigachad6401]

@@pandoragoldspan7012 true

[@notthisnow589]

Probably she will be the alpha one that appeared and the Pack will be used on her abilities.

[@legorocketraccoon8297]

I'd assume you'll controll the main body with all the spikes shown at the end and you'll have others follow you around like the jungle pets. It would be really cool if on of the abilities let you switch over to another pack member and make it the one you're controlling. That'd make it a lot easier to push up and go in or escape of a lot of pack members are getting killed.

[@starguardianflakii1895]

In Dota 2 there is a character called Meepo and you basically have multiple Meepos which you can move around and attack with seperately. But I dont know if something like that would fit into LoL.

[@KiwiTrek]

The part of the spit in the mouth is probably a 3D model attached to the model’s animation skeleton that stretches with the bones that move the mouth. Its texture has different levels of opacity and may even have a shader/parameter that makes it increase or decrease based on movement or polygon density or something like that. This is just a theory, so I’m not sure if its actually 2D; but I think that could be it.

[@cluanneyoula4634]

Through your channel, I have become fascinated with highlighting subtle storytelling elements. For example, the eye is the symbol of Naafiri's consciousness, depicting her emotion and even a glimpse of her feeling as she goes through all that transition.

[@myabss8336]

Never been so hyped for a champion because of the trailer. I cant wait to read her bio. Riot should do a book of the darkin wars, like the ruination book

[@pokfen1812]

I honestly want to thank you for this analysis. Not just from artistic perspective, but bcs you managed to capture the storytelling quite well, while I could not undertsand it. Thank you.

[@wildheartthetawnyowl8286]

I think it's interesting how you said it was alienating to the general viewer, since I've never played league of legends and this is the first of their gameplay trailers I've seen. I subscribed to you for your Pokémon reviews, I generally skim through your other shorts from time to time, but this one absolutely made me sit up and take notice. I went to watch the trailer a few times, had tons of unanswered questions, and came promptly back to this video. You did an excellent job of explaining what's going on without forcing your own interpretation too much, and going frame by frame helped me to see imagery I've previously missed. All in all, great video, thank you for making it!

[@ZdkDzk]

28:48 the shot of human Naafiri has her reaching both hands towards her chest, which with the knife in the room gives me the impression of a sacrifice. It's sandwiched between the two shots of her hand struggling to escape the blade and becoming more canine, like this is the moment where she begins to give up that aspect of her humanity.

[@EduardCal]

28:10 You can see we're looking from Naafiri's POV mid transformation from humanoid to dog. She's howling at the moon with the other dogs

[@RaptieFeathers]

I think the liner and lash look works because of its ties to Egyptian hieroglyphs. Also, i love the camera movement during the running changing to a dog's And the fact that the jaws that bite down on her are made from the shards of her broken self, so gooooo Another edit: she actually moves a couple frames before the pack does, before they're completely in sync, which is lovely storytelling

[@satisfiedskullservant]

Honestly, I was extremely happy to see riot has taken a whole new direction for the design of Naafiri. It's not the standard attractive hero which we've been seeing for the last couple of years. We're finally getting a whole different vibe for this champion and I'm all for it. I'm just hoping they keep up with this and keep pushing though more horror-adjacent champion designs. Because when they try, they have a real knack for it

[@mr.g1672]

Why do i get the feeling that Naafiri is going to be a champion that will be released on LOL and LOR simultaneously? She has a ton of parallels with Nidalee (who's also getting added to LOR soon). With all the pack mother huntress thing and all that, and their trailers got released back to back (even though they got leaked first but whatever), not to mention we'recoming out of the DARKIN saga in LOR, so she could be little darkin cherry on top. I really feel like Naafiri is gonna be added in the new LOR expansion

[@giratinathe_distorter7480]

Sadly she’s not coming to LoR, the leaked champs are Neeko Nidalee and the Poro King

[@luckas221a]

I LOVE your breakdowns. Felt the exact same about the eyeline once that final scene popped up. Made her look like the one female hyena from Disney's Lion King (e.g. silly).

[@aster9052]

something i like about the feeling of "breaking free" is how the screen ratio shifts between the first scenes (desert chase) and once the wolves bite the dagger, it goes from casual cinema ratio (with the black stripes top and bottom) to a full 16:9 ratio. It's the moment naafiri is released from her constrained world

[@mrboowok3816]

Of the four Darkin Trailers this is by far my favourite, I feel this way of story telling really suits itself to the darkin, and I wish this kind of thing could be used to explore the minds of the other three as they all have such different perspectives, outlooks, personalities,and I feel it would really flesh out the darkin beyond just their demony appearance, to more deep hurting individuals. Also being that shurima takes so much inspiration from ancient Egypt, why didn't they think to use a similar symbol to the eye of hours instead of just lash makeup. Seriously riot it's right there.

[@twisted35]

Small correction: -We don't know where Aatrox was sealed, but following the bios of Pantheon and Trynamere it was likely in the Freljord -Rhaast was sealed in Ionia but stolen by Noxians!

[@kunibertrandolf1886]

Kinda feel like she's not gonna have mana but a "pack" bar and abilities send out dogs from her body or retrieve them, kinda like energy but more based around "the fuller the bar, the stronger the abilities/combo"

[@spadeofpain24]

you missed how the Jackal's "eye lashes" match the "makeup" that leads up to the earring to suggest the Dagger's form with back serrations, blade profile. and the pommel decoration.

[@Justin_Shadow]

This is a very detailed and absolutely beautiful interpretation and breakdown of a masterful work that I didn't even catch in so many split frames with rich detail. So much pain these ascended had to endure made manifest in their new path that they and most probably many out there would resort to when being trapped in eternal imprisonment by the world you once defended against the void. As a fan of the Darkin I applaud this.

[@xenyakodo]

Something that’s really cool about that brief image of Naafiri’s statue, as well, is that the eyes of the statue are destroyed and ruined. Just as the eye represents her consciousness throughout the cinematic, I believe that this statue represents the loss of that human sanity.

[@xenyakodo]

As an aside, I’m really hoping that we can see a real rivalry through interactions between Naafiri and Rek’Sai. Like who’s desert is it now?

[@Ajin173]

2:23 that one rioter already said this that Sun Disc is like an injection to celestial realm to grant celestial powers to become an avatar of their respective aspect/concept/idea. The thing with the animalistic features is because of their tradition/culture like Azir to what their view of Emperor is falcon/hawk. The Targonian Aspect believes in cosmic thingy so they embody whatever in space but also some is limited of celestial powers because of authority unlike the Sunborns that can gather whenevr they want

[@Riot_Fauxfox]

I love these breakdowns. Watching you nail and explain the thoughts behind a piece is one of my favorite parts of a champ release.

[@quentinfalcand3573]

Love your video ! I discovered so much... I particularly love the sun turning into the sun disc when the big wolf eats it ! And the vibes remind so much of the As We Fall music video as well !

[@felcakes2153]

Riot seems to have a rather large leak issue

[@arjunbaweja7755]

If you have so many playing the game, someone will get Curious

[@atlasdwyer8220]

Sounds like they might want to call a plumber

[@pink7522]

42:05 It also literally shatters the scene, the cinematic black bars disappear, being shattered with the rest of the scene. I think that is one of the parts that impressed me the most, breaking the 4th wall in such a subtle way. Kind of creating a meta narrative of us getting drawn in together with Naafiri.

[@rashy02]

Sincerely, I love more a trailer like this, even I don't know nothing about the game, than a more not-so-complicated storytelling like other champions trailers. It feels like it's more complicated, more rounded and deep story even if you summarise it it's like "I was human, now I'm a dagger and the only way I can escape this is to become a pack of wolves" it's basic but it follows the "don't tell, show" kinda thing I really love and that makes me engaged in something. This trailer made me curious about this champions, and it's kinda rare

[@checkpointstudios6419]

38:48 that may have been a reference to Ancient Egypt which very much inspired Shurima (cough cough Nasus) where eyeliner was more of a universal feature of their society. That could also be my optimism talking.

[@lyesb24]

50 MIN VIDEO FOR 2 MIN TRAILER GODDAMN I MISSED THIS :3

[@Fae_Lady13]

I love the frame where Naafiri has the sun between her jaws. It reminds me of the norse myth of the two wolves skol and hati who chase the sun and moon.

[@simonebottiglieri8967]

Also the frame where the huge name NAAFIRI is written symbolizes the fact that she's being broken in pieces. The first A is the point of the dagger The F is the handle The second I is the earpiece

[@Tuffkins]

As someone who's pursuing Animation and wanting to learn more about cinematigraphy and storytelling in this medium, your content gives me a lot of insight and joy to know that someone can put effort and present the miniscule details and intentions where majority would fail to capture or even bother to notice. Thank you Skyen for this amazing breakdown! Love your content! :)

[@BatuhanBerkol]

Please wait for the splash and game model(s) for the character design video, I'm sure the multipleness will play a big role in her design.

[@quickredf0x143]

On my first watch of the trailer, I got this itch that told me there was something amazing about it but I had missed it due to not being able to process all the images fast enough. I watched it a total of 5 times and still intend to go back from time to time.

[@tarkua1]

One single line in this about the ascended going INTO the void to fight the void for shurima just made me want a game/rpg about that lol

[@mikaylaharcourt1042]

My thing with the eyeliner bit that you mentioned is that maybe its another thing that connects her to Shurima, since with a region and lore inspired by Ancient Egypt, little things like how they used eyeshadow and liner to highlight and accentuate their eyes might just be another element to her design connecting her to the region rather than just making her look more feminine, as well as to highlight that part of her design more since eye symbology is her big thing. The eyelash part could primarily be a feminine thing that the designers added in, but dogs and wolves do have lashes that look kinda similar and even in the blade, her eye does have a sort of lash at points, so that might just be more of her coming out in the design of that lead wolf. That's just how I interpreted it though, knowing League it could have just been to make her more feminine and have that Disney Lion King vibe that you mentioned and I could just be giving them too much credit lol

[@azurclerx951]

The only thing I don’t like about Naafiri’s design from the quick peak we got is, apart from the eyelashes, the fact that she kind of looks like the boss of a wolf pack in a MMORPG. You could tell me you saw her and her pack as the boss of the “Hunt down the Alpha Wolf of the pack in the desert of Shurima. Reward : 100 gold pieces” and I would believe it. I don’t know how to explain it but the red dog with spike coming out of it and his army of “clones” where every one of them except the boss looks the exact same is really recalling of MMORPG mobs. I saw someone explaining that the eyelashes were common on animals like camels in the desert to protect of sandstorms but none of the other normal dogs or darkin dogs have it sooo…

[@lorenzodepaoli3642]

i feel like the image of the glass shattering is also important to the split mind concept, like the fact that shattering a mirror doesn't break it but only creates more mirrors.

[@insectostrich4407]

I knew you would be all over this.🤣 Also, is it just me or does the blade look a lot like Souledge from Soulcalibur?

[@qaztim11]

The base darkin concept is pretty much just soul edge, differrent origins but they pretty much are the same concept

[@anobuthix5977]

The wizard is back at it again, transmuting videos into 10 times longer videos!

[@Dan-zc3ou]

I'm getting big Lovecraft's Hounds of Tindalos vibes out of it and i'm loving it!

[@Vanguard1262]

Better that then lovecraft’s cat…

[@sinister7290]

​@@Vanguard1262HAHAHAHA

[@ProfX501]

That’s not by Lovecraft

[@the_last_ballad]

​@@ProfX501 it is considered to be part of the lovecraftian mythos though, so it's an easy mistake to make

[@axi4605]

For me at 23:08 the hole represents the impact that the dogs had on nafiri, as the shattering we see before can be its causes, and what it represents is the lights it brings into nafiri corrupt mind, as dog simplist mind helps her get over hr multiple traumas and mind corruption reprsented by the hands in red

[@Surgery7]

on rewatch it felt like her consantly being surrounded by endless hounds was her actually failing to take over the pack until she realized the onluy way out was through.

[@kanellewellyn74]

It looks like the dogs had that eyeliner lash look before biting naafiri

[@海誠ー]

Riot just dropped the most amazing transformation animation ever

[@illuvaliosphire8782]

The only thing I thought was a shame was that everything in the trailer (especially the part about Naafiri eating the sun) pointed to death of self and birth of the pack, but in the end, Naafiri was clearly at the main center so it felt like she was controlling the pack instead of becoming one with it. I think it definitely makes more sense in terms of game design and maybe the fact that all wolf packs need to have a leader and all that, but the design contrast between Naafiri and the rest of the pack was so strong I was just put off by it.

[@RepstarVixen]

While it is true there is a lot of death of self presented, at the end there is some imagery that shows a somewhat recovery of that self so to me it still makes sense design wise to have a singular standout design among the pack

[@deinoswyrd]

I read the eating the sun more as her desire to end shurima for what they've done. Eating the sun disc symbolizing the destruction of the empire.

[@Whitewing89]

Thanks to kai-sa we also know the void has really nice beauty salons and a thing for spandex.

[@the_last_ballad]

The darkin must have walked into the more dangerous neighborhoods while Kaisa chilled in the gated community part...

[@MrCnovalink]

i love that the dagger itself looks like the top of a dogs jaw, it's best seen at 23:47

[@gr00vedrifttreh88]

Yeah, I saw that too. Just some awesome shape language in the blades design.

[@Zthewise]

Naafiri kind of reminds me of a pack of hyenas as well as hounds. With both hyenas and Naafiri being lead by an alpha female.

[@joshuachua2491]

Matriarch

[@MyxelPyxel]

I miss these videos, glad you found a video you like to break down.

[@matigo5195]

Just a small touch for naafiri's transition from sword to dog, I think it was way more violent than any other, at least the first contact with the dogs. It wasn't a hand grabbing the handle, nono, three dogs biting into the metal (Which looks flesh like in my humble opinion, which with the eye may have gotten her confused with a living being, inciting the dogs to shake and bite harder or more times). Assuming darkin feel themselves while being weapons that sounds painful and even if not it at least would justify the world shattering from the sudden nature of it.

[@anotherbrokensoul8914]

I love the transition from the multiple eyes that get sucked into the blade to the unique eye surrounded by mirror shard reflecting him. Quite a beautiful way to indicate that the several individualities of the wolves and of Naafirie kinda are now kinda like melted together, what was many becomes one and the reflections are now no more than differents aspects, perpectives of the very same thing

[@ThenewWereWolfGod]

i would argue you can do that kind of surrealistic insane imagery in 3d it just has to make sense in context. my biggest example of this was both doctor strange movies. the ancient one teaching steven as well as the first jump into the multiverse were very beautiful examples of that style of imagery.

[@wolfieolfie]

At the beginning of the video, knowing nothing about League of Legends: I like your funny words magic man

[@voidlessky8048]

I feel the reason why they were able to make such a compelling monster champ is that they started highering people who can make such things like the guy who made a fan version of chogath he works for riot he was the one who made the panic for chogath rework through the tft leak

[@attilamagyar91]

I like that the dogs face is practically 1:1 copy of the monster dogs head from the "thing" movies.

[@patrickwehrstein8693]

Interesting detail, the eye opens twice, at the beginning and the second one implies the first eye opening doesn't happen in physical space. I think it might be her waking up from a long slumber, her conscious realising that there might be a chance to escape the prision of the weapon and finally posess a body. Maybe a spider sense kinda thing...

[@salted_seaz]

This is a terrific video; I’m a newcomer to this channel and to league but coming from the perspective of someone familiar with animation terms, visual language, and visual storytelling as a whole, it makes the concepts discussed approachable while keeping things going at a steady pace. Fantastic.