“Arcane” is a two-season series based on the video game “League of Legends”. However, unlike “League of Legends”, “Arcane” is actually good. The first season came out in 2021, and the second followed three years later, the last act of the nine episode season released on Netflix in late November. Every episode in season two is rated 9.0 or higher on IMDB- it’s not just good “for an animated show-” it’s incredible, period. The only other animated project I can liken it to is “Into the Spiderverse” and “Beyond the Spiderverse”: both had insane budgets and long gaps between the first and second release
s, which translated to mind bending and flawless animation that pushes the boundaries of conventional styles in colour, choreography, composition and more.
The basic premise of “Arcane” is the conflict in the sociopolitical and personal worlds of characters who live in the “League of Legends” universe, specifically in the independent state of Piltover and its “undercity.” It simultaneously sets up the utopian Piltover- abundant in white, gold, natural colors and sunlight- and the dystopian undercity that exists alongside it- crafted in shades of grey, sickly greens, harsh neon elements and shadows. The colour in Piltover comes from flowers growing in window sills, where in the undercity it’s graffitied on walls and mixed into dangerous chemicals.
Along with these worlds are its characters, who hail about half and half from the two cities. Vi (Hailee Steinfeld) and Jinx (Ella Purnell), the sisters doomed by the narrative, are the technical “main characters,” but the series also follows inventors Jayce Talis (Kevin Alejandro) and Viktor (Harry Lloyd), royals Mel Medarda (Toks Olagundoye) and her mother Ambessa (Elln Thomas), police captain Caitlyn Kiramman (Katie Leung), the boy saviour and revolutionary leader, Ekko (Reed Shannon), and more.
Most of the major characters from season one remain central to season two, in which they continue into new arcs and goals. Big spoiler warning! Go watch season one and hopefully at least part of two and then get back to me.
The second season picks up in the direct aftermath of season one, which ended with Jinx nuking the councilor building just as the councilors planned to vote for peace between Piltover and the undercity (also referred to as the independent state it fought to be in season one, Zaun). The aftereffects of this event is what spurs the new arcs that begin in season two. Caitlyn’s mother is killed in the explosion, leading her to crack down on the undercity with the full force of morally questionable police brutality. Viktor is nearly killed, and Jayce turns to the Hexcore to save his life as a last resort. Jinx becomes a symbol of the scattered revolution brewing in the undercity overnight, mostly against her will.
What I think Arcane has always done and continues to do extremely well is getting the audience invested by following the larger conflict from multiple sides, each of which its characters have deep emotional ties to. Obviously, the scenes animated in grayscale charcoal depicting the overwhelming grief Caitlyn feels at her mother’s death are sad, but the empathy the viewer feels for her is tempered by the immediate following scenes in which she relentlessly pursues Jinx for vengeance and gasses entire neighborhoods in the process. It’s very clear that grief is a motivator that makes her unstable, which is a theme repeated throughout the show: actions taken out of grief or anger rarely produce net positive results.
There are too many plotlines and details that I adore and obsess over to fit into one review, but I have a few favorites that I enjoy, both because of my personal preferences and their objective excellence. One of my favorites I briefly mentioned earlier- Jinx, in the aftermath of the bombing, being held as a symbol of hope, rebellion and independence in Zaun throughout acts one and two. As a fan of her character I loved to see how she adapted and reacted to the sudden pedestal she was put on without warning. I think the trope of unwilling heroes can be really interesting when done correctly, and in Jinx’s case it is: a very volatile and traumatized girl who, while initially idolized for actions which she never intended to be a part of a larger movement, later becomes a part of that movement. My favorite scene in this plotline is when she meets some of her “followers” while breaking them out of jail- Zaunites with their hair dyed blue- and although she tries to distance herself from them by acting flippant about the role they’ve given her, it’s clear that she is more scared than they are, and they instead reach out to comfort her. This leads to an incredible overhead shot as they stream around her in a sea of blue, touching her shoulders in turn in a show of silent solidarity: Jinx is not just an idea or an idealized symbol to them, the way Piltover likes to fashion its leaders (i.e. Jayce or Caitlyn), but a human being within the movement itself, among and on the same level as the many.
This depicts the two things that if I had to pick I would say Arcane does best: creating thematic and physical contrast, and crafting raw and humanized characters.
Like I mentioned, one of the major draws of Arcane is its animation and artistry. The jail scene evokes, despite the intensity of the situation, a feeling of overwhelming calm in the wash of blue and the way the characters move. Not only the actions of the characters but the physical composition of the scenes are used to tell the story and convey themes and underlying, unspoken meaning. The characters have distinctive designs that often incorporate bright hair colors and fantastical elements. Every frame is frankly a masterpiece, especially with the distinctive animation style that Arcane stretches even further with season two. Episode seven utilizes a similar scene-to-scene contrast as parts of season one- a softer scene between Ekko and Jinx and one where Jayce is (to put it without spoilers) going through it. There’s a jarring contrast in tone, color, and composition that not only draws in the viewer through shock value but serves to emphasize both scenes to their extremes.
The plot itself can fall short at times, in an effort to tell a multitude of well fleshed out stories and develop each of its many characters and their relationships (for example, with Vi’s far-too-quick agreement to join the enforcers, who killed her parents). However, these critiques rarely come to mind when you’re actually immersed in watching the show, since the animation and music are so compelling. The action scenes are incredibly well choreographed and never drag on or devolve into gratuitous violence: they are emotionally charged, portray specific aspects of the characters, and are almost never between black and white good-bad forces. Two action montages- one in act one where the enforcers are gassing their way through the undercity and one in act two featuring Vi’s pit fighter alcoholic arc- that would otherwise drag on instead stick out as some of the strongest scenes, set to music from the also insanely good soundtrack and featuring their own twists on the show’s already unique animation style.
Overall, if you haven’t already guessed, I would strongly recommend watching “Arcane” season two, and season one if you somehow haven’t already. Although season one fans may be left slightly thematically underwhelmed and occasionally overwhelmed by the sheer number of plotlines season two tries to fit in, I don’t think that either of these critiques take away from the experience as a whole. “Arcane” is an incredible show, an adaptation that exceeds its source quality, and a project I would argue is leagues ahead of so many others, whether live action or animated. I have so much respect for the animators and almost everyone who worked on this show (bar Christian Linke, you know what you did), and it would be a disservice to everyone involved for me not to all but demand you watch (or rewatch) Arcane right now.
