Forum - View topicBuried Treasure - Heroic Legend of Arslan (Part 1)
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Dargonxtc
 Posts: 4463 Location: Nc5xd7+ スターダストの海洋 |
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I found Arslan to be visually enticing. And for that alone I think it should be seen. I will say, and I think this is true for part one as well, that scenes moved erratically at times from one to the other. Which was sad, as we had such beautiful pans, and then some sudden out of place cuts. The story itself is quite grand, and it would be hard to just stop after seeing part one. As hinted, the ending to me just fell apart. I will say that in the middle episodes when animation took a plunge, that there was still some good artistry to be found, just haphazardly strung together. Overall I would say that it is quite a masterful tale, yet one so grand it was inevitable they would make mistakes along the way. I recommend this to people who like epic stories, but not so epic that it totally loses any realism in as far as why things happen the way they do. And of course to people who like art as well.
Oh, and when the dub switches 
I don't go over the top too much about these things. But Christ that was such a crime.
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JoshuaStChristopher
 Posts: 351 |
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I've heard the name plenty of times, but never actually have I known anything about Arslan.
I really agree with your thoughts on the whole epic-fantasy genre, but sometimes I find good stories in genres that I don't care for (such as; Berserk). I think I'll definitely try to check out Arslan. |
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Randall Miyashiro
 Posts: 2451 Location: A block away from Golden Gate Park |
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I remeber eagerly waiting for this movie's release which is based off the novels by Legend of the Galactic Heroes Yoshiki Tanaka. The character designs not only reflect Kamimura's neat sensibilities but also have a strong Amano (who did the art for the novels) influence which adds to the pale pretty boy look. One of the Newtype calenders from that time had a neat picture of Arslan that looks straight out of Vampire Hunter D.
I keep seeing the first two mislabeled as OVAs, but I the first two episodes were released in the theater. I'm pretty positive that they were paired up with the one hour Silent Mobius films (which are properly identified as movies) which share the same release date. Last edited by Randall Miyashiro on Thu Dec 13, 2007 2:50 am; edited 1 time in total |
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GATSU
Posts: 15573 |
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I think I enjoyed-from what I saw of it-Arslan more than Lodoss, but I never got into fantasy titles as much as others, either.
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jsevakis
Former ANN Editor in Chief
 Posts: 1685 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
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Ooooh. That explains a lot. I love Amano artwork, and his style is really a perfect match. Heh, that makes me wish Kitty had paid as much respect to CLAMP's illustrations when they animated Legend of the Dragon Kings (Sohryuden). At least then something about that show would've been good.
Man... I could've skipped the sequels, but Arslan 1 and Silent Möbius 1 on the same ticket? That's REALLY AWESOME. Two of the best films from Kadokawa's golden age. As always, thanks for your comments. Having been there at the time, your little nuggets of additional knowledge really add a lot. |
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Mmsven
 Posts: 86 Location: British Columbia, Canada |
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I'm not finding this in stock anywhere, are you sure it should be marked as R1?
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GATSU
Posts: 15573 |
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jsevakis: I saw the Streamline dubs of Neo Tokyo and Mobius as a double feature once around here....
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jsevakis
Former ANN Editor in Chief
Posts: 1685 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
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Half.com and Amazon Marketplace both have plenty of copies for dirt cheap. I don't think they're boots either, I've never seen a boot of this show. Get the 1999 or 2003 versions -- same discs, different packaging. The more expensive 2004 version is the dub-only one.
Lucky. I wasn't living in an area where they would have shown it. I think I still have the poster, tho. |
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Mmsven
Posts: 86 Location: British Columbia, Canada |
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By "in stock" I thought it meant new copies. Anyway, I found out that AnimeNation still has a page for the 2003 version, so it might be possible to get a new copy from there, but it doesn't show if its in stock or not. http://www.animenation.com/usmd-2375.html Unfortunately I live in Canada and customs really pisses me off. Edit: theres also no new copies for sale on amazon.ca, even from the users. |
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Paploo
Posts: 1875 |
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I have the 2nd movie on VHS, and I love it a lot.... reading this review makes me want to track down the first one. I wish we'd get more fantasy oriented OVA's/Movies like this nowadays....it really is spectacular.
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DuelLadyS
 Posts: 1705 Location: WA state |
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Arislan! Arislan has been one of my favorites (possibly my all-time favorite) for years. I actually lent my old video of part 1 to my classics teacher in High School to kinda show what anime is capable of. Her first comment when she returned it was on the soundtrack- apparently, she was expecting something really Japanese-y and was caught off guard by the sitars.
 (The second comment was on the clever folks who decided to move the letterbox flim up, putting all the black space against the bottom of screen and creating a convenient lil' 'subtitle window' in the process.)
I've always known the standard 'this-is-what-you-show-people-when-they-ask-what-anime-is' films from the 90s were Akira and Ghost in the Shell... and I've always argued Arislan is a far more deserving title. (of course, that argument is moot since anything by Miyazaki is the new 'what anime'? choice.) |
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CCSYueh
 Posts: 2707 Location: San Diego, CA |
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I bought this one before CPM decided to drop the price so my copy was very pricey (over $50?). Then they came up with the dub-only idea (which I'd never go for. Excuse me, Takehito Koyasu, Kappei Yamaguchi, Kaneto Shiozawa, Juurouta Kosugi, & Kazuki Yao? Have to listen in Japanese. Oh, yeah, Kazuhiko Inoue, Akio Ohtsuka, & Nozomu Sasaki). I managed to win the dub copy at con, but never opened it-gave it to my daughter since I had the hybrid.
It's sad it was one of those abandoned/budget-cut anime (The episode preview on Blue Wolves for the next ep actually looks more interesting than Blue Wolves was). Arslan is a wonderful project. THough I do enjoy Lodoss if just for Ashram. Parn & Cashew are too annoying |
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elsie
Posts: 61 Location: Virginia |
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I'm happy to see Arislan getting some love. It was one of the first anime I watched because it was available on VHS from the local video store. I hated where they ended though. I wanted more story!
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Area88
 Posts: 374 |
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Loved the artwork for this anime but found it really difficult to connect with the characters and the story. Anyway I own the original 1998 dvd version released by Central Park Media, got it a few years back, never regretted it.
I agree it was a shame it fell victim to budget cuts but then this was the trend in the early 90's and so it's to be expected. The OVA market was drying up quickly but then most people know this story by now.. |
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Terrestrial_Cel
 Posts: 99 Location: SF Bay Area |
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THANK YOU!
Arslan is one of my favorites, and I'm thrilled to see it actually get reviewed on a big site 
I hope one day the manga is released in english.. it's very good too. One correction though: The background of Arslan is not really western style fantasy. It's set in a mythical version of Pars (Persia which is now Iran), and most of the cities/gods/religions/costumes referenced are Middle Eastern in origin. |
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