“Arcane,” a collaboration between animation studio Fortiche and Riot Games, home to the popular game “League of Legends,” is a Netflix original that aired from Nov. 6, 2021 to Nov. 20, 2021. A prequel to the video game, “Arcane” delves into the lore behind the setting and “champions” present in the game. 

Set in Piltover (the “City of Progress”) and Zaun (“the Undercity”), the story follows sisters Vi and Powder whose relationship is put to test by politics between the two cities. Predominantly a fictional YA show, it focuses on fights, magic (referred to as Arcane in the series), and issues of classism, political struggles, and their impact on each character. 

Each episode starts off with a two-to-three minute clip and is followed by the theme song “Enemy” by Imagine Dragons before continuing with the story. The animations and transitions from one scene to another are top-notch. The steampunk art is so detailed, every scene and screenshot is wallpaper-worthy. It also highlights the difference between the two cities: Piltover has a bright, sleek look while the undercity looks rugged and dark. 

What I love about this show is how each character has their own reasons for acting the way they do. Even the antagonist feels human and all characters are well-written. While some characters may seem cliche, their growth over the course of the show makes the watch worthwhile. Character development is at a steady pace, and there are a lot of easter eggs to look out for!

The first word that comes to my mind when I think of  “Arcane” is variety. Every character, major and minor, is well-designed, not to mention the variety among characters whether it be in the form of skin color, accessories, or style: there are characters from multiple races and ethnicities in positions of power, women aren’t sexualized and damsels in distress (a lot of them are in positions of authority), there is variety in body types, different characters have different accents, and many characters like Ekko (an intelligent Black engineer) and Marcus (a strong Asian “enforcer” i.e., soldier) break stereotypes. 

There is a wide variety in the soundtrack as each song has its own style: “Our Love” with the 70s vibe, “Goodbye” with its melancholic sound, “Misfit Toys” with the catchy rap, and “Enemy” with the pop/EDM vibe. The voice acting is phenomenal as well. Powder’s lamentations towards the end of the third episode was very realistic and completely changed her character. I also love the LGTBQ+ representation in the show. Caitlyn, an enforcer from Piltover, and Vi’s hinted romance didn’t get in the way of the story and was refreshing to watch. 

While I’ve never played “League of Legends” myself, I loved every minute of “Arcane” and found the story easy to follow through despite its initially cliche characters. The show is well-received by the audience as evident by the top comment of the “Enemy” music video which jokes that “they [Riot Games] spent 10 years developing a game just to advertise for their phenomenal animated series.” While the show left off on a cliffhanger, Season 2 is currently in production.