Lodoss Tou Senki (OAV)

Title:Lodoss Tou Senki (OAV)
Record of Lodoss War (OAV)
Roudosu Tou Senki
ロードス島戦記 (OVA)
Overall:Buy
Keywords: , , , , , , , , , ,
Notables: OOKI Tamio
R1 License - Central Park Media(Defunct)
R1 License - Media Blasters
SAKAGUCHI Yoshisada
SAKAKIBARA Yoshiko
TAMAGAWA Sakiko
TANAKA Hideyuki
TOUMA Yumi
WAKAMOTO Norio
YAMAGUCHI Kappei
A young hero Parn, son of a mighty but then banished knight, tries to discover the force behind the evil that is starting to terrorize first his village, then the whole island of Lodoss. He is joined by a group of companions: a young and friendly monk named Etoh, a thoughtful wizard named Slayn, a (my)s(t)erious dwarf Ghim, a charming female high elf figher-mage named Deedlit - and they meet some thief on the way (Woodchuck). Will they find out who is standing behind the dark forces from Marmo and be able to save the acursed island?

[OVA, 1990-1992, 13 episodes, 24 minutes, based on the manga series of the same title. Formerly licensed by Central Park Media. R1 licensed picked up by Media Blasters in February 2010. ]


1:56min Series Opening - YouTube Video
[edit] The ↗Lodoss franchise:

Lodoss continent: Northern Island (same setting, different story/characters): Crystania continent (far future, some characters from Lodoss):
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Rent 8 6 8 8 6 6 Ggultra2764 [series:167#1552]
(Rent-/ Watch+)

Record of Lodoss War was surprisingly addicting for me given the number of issues and nitpicks I have with it. I think that's because it isn't often I see a medieval fantasy adventure anime series influenced from Western sources such as Dungeons and Dragons and Lord of the Rings. Record of Lodoss War pretty much has all the standard character types and story elements of the genre throughout its run such as inexperienced hero, elf, wizard, baddies seeking to dominate or destroy the land and so forth. Despite the cliches though, it was unique to see these elements brought forth into an anime sticking to Western influences as I haven't seen very many anime have an elf like Deedlit and the anime gave off an epic feel as it explored the adventures of Parn and his allies battling against the evil forces of the island of Marmo. Scenery and characters were nicely drawn sporting a nice amount of detail with subdued color tones and sported a consistently great soundtrack with tense insert tracks to compliment battle scenes and songs that flow along well with the epic scale the anime is trying to present itself as.

What does hurt the experience quite a bit though for me was the show's animation and depth. The makers of Record of Lodoss War were skimping many corners with animation throughout the series featuring reused frames, still shots and the mentioned "cutouts" to create an illusion of movement from dragons and armies. For an OVA series, seeing this happen was quite disappointing. Not to mention depth on characters and many elements to the world of the series were greatly limited as most relevant details revealed only seemed to take place if they were a necessity for the plot's advancement. It's bad enough where some of the relevant characters in Parn's journey, such as Slayn and Etoh, hardly get any fleshing out at all.

If Lodoss War had taken the time to flesh out its world and characters on top of having better animated battle sequences, this could have had the potential to be quite the classic of an anime. As it is, the OVA gets kudos for focusing on an approach to a genre that isn't explored very often in anime, but its subpar animation and limited depth greatly deter it for me.

Last updated Saturday, January 19 2013. Created Saturday, January 19 2013.
Rent 8 6 7 7 7 7 AstroNerdBoy [series:167#436]

From the first episode, it was clear to me that this anime was spawned from the popularity of D&D (or AD&D) of the late 80's (that being based on Tolkien's works). The first episode, while having the main party already assembled and on their quest, was pure D&D with a hint of Tolkien's Mines of Moria. As such, it was fun as was the entire series.

Episode 2 took us back to where it all began. While this approach to storytelling is not uncommon in anime, in the end, I felt it harmed the story-telling, though at first it did not seem so. Having this story removed from the actual quest-line made the initial quest seem overly short and almost inconsequential. This problem was exacerbated by the fact that at times, characters move from point A to B to C in a moment, which doesn't always jive with the story. For (a made up) example, our characters could be deep in a dungeon and fleeing because a dragon is about to come to life and kill them all. In the next moment, the characters are not only outside the dungeon, but a mile away awaiting the dragon to emerge, which it does. This scene doesn't happen in the anime, but things like it do and I found that troubling.

There's almost no character depth given to any of the characters. We know a bit about Parn's father and what drives him. It was nice seeing him get trained throughout the title, which made it feel more real. We know very little about Deedlit (Deed(o) as Parn calls her) beyond her love for life, her skills with the sword and magic, and her ability to go from flighty-flirty to dead serious in a flash. Ghim had a reason to fight but I never knew exactly what brought him to love a human family so much that he'd risk his life for them. We know that Slayn and Ghim were companions in the past, but beyond that, I knew nothing. Slayn and Leylia seemed to be in love, but this is not explored. Etoh seemed like a gay priest who wishes he could be with Parn, but sadly knows Parn is heterosexual. I exaggerate of course, but Etoh was a complete waste.

I was hoping for a bit more in the romance between Deed and Parn. Why in the world she'd fall for this wannabe knight was a mystery to me, though I have my guesses. It was clear from their first meeting that something about him interested her. She was a bit flirty with Parn and was ready to defend him, even if he was a horrendous "hero" who wasn't very good with a sword. Parn never notices her for a long while as anything more than a travel companion. I was amazed that he could ignore such a lovely creature at the Royal Ball and gaze longingly at King Kashue. But maybe that's what kept her coming -- the fact that he wouldn't pay attention to her made her work harder to gain his attention. Fortunately, by episode 10, Parn had opened his eyes to her. Still, I would have enjoyed the two being more romantic by the end of the series but didn't get that.

Next, the animation. I'm guessing that in order to have enough money to produce 13-episodes, the animators discovered that after the first episode, they'd have to skimp heavily on the animation at times. So we get a lot of pan-and-scan moves, re-used sequences with minor modifications, and cutouts done in a way to give the illusion of movement. The later was done primarily with the various dragons seen in the anime. The first dragon shown is done pretty nicely and the fight was pretty cool. However the remaining dragons are reduced to cutouts with the occassional eye-shot closeup or a thrashing tale. That was very disappointing.

Bottom line: while I am being fairly hard on this title, I did enjoy it on the whole. With greater attention to character developement, story flow, the romance of Deedlit and Parn, and better animation, this could have been a real winner of an anime. As it is, it is worthy of a rent, especially to fantasy RPG fans.

Last updated Monday, December 19 2005. Created Wednesday, December 14 2005.

Rent 7 6 6 7 7 DillonSOB [series:167#1352]
Sorry, I'm going to have to buck the trend and call Lodoss a "Rent." It is an above-average anime, but the characters are Tolkien-esque generic, and the battle scenes/tense moments are not very impressive/repetitive. The art is nice (akin to Beserk), but some of the animation is so cheap and primitive I was quite disappointed (example: dragon wings that don't beat in flight). The romance between the hero and elf was geniunely touching, and probably the best part of the film. The story behind the possessed magic crown could use more development, and the supporting characters were mostly 1-D except the dwarf. I wish the series could have been a little longer to flesh out the story and the history of the characters (maybe I'll have to see the TV series). I wish I had a cute elf chick in love with me and protecting me all the time though.

Last updated Thursday, May 06 2004. Created Thursday, May 06 2004.
Buy 9 9 9 8 9 MarX [series:167#1033]
What can I say about Record of Lodoss War... It's a damn good anime.. (It was also one of the first series in my collection and I am very happy to have bought this one) I love this anime. I mean, as far as a fantasy anime goes it is one of the best of its time (Never did say the best). The character design's are on the mark each episode. The English opening and closing were O. K (Though, the Japanese opening and closing are the same as in English just in Japanese)... The story by itself is a great one.. (Also, read the manga if you ever have a chance..)
The relationship between Parn and the rest is a good and long lasting friendship (For some...) The sword action is decent (There could have been more but that's alright)..The story plays out like an RPG (Role Playing Game and I do like RPG's) It's a definite buy for me..
Fond memories of the series that I will never forget...

Last updated Saturday, January 10 2004. Created Saturday, January 10 2004.
Rent 8 8 8 7 8 8 Devil Doll [series:167#752]
[Score: 78%]

This anime happens to be produced in Japan. But that's about all that it has to do with this country. The content is pure American Dungeons & Dragons stuff; RPG players, this is the anime you must have seen. Providing the standard set of adventurers, they are playing some "Lord of the Rings, anime version" story that works nicely.

The relation between Parn and Deedlit is growing more and more important, not only for these two but for the story line as well - you may experience parallels to Tenkuu no Escaflowne here in some aspects. But more importantly, this Karlla figure has more depth than one might expect from the start - makes me relate it to Ganossa Maximilian from one of my favourite animes, Silent Mobius.

Actually this OVA tells three stories: "The War Of Heroes" (featuring Ghim and Leilia, episodes 1-8), "Shooting Star" (featuring Kashew and Ashram, episodes 9-10) and "Kardis" (featuring Parn and Deedlit, episodes 11-13). In the OVA the second and third story are interwoven. Roudosu Tou Senki: Eiyuu Kishi Den starts after the War Of Heroes story and rewrites everything that follows; so much about how both series are related.

Lodoss is a scenario that will make me collect all of it - which means the TV series, some movies and the mangas as well. This is the way I like it, although it is not my absolute favourite (it just isn't Japanese enough to get into the Top 10).

And as for "nodoubt", there is a separate manga series about Deedlit (her past, and her future with Parn) which will answer that question of yours as well.

Last updated Wednesday, December 14 2005. Created Sunday, June 08 2003.
Buy 9 9 9 8 9 9 nodoubt [series:167#399]
Before writing the rest of the review, I have a confession to make. I am a fan of medievel fantasies and a bigger fan of RPGs. These two facts will no doubt skew my review to be biased but I can't help it. Now that is out of the way, I absolutely LOVE this anime. It is definitely in my Top 5 favorite animes of all time. In this series, we get introduced to the world of Lodoss. Lodoss is caught in the middle of a conflict over the control of the accused island. Beld, once a hero, now wields the demon sword and trying to take over all of Lodoss. Once his ally, the aging King Fahn must take up arms to fight back. Karla, another member of the Six Heroes, now plots behind the scenes to weave the threads of history to her own liking. The old Six Heroes must now give way to the new Six Heroes to save Lodoss. Parn, a knight in training, is our main hero. He is weak and inexperienced in the beginning but improves while the story unfolds. Deedlit, a high elf, left her land to see what is going on in the island, and fell in love with Parn. Etoh, life-long friend of Parn, is the quiet priest in training. Slayn is the socerer skilled in attack magic. Ghim is the dwarf looking for an innocent girl from his past. Finally, Woodchuck is the theif imprisoned for twenty years for a petty crime. The animation is superb and each character grew on me (especially Parn and Deedlit) with each episode. Keep in mind that episodes 9-13 are not true to the graphic novels of RoLW. The manga was not done yet when this ova was being made, so the animators created their own storyline. If you want to follow the plot of the novels, buy Record of Lodoss War Chronicles of the Heroic Knights. Overall, I am very impressed with this series, though I wish they had developed more into the love between Parn and Deedlit. I also regret that they they didn't resolve the fate of Woodchuch in the OVA or in RoLW Chronicles of the Heroic Knights...
10-12-02

Last updated Saturday, October 12 2002. Created Saturday, October 12 2002.
Buy 9 9 9 10 9 Kaitou Juliet [series:167#137]
The design work on this series is truly impressive. The overall story is excellent, though it's a bit violent and war-oriented for my taste. This was one of the few series where I preferred the English dub to the subtitled version.

Last updated Monday, August 13 2001. Created Monday, March 12 2001.
Buy 7 7 10 8 Black Panther [series:167#142]
This is a really a great anime! I had a problem with the magic, but thats to be expected form me. The character's are very well done and so is the plot! I think this is a must, for your anime collection!!!

Last updated Friday, February 23 2001. Created Friday, February 23 2001.
Buy 9 9 10 9 10 9 Lickylick [series:167#133]
This is one of my favorite animes, period.
The storyline for Lodoss is just great. Warring nations, numerous bad guys squaring off against one another, an unlikely hero thrust into a position of importance. Everything is wonderful.
The characters are all great from Deedlit the beautiful elf to Woodchuck the thief-down-on-his-luck. I fell in love with nearly each and every one of them (I nearly cried after what happened to Woodchuck, a thing only accomplished by this and the deaths of Nuriko and Hotohori in Fushigi Yuugi). The villains are super-cool and even have a minor romance on the side.
Speaking of relationships, the one between Parn and Deedlit is beautiful. It is very well put together and develops as the story progresses going from a close friendship to that of true love and devotion. This was the first anime that truly moved me (this was my sixth anime I believe) and one of the first to make think, "Man, this is sooo cool."
The music is fantastic. It ranges from the opening ballad of "Adesso e Fortuna" to many an orchestral piece that just meld with the series so well.
The animation is very good, especially for an anime with a good deal of age to it.
There is a lot of blood in this as well as a brief nudity shot in the 2nd episode (my god, a cartoon characters butt, so inappropriate). But I really suggest you watch it... after you have immediately gone out and purchased this series. A must-have, no questions asked, na no da.

Last updated Wednesday, February 07 2001. Created Wednesday, February 07 2001.
Buy 8 8 7 8 8 Kaneda [series:167#87]
This is a great anime. If your one of those pople who like to rpg, or if you like medieval stuff this is the perfect anime for you, its action packed has comedy, and romance too. It is good

Last updated Monday, November 20 2000. Created Monday, November 20 2000.
Buy 7 7 10 8 10 CatWoman [series:167#65]
If you read my profile you know I am not much for fantacy tipe stuff, but this is probably one of the best storys ever! It is cleen too, other then this one seen in the begining and if you watch Saler Moon you can handle that! I loved the story line, and all the relationships in it are perfict, and I would not change a thing in the story line! The only thing that bothered me was the magic, but if you can get past that...wow this is one you have to buy!

Last updated Sunday, August 20 2000. Created Sunday, August 20 2000.
Buy 6 7 10 7 10 The Coyote [series:167#64]
This is the best fantacy anime out there, The relationship between Parn and Deedlet is in my opinion the most touching romance story in anime world. Parn is a little too reckless for reality but oh well. The storyline as a whole is incredible as well and very entertaining even the bad guys are intrigueing and draw you in. There is only one scene with even a little and I mean little nudity so I have no problem with this one at all. The oav is way better than the tv series

Last updated Friday, July 28 2000. Created Friday, July 28 2000.

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