Though the sword play isn't on par with Ninja Scroll, and the monsters can look a little bit more than goofy sometimes Record of Lodoss War is thoroughly entertaining as an epic. On the same level as The Odyssey, for the Japanese, Record of Lodoss War provides everything that you could really want from a Manga classic. They've got dragons, dwarves, goblins, kobalts, and berserkers too!(OH MY!) The art in this fantasy classic is gorgeous, it is most definitely a manga, and the eyes can become a little bit distracting to anyone who is into anime rather than the Manga look. This definitely has a kind of Akira feel to the artwork; slipping between playfully sketched lines and defined, dark inked artwork. The characters are somewhat two-dimensional, fitting into stereotypes all to common to older anime's and manga, yet are somehow very engaging. Parn the young hero around whom the entire epic is set is equipped with the biggest shiniest eyes in the whole series so inevitably he will ride into save the day at the end....
Record of Lodoss War scrolls the tale of our young hero, Parn, and his partner a priest of Valis. They are quickly joined by Ghim and Slain; Ghim being the tough as nails dwarf who despises elves, and Slain the quiet and contemplative sorcerer. Deedlit, a high elf - a princess actually - also joins Parn on his quest, after a group of Goblins slaughter Parn's hometown. The adventurers set out to discover what is making all of the creatures in Lodoss so aggressive and uneasy. They are quickly embroiled in a gigantic web of events quite comparable to LOTR in more ways than one, and find themselves imbued the task of saving Lodoss!
Any one who even like kid cartoons should see this, if you can stand any type of anime or manga give this a look the next time your out looking for an oldy-but-a-goody. The violence isn't graphic at all, there is only one scene of any type of nudity (A single nipple in the final episode for one frame) and it is long enough to grasp your attention... or is it? If you shy away from longer anime's or movies for that matter because there isn't enough action to sustain you, look elsewhere. This is a very character driven story and thusly a lot of conversation and slow moving, sometimes seemingly jumpy, plot progress. Overall an awesome set and becoming quite affordable too collectors, LONG LIVE LODOSS!!!!!
