Record of Lodoss War / Lodoss Tō Senki (OAV)
Genres: adventure, drama, fantasy
Objectionable content: Significant
Plot Summary: Created from the aftermath of the last great battle of the gods, Lodoss and its kingdoms have been plagued by war for thousands of years. As a quiet peace and unity finally become foreseeable over the land, an unknown evil begins to stir. An ancient witch has awakened, bent on preserving the island of Lodoss by creating political unbalance throughout the many kingdoms and keeping any one from maintaining central control. Only a mixed-race party of six young champions, led by the young warrior Parn, stand between this new threat and Lodoss’ decent back into the darkness of war and destruction.
Number of Episodes: 13
Vintage: 1990-06-30 to 1991-11-20
Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight (TV)
Genres: adventure, drama, fantasy
Objectionable content: Significant
Plot Summary: Five years after the death of the Emperor of Marmo in the War of Heroes, Parn is now the Free Knight of Lodoss, he and his old allies now famous through the land. However, the Emperor’s right-hand-man, Ashram, seeks the scepter of domination to re-unify Lodoss under his former leader’s banner. Meanwhile, beyond his attempts at conquest lies a more sinister force beginning to set the stage for the resurrection of the goddess of death and destruction…
Number of episodes: 27
Vintage: 1998-04-01 to 1998-09-30
Meshimase Lodoss-tō Senki Sorette Oishii no?
Vintage: 2014-04-06
Record of Grancrest War / Grancrest Senki
Genres: fantasy
Plot Summary: Fearing disaster brought about by chaos, the people lived protected by “Lords;” those with the power of “Crests,” used to suppress the chaos. However, the Lords decided to abandon their posts and began fighting against each other secretly in war, stealing each other’s Crests to gain dominion over one another. Among these people are Siluca, a lone mage who despises the Lords, and Theo, a vagrant knight who continues his journey of training to someday liberate his homeland from tyrannical rule. They make an oath as master and retainer, with hopes of bringing reform Atlatan, the land ruled by chaos.
Number of Episodes: 24
Vintage: 2018-01-05
Legend of Crystania - The Motion Picture Vintage: 1995-07-29
Legend of Crystania: The Chaos Ring (OAV) Vintage: 1996-11-21 to 1997-04-03
Welcome to Lodoss Island! (movie) Vintage: 1998-04-25
I watched the first few episodes of this, and so far I really like it. I don’t think it’s really amazing, but it’s a solid show. I’m not sure if it holds up very well compared to more modern shows in the genre, like say Moribito, and it has aged quite a bit, but it’s a good show. I wouldn’t call it a “holy grail” of anime, nor would I say it’s the best example of the genre, but it is a good show. I really like the characters, especially Deedlit, the elf girl, played by Lisa Ortiz. As far as the dub goes, it’s good. Nothing amazing, but still a good dub. This is one of the earlier NYC area dubs from CPM (this was actually dubbed in New York State, not Manhattan IIRC), after they stopped working with Manga Video UK for their dubs. I do think Michael Bakewell could have done a much better job on this, then NYC, despite my love for NYC. But this dub is good, just feels very dated. It’s incredibly well cast, but there are quite a few awkward lines here and there. And the small roles/bit roles feel very amateurish. I do like the main cast though, despite not being 100% air tight. I LOVED Lisa Ortiz in her first role (if not, then one of her first), and I always enjoyed the work of Greg Wolfe . He’s incredibly well cast here. Really liked him in Maze too. (and not sure if he was joking or not, but he claimed to record this show in the nude, since their air conditioner was broken lol! Kinda creepy listening to some naked guy if you think about it…) This is one of the earlier NYC area dubs from CPM, dubbed in early 1996. And it’s much better then say ** Birdy the Mighty** or something. Just don’t expect a Slayers level dub on this, and you should be fine. I do kinda of wish Bakewell got this, or a few more dubs around this time though. He was a really great director for his time. Be nice to see what he could do today.
As far as the production values go. The music is pretty good, and I REALLY love the art style. All the characters look great, and the color palette chosen was great. That’s why it’s kind of a shame that the animation is pretty terrible at times. It’s ok in the first episode, but after that there’s a real drop off, and it’s kinda crappy for as far as I saw. Then again the anime is 20 years old now…can’t be too hard on it.
(There’s a reason I’m making this topic now. Hint Hint! Think about it…)
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