Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama

Rama, the eldest prince of the Kingdom of Ayodhya, is beloved by all and the natural successor to his father's throne. However, when one of his father's wives conspires to get her son on the throne instead, Rama ends up being banished into the woods for 14 years. Accompanied by his wife, Sita, and his brother, Lakshman—Rama tries to make the most of life in exile despite his challenges.

The trio's life in the forest is interrupted, however, when Demon King Ravan sets his sights on Sita. Using a crafty plan, he manages to distract Rama and steal Sita away to his castle. Heartbroken and distraught, Rama searches every corner of the world for his wife, unaware of the lengths he will have to go to rescue her.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Rama Main

Sita Main

Hanuman Main

Ravan Main

Lakshman Supporting

Sakou, Yuugou Director, Script

Sasaki, Kouichi Director

Valmiki Original Creator

Taniguchi, Moriyasu Character Design

Reviews

Jun 29, 2023

sgaze

Recommended

Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama - A Captivating Anime Retelling of a Timeless Epic

Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama is a visually stunning anime adaptation of the timeless Hindu epic, the Ramayana. This animated film presents a captivating retelling of the ancient tale, immersing viewers in a world of adventure, heroism, and profound moral lessons.

The anime faithfully follows the narrative of the Ramayana, tracing the life journey of Prince Rama, his loyal brother Lakshmana, and the brave princess Sita. As the story unfolds, we witness the triumphs and trials of these beloved characters as they face formidable demons, navigate political intrigue, and ultimately confront ... the forces of evil personified by the demon king Ravana.

One of the standout aspects of Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama is its breathtaking animation. The art style is exquisite, showcasing intricate character designs, detailed backgrounds, and vibrant colors that bring the ancient world of the Ramayana to life. The animation seamlessly blends traditional Japanese anime aesthetics with the rich cultural heritage of India, resulting in a visually captivating experience.

The film beautifully captures the essence of the Ramayana's themes, such as the triumph of good over evil, the power of loyalty and devotion, and the eternal values of righteousness and self-sacrifice. It portrays the depth of the characters' emotions and their moral dilemmas, drawing viewers into a profound exploration of human nature and the cosmic balance between light and darkness.

Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama is not only an engaging adventure but also serves as a cultural and educational experience. It offers insight into the diverse mythology and spiritual beliefs of India, introducing viewers to iconic characters, such as Hanuman, the monkey god, and Jatayu, the noble bird. The film's portrayal of these revered figures and the lessons they impart resonate with audiences of all backgrounds.

While the anime successfully captures the essence of the Ramayana, it does condense the epic tale into a feature-length film. This compressed format may result in some loss of narrative depth and character development. However, considering the limitations of adapting such an expansive epic into a single film, the creators have done a commendable job in presenting a coherent and engaging story.

Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama is a must-watch for both anime enthusiasts and those interested in exploring rich mythological tales. Its stunning visuals, captivating storytelling, and profound moral themes make it a standout entry in the anime genre. Whether you are familiar with the Ramayana or discovering it for the first time, this anime adaptation will undoubtedly leave a lasting impression. Therefore, I highly recommend experiencing Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama as an enriching and enlightening journey into the world of this timeless epic.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jan 17, 2021

Luciferhellfire

Recommended

This is the first anime that I've ever watched. I didn't event know that it was anime until recently. I've re-watched it many a times, for me at least, the story never gets boring.

The animation is beautiful, the war choreography is still one of the best that I have watched. Bringing the mythical epic to animation was a great task which was beautifully done by the animation studios and the artists involved. The soundtrack is just amazing. I think this is the only anime which has a Sanskrit dub including the songs.

During lockdown, due to re-telecast of the live action drama of the ... Epic in India, I re-watched it again. It took down the memory lane of all the times that I've watched this epic on TV.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Apr 14, 2025

triela-chan

Mixed Feelings

Spoiler

Ramayana is a decent movie, but it's plagued by pacing issues. Despite being 2.25 hours long, it somehow manages to feels like it needs to be longer. Ramayana would've been much better if it were a 12-episode series (or maybe 24 episodes or a movie trilogy). There are simply too many events to cram into the length of a single movie.

Because of the quick pace, there's never enough time to establish any importance to the events or emotional connection to the characters. Problems get solved as fast as they're introduced, and there's a noticeable lack of dramatic tension. There's so many scenes where an enemy ... gets introduced, only to die a minute later, making it feel like the protagonists never really struggle.

The limited screentime gets dedicated almost entirely to the events of the plot, but rarely ever to characterisation. I can remember plenty of what each character did, but hardly anything about their personalities, so it's hard to get emotionally invested. So when they die or get injured, there's a lack of weight to those scenes. It's difficult to feel bad, even though you can tell that you're intended to care. Similarly, when Rama and Sita are reunited at the end, there's a distinct lack of emotional payoff. While there were a few scenes that depicted Rama despairing over being separated, there's not many scenes that show why either of them value each other. We rarely ever see the couple bonding together. Thus, it's easy to tell *that* Rama was in despair, but not *why*.

This highlight's Ramayana's frequent failure to "show, don't tell". Characters will often voice their beliefs and motivations aloud, rather than the film demonstrating it through their actions. This leads to a lot of missed opportunities to develop the characters' personalities. This issue might partially be caused by the limited runtime. It's a lot quicker to have a character say "I should do ABC because XYZ" than to demonstrate it using a sequence of shots.

The rapid pace and lack of characterisation gives Ramayana this weird problem where it's somehow boring and not boring at the same time. When I think of a boring movie, I think of one where each scene makes me feel something like, "Ugh, there's nothing happening. Please move on and show me the next scene". Ramayana has the opposite problem. The scenes are too short to build dramatic tension, characterisation, or emotional significance. The problem isn't that nothing happens; the problem is that nothing that happens feels meaningful.




STORY + PLOT
The plot points themselves (i.e. what happened and the order of events) were great. This shouldn't be surprising, considering it's based on a traditional epic. That being said, you could argue that Ramayana didn't create a great story; it merely adapted a great story that already existed.

Of course, the pacing was terrible. Also, I thought it was odd that the part where Rama helps Sugriv reclaim his kingdom is done entirely off screen. I'm sure the limited runtime was a factor, but it feels like it should've been included. Lastly, I appreciate that Ramaya has a theme of always trying a peaceful solution first. It's a nice touch that many action films neglect.


CHARACTERS
Pretty bad, due to aforementioned pacing issues. The only personality traits I can remember are that Rama is honourable and prefers peace to violence, and that his friends/allies are helpful.


CHARACTER DESIGN
Average. I wasn't in love with any of the outfits, but they weren't terrible and felt like they fit the universe. Most of the time, the characters were distinct enough to easily tell them apart. On occasion, I got confused between Kumbha and Nikumbha, but it makes sense for them to look similar since they're brothers. I also confused Neel with Sugriv once, especially since their builds and outfits/armour are quite similar.

One final thing: Rama is significantly more pale than any other human character in the film. Sometimes, it's almost pure white. While I suppose this makes it easier for the audience to identify the main character, the political implications are... less than stellar.


ANIMATION
Although it's not really my style, the animation is very good. It's easy to tell what the characters are doing, and the animators were able to successfully portray a wide variety of complex movements and subjects (humans, animals, monsters, weapons, objects, etc).


FIGHT CHOREOGRAPHY
Decent. It's strongest when the fighters are using different weapons. The only noticeably bad choreography was the initial swordfight between Rama and Ravan at the end (prior to Ravan's transformation). It was pretty boring, as it consisted almost entirely of simple forehand strikes. Moreover, Rama doesn't win through superior technique, but because Ravan gets too carried away and gets his sword stuck in a piece of metal after trying to hit Rama. I guess this is a nice bit of characterisation, but it sacrifices the choreography. Also, instead of using this opportunity to strike and kill Ravan, Rama strikes Ravan's sword and breaks it (a cliche trope). It's surprising to me that the only fight with bad choreography is the final, most important one.

In general, many of the fights have the same problem as the scenes: they're too short. They are only long enough to show the audience what happened, but not long enough to establish dramatic tension or characterisation. So a lot of the fights are anticlimactic.


VOICE ACTING
In the original English dub, it's terrible. Some VAs are better than others. Some of the voices fail to express the same emotion as the animation. The timing doesn't match well with the lip flaps. Sometimes they don't even pause at the end of their sentences.

I don't know Hindi, but it doesn't look like the original Hindi version is any better. I have not seen the remastered version in either language.


MUSIC + SFX
Passable. No major complaints, but not very memorable. The recording and production quality is decent for the era, but subpar by modern standards.


ENJOYMENT + OVERALL
5/10 Good animation and story, but the movie's limited length causes so many pacing issues that it ruins many other elements of the film. Ramayana can sometimes feel boring, not because it's slow, but because it goes through plot points so fast that it lacks dramatic tension or characterisation.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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