Story:
I want to start with the plot since it is what impressed me the most here. It is very rare to come across a historical and non-supernatural war anime that is this good. Each battle scene is carefully planned out. This is one of those series like NGNL or Log Horizon, where strategy is the most interesting thing about the story. But on top of that, there is plenty of revenge, betrayal, and other plot twists that keep the story’s edge sharp.
Another thing that impressed me about the plot was how well each episode was planned. There was never a single episode where I felt like I was wasting my time. I’ll admit Arslan Senki has a rather slow story, like most war series. However, this is simply because it takes time to unravel every piece of the plot. The audience is offered several viewpoints from different angles so that no part of the story is overlooked. Even during the parts that are slow, each episode contributes to the plot and/or character development.
Characters:
The characters are an important aspect to Arslan Senki. The character development of Arslan himself is very pertinent to the story. Prince Arslan is your typical heroic, young male MC: kind, gullible, easy to trick or manipulate, believes all people are good, hesitant to kill another human.
The other main characters in Arslan’s fugitive travel party protect, advise, and counsel the Prince on his journey to find more loyal followers. They also teach him how to be a ruler worthy of leading his kingdom, while keeping his ideals intact. Arslan’s relationships with his 5 loyal friends also develop throughout the series.
Art & Animation:
The most notable point in this anime’s art style is the detail of colorful Persian patterns. I often find my eyes fixated on the pattern of a character’s clothing, a carpet, a wall tapestry, or other patterned things in the background. The color pallet of the artwork for this series fits well to the ancient Persian setting.
Okay, as for the animation, there’s one blinding CGI spoof in episode 1. Please don’t judge the whole series. After that one mistake, the CGI is not disruptive anywhere else. Swordplay scenes are well done.
Sound & Music:
OP 1 and ED 1 are both superbly done. I didn’t care as much for the second set of OP/ED.
The soundtrack is a very good fit to the setting and time period. The sound effects for each weapon are all accurate. And the voice acting fits well to the characters and setting too.
-----
Arslan Senki has a few flaws here and there, so it really wasn’t perfect. But it is still far above average. I consistently enjoyed watching the show each week throughout the season. If you are interested in watching a good war anime, I definitely recommend this one. Each episode of Arslan Senki was well worth watching the whole way through.
