Record of Lodoss War is one of those oldtaku “classics” that a lot of people have heard of but in my experience you find less and less who have actually seen it, especially with the oldtaku continuing to age out and newer younger generations joining the fandom in much larger numbers. Nowadays it’s kind of most notable for being that thing Lisa Ortiz was in before Slayers, and that series that Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth was based off. I only know two people who have seen Record of Lodoss War other than me, both only saw it once and one saw it over 20 years ago. Where I live, in the US, we have only received a handful of Lodoss properties but in Japan it’s quite a bit bigger with multiple novels and games in addition to the couple anime that were released in the 90s. However the two anime are meant to stand on their own and the OVA series was the first of these two making it the entry point to the series for many people, such as myself. Did it succeed in properly introducing and explaining the world of Lodoss Island to fresh audiences? Kinda.
Lodoss is a by the books fantasy story. What's the first thing that comes to your mind when I say “fantasy adventure party”? The mental image you just got there is identical to the composure of the Lodoss group. We get Parn, the warrior, his friend Etoh, the priest, Slayn, the wizard, Ghim, the dwarf, Deedlit, the elf, and Woodchuck, the thief. None of them are really all that notable other than Deedlit, who is strikingly beautiful and has a personality that isn’t as easily summed up as just stating her character class. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Parn, who at times comes off as so empty he feels like an RPG player character still awaiting a player to come in and personalize him. Parn is the main character. The people in charge of the anime though clearly knew who you were gonna watch it for however. Both the opening and ending heavily feature Deed, with the ending cutting all party members who aren't her. Pretty artwork of a pretty elf to keep you going. But other than the party make up what is Lodoss like? Pretty standard.
The basic plot outline of Record of Lodoss War is that the party is on a quest to stop an invasion by the evil emperor of Marmo, Beld, and to take down his powerful ally, the witch Karla. Ghim and Slayn are looking for Leylia the daughter of Ghim’s friend Neese who went missing seven years ago. If you want to know the particulars of why, read the novel. An English copy currently has an asking price of around $70 so hopefully you got one while they were still in print. Salyn and Ghim get roped in with Parn and Etoh after they help them fend off some goblins attacking the town they live in. They meet Deedlit when she shows up to warn them of the attack. Woodchuck they meet in prison when the party is arrested for a miscommunication later in the series. However this is not where Lodoss chooses to start. Instead the first episode is smack in the middle of their adventures when they are already on their way to meet the sage Wort. Unlike some series, Berserk for instance, having the first episode set ahead then flashing back does not help establish a tone or foreshadow anything. Instead it’s more akin to Violence Jack, just having one random episode out of order. It’s odd and confusing because the viewer doesn't know any of these characters yet and they've just been thrown into the middle of the story. In addition Parn’s first two lines are both negging Deedlit which doesn’t help endear him to you. This weird out of order episode left one of my friends so confused it effected his ability to understand the story. He told me “Yeah they were like ‘okay we’re gonna go see the wizard’ then the next episode they’re like ‘okay now that we saw the wizard’ and you never see them go there!” I had to tell him they did, they just did it in the first episode then flashed back for seemingly no reason. However this is not the biggest flaw of Record of Lodoss War. It’s biggest flaw would be its pacing.
The strength of any fantasy rests on the back of its lore. From Lord of the Rings to Game of Thrones all successful fantasy franchises have had deep lore. Record of Lodoss War is no different. It opens every episode with a brief summery of the history of Lodoss’ creation. However there are only 13 half hour episodes of the original OVA franchise, they were never going to be able to pack everything in. This did not stop them from trying. Things move at an absolutely break neck pace in Lodoss War. In those 13 episodes alone there are 4 separate villains. That means there are 4 separate climaxes. You barely have time to rest on the end of one part before the series has moved on to the next. Okay they’re fighting Beld, now they’re fighting Karla, now they’re fighting Ashram, now they’re fighting Wagnard. Those last two take place during the final three episodes leaving them feeling even more rushed and crammed than anything that came before them. Characters can be introduced and then made lifelong friends or bitter enemies in what seems like an instant because the show cannot slow down if it wants to get everything in there at once. I’ve watched it multiple times and I can’t say for sure if Wagnard is possessed by Kardis, the god of destruction, or if he just remembers his evil scheme in the middle of a battle. Personally I don’t think he should have been in the series and that they should have cut both his and Ashram’s battles using those last 3 episodes to slow the series down a bit and ending it with their battle against Karla. She was the villain with the most connection to the main party and the battle against her felt the most climactic out of the 4 villain battles. If, however, you can get past a level of pacing so fast it would pass an F-1 qualifier there are things to enjoy in the series.
Lodoss has some genuinely good fantasy action and designs. The dragons are huge and intimidating. The sorcery, while standard at times, gives you that classic fantasy magic feel. And the larger party means there’s more of an opportunity for individuals to use unique class abilities. Not to mention for those into that sort of thing Deedlit is total eye candy. Her ability to commune with the spirits of nature sets her magic apart from the type used by Slayn so it doesn’t feel like they just did the same character abilities twice. And for those willing to put in the time and attention to detail there’s some pretty interesting lore behind the scenes. Such as how emperor Beld wields the demonic sword of the demon king that he previously felled and that it grants great power but in exchange will corrupt the user. I also think the sword my crave blood and has a mind of its own but it is hard to tell given the speed at which this information is dumped and how easy it all can be to miss. Ghim’s obsession with rescuing Leylia, while lacking in the motivation provided by the novel, ads a more personal component to the group’s questing beyond just “stop evil thing from destroying world”, a personal connection later echoed when Parn has his battle against Wagnard at the end of the series. Karla makes for a fairly interesting antagonist. Unlike many fantasy villains who’s motivation is “I am evil because I am evil” Karla is trying to strike a balance in the world. She believes that the world can be neither fully good nor fully evil and will throw her weight and influence behind whichever side she deems weaker in the sake of maintaining a perfect balance. If you’re willing to look past the under cooked characters and rushed delivery you can appreciate Lodoss on its aesthetics and world then later return and finish cooking the characters yourself with additional research. It’s a very standard fantasy, but that also means it’s not a poor fantasy.
In the end it’s hard for me to recommend Record of Lodoss War, and this is entirely because of its insanely fast pacing. I personally enjoy it, and found that I liked it even more on my second viewing than on my first when I wasn’t all that impressed. The more layers of the Lodoss onion I peel off the more I enjoy it. However taken as a stand alone this OVA series is ridiculously rushed. It bites off far more than it can chew and both story lines and characters suffer because of it. It would easily be a much stronger show if it cut down on a couple of plot threads and gave the others room to breathe. The creators of the show don’t believe in pruning their trees however, and allow every tiny branch to suck away the energy of the whole rather than cut them off to allow the stronger ones to continue to grow and flourish. If you’re the type of person who really loves fantasy stories, or this sort of pacing issue isn't a dealbreaker for you then I would say go ahead and give Lodoss a shot. On the other hand if you're not big on fantasy and really need a strong, slow story to feel a deep connection with the characters then just go ahead and pass on this one, it’s not going to offer much for you. I would say it is the stronger of the two Lodoss anime but that doesn’t mean its fantastic or that it is for everyone. In the end its a heavily flawed work and the enjoyment is going to vary wildly by individual. I like Lodoss, it’s not my favorite, its not going to be topping my chart of all time greatest fantasy stories, but it’s an enjoyable way to fill my time and is a world I can get into. Maybe that will be how you feel, maybe not. But in the end the only way to really know for sure is decide if thats an adventure you want to take.
7/10
