“There is beauty in imperfections: they made you who you are.”
A gut-wrenching quote given by Jayce Talis to Viktor as it summarizes the main story of “Arcane: League of Legends,” a recent Netflix classic based on the League of Legends video game.
The show follows the story Piltover and the Undercity, two cities who are complete opposites of each other Piltover being a utopia with technological revolutions, and the Undercity being a dystopia of crime and poverty. The story is mainly around Vi and Caitlyn, two sisters who, in the beginning of the story, are orphaned. They are then adopted by Vander who is the leader of Piltover, who eventually dies and the sisters are at odds with each other as Vi blames Powder for his death.
Powder eventually turns villainous after a few years taking the title of Jinx as she tries to bring chaos to Piltover with the Undercity’s new leader, Silco. The show revolves around the struggles of the two, jumping beyond other characters like Viktor and Jayce— brilliant scientists at the heart of Piltover’s technological revolution— or Ekko— a young rebel from the Undercity who wants to fix all of its crimes.
Watching “Arcane,” I was amazed by a variety of unique aspects that define the show. From the stunning visuals to the riveting, gripping story, “Arcane” delivers in every aspect.
The first thing you notice when viewing this masterpiece is the interesting choice of animation. The 3D characters emerge out of the 2D backgrounds – also shown in movies like Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse – giving it a unique and artistic feel.
The show makes stylistic choices to better fit themes of every episode and the foreshadowing of future episodes. In the episode “The Boy Savior,” Ekko and Jinx’s fight takes 4.44 seconds, which is significant to how Ekko’s power is traveling four seconds in the past. This is emphasized further with his dance with Powder being animated in four frames per second.
The show brings out the uniqueness of character designs. Although the designs are based on the game League of Legends, the show takes the courtesy of taking unique spins on all character designs to characterize. For example, at the end of the show, Viktor, in his shared consciousness, is represented as being cloaked with an inky, space-like color and white, flowing hair, showing his near-divine persona.
“Arcane” also gives the viewer some of the best soundtracks to complement the narrative.
When Ekko is sent to an alternate universe, he finds himself in a world much different from his own. For one, he is in a romantic relationship with Powder, who in his world is referred to as Jinx, a deranged, violent psychopath. In the new universe, however, Powder is kind and lovable.
After he understands his situation, he and Powder dance to the song “Ma Meilleure Ennemie” by Stromae and Pomme which has layers of meaning that correspond to the scene. The lyrics “Mais ma meilleure ennemie c’est toi / Fuis-moi, le pire c’est toi et moi” translates to “But my best enemy is you / Flee from me, the worst is you and I,” a truly heartbreaking song showing the false love Ekko has— a relationship he will never get.
“Arcane” delves into nuanced themes, such as moral ambiguity present in all humans. For example, Silco is the ruthless, power hungry leader of the Undercity. For all his faults, however, he is shown to have a soft side with his caring for Jinx and how he adamantly refused to the city of Piltover.
Even morally “good” characters have darker sides to them. Viktor, a brilliant scientist and inventor, is shown to be the main antagonist of the third act and how he pursues his “glorious evolution” which would kill humanity in return for merging them into one consciousness— his consciousness.
“Arcane” gives a new expression to storytelling in media and gives us viewers a fresh relief from the numerous flops that have been produced by the movie industry lately. The show is not afraid to dive into mature, deep and thought provoking themes. It isn’t afraid to kill off characters when necessary instead of clinging on to fan-loved characters. The show spins beautifully written storylines and creates memorable, well-written characters with brilliant story arcs.
All of this makes “Arcane” one of the best shows in the media.
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