Arcane

[Ashen Lilies]

Or, what happens when a video game company with high quality cinematics gets told by the fans "you should make a movie/anime!" and then actually goes through with funding it.

Now after forever and a bit, with an actual trailer



What I can safely say so far is that it looks gorgeous. Studio Fortiche always has amazing art direction and animation, and the prospect of getting a full 9-episode season from them instead of a 3 minute cinematic is making me giddy with anticipation. Piltover/Zaun is pretty much the most interesting and unique place in the IP to set this in, and it looks fantastic.

In terms of narrative and story-telling, we'll just have to see. Riot Games' storytelling has generally had more downs than ups imo, and a few of their recent big story events have been particularly trainwrecky (admittedly with Covid-related production delays and disruption being at least partially to blame), but at least if Arcane turns out to be a narrative trainwreck, it'll be a very pretty one to look at.

Thoughts?

Oh yeah, the series is dropping as 3-episode "acts" on November 6th, 13th, and 20th.

[Psyren]

I've always been interested in League's setting (Runeterra), but I absolutely despise MOBAs. The fact that they are branching out to other genres and media is a dream come true for me, to see if I can get into the world as much as I think I might be able to.

I'm definitely looking forward to that MMO they've been working on as well.

As for the trailer - yeah great art and animation, and I'm a sucker for magipunk aesthetic.

[Dragonus45]

IF they can make sure the Legend of Runeterra lore team are the ones running the show bible I see this being great. It will still be rendered non cannon in a few years when Riot gives up and nukes the lore again but ideally it will stand on it's own.

[Psyren]

The cast looks interesting too. Hailee Steinfeld aka Kate Bishop looks to be the lead, not sure how that will square with her Disney+ schedule but so far she seems good. I'm also seeing Kevin Alejandro aka Daniel Espinoza from Lucifer. We're also getting Cho Chang and Young Malificent.

[Ashen Lilies]

The cast does look good.

I was interested to see that Caitlyn and Jayce, to my eye at least, got minor character redesigns to make them look Asian and Latino respectively, to reflect their voice actors' heritages (good!). Given that their current in-game appearances are... not at all coded that way (including Caitlyn's card art in Legends of Runeterra, which was released in the new expansion only a month ago) I'm a little concerned about the implementation of these characters going forward - especially if they make further appearances in future properties, like the aforementioned MMO.

I personally hope Riot will take the opportunity go back into the game assets and update them to reflect their new identities. If Spider-Man can do it...

[Palanan]

That's a genuinely impressive trailer.

But...help me out here. All I know about League of Legends is from the music and occasional cinematic snippets that YouTube throws at me. This is a series based on the world the MMO takes place in? Which is...sort of magipunk?

Just trying to get a sense of what exactly this is. It's highly compelling, but a little perplexing to those not familiar with the source material.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Color me intrigued.

[PhantomFox]

That's a genuinely impressive trailer.

But...help me out here. All I know about League of Legends is from the music and occasional cinematic snippets that YouTube throws at me. This is a series based on the world the MMO takes place in? Which is...sort of magipunk?

Just trying to get a sense of what exactly this is. It's highly compelling, but a little perplexing to those not familiar with the source material.

I'll give you a quick TL;DR. I'm imagining the show will explain itself, but just in case...

Runeterra is split up into various regions or city-states. You have ye old frozen north, ancient desert region, yar har pirate town, noble but oppressive city, strength-above-all city, undead islands, definitely-not-Japan, Mt. Everest but with celestial beings and their followers, undead islands, eat-the-world void monster area, hidden town of mystical creatures, etc. But the one this series focus on are two cities that used to be one: Piltover and Zaun. Both of the cities have very heavy steampunk and magipunk aesthetics, representing most of the technical advances in the world. The cities used to be one before terraforming project designed to build a man-made sea route went wrong and the lower half of the city sunk down into the new valley. So now you have the upper class 'surface dwellers' of Piltover and the lower class 'undercity' of Zaun. Piltover is bright, wealthy, and shiny, big love of SCIENCE! but aristocratic and the rich families keep a firm grip on the city. Zaun is more slum-ish, anything-goes experimentation, choked with pollution and no regards for consequences, rules by a number thuggish barons that control the chemicals that a lot of their tech runs on. Piltover is mostly concerned with a new technology (whose discovery this show will introduce) of Hextech, fueled by rare and expensive crystals.

Characters you meet:
Vi: The boxing girl that gets giant mecha punching gloves. From Zaun, ends up working for the Wardens (police) of Piltover and plays the 'bad cop' to the 'good cop' of...
Caitlyn: Sniper rifle police chief, brilliant detective, vaguely British, pursuing a mysterious criminal known as 'C' for personal reasons. But given the probable story, is currently more concerned with...
Jinx: Vi's (now confirmed) sister. Tall, thin as a rail, long blue braids, tattoos, lots of guns. Currently in-game, Jinx is Joker levels of crazy and causes mass levels of destruction and chaos for fun and to antagonize Vi, but this is set before that change happened and deals with what or who made her that way... and if it can be fixed.

Other characters either confirmed to appear or have ties to other characters.
Jayce: Brilliant, arrogant, has a hard time empathizing with others, is trying to be better. Has a big hammer/gun shapeshifting weapon. Used to be friends with...
Viktor: Fed up with human nature's inefficiency, wants to convert everyone into cyborgs, stole some of Jayce's tech in order to do so.
Ekko: Old Zaunite friend of Jinx and Vi, used to be in the gang they were a part of. Has invented a way to rewind time to the last checkpoint he sets. Proud of the better parts of Zaun culture, wants to save it. Hates the 'Pilties'.
Heimerdinger: A member of the Yordle race, a mysterious race of small fuzzy... squirrel people? that are essentially their world's fairies. Current status on if they're known and accepted, known but disguise themselves, or mostly mythical is still unclear. Ones that hang out in one area for long enough take on aspects of the area. Heimerdinger is the SCIENCE! Yordle of Piltover.

Characters from the region that possibly may cameo, but probably not:
Camille: Old cyborg lady with knife-legs that is the shadow enforcer for Piltover's elite.
Ezreal: If Indiana Jones was a punk-ass cocky kid with a magic shooting gauntlet
Orianna: Clockwork robot who used to be human
Seraphine: Pop star social activist
Blitzcrank: Big clunky Zaunite robot with rocket extend-o arms
Dr. Mundo: The Incredible Hulk if he was purple, insane, dumb as a rock, and plays doctor with meat cleavers. Comic relief, sometimes horror.
Janna: Local minor wind spirit, tries to keep Zaun actually breathable.
Urgot: Zaunite Half cyborg with six robot crab legs, leader of a quasi-cult based around extreme Darwinism in that "Only the strong survive" and goes about purging everyone and anyone and sees who survives.
Warwick: Used to be human, got converted into a chem-based werewolf with induced bloodlust issues created by...
Singed: Amoral chemical scientist who hangs out in Zaun and ruthlessly experiments on gutter trash, used to work for the militaristic city of Noxus.
Zac: Superman if he was an amorphous green goo person
Ziggs: A yordle who makes bombs and loves explosions.
Twitch: An insane sewer rat-person with a crossbow who wants your trash

[Fyraltari]

I just want to say that "Studio Fortiche" is an excellent name. I had never heard of them, and now, I want to learn more.

[Ashen Lilies]

I just want to say that "Studio Fortiche" is an excellent name. I had never heard of them, and now, I want to learn more.

Here you go. Their portfolio looks like a couple of short films, several cinematics and music videos, and an animated series for Marvel.

That's a genuinely impressive trailer.

But...help me out here. All I know about League of Legends is from the music and occasional cinematic snippets that YouTube throws at me. This is a series based on the world the MMO takes place in? Which is...sort of magipunk?

Just trying to get a sense of what exactly this is. It's highly compelling, but a little perplexing to those not familiar with the source material.

Pretty much.

The world of Runeterra (which League of Legends, Legends of Runeterra, and the upcoming MMO are all based in) is pretty large and contains a number of differently flavored fantasy themepark locations. You've got your Gondor-ish white knight fantasy kingdom, your black armored conquering empire, your very transparently Ancient Egypt-esque fallen empire, your marauding vikings, your wacky pirate town, your spooky scary skellingtons ghost city, your kungfu monks and spiritual mentors Far East land.

The specific location this one takes place in is a city-state that sits over the biggest trade route in the world, with canals that connect two major oceans and bridge two continents (think Istanbul or Panama City). They're cosmopolitan, technologically advanced, and have found ways to harness magic in ways accessible to regular people using science and technology, hence the magipunk aesthetic. Rampant technological progress and wealth inequality leads to it being functionally two cities; the prosperous and pristine Piltover above, the polluted and toxic undercity of Zaun below. There's tons of mad magi-science and class conflict. The show will be focused on that particular city and the characters who live there.

[Psyren]

I just want to say that "Studio Fortiche" is an excellent name. I had never heard of them, and now, I want to learn more.

They're based in Paris. Based on that and your reaction, I'm guessing the name is an entendre of some kind

Pretty much.

The world of Runeterra (which League of Legends, Legends of Runeterra, and the upcoming MMO are all based in) is pretty large and contains a number of differently flavored fantasy themepark locations. You've got your Gondor-ish white knight fantasy kingdom, your black armored conquering empire, your very transparently Ancient Egypt-esque fallen empire, your marauding vikings, your wacky pirate town, your spooky scary skellingtons ghost city, your kungfu monks and spiritual mentors Far East land.

The specific location this one takes place in is a city-state that sits over the biggest trade route in the world, with canals that connect two major oceans and bridge two continents (think Istanbul or Panama City). They're cosmopolitan, technologically advanced, and have found ways to harness magic in ways accessible to regular people using science and technology, hence the magipunk aesthetic. Rampant technological progress and wealth inequality leads to it being functionally two cities; the prosperous and pristine Piltover above, the polluted and toxic undercity of Zaun below. There's tons of mad magi-science and class conflict. The show will be focused on that particular city and the characters who live there.

What kind of races are we looking at being there?

One of the things that turned me off from FF14 / Eorzea is how... I dunno, stereotypically anime / bishie all the races were (with the exception of Roegadyn), whereas Azeroth had a lot more grit and variety to it. If WoW truly gets toppled from its top spot by one of these newcomers, for me personally it'll be an MMO with a similar variety of style.

[Ashen Lilies]

Runeterra so far only has a handful of major races, though they aren't adverse to throwing in various one-offs or weird stuff just for regional flavor (particularly for units in the card game).

You've got humans, of course, who need no further description.

Then you've got Vastaya, who are basically various kinds of human/animal hybrid people (ie furries by another name) who adapt to various environments. Of note in Piltover/Zaun are the chireans, who are probably(?) vastaya (but they might be something else - as I said, Runeterra aren't averse to random one-off races) and are adorably chaotic little bat-people who work the powerlines and plumbing in Zaun. We may see them in Arcane.

Finally you have yordles, which are little furry fae-goblin-things (Heimerdinger, Teemo, etc.) They come from an extra-dimensional realm, called Bandle City, which is connected to all other places by way of the Bandle Tree's interdimensional portals. They're immortal, have whimsical and ill-defined magic powers, and tend to act as exaggerated stereotypes of the regions and peoples they inhabit and interact with. So Heimerdinger lives in Piltover and is a mad scientist's mad scientist, Poppy lives in Demacia and is a humble white knight hero to shame all other humble white knight heroes, and Kled lives in Noxus and is... a deranged territorial hillbilly with a military fetish who considers any piece of land he lays eyes on to be 'his property'.

In addition we have some regional minor races, like the minotaurs who form a sizeable minority in Noxus, and the ice trolls up north.

As for the MMO I really couldn't tell you what to expect. Playable humans and yordles seem like a given, and we might get minotaurs as well. The big question mark is vastaya, since they're so varied I'd have to wonder how any reasonably sized character creator could implement them - you've got sharkpeople, catpeople, birbpeople, nine-tailed-foxes, chameleon people, mermaids of various different configurations. It's a mixed bag.

If you want to take a closer look at what to expect in terms of regions and flavor I'd definitely recommend taking some time to browse through Legends of Runeterra's card art and flavor text. It's consistently super good and is the best world-building we have so far until the MMO drops. Universe (Runeterra's lore site) is perennially out of date, but has a world map with all the major regions and concept art and vignettes for each.

[Fyraltari]

They're based in Paris. Based on that and your reaction, I'm guessing the name is an entendre of some kind

Nope, it's just a very childlike/cutesy way to say "skillfull". So it's not the kind of name you'd expect a company to bear.

[Fyraltari]

Here you go. Their portfolio looks like a couple of short films, several cinematics and music videos, and an animated series for Marvel.

Thanks! I think as recognize some of it as stuff I saw floating around the Internet.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by PhantomFox
I'm imagining the show will explain itself, but just in case....

This is an excellent overview, thank you. Some of these names are familiar from the various login screens and whatnot I see on YouTube.

And I did get the sense that Jinx was the setting’s equivalent to Harley Quinn, without the codependence issues.

Originally Posted by Ashen Lillies
The world of Runeterra (which League of Legends, Legends of Runeterra, and the upcoming MMO are all based in)….

And thanks for clarifying this…although I thought it was already an MMO?

Also, as long as I’m asking very basic questions…can someone please explain the whole K/DA thing? Whimsical furry fey and magical sniper rifles I can work with, but…that…I…can’t.

[Psyren]

Nope, it's just a very childlike/cutesy way to say "skillfull". So it's not the kind of name you'd expect a company to bear.

Gotcha. My favorite idiom site suggested there might be a slightly more risqué definition as well but that could be a regional thing.

Then you've got Vastaya, who are basically various kinds of human/animal hybrid people (ie furries by another name) who adapt to various environments. Of note in Piltover/Zaun are the chireans, who are probably(?) vastaya (but they might be something else - as I said, Runeterra aren't averse to random one-off races) and are adorably chaotic little bat-people who work the powerlines and plumbing in Zaun. We may see them in Arcane.
...
In addition we have some regional minor races, like the minotaurs who form a sizeable minority in Noxus, and the ice trolls up north.

I'm a big fan of diverse, even bestial anthropomorphic races so that's good to hear. Another gripe I have with FF14 is that they're content with "pretty human with weird ears, maybe a tail" and whatever pending child labor violation Lalafell are meant to represent.

If you want to take a closer look at what to expect in terms of regions and flavor I'd definitely recommend taking some time to browse through Legends of Runeterra's card art and flavor text. It's consistently super good and is the best world-building we have so far until the MMO drops. Universe (Runeterra's lore site) is perennially out of date, but has a world map with all the major regions and concept art and vignettes for each.

Thanks a ton, I'll take a look.

I'll give you a quick TL;DR. I'm imagining the show will explain itself, but just in case...

*snip*

Excellent stuff, thank you.

And thanks for clarifying this…although I thought it was already an MMO?

Also, as long as I’m asking very basic questions…can someone please explain the whole K/DA thing? Whimsical furry fey and magical sniper rifles I can work with, but…that…I…can’t.

It's a MOBA. Definitely an audience big enough for an MMO (big enough for several really, with an estimate of 50 million daily active players) but no MMO... yet.

K/DA is a K-Pop group based on League. The name is based on a statistic from the game - "Kills, Deaths and Assists" - that roughly correlates to skill.

[Ashen Lilies]

It's just an alternate universe virtual k-pop band that uses a reinterpretation of some of the game's characters as k-pop stars. It doesn't actually take place in the canon universe of Runeterra, the pop-star versions of the characters are just loosely inspired by the versions that actually exist in-universe (for example, Evelynn in Runeterra is essentially a succubus, but she's reinterpreted in K/DA as a pop diva with a dark side). It was originally just a vessel to sell skins, but it kind of exploded out into a whole phenomenon from there, because Riot's music team is actually just ridiculously good at their job. (but also it's a vessel to sell skins)

League of Legends actually has three virtual bands right now: K/DA (k-pop) with a single and an EP, True Damage (hip-hop) with a single, and Pentakill (heavy metal) with three albums so far. They're all really good. Pentakill's second album, Grasp of the Undying, is a personal favorite of mine.

I'm a big fan of diverse, even bestial anthropomorphic races so that's good to hear. Another gripe I have with FF14 is that they're content with "pretty human with weird ears, maybe a tail" and whatever pending child labor violation Lalafell are meant to represent.

The vastaya run the full range. On one end you have "pretty human with animal ears" like Ahri, Xayah and Rakan, or Sett (admittedly he's only a half-vastaya). On the other end you have more dramatically animalistic vastaya like Rengar, these crocodile mobster dudes, and the sheer awesome that is the marai.

Also, because I was incredibly bored at work the other day, I did end up drafting a quick summary of what each region's deal is:

Spoiler

Show

Demacia: Stereotypical medieval fantasy kingdom with knights and quaint little hamlets and shining white walls. The noble Demacians believe in virtuous ideals like justice, honor, and protecting the little folk. They’re also xenophobic, reactionary, and have a deep hatred for magic and magical creatures of all kinds, with a secret police who round up mages and suspected mage sympathizers, throwing them into prison and feeding them poison to suppress their magical abilities. Currently in the middle of a civil war following the assassination of the previous king by the secret police over planned reforms granting increased freedoms to mages a mage revolutionary.

Noxus: Stereotypical evil empire with black armored goons, ravening hordes, gladiatorial bloodsports and dark and forbidden magic. Follows a philosophy of ruthless might-makes-right egalitarianism and social darwinist vibes. They abhor slavery, depose tyrants, and celebrate cultural diversity. The credo of Noxus is that everyone has an inalienable right to freedom of self - as long as that self is valuable to the empire's all-consuming eternal war machine.

The Freljord: The frozen northlands, a harsh territory populated by equally harsh peoples who constantly fight each other over scarce resources. Currently embroiled in a conflict between the Avarosans, who want to turn the Freljord into a united nation of federated tribes, and the Winter’s Claw, an alliance of tribes who want to preserve their traditional raiding and warlike ways. Meanwhile, the enigmatic Frostguard, led by a mysterious witch, keeps watch and waits for an apocalypse long ago frozen under the ice.

Piltover/Zaun: A powerful independent city-state positioned over the biggest trade route in the world, with canals that connect two major oceans and bridge two continents (think Istanbul or Panama City). They're cosmopolitan, technologically advanced, and have found ways to harness magic in ways accessible to regular people using science and technology. Rampant technological progress and wealth inequality has led to it being functionally two cities; the prosperous and pristine Piltover above, the polluted and toxic undercity of Zaun below.

Ionia: The Far East. A magically rich continent once populated by peaceful peoples who lived in harmony with nature and the magical forces all around them, until they were invaded and ravaged by the Noxian armies. Though they managed to beat back the Noxian invaders, the land and people are still scarred by the wounds of that invasion and the enduring legacy of Noxian colonization. Leaders looking to the future of Ionia find themselves split between conflicting paths: return to their bygone harmonious idyll, or assert a new, powerful nation ready to take on a dangerous and hostile world.

The Shadow Isles: A dismal archipelago full of specters and shrouded by soul-stealing black mist, which it occasionally belches at the rest of the world. Was once known as the Blessed Isles, populated by monks who tended a life-giving spring and a vast repository of arcane knowledge and artifacts, until it was invaded by Viego, king of a far-off land and toxic wife-guy extraordinaire, seeking a cure for his dead spouse. The monks were all “no don’t throw that corpse into the life spring” and Viego was all “yo I’m going to throw this corpse into the life spring” and then there was a terrible cataclysm that claimed all the souls of the Isles, turning them into the restless undead.

Bilgewater: An archipelago close to Piltover, originally populated by various island-dwelling peoples and giant sea monsters, eventually becoming home to a bustling independent port city of eclectic mariners and wanderers from the world over. The twin pillars of the Bilgewater economy are the pirates who feed off the fat merchant vessels passing through Piltover, and the hunting fleets who fish giant sea monsters and butcher them for valuable parts.

Targon: A collection of sky-worshipping peoples who inhabit the hills and highlands around Targon, an Everest-on-steroids that reaches all the way to the edge of space. Those who climb the peak find a gateway to the realms of the celestial gods who watch over Runeterra, and may ascend themselves, or become the mortal aspects of said celestial beings. The main religion of Targon’s tribes are the sun-worshipping Solari, who are currently engaged in a merry campaign of extermination against the heretical moon-worshiping Lunari.

Shurima: Basically Ancient Egypt. A vast expanse once home to a continent-spanning empire that brought water to the desert and harnessed the powers of a magical sun disc to create immortal, animal-headed god-warriors, which they used to conquer and control the surrounding lands. A number of magical disasters ruined the empire, and today the desert is populated by various peoples and nomads who criss-cross the land, eking out a living amongst the ruins of a dead empire, which is being encroached on by rapidly-expanding Noxus. Meanwhile however, Azir, the last emperor of Shurima, has returned. Granted a second chance at eternal life by the power of the sun disc, he sees in his mind's eye a return to Shurima’s former glory.

Bandle City and Yordles: An extradimensional realm of fae magic and whimsy, populated by the immortal and fairy-like yordles. At the heart of the realm is the Bandle Tree, the roots and branches of which reach into all of creation, allowing the yordles to cross into any part of the world via dimensional portal. The yordles themselves are a social and whimsical people, who often become exaggerated reflections of the people and cultures they come into contact with.

Ixtal: An isolated, high-magic mesoamerican themed queendom. Once a province of Shurima, following the fall of the Empire they fortified themselves within vast arcologies, bordered on all sides by dense, impenetrable jungle. Over centuries they formed a highly magically advanced nation built on unparalleled mastery over elemental forces, and believed themselves to be the sole civilized people left in the world, with the lands outside their jungles fallen to disaster and ruin. Only in recent times, with Piltover and Noxus encroaching into their lands, have they rediscovered the rest of the world, and are faced with the looming prospect of reintroducing themselves to a world not nearly as consumed by chaos and savagery as they had always thought.

The Void: The infinite, extradimensional nothing that nibbles at the borders of creation. Poisoned and influenced by the creation that rings it, introduced forcibly to the very concept of being, the newly sparked alien intelligences of the Void immediately thought to themselves about their newfound existence: “Mmmm nope. Don’t like this. Make it stop.” Various bits and pieces of the Void have leaked through to reality, through portals and summoned by mages (most notably in Icathia, where it was used as a weapon against invading Shurimans, leading to doom and disaster), creating plagues of Voidspawned creatures with little thought but to consume and destroy, intent on annihilating all existence, including, hopefully, themselves.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

Yeah, my main experience with Jinx is through this music video:



And Arcane's Jinx seems pretty different. I wonder how they're going to play that; if this is her origin story and her sister's attempts to save her fail, or if they're changing the character, or if she does become a good guy but very chaotic and antihero-ish.

[Rodin]

I don't know how much you can read into a music video that was released 8 years ago to entice players into buying a newly released champion. Especially since the video is explicitly a daydream of the character herself.

I don't keep up with League canon. I don't think most people do. Maybe the Jinx in the video hasn't existed for a long time based on one retcon or another. Or maybe they're just changing it. Would anyone care if they did? I feel like League lore exists in the same spectrum that Hearthstone lore does. There's a core bible that they're working off of, but the lore is very airy-fairy and the developers don't expect most people to pay attention. As a result, sweeping changes can happen at the drop of a hat because the lore serves the game and not the other way around.

[Psyren]

If the show takes off I expect there to be some degree of continuity between it and the upcoming MMO. Whether any of that will match up with the MOBA is less important/anyone's guess.

[lord_khaine]

The setting is honestly awesomely crazy. It does seem ripe for being turned into a MMO.
And the new anime do seem equally intriguing. I am looking forward to see how this goes.

[Joran]

As part of Legends of Runeterra (the card game), Riot's been releasing videos showing vignettes from each region:

The Piltover / Zaun should be one most relevant; it has Jinx + Heimerdinger.
Piltover / Zaun

Playlist of all of them, should give you a feel of what each region is like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ED2...rkX6OYiixVqFMn

Additionally, Riot's been pushing out some really good trailers tied to skinlines, which should be considered "alternate universes". Same general character but in a different setting, with different backstories/appearances.

Full-fledged anime short for Spirit Blossom: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4L0OkSrsI8
Anime AMV for Star Guardian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkihKQ7Exvo

Not to mention their World's themes/videos have been good for years as well.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by PoeticallyPsyco
Yeah, my main experience with Jinx is through this music video:

Same here. Based on that, she’s not a character I especially like, but I’m willing to see how she’s portrayed in the series.

Although no idea when I’ll actually see this, since I don’t have Netflix.

Originally Posted by Rodin
I don't know how much you can read into a music video that was released 8 years ago….

If it’s my only point of reference for that character, then it certainly affects how I perceive that character.

I had never heard of this game apart from the random videos that YouTube started throwing at me. So it’s not a question of reading anything into the videos; they’re all I knew about the world or the characters, at least until some of the helpful responses earlier in this thread.

Originally Posted by Joran
Anime AMV for Star Guardian….

That made…absolutely no sense to someone unfamiliar with the game.

No idea who they are, why they’re fighting, or why they shift between four or five different animation styles.

[Rodin]

Same here. Based on that, she’s not a character I especially like, but I’m willing to see how she’s portrayed in the series.

Although no idea when I’ll actually see this, since I don’t have Netflix.



If it’s my only point of reference for that character, then it certainly affects how I perceive that character.

I had never heard of this game apart from the random videos that YouTube started throwing at me. So it’s not a question of reading anything into the videos; they’re all I knew about the world or the characters, at least until some of the helpful responses earlier in this thread.



That made…absolutely no sense to someone unfamiliar with the game.

No idea who they are, why they’re fighting, or why they shift between four or five different animation styles.

Having watched the videos probably makes you better read on the lore than many League players. It's not a game that encourages paying attention to the lore. I certainly never have. I couldn't tell you the species of most of the champions I own, nevermind their backstories or where they're from.

That's why I think all bets are off with this show. If you're making Game of Thrones or Wheel of Time there are a lot of expectations from the audience about what characters are like. For League that's nowhere near as true - most players know the champion from their in-game lines and maybe a music video or two. The lore can easily be retooled to be more workable for long format fiction without causing a massive outcry.

Heck, even the "canon" appearances of the characters change regularly. Many, many characters have had their in-game art drastically altered to make them look better. They've had their combat chatter altered to fit the newest version of the lore. They've had their splash screen art altered to match their new in-game appearance, or even just altered without changing the in-game appearance. And every character has a bunch of different skins, many of which make them unrecognizable from their original design...and sometimes turns them into a robot/zombie/magical girl/whatever.

[Psyren]

Thanks to Disney/Marvel (and to a lesser extent, DC/CW) I think the pop culture zeitgeist is now much more accepting of the idea of a "multiverse" of canonical expressions that can be connected to one another without needing to perfectly line up across properties/media. So long as there are core aspects to the major characters that render them at least recognizable I think that's all they'll need.

[lord_khaine]

I in turn do think the multiverse thing kinda feels like an excuse for lazy writhing.

[Fyraltari]

I in turn do think the multiverse thing kinda feels like an excuse for lazy writhing.

Canon minutia is overrated.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Fyraltari
Canon minutia is overrated.

Nothing wrong with being consistent, and it certainly helps new audience members.

The MCU carefully built stories for a whole stable of characters, with a good deal of interconnection, to give even casual audiences a sense of what the core universe felt like. Throwing a mass of alternate versions at an audience unfamiliar with the core property, by contrast, is a recipe for deep confusion.

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Imagine seeing all the Lokis from Loki without getting to know “our” Loki first.

For people who are familiar with the game, that may be one thing, but potential viewers outside that existing community are likely to be put off rather than drawn in.

[Rodin]

I think everyone is focusing on the term "multiverse" too much here. We aren't talking about multiple versions of the same character existing in the same story, or within the same fictional universe.

Rather, we're talking about alternate takes on the same character. Adam West Batman vs. Michael Keaton Batman vs. TAS Batman. Different actors portraying the same character while changing the look and story that character takes part in.

In relation to the MCU, we have a "movie canon" of those characters that is drastically different than the comics canon. Tom Holland's Spiderman is different from comic book Spiderman who is different from Andrew Garfield's Spiderman, etc etc.

And it depends a lot on the source material. For Batman, there's only a few defining features I need to accept him as "Batman". He has to be a rich dude who lost his parents to a mugging who later decided to fight crime while dressed as a bat. He needs to be very smart and a good detective, and use lots of gadgets. And...that's about it. You can tell almost any story from that point and I'm very accepting of you telling the story of "that version" of Batman.

On the other hand, taking Frodo or Bilbo Baggins and trying to tell different stories with them is sacrilege. They're characters who only fit in the original story they were written for, and trying to use them for other things instantly gets my hackles up.

I don't think that's likely to be the case for Arcane, because there isn't a fully written literary novel featuring Jinx. Or at least, I don't think there is.

In other words, it doesn't matter what Jinx's original canon is. The show is going to feature a different version of Jinx. One who may be as different from her original music video as Adam West doing the Batusi is from Batfleck.

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Rodin
The show is going to feature a different version of Jinx.

This I’m aware of, and as noted that would be a net positive for me.

That said, Joran mentioned “alternate universes,” which is where it gets confusing for anyone not already familiar with at least some version of the backstory.

And there’s an odd dichotomy in some of the promotional videos. The Star Guardian video is clearly aimed at players who are fully aware of who those characters are, what their relationships represent, and thus have some context for the furry-centric fight scenes.

The trailer posted in the OP is designed to be much more accessible, in that it provides an emotional core and hints of social context for a broader story. This seems rather obvious, since that’s the purpose of a trailer—but it does raise the question of what exactly the furry-fighting video is supposed to do.