Sleepy Impressions: The Heroic Legend of Arslan
The first time I saw art from Arslan Senki (The Heroic Legend of Arslan), I could tell that Hiromu Arakawa was related. It's in the visual character designs! Sure enough, she wrote and illustrated the 3 volume manga, but that's not where Arslan Senki originated. It was actually a novel series dating from 1986 and still running! It is written by Yoshiki Tanaka, who is probably best known for Legend of the Galactic Heroes.
Arslan Senki is full of action and adventure. It takes place in a medieval time period, from the point of view of a prince named Arslan. Arslan looks up to his father, the king, and learns sword-fighting so that he can someday lead an army into battle and win.
But Arslan is ignored by his father, and struggles to talk to his mother as well. Even the slightest bit of praise from Arslan is brushed aside by the prideful king. Uneducated and curious as ever, Arslan adventures to the town to learn about the people his father have been fighting. To his surprise, they turn out to be the most interesting people he's ever heard of.
Arslan Senki has an intriguing take on political affairs and morales. I have to admit, social studies (politics included) was my worst subject in high school simply because I find it so incredibly boring that I can't contain a thing. But if you mix in all this adventure and character development, anime can even make politics interesting.
Not that this show is all about politics! Far from it. There's war about here, and we're going to get some action. Not only that, but with the plot set with Arslan's new knowledge, there's bound to be some interesting changes in his character. I'm looking forward to it!
First Impressions: Above Average
