Record of Lodoss War: DVD Collection (1990)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Written by Mami Watanabe and Kenichi Kanemaki, based on original story by Hitoshi Yasuda and Ryo Mizuno
Directed by Akinori Nagaoka, Katsuhisa Yamada, Kazunori Mizuno, Taiji Ryu, Shigeto Makino, Akio Sakai, Hiroshi Kawasaki
Translation by Neil Nadelman
Character Design by Nobuteru Yuuki

Features:

• Japanese promotional video
  
• comics
  
• fan convention with Japanese cast
  
• art gallery
  
• character profiles
  
• scripts
  
• cast list
  
• production credits
  
• “Cast a Spell” look at the magic sequences
  
• English and Japanese audio
  
• English subtitles
  

Dindrane's Anime Warnings:

• dragons and elves and witches, o my
• elf-maidens much cuter than you
• grumpy dwarves

Rating: 13+

Anamorphic: N/A

My Advice: Buy it, o, buy it.

Eons ago, two warring goddesses, one of light and another of darkness, battled for supremacy over the land. In their struggle, they split the land, creating an island in the north that was cursed by their war. This island was called Lodoss, the Accursed Island, and it is here where our stage is set.

Now the ancient goddess of destruction, Cardiss, has risen again. Standing against her and her avatar Karla is Parn, the young swordsman, Ghimli the dwarf, Deedlit the sorceress elf, Slayn the wizard, Woodchuck the thief, and Etoh the cleric. Along the way to saving their homeland, they must confront and defeat a powerful warlord bent on saving his people, a dragon or two, and countless other trials that will test their mettle in every way.

If the characters seem a bit archetypal, it’s because they are. Lodoss is one of the best-known and best-loved anime titles ever for a reason—-it’s excellent and has a way of incorporating all the best elements of storytelling in a way that doesn’t seem cliché or passé. While some viewers claim that the whole film seems more like the visual adventures of a D&D campaign, this isn’t mean to be an insult, but is another reason to feel that the people and places of Lodoss are familiar.

The extras in this collector’s series collection are outstanding. The “Cast a Spell” feature lets you look more closely at the magical elements of the series. As always, it’s nice to have the cast and credits list so we can keep track of our favorites and find some new idols. The art gallery is wonderful, especially as gorgeous as the art on this series really is.

The audio and video are both good here. The digitally remastered video shows no problems and allows the wonderful art of this series to really shine. The audio allows the softer voices and the louder battle scenes to work equally well, including those sneaky moments and subtle additions to the soundtrack. This is a show you really want to hear, and this set does an excellent job of allowing that.

There should also be a special note for the packaging. The two-disc set is securely wrapped in a concertina foldout, with an envelope holding a pretty pamphlet with snippets and cosmology from the Lodoss graphic novels. The complete credits are listed on the inside of this foldout, as well. The back of the concertina lists the entire contents for both discs. This slips inside a greater slipcase, and all surfaces, inside and out are decorated with choice images from the series and/or a nice red texture. All of our favorites are here, including some secondary characters and elements, such as the old king with his sword and a gold dragon. The end result is a very sturdy, extremely attractive package.

In short, this is a set that should be in any anime or fantasy fan’s home library. Even if you don’t usually like anime, if you are a fantasy-lover, then you will need to have this. Action fans and anyone who enjoys good characters in interesting situations will also love this set...basically, Lodoss is a winner no matter who you are or what you want in a title.