Record of Lodoss War-Die Chroniken der Lodoss Kriege

Pros -Beautiful animation -Cool fantasy setting -Interesting, somewhat cliché, story -Fun characters/Epic villains

Cons -Repeated animation -Chopped fight scenes -Shallow characters -Anime yelling

Probably my fave anime series of all time (can you guess from my user name? :D) it's a classic fantasy series (13 episodes).

The story follows Parn, a young man desperate to be a brave Knight like his father, he leaves his home town to seek work in one of the great armies of Lodoss to fight the evil forces of the Marmo. Along the way he teams up with a Dwarf called Ghimm in search for a missing Priestess's daughter, a mage named Slayne, his old friend Atoh, not a Priest of Marfa, a thief named Woodchuck and a beautiful High Elf called Deedlit. We see them fight the forces of evil and eventually triumph for the side of good like in all fantasies :D It's got great animation and a wonderful story, for any anime or fantasy fan it's a must see.

Also known as Record of Lodoss war in the states, Lodoss to Senki(V) is the fifth tape in a six tape series. The box set runs about six hours, yet is worth the watch. One of the better fantasy based Japanese Animes out there.

Though the sword play isn't on par with Ninja Scroll, and the monsters can look a little bit more than goofy sometimes Record of Lodoss War is thoroughly entertaining as an epic. On the same level as The Odyssey, for the Japanese, Record of Lodoss War provides everything that you could really want from a Manga classic. They've got dragons, dwarves, goblins, kobalts, and berserkers too!(OH MY!) The art in this fantasy classic is gorgeous, it is most definitely a manga, and the eyes can become a little bit distracting to anyone who is into anime rather than the Manga look. This definitely has a kind of Akira feel to the artwork; slipping between playfully sketched lines and defined, dark inked artwork. The characters are somewhat two-dimensional, fitting into stereotypes all to common to older anime's and manga, yet are somehow very engaging. Parn the young hero around whom the entire epic is set is equipped with the biggest shiniest eyes in the whole series so inevitably he will ride into save the day at the end....

Record of Lodoss War scrolls the tale of our young hero, Parn, and his partner a priest of Valis. They are quickly joined by Ghim and Slain; Ghim being the tough as nails dwarf who despises elves, and Slain the quiet and contemplative sorcerer. Deedlit, a high elf - a princess actually - also joins Parn on his quest, after a group of Goblins slaughter Parn's hometown. The adventurers set out to discover what is making all of the creatures in Lodoss so aggressive and uneasy. They are quickly embroiled in a gigantic web of events quite comparable to LOTR in more ways than one, and find themselves imbued the task of saving Lodoss!

Any one who even like kid cartoons should see this, if you can stand any type of anime or manga give this a look the next time your out looking for an oldy-but-a-goody. The violence isn't graphic at all, there is only one scene of any type of nudity (A single nipple in the final episode for one frame) and it is long enough to grasp your attention... or is it? If you shy away from longer anime's or movies for that matter because there isn't enough action to sustain you, look elsewhere. This is a very character driven story and thusly a lot of conversation and slow moving, sometimes seemingly jumpy, plot progress. Overall an awesome set and becoming quite affordable too collectors, LONG LIVE LODOSS!!!!!

Lodoss, a land of long ago, is torn apart by war, chaos, mayhem, and all other forms of death and pestilence. In comes Parn, a would be knight determined to prove his valor and restore honor to the family name, and his companions: the elf babe Deedlit (voiced in the English dub by Lisa Ortiz, who later went on to voice Lina Inverse in the "Slayers" anime), cranky dwarf Ghim, King Kashu, berserker Orson, and other assorted heroes and villains who are out to survive the war.

As others have undoubtedly said, this is a sprawling epic that holds no punches in trying to suck you in and make you feel like you're a part of this world and everything going on in it. The popularity and skill of this thing is reminiscent of "Lord of the Rings". Parn himself is a bit too dense at times (he never seems to figure out that you can't attack a sorcerer or sorceress head on) but he's okay. Deedlit is both funny and cool though her full potential is never tapped. It's fun nevertheless to watch her lust for Parn while he doesn't seem to notice, at least not for a while.

One of the most potent characters though is Ashram, an honorable soldier who fights on the wrong side of the war. See it just for him, if you like.