Arknights: Prelude to Dawn

The discovery of a black crystalline mineral known as Originium has accelerated technological advancement in the world of Terra, with its high energy yield allowing people to demonstrate abilities akin to magic called Arts. Large veins of Originium can naturally be found at the sites of Catastrophes, various forms of natural disasters caused by the mineral itself.

However, the usage of Originium comes at a price, as there is a high risk of getting infected with Oripathy—an incurable and highly contagious disease. Because nations subject the infected to harsh discrimination, the oppressed begin a dissident movement. Calling themselves Reunion, the rebel faction mercilessly destroys cities, further contributing to the already calamitous nature of Catastrophes.

Rhodes Island, committed to treating the infected and uninfected as equals, is a paramilitary pharmaceutical organization believed to be the most advanced in its research for the Oripathy cure. Unfortunately, the person spearheading the project—an enigmatic figure known only as the Doctor—suffers from amnesia, effectively impeding what might be the only hope for the infected to break free from their chains of despair.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Amiya Main

Kurosawa, Tomoyo Japanese

Doctor Main

Kaida, Yuki Japanese

W Supporting

Taketatsu, Ayana Japanese

Texas Supporting

Tadokoro, Azusa Japanese

Exusiai Supporting

Iwami, Manaka Japanese

Kal'tsit Supporting

Hikasa, Youko Japanese

FrostNova Supporting

Takagaki, Ayahi Japanese

Ch'en Supporting

Ishigami, Shizuka Japanese

Talulah Supporting

Sakamoto, Maaya Japanese

Nearl Supporting

Sakura, Ayane Japanese

Hata, Takehiro Producer

Watanabe, Yuuki Director, Sound Director, Episode Director, Storyboard, Key Animation, 2nd Key Animation, Animation Director

Yokouchi, Kazuki Episode Director

Nakamura, Masashi Episode Director

Reviews

Nov 27, 2025

b4r0ngs4i

Recommended

This was game adaptation for who not know yet , if you like 80% drama and 20% action u can go on

for me who played the games it already summary most the story , since ingame story like reading novel without voice not like other games. yeah not perfect and no other game adaptation was perfect tho , good storytelling for who not play the game even just in 8-10 episode , and for me not like reading novel yeah it tell most important part , so if someone new interest about story they can play the game or someone already played this game from ... old time, was good recap

The animation Good
The sound Good
The story Good emotional

Mostly they focus on storytelling and drama, so if u look for action almost just 10-20% in anime, maybe because the game also tower defense lol , so if u shonen and action lover , u will find this animation boring, come again when u at age 22++ when u got bored of isekai/shonen/harem

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Aug 6, 2025

mkzxwing

Mixed Feelings

A really weird experience honestly...

Just like the game. On one hand its a decent show, and a great, high budget adaptation, all things considered.
On the other hand, the core story is so bad that it hardly matters.

This is regarding all three seasons that are up so far by the way. The story in all three can be summed up very easily - anger causes war, and war is bad and won't end as long as there is anger. Wow, amazing enlightenment there, haven't heard that anywhere before! (sarcasm)

That's the main problem with the show, and the game, it doesn't really go anywhere. You're introduced to ... a setting, one that's not too original but does have its potential... And then it doesn't go anywhere.

Needless to say that's very disappointing, given any story is, well, about some kind of point and progress to it. Not arknights though, its just repetition upon repetition. Its also very well reflected in the main character - the 'doctor', who doesn't do a single 'doctorly' thing in the show or the game (not sure about the latter, didn't play too far in), but instead gets to... COMMAND A SMALL SQUAD? Didn't know a medical PHD comes with commander training!

Final verdict - not recommended, unless you don't care for the story and just want some pretty picture and action on the screen, then i guess it'd be worth a watch.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Apr 18, 2023

aurora_aeterna

Not Recommended

tl;dr rating if you play arknights: 8 or 9 /10. rating if you don't play arknights: 5/10 at best

Surely this show's ratings are inflated by the fans of the game. I mean let's be honest. I play the game and while yes, the game has great story and yes, the game has great voice lines, the anime was without a doubt very slow paced and at times boring. It is practically word-for-word from the source material though so points for staying true there.

Like I mentioned above, if you don't play the game you will fall asleep watching this. The gravity of the scenes, the explanation ... for the world of Terra, the way the characters interact with each other; all of it would not make sense to a non-fan and the anime does little to try to explain any of it to people who are unfamiliar with the source material already. The pacing is molasses. The character development is also molasses. Both of which are real shames because the Arknights main story is actually quite interesting and at times thought-provoking and challenging. All of that was latent in here in the show, sent to background in favor of what felt like character showcases. I should also mention that Yostar/HG make great PV's and music but we didn't get much of that here. Some cool action sequences, a smattering of music, but it didn't shine.

It really hurts me to say it but I do not recommend this to anyone who didn't play the game. I would recommend the game though. So I guess you could come back to watch this after playing the game some? It is a good game...

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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