Review of The Heroic Legend of Arslan

I like anime with action and mystery, but it is my first time seeing an anime about war and knights, so I didn't expect too much for Arslan Senki. But it was absolutely great ! Story : 9 / 10 The story is really interesting. It shows the war in its very aspects, such as barbarity, the motivation of both sides : Pars and Lusitania. Neither of them are clean, since Pars use slavery and Lusitanians kill those who don't believe in their god. The young prince Arslan will have to restore its kingdom, but it won't be easy. The different battles are epic, sometimes violent,but they were well-done according to me. Moreover, the anime is not just about war, we have some magic into it (although it wasn't well-developped), mystery, and also funny moments. Plus, the relationship between the characters is pleasant. We know why they are here.

Characters : 9/10
This anime has great characters ! At first, I thought that Arslan would be annoying, since he was always protected by Daryun, but he's a good character. He's kind and he gradually becomes mature. He realizes the atrocity of the war, but he also tries to understand the motivations of his ennemies. Moreover, he isn't weak. Then, we have Daryun, one of the most powerful warrior in Arslan's side who can be overprotective, Narsus the excellent strategist (all of his ideas were impressive), Elam the cute and loyal servant, Gieve the funny and highly skilled poet, and Farangis the beautiful archer (at first I was afraid that she would be only there for the fan service but fortunately it was not the case). I enjoyed their personality, their strength, their skills, and they made me laugh a lot. At the opposite, we have Silver Mask as the main antagonist, who is eager to become the king of Pars. He's strong and scary, and one of the best ennemies I've ever seen in an anime. And as the story progresses, different protagonists make their appearances, in both sides. Alfreed was annoying at first but she was also funny and useful during battles, just as Kishward, Jaswant... And the conflict between Rajendra and Gadevi during the Sindhura arc was really interesting, without forgetting Etoile who comes back during the second half of the show, and also in the end.

Art : 9/10
I really like the chara-design, it is similar to those of the manga, illustrated by Hiromu Arakawa, and the moves of the characters during the battles were really fluid (I agree that sometimes there were some problems, but they were minors, and I was so enthralled by the show that it didn't matter for me.
The backgrounds were absolutely amazing. Colors were beautiful, and they also took care to do oriental style backgrounds, especially when the protagonists are in Sindhura.

Sound : 9/10
The ost perfectly stick with the different events, especially during the battles, and emotional moments such as in the last episode (spoilers : when Etoile is coming to say a prayer for the fallen soldiers of Lusitania). I also enjoyed the openings and endings. Both of the openings are dynamic, and I really like the ending "One Light" by Kalafina.

In the end, I really enjoyed this anime. It became one of my favorites. I didn't expect that. The two last episodes were amazing, epic and beautiful. But it has an open end, some mysteries still remain, so I hope for a second season.