Rune Soldier

I'll admit, Rune Soldier has a very special place in my heart, and I'm definitely biased towards it. I hope this review will explain why. Story-wise, Rune Soldier follows somewhat standard form. A group of female adventurers (Melissa the priestess, Genie the fighter, and Merril the theif) need a Mage to fill out their party so they can properly explore ruins and do all that fun adventuring stuff. The problem is, the only Mage willing to join their party this side of anywhere is Louie, a blue-haired, barrel-chested smart-mouth who prefers fighting hand-to-hand than casting spells (mostly because he's pretty terrible at magic). Unfortunately, Melissa's deityinforms her that Louie is to be her Champion, and thus the group is saddled with him regardless. The world of Rune Soldier is vibrant, diverse, and infinitely interesting, and the characters frequently travel to new places in search of fame and fortune, while frequently returning to the capital city (which is also just as interesting and engaging as the rest of the world). Half the show is spent on their 'down-time' as well as the adventuring, so you get to learn a lot about the characters by what they do when they're not climbing wizard's towers to stop rogue elementals from destroying the country. There are a couple of interesting sub-plots and recurring characters, mainly an elven girl who helps out occasionally, a rival adventuring party, and eventually the endgame plot, as Louie uncovers a sinister plan to take over the kingdom. The only penalties I can give the plot are than some of the episodes are less engaging than others, but I wouldn't want to cut any of them out - they all add to the characterization. 9/10, definitely. Art style is pretty typical of the time it was made, it'll feel very similar to Slayers, but with a more mature and rough feel to it. It's good, but not spectacular. Some of the magical effects look a little dated in their presentation, but thankfully no epilepsy warning needed. 7/10. Sound design is good for the show, but while it fit the scenes quite well, none of them were particularly memorable. They served their purpose, and would work great if you run a table-top fantasy RPG game. 7/10. Character - oh, here we get to the good part. You see, the best thing about Rune Soldier is the character growth, and how the relationships change over time. Louie is initially relegated to being a pack mule for the group, nothing more than a waste of space that's only good for carrying things and the occasional spell (if that). His irresponsible nature and gung-ho attitude in the first few episodes only serve to reinforce their view of him in this way. However, as the show progresses, Louie improves in many ways - swordsmanship, playing nice with teammates, even magical prowess, and most importantly he gains their respect. By the end of the show, they're fighting right alongside him, trusting him enough to let him take the lead for once, and letting his infection enthusiasm get to them. It's a beautiful thing, and you can track the incremental progression from episode to episode. The best part is, IT'S NOT A HAREM. Rune Soldier has the balls to put a male lead in a group of female characters and NOT have them falling for him at every turn. It's fundamentally about respect and trust, and it's a breath of fresh air. The only character that has even the slightest hint of interest in Louie in a romantic way is Melissa, and that's really more of a "Wow, he's actually a really nice guy. Why haven't I seen this before?" kind of moment. Overall, it's just a superb cast of characters accompanied by excellent writing, and it's one of the main draws of the show. 10/10. Enjoyment is a huge part of any anime, and Rune Soldier does NOT fall behind. There are a lot of different episodes (since the show tends to follow an episodic rather than serialized stye), and there's something here for everyone. Dashing swordfights, tournament battles, magic duels, sea monsters, slice of life stories, festivals and fairs, exploring dark forests and holding armies at bay, there are tons of fun adventures to be had here. The show starts strong and keeps the momentum up from the very beginning. The only mar on the enjoyment depends on what method you decide to watch it. Subbed is okay, but the voice actors always felt a little off. The English dub is actually surprisingly good, with the exception of Merril, who is a little annoying and high-pitched. 9/10. Overall, this show is AMAZING. The lackluster art and sound is only due to its age - in everything that matters, this show is top notch. Get your popcorn ready, get comfortable, and watch the first 4 episodes. You'll get hooked in no time, and the only thing you'll regret is that it's finished. 910, and a definite recommendation here, for what it's worth.

I thought the first half of the series was quite enjoyable. In the tradition of "George of the Jungle", "Beverly Hills Ninja" etc, it's the story of a guy who's strong on heart but weak on execution. The twist of having the standard adventure types of warrior, thief and holyperson portrayed by competent women works well and the series never descends into a harem comedy although it hovers close every once in awhile. The situations are strong and the humor fast paced. Unfortunately after the about the 11th episode it falls apart rather quickly - like the creative team wanted to move on to otherthings and just kinda wrote some stuff to fulfill the 24 episode obligation. The stories are pretty cliche - the humor is weak - it becomes disappointing. The first ten or so episodes are definitely worth watching though.

4.75/10 ~ The Lodoss War never asked for For all that do not know, this takes place in the same universe as Record of Lodoss War and Crystania. However past a few minor references such as one of the main charecters is a follower of Myrii and they mention the ancient magical society that Karla is from, they also have a similar power system and the fact that elves are super cute and have extremely long ears... That's it, that's all that is similar. Rune Soldier is mostly a episodic slap stick comedy set abstractly in the middle of a DnD world, if I nevertold you it was in the world of Lodoss, you probably never would have ever noticed. I'm not sure why they call Louie the "Rune Soldier"... he uses actually zero runes in the show, I'm assuming its a translation error. Instead of having decent plot through out we get waaaaay to much fanservice, Over used jokes, a haram and ZERO runes lol. And the English VA was pretty shit... pretty standard of the late 90's. The pros: - 90's Anime goes so hard - Low power high fantasy is one if not my favorite genres - Lodoss references made me oh so happy - music was pretty decent - tho the show didn't take it self that serious it never tried to be something it wasn't -The opening and the final "arc" was very decent My biggest gripe is unlike Crystania and Lodoss War OVA/TV Series that are fairly large epic series, Rune Soldier is all but that. 62.5% of the entire 24 episode series that is Rune Soldier is actually filler. To speed run this for plot relevance so you don't feel like you wasted your time watch: Episodes 1-3, this sets up the cast and location Ep 13, Tho this is technically filler, they tie the plot back to this episode 16-17 this is where the plot begins to bear fruit 22-24 these episodes are the pay off for watching the whole series, and Lodoss. --These 3 episodes have the climax and conclusion to the series With this all in mind this whole series could have been condensed down to a few episode OVA or long movie, instead of all this shit filler. Don't get me wrong when a show is good and a cast is great filler simply is just more time spent with ones we fall in love with. However this cast of charecters isn't it, this plot isn't it and honestly with the lure of Lodoss I was suckered in. All that being said, I am mostly disappointed from the 15 filler episodes which averaged out to be about a 2.75/10 to a 4.5/10 at its best. The first 2 episodes and last 3 episodes were actually pretty decent for what its worth at maybe a generous 6/10. So I cannot justifiably give a show of this length an average or above score, just barely missing the mark of a 5/10. I would only recommend this to someone that is ABSOLUTLY craving ANY Lodoss content or just needs to watch obscure Fantasy 90's anime... but this should probably be your last stop.