It’s another battle against size. This one has elephants. What They Say:
With the fall of the Fortress of Gujarat, Gadevi sets out to meet Arslan and Rajendra on the battlefield. Vastly outnumbered and facing war elephants, Arslan and company must find a way to win.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
I was very excited with the direction this series was going in at the end of the last episode. Arslan’s identity and lack of rightful claim to the throne make for some of the most fascinating material in a series predicated on the idea of him being the crown prince and forces the reason for his eventual ascension to be the leadership he has displayed for himself rather than actual bloodline. Unfortunately, that’s not the kind of subject the series focuses on for extended periods of time just yet. Instead, we’re right back to the usual formula we should’ve become very familiar with lately. Once again, we see protagonists with a small army being attacked by antagonists with a massive, seemingly overwhelming force. This time it’s not just a matter of the number of men on one side, but the prevalence of fighters that increase the size disparity exponentially: elephants, and lots of them. Rajenda would probably stand little chance against Gadevi in this situation if he hadn’t accepted the alliance that Arslan practically forced upon him, but now that all is good between them, Rajenda had better count his lucky stars he has the support that he does.
Arslan usually gets at least one good moment per episode to show off why he should be considered a good potential king, at least more than most of the others we’ve seen vying for such a position. But more and more this show seems to be feeling like the Heroic Legend of Narsus, because all the recent conflicts have fallen primarily upon Narsus to whip up some trademark genius tactics and blow away the enemy, regardless of how massive their forces may be. As I implied, this is a lot of what we’ve seen multiple times in just the past few episodes, but admittedly the addition of elephants does shake up the status quo enough to bring some genuine curiosity regarding exactly how Narsus will handle his planning. Needless to say he pulls it off as effortlessly as ever, but it’s not quite as simple as a shutdown victory from the moment he acts.
Instead the rest of the main crew gets a bit more of a chance to shine – granted, most conflicts allow some obligatory shots of each member doing their thing and contributing something that it could reasonably assumed the others would be less likely to add. Foremost of Arslan’s supporters is of course Daryun, though, so to have him take a backseat to Narsus so often would’ve be quite right. Thus, the battle continues into the next installment, that one set to take a break from the large-scale battles that the strategy and tactics of Narsus are ideal for and move to a duel, the perfect stage to allow Daryun to remind us why he’s the finest warrior in the land.
There is valuable content within this, to be sure. But the rate at which we get snippets of something bigger compared to the amount of time we seem to spend treading the same water, especially considering this isn’t a show that will last that much longer, is unfortunate to say the least. It puts the prospects of any kind of truly captivating climax out of foreseeable reach.
In Summary:
The Heroic Legend of Arslan pushes onward with its David and Goliath battles turned around by Narsus’s unmatched wit. It’s always an enjoyable sight to behold, but it also offers little variety in a story that has potential for far greater dynamism and more substantial plot developments.
Grade: B-
Streamed By: FUNimation
Review Equipment:
Roku 3, Sceptre X425BV-FHD 42″ Class LCD HDTV.
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