title_name=The Heroic Legend of Arslan
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アルスラーン戦記
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The Heroic Legend of Arslan
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Animanga/OVA| Information
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is the title of a
Japan ese
Fantasy Novel , which is known in
Japan as '''''Arslan Senki''''' (アルスラーン戦記).
The author,
Yoshiki Tanaka , started writing Arslan in 1986, but as of 2004 the series is still unfinished in 11 volumes and one side story in the official guidebook ''Arslan senki tokuhon''. It was made into a
Manga (which went ahead and came up with an ending on its own) and from 1991 to 1993 into a six-part
1, unfinished
Anime OVA .
The story is set in a fantasy setting resembling historical
Persia , and many characters have names originating from
Persian epic of
Amir Arsalan the celebrated.
Neither the
Novels nor the
Manga of have been translated into English; therefore, this summary deals with the
Anime OAVs . As it directly focuses on the events of the first OAV, the characters names as they are translated there will be used (see
"Names" below).
has two qualities that make it unique among anime
Fantasy tales. While the world in which it takes place is one where
Magic obviously exists, said magic is of an extremely limited nature. Until the end of the anime, the only magical happenings involve a few rare occasional
Spells and a giant, humanoid
Monster . There are none of the races typically associated with a fantasy realm, such as
Elves or
Dwarves . It is, at the core, a
War story taking place between
Human nations. In addition to this, there is an underlying theme of exploring the repercussions of
Slavery on a society, having an
Absolute Monarch who treats the poor as cattle, and religious obsession.
The story opens with a battle between the armies of Palse and Lusitania. The king of Palse, Andragoras, is quickly proved to have poor judgement and a quick temper, as he demotes one of his most loyal servants (Daryoon) on the word of a man who proves to be a traitor (Kharlan). In this first battle, the Lusitanian army deliberately leads the Palsian forces into a seemingly-simple assault. The assault turns into a bloodbath, as the Lusitanians booby-trapped the battlefield by soaking the ground in oil. Not only do the Palsian war-horses slip and break their legs, but the enemy forces set the oil on fire, burning many of the soldiers alive.
Daryoon's uncle, Eran Vaphreze, takes it upon himself to lead the king away from the battlefield before Andragoras can be discovered and killed by enemy troops. Before he rides off, he commands Daryoon to dedicate himself to protecting the crown prince, Arislan. While Daryoon rides off to seek out the prince, Vaphreze and Andragoras attempt to escape. They are unsuccessful--Vaphreze is murdered by the leader of the Lusitanian army, an incredibly strong and enigmatic warrior who, due to his unique headgear, is known only as Silvermask. Silvermask declines to kill Andragoras, preferring instead to kidnap him and drag him back to his stronghold in Zahburu Fortress.
Having survived the Lusitanian assault, Arislan and Daryoon seek help for their cause, in the form of the philosopher/swordsman/tactician, Narsus. After a bit of trickery on Daryoon's part, they convince Narsus to help them in their cause.
As this goes on, Lusitanian troops march to the capital city of Ekubatana; in order to convince Queen Tahamine to surrender her city, an
Interrogator of the Lusitanians--a high-ranking cleric named Jon Bodan--tortures captured Palsian soldiers outside its gates, declaring to all who would hear that he will only stop when Ekubatana surrenders. While she refuses, the city is eventually invaded successfully. The Queen is captured, and the city's buildings, sculptures, and sacred writings are all destroyed.
As Arislan travels around, trying his best to avoid being located by the armies and agents of Silvermask, he meets two others who are convinced to join his cause of re-taking and rebuilding Palse. Pharangese, an aloof, cold priestess of Misra, is sent by her holy order to protect and serve the prince--a fact which she considers to be natural, as she is the wisest, most beautiful, and most deadly.
Gieve actually makes his first appearance when he, defying both a strong wind and a long distance, successfully shoots one of Jon Bodan's victims, sparing the poor soldier anymore misery and humiliation. For his skills with a bow, Gieve is paid well, and is also offered the chance to serve as the Queen's bodyguard as she attempts to escape the besieged Ekubatana. While making their way out of the castle, Gieve learns that the "Queen" he is escorting is actually a
Double for Her Majesty, in order to permit the real Queen to escape in a more secretive fashion. After abandoning her and escaping the city on his own, he encounters Pharangese, and declares that he will dedicate himself to following her.
The most obvious stumbling block to Arislan's ability to re-take his kingdom is his utter lack of an army. As it is ironically observed at the conclusion of the first episode, with five warriors at his command, they have doubled their forces, and will only need to take on 50,000 enemy soldiers each. The subsequent episodes chronicle Arislan's plans on finding an army to back him up. They also cover wide and sundry sub-plots, including who Silvermask is, how Andragoras came to the Palsian throne, and the introduction of various new characters.
is an epic tale, and like all epic tales, it has an overwhelmingly-large cast of characters.
- Prince Arslan/Arislan: The fourteen-year-old prince of Palse, around whom most of the action and fighting in the series is taking place. Arislan is frequently misinterpreted by those around him as being a weakling, due to his effete appearance, naivete, compassion, and optimism. While these are true to a point, Arislan is also philosophical, intelligent, and charismatic, able to rally even the most apathetic of people to his cause.
- King Andragoras III: The ruler of Palse, and father of Arislan. Andragoras is disliked by most of the main characters, and not without reason. At different times, he is cold, hot-tempered, acts without thinking his actions through, and even paranoid.
- Daryoon/Darün: Formerly a high-ranking military officer, Daryoon is demoted from his position in the opening of the anime. His new mission is to protect and serve Arislan. Daryoon and Arislan become close friends. In the style of Samurai , Daryoon is loyal to a fault, both to his country and to his prince. His fighting skills are so legendary that, at one point, Prince Lajendra praises him as the greatest warrior in both Palse and Shindra.
- Narsus/Narcasse: Narsus was once a chief adviser and tactician under Andragoras, but because he spoke out against the king's continuing practice of Slavery , he was removed from his office. In addition to being a brilliant tactician, Narsus is also an incredible swordsman, an intelligent philosopher, and a not-so-skilled painter. He is Arislan's mentor, and Daryoon's close friend.
- Gieve/Guibu: Gieve is the only player who does not make a strong allegiance to any side in the various battles that take place. While he self-identifies as a Musician , it would be more apt to say that Gieve is a rogue-of-all-trades. He is the most versatile fighter in the series, capable of using a sword, a bow, or a lance, and also claims that he can play any instrument in the world. Gieve is also known for Breaking The Fourth Wall ; when he is alone, he will address the audience and narrate his thoughts on what is going on in the story (though it could be said that he is merely talking because he loves the sound of his own voice).
- Pharangese/Farangis: Aloof, defiant, strong, and cool; Pharangese is both a dedicated cleric to the goddess Misra, and the most-skilled female fighter on the planet. She maintains her mystique throughout the course of the story, so that little is known of her personally. According to her own account, she was the most beautiful, intelligent, and capable member of her order; when a prediction was made that a servant of Misra must protect Prince Arislan, the other clerics selected her to go, out of jealousy.
- Silvermask: In the beginning, all that is known about Silvermask is his obsessive desire to torture and kill both Andragoras and Arislan. He is serving as the leader of the Lusitanian forces against the Palsian army. He is so named because of the ornate silver helm he wears; it has large silver bull-horns attached to it, and completely obscures his face.
- Bajon: An ancient Necromancer who is in the service of Silvermask. Though he serves Silvermask, it is obvious from the start that Bajon has his own agenda, and is merely waiting for the right moment to implement it. His importance to events in the story grows as time goes on. He is also, interestingly, the only villainous character (other than Jon Bodan) who has no human or redeeming qualities.
- Queen Tahamine: The Queen of Palse, and Arislan's mother. Though she gave birth to Arislan, she has no emotional connection to him as a mother.
- Eran/Elam: A youth who Narsus bought out of slavery, Elam intends to serve his 'master' until he is old enough to live on his own. Elam is the series' main source of comic relief, especially when he has slapstick fights with Afurido over Narsus.
- Alfreed/Afurido: Afurido has a rather fantastic entrance, in which she attempts to assassinate Silvermask as revenge for him slaying her clan, the Zotto. Afurido is assisted by Narsus, who, she decides, she is in love with. She follows Narsus around, but does little else, other than fight with Elam for Narsus's attention.
- Valphreze: Daryoon's uncle, and one of the leaders of the Palsian army. He's quickly shown to be both loyal and wise, which makes his almost-immediate death all the more tragic. After his murder at Silvermask's hands, Valphreze still remains, after a fashion, as a source of inspiration for Daryoon.
- Kharlan: Formerly a high-ranking military officer for Palse, Kharlan betrays his kingdom in the opening scenes of the first OAV. In spite of his betrayal, Kharlan claims that he is utterly loyal to his kingdom. His vague statements regarding the true identity of the rightful king of Palse both confuse and cast doubt in the other characters.
- Guiscard/Guiscarl: The younger brother of Inocentius, the king of Lusitania. Guiscarl is dedicated to the ideal that he might one day rule the kingdom officially, although he already does so 'under the table'; he is intelligent, forceful, and well-loved by his underlings. His forces are allied with Silvermask's, although the two men's goals are opposed to one another. In spite of this, both are united in their desire to see Arislan dead.
- Lajendra/Rajendra: One of the two crown princes of the nation of Shindra, a country bordering Palse. Lajendra is feuding with his brother, Gardeep, over who gets control of the nation when their ailing father dies. Lajendra's claim to the throne is based solely on his charisma; as he is a Bastard the king sired with a mistress, and Gardeep is the son of the king and queen, he has far less of a legitimate claim to the throne. Lajendra is conniving, wicked, duplicitous, and highly amused at the world, known for saying outrageous and horrible things with a carefree laugh.
- Gardeep/Gadevy: One of the two crown princes of the nation of Shindra. While Gardeep's claim to the throne is legitimate, he is no less heartless or conniving than his brother. Gardeep also is unable to balance his ruthlessness with charm, and is even willing to defy the gods if it will seal his ambitions to rule.
- Quishward/Quishwald: Along with Bachman, Quishward guards Peshwald Fortress, one of the only Palsian strongholds that does not collapse under the might of the Lusitanian army. A dedicated fighter, Quishward has perfected an Ambidextrous fighting style. He also goes to battle with his pet eagle, Azrael , who has been known to both attack enemies and warn its master of danger with a piercing shriek.
- Bachman: One of the other lords who maintains the Peshwald Fortress. Bachman is a torn and haunted man, burdened with the secret of Silvermask's true identity.
- Lucian: Another one of Palse's feudal lords. Lucian arrives on the scene while the group is staying in Peshwald Fortress, and offers his services to Arislan. Though he has a grand entrance, he is not a very actively-exploited character, as he prefers to work behind the scenes.
- Jon Bodan: A twisted and evil cleric of Iarudabohdo, the continent's only Monotheistic Religion . Bodan is the religious leader of Lusitania, and his word holds an inordinate amount of sway over the actions of the Lusitanian forces. His introduction into the series shows him mercilessly torturing a soldier outside of the gates of Ekubatana. He also orders the burning of the sacred writings kept in Ekubatana, because they are loathsome and " Pagan ". Jon Bodan is one of the only villains who is unsympathetically evil.
- Estelle/Etoile: A religiously-fanatical Lusitanian who attempts to assassinate Arislan. She is captured and imprisoned. Instead of having her executed, Arislan spares her life, and is interested in finding out what her motivations truly are.
- Isfan: Little is told of Isfan, other than the fact that his brother, Shapool, was the man being tortured by Jon Bodan in the first OAV. He arrives in the third OAV in order to take Shapool's place as one of the ruling lords of Palse. When Isfan learns that Gieve "murdered" his brother, he does not take to the idea very well.
- Osiris: The identity of Osiris becomes a pivotal plot-point in the series.
- Qbad/Kubard: A minor character, one of the former lords over the Palsian army. Though he lost both his rank and his army, Qbad dealt with it all with good humor, and became a simple wanderer. He is featured in a sub-plot involving Princess Irina.
- Merlein: Afurido's older brother, and the only other member of the Zotto tribe who has survived. Merlein had many problems with their tribe, as his father--who openly despised him--made it clear that Afurido would inherit leadership of the clan, and not him. One day, when the clan left to go pillaging, it left him behind, and never returned. Merlein went to find his missing clan, and along the way, he ran into Qbad and Princess Irina. He makes it his new mission to escort Irina to her destination.
- Princess Irina: An incredibly sheltered girl, Irina is the princess of Maruyamu, another kingdom which was successfully invaded by the Lusitanians. She is wandering from her conquered kingdom on a quest to find a man called Hermes, with whom she is in love. It is notable that Irina is blind, and is led about by a handmaiden who 'sees' for her.
As stated above, is a war story, and as such, romantic relationships are essentially non-existent. The overwhelming majority of the large cast consists of soldiers of all stripes, most of whom are at least in their 30s, and none of whom has a wife or a girlfriend who is mentioned. They are portrayed as men being married to their careers and to their country. The only exception is Gieve, who, when he goes to collect his reward for sparing Shapool from torture at Jon Bodan's hands, is accused by one of the Queen's handmaidens as being a liar. He apparently told her that he was a wandering prince in order to get into her bed.
What romance there is in the series appears to be entirely one-sided. Arfurido fawns over Narsus, who usually appears highly uncomfortable at the attention. Gieve constantly flirts with Pharangese, who, if she responds at all, is cold and disinterested. And while Princess Irina and Hermes do indeed love one another, their relationship is so convoluted that it is almost impossible for them to ever be happy.
The distinctly male-heavy cast, which also features several
Bishounen and
Biseinen characters, has led to a moderately strong (relative to the size of the
Fanbase in America)
Yaoi fanbase. Supporters of this view tend to be fans of Daryoon/Arislan or Daryoon/Narsus.
Fans of
Het pairings usually support Gieve/Pharangese, or Arfurido/Narsus; it could also be argued that Arislan's interest in Estelle is due to a romantic
Crush on her. However, it should be noted that the story itself can be enjoyed without placing any emphasis upon romance at all.
Much of the storyline is intimately related to the lay of the land in . This is because many conversations between characters involve discussions of battle-tactics and the movements of armies. Such discussions are difficult to follow until later in the series, when Narsus draws a map of the continent from memory. The narrator of the series then refers to this map when describing the action in subsequent episodes.
- Palse: The largest kingdom of the unnamed continent. It is located in the center of the continent, and is bracketed by Shindra and Lusitania. Palse is regarded as the shining star among the other nations, it being superior in size, artistic output, and in peacefulness. Palsians have a feudalistic monarchy, in which the will of the king is carried out by various lords. They are a Pagan nation, worshipping many gods with no official religion. It is ruled in the beginning by Andragoras III. Its capitol is Ekubatana; other important locals include the Bashuru Mountain range (where Narsus and Kharlan both live), the Peshwald Fortress, and the port city of Giran. In keeping with the themes of ''Amir Asalan'', Palse is probably modeled after Constantinople.
- Lusitania: A smaller nation, Lusitania is regarded as an inferior kingdom to Palse. Lusitanians are all religious fanatics who are determined to convert the rest of the world to their religion by the sword. They are more barbaric and less cultured than any other nation. Because of this, they can dedicate themselves more readily to war--though they go to war with no allies to speak of. They are officially ruled by King Inocentius, but in reality, the kingdom is run by his brother, Guiscarl. It is likely that Lusitania is modeled after ancient Europe.
- Shindra: Another, smaller nation; little information is actually provided about Shindra, other than details about its princes. Generally, the Palsians view the Shindrans as being selfish and untrustworthy; however, the Shindrans are also fearsome warriors who use Elephants instead of war-horses in battle. They are ruled by a theocratic monarch--the king's most powerful advisors are his high priests, and their gods are charged with deciding which prince may rule the kingdom. As regards the country's real-world model, it is most heavily based off of India.
- Maruyamu: A minor country, even in comparison to the others. Maruyamu is most notable for its non-existence: in order to fuel the army being put together to invade Palse, Lusitania first invaded its smaller neighbor. Maruyamurs worship the same monotheistic god as the Lusitanians, though they are noted for being less barbaric and violent. When they were invaded, the king parlayed with his captors, bargaining to turn his country over to them in exchange for his life and the lives of his family members. After he signed Maruyamu over to the Lusitanians, they murdered both him and his wife. Their two daughters, Irina and Johanna, managed to escape to Palse.
- Zotto Clan: A nomadic tribe, the Zotto's origins are not made clear in the anime (though it is possible that they are meant to be a representation of the Parni --see below, under " Historical Origins "). In the beginning of the second OAV, in fact, the Zotto have already been wiped out by Silvermask. The only survivors are Arfurido and Merlein.
The events of are based on
Iranian History , and on an
Epic Poem dating from the mid-1800s.
In
245 BCE , the region of what is now
Iran was occupied by a kingdom known as
Parthia . Parthia, whose capitol was
Ecbatana (now know as
Hamadan ), was a loosely-organized, decentralized kingdom. It dominated the area between 150 BCE and 226 CE, and is known for being one of the region's longest-enduring empires. In its original form, however, Parthia was a far smaller area, composed of the northernmost areas of Iran, and was a section of the
Seleucid Empire .
In the year 245, the satrap of Parthia--the
Persian equivalent of a
Viceroy --revolted against the newly-crowned Seleucid emperor,
Seleucus II . The satrap was named Andragoras. Andragoras openly defied the Seleucid emperor by issuing coinage displaying his own image wearing the royal diadem. As it happens, his rebellion spelled out his own doom. The
Parni , a nomadic tribe native to the region, took advantage of the chaos created by Ecbatana's revolt against the empire and invaded the nation. Two years after the original revolt, the Parni tribe successfully took Parthia, killing Andragoras in the process.
The epic poem, titled "
Amir Arsalan ", was told to the
Shah of Persia by a
Naqqal (storyteller) named Muhammad 'Ali Naqib al-Mamalik. Muhammad never transcribed the poem himself, but the daughter of the Shah, who also loved the tale, eventually transcribed it and preserved it for history. The story begins with the Banu of Rum (also known as
Constantinople , or
Istanbul ). Rum was conquered by European invaders, and its pregnant Banu forced to flee for her life. She becomes wedded to an Egyptian merchant and gives birth to her child, Arsalan. The merchant claims the child as his own. Eventually, of course, Arsalan learns of his royal origins and takes it in his mind to reclaim his throne.
The fictional world created in the anime, manga, and novels is heavily based off of
Persian Art and those of Middle east art, languages, and religions. This is quite clear in the naming of the characters (the names of most Parsian characters come from ancient Persian legend, such as '
Shahname '), although there is some controversy over how each character's name should be spelled. In the manga, for instance, the title character's name is actually spelled several different ways, and in the anime, different characters pronounce his name in order to fit his or her speaking style. He has been referred to as "Ars'laan", "Arislaan", "Aslaan", and "Arisulan". Likewise, the character of Daryoon has had his name spelled/pronounced as "Darün" and "Dariun".
When the first two episodes of the OAV were released in
America by
Manga Entertainment , all of the character and kingdom names were "translated" into equivalent-sounding names, primarily in
Indian . When subsequent episodes were translated and released in America by a different production company,
Central Park Media , they came with a footnote stating that the Japanese company who owns the rights to the anime took issue with how the names were translated, and insisted upon a literal translation of the names as they are pronounced in the series. Thus, the official names of the characters sound more like Japanese mispronunciations than they do actual titles--such as Gieve becoming "Guibu". Others, however, have been returned to actual Persian/Indian names, such as Darün and Farangis.
The only exceptions to the naming theme is Narsus/Narcasse, Hermes, and Osiris. "
Osiris " is the name of an Egyptian god, and is a possible reference to the events of "Amir Arsalan", which take place, in part, in
Egypt .
Hermes is the name of another god; although he is Greek in his origins, the Greeks were not exactly unknown to the Parthians, as
Alexander The Great once added them into his empire. Narcasse's name is neither Persian nor Indian; the closest equivalent appears in Greek, with the name "
Narcissus ".
The original novel, ''Arslan Senki'', was written by
Dr. Yoshiki Tanaka . Though he is primarily a novelist, Tanaka's works have been 'translated' into manga and anime forms before. His novel ''Ginga eiyu densetsu'' became , and ''Sohryuden'' became '''
Legend Of The Dragon Kings '''. There are eleven novels in the ''Arslan Senki'' storyline thus far. These novels were illustrated by legendary mangaka and character-designer
Yoshitaka Amano (whose other works include the character design for several
Final Fantasy games and for
Vampire Hunter D ).
The popularity of the ''Arslan Senki'' novels was so great that it became natural for it to make a transition to manga form. The thirteen-volume manga was written by Tanaka and illustrated by
Chisato Nakamura . The additional popularity of these manga led to the creation of a series of OAVs. The first two OAV episodes were released as "movies", which is why each one is an hour long, rather than the traditional half-hour.
Due to the aforementioned issues regarding translations and names, as well as possible issues with funding the project, it took an extremely long time for the Arslan anime to make its way to the United States. While they originally began production in
1990 , as of
2006 , they have still not completed the story. Even so, the final two chapters of the OAV arc were not made available until years after the first four had been released, in 2002.
# The anime series was released in two variants: one with four episodes (2x1h, 2x30m) and six episodes (6x30m).
- On The Heroic Legend of Arslan
- Review at THEMAnime
- Fansite
- Another
- http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9002268 - ''The Encyclopedia Britannica's'' article on Andragoras
- http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/iran/arsalan.htm - A review of "Amir Arsalan", complete with a story summary
- http://www.arslansenki.net/ -- Fan-site containing geographical locations in the anime, character information, and links to Fanfiction
- http://www.abcb.com/arislan/ars_o001.htm -- AnimeCafe's reviews of
- http://www.arslanarchive.com/efiction/index.php -- A small index of fanfiction
