is a Japanese anime television series based on the manga series The Heroic Legend of Arslan by Hiromu Arakawa, which itself is an adaptation of Yoshiki Tanaka's 1986–2017 novel. The series was produced by Liden Films and Sanzigen, and was broadcast for 25 episodes on MBS from April to September 2015. The series focuses on Arslan, the 14 year old Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Pars, who must protect his Kingdom once his father goes mission in action during a fight. Despite his weak looks and young appearance, Arslan takes it upon himself to create a strong army to protect his home and stop the war.

The series was directed by Noriyuki Abe and written by Makoto Uezu who aimed to create a realistic war story, faithful to Tanaka's original novels. Multiple voice actors worked in the adaptation wth Yusuke Kobayashi taking the leading role whom he describes as an ordinary man as he starts the story as a weak prince but constantly obtains new subordinates which led to befriend the other actors.

Funimation licensed the anime in North America and collected in both two collections and one single Blu-ray. Critical response to series praised the handling of animation and multiple appealing cast characters that defend the Arslan who was the subject of mixed response for not being as appealing as his subordinates. An 8-episode sequel series, titled The Heroic Legend of Arslan: Dust Storm Dance, was broadcast from July to August 2016.

Premise

During his childhood, Prince Arslan from Pars is taught swordmandship by the elder Vazhir to prepare to become a king. One day, he is kidnapped by a child soldier named Etoile, who makes him question his ideals of equality after being told of her relgiion. Four years later, the 14 year old Prince Arslan from Pars embarks on his first fight against Lusitania alongside his father, King Andragoras III. However, the traitor Kharlam alongside the enemy "Silver Mask" takes down the forces of Pars leading to the King's disappearance and Arslan being rescued by his bodyguard Daryun. Daryun takes Arslan to his friend Narsus, a famous tactician and swordsman Arslan convinces to have him join him. Arslan then starts fighting and acquiring new soldiers in order to protect Pars with Narsus' underling Elam. Though outnumbred by Kharlam's forces, Arslan's forces manage to defeat them with the aid of Pars warriors Farangis and Alfreed. When Daryun mortally wounds Kharlam, the enemy uses his last forces to tell that while the king is alive, there is still another man that will take the throne. Following Arslan's victory, the group travels to other areas to obtain new allies and save Pars.

Production

Although TV series is based on Yoshiki Tanaka's The Heroic Legend of Arslan novels, the series used Hiromu Arakawa's manga adaptation as its basis from 2013. The series was announced in November 2014 by NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan alongside an official website which used images from Arakawa's manga. It was directed by Noriyuki Abe, with scripts by Makoto Uezu. Uezu had read Tanaka's novels since the first Kadokawa Bunko edition was published. He therefore felt more pressure than any other staff or cast member in handling the source material, while also feeling greatly honored by the task. When working on the series composition, he proceeded carefully, respecting the original work while seeking to make the anime distinct. Abe stated that although the work is a "war story", for him it was a "character story" defined by well-developed characters. Several characters were introduced in the first season of the anime before appearing in the original manga, with Arakawa collaborating in creating their designs.

The staff emphasized Arslan's beginning as a beautiful figure and then transforming into a darker character, as highlighted by the opening and video sequences. However, they did not wish to change the protagonist's core, as they wanted him to remain cute. Instead, Daryun and Hermes were the characters whose facial expressions changed. Storyboard artist Naomi Nakayama aimed to show Daryun's devotion to the prince from the early episodes. For the animation, the staff used 3DCG alongside traditional animation.

While coreographing fight scenes, Shingo Ogiso had problems with making some that involve horses. hEe said that from a swordsmanship perspective, Arslan is particularly difficult to design; While the prince is strong, but the balance is difficult because he is weaker compared to Daryun and the others. At the beginning of episodes of the anime he trains with Vahriz, which is divided by a timeskip. At first, Arslan can not even put up a fight against a wooden sword, but the second episode 2, he has grown and is fighting with real swords. And he is even shown to be somewhat on equal footing. Ogiso wanted to make it more than just a simple sword fighta and have a proper basis for its swordplay.

Music The music was composed by Taro Iwashiro who had many opportunities to work in neighboring Asian countries, and encounters with people who have different ideologies, religions, and values have become commonplace. This led has make to make a soundtrack that conveys the idea of mutual respect and compassion and furher making it resonate with the modern world. The opening "Boku no Kotoba Dewanai Kore wa Boku-tachi no Kotoba" was made by Uverworld who wanted to compose a theme about struggling. Eir Aoi made the ending theme with the idea of a passionate line. The second opening theme is , performed by Nico Touches the Walls, while the second ending theme is "One Light", performed by Kalafina.

Casting Arslan's voice actor Yusuke Kobayashi described the anime as a "classic" war story that everyone can enjoy, finding the multiple characters fascinating and was honored to play the voice of the lead. Daryun's voice actor Yoshimasa Hosoya read the original manga before recording, and got the impression that it was a very solid and interesting work. As for the script script, Hosoya got the feeling that they were trying to create the anime while following the texture and worldview of the original manga but still found it calmer when compared common anime. Voicing Narsus, Daisuke Namikawa called the anime a historically significant work, and was very honored to be involved. Nanikawa said that while the story begins with "adversity" for Arslan and his companions, but the cast members are also facing tough situations. When he received the offer, he was very excited. But when I actually started working on the series composition, I put those feelings aside for a while and proceeded very cleverly.

Kenn researched the manga when cast and was charmed by his character Gieve, another individual who becomes vital in protecting the prince. Abe found the voice actors convincing to fit into the work. Hosoya and Nanikawa labeled their characters as Arslan's parents due to how the oversee the young lead whereas Elam was envisioned as a relatable character. Kobayashi said that his character is a prince who deserves the word "ordinary" but still special because of his companions' loyalty. Finding the original work so excellent, the cast worked with the director to create an anime version of The Heroic Legend of Arslan that is unique to animation, aiming to preserve its charm to the fullest while also making it more exciting and interesting when it becomes an anime. Maaya Sakamoto voiced Farangis whom he found beautiful due to her appearance and stylish personality. Yuki Kaji voiced the antagonistic Silver Mask whom he referred to as a man with his own sense of justice rather than a common villain.

Release The series aired from April 5 to September 27, 2015, on MBS's timeslot and other JNN stations. The 25 episodes were collected in a total of 8 DVD volumes. An original animation DVD (OAD) was bundled with the manga's fifth limited edition volume, released on May 9, 2016.

In North America, Funimation (currently known as Crunchyroll, LLC) announced its license for the series in April 2015, and began a broadcast dub in June of the same year. It was collected in two DVD and blu-ray volumes. In the United Kingdom, the series was licensed by Anime Limited in 2015 but only digitally.

Volume Date Discs Episodes 1 July 23, 2015 1 1–4 2 August 26, 20155-7 3 September 26, 2015 8-10 4October 23, 2015 11–13 5 November 26, 2015 14–16 6 December 18, 2015 16–18 7 January 27, 2016 20–22 8 February 24, 2016 23–25

Episodes

Reception Popularity The series was popular in Japan often being one biggest rated anime on a weekly basis. Similarly, the home media release was popular in Japanese rankings. Producer Daisuke Tsuchida noted response to the TV series was also positive. He believes the staff that managed to accomplish did this are Arakawa for creating an interesting manga as well director Noriyuki Abe who is skilled at directing anime based on shonen manga. The work of character designer Shingo Ogiso was also praised by the producer for making realistic designs which icreases the appeal of Arakawa's designs. The positive reception to the first season led the staff to quickly produce a sequel, The Heroic Legend of Arslan: Dust Storm Dance.

Critical response The first season was praised by Theron Martin of Anime News Network, who graded the series as B. Martin described The Heroic Legend of Arslan as a cross between Yona of the Dawn and Guin Saga, noting that while the main character is often less interesting than the supporting cast, it remains an epic fantasy story without romantic subplots and with strong thematic discussions among the cast, including on religion. The English cast received general praise, though Aaron Dismuke's performance as Arslan drew mixed reactions from the writer. Chris Beveridge of The Fandom Post called Arslan a character disconnected from the world, with a predictable narrative role based on the premise of his relationship with his father, the king. The reviewer also stated that the handling of multiple supporting characters is one of the anime's strongest points, and that the antagonists receive distinct characterization as well.

The narrative handling also drew negative responses. Anime UK Newss writer IncendiaryLemon was more critical of the first season, citing padding following the first five episodes involving multiple fights between the major characters. The writer found Arslan the most likable character in the series due to his kindheartedness, which makes the viewer root for him, but felt that the rest of the cast, except Gieve, were less entertaining. Mitch Jay of Rice Digital agreed with the pacing of the first season being slow but still praised the production values. However, the reviewer felt the anime changes notably when the narrative provides a major revelation about the main character, giving the series and its lead potential for a shift in writing. Nevertheless, Martin preferred the second half more because of how Arslan's work as leader has been completed leading to interesting scenes with the supporting character Etoile that unnitentionally provide more wisdom on the protagonist. While other supporting cahracters like the antagonistic Silver Mask and organizations seen were also the subject of positive comments, Martin noticed these episodes heavily focus on theme of what is a proper ruler and what weaknesses the title character still suffers to lead the series on his own as he also is overshadowed by his underlings.