I’m on the lookout for new manga to read. Naruto is pretty much finished once the current Seventh Hokage arc wraps up, Bleach is an exercise in stretching a plot with cool art and I’ve turned the Fairy Tail comics into a drinking game wherein I have a shot every time a character starts crying and WHAT YOO LOOKIN’ AT HUH? According to pals o’ mine however, I should be looking at an ongoing manga called The Heroic Legend of Arslan. A manga which features full metal pedigree, and is already getting a brand new game. A game which looks gorgeous.
First up, some background details, gleaned from Wikis. The Heroic Legend of Arslan first originated as a series of Japanese fantasy novels in 1986. There’s 14 books so far, some of which were adopted into a manga from 1991 to 1996. Naturally, it got a very different ending, with the series also spinning off into two anime films and a four-part OVA series that was never finished. A second manga series took off in 2013, illustrated by Full Metal Alchemist’s Hiromu Arakawa, with a new anime series debuting this year.
So what’s it all about then? Here’s the official synopsis:
The story follows the exploits of Arslan, the crown prince of the fictional kingdom of Pars, which is taken over by the neighboring nation of Lusitania after his father, the king Andragoras, falls victim of a treacherous plot led by one of his most trusted retainers. After barely escaping with his life, Arslan rejoins his loyal servant, Daryun. Backed up by only a few more companions, including the philosopher/swordsman/tactician Narsus and his young servant Elam, Falangies, an aloof, cold priestess and Gieve, a travelling musician and con-man, Arslan must stand against overwhelming odds to assemble an army strong enough to liberate his nation from the Lusitanian army which is led by the elusive warrior known as “Silvermask”.
The other notable fact here however, is that the story does take place in a kingdom of magic. The twist here however, is that magic itself is an extremely finite resource, much like dragons in Game of Thrones or patience in a line to renew your driver’s license at the traffic department. The upcoming game of course, will be a full-on Dynasty Warriors style game, featuring one lone hero against hundreds of disposable minions who surely don’t have families to go back to. Wipe them out. All of them. Here’s a bunch of screens of the game in action, via AGB:
The game’s story picks up at the start of the battle of Atropatene. Confirmed playable characters so far include Arslan and Daryun, with more to be revealed. it’s hitting PS3 and PS4 later this year in Japan. Expect a western release…eventually.
Last Updated: May 18, 2015
Umar
May 18, 2015 at 11:36
Hiromu Arakawa <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
Makes me want to dabble in the taboo alchemy arts <3
Umar
May 18, 2015 at 11:38
Also, btw, if anyone is looking to get into anime, watch Full Metal Alchemist : Brotherhood. Gods, ’tis a gem, a bright, brilliant gem.
Pariah
May 18, 2015 at 11:41
I watched the original, then bought the Brotherhood series on DVD. 64 episodes of heart-wrenching glorious anime. It’s really good.
Umar
May 18, 2015 at 11:44
Yeah, the original doesn’t do the story justice at all, a lot of it was filler and made up, which is understandable, but holy fudge balls…Brotherhood pulls at your heart strings like no other. That is the type of anime I love. Honestly, it’s hard to find that level of quality anime these days. A ton of anime is nothing but mindless fanservice, which I HATE.
HairyEwok
May 18, 2015 at 11:46
#StayStrongUmar. Your heart strings will survive.
Umar
May 18, 2015 at 11:47
LOLZ Watch it sometime, you’ll see, by episode 10 you’d probably have cried at least 5 times…maybe more 😀
HairyEwok
May 18, 2015 at 11:48
Only 2 anime made me cry sofar…. FairyTail and Akame ga Kill.
Umar
May 18, 2015 at 11:52
Still need to watch Akame!!….Everyone keeps telling me how awesome it is.
Matthew Holliday
May 18, 2015 at 11:56
best anime of last year. pretty close to FMA quality.
Aries
May 18, 2015 at 12:34
Akame ga kill is average for me but still ok to watch
Matthew Holliday
May 18, 2015 at 12:50
speaking of fairy tail, the latest manga chapter…. PLOT TWIST
Matthew Holliday
May 18, 2015 at 11:56
FMA brotherhood is great, sure, but it being the first suggestion in an anime/manga discussion is so 2007.
Anime is like wine, you gotta pick the correct years. or something
hunter x hunter is the new FMA.
and if you’re looking for quality, Break Blade is what you should be looking at.
Umar
May 18, 2015 at 11:59
You would honestly be surprised how many people overlooked FMA Brotherhood, I have to spread dat love. I would recommend HXH but the Mangaka is too busy playing Dragon Quest lol HXH is great, I consider the Chimera arc one the best arcs in recent anime history, and I will fight to the death to defend that statement 😛
Break Blade really is good, only 12 eps doe 🙁
Aries
May 18, 2015 at 12:33
Not many anime have that growth in the characters that hunter x has, that brought me in, reminded me of DBZ, with gohan and then vegeta
Matthew Holliday
May 18, 2015 at 12:50
aye, the fights, especially in that ant saga, were definitely DBZ level, that sense of growth brought it all together.
kuuu(UMAR)rrrr
May 18, 2015 at 12:51
Indeed. Gon really came into his character during the Ant arc which all came to an INSANE climax when he suddenly transformed. I miss HXH lol
Aries
May 18, 2015 at 12:58
That was epic, it reminded me of when Gohan went SSj 2 against cell, smacked him around, lmk
KarenNSpeaks
May 18, 2015 at 13:19
?????$89 hourly on internet@mf21//
…
???https://SuperLatestCrowdNeat.com/Bright/star…
Aries
May 18, 2015 at 12:32
Love Hunter X, want more, this extended break sucks, but thats what happens when anime catch up with the manga
Matthew Holliday
May 18, 2015 at 12:45
i want more, but i also dont, i think it should have ended, the new arc that they started on in the manga is trash sofar.
Aries
May 18, 2015 at 12:57
i know, i started reading and got bored
Matthew Holliday
May 18, 2015 at 12:59
so much to read per page, ugh.
Umar
May 18, 2015 at 11:40
Side Note : Don’t ever bother with the original Full Metal Alchemist filth, FILTH! Go straight to Brotherhood…
…
…
Okay I’ll stop now.
Lord Chaos
May 18, 2015 at 11:40
Adding a comment so Umar doesn’t feel alone.
Umar
May 18, 2015 at 11:42
Hehehe, thanx *sniff* 🙁
Kensei Seraph
May 18, 2015 at 11:59
Don’t worry, you’re not alone in this.
Kensei Seraph
May 18, 2015 at 11:58
I’d recommend watching the first 10(?) maybe 12(?) episodes of FMA just so that you know the basic backstory and history of the world.
But yes, after those few episodes (I can’t remember exactly how many) you should drop the FMA anime and start watching Brotherhood.
The feels from this series.
*wipes rain*
http://i.imgur.com/fC8nlHz.gif
Umar
May 18, 2015 at 12:02
Fuck dude….Hughes funeral!!!!!!…and then with that, when they go an tell his family he died. OH MY, I cried my heart out!!!!
I can’t even….I can’t emotion right now.
Hammersteyn
May 18, 2015 at 12:05
#staystrongUmar
Pariah
May 18, 2015 at 12:05
Brotherhood, 4th episode (or 3rd, can’t remember) with Nina. From then on, it was just one emotional ride after another.
Umar
May 18, 2015 at 12:06
OH SHIT……Nina and Alexander Chimera…OH….SHIT….Feels is coming back.
Hammersteyn
May 18, 2015 at 11:41
Nice butter knife
Admiral Chief
May 18, 2015 at 11:47
haha
Matthew Holliday
May 18, 2015 at 11:46
been watching the anime of this thats started recently, its not bad, but like, its not something Id write an article over.
if you’re looking for new underated manga, then stuff like God of Highschool and Green Worldz is where you should be looking.