Arcane (2021)

Arcane (titled onscreen as Arcane: League of Legends) is an animated steampunk, action-adventure television series created by Christian Linke and Alex Yee. It was produced by the French animation studio Fortiche, under the supervision of Riot Games, and distributed by Netflix. Set in Riot's League of Legends universe, it primarily focuses on sisters Violet / "Vi" (Hailee Steinfeld) and Powder / Jinx (Ella Purnell and Mia Sinclair Jenness) as they become embroiled in a conflict between their native underbelly of Zaun and the city of Piltover. First announced at the League of Legends tenth anniversary celebration in 2019, the series' first season was released in November 2021, and a second and final season was released in November 2024.

Arcane was met with critical acclaim, with praise for its animation, writing, worldbuilding, soundtrack, and voice acting, though the pacing of the second season saw a mixed response. Some have noted the series' appeal to both viewers who have never played League of Legends and longtime fans of the game. It was Netflix's highest-rated series within a week of its premiere, ranked first on the Netflix Top 10 Chart in 52 countries, and second on the chart in the United States. Several critics and publications have considered it to be one of the best video game adaptations ever made. The series won two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Animated Program, as well as the Annie Award for Best General Audience Animated Television Broadcast Production.

Premise

Amidst the escalating unrest between the rich, utopian city of Piltover and the seedy, oppressed underbelly of Zaun, sisters Vi and Powder find themselves embroiled in a developing conflict over clashing convictions and arcane technologies.

Voice cast and characters

Main

Hailee Steinfeld as Violet / "Vi", a Zaunite orphan and Jinx's elder sister

Ella Purnell as Powder / Jinx, a Zaunite orphan and Vi's sister

Mia Sinclair Jenness as young Powder

Kevin Alejandro as Jayce Talis, a scientist, inventor, and eventual member of the Piltover council, who is responsible for the creation of Hextech

Faustino Duran as young Jayce Talis

Katie Leung as Caitlyn Kiramman, a Piltover enforcer and Jayce's former lab assistant, who becomes Vi's love interest

Molly Harris as young Caitlyn Kiramman

Jason Spisak as Silco, a crime lord based in Zaun, Jinx's second adoptive father, and leader of the Chem-Barons

Toks Olagundoye as Mel Medarda, a member of the Piltover council who takes an interest in Jayce and Viktor's experiments, and later begins a relationship with the former. She is the disowned heir of Ambessa Medarda and becomes entangled in a conspiracy with the Black Rose.

Imogen Faires as young Mel Medarda

Harry Lloyd as Viktor, Jayce's research partner and former assistant to Cecil B. Heimerdinger, who helped Jayce in the creation of Hextech. He grows to become obsessed with using magic to perfect humanity, partly due to his physical disabilities. Viktor is originally from Zaun, but lives in Piltover.

Edan Hayhurst as young Viktor

JB Blanc as Vander, Silco's former brother-in-arms who took part in a rebellion that led to the death of Vi and Jinx's parents, leading him to adopt both of them. He is also the owner of The Last Drop bar. In the second season, he is turned into a wolf-like beast named Warwick by Singed.

Blanc also voices Irius Bolbok (season 1), a member of the Piltover council

Reed Shannon as Ekko, a childhood friend of Vi and Jinx, and the leader of the revolutionary Zaunite group, the Firelights

Miles Brown as young Ekko

Mick Wingert as Cecil B. Heimerdinger, a founder of Piltover and leader of the city's council who mentors Jayce, Viktor, and later Ekko

Wingert also voices Heenot (season 2), an accountant who works for the Chem-Barons

Amirah Vann as Sevika, Silco's right-hand woman and chief enforcer

Ellen Thomas as Ambessa Medarda, Mel's mother and a respected but brutal war general from Noxus who seeks to use Hextech weapons against the Black Rose

Brett Tucker as Dr. Corin Reveck / Singed, Viktor's former mentor, and the chief scientist for Silco and later Ambessa, who performs unethical experiments in an effort to realize immortality and save his cryopreserved daughter

Recurring

Shohreh Aghdashloo as Grayson (season 1), the original sheriff of Piltover

Remy Hii as:

Marcus (season 1), the sheriff of Piltover who is secretly a corrupt enforcer working for Silco

Tobias Kiramman, Caitlyn's father

Josh Keaton as:

Deckard (season 1), a Zaunite thug who works for Silco

Allira Salo, a member of the Piltover council with selfish interests

Bill Lobley as Huck, a resident of Zaun who becomes addicted to shimmer

Yuri Lowenthal as Mylo, Vi and Jinx's arrogant adoptive brother

Roger Craig Smith as Claggor, Vi and Jinx's strong adoptive brother

Fred Tatasciore as Benzo, Ekko's adoptive father, Vander's friend, and a pawn shop owner

Mara Junot as Shoola, a member of the Piltover council

Erica Lindbeck as Elora, Mel's assistant

Abigail Marlowe as:

Cassandra Kiramman, Caitlyn's mother and a member of the Piltover council

Renni, a Chem-Baron who runs several chemical facilities

Dave B. Mitchell as Torman Hoskel (season 1), a member of the Piltover council

Kimberly Brooks as:

Sky Young, Viktor's assistant who has an unrequited crush on him

Margot (season 2; mute in season 1), a Chem-Baron who provides prostitution services

Miyavi as Finn (season 1), a Chem-Baron who supplies weaponry and seeks to usurp Silco

Stewart Scudamore as Rictus (season 2; mute in season 1), Ambessa's bodyguard

Earl Baylon as Loris (season 2), a Piltover enforcer who befriends Vi and joins Caitlyn's strike team

Katy Townsend as Maddie Nolen (season 2), a Piltover enforcer who befriends Caitlyn and joins her strike team

Lucy Lowe as Isha (season 2), a Zaunite orphan adopted by Jinx

Ashley Holliday as Gert (season 2), a prominent member of the Jinxers resistance group

Minnie Driver as LeBlanc / the Illusionary Sorceress (season 2), the leader of the Black Rose who is at odds with Ambessa

Guest

Imagine Dragons as The Last Drop's band (season 1)

JID as The Last Drop's rapper (season 1)

Ray Chen as an orchestra concert soloist (season 1)

Krizia Bajos as Ximena Talis (season 1; mute in season 2), Jayce's mother who was rescued by a mysterious wizard in her past

Mira Furlan as Babette (season 1; mute in season 2), the madame of a brothel in Zaun

Salli Saffioti as Amara, a member of Piltover's merchant guild who is secretly a member of the Black Rose

Robbie Daymond as Scar (season 2; mute in season 1), Ekko's right-hand man and second-in-command of the Firelights

Lenny Citrano as Smeech (season 2; mute in season 1), a Chem-Baron who sells cybernetic enhancements

Lex Lang as Chross (season 2; mute in season 1), an elderly Chem-Baron who runs a network of informants

Eve Lindley as Lest (season 2), a healer working for Salo who also spies on him for Mel

Keston John as Kino Medarda (season 2), Mel's deceased older brother

Jeannie Tirado as Felicia (season 2), Vi and Jinx's deceased mother

The League of Legends character Orianna also appears in the second season, as well as recurring character Steb, both of whom do not have a credited voice actor.

Episodes

Season 1 (2021)

Season 2 (2024)

Production

Arcane's production differed from standard industry practice. The idea for the series first came from Christian Linke in 2015 after Riot had initially delved into other media to help strengthen the connections players had with the IP such as cinematic trailers and music videos. But at that point, none of the promotional content had any dialogue. Next, instead of finding a new animation studio that specialized in television animation, Riot decided to continue their partnership with Fortiche; who had produced music videos for them. Riot also targeted the "adult-minded" animation market instead of more established markets for video game to television animation adaptations.

Arcane was first announced at the League of Legends 10th anniversary celebration in 2019, and is set in Riot's League of Legends fictional universe. In September 2021, it was announced that Hailee Steinfeld, Ella Purnell, Kevin Alejandro, Katie Leung, Jason Spisak, Toks Olagundoye, JB Blanc and Harry Lloyd had joined the voice cast.

Riot Games CEO Nicolo Laurent has stated it took six years to develop the first season of Arcane.

On November 20, 2021, following the conclusion of Arcane's first season, Riot Games and Netflix announced that a second season was in production for a planned post-2022 release. In June 2024, it was announced that the second season would be the series' last; the season debuted on November 9, 2024, and concluded along with the series on November 23. The combined budget for both seasons is reported to be $250 million. Riot Games co-founder Mark Merrill contested this amount, stating that "the $250 million headline is not even accurate because that includes marketing expenses. The actual creation budget is significantly less than that...I'll give you a ballpark range. It's somewhere between 60 to 75% of that estimate."

Broadcast

Marketing

Riot Games promoted the launch of Arcane through events in their games, including League of Legends, Legends of Runeterra, Teamfight Tactics, League of Legends: Wild Rift, and Valorant as "RiotX Arcane". It also launched promotional collaborations with non-Riot games such as PUBG Mobile, Fortnite, and Among Us.

On November 6, 2021, for the global premiere of the series, Riot Games streamed the first episode on Twitch. Some content creators were allowed to co-stream the first three episodes of the series once they received permission from Riot Games, a first for a Netflix series, which also allowed viewers to retrieve in-game drops during the premiere. Drops were only included in the games League of Legends (Arcane Capsule), Wild Rift ("A Single Tear" Emote), Teamfight Tactics (Gizmos & Gadgets Little Legends Egg), Legends of Runeterra ("Fascinating" Emote), and Valorant ("Fishbones" Gun Buddy). The premiere was watched by a concurrent 1.8 million viewers on Twitch. On November 21, Netflix and Riot Games announced a partnership with Secret Cinema for an in-person Arcane experience in Los Angeles, California.

Release

Originally set for a 2020 release, the show's first season was delayed for release in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was scheduled for a simultaneous November 6, 2021 release on Netflix and China's Tencent Video, with the series broken into nine episodes, and with three episode "acts" being released once a week over three weeks. The same release format was used for the second and final season.

Leaks

On August 9, 2024, Netflix stated that one of its post-production vendors had been compromised, which led to a number of episodes from several Netflix titles, including three episodes from the second season of Arcane, being leaked online. The leaks have been described as "the worst anime leak of all time" by some media outlets. It was later reported that the company Iyuno was the source of the security breach. Netflix later issued a statement, saying it would take action against those responsible for the leaks. On November 21, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California issued a subpoena, ordering Discord to provide information of the user that claimed responsibility for the leaks.

Home media

In June 2024, it was announced that GKIDS had acquired the home video rights to Arcane. The digital copy of the first season was released on September 24, 2024, followed by the 4K Blu-ray edition on October 8, 2024.

In February 2025, it was announced the second and final season would be released on 4K Blu-ray by GKIDS in 2025.

Soundtrack

On November 20, 2021, songs from the first season were released on Amazon Music. The series had a different opening theme in China, it being "孤勇者 (Lonely Warrior)", performed by Eason Chan. The soundtrack of the second season was released on November 23, 2024.

Reception

Critical reception

Season 1

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Arcane's first season has a 100% approval rating, with an average rating of 9.20/10, based on 30 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Arcane makes an arresting first impression, combining a spectacular mix of 2D and 3D animation with an emotionally compelling story to deliver a video game adaptation that could become legendary." The series also became Netflix's number-one show in November 2021, setting the record as Netflix's highest-rated series so far within a week of its premiere, ranked first on the Netflix Top 10 Chart in 52 countries, and ranked second on the chart in the United States.

Writing for IGN, Rafael Motamayor called the first season of Arcane a "classic in the making, and the nail in the coffin of the so-called video game curse." He noted that the show worked for fans of League of Legends and newcomers alike, stating that "the character stories are what keep you engaged episode after episode; the lore is just icing on the cake." He also praised the voice cast, highlighting the performances of Leung, Purnell, Aghdashloo and Steinfeld, calling the latter performance the show's standout. Praising the animation, Motamayor called it the "most stunning piece of animation since Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" and compared it to Invincible in terms of episode structure. He concluded by saying that Arcane "delivers a killing blow to the idea that video games cannot be masterfully adapted... with compelling characters, an endearing story, and fascinating lore and worldbuilding, as well as striking visuals," calling it a "once-in-a-generation masterpiece" and giving it a 10 out of 10 rating.

Andrew Webster of The Verge praised the "fantasy-meets-steampunk world" and how no knowledge of League was needed to understand the show. Despite calling Act 1 "a fairly typical fantasy tale" he lauded the animation, saying that "each frame looks like a gorgeous piece of hand-painted concept art; in motion, it's like nothing I've ever seen" and that "it's also a world that feels lived-in and fully realized." Matt Cabral of Common Sense Media called the first season "visually stunning" and that it "features the sort of nuanced characterizations, thoughtful storytelling, and rich worldbuilding typically associated with big-budget, big-screen epics." He also took note of the blend of fantasy, steampunk and sci-fi with emphasis on how the story puts a "fresh spin on the heavily recycled premise." Cabral concluded that viewers didn't need to have played League to appreciate the show.

Reviewing the first four episodes of the first season, Tara Bennett of Paste enjoyed the way that "[the creators] purposefully made an adult animated drama that unflinchingly utilizes violence, adult language, and very dark storylines when needed to make the lives of the large ensemble cast resonate." Bennett favorably compared the series to Game of Thrones, Shadow and Bone, Castlevania and BioShock. She was also positive about the "nuance and subtle facial movements" of Fortiche's animation combined with the performances of Steinfeld, Jenness, Purnell and Spisak. Bennett called "Enemy" by Imagine Dragons "infectious" and that the show is "the new benchmark for what can be done when it comes to successfully translating worthy videogame universes into a different medium."

Many publications have considered the series to be one of the best video game adaptations of all time.

Season 2

On Rotten Tomatoes, the second season has a rating of 100% based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 8.90/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Expansive in scope while hurtling towards the endgame at a rollicking pace, Arcane's second and final season is a supremely satisfying capper to an epic saga." Review aggregator Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the second season a score of 86 out of 100 based on seven critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

While the reception for the season was mostly positive, the show's pacing and narrative choices faced some scrutiny. In a more critical review for Reactor magazine, Kathryn Porter wrote that "With Fortiche at the helm of the animation, Arcane will always look incredible no matter how good or bad the writing is," but that although "everyone lands where they are supposed to by the time the series concludes... it is how they reach those conclusions that feels a little hollow in the wake of a far superior first season". Rafeal Motamayor of IGN heavily praised the first two acts of the season, but was more critical towards Act III, saying, "It retroactively makes the entire second season feel lacking, because what's set up in previous episodes is either ignored or ends up amounting to very little." Erik Kain also criticized the season's pacing, criticizing Act I for its dialogue and the lack of Silco in the narrative, and describing Act II as "narrative whiplash". Kain would describe Act III as "gorgeous to behold" but criticized the rushed nature of the act and finale, especially in regards to Jinx and Vi's character arcs, describing their conflict as being resolved with "barely an inconvenience". Angelo Delos Trinos of Comic Book Resources also noted pacing issues in his critical review of the season, taking aim at the loss in sociopolitical commentary through the season's choice to have Zaun and Piltover against a common threat in the form of Noxus, stating the path of "least resistance" resulted in the season being "odd and disappointing". The character of Caitlyn Kiramman was a point of contention for the season, with Jacob Slankard of Collider criticizing the lack of commentary for Caitlyn's decision to hit Vi which he labelled as "thoughtless domestic violence", stating that "it's too quickly resolved by lip service to the notion of who does and doesn't get a second chance, with no true confrontation about how their relationship will be repaired moving forward". Laura Pollaco of The Mary Sue attributed issues with Caitlyn's redemption arc as due to the season's pacing, elaborating that "Caitlyn's descent into fascism before bouncing back was fast, and Vi's ability to trust her again was even faster."

LGBTQ representation

A central part of the plot was the lesbian romance between Violet and Caitlyn. Writer Amanda Overton stated that they were the main couple "from the very beginning," but that the lack of an on-screen kiss in the first season led to accusations of queerbaiting. Vi and Caitlyn consummate their relationship in the second season with an on-screen sex scene, which won an Annie Award for Storyboarding. Co-creator Christian Linke claimed that there was an extended version of the scene that was edited down, leading to a petition calling for its release. Storyboarder Joséphine Meis stated that there was no extended version of the scene in existence. According to Variety, the love scene was the most-captured scene in Netflix history. Jacob Slankard of Collider took issue with certain moments between the two, specifically with Caitlyn hitting Vi which he regarded as lesbian domestic violence and as a detriment to what was otherwise a great depiction of a queer relationship.

Accolades

Arcane became the first streaming television series based on a video game, as well as the first video game adaptation overall to win both Annie Awards and Primetime Emmy Awards, as the former became the first streaming series to both win the most awards from the same nominations in a single year, and to sweep the Annies with nine, while the latter won Outstanding Animated Program, becoming the first Netflix series to do so. Arcane also won the inaugural category Best Adaptation (awarded to media based on video games) at The Game Awards 2022.

Other media

Prequel novel

A prequel tie-in novel written by C. L. Clark, titled Ambessa: Chosen of the Wolf, was published on February 18, 2025. The novel focuses on Ambessa Medarda before the events of the series.

Future and spin-off series

Spin-offs featuring characters from other regions in the League of Legends universe are in development.

References

External links

Arcane on Netflix

Arcane at IMDb

Arcane: Bridging the Rift | League of Legends - Five part "behind the scenes" video series documenting production