Author: tcdoherty

Anyway since a lot of you are probably bemused by this here’s a bunch of reasons I like Arslan Senki and if you like some of these things too I encourage you to check it out:

-Vaguely based on the crusades

-A properly ‘casual’ view of war, that would have been common in the time it is meant to evoke. War is bad, yes, but it’s also constant, and the characters actually act as if it’s just another normal part of life, as it was/would be

-Also a story where they actually, you know, run out of weapons, and damage weapons, and have to find others…just a nice thing to see sometimes

-Echoes pre-Islamic Iranian principles, the knowledge of which is not necessary to enjoy the story but Pleases Me Greatly in how it’s handled b/c I do happen to know just enough about it to catch it

-Fantastic characters, even among the antagonists, and a good balance between serious discussions and witty banter

-Good female characters, they’re all fantastic. A minority to the men (but honestly not even as badly as most stories) but the ones that exist are Great.

-A complicated story with a lot of moving parts, a perfect amount of complexity for a political drama for the average person

-Lots of good world building but it’s not as hard to understand as, say, Twelve Kingdoms is

-Issues such as religion and slavery, core issues to the story, are actually shown to be complex issues where there’s no easy answer and the path to doing the “just” thing is extremely hard but worth the effort

-Separating the principles of a religion from those in power who can use it as propaganda

-A fantastic coming-of-age story, Arslan struggles with anxiety and is constantly trying to better himself but his companions accept and support him just as he is. They give him room and encouragement to grow without trying to force him.

-Arslan is so sweet and precious, and just. ugh. he’s so cute seriously.