Arcane | |
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Also known as | Arcane: League of Legends |
Genre | |
Created by |
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Based on | League of Legends by Riot Games |
Showrunners | |
Directed by |
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Voices of | |
Theme music composer | |
Opening theme | "Enemy" |
Composers |
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Country of origin | |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 2 |
No. of episodes | 15 |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Running time | 39–44 minutes |
Production companies |
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Budget | $250 million [3] |
Original release | |
Network | Netflix |
Release | November 6, 2021 – present |
Arcane (titled onscreen as Arcane: League of Legends) is an adult 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 Vi and Jinx. The series was announced at the League of Legends tenth anniversary celebration in 2019, and its first season was released between November 6 and 20, 2021. The second and final season premiered on November 9, 2024 and will continue to be released through to November 23.
Arcane was released to widespread acclaim, with praise directed at its animation, story, worldbuilding, action sequences, characters, emotional weight, sound, and voice acting. Some have noted the series' appeal both to casual viewers who have never played League of Legends and to long-time fans of the game. [4] It also set the record as Netflix's highest-rated series at the time 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. Several critics and publications considered it one of the best video game adaptations ever made. [5] In 2022, the series became the first streaming series to win a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program and won an Annie Award for Best General Audience Animated Television Broadcast Production.
Amidst the escalating unrest between the rich, utopian city of Piltover and the seedy, oppressed underbelly of Zaun, sisters Vi and Jinx find themselves embroiled in a developing conflict over clashing convictions and arcane technologies. [6]
Season | Episodes | Originally released | ||
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First released | Last released | |||
1 | 9 | November 6, 2021 | November 20, 2021 | |
2 [9] | 9 | November 9, 2024 | November 23, 2024 |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |||||||
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Act 1 | ||||||||||||
1 | 1 | "Welcome to the Playground" | Pascal Charrue & Arnaud Delord | Christian Linke & Alex Yee | November 6, 2021 | |||||||
Sisters Powder and Vi find their parents dead among the bodies and the rubble of a battle on a bridge. They are taken in by Vander, the leader of the failed rebellion, as his own children. Years later, Vi and Powder rob a Piltover penthouse with their adopted brothers, Mylo and Claggor. Powder steals a set of magical crystals and accidentally shatters one. This causes an explosion that destroys a large portion of the building. Returning to the undercity, the siblings encounter Deckard and his thugs; while they beat them in a fistfight, Powder is chased and loses the loot. Vander, now a community leader in Zaun, scolds the children for their carelessness and attempts to smooth things over with Grayson, the Sheriff of the enforcers, and her subordinate Marcus. Vi berates Mylo for calling Powder a "jinx" and reassures her sister that things will get better. In the lowest parts of the undercity, crime lord Silco extracts information from Deckard and tests a new mutagen known as Shimmer on a rat together with Singed, a Zaunite scientist. | ||||||||||||
2 | 2 | "Some Mysteries Are Better Left Unsolved" | Pascal Charrue & Arnaud Delord | Nick Luddington | November 6, 2021 | |||||||
The crystals that Powder stole turn out to belong to Jayce Talis, a student at Piltover's academy. Piltover's ruling council has him testify about using illegal equipment in unsanctioned experiments. As a child, Jayce was saved by arcane magic and believes it can be a new resource for Piltover's evolution. The academy expels him when he admits the magical nature of the experiments, and his research is ordered to be destroyed. On the verge of suicide, his beliefs are renewed when Viktor, the disabled assistant of the academy's Professor Heimerdinger, offers to help him. In Zaun, Marcus pressures Vander to reveal the true culprits of the robbery, while the Zaunites pressure him to fight back against the interference of the enforcers. He chooses to keep his family safe and remain neutral, leaving some unsure of his leadership. Vi decides to turn herself in. Meanwhile, Silco manipulates Deckard into swallowing a vial of Shimmer. | ||||||||||||
3 | 3 | "The Base Violence Necessary for Change" | Pascal Charrue & Arnaud Delord | Ash Brannon | November 6, 2021 | |||||||
Vander stops Vi from turning herself in, offering himself to Grayson instead. However, Silco intervenes and captures Vander after a heavily mutated Deckard kills Grayson and her men, sparing only Marcus. Vi, Mylo, and Claggor go to rescue Vander, leaving Powder alone. In Piltover, Jayce and Viktor secretly work with the crystals under the discretion of councilor Mel Medarda and invent Hextech, a new arcane technology. It is revealed that Vander betrayed Silco in the past and tried to drown him. In the undercity, the siblings reach Vander but are cut off by Silco. Vi fights off Silco's thugs but is badly beaten by Deckard. In attempting to save her, Powder causes an explosion with the stolen crystals, killing Claggor and Mylo. Vander, wounded by Silco, takes Shimmer, kills Deckard, and saves Vi before dying. In her grief, Vi hits Powder, calls her a "jinx", and walks away. Seeing Silco approach Powder, Vi attempts to return to her but is ambushed and captured by Marcus. Believing Vi abandoned her, Powder breaks down in Silco's arms. He embraces Powder, and tells her that "[they]'ll show them all". | ||||||||||||
Act 2 | ||||||||||||
4 | 4 | "Happy Progress Day!" | Pascal Charrue & Arnaud Delord | David Dunne | November 13, 2021 | |||||||
Several years later, Piltover prospers with Jayce's Hextech technology and celebrates its 200th anniversary on a holiday called "Progress Day". Jayce initially hopes to reveal his and Viktor's latest gemstone device at the ceremony but decides not to after Heimerdinger warns him of its potential dangers. Elsewhere, Powder, now a teenager going by the name of Jinx, works for Silco, who she views as a surrogate father. She helps him smuggle materials, mainly Shimmer, into Piltover. A job goes awry when the Firelights, an undercity gang, interfere. While fighting, Jinx briefly mistakes a Firelight for Vi and has a violent breakdown. Caitlyn, an enforcer and Jayce's childhood friend, investigates what happened. Attempting to repair her damaged reputation with Silco, Jinx steals Jayce's gemstone and sets off an explosion that kills six enforcers. Jayce is given a Piltover council seat to protect their people from the stolen gemstone. Looking for information, Caitlyn travels to Stillwater prison and encounters an adult Vi, who has been imprisoned there by Marcus. | ||||||||||||
5 | 5 | "Everybody Wants to Be My Enemy" | Pascal Charrue & Arnaud Delord | Amanda Overton | November 13, 2021 | |||||||
Using forged paperwork, Caitlyn releases Vi from prison because of her knowledge of the undercity and works with her to find Silco. Meanwhile, it is revealed that Marcus was promoted to Sheriff with Silco's help. In exchange, Marcus allows Shimmer to be smuggled and blames the Progress Day bombing and robbery on the Firelights. Jinx refuses to work on the new Hextech gemstones because of the trauma of killing her family with a similar device. In response, Silco takes her to the river where Vander tried to drown him and tries to convince Powder to accept her new identity as Jinx via a baptism. Back in Piltover, Councilor Medarda starts a romantic relationship with Jayce while helping him navigate the complex political sphere he now finds himself in as a councilor. Meanwhile, Viktor's illness worsens, and he grows increasingly desperate to find a cure through Hextech technology. Vi tracks down Silco's second-in-command, Sevika, who reveals Jinx's relationship with Silco, a shock that allows Sevika to stab her. Sevika is injured by a rifle shot from Caitlyn, allowing the pair to escape. Meanwhile, Jinx manages to solve the hextech and recreate a machine similar to Jayce’s to harness its power. Sevika returns to Silco and informs him that Vi has returned. | ||||||||||||
6 | 6 | "When These Walls Come Tumbling Down" | Pascal Charrue & Arnaud Delord | Alex Yee | November 13, 2021 | |||||||
After Viktor collapses in the lab from his illness, he and Jayce begin to study the "Hexcore", a new Hextech machine that reacts to organic matter and has the potential to cure it. Heimerdinger tries to have it destroyed due to its danger, prompting Jayce to orchestrate his removal from the council. Viktor approaches Singed, his childhood mentor, to help perfect the Hexcore. Silco, now aware of Vi's reappearance, orders Marcus to kill her and Caitlyn before they can resurface in Piltover. Marcus presents false proof that the Firelights were behind the attacks; Jayce orders a bridge blockade to protect Piltover. Jinx interrogates Sevika and learns of Vi's return. Vi and Caitlyn find a safehouse in the lowest slums of Zaun so Vi can recover from her fight with Sevika, but Silco finds them after bribing the local addicts with Shimmer. After escaping, the pair notice the blue smoke from a flare Vi gave Jinx before their ill-fated mission to rescue Vander years ago, and the sisters reunite. However, Caitlyn's presence triggers Jinx's mistrust. The Firelights intervene, steal the gemstone, and kidnap Caitlyn and Vi. Jinx, left behind, screams in despair. | ||||||||||||
Act 3 | ||||||||||||
7 | 7 | "The Boy Savior" | Pascal Charrue & Arnaud Delord | Nick Luddington | November 20, 2021 | |||||||
The Firelights leader is actually Vi and Powder's childhood friend Ekko, now a gruff and battle-hardened warrior. After Vander's death, Silco took over the undercity and made the populace dependent on Shimmer; the Firelights have been leading efforts to thwart him and rehabilitate addicts. Ekko warns Vi that Powder is gone and only Jinx remains, something Vi refuses to accept. Meanwhile, Singed provides Viktor with a variant of Shimmer. Jayce's blockades increase unrest between the two cities. Viktor decides not to tell Jayce about using Shimmer to enable the Hexcore to modify his failing body after Jayce accidentally insults Viktor's undercity heritage. Caitlyn convinces Ekko to return the gemstone to Piltover, but Vi parts ways with them to find Jinx. Marcus stops Ekko and Caitlyn at the blockade, shoots Ekko, and prepares to kill Caitlyn. Seeing this, Vi runs back to help her. Envious of Caitlyn, Jinx detonates robotic insects on the bridge, killing Marcus and his enforcers. Ekko and Jinx face off as Vi and injured Caitlyn flee to Piltover. Ekko bests her in a fight but hesitates to deliver the final blow, allowing Jinx to detonate a grenade near them. | ||||||||||||
8 | 8 | "Oil and Water" | Pascal Charrue & Arnaud Delord | Ben St. John & Mollie St. John | November 20, 2021 | |||||||
Silco finds the heavily injured Jinx in the explosion's aftermath and sees that she managed to steal back the gemstone. He takes her to Singed to heal her wounds. As Jinx endures Singed's treatment, she hallucinates that it is Vi and Caitlyn inflicting the pain. He injects her with Shimmer, turning her eyes violet. Meanwhile, Mel's mother arrives in Piltover following the assassination of Mel's brother and attempts to prepare her for the brewing war with Zaun. While trying to help the locals of Zaun, Heimerdinger encounters Ekko, who injured his leg escaping from Jinx's grenade. Meanwhile, Viktor succeeds in healing his body through the Hexcore and is able to run for the first time. However, further experimentation results in the death of his childhood friend and assistant, Sky. After failing to convince the council to intervene against Silco, Vi abandons Caitlyn and partners with Jayce to take down Silco's Shimmer factories. Armed with Hextech weaponry, they defeat a group of Shimmer-enhanced soldiers, but Jayce accidentally kills a child worker. After returning home, Caitlyn is kidnapped by Jinx. | ||||||||||||
9 | 9 | "The Monster You Created" | Pascal Charrue & Arnaud Delord | Christian Linke & Alex Yee | November 20, 2021 | |||||||
The child's death makes Jayce realize the potential cost of intra-city war. He brokers a peace treaty with Silco, offering Zaun's independence in exchange for Jinx. Ekko reveals his hideout to Heimerdinger. Feeling guilty over the death of Sky, Viktor makes Jayce promise to destroy the Hexcore. Meanwhile, Silco laments choosing between Zaun and Jinx, who overhears him. After beating Sevika in a fight, Vi is abducted by Jinx. She, Silco, and Caitlyn awaken restrained in the warehouse where Vander died. Jinx gives Vi a pistol, telling her to choose between Caitlyn and herself. Vi refuses and appeals to her childhood memories, causing Jinx to suffer a traumatic attack. Silco breaks free and shoots at Vi but misses, and Jinx guns him down. Silco reaffirms his paternal love for her before dying. Jinx, distraught, finally accepts her new identity and acknowledges that she and Vi have diverged. Jinx weaponizes the gemstone into a rocket launcher and fires at the Piltover council as they approve Jayce's proposal to grant Zaun independence, leaving their fates unknown. |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Act 1 | ||||||||||||
10 | 1 | "Heavy Is the Crown" | Arnaud Delord, Bart Maunoury, Pascal Charrue, Etienne Mattera | Amanda Overton | November 9, 2024 | |||||||
Jayce, Mel, and Councilors Shoola and Salo survive Jinx's rocket attack on the Council, but Councilors Haskel, Bolbok, and Cassandra—Caitlyn's mother—are killed. Viktor is mortally wounded; Jayce reneges on his promise to destroy the Hexcore and instead uses it to save him. The Council plans retaliation against Zaun, though Mel opposes using Hextech weaponry. A despondent Vi refuses Caitlyn's offer to join the enforcers, recalling the enforcers killing her parents during Vander's last riot attempt. After learning from junior officer Maddie Nolan that Caitlyn vouched for her following Jayce's attack in Zaun, Vi attends the memorial for the fallen councilors. The memorial is attacked by Chem-Baroness Renni in revenge for Jayce killing her son. Vi, Caitlyn, and the enforcers fight off the attackers while Jayce struggles to defend himself from Renni. The attack is ultimately repelled by Ambessa and her soldiers. Realizing that the use of Hextech weaponry is inevitable, Jayce begins developing new arms and provides Caitlyn, now promoted to Commander, with a custom rifle. Caitlyn assembles a task force, including Vi, to confront Jinx and the remaining Chem-Barons. Meanwhile, Singed finds a pair of wolves in a cave and prepares to use a toxic gas canister on them. | ||||||||||||
11 | 2 | "Watch It All Burn" | Arnaud Delord, Bart Maunoury, Marietta Ren | Nick Luddington | November 9, 2024 | |||||||
After Silco's death, Zaun devolves into anarchy as Chem-Barons Smeech, Chross, and Margot fight for control of the Undercity, despite Sevika's pleas for unity. Smeech proposes surrendering Jinx to Piltover in exchange for ceasing the hostilities, but Sevika refuses. Jinx meets a young orphan named Isha who follows her after Jinx saved her from attackers. In Piltover, Viktor awakes from his coma to a fully metal-clad body and, realizing that Jayce broke his promise, parts ways with him. He returns to Zaun, where he inspires a cult-like following after healing Huck, a Shimmer addict, with his newfound powers. Ekko's Firelights struggle with the influx of refugees from Zaun's civil war, and the Tree begins to show signs of corruption. Ekko and Heimerdinger sneak into the Academy and discuss the matter with Jayce. Caitlyn's team raids Jinx's childhood arcade; Jinx escapes after spotting Vi in full enforcer attire, causing her to break down. She is ambushed by Smeech and his crew but is saved by Isha and Sevika. Jinx reveals to Sevika that she intends to "finish [off] what's left of [her] family". Singed begins experiments on the organs of the wolves he caught. | ||||||||||||
12 | 3 | "Finally Got the Name Right" | Arnaud Delord, Bart Maunoury, Christelle Abgrall | Henry Jones | November 9, 2024 | |||||||
Caitlyn plans to return "the Gray"—collected factory pollutants from Piltover— via the ventilation system. Concerned by Caitlyn's increased aggression after her mother's death, Vi implores her not to change; Caitlyn promises not to before kissing Vi. After a failed assassination attempt on Ambessa, the Black Rose, a Noxian cabal, abducts Mel. Ekko, Jayce and Heimerdinger explore Viktor's theory of "wild runes", arcane anomalies caused by Hextech exploitation. In the Hex Vault, they discover a massive mutating orb contaminating Zaun. Deep within Zaun, Vi and Caitlyn confront Jinx and are ambushed by Sevika. While Caitlyn fights Sevika off, Vi duels and subdues Jinx. Jinx accepts death at Vi’s hands, but Isha intervenes and shields Jinx. Vi disarms Caitlyn after she doesn't heed her calls to stop shooting at Jinx at the risk of hitting Isha. Sevika detonates Jinx's paint bombs and opens an air duct, spreading the Gray across Piltover as she escapes with Jinx and Isha. Angered that Vi's actions have resulted in Jinx getting away again, Caitlyn hits Vi and leaves her behind, causing Vi to break down. Ambessa—revealed to have orchestrated the memorial attack—blames the assassination attempt on Zaun to engineer the imposition of martial law, before appointing Caitlyn as commander-in-chief, which she accepts. Meanwhile, Singed is revealed to have created a human-wolf hybrid. | ||||||||||||
Act 2 | ||||||||||||
13 | 4 | "Paint the Town Blue" | Arnaud Delord, Bart Maunoury, Marietta Ren | Graham Mcneill | November 16, 2024 | |||||||
14 | 5 | "Blisters and Bedrock" | Arnaud Delord, Bart Maunoury | Kristina Felske, Giovanna Sarquis | November 16, 2024 | |||||||
15 | 6 | "The Message Hidden Within the Pattern" | Arnaud Delord, Bart Maunoury | Alex Yee | November 16, 2024 |
Riot Games CEO Nicolo Laurent said it took six years to make the first season of Arcane. [10]
Arcane's production differed from standard industry practice. The idea for Arcane 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. [11]
Arcane was first announced at the League of Legends 10th anniversary celebration in 2019, [12] and is set in Riot's League of Legends fictional universe, [13] [14] 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. [15]
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. [16] [10] In June 2024, it was announced that the second season would be the series' last. [17] The second season is set to run from November 9 to 23. [9] The combined budget of both seasons is reported to be $250 million. [3]
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". [18] It launched promotional collaborations with non-Riot games such as PUBG Mobile , [19] Fortnite, [20] and Among Us . [21]
On November 6, 2021, for the global premiere, 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. [22] 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). [23] The premiere received 1.8 million concurrent viewers on Twitch.
On November 21, Netflix and Riot Games partnered with Secret Cinema to bring players directly into the world of Arcane with an in-person experience in Los Angeles, California. The experience was "equipped with bespoke backstories and missions, the line between actors and audience is truly blurred as players explore the dark and dangerous underworld and encounter its inhabitants—the strange, the sinister and sometimes even the friendly". [24]
Originally set for a 2020 release, the show was rescheduled for a release in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [25] It was scheduled for a simultaneous November 6, 2021, release on Netflix and China's Tencent Video, [26] with the series broken into nine episodes, with three episode "acts" being released once a week over three weeks. [27] [28]
In June 2024, it was announced that GKIDS had acquired the home video rights to Arcane. [29] The digital copy was released on September 24, 2024, and the 4K Blu-ray on 8 October. [30]
On November 20, 2021, songs from the first season were released on Amazon Music. [31] The series had a different opening theme in China, "孤勇者 (Gu Yong Zhe)" performed by Eason Chan.
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported 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." [32] The series also became Netflix's number-one show in November 2021, [33] 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. [34]
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, saying 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. [35]
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." [36] 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. [37]
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 from 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." [38]
Many publications considered the series one of the best video game adaptations. [39] [40] [41]
Arcane became the first streaming television series based on a video game as well as the first video game adaptation 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. [42] Arcane also won the inaugural category Best Adaptation (awarded to media based on video games) from The Game Awards 2022. [43]
Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
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2022 | Annecy International Animated Film Festival | Best Television Production | "When These Walls Come Tumbling Down" | Nominated | [44] |
Annie Awards | Best General Audience Animated Television/Broadcast Production | "When These Walls Come Tumbling Down" | Won | [45] | |
Outstanding Achievement for Animated Effects in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production | Guillaume Degroote, Aurélien Ressencourt, Martin Touzé, Frédéric Macé, and Jérôme Dupré (for "Oil and Water") | Won | |||
Outstanding Achievement for Character Animation in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Léa Chervet (for "The Monster You Created") | Won | |||
Outstanding Achievement for Character Design in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Evan Monteiro (for "Some Mysteries Better Left Unsolved") | Won | |||
Outstanding Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Pascal Charrue, Arnaud Delord, and Barthelemy Maunoury (for "The Monster You Created") | Won | |||
Outstanding Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Julien Georgel, Aymeric Kevin, and Arnaud Baudry (for "Happy Progress Day!") | Won | |||
Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Simon Andriveau (for "When These Walls Come Tumbling Down") | Won | |||
Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Ella Purnell (for "When These Walls Come Tumbling Down") | Won | |||
Outstanding Achievement for Writing in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production | Christian Linke and Alex Yee (for "The Monster You Created") | Won | |||
Billboard Music Awards | Top Soundtrack | Various Artists | Nominated | [46] | |
British Film Editors Cut Above Awards | Best Edited Series: Animation | Ivan Bilancio, Gilad Carmel, Roberto Fernandez, Lawrence Gan, Martin Jay, Benjamin Massoubre, Ernesto Matamoros Cox, Nazim Meslem, Emmanuel Pilinski, and David Ian Salter | Won | [47] | |
Dorian Awards | Best Animated Show | Arcane | Nominated | [48] | |
Golden Reel Awards | Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Non-Theatrical Animation | Brad Beaumont, Eliot Connors, Alexander Temple, Shannon Beaumont, Alexander Ephraim, Dan O' Connell, John Cucci, and Alex Seaver (for "When These Walls Come Tumbling Down") | Won | [49] | |
Hollywood Critics Association TV Awards | Best Streaming Animated Series or Television Movie | Arcane | Won | [50] | |
Hugo Awards | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form | Christian Linke, Alex Yee, Conor Sheehy, Ash Brannon, Pascal Charrue, and Arnaud Delord (for "The Monster You Created") | Nominated | [51] | |
Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Animated Program | Christian Linke, Marc Merrill, Brandon Beck, Jane Chung, Thomas Vu, Jerôme Combe, Melinda Wunsch Dilger, Pascal Charrue, Arnaud Delord, Alex Yee, Ash Brannon, Conor Sheehy, Barthelemy Maunoury, and David Lyerly (for "When These Walls Come Tumbling Down") | Won | [52] | |
Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation | Brad Beaumont, Eliot Connors, Shannon Beaumon, Alex Ephraim, Alexander Temple, Alex Seaver, Dan O'Connel, and John Cucci (for "When These Walls Come Tumbling Down") | Nominated | |||
Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation | Bruno Couchinho (background designer)(for "When These Walls Come Tumbling Down") | Won | [53] | ||
Julien Georgel (art direction)(for "Happy Progress Day!") | Won | ||||
Anne-Laure To (color script artist)(for "The Boy Savior") | Won | ||||
Saturn Awards | Best Animated Series on Television | Arcane | Nominated | [54] | |
The Game Awards | Best Adaptation | Arcane | Won | [55] |
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Anime-influenced animation is a type of non-Japanese work of animation that is noticeably similar to or inspired by anime. Generally, the term anime refers to a style of animation originating from Japan. As Japanese anime became increasingly popular, Western animation studios began implementing some visual stylizations typical in anime—such as exaggerated facial expressions, "super deformed" versions of characters, and white radical lines appearing on the screen when something shocking happens or when someone screams, etc.
Titmouse, Inc. is an American animation studio based in Los Angeles, California founded in 1999 that develops and produces animated television programming, feature films, music videos, title sequences, commercials, and short films. The name is derived of the titmouse, which serves as the company's mascot.
League of Legends (LoL), commonly referred to as League, is a 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game developed and published by Riot Games. Inspired by Defense of the Ancients, a custom map for Warcraft III, Riot's founders sought to develop a stand-alone game in the same genre. Since its release in October 2009, League has been free-to-play and is monetized through purchasable character customization. The game is available for Microsoft Windows and macOS.
Riot Games, Inc. is an American video game developer, publisher, and esports tournament organizer based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in September 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill to develop League of Legends and went on to develop several spin-off games and the unrelated first-person shooter game Valorant. In 2011, Riot Games was acquired by Chinese conglomerate Tencent. Its publishing arm, Riot Forge, oversaw the production of League of Legends spin-offs by other developers until its shutdown in January 2024. The company worked with Fortiche to release Arcane, a television series based on the League of Legends universe.
Hailee Steinfeld is an American actress and singer. She had her breakthrough with the western film True Grit (2010), which earned her various accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award.
Jay Oliva is an American film director, producer, and storyboard artist working at Los Angeles–based animation studio Lex+Otis.
Jinx is a character in Riot Games' League of Legends media franchise. The character was introduced as a playable champion in the October 2013 update for the 2009 video game of the same name, which was complemented by the animated music video "Get Jinxed" to commemorate her official debut. In the game's fictional universe, Jinx is a manic and impulsive criminal from Zaun who serves as the archenemy of the Piltover enforcer Vi. The Netflix animated series Arcane explores the character's origin story as Powder, Vi's younger sister who, following a series of family tragedies, is taken in and raised by the crime lord Silco.
Piltover Enforcer Vi is a fictional character from Riot Games' League of Legends media franchise. She was introduced as a playable character, or "Champion" within series lore, in a December 2012 update for the 2009 multiplayer online battle arena video game of the same name, which was complemented by an official upload track to commemorate her introduction. She is presented as an impulsive and contemptuous woman who uses a massive pair of gauntlets powered with magical energy as her weapon of choice. Although she is nicknamed The Piltover Enforcer because of her association with the city's Guardians, she is a former criminal who hails from Zaun, originally the undercity region of Piltover. She is the archenemy as well as elder sister of the terrorist Jinx, another League of Legends Champion.
Netflix Animation is an American animation studio and a subsidiary of Netflix, Inc. It was founded in March 2018. The studio primarily produces and develops animated programs and feature films hosted on the Netflix streaming service.
The Legend of Vox Machina is an American adult animated fantasy action television series produced by Metapigeon, Titmouse, Inc., and Amazon Studios, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video on January 28, 2022. The series is based on the first campaign of the Dungeons & Dragons web series Critical Role. It stars Laura Bailey, Taliesin Jaffe, Ashley Johnson, Matthew Mercer, Liam O'Brien, Marisha Ray, Sam Riegel, and Travis Willingham, reprising their roles from the campaign.
The Cuphead Show! is an animated slapstick comedy television series developed by Dave Wasson for Netflix, based on the 2017 video game Cuphead by Studio MDHR. Chad and Jared Moldenhauer, the creators of Cuphead, serve as executive producers, along with Wasson and CJ Kettler from King Features Syndicate, and Cosmo Segurson serving as co-executive producer.
Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is an American animated action adventure television series based on the Tomb Raider video game series by Crystal Dynamics, starring Hayley Atwell as the voice of Lara Croft. The series is set in the same continuity as the video game reboot trilogy that started in 2013, and takes place after the events of the 2018 game Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Tasha Huo served as showrunner with Legendary Television and DJ2 Entertainment producing, and it was animated by Powerhouse Animation Studios. The series premiered on Netflix on October 10, 2024. It was renewed for a second season in October 2024.
Fortiche Production SAS is a French animation studio headquartered in Paris. It is known for the hit television series Arcane.
Dragon Age: Absolution is a Canadian-Korean adult animated fantasy television series created by Mairghread Scott for Netflix. Produced by Red Dog Culture House under the supervision of BioWare, the series was released on December 9, 2022. Set in BioWare's Dragon Age fictional universe, it focuses on the fallout from a heist gone wrong in the Tevinter Imperium.
A video game adaptation is primarily a film or television series that is based on a video game, usually incorporating elements of the game's plot or gameplay.
Arcane League of Legends (Soundtrack from the Animated Series) is the soundtrack to the first season of the 2021 animated television series Arcane, set in Riot Games' League of Legends fictional universe. The soundtrack features 11 songs released on November 21, 2021, through Riot Games' music division. It is preceded by the Imagine Dragons and JID song "Enemy", released as the lead single from the album on October 28, and accompanied with a music video. The song, which also served as the series' theme music, charted in numerous countries.