Courtesy of Netflix
Minor spoilers ahead.
After three long years, the Emmy Award-winning Netflix series “Arcane” released the first act of its second and final season on Nov. 9, and the final series-concluding act on Nov. 23. Based on Riot Games’ video game “League of Legends,” the first season of “Arcane” became an immediate success upon its release in 2021, garnering the attention of viewers who had never played or even heard of the video game itself. “Arcane’s” second season builds upon everything introduced in the first season, with superior animation quality, character development and voice acting.
Set in the fictional city of Piltover, known as the city of progress and oppressor of the underground city of Zaun, “Arcane” brings about the origins of “League of Legends” characters, Vi and Jinx. During season one, viewers witnessed a tragic series of events filled with crime, political unrest and new inventions that tore the two sisters, Vi and Jinx, apart and set up the start of a social revolution due to those events. The creation of Hextech, a magic based technology that uses runes to command magical gemstones to power Hextech devices, sparked a growth in trade and wealth in Piltover while the creation of Shimmer, an addicting drug that enhances one’s physical abilities, in Zaun caused a threat to the sense of security the people of Piltover felt. The growth of Shimmer caused political unrest between the leaders of the cities which resulted in Jinx unknowingly leading a revolution for Zaun. Season two of “Arcane” picks right up from the major cliffhanger at the end of season one, where Jinx sent a missile heading toward the gathering room of Piltover’s councilors. Viewers follow the story of Vi and Jinx and the differences between their lives succeeding the first season.
During part one of the second season, viewers are shown the lives of the characters that they know and love, and how the events of the first season have changed them and their values. Jinx, who was constantly battling schizophrenia and an identity crisis in the first season, has seemingly calmed down drastically in season two. After meeting a young girl named Isha in season two, Jinx takes on more of a motherly role towards her which allows her to be confident and be more secure in her identity. Vi joins Piltover’s police force, even though she has always been against them since they were the reason her parents were killed. Vi’s girlfriend, Caitlyn, who was once sympathetic with what the people of Zaun were going through, has completely changed her views and is fully against them for most of the season.
Throughout all of season one, “Arcane’s” emphasis on social class and status carried the plot forward and justified why characters acted the way they did in certain situations. Piltover has always been highly regarded, while Zaun is shown to be the slums in comparison to their sister city. This has caused a divide between the cities — most people in Piltover regard people from Zaun to be less than, while Piltover’s maltreatment of Zaun and privileged status cause the people of Zaun to dislike them. The ongoing hatred and mistreatment from both sides is what causes Jinx to send a missile straight to the gathering room of Piltover’s councilors at the end of season one.
Courtesy of Netflix
As season two progresses, viewers get to see interactions between characters that they never would have expected. For example, Ekko, one of Vi and Jinx’s childhood friends from Zaun, pairs up with Piltover’s former academy dean, councilor and remarkable scientist, Heimerdinger, to figure out what he could do to provide better air quality for the people in Zaun. With these interactions, each character develops significantly from who they were previously. While certain elements of the storytelling seemed rushed this season, such as how easily Caitlyn changed her mind from hating the people of Zaun to siding with them in later episodes, it is clear that many efforts were made to develop each character arc.
One of the most distinctive features of “Arcane” in comparison with other animated shows is the show’s animation style. Riot Games partnered with the French animation studio Fortiche for both seasons of the show because of their unique approach to animation. Fortiche blends both 2D and 3D animation to create a more realistic feel. Additionally, animators hand-draw and paint all the characters and their surroundings. By hand-drawing the characters, animators purposefully bring their imperfections to light. This technique allows for the show to look like a painted canvas in motion, giving the show a distinctive look.
Throughout season two, the animators became even more creative with their style in each episode, with certain scenes even having a completely different animation style than the rest of the show. The animators used stop motion to animate the charcoal drawings of one of the opening scenes in the first episode, during Caitlyn’s mom’s funeral, to show how dark everything in her world felt at that moment. They also used comic book-style animation for a fight scene in episode three where Caitlyn, Vi and the rest of their police squad unleashed toxic gas into Zaun. Another way they experimented with different animation styles was to only use hand-drawn stop motion animation for the point of view of one of their newer characters. Since this character is half-human and half-animal, the animators took a more creative approach to show how the world looks like to an animal that is only driven by the scent of blood.
As an animated show, the plot heavily relies on the skill of the voice actors to bring emotion during moments that are meant to be sorrowful, rageful or cheerful. “Arcane” does just that. Ella Purnell, who voices Jinx, does a phenomenal job in portraying the complexities of the mentally troubled character just by how she uses her voice. During scenes when Jinx is going through one of her schizophrenic episodes or is physically or mentally hurt, Purnell is able to change her voice from how she normally voices Jinx to make the viewers feel the pain the character is experiencing. She can immediately go into a crescendo with her voice and make it seem as if Jinx is painfully crying or just screaming depending on the scene. Hailee Steinfeld, who voices Vi, also pours emotion into voicing her character and bringing many different emotions to life, especially during Vi’s rageful moments.
With the sheer amount of work and effort that has been put in by the writers, directors and animators, it’s no surprise that “Arcane” has reached the success it has. With season two reaching the top of the Netflix charts and becoming the most popular show in over 60 countries, it is clear that season two was well worth the three-year wait.
Rating: 9/10
