Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Unemployed-Sama
Was so looking forward to this due to my sword and sorcery craze, but left pretty disappointed and still glad I watched it. The first and especially can't stress this enough final episode are so incredibly on it makes the middle portion all the more disappointing. A crazy ending will usually make me like something overall, but that wasn't the case here. I wish it had been 6 or 7 episodes, not 13.
Ok so the animation is consistently I'd say a little better than average. Nowhere near the highs of classic OVAs with shorter run-times, but always decent. It's really carried in parts by such strong character designs and really gorgeous backgrounds. Especially in that middle though, there are SO MANY sliding JPGs it started to get distracting. I have a lot of patience for beautiful old Cel anima…
Read at the sourcerallyntando
Record of Lodoss War looks, sounds, and feels amazing. What it is (direly) lacking in pacing, character dialogue, and plot cohesion it absolutely makes up for with fantastic atmosphere. There is an earnest generic fantasy nature to this, but when it came out it was actually quite different and unique. What feels today like well-worn trope, was actually once fairly fresh and it's very cool too see one of Japan's first 'serious' non-comedy Fantasy anime properties. I love the way the music and the character designs do serious heavy lifting for the storytelling here. If I had my wish, the content would be a little more evenly paced, drawn out, and slowly revealed, because there are just too many sudden gear shifts and character introductions for most people to manage. Besides just basic dialo…
Read at the sourceBased__
I just think it's crazy that High Fantasy Anime peaked in 1990 and only in the past decade have we started to get shows that begin to match the quality of Record of Lodoss War. Like don't get me wrong, Dungeon Meshi and Frieren are modern day classics, but there is nowhere near enough fantasy, whimsy, and trope-y cheese in those shows throughout their 25 episodes compared to what Lodoss gives us in a measly 13. Record of Lodoss War has enough material and plot packed into one season that it could easily be 2, maybe even 3 seasons if everything was giving time to breath.
Now, Record of Lodoss War isn't perfect by any means. Most of the characters aren't very complex, the storylines are compacted and squeezed into its episodes, and the world doesn't quite present itself in a really thoughtf…
Read at the sourceMilakochan
I've been watching dark fantasies this 2025 and I have to say Record of Lodoss War comes to one of the best discoveries this year.
This OVA centered on the recovery of Lodoss a cursed island formed by the battle between mother earth Marfa and the goddess of Destruction Kardis.
It has everything a fantasy medieval adventure should have at the right amount. Elf, a wanna-be knight with a tarnished family reputation, gnomes, magicians. Every one is in its right place taking its role and everyone helps to the development of the story. It's an harmonious storytelling that makes a masterpiece.
The animation is superior for the time it was made. Beautiful color palettes. Specially the design of Deedlit and the movement of the forces of nature she controls.
Maybe it'd have been nice that they…
Read at the sourceulisesalvear
It was... ok.
I think that the greatest achievement of this anime series is definitely the art and its designs; they're beautiful to look at, the detail in every frame of celluloid is astounding. Also kudos on being the series that set the tone for the anime elf archetype design that would become famous in the next years. Deedlit was one of the first elves to be designed with not just pointy ears but very long ears in the anime world. A trait that is still very popular today (cough cough, Frieren, Marcille).
The plot is an overly average medieval/magic/dark fantasy story. Nothing that really pops out in terms of writing. A bit bland for today standards, tbh.
I recomend this series only if you are a big fan of the genre. If you're a fan of LOTR, Fire Emblem or stuff like that, you'll love…
Read at the sourceNebu1on
I enjoyed the old school animation style in this anime. The different effects and still shots were very nostalgic.
I enjoyed the fantasy elements of the story; dragons, magic, etc. Record of Lodoss War is a classic take on an adventure story with fantasy elements. The story can be interesting at times though I found that the characters while likeable lacked some depth and their development through the story was rushed.
As for the story and dialogue, I felt like it left a lot to be desired. The writing and storytelling is very dated and can make the show a bit of a slog to get through. It's definitely not bingable, but if you're looking for something comforting to watch one episode of right before bed, I'd say it's at least worth a watch for the artwork and nostalgia aspect.
Read at the sourceCatch33
"Record of Lodoss War" is the closest thing you’ll find to a Dungeons & Dragons campaign brought to life in gorgeous, hand-drawn 90s animation. Originally based on a series of RPG replay novels (yes, actual tabletop sessions turned into books), this OVA embodies everything great about high fantasy: noble heroes, epic battles, ancient evils, and enough sorcery to make a wizard’s spellbook blush.
But what sets Lodoss War apart from other fantasy anime isn’t just the story, it’s the sheer atmosphere. The animation oozes medieval grandeur, with shadowy castles, misty battlefields, and enchanted forests so vividly drawn that you can practically hear the dice rolling in the background. The soundtrack? A sweeping, orchestral masterpiece that elevates every moment, from heroic clashes to tender c…
Read at the sourceimmosha
An anime adapting a 90's Dungeons and Dragons campaign, and man was it a boring one. Nice art direction but far too many tropes to take the plot seriously.
In the modern day of 2025, we see so much isekai soft-fantasy that a true hard-fantasy setting would be a welcome reprieve from the gimmicky plots plaguing the industry. However, Record of Lodoss War, despite a traditional fantasy, leans /too far/ into the traditional aspect. Based on the author's contribution to a TTRPG settting, it unfortunately combines all the tropes of LOTR races, classes, and setting with the tropes of the most 90's shonen anime you've ever seen. It's so predictable, it could basically be considered the model species of the Hero's Journey. Joseph Campbell would downright cream his pants watching this. Damsel-in-d…
Read at the sourceCaeruleus_CCXVI
7.0/10 ~ Man they really dont make em' like they use to
I watched this as a child and remember enjoying it but couldn't remember anything about the series other then, " Man, they had no business drawing those elves that way" . After rewatching it again this week I have to say I really really enjoyed this more then it had any reason to. When I think of the show objectively it has so, so many flaws its kinda funny.
- Annoying MC
- bad pacing
- bad writing
--> Someone explain to me why all the EXTRA dragons started appearing at the end but had no actual impact on events?
- very little character depth or growth
--> MC just is handed everything
- charecters just kinda do things, and you are expected to believe it based on their Class, Race or Alignment, fitting for a show based off a DnD Cham…
Read at the sourceLightNoragami1
This was really bad. Just to put it out there, I love High Fantasy, I love LOTR, Game of Thrones, Frieren: Beyond Journeys End, Berserk and so on. But this was awful. First issue is the series has to much ambition for 13 episodes which leads to way too much being skip over. Another issue is that none of the characters are likeable, especially Parn, and they receive zero development and their relationships feel hollow as a result. The world building is lacklustre as well. Decent music tho.
If you care about characters and interesting world building, don't watch this show, watch the things I previously mentioned. You might enjoy this if some switch your brain off and watch fantasy is what you're after, but it was not what I was after.
The art did have that nice 90s retro feel tho, so that…
Read at the sourceBmoBebop
I loved the art and the tone this show sometimes achieved, but Christ did the writing make it unwatchable. Every character is a flat stereotype of their race or something like "being evil." The world building is childish with a king of goodness and puppies, king of being mean and stinky and a chaos lady “because balance” being the full extent of it. It has less moral dimensions than He-Man.
Those could have been great ideas. Having an objective model of good and evil that move on a cosmic level to be balanced or swing to and fro *could* be interesting if it were ever questioned what good and evil mean. If it could make those concepts relevant and personally challenging to the characters and people living in the world… But Record of Lodoss War refuses to expand on anything, leaving nothin…
Read at the sourceDrakestalker
I don't know what it comes down to. Maybe it's the color composition and background art. Maybe it's the contrast of digital vs. hand-drawn animation. Maybe it's the fact that the characters are all adults or at least adult-looking, rather than children or teenagers. Maybe it's a combination. Maybe it's all of the above. Maybe it's something I'm missing. Whatever the case, watching fantasy anime from before the advent of Sword Art Online is a wild, quasi-mystical experience. They just have such a different look and feel to them. The result is a world that instantly captivated me from its opening sequence.
In today's day and age, even some of the better fantasy anime that do not outright copy the SAO formula, their worlds and environments still somehow end up retaining that same plastic, ca…
Read at the sourcePurpleMagic
Seizure Warning: Don't watch this anime if your prone to seizures, they love to flash lights every fourth of a second in this anime to compensate that they had no budget or time to make this anime. It's prevalent throughout the entire series and especially in the final episode.
Record of the Lodoss War is not a hidden gem and the people who like it are talking with Rose-Tinted Glasses on. They story is all over the place and episodes skip context that would make the next episodes make sense. The narrator will say some important information non-chalantely and then move on with "more important things." They were traveling for an entire episode to meet an important old wizard. Then the next episode hits and their in the castle, they skipped over the meeting with this important old wizard wh…
Read at the sourcePaulaAtras29
Watching Fantasy Anime part 1: The classics
I've been playing dnd and getting into fantasy books/series lately cause i like the worldbuilding,aesthetics and the story( when i'ts good of course). Decided to give a shot fantasy type anime so here we go.
Lodoss-tou Senki or Record of Lodoss war is you standard medieval high magic type adventure anime, you got your hero swordsman, elfs, dwarfs, wizard, evil warlods/witches/magicians trying to take over the world, orcs, goblins, kobolds, and most important dragons. Its inspired by a novel who also took inspiration from a tabletop game and it shows. With that out of the way lets dive into the aspects of the anime.
Story: Parn is a not so good swordman from a village that got attacked by a group of goblins, after helping fend then off with the…
Read at the sourceOkamii_JA
After watching so many fantasy story I can say finally I found the true fantasy story I've been looking for something fimiliar to final fantasy or maybe elden ring or even lots of the ring something that can the complete universe of fantasy story with various factions such as humans, elves and dragons something has hat that classic typical story about good and evil something that talking about legends and heroes, this anime could be the ultimate fantasy story you can find in anime community, no overpowered main character , and there is no friendship power , no harem bullshit , just a story that could be too realistic than entertaining, and trust me ain't exaggerating at all , it has some dark theme elements like berserk , ppl here can easily die and every fight they struggle and they face…
Read at the sourceKoopaKlown
Record of Lodoss War Review
Record of Lodoss War is one of those oldtaku “classics” that a lot of people have heard of but in my experience you find less and less who have actually seen it, especially with the oldtaku continuing to age out and newer younger generations joining the fandom in much larger numbers. Nowadays it’s kind of most notable for being that thing Lisa Ortiz was in before Slayers, and that series that Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth was based off. I only know two people who have seen Record of Lodoss War other than me, both only saw it once and one saw it over 20 years ago. Where I live, in the US, we have only received a handful of Lodoss properties but in Japan it’s quite a bit bigger with multiple novels and games in addition to the couple anime that were released in th…
Read at the sourceGsarthotegga
Nostalgia can be such a nice feeling, evoking vivid memories and moods. On the negative side, it can result in a depressive malaise or obsessive longing; more positively, it can lead one to aspire to something new, even greater. In the case of media, though, the rose-tinted image from memory is usually better, especially if it leads back to childhood. That's certainly the case for Record of Lodoss War: It's visually striking enough and well presented to the point that it can seem grander of a fantasy than it really is, and contrary to the emperor with no clothes parable, RoLW is an emperor peacocking in lavish and ornate robes at the behest of his advisors who hope to distract the populace from realizing their puppet king's drooling idiocy.
As is so common to the fantasy genre, it loses…
Read at the sourceKamezuki
“Record of Lodoss War” is a 13-episode OVA series that is part of the mixed media franchise of the same name. “Lodoss” was quite popular when it was released and influenced just about every anime in the fantasy genre that succeeded it; this series’ importance is not to be understated. However, while “Lodoss” has excellent music, nice artwork and character designs, every other aspect of this series, especially plot and character development, leaves a lot to be desired.
The gist of the plot is that a wizard is trying to resurrect an evil goddess to rule and/or destroy the island of Lodoss, and a traditional party led by a hero has to stop him. They are aided by a neighboring kingdom and a couple of rogue characters. On the villain’s side, there is some infighting, as a couple of characters…
Read at the sourcePink_Noodle_Hair
Story - The main story itself is not half bad for a fantasy themed anime. Some things are a bit unclear that I don't think I missed yet go unexplained. The whole thing feels like a small part of a the novels it was adapted from. That said, you can follow along with what's happening for the most part so it could be worse. It's no Lord of the Rings but the story was absolutely fine for it's genre.
Art - The art for me is really great, I'm a sucker for the genre and this classic style. However, Deedlit and Pirotess' ears really shot out a bit too far. I guess they really wanted you to know they were elves. Just a small quirk of what otherwise is a pretty beautiful style, but may come off as "boringly realistic" to people who don't like that stuff. I however, loved it.
Sound - So this is a r…
Read at the sourcebarsoapguy219
Simple. Straightforward. Quality. For what it was and when it was, it knocked it out of the park. Put on your nostalgia goggles for this one, folks.
Story
Dungeons and Dragons as an anime. All the classic stuff. Fighter, elf, dwarf, mage, cleric. They level up and fight stuff. Good vs. evil. There is a mirror evil team too.
I believe that the story was a transcription of a D&D campaign so all the standard plot events were here. Gobins attacked our fighter's home village. He started adventuring, met allies, ran into enemies, and inserted himself in the middle of war between good and evil.
Nothing is new about this now. But I imagine it was groundbreaking material back then. It was for me when I first saw it.
The real story took place in the first 7 or 8 episodes. The stuff that happ…
Read at the source
