In the second part of "The Heroic Legend of Arislan," screenwriters Haruki Kadokawa, Shugo Matsuo
and Yutaka Takahashi persevere in their quest to produce the most unintelligible, overpopulated story ever told.
This installment of the "Arislan" saga ensures that the time invested in the characters from the previous
episode bares no fruit. With a revolving door cast, it is impossible to keep track of which characters are
important. The doomsday priest from the first episode, spouting prophecies of death and destruction, vanishes
without explanation. General Kharlan expires in the previous chapter, but his son, Zante, seamlessly replaces
him, as one of the many vengeful zealots who want to see young Arislan dead. A carbon copy of his father, Zante
simply hates Arislan. But, considering that after losing to Daryoon in a fair duel, Kharlan throws himself from
a suspension bridge rather than face imprisonment, Zante should thank Daryoon for clipping such a cowardly
branch off of his family tree.
Main cast members aside, although whom that would consist of remains difficult to discern, the remaining
players also do little to pique interest. Narsus, the contemplative, but alcoholic, nobleman proves intriguing
at first. However, with his constant brooding and Machiavellian musings, patience quickly wears thin. He insists
that he doesn't want to be a part of the uprising, but he never fails to inject his inebriated two pence worth
whenever a dispute arises. His sentiments echo those of many periphery characters - they live and breathe in this
world, even though none of them want anything to do with it. And that's just the male characters.
The writers also conveniently place a dutiful female character at the side of each male lead. The script even
includes a quasi-homosexual slave boy, Elam, who loves Narsus with all his heart, and possibly other selective parts
of his anatomy. These additional love interests complicate a plot already too confused for its own good. Figuring
out why all of the characters are angry with each other is taxing enough, let alone deciphering who is in love with
whom and why. This reduces the film to a game in which the creators try to link soap opera characters together before
they are either killed or escape from this amoebic story.
Anime fans looking for action should search elsewhere, and hopeless romantics should stick to reading greeting cards
at drugs stores. "The Heroic Legend of Arislan: Part 2" and its characters distill disinterest and discontent until nothing
remains except disdain for this title.