Anime For Game Of Thrones Fans: The Heroic Legend Of Arslan

Tell me if you've heard this story:

It takes place in a vaguely euro-medieval setting and centers on a platinum-haired youth who is heir to a powerful throne. However, before the heir can ascend to power, the royal family is ousted by rebellion and betrayal and the throne is usurped by another. Now forced into exile, the heir gathers a small and motley group of companions who are bound together by their loyalty and devotion. With their aid, the heir begins building an army strong enough to reclaim the throne, and sets about abolishing the institution of slavery.

Any Game of Thrones fans would be forgiven for believing this description is in reference to Daenerys Targaryen, heir to the Iron Throne of Westeros, but we are actually discussing Prince Arslan of Pars, another ruler in exile and the protagonist of The Heroic Legend of Arslan.

The Heroic Legend of Arslan is an anime television series that began its run on Japanese television in 2015. The Heroic Legend of Arslan is directed by Noriyuki Abe, director of Bleach and Yu Yu Hakusho, and is based on the shonen manga series by Fullmetal Alchemist creator Hiromu Arakawa (the manga itself is based on a long-running series of fantasy novels by Yoshiki Tanaka).

Like Game of Thrones (and George R.R. Martin's series of fantasy novels that inspired it), The Heroic Legend of Arslan takes place in a fictionalized fantasy world inspired by actual history.

Where Game of Thrones was inspired by the English Wars of the Roses, The Heroic Legend of Arslan's world is inspired by pre-Islamic Persia and it's neighbors. Arslan is the crown prince of the kingdom of Pars. Pars is considered the military powerhouse of the region until they suffer a surprising defeat at the hands of the religiously motivated kingdom of Lusitania. The Lusitanian army disposes of the Parsian king and occupies the capital city of Ecbatana, but Arslan manages to elude capture and begins plotting to reclaim his throne.

It isn't just the basic thrust of the narrative and the historically-inspired settings that make Game of Thrones and The Heroic Legend of Arslan of a kind. The use of "heroic" in the title and the fact that it is based on a shonen manga may lead you to believe that The Heroic Legend of Arslan has a simple fantasy morality where good and evil are clearly defined and at odds. However, having watched the 13-episodes included on the The Heroic Legend of Arslan:Season One, Part One DVD and Blu-ray release from Funimation, The Heroic Legend of Arslan skews much closer to the moral greys of Game of Thrones than the simplicity of traditional epic fantasy, adopting the same realist moral philosophy best summed up as "nothing is ever simple."

Arslan's adviser, a brilliant strategist named Narsus who was exiled from Pars for being an abolitionist, convinces Arslan that freeing the slaves of Pars is both morally right and strategically necessary. Arslan is easily convinced, but an encounter with a treacherous Parsian noble shortly thereafter results in the noble's death and Arslan freeing the noble's slaves, only for Arslan to be shocked when the slaves turn against him out of loyalty to their master. The event reminds both Arslan and the viewer that just because something is right doesn't mean it is simple or easy. "Perhaps justice is not the sun, your Highness, but much like the stars," Narsus later tells Arslan, as a means of helping him see that there is no clear, single path towards doing what is right.

Arslan is no doubt the hero of this story (his name is in the title, after all), but it's his kinship with his party of companions – Narsus and his loyal servant, Elam, the knight Daryun, the priestess Farangis, and the rogue musician Gieve – that gives viewers reason to cheer for his victories and mourn his losses. His family's downfall is orchestrated by an antagonist introduced as Lord Silvermask, a mysterious character who, yes, wears a silver mask. When introduced, its hard not to look at Silvermask and think he'd be more at home in Sailor Moon, but as more of Silvermask's history comes to light, he becomes a more sympathetic and more threatening villain. What's more, as questions arise about Arslan's own history, viewers should find themselves questioning whether Arslan is on the right side of this conflict. While that may seem like a problem for the story of a hero, it works in The Heroic Legend of Arslan because it's clear that this series isn't about defeating a villain. but how a hero is made, and Arslan's path is neither straight nor narrow.

And all of this is just focusing on Arslan directly when there's so much more happening around him. Once the Lusitanians take Ecbatana, an intrigue-fueled power struggle begins taking place between the military and the church, and by the thirteenth episode it becomes clear that Pars and Lusitania aren't the only powerful forces in play, politically or otherwise.

The Legend of Arslan introduces viewers to a rich, textured and relatively realistic fantasy world, inhabited by layered characters on all sides of a complex conflict. Intrigue abounds, but there's plenty of heroism to be found as well, particularly in the series' intense fight scenes. If you're a fan of Game of Thrones and you're a fan of anime, or even if you're just a fan of fantasy and are looking to give anime a try then The Heroic Legend of Arslan shouldn't be missed.

The Heroic Legend of Arslan Season One: Part One is available now on Blu-ray and DVD. The Heroic Legend of Arslan Season One: Part Two goes on sale Nov. 8, 2016. The entire first season of The Heroic Legend of Arslan, as well as the climactic second season, titled The Heroic Legend of Arslan: Dust Storm Dance, is available to stream on FunimationNow.