Record of Lodoss War (???????, R?dosu-t? Senki, lit., "Lodoss Island War Chronicle") is a franchise of fantasy novels by Ryo Mizuno based on the work he originally created for a world called Forcelia as a rules-free setting for role-playing games (RPGs). There have since been multiple manga, anime and computer game adaptations, several of which have been translated into English. The plots generally follow the conventions and structure of the RPG systems including Dungeons & Dragons and Sword World RPG, in which several characters of distinct types undertake a specific quest.
Video Record of Lodoss War
Origins
Record of Lodoss War was created in 1986 by Group SNE as a Dungeons & Dragons "replay" serialized in the Japanese magazine Comptiq from 1986 to 1988, though they also used the setting with other systems such as Tunnels & Trolls and RuneQuest. Replays are not novels, but transcripts of RPG sessions, meant to both hold the interest of readers and convey the events that took place. They have proven to be popular, even to those who do not play role-playing games but are fans of fiction (including fantasy fiction). Similar to light novels, many characters and parties in replays have become popular as characters of anime. An example of such a character is the female elf Deedlit in Record of Lodoss War, who was played by science fiction novelist Hiroshi Yamamoto during the RPG sessions.
The popularity of the Record of Lodoss War replays was such that the Dungeon Master Ryo Mizuno started to adapt the story into some of the earliest Japanese-language domestic high fantasy novels in 1988.
When the replay series went on to become a trilogy, Group SNE had to abandon the Dungeons & Dragons rules and create their own game, dubbed Record of Lodoss War Companion and released in 1989. All three parts of the replay series were eventually published as paperbacks by Kadokawa Shoten from 1989 to 1991:
- RPG Replay Record of Lodoss War I (RPG???? ???????I, Aru P? J? Ripurei R?dosut? Senki Wan) (September 1989) -- Parn's party, retake played according to the Record of Lodoss War Companion rules and incorporating elements from the novelization
- RPG Replay Record of Lodoss War II (RPG???? ???????II, Aru P? J? Ripurei R?dosut? Senki T?) (September 1990) -- Orson's party, retake played according to the Record of Lodoss War Companion rules and incorporating elements from the novelization
- RPG Replay Record of Lodoss War III (RPG???? ???????III, Aru P? J? Ripurei R?dosut? Senki Sur?) (August 1991) -- Spark's party, played according to the Record of Lodoss War Companion rules
The Mizuno's novelizations were published by Kadokawa Shoten between 1988 and 1993, and followed by two collections of short stories in 1995, with illustrations done by Yutaka Izubuchi:
- Record of Lodoss War 1: The Grey Witch (??????? ?????, R?dosut? Senki Haiiro no Majo) (April 1988)
- Record of Lodoss War 2: Blazing Devil (???????2 ????, R?dosut? Senki Ni: Hon? no Majin) (February 1989)
- Record of Lodoss War 3: The Demon Dragon of Fire Dragon Mountain (Part 1) (???????3 ??????(?), R?dosut? Senki San: Kary?-zan no Mary? (J?)) (May 1990)
- Record of Lodoss War 4: The Demon Dragon of Fire Dragon Mountain (Part 2) (???????4 ??????(?), R?dosut? Senki Yon: Kary?-zan no Mary? (Ge)) (July 1990)
- Record of Lodoss War 5: The Kings' Holy War (???????5 ??????, R?dosut? Senki Go: ?tachi no Seisen) (February 1991)
- Record of Lodoss War 6: The Holy Knights of Lodoss (Part 1) (???????6 ????????(?), R?dosut? Senki Roku: R?dosu no Seikishi (J?)) (November 1991)
- Record of Lodoss War 7: The Holy Knights of Lodoss (Part 2) (???????7 ????????(?), R?dosut? Senki Shichi: R?dosu no Seikishi (Ge)) (April 1993)
- High Elf Forest: Deedlit's Tale (??????? ?????????, Hai Erufu no Mori D?doritto Monogatari) (March 1995)
- The Black Knight (?????, Kokui no Kishi) (July 1995)
The first volume forms the basis for the first eight episodes of the Record of Lodoss War OVA series, as well as the Record of Lodoss War: The Grey Witch manga series. The second was also adapted in manga form, and as a four-CD radio drama. The final five episodes of the OVA series are loosely based on the story told across the third and fourth novels and, having caught up with the ongoing novelization at that point, feature an original ending. The Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight TV series is a more faithful adaptation of volumes three to seven. The first collection of short stories was adapted into the Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit's Tale manga series.
Mizuno later went on to pen two other series of novels: a prequel titled Legend of Lodoss (???????, R?dosu-t? Densetsu) (1994 to 2002) and a sequel titled Record of Lodoss War Next Generation (????????, Shin R?dosu-t? Senki) (1998 to 2006), the first of which forms the basis for the Record of Lodoss War: The Lady of Pharis manga series.
Maps Record of Lodoss War
Characters
Record of Lodoss War recounts the adventures of a youth by the name of Parn, the son of a dishonored knight. Part of his motivation for adventuring is to find out what happened to his father, and to restore his family's honor. Despite his inexperience, Parn is considered the leader, who is accompanied by his childhood best friend Etoh, his friend and sometimes advisor Slayn (and later by Slayn's lover Leylia), and his newfound mentor Ghim. They are accompanied by Parn's romantic interest, the high elf Deedlit, who comes from the Forest of No Return seeking an answer to her people's isolationism and an end to what she sees as a slow march to extinction; and a thief named Woodchuck. Throughout the series, Parn comes into contact with friends and foes alike. His allies include King Kashue, King Fahn, Shiris, and Orson; his enemies include Emperor Beld, Ashram, and the evil necromancer Wagnard.
The manga adaption and its anime derivative Chronicles of the Heroic Knight continues the adventures of Parn for the first eight episodes, but then focuses on Spark and his adventures to complete a quest tasked onto him to protect Neese, the daughter of Slayn and Leylia. He is accompanied by his own cast of friends in the form of Leaf, Garrack, Greevus, Aldo, and Ryna. The television series shares similarities with the plot of the OVA, such as Wagnard seeking to kidnap Neese in order to use her as a reagent for the resurrection of Naneel, a priestess and the Avatar of Kardis who was slain by Leylia's mother, the high priestess Neese a short time after the battle with the demonic god. Leylia was the reincarnation of Naneel, but when she lost her virginity she was no longer capable of being the doorway or reagent needed to unseal Naneel.
The third series, Legend of Crystania, places the former villain Ashram into the seat of a would-be hero who is placed under a spell by a "god beast" of Crystania. The series then focuses on Pirotess, his dark elven lover, as she tries to find a way to free him from the clutches of the spell and to restore him back to his living self.
Other media
Home video releases
The original OVA series and the TV series had both been released in North America through Central Park Media on VHS and on DVD. The OVA and TV series were slated for a Blu-ray release through Media Blasters, but they have now dropped all plans to re-release the series. On April 14, 2017, Funimation announced their license to both the OVA series and the Chronicles of the Heroic Knight TV series and will release the OVA on both Blu-ray and DVD and the TV series on DVD in one set on July 18, 2017.
Record of Lodoss War Online
The Japanese online game company GameOn announced that it acquired the global license to make an online game for computers and mobile phones based on the Record of Lodoss War fantasy franchise from Kadokawa Production and Slowcurve. Ryo Mizuno, the novelist and co-creator of the franchise, will serve as a supervisor on the development of the online game. GameOn plans to release the game outside Japan. GameOn also said that the new game will not be browser-based. The game, Record of Lodoss War Online was released in February 2016.
Anime
- 1990 Record of Lodoss War (???????, R?dosu-t? Senki) 13 episode OVA
- 1998 Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight (??????? ?????, R?dosu-t? Senki: Eiy? Kishiden) 27 episode TV series
- 1998 Welcome to Lodoss Island! (??????????!, Y?koso R?dosu-t? e!) 3-part parodic movie
- 2014 Record of Lodoss War: Is That Delicious? (??????????? ????????????, Meshimase Lodoss-t? Senki: Sorette Oishii no?) 13 episode TV series
Manga
- The Grey Witch (?????, Haiiro no Majo) 3 volumes, art by Yoshihiko Ochi
- The Demon of Flame (????, Hon? no Majin) 2 volumes, art by Ayumi Saito
- The Lady of Pharis (???????, Farisu no Seijo) 2 volumes, art by Akihiro Yamada
- Chronicles of the Heroic Knight (?????, Eiy? Kishi-den) 6 volumes, art by Masato Natsumoto
- Welcome to Lodoss Island (??????????!, Y?koso R?dosu-t? e!) 3 volumes, four panel manga, art by Hyakuyashiki Rei
- Deedlit's Tale (?????????, D?doritto Monogatari) 2 volumes, art by Setsuko Yoneyama
- Legend of Crystania (??????????????? ??????????) 3 volumes, art by Akira Himekawa
- The Grey Witch (?????, Haiiro no Majo) 3 volumes, art by Tomomasa Takuma
Related anime
- Legend of Crystania (?????????? ???????????????, Hajimari no B?kensha-tachi: Legend of Crystania), a film and 3-episode OVA that focuses on the land in which Ashram and Pirotess migrated to after the Lodoss series.
- Rune Soldier, a more comedic series from the same creator that is set in the same world as Record of Lodoss War.
Soundtracks and music
- Record of Lodoss War: Original Soundtrack 1 (VICL-00051)
- Record of Lodoss War: Original Soundtrack 2 (VICL-00114)
- Record of Lodoss War: Original Soundtrack 3 (VICL-00267)
- Record of Lodoss War: Minstrels' Memory of Lodoss (VICL-8090)
- Record of Lodoss War: Arrange Sound (VDR-28071)
- Symphonic House from Record of Lodoss War II Arrange Sound (VICL-8060)
- Record of Lodoss War TV: Maaya Sakamoto - Kiseki No Umi single (VIDL-30202)
- Record of Lodoss War TV: Original Soundtrack 1 (VICL-60243)
- Record of Lodoss War TV: Original Soundtrack 2 (VICL-60244)
- Record of Lodoss War TV: Original Soundtrack 3 (VICL-60246)
- Welcome to Lodoss Island! (KICA-400)
Video games
- Record of Lodoss War (PC 98, MSX) 1988
- Record of Lodoss War - Fuku Zinduke (X68000) 1991
- Record of Lodoss War - Haiiro No Majio (X68000/PC Engine) 1991/1992
- Record of Lodoss War 2 - Siki No Maryu (X68000/PC Engine) 1992/1994
- Record of Lodoss War (Sega Mega-CD) 1994
- Record of Lodoss War (SNES) 1995
- Record of Lodoss War: Eiyuu Kishiden (Game Boy Color) 1998, published by Tomy
- Record of Lodoss War: Advent of Cardice (Dreamcast) 2000, which was also released in English.
- Record of Lodoss War: Successor of the Legend (browser-based TCG) 2012
- Record of Lodoss War Online (PC MMORPG) 2016
Radio drama
- The Demons of Wind and Flame (??????, Kaze to Hon? no Majin), released in 4 CD collections. It is based on the plot of the second novel and was once supposed to become a second OVA series, but that project was put on hold.
Books on tape
The first three are original stories.
- The Bewitched Stone (?????, Genwaku no Mashaku) side story of novel 1
- The Mage of Destiny (??????, Shukumei no Majutsushi) side story of novel 3
- The Forest of the Magic Beasts (????, Maj? no Mori) side story of novel 3, and an episode featuring the mage and magic beast tamer Elena of Alania
- The Traveler from the Spirit World (????????, Y?seikai no Tabibito) Based on Deedlit's Tale
- The Forest that was Forced Open (...?????, ...Akareta Mori) Based on Deedlit's Tale
- The Mist of Vengeance (????, Fukush? no Kiri) Based on Deedlit's Tale
Reception
The novel series has sold over 10 million copies in Japan.
References
Further reading
- Divers, Allen (2 July 2003). "A New Beginning". Tankobon Tower (column). Anime News Network. Westmount, Quebec.
External links
- Official Kadokawa novel site (in Japanese)
- Record of Lodoss War (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Roodosu tou Senki - Akinori Nagaoka, 1990 (in Italian)
- 'Lodoss war Online game site' (in English)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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