(tl;dr at the end!) Every generation or so, there comes a story so remarkable, so profound in its impact on us, that it lives rent free in our heads for years to come. The type of story you re-watch time and time again without ever being surprised it's as good as you remembered. Of course it is: You were there, you experienced it yourself. Atla is, without a doubt, one of those stories. It stood alone in recent history, especially in the western animation scene, so much so that virtually no one whom had seen it questioned if it was the best. It just was. Then, more than a decade later, Arcane came along and suddenly those same people started asking the question: "Is Arcane better than Atla?" The fact the question is being asked by so many, for the first time I can recall, is a feat in it's own right. I surely did not expect to see the day it wouldnt be a hot take to say, "___ is better than Atla," but here we are. My take, though? Arcane season 1 averages better than Atla in it's entirety by every discernable metric, and it is honestly (sad to say) not even close. but Atla has had a lot more arcs, a lot more highs and lows. How does Arcane season 1 (about 6 hours) hold up against the best 6 hour stretch of Atla? Well, that might be a lot closer, and it could go either way. What about act 3 of season 1 versus the best 2 hours of Atla? These are more fair (and more interestingly nuanced) comparisons to make right now. But there is another angle I cannot in good faith ignore. Arcane's current story ends in season 2, which means Arcane is roughly halfway through telling its story. So, would a more fair comparison be the first half of Atla versus season 1 of Arcane? If so, Arcane "only" needs to do what Atla did - have an even better second half than its first half - to ensure it takes the top spot as securely as Atla had for all these years. If season 2 only drops in quality enough to still be around as good as half one of Atla, then I would say the two shows are equally as good, or at least indiscernible rivals for the top spot. If season 2 is awful, Atla still reigns supreme. Tl;dr: As it stands, Arcane has delivered a strong enough first season to have people asking the question, "Is it better than Atla?" without being laughed off as the ramblings of a lunatic. If season 2 sticks the landing, the answer will be a definitive yes. Otherwise, odds are good it will still remain a question open to debate for years to come.
Another point: the handling of disability. Avatar is fantastic at making Toph overcome and take advantage of her blindness and empowering her while not forgetting her limitations, but Arcane does show that Viktor's disability and fatal illness does make him the victim of discrimination (he is just as gifted as Jayce but is overlooked by Mel and the rest of Piltover), and his need to find a way to cure himself pushes him to extremes.
Viktor is discriminated because he's a "broaky" from the ghetto. His disability is never presented in this context and only used as a motivation for him and Jayce, and something that puts a time limit on their work.
@@babette5918I’d say it’s mix a both, given how he phrases it “No ones ever believed in me. A poor cripple from the Undercity.” I’d say that both the disability and being from the Undercity had a major hand in the discrimination he faced.
unfair that avatar writers can give a blind girl super human godly sense of touch that she can feel the vibration of ant feet yards away. Like any character given that ability as a counter to their disability would def find it easy to feel and be empowered
God it feels so good to just listen to somebody gush about Arcane. Everyone seems to pick out slightly different aspects and examples of what they liked most about the show. Much like everyone seems to experience the show in a different way. For me personally I couldn't stop losing my mind over the facial expressions in Arcane on my first watch. To me faces were always the aspect where animation deviated most from live action. Animation often times leaned on exagerations or the abbility of their voice actors to get the characters emotions across. And it always seemed to me like it was the one thing that animation would always fall short in, just because of how well our brains are wired to detect the smallest movements in human expressions. But then Arcane just annihilated that belief in me with the most stunning facial animations I've ever seen. Not only is it incredibly nuanced and detailed but the show also fully relies on it to make the dialogue work. The amount of non-verbal communication that happens in Arcane would take the average Anime approximately 40 hours of inner monologue to spell out for the audience. That really blew me away. Another thing I only really noticed after rewatching the show is how information dense it is. You touched on the pacing in this video and I think the show did such a good job with somehow packing so much in only 9 episodes without ever overwhelming the audience (or at least that was my experience watching) You don't really have to pick up on everything to follow the story. And a lot of it is also taken in subconsciously. Not least due to the aforementioned facial animation.
The facial animations are indeed, so incredibly good. The fact that the most moving, emotional and impactful scenes in the show are mostly just close ups and music is astounding. Jinx lighting the flare, Jinx's fight with Ekko, Jinx launching the rocket. They are all scenes with only a line or two of dialogue, but the animation and the incredible score just carry so much weight. I think Arcane is easily the most I have ever cried at a show, and it was pretty much every single episode from 3 on that did me in.
on the topic of animation, yes its true that they have better technology to work with... But i think its mostly the amount of TIME and effort they put into animating it. the fact that S1 took 6 years to make from conception, and it took another 3 years for S2 to be finished, thats what truly sets the animation quality apart.
Nice analysis. Arcane was an extreme breath of fresh air when I first watched it, and it honestly has the potential to be up there with the likes of Star wars, Lord of the rings, and Game of Thrones with how expansive and fleshed out the world is. One of the creators of the company in an interview even stated that they would like for it to have the same kind of longevity & impact that those other IPs did.
I've read the short stories from their website, and Arcane is just the tip of the iceberg. They have so many amazing stories they could tell in an animated show format, and I'm so excited!
I am just gonna say it now, if season 2 is nearly as good season 1 or better, then there is not even a question. Arcane is the best animated series, yet, and one the best TV series in general. As much as I love Avatar, Arcane is simply a step above.
Sometimes we watch a show, we like it and after we watched it we're saying something like "It's in my top 3" or something like that. That's because we're not sure. That's because even though we like it very much and we think it would be "in the top 3", we're incapable of truly defining a thing in those shows or movies that are making them top 1, 2 or 3. We don't want to make a choice because it would mean making a hard decision, ordering things that we don't want to order. I watched a LOT of series, always with a simple rule : one episode per day. No rush. Take everything in slowly and keep time to process, that way you won't feel like it's ending too soon. Kind of like you keep reading a book by limiting yourself to a few chapters per night, and not gobbling up 200 pages in an hour or two. No TV show was ever able to make me break that rule : not Game Of Thrones (and god knows there's a lot of cliffhangers in there), not Breaking Bad... ... until I watched Arcane. I came in on the week-end that Act 2 dropped. I had 6 episodes to watch, a week to wait until Act 3 drops, one episode per day, easy. Or so I thought. I watched the first one. I was intrigued. The following day I watched the second one. Okay, I was definitely invested in the characters now, and this is very unusual for me to get that invested that quick (Game Of Thrones needed an entire season to make me invested in the characters). So for the first time ever, right after finishing episode 2, I launch episode 3. Then 4 (which is still my favorite episode in teh first season), then 5 then 6 (which is a bloody masterpiece). All in the same day. The week-long wait until the release of Act 3 was probably the longest week of my entire life. Waiting for GRRM to release the Winds of Winter didn't feel as long as this week did for me. All of this to say this : I have no doubts in my mind now. Arcane is my favorite show of all time. Not in my "top 3" or "top 5". Firmly in 1st position, and if season two is as good as season one (which considering they have written the whole script for season 1 and 2 in one go... it has high chances of doing it), then it will take a hell of a show to make Arcane step down to number two. (also, Arcane's animation was 100% possible in the 2000s. Arcane is painted and keyframed (yes, there's no dynamic lighting in Arcane, every frame is painted by hand pretty much when it comes to light), these are very traditional techniques that predates 3D engines that simulate lighting, motion capture etc. What Arcane had, was a freakin' TON of money, and time. The first season took 6 years to write and make, the second one took a little bit over 3 years. Budget for the first season was around 80 million dollars (which for the record, is about 10 times the average cost of an animated show), and the second seson is estimated to have a budget of around 120 to 150 million dollard (since Fortiche roughly double in size, there's more artists, and the work that was done in 6 years before was done in just 3 thanks to the many more people that were hired. All of this to say that tha limiting factor of pretty much every show or movie is money. And Arcane had no limitations in that regard)
This right here! As someone who always held Avatar as the pinnacle of all cartoons, I had a hard time admitting it to myself when I got the first inclination that I might’ve resonated with Arcane a bit more.
Yep, time and money! Almost nothing is static in the animation like we see in "normal" animation. Backgrounds characters are animated, sceneries are animated, nothing is on a low frame loop. These are things that can't be done on a tight schedule or budget like anime. This is the glaring thing that i can't ignore any more in anime productions... when nothing is moving except the characters mouth and even that is barely happening at 4 frames per second. Sometimes there is no movement at all and the camera just zooms in or out and moves around a bit. Arcane S1 was run by the creatives. RIOT had the foresight to provide the time and money. Eventually the people who control the purse strings will tighten them up. So far, it sounds like the time needed for creative excellence hasn't been compromised... we'll see what the investment in the rollout looks like soon. I predict that S2 will be on-par or better than S1 from an investment standpoint, but the time/money side will likely drop off for S3 and beyond. One thing I am sure of is that if Christian ever "moves on" or has creative fallout with RIOT then the show will suffer.
@@babette5918 there will be no season 3. Season 2 is the last season of Arcane. They said they will make other shows about other parts of Runterra, for now people are theorizing that the next show will be about Noxus, for its connections with Arcane / Piltover and Zaun. And I think they will take their time again, and we won't be seeing a new animated show from Riot before 2028 at the earliest, if not later (there is everything to re-write from scratch pretty much)
I'm the same as you, I like to spread episodes out so I can enjoy a season/show for longer. I mostly managed to restrict myself to 2 episodes a day when watching avatar. But with Arcane? My sisters and I stayed up till 2am binging the first 6 episodes in one hit. The next morning we woke up early and watched the last act. I don't think I've ever been so firmly on the edge of my seat for an entire season.
I'm actually not quite sure if an animation like Arcane could have been produced during the 2000s because they use a lot of modern 3D mechanics to simulate a few things, specially for the characters. Also, even though much of it is handpainted, it's not exactly every single thing that appears at every single frame. For example, for most of the show the skin texture of the characters remains consistent throughout the scenes, and while the textures and its variants are handpainted at first, they don't need to repeat that process for every single frame, unless they want to, which means they have a lot more control over the final rendered animation and it takes much less time. Also, I'm not quite sure if they do use it, but it's possible that they use normals maps and uv-mapping which would allow them to make skin texture that actively reacts to whatever lighting they intend to use in different scenes, which makes it 3D but also handpainted at the same time :) Something I also noticed in their work is a thin black line between objects that get in the way of each other, such as hair in the face, or a limb in front of the body, etc. which is just soo reminiscent of 3D lineart done by 3D softwares. And that does not even scratch the surface of their compositing work which is just incredible and efficient, and I'm not quite sure if 2000's productions could deal with sooo many different aspects for a single show even if they had the money for it, the process for all of it is too complicated
Instead of feeling modern, Arcane feels timeless to me. Arcane season 1 reminds me of the best Shakespearian tragedies.I think it's going to remembered as a masterpiece no matter how Season 2 turns out. Just the soundtrack gives me goosebumps and bring tears to my eyes - no other show gets that deep reaction from me, even Avatar. Avatar is a lesson in great writing, it's a great show. But because of it's length, I haven't even watched it once all the way through (forgive me, I have ADHD). In the same way I'll never re-watch every episode of Bleach or Inuyasha. Conversely, I've watched Arcane 5 times all the way through since it came out and each time it still mesmerizes me and makes me ball like a baby. I don't even like dark or tragic stories, but these characters feel so real it's like watching my closest friends make the same mistakes again and again. It feels like I'm watching a miracle in comparison to the usual "entertainment" we've been getting in the last decade. Arcane stands out so much when most new TV shows feel like a lecture or worse, a cheap reproduction of art but without the heart. I know the studios "gut" a lot, keep some of the good artists from doing their best work. But it's also nepotism where the same bad writers and directors have had chance after chance and millions on millions to get it right and instead they're hollow, forgettable spectacles without a heart. In that way Arcane and Avatar are the same, they are both works of art. And they ARE miraculous to me because the studios make 'products', and rarely indulge in the risk of releasing art.
god I waited for this show long before its production was even announced (everyone was begging riot to make a show/movie bc the lore is that good), I knew it was going to become one of my all-time favourites as soon as it was released but I never expected it to be as amazing as it is. It is why I decided to start drawing (and just creating in general) again, it inspires me in a way no other piece of media has. I've rewatched it an absurd amount of times and I still find so many details I had never seen before. There is so much love and passion put into every single frame. I just love this show, I could listen to people talk about it for the rest of my life.
I think one of the reasons Arcane was so effective at subversion is that everything that happened was what actually would happen. Yeah, it makes sense that the little kid with the magic crystals would blow up her own friends on accident. It makes sense that Vi would lash out. Powder would be traumatized and end up with profound trust issues. It makes sense that Silco would turn her into a weapon and it makes sense that Powder would attach to him because he actually values her. Everything is set up so well that the "subversion" is actually the only outcome that makes complete sense. The happy ending would require plot armor and more suspension of disbelief.
Thanks for a thorough and thoughtful comparison. So much of the difference comes down to the time and money spent--which is a function of how seriously each project was approached by the people making them, and the frameworks they were operating in. ATLA was pre-streaming basic cable fare from a risk-averse kid's network, and given those constraints, performed WAY above its weight class. Arcane was a prestige offering from its game studio progenitor (arguably, even a loss leader for marketing their games) and once they decided they were in, money was effectively no object. Still, no amount of money can turn a mediocre story into a masterpiece (see: The Rings of Power) and I don't hesitate in classifying Arcane (so far) as such. I would go so far as to say both series were both better than they could reasonably have been expected to be and that both pushed the bounds of how good they COULD be, given their circumstances...but Arcane's circumstances were profoundly better, and the results scaled accordingly.
Same. As someone who’s always subconsciously like “this isn’t surpassing Avatar” after watching a series, this was the first time I was like…wait, I can’t answer that question.
a good comparison of two animated shows I would always happily watch again. speaking as someone that bought the $150 3-disc steelbook collectors edition so I can watch Arcane in 4K in the future.
Thinking about how many people love arcane but will never touch league. Riot is definitely becoming more and more like an entertainment company like their rebrand says.between the base game, arcane, the music, eventual mmo and all this other shit even a damn tcg. The barrier to entry isn’t just the toxic league of legends community anymore it’s actually great since I’ve always wanted others to really get into the lore more
I would say it's hard to compare some points like you mentioned for example animation. Well I would still say that when it comes to storytelling, Zuko has the best redemption arc ever written. Rest like you said can be subjective. It's not bad to know who is evil and who is good in the story. Aang is ultimate good while Ozai is ultimate bad but ATLA still has more complex characters like Zuko, Iroh, Azula, development of Sokka is pretty complex too. Firenation as a whole also isn't rotten nation to it's core. It had good people, not corrupted kids. It still had good in it that needed to shine through war brutality to actually finally end it and make fire nation start healing from corruption.
These are good points as well. It honestly boils down to what caters to you as the viewer, and the realness of Arcane’s story/characters just hit a little more for me.
@@artxroyaltyI also think the mental health aspect is a bit unfair. Of course Arcane did it better more nuanced, no question. BUT, it's unfair to compare sth Arcane put a lot of runtime into for maybe the most important character in the series to sth that isn't even supposed to play such a major role in Avatar. Azula is a reeeaaally cool character, but she is not nearly as improtant to Avatar as Jynx is to Arcane. You get me??? Take maybe how the nations are depicted, the complexities there. (Eg. with earth soldiers drunk on power hurting their own people) And compare that with the world building with Piltover and the undercity. Idk how fair that is tho tbh, but both are well done, nuanced and interesting. Avatar had more time tho
Great job. Commenting for the algorithm. As much as animation is a medium not a genre, though, ATLA is still a show specifically pitched at ages 7+ on Nicklodeon. An extremely well-made and thoughtful show, for the elementary school age range. I think that ultimately makes comparison with more mature works a bit unfair without acknowledging it. Of course, it's tough to acknowledge this online without the adult fandom flying into a defensive rage. I hope you continue on with these kinds of videos, perhaps Blue Eye Samurai is on the horizon? Anyway, love the essay.
Let's freaking go! I'm so happy you decided to share your experience of Arcane and bring us on your journey. The fact that it can be compared to avatar with just 1 season and 9 episodes is a testament to it's greatness. Loved getting to hear more of your thoughts 😊
Well done Aisha. Glad to see that the show and "Bridging the rift" has motivated you! I think that Christian Linke and the other creators would feel proud to have provided inspiration to someone. I particularly enjoyed your voicework for this. I didn't even realize it was you until I looked a bit deeper into it. Your reactions were excellent, and I am really looking forward to watching you react to Season 2. ** Coming Soon! **
For me, yes, but only because ATLA was intended for children, while Arcane is aimed at a 13+ audience, giving it more freedom for nuance. That, and the fact that ATLA uses much more old-school animation. Sure, you can still watch it today, but it would be a lie to say it compares to the animation quality of Arcane.
Commenting so this blows up. Loved the points you put in your analysis. Hope you cover more animated shows as it is an underrated and powerful medium of entertainment and storytelling. I wonder if you will cover some indie shows (for like shorter videos) and other fascinating projects like "Blue-Eyed Samurai". Can't wait for Arcane Season 2 !!! 2 months, just 2 more months.
Oh nice arcane and atla both of my favorite. My opinion is to wait till the second season of arcane plays out. In my opinion season 1 arcane surpasses book 1 of atla (still good )but season 2 is where atla becomes amazing doesn’t help that azula and an appearance of avatar kyoshi is my favorite characters. Season 2 shows us stuff like this wasn’t just the fire nation causing problems but also the earth nation that had there version of ozai in chin the conqueror or corruption in ba sing se which is practically a police government which the king practically has no power. Or in season 3 when aang goes to school he realizes how the propaganda and falsehoods have had on the normal citizen and they aren’t just all bad. I’ll say at the moment I prefer to rewatch arcane more than atla because for atla book 1 has weaker episodes I don’t really care for.
I don't know how long I want my own comment to be, but I want to say this was a very good amazing video essay. I will fully admit I am sucker for Arcane reactions, but more so recently. I haven't really cared to watch or search for Arcane video analysis (truly nothing against them or the people. I love to watch film analysis channels and videos. But I never actually needed anybody to tell me how amazing Arcane is.) One thing that kind of hit me hard or interesting way was your mention of Ekko's fight. While I am nowhere near the first person in this world to play league, know the background, story, lore, etc. But for those who jumped into this show and had no knowledge, they also have done amazing job to teasing what is to come for so many characters. I don't want to spoil anything but the visual story telling is amazing just for that fight scene because those that know his backstory and abilities, its grest homage to the future. Also interesting to hear how you thought the show was going to go vs. How it did proceed into episode 3. While Jinx's and Vi backstory werent fully fleshed out in the lore, I already knew enough about the story setting to know where it was going to go. That's all for my main thoughts, all I can say is that Riot games and league have created this world over 15 years and they are finally reaping their harvest. Whether they ever meant to or not, its in prime setting to be in the spotlight, I trulu believe for the next 10-30 years, probably longer. I said they have enough IP to probably outlive our lifetime. It just depends how hard they push themselves to make seasons faster and faster. Personal opinion, I give more props to them to end their story on their own foot. Tooo many things get dragged on for no purpose whether because of money or some storytelling, it eventually dilutes the product. Some things need to know when to end or take a long break to reset. I obviously don't think this world is anywhere near that as we are literally only into a second and final season of their first show. But my main point this story is nothing to how big and grand scale the world of Runeterra is. It will be very interesting to see how far they can push even future technology for animation and storytelling, if we as an, audience will be in this world for the next 10-30, 40 years. And characters can make crossovers and appearances. Overall great video essay and much kudos to you! 👏
Regarding the Pacinfno of Arcane, I think it's worth mentioning that they simply didn't have the budget or time for "filler" episodes. Each Episode of Arcane costs around 10 million usd, and the series took almost a decade to produce
For me, Arcane was really good, and in terms of storytelling it might be as good as it gets. That being said, as a show, it doesn’t come close to Avatar for me, yet at least. I think it’s hard to put Arcane on that level already, as the characters, world and themes aren’t as complete, due to the show not being finished. It’s been a bit since I watched it, and besides the incredible production and attention to detail, as a story Arcane doesn’t really compare to my favourites. The characters are good, sure, but the only real standout for me is Jinx. The plot isn’t anything groundbreaking either, and the show doesn’t feel quite complete thematically. I think it’s simply too short to truly be the best. Arcane is still incredible for what it is, but Avatar is on another level. There are still a few anime I would consider better than both though.
I think Jinx and Zuko are a better comparison. Sure it’s Azula who has the mental health issues but Zuko shares far more parallels to Jinx like when they meet at crossroads. Zuko in Ba Sing Se and Jinx near the end of the first season. They also lost their family due to their actions. Jinx with her friends and Zuko with his uncle (and possibly his mother although the show didn’t delve into if he continued to believe he’s the reason later on in his teen years or not, (he’s not but he thought so as a kid)).
Personally, ATLA is better than arcane, only slightly. Only BC arcane isn't finished, once season 2 comes out, that's when the real debate occurs. Two complete series compete to figure who is better.
Its actually pretty ironic that most people expect Powder to have a coming up story in the first few episode since the main target audience are players who are at least familiar with the themes of story in the source game. I always knew vi and jinx would end up against each other but even knowing that doesnt spare you for the emotional built up and fallout. Like people in other comments and reviews have pointed out, alot of the leauge of legends community that actively read/talked about the lore really wanted a show and riot (the company behind league the game) had a good history with animated music videos. Both sound and visuals were only getting better as time went on (example is the K-DA song which went pretty viral). I honestly think that my expectations for Arcane in these fields of sound and animation were still high but I knew already what they were capable of . I think alot of what people miss is the lead up of experience and experimentation that came with both the story/community/music/ect. and that why is blows people's expectations far beyond what they thought was possible (like indie games that have had a long legacy online). This is also just in comparison to ever animated show before it, the painted look of Arcane is just a step above anything that has been attempted before in the space. And also the art style in the game is slightly similar to that painted look which adds a layer of joy to my viewing of the series, so I really am happy that the art studio was really careful and deliberate with their details and colors.
to add on to all that too, since the game is a active tactic fighting game it was pretty lodged in my brain that this story would have war as a main theme. i was also in awe of the ending, to me it was as if there was no other way this could of ending/started the war, which kicked off changes in the world that had been built for so long by the creators. I think on a level for the character of jinx, while i understand being sad that the world had failed her, I saw it more as "the world has warped you but you are the only person who gets to make this choice to move forward (good or bad or morally gray)" and it was so much all at once from each character that it made me so hopeful that changes in their world would start. even with conflicting sides and moral dilemmas, I was happy that everyone could face that conflict in their own way with no way to truly run and hide.
Great video! I remember watching your first arcane reaction where you mentioned your friend said it was as good as atla and you were skeptical It really is something special I wish more people realized it
He couldn’t WAIT for me to finish so he could throw that question at me lol! It was something I realllly had to hibernate on 😅 I feel like many people that started Arcane through hearing the ATLA comparisons (like myself) kind of go in with blinders and don’t really allow themselves to get invested. I’m glad I gave this show a chance, best decision of my life.
@@artxroyalty truuuuuuu! I started watching arcane because I couldn't sleep, saw Arcane was recommended. Course I only saw the LoL and prematurely compared it to other videogame to film adaptations and thought "this will be good to help me sleep." I watched episode 1 through 8 wayyy into the morning. HAD to force myself to sleep, after an hour nap I instantly went to watch ep 9 😂
YES. Let's go.😄 WELL SAID. I concur. Great analysis of the two shows. Clear concise thoughts with great call outs to the evidence behind your statements. VERY good video [maybe do more of these? *LOL* I know they take a lot of work, but it's so good!]
Personally, no, because their two very different stories with their own unique themes and animated styles. The only show that can really be compared to Avatar is it's spiritual successor, The Dragon Prince.
A really well researched and well presented video essay! You mentioned Blue Eye Samurai which is another great show. My opinion is that Arcane, Cyberpunk Edgerunners, and Blue Eye Samurai are the 3 best animated shows on Netflix, so if you haven't yet seen Cyberpunk then you should!
@@spectreharlequin oooh I’ve been hearing a LOT of people talking about Cyberpunk…might have to add that one to the list! And thank you so much! These shows really bring out my inner passion for stories and animation!
i get the comparison since theyre the best but i still think its hard to compare solely because 1. avatar was aired on nickelodeon and made to suite that, arcane can have much more gore etc that make it more mature/realistic, and also 2. animation wise arcane obviously clears everything but you cant compare them since ATLA released way before Arcane. In the end its still to early to say since s2 hasnt aired and then the scope has to be considered as well. ATLA is a finished show, Arcane isnt yet, and even if S2 ends "Arcane" we already know they will continue making shows in this world, wether it ties into arcane or not. ATLA had that aswell but with little success.
Arcane and AtLA are 2 of my top 3 shows, but I think you should check out the 3rd, Legend of Vox Machina. It has amazing animation (just 1 notch below arcane), and the storytelling is superb. It is my favorite show even above these 2, and its next season is coming out in less than a month! It is another series that centers on very complex and amazing characters set in a great fantasy world. It's also based on dnd, which can be a plus to some people, but everyone I know has loved it just as much whether or not they play dnd
A lot of solid points. The only major thing holding Arcane back right now is the ending. There are so many examples of shows that start out strong but fail when it comes to actually ending their story. Something that separates AtLA from the rest is that the series finale is so perfect. The visuals are stunning, the fight scenes are amazing, the cast all get their moments to shine, and the story concludes in a satisfying way (that was never going to end with a 12 year old boy killing someone. despite how the saying goes at the end it was still a kid's show). For Arcane to take the championship this season needs to stick the landing. It is going to be hard to live up to the hype around it, but if it really is the best then it will.
I felt the same, then I got the sudden "suspicion" a few weeks ago that Arcane Season 2 wasn't going to be nearly as well-written as Season 1. Well, at least the first five episodes wont be.
For the longest time avatar was my number 1 favorite show uncontested. I had seen it so many times I can still recite entire episodes or conversations in the show before the characters say it while I watch along. But then Arcane came along and holy fk it blew my mind. I have been obsessed with league since like 2015 when I started playing it, and like everyone else who saw the cinematics riot releases, I was counting the days till they released a movie or tv till we finally got this masterpiece. I’m so excited we’ll be seeing more of Runeterra tho
I still need to watch ATLA in adult version so I am holding judgement. Great video essay. I think there is more behind the scenes on the blu-ray for arcane. Totally preordered it. So can't wait for it to ship out. Can't wait to see everyone in November for season two.
I think season 2 will help make this a much easier answer to come to terms with. Personally (as an arcane glazer) I think arcane will be cemented as a juggernaut of the industry (far more than even now) as the team shows S1 wasn't lightning in a bottle, but a resounding display of talent and skill.
If you are down to watch or react to animes, I cannot recommend To your eternity enough. It is a heartfelt story about an alien learning and understanding humanity and its range of emotions by interacting with the people around him. It is a little emotional though but it has an amazing opening episode
Arcane breaks the animation box, we need to put it up against the live action…these characters have more life and depth than just about anything live action we’ve been forced to consume in the last few years. I am Vi, Silco, Jynx, Viktor,Mel, hell even Sevelka as just a side character made sense. Everyone is flawed yet have merit, fxxking masterful and borderline scary how profound the writing and world building is 👌🏾
The only thing keeping me from saying yes is that avatar is 3 times longer while being as good as it is with 2 seasons being not as good but very comparable to season 1. But when season 2 drops and is as good it’s official for me.
@@JacobFors s2 will either put the nail in the coffin or have me reevaluate my initial thoughts BUT I have faith in the team over at Riot/Fortiche. They’re going to deliver!
I'd say for me Arcane is probably the more competently crafted product, but I won't say it's better. Just because I believe there's no Arcane without ATLA. In many ways, but I'm too lazy to write a book.
"There's no Arcane without ATLA" is pushing it, while they're both masterpieces, they have completely different tones with Arcane being a tragedy, so I doubt Arcane is a product of ATLA existing. They're both political and of the fantasy genre but..that's about it. Fortiche actually shared their inspirations, namely anime such as 20th Century Boys, Paprika, Perfect Blue and Monster. All of them being dark. 20th Century Boys and Monster were inspiration for how the writing of side characters is treated the same as of the main characters. Paprika and Perfect Blue for the mental health aspects as well as the psychosis we see in Jinx.
As someone who’s always put Avatar on a pedestal (and this might be controversial) but I feel like the nostalgia aspect is understandable but also kind of dangerous. A lot of ATLA fans put blinders on going into new shows. They’ve already determined that Avatar is miles ahead in their eyes and because of that don’t allow themselves to genuinely invest in the potential of a newer show.
Also, no shame, even crying when watching your video essay about the series. I feel like I can relate to almost every character, even the side characters, on some deep level. It has been a long time that I have looked forward to a season 2 for something the way I do now and I am actually hopeful they can deliver.
I see a documentation that the avatar author are inspiring to make more projects after arcane he was inspired the animation the story line and everything...
ATLA has always been my #1 show. I've had a few close shows, replacing 2nd place a few times. But never #1. Arcane here was the first to bring up this very same question. While for me, It wasn't replaced... yet. They are actually on equal ground. But... the 9 episodes of Arcane being equal to that of the 3 books of ATLA doesn't bode well for ATLA's #1 spot for Arcane's upcoming season. I suspect upon the release of season 2, ATLA will be officially dethroned for me. And... I don't know how to feel about that.
(Edit: I'm quite a bit too harsh towards Avatar here, I stand by most of what I wrote, hence the lack of a rewrite, but Avatar is way better than how I made it seem in the following.) I mean...hot take, but Avatar hasn't really been the champion for a very long time, especially if anime is considered. With shows like Cowboy Bebop, Monster, and quite a few others, it could even be argued that Avatar never was the champion. I recently rewatched it with a few friends, and it only really reaches that coveted 10/10 in a handful of episodes, it has a lot of duds and even more just...fine but nothing special episodes. That said, I do still love Avatar, but I now plan to watch it as many people watch One Piece, by picking and choosing the episodes that are still worth going back to.
I knew you were working on a video essay. I didn't know you were working on giving millions of AtLA weebs heart attacks tho. Way to come out swinging in the new format.
Just a small note - I think we should consider ATLA as ATLA+TLOK, since Korra adds a ton of deeper and complex questions and challenges. I cannot look at them without one another. Being a huge Avatar&Filoni Star Wars fan (and also BES) - Arcane is no doubt #1 top in my life. But, i just encourage people to take both ATLA and TLOK in consideration together. Without Korrasami we would never have CaitVi.
@@user-s4w6q I hear you, and I absolutely loved TLOK, but the general consensus is that Avatar is in a league of its own apart from TLOK which doesn’t quite carry the same acclaim - which is unfortunate because it’s a great sequel, however it holds a lot of flaws where Avatar was nearly perfect.
@@artxroyalty haha, yeah, might be. I just tend to focus on pros and miss the cons, lol :)) like I took best from ATLA and best from LOK and consider as common story.
If i could only watch one for the rest of my life, I would be divided. Both shows are way too good to miss out on. Its an impossible choice. *clings to both shows* you can take them from my cold dead hands! 😖
This is crazy. ATLA has always been my favorite animated show, but I've been asking myself the same question... Does Arcane dethrone ATLA? You've really nailed the key points on why Arcane surpasses ATLA. It evokes so much emotion in a single frame-not just through its breathtaking animation, but also by conveying layers of meaning visually, far beyond what dialogue or backstory alone could achieve. It’s truly fascinating. Yes, ATLA is a classic, but as you said, Arcane represents the future of animation. I’m incredibly grateful to have experienced it.
Not going to argue any of your points, but if we are having a conversation about dethroning Avatar we need to include Cyberpunk. Yes, it is far more adult and graphic, but the world is incredibly immersing and the characters and writing is amazing. Also, just like Arcane, it has a killer soundtrack.
I've been waiting for someone to compare these shows! I love Arcane and I love ATLA. But ATLA is always going to take top spot for me. There's one thing in my opinion that ATLA does much better than Arcane and that is : Levity. This is super important for my personal enjoyment. If I wanted all the media I consumed to be a reflection of the world as it is, in all its morally grey glory, I'd watch a documentary, you know? For me, I watch entertainment to escape real life. And ATLA is exactly that kind of show. Arcane doesn't care to make the audience feel good nessicairily. It's a 'hard truth' type of show. And while I respect it and adore it for what it is, that just can't compete with the absolutely joy and childish wonder I experience every time I watch ATLA. If I wanna feel cathartic, and raw then yeah, I'll watch arcane but I get enough of that just reading the news lol But of course, that's just my opinion! Thanks for sharing yours.
I feel this 100% and for the longest I felt the exact same! Idk if it’s me becoming more cynical as I age, but the morally grey glory/reflection of the world angle that Arcane takes on just hit home for me personally. At the end of the day, it’s really about what caters to the viewer so everyone’s opinions are valid. Thanks so much for sharing yours!
@@artxroyalty Ah, yeah. It's hard not to be cynical with everything that's been going on in the world tbh 😅 I also wanted to say I completely agree with you about the art and animation. I literally said to myself after watching Arcane " I'm so lucky to be alive to see this work of art". Is this how people felt when Michelangelo revealed his work? Lmao. Especially in this era where AI is threatening creative jobs, it's like Arcane is this beacon of hope that people can still make something so unique and masterful in animated format.
@@artxroyalty So I just finished it, really liked the show it was pretty entertaining and fun, also cried multiple times (I get rlly emotional EASILY). But I didnt love that much how most of the conflicts were solved in a matter of seconds and sometimes in very stupid and childish ways, the lack of continuity between episodes, the fillers, PLOT ARMOR, how bending is sometimes so OP and characters not using it (blood bending for example), and some people being bad just because (Firelord and Azula). But I get it, its an old nickelodeon show. I think ATLA has a lot of potential if it was to be done as a serious TV show. Really loved the world and everything about it. Great entertaining and touching show. 8.5/10 for me. Just one question, is the Netflix live action worth watching?
@@TedSifu omg yay, I’m so glad you watched it!! That’s exactly why I wanted to take into account that it was broadcasted on a children’s television network, but it’s a classic nevertheless! If I’m being honest…the live action has its pros and cons. The graphics and spectacle was on point but the writing…not the strongest. A lot of almost cringey exposition 😅 i’m hoping they take the criticism they got from the first season and use it to make the second season better! I haven’t quite given up on it just yet!
@@artxroyaltythanks!! ill give it a try then, I dont mind it being cringe, I watched the one piece live action and it has a lot of corny/cringe dialogue, but its one of the most emotional shows Ive watched! Oh and I forgot to mention ur video was awesome, really well done and it flew by!! 10/10 vid 😊Cant wait for more video essays!!
I just don't understand why we are comparing them? In my opinion its like comparing two completely unrelated live action tv shows, when they have different target audiences and completely different things that make them good or even masterpieces. There are a bunch of animated masterpieces that have their own good aspects. I'm not trying to argue, I'm just insanely confused.
Hey, so as I kind of mentioned in the beginning, this video wasn’t exactly to compare them, but more so to answer a question from a friend who equally loves Avatar and Arcane as much as I do and just wanted to know where I stand with it as someone who has always seen Avatar as the pinnacle of animated stories. Just a discussion for fun, please don’t take it too seriously.
I love both of these stories, but I feel like arcane is a better story overall. But, if you like ATLA I think you’ll like the dragon prince, it’s got some of the same voice actors/directors & writers. The first 3 seasons are the best though tbh
I'm going to withhold judgement until they wrap up Arcane in a couple months. Arcane absolutely has the potential to be my favorite show of all time, beating out both The Good Place and ATLA. However, if they go killing off either Vi or Jinx then Arcane can forget about getting the top spot. 😤🤬
I have one quibble. I don't think Silco is driven to prevent further bloodshed and to create a safer environment. That's his spiel. I think he wants to be the recognised ruler of a nation. This puts his motive closer to Ozai, but writ smaller.
It's a hard choice. Arcane is definitely more perfect, like everything from start to finish. Avatar is better still for me tho. I might have to make a channel to make a response video. Avatar has some things Arcane doesn't. They are hard to grasp and explain, but maybe I'm up for it.
honestly Im of the opinion that arcane is better than avatar soley because avatar exists, as something you can compare. I didnt have much tv growing up and actually only watched avatar for the first time a year ago, when I was 20 years old, and while I had fun with it... it didnt feel that compelling or entertaining I should say, which is quite interesting to me. I usually hate more gritty realistic shows or series and I love animation but the pacing in avatar felt a bit off to me at times which is probably due to the format it had and the serialisation, which is reasonable but some episodes felt extremely out of place like when they drunk on cacti juice lol. the writing is well done but it doesnt make me empathise with the characters as much as something like arcane and even some anime do, which I suspect is mostly those "quiet moments" where the characters can reflect and feel more complex, which doesnt really appear in avatar much due to it being more a kids show. I also think some plot points like the shipping could be completely removed and even make it a better product or at least done differently which is my main nitpick from having the show be 10/10 for me. I really like that arcane picked themes and had every single plot point matter or progress the plot even when it was involving love. (it came out of seemingly nowhere just because we are used to having hours of googly eyes before anything happens and it was so well done thematically, jace and mel "creating life" while victor was "creating life" by messing with the arcane core, very tasteful) I watched arcane blind and im really glad I did, I was inevitably spoiled on avatar but I think it only impacted how I viewed zuko tbh. like you said everything was cut and dry but the simplistic writing is also a strength. I think on one end of the spectrum is avatar, with simplistic plot and deep characters with good characterising, and the other end has arcane, deep plot simplistic characters but that grow in depth and nuance while you watch which endears you to them and shatters your soul along with them, and in the middle of that spectrum is puss and boots the last wish. simple characters simple plot but with excellent characterising, it lays out everything from the start and then bounces the characters off each other. looking forward to see more stories in these styles from multiple genres
I’m actually so happy that you commented this. As someone who grew up on Avatar, it was definitely an experience. I do feel that Avatar is worthy of all its accolades and nowhere near overrated BUT with that being said, I’ve felt that a huge factor of that really falls back on childhood nostalgia and all the memories that come with it. People who grew up watching it are deeply emotionally attached and I feel like (in some cases) it blinds them to fairly assessing other shows, that may be on equal footing.
Grew up with avatar, now I get to live with arcane. Both are amazing but objectively arcane has better detail in every aspect, including storytelling. It has so much that I still find new symbolism and details after my 8th watch. Avatar was perfect for younger me, arcane is perfect for me now.
@@noahruiz9532 I enjoy the discourse with my two fav shows. It’s fun to me. And as I mentioned earlier in the video this video is me answering a question my friend asked me.
I'm a die hard ATLA fanatic. I used to think I will never liked any animated series as much as ATLA but Arcane happened. To be fair ATLA is your generic good guy wins against the dark side trope vs. Arcane's realistic (humanistic?) portrayal of people/characters that are in the gray area. But kudos to Arcane tho ATLA's climax in the end after multiple seasons is literally just in every act of Arcane. It's crazy how they managed to tell a full season's worth of story in just 3 episodes. Just for that I'd put Arcane first and ATLA second.
You get it! It honestly just depends on what caters to you as the viewer. For me personally, I enjoyed having everything I thought this show would be prove me wrong, I loved how it mirrored the real world and presented hard truths in the sense that you don’t always get what you want in life, sometimes you don’t get to have that happy ending. That was honestly the beauty of it for me. BUT with all of that being said, I still absolutely adore Avatar, that’ll never change.
A.L.T.A and A.L.O.K was both so far ahead of its time in terms of themes and storytelling that it took years for anything to match. The technology of the time was amazing, look at Davy Jones in Pirates of the Carribean 2006, Transformers 2007/2009... it was definitely financial
Helps that it isn't heavily aimed at kids, I feel like ATLA is overhyped because of nostalgia. I liked it but watching it as an adult I almost couldn't finish the first season because of how "Nickelodeon" it was.
Someone else had mentioned this as well lol. I personally don’t take any issue with it’s goofier nature especially in its first season BUT I do acknowledge that perhaps Arcane hits more for me right now because adulthood has given me a more cynical outlook and I resonate with Arcane’s characters struggles and darker situations.
(tl;dr at the end!)
Every generation or so, there comes a story so remarkable, so profound in its impact on us, that it lives rent free in our heads for years to come. The type of story you re-watch time and time again without ever being surprised it's as good as you remembered. Of course it is: You were there, you experienced it yourself.
Atla is, without a doubt, one of those stories. It stood alone in recent history, especially in the western animation scene, so much so that virtually no one whom had seen it questioned if it was the best. It just was. Then, more than a decade later, Arcane came along and suddenly those same people started asking the question: "Is Arcane better than Atla?"
The fact the question is being asked by so many, for the first time I can recall, is a feat in it's own right. I surely did not expect to see the day it wouldnt be a hot take to say, "___ is better than Atla," but here we are.
My take, though?
Arcane season 1 averages better than Atla in it's entirety by every discernable metric, and it is honestly (sad to say) not even close. but Atla has had a lot more arcs, a lot more highs and lows. How does Arcane season 1 (about 6 hours) hold up against the best 6 hour stretch of Atla? Well, that might be a lot closer, and it could go either way. What about act 3 of season 1 versus the best 2 hours of Atla? These are more fair (and more interestingly nuanced) comparisons to make right now.
But there is another angle I cannot in good faith ignore. Arcane's current story ends in season 2, which means Arcane is roughly halfway through telling its story. So, would a more fair comparison be the first half of Atla versus season 1 of Arcane? If so, Arcane "only" needs to do what Atla did - have an even better second half than its first half - to ensure it takes the top spot as securely as Atla had for all these years. If season 2 only drops in quality enough to still be around as good as half one of Atla, then I would say the two shows are equally as good, or at least indiscernible rivals for the top spot. If season 2 is awful, Atla still reigns supreme.
Tl;dr: As it stands, Arcane has delivered a strong enough first season to have people asking the question, "Is it better than Atla?" without being laughed off as the ramblings of a lunatic. If season 2 sticks the landing, the answer will be a definitive yes. Otherwise, odds are good it will still remain a question open to debate for years to come.
Another point: the handling of disability. Avatar is fantastic at making Toph overcome and take advantage of her blindness and empowering her while not forgetting her limitations, but Arcane does show that Viktor's disability and fatal illness does make him the victim of discrimination (he is just as gifted as Jayce but is overlooked by Mel and the rest of Piltover), and his need to find a way to cure himself pushes him to extremes.
This is a GREAT point.
Viktor is discriminated because he's a "broaky" from the ghetto. His disability is never presented in this context and only used as a motivation for him and Jayce, and something that puts a time limit on their work.
I think that Viktor being overlooked by Piltovian society has much more to do with his origins in the undercity than his disability.
@@babette5918I’d say it’s mix a both, given how he phrases it “No ones ever believed in me. A poor cripple from the Undercity.” I’d say that both the disability and being from the Undercity had a major hand in the discrimination he faced.
unfair that avatar writers can give a blind girl super human godly sense of touch that she can feel the vibration of ant feet yards away. Like any character given that ability as a counter to their disability would def find it easy to feel and be empowered
God it feels so good to just listen to somebody gush about Arcane. Everyone seems to pick out slightly different aspects and examples of what they liked most about the show. Much like everyone seems to experience the show in a different way.
For me personally I couldn't stop losing my mind over the facial expressions in Arcane on my first watch. To me faces were always the aspect where animation deviated most from live action. Animation often times leaned on exagerations or the abbility of their voice actors to get the characters emotions across. And it always seemed to me like it was the one thing that animation would always fall short in, just because of how well our brains are wired to detect the smallest movements in human expressions. But then Arcane just annihilated that belief in me with the most stunning facial animations I've ever seen. Not only is it incredibly nuanced and detailed but the show also fully relies on it to make the dialogue work. The amount of non-verbal communication that happens in Arcane would take the average Anime approximately 40 hours of inner monologue to spell out for the audience. That really blew me away.
Another thing I only really noticed after rewatching the show is how information dense it is. You touched on the pacing in this video and I think the show did such a good job with somehow packing so much in only 9 episodes without ever overwhelming the audience (or at least that was my experience watching)
You don't really have to pick up on everything to follow the story. And a lot of it is also taken in subconsciously. Not least due to the aforementioned facial animation.
Yessss I was honestly so impressed with the detail they put into animating this masterpiece. Dare I say it’s revolutionary??
The facial animations are indeed, so incredibly good. The fact that the most moving, emotional and impactful scenes in the show are mostly just close ups and music is astounding. Jinx lighting the flare, Jinx's fight with Ekko, Jinx launching the rocket. They are all scenes with only a line or two of dialogue, but the animation and the incredible score just carry so much weight. I think Arcane is easily the most I have ever cried at a show, and it was pretty much every single episode from 3 on that did me in.
This argument lives rent free in my head. My opinion changes almost daily.
I think depending on how s2 goes…it’ll solidify my answer
@@artxroyalty Exactly.
I've been scared to watch because it hasn't ended and I don't know if it'll stick the landing
@@katiereed5038 If the second season is the worst media ever created, I'd still recommend the first season.
@@gaara_of_the_desert1118 I'm a real wimp about cliffhangers but the strength of your conviction has entered the chat of my inner conflict. Thanks
on the topic of animation, yes its true that they have better technology to work with... But i think its mostly the amount of TIME and effort they put into animating it. the fact that S1 took 6 years to make from conception, and it took another 3 years for S2 to be finished, thats what truly sets the animation quality apart.
Definitely, and it’s reflected in damn near every frame of the show.
Not only time and effort, but also genius from the directors at Fortiche. They are incredibly talented.
Nice analysis.
Arcane was an extreme breath of fresh air when I first watched it, and it honestly has the potential to be up there with the likes of Star wars, Lord of the rings, and Game of Thrones with how expansive and fleshed out the world is.
One of the creators of the company in an interview even stated that they would like for it to have the same kind of longevity & impact that those other IPs did.
I know I would definitely love to see more from the world of Runeterra. Hoping it has the longevity of all those legendary IPs (I know it will)
I've read the short stories from their website, and Arcane is just the tip of the iceberg. They have so many amazing stories they could tell in an animated show format, and I'm so excited!
I am just gonna say it now, if season 2 is nearly as good season 1 or better, then there is not even a question. Arcane is the best animated series, yet, and one the best TV series in general. As much as I love Avatar, Arcane is simply a step above.
Lol no
@@gottliebbaerenfuss Great argument.
Arcane simply takes the medium to another level, it's revolutionary.
IMO, Arcane is already the best animated project OAT. And the first season is easily a top 5 1st season in tv show history.
The video essay is here! Very excited.
Sometimes we watch a show, we like it and after we watched it we're saying something like "It's in my top 3" or something like that.
That's because we're not sure. That's because even though we like it very much and we think it would be "in the top 3", we're incapable of truly defining a thing in those shows or movies that are making them top 1, 2 or 3. We don't want to make a choice because it would mean making a hard decision, ordering things that we don't want to order.
I watched a LOT of series, always with a simple rule : one episode per day. No rush. Take everything in slowly and keep time to process, that way you won't feel like it's ending too soon. Kind of like you keep reading a book by limiting yourself to a few chapters per night, and not gobbling up 200 pages in an hour or two. No TV show was ever able to make me break that rule : not Game Of Thrones (and god knows there's a lot of cliffhangers in there), not Breaking Bad...
... until I watched Arcane. I came in on the week-end that Act 2 dropped. I had 6 episodes to watch, a week to wait until Act 3 drops, one episode per day, easy. Or so I thought. I watched the first one. I was intrigued. The following day I watched the second one. Okay, I was definitely invested in the characters now, and this is very unusual for me to get that invested that quick (Game Of Thrones needed an entire season to make me invested in the characters). So for the first time ever, right after finishing episode 2, I launch episode 3. Then 4 (which is still my favorite episode in teh first season), then 5 then 6 (which is a bloody masterpiece). All in the same day. The week-long wait until the release of Act 3 was probably the longest week of my entire life. Waiting for GRRM to release the Winds of Winter didn't feel as long as this week did for me.
All of this to say this : I have no doubts in my mind now. Arcane is my favorite show of all time. Not in my "top 3" or "top 5". Firmly in 1st position, and if season two is as good as season one (which considering they have written the whole script for season 1 and 2 in one go... it has high chances of doing it), then it will take a hell of a show to make Arcane step down to number two.
(also, Arcane's animation was 100% possible in the 2000s. Arcane is painted and keyframed (yes, there's no dynamic lighting in Arcane, every frame is painted by hand pretty much when it comes to light), these are very traditional techniques that predates 3D engines that simulate lighting, motion capture etc. What Arcane had, was a freakin' TON of money, and time. The first season took 6 years to write and make, the second one took a little bit over 3 years. Budget for the first season was around 80 million dollars (which for the record, is about 10 times the average cost of an animated show), and the second seson is estimated to have a budget of around 120 to 150 million dollard (since Fortiche roughly double in size, there's more artists, and the work that was done in 6 years before was done in just 3 thanks to the many more people that were hired. All of this to say that tha limiting factor of pretty much every show or movie is money. And Arcane had no limitations in that regard)
This right here! As someone who always held Avatar as the pinnacle of all cartoons, I had a hard time admitting it to myself when I got the first inclination that I might’ve resonated with Arcane a bit more.
Yep, time and money! Almost nothing is static in the animation like we see in "normal" animation. Backgrounds characters are animated, sceneries are animated, nothing is on a low frame loop. These are things that can't be done on a tight schedule or budget like anime. This is the glaring thing that i can't ignore any more in anime productions... when nothing is moving except the characters mouth and even that is barely happening at 4 frames per second. Sometimes there is no movement at all and the camera just zooms in or out and moves around a bit. Arcane S1 was run by the creatives. RIOT had the foresight to provide the time and money. Eventually the people who control the purse strings will tighten them up. So far, it sounds like the time needed for creative excellence hasn't been compromised... we'll see what the investment in the rollout looks like soon. I predict that S2 will be on-par or better than S1 from an investment standpoint, but the time/money side will likely drop off for S3 and beyond. One thing I am sure of is that if Christian ever "moves on" or has creative fallout with RIOT then the show will suffer.
@@babette5918 there will be no season 3. Season 2 is the last season of Arcane.
They said they will make other shows about other parts of Runterra, for now people are theorizing that the next show will be about Noxus, for its connections with Arcane / Piltover and Zaun.
And I think they will take their time again, and we won't be seeing a new animated show from Riot before 2028 at the earliest, if not later (there is everything to re-write from scratch pretty much)
I'm the same as you, I like to spread episodes out so I can enjoy a season/show for longer. I mostly managed to restrict myself to 2 episodes a day when watching avatar. But with Arcane? My sisters and I stayed up till 2am binging the first 6 episodes in one hit. The next morning we woke up early and watched the last act. I don't think I've ever been so firmly on the edge of my seat for an entire season.
I'm actually not quite sure if an animation like Arcane could have been produced during the 2000s because they use a lot of modern 3D mechanics to simulate a few things, specially for the characters. Also, even though much of it is handpainted, it's not exactly every single thing that appears at every single frame. For example, for most of the show the skin texture of the characters remains consistent throughout the scenes, and while the textures and its variants are handpainted at first, they don't need to repeat that process for every single frame, unless they want to, which means they have a lot more control over the final rendered animation and it takes much less time. Also, I'm not quite sure if they do use it, but it's possible that they use normals maps and uv-mapping which would allow them to make skin texture that actively reacts to whatever lighting they intend to use in different scenes, which makes it 3D but also handpainted at the same time :)
Something I also noticed in their work is a thin black line between objects that get in the way of each other, such as hair in the face, or a limb in front of the body, etc. which is just soo reminiscent of 3D lineart done by 3D softwares. And that does not even scratch the surface of their compositing work which is just incredible and efficient, and I'm not quite sure if 2000's productions could deal with sooo many different aspects for a single show even if they had the money for it, the process for all of it is too complicated
Instead of feeling modern, Arcane feels timeless to me. Arcane season 1 reminds me of the best Shakespearian tragedies.I think it's going to remembered as a masterpiece no matter how Season 2 turns out. Just the soundtrack gives me goosebumps and bring tears to my eyes - no other show gets that deep reaction from me, even Avatar.
Avatar is a lesson in great writing, it's a great show. But because of it's length, I haven't even watched it once all the way through (forgive me, I have ADHD). In the same way I'll never re-watch every episode of Bleach or Inuyasha.
Conversely, I've watched Arcane 5 times all the way through since it came out and each time it still mesmerizes me and makes me ball like a baby. I don't even like dark or tragic stories, but these characters feel so real it's like watching my closest friends make the same mistakes again and again. It feels like I'm watching a miracle in comparison to the usual "entertainment" we've been getting in the last decade. Arcane stands out so much when most new TV shows feel like a lecture or worse, a cheap reproduction of art but without the heart. I know the studios "gut" a lot, keep some of the good artists from doing their best work. But it's also nepotism where the same bad writers and directors have had chance after chance and millions on millions to get it right and instead they're hollow, forgettable spectacles without a heart.
In that way Arcane and Avatar are the same, they are both works of art. And they ARE miraculous to me because the studios make 'products', and rarely indulge in the risk of releasing art.
god I waited for this show long before its production was even announced (everyone was begging riot to make a show/movie bc the lore is that good), I knew it was going to become one of my all-time favourites as soon as it was released but I never expected it to be as amazing as it is. It is why I decided to start drawing (and just creating in general) again, it inspires me in a way no other piece of media has. I've rewatched it an absurd amount of times and I still find so many details I had never seen before. There is so much love and passion put into every single frame. I just love this show, I could listen to people talk about it for the rest of my life.
I think one of the reasons Arcane was so effective at subversion is that everything that happened was what actually would happen. Yeah, it makes sense that the little kid with the magic crystals would blow up her own friends on accident. It makes sense that Vi would lash out. Powder would be traumatized and end up with profound trust issues. It makes sense that Silco would turn her into a weapon and it makes sense that Powder would attach to him because he actually values her. Everything is set up so well that the "subversion" is actually the only outcome that makes complete sense. The happy ending would require plot armor and more suspension of disbelief.
THEYRE BOTH SOOO GOOD BUT IN DIFFERENT WAYYYS
WHATS THAT?? FACTS‼️
Thanks for a thorough and thoughtful comparison.
So much of the difference comes down to the time and money spent--which is a function of how seriously each project was approached by the people making them, and the frameworks they were operating in. ATLA was pre-streaming basic cable fare from a risk-averse kid's network, and given those constraints, performed WAY above its weight class. Arcane was a prestige offering from its game studio progenitor (arguably, even a loss leader for marketing their games) and once they decided they were in, money was effectively no object.
Still, no amount of money can turn a mediocre story into a masterpiece (see: The Rings of Power) and I don't hesitate in classifying Arcane (so far) as such. I would go so far as to say both series were both better than they could reasonably have been expected to be and that both pushed the bounds of how good they COULD be, given their circumstances...but Arcane's circumstances were profoundly better, and the results scaled accordingly.
Two of my favorite shows + my favorite reaction RUclipsr doing a great analysis! What a combo ❤🎉
Wow, thank you! Y’all are so sweet 🥹💜
yea one of the first things i thought when i saw the credits on ep 9 was "holy shit this might be better than avatar"
Same. As someone who’s always subconsciously like “this isn’t surpassing Avatar” after watching a series, this was the first time I was like…wait, I can’t answer that question.
a good comparison of two animated shows I would always happily watch again. speaking as someone that bought the $150 3-disc steelbook collectors edition so I can watch Arcane in 4K in the future.
Thinking about how many people love arcane but will never touch league. Riot is definitely becoming more and more like an entertainment company like their rebrand says.between the base game, arcane, the music, eventual mmo and all this other shit even a damn tcg. The barrier to entry isn’t just the toxic league of legends community anymore it’s actually great since I’ve always wanted others to really get into the lore more
I would say it's hard to compare some points like you mentioned for example animation. Well I would still say that when it comes to storytelling, Zuko has the best redemption arc ever written. Rest like you said can be subjective. It's not bad to know who is evil and who is good in the story. Aang is ultimate good while Ozai is ultimate bad but ATLA still has more complex characters like Zuko, Iroh, Azula, development of Sokka is pretty complex too. Firenation as a whole also isn't rotten nation to it's core. It had good people, not corrupted kids. It still had good in it that needed to shine through war brutality to actually finally end it and make fire nation start healing from corruption.
These are good points as well. It honestly boils down to what caters to you as the viewer, and the realness of Arcane’s story/characters just hit a little more for me.
@@artxroyaltyI also think the mental health aspect is a bit unfair. Of course Arcane did it better more nuanced, no question. BUT, it's unfair to compare sth Arcane put a lot of runtime into for maybe the most important character in the series to sth that isn't even supposed to play such a major role in Avatar. Azula is a reeeaaally cool character, but she is not nearly as improtant to Avatar as Jynx is to Arcane. You get me??? Take maybe how the nations are depicted, the complexities there. (Eg. with earth soldiers drunk on power hurting their own people) And compare that with the world building with Piltover and the undercity. Idk how fair that is tho tbh, but both are well done, nuanced and interesting. Avatar had more time tho
Great job. Commenting for the algorithm. As much as animation is a medium not a genre, though, ATLA is still a show specifically pitched at ages 7+ on Nicklodeon. An extremely well-made and thoughtful show, for the elementary school age range. I think that ultimately makes comparison with more mature works a bit unfair without acknowledging it. Of course, it's tough to acknowledge this online without the adult fandom flying into a defensive rage.
I hope you continue on with these kinds of videos, perhaps Blue Eye Samurai is on the horizon? Anyway, love the essay.
Let's freaking go! I'm so happy you decided to share your experience of Arcane and bring us on your journey. The fact that it can be compared to avatar with just 1 season and 9 episodes is a testament to it's greatness. Loved getting to hear more of your thoughts 😊
Thank you!!! It has been quite the experience and it’s been so fun sharing my thoughts and hearing y’all’s! I adore this show 😭
I love both shows to death, but I agree Arcane just takes everything to another level. Amazing analysis of both series!
Well done Aisha. Glad to see that the show and "Bridging the rift" has motivated you! I think that Christian Linke and the other creators would feel proud to have provided inspiration to someone. I particularly enjoyed your voicework for this. I didn't even realize it was you until I looked a bit deeper into it. Your reactions were excellent, and I am really looking forward to watching you react to Season 2. ** Coming Soon! **
For me, yes, but only because ATLA was intended for children, while Arcane is aimed at a 13+ audience, giving it more freedom for nuance. That, and the fact that ATLA uses much more old-school animation. Sure, you can still watch it today, but it would be a lie to say it compares to the animation quality of Arcane.
Commenting so this blows up. Loved the points you put in your analysis. Hope you cover more animated shows as it is an underrated and powerful medium of entertainment and storytelling. I wonder if you will cover some indie shows (for like shorter videos) and other fascinating projects like "Blue-Eyed Samurai".
Can't wait for Arcane Season 2 !!! 2 months, just 2 more months.
Oh nice arcane and atla both of my favorite. My opinion is to wait till the second season of arcane plays out. In my opinion season 1 arcane surpasses book 1 of atla (still good )but season 2 is where atla becomes amazing doesn’t help that azula and an appearance of avatar kyoshi is my favorite characters. Season 2 shows us stuff like this wasn’t just the fire nation causing problems but also the earth nation that had there version of ozai in chin the conqueror or corruption in ba sing se which is practically a police government which the king practically has no power. Or in season 3 when aang goes to school he realizes how the propaganda and falsehoods have had on the normal citizen and they aren’t just all bad. I’ll say at the moment I prefer to rewatch arcane more than atla because for atla book 1 has weaker episodes I don’t really care for.
I don't know how long I want my own comment to be, but I want to say this was a very good amazing video essay. I will fully admit I am sucker for Arcane reactions, but more so recently. I haven't really cared to watch or search for Arcane video analysis (truly nothing against them or the people. I love to watch film analysis channels and videos. But I never actually needed anybody to tell me how amazing Arcane is.) One thing that kind of hit me hard or interesting way was your mention of Ekko's fight. While I am nowhere near the first person in this world to play league, know the background, story, lore, etc. But for those who jumped into this show and had no knowledge, they also have done amazing job to teasing what is to come for so many characters. I don't want to spoil anything but the visual story telling is amazing just for that fight scene because those that know his backstory and abilities, its grest homage to the future. Also interesting to hear how you thought the show was going to go vs. How it did proceed into episode 3. While Jinx's and Vi backstory werent fully fleshed out in the lore, I already knew enough about the story setting to know where it was going to go. That's all for my main thoughts, all I can say is that Riot games and league have created this world over 15 years and they are finally reaping their harvest. Whether they ever meant to or not, its in prime setting to be in the spotlight, I trulu believe for the next 10-30 years, probably longer. I said they have enough IP to probably outlive our lifetime. It just depends how hard they push themselves to make seasons faster and faster. Personal opinion, I give more props to them to end their story on their own foot. Tooo many things get dragged on for no purpose whether because of money or some storytelling, it eventually dilutes the product. Some things need to know when to end or take a long break to reset. I obviously don't think this world is anywhere near that as we are literally only into a second and final season of their first show. But my main point this story is nothing to how big and grand scale the world of Runeterra is. It will be very interesting to see how far they can push even future technology for animation and storytelling, if we as an, audience will be in this world for the next 10-30, 40 years. And characters can make crossovers and appearances. Overall great video essay and much kudos to you! 👏
I hope one day arcane is used in high schools to teach literature. It will be a classic of this new form of animation and storytelling.
I would re-enroll just to take that class lol! But honestly, it’s just that good. There’s still stuff that I’m picking up on after multiple rewatches!
Regarding the Pacinfno of Arcane, I think it's worth mentioning that they simply didn't have the budget or time for "filler" episodes. Each Episode of Arcane costs around 10 million usd, and the series took almost a decade to produce
Idk both shows I enjoy every binge watch.
Oh most definitely. Arcane will now be joining Avatar in my annual rewatch.
Really good job, especially for your first essay. You should do more of these. Looking forward to seeing what else you watch.
Amazing breakdown. Arcane has become so iconic
For me, Arcane was really good, and in terms of storytelling it might be as good as it gets. That being said, as a show, it doesn’t come close to Avatar for me, yet at least. I think it’s hard to put Arcane on that level already, as the characters, world and themes aren’t as complete, due to the show not being finished. It’s been a bit since I watched it, and besides the incredible production and attention to detail, as a story Arcane doesn’t really compare to my favourites. The characters are good, sure, but the only real standout for me is Jinx. The plot isn’t anything groundbreaking either, and the show doesn’t feel quite complete thematically. I think it’s simply too short to truly be the best.
Arcane is still incredible for what it is, but Avatar is on another level. There are still a few anime I would consider better than both though.
Well in my opinion ATLA is a 9/10 and Arcane is a 9.5/10.
Valid
The wait was worth it! Really on-point with the visual examples to support the narrative.
I really appreciate it! There was so much to discuss that I kept finding other topics to bring up even after I finished shooting my audio.
This was excellently written and produced! Thank you!
This means a lot!! Thank you 💜
I think Jinx and Zuko are a better comparison. Sure it’s Azula who has the mental health issues but Zuko shares far more parallels to Jinx like when they meet at crossroads. Zuko in Ba Sing Se and Jinx near the end of the first season. They also lost their family due to their actions. Jinx with her friends and Zuko with his uncle (and possibly his mother although the show didn’t delve into if he continued to believe he’s the reason later on in his teen years or not, (he’s not but he thought so as a kid)).
Personally, ATLA is better than arcane, only slightly. Only BC arcane isn't finished, once season 2 comes out, that's when the real debate occurs. Two complete series compete to figure who is better.
This is a fair statement! Excited to see how s2 will change or solidify my initial thoughts 👀
Its actually pretty ironic that most people expect Powder to have a coming up story in the first few episode since the main target audience are players who are at least familiar with the themes of story in the source game. I always knew vi and jinx would end up against each other but even knowing that doesnt spare you for the emotional built up and fallout.
Like people in other comments and reviews have pointed out, alot of the leauge of legends community that actively read/talked about the lore really wanted a show and riot (the company behind league the game) had a good history with animated music videos. Both sound and visuals were only getting better as time went on (example is the K-DA song which went pretty viral). I honestly think that my expectations for Arcane in these fields of sound and animation were still high but I knew already what they were capable of .
I think alot of what people miss is the lead up of experience and experimentation that came with both the story/community/music/ect. and that why is blows people's expectations far beyond what they thought was possible (like indie games that have had a long legacy online). This is also just in comparison to ever animated show before it, the painted look of Arcane is just a step above anything that has been attempted before in the space. And also the art style in the game is slightly similar to that painted look which adds a layer of joy to my viewing of the series, so I really am happy that the art studio was really careful and deliberate with their details and colors.
to add on to all that too, since the game is a active tactic fighting game it was pretty lodged in my brain that this story would have war as a main theme. i was also in awe of the ending, to me it was as if there was no other way this could of ending/started the war, which kicked off changes in the world that had been built for so long by the creators.
I think on a level for the character of jinx, while i understand being sad that the world had failed her, I saw it more as "the world has warped you but you are the only person who gets to make this choice to move forward (good or bad or morally gray)" and it was so much all at once from each character that it made me so hopeful that changes in their world would start. even with conflicting sides and moral dilemmas, I was happy that everyone could face that conflict in their own way with no way to truly run and hide.
Great video! I remember watching your first arcane reaction where you mentioned your friend said it was as good as atla and you were skeptical
It really is something special I wish more people realized it
He couldn’t WAIT for me to finish so he could throw that question at me lol! It was something I realllly had to hibernate on 😅
I feel like many people that started Arcane through hearing the ATLA comparisons (like myself) kind of go in with blinders and don’t really allow themselves to get invested. I’m glad I gave this show a chance, best decision of my life.
@@artxroyalty truuuuuuu! I started watching arcane because I couldn't sleep, saw Arcane was recommended. Course I only saw the LoL and prematurely compared it to other videogame to film adaptations and thought "this will be good to help me sleep."
I watched episode 1 through 8 wayyy into the morning. HAD to force myself to sleep, after an hour nap I instantly went to watch ep 9 😂
@@mr.raccoon1999the lack of self control is so relatable 😂😂
YES. Let's go.😄
WELL SAID. I concur. Great analysis of the two shows. Clear concise thoughts with great call outs to the evidence behind your statements. VERY good video [maybe do more of these? *LOL* I know they take a lot of work, but it's so good!]
Thanks so much!! I definitely want to do more. It took FOREVER lol but it is such a rewarding feeling finally being done
Personally, no, because their two very different stories with their own unique themes and animated styles.
The only show that can really be compared to Avatar is it's spiritual successor, The Dragon Prince.
That essay turned out georgeous ! 😃
A really well researched and well presented video essay! You mentioned Blue Eye Samurai which is another great show. My opinion is that Arcane, Cyberpunk Edgerunners, and Blue Eye Samurai are the 3 best animated shows on Netflix, so if you haven't yet seen Cyberpunk then you should!
@@spectreharlequin oooh I’ve been hearing a LOT of people talking about Cyberpunk…might have to add that one to the list! And thank you so much! These shows really bring out my inner passion for stories and animation!
I'm not surprised at all, but this was great work! I would like to aee more of this kind of content from you!!! ❤️
I definitely want to do more!! Maybe for season 2. With all these s1 video essays…I think they’ve got it covered 😅
i get the comparison since theyre the best but i still think its hard to compare solely because 1. avatar was aired on nickelodeon and made to suite that, arcane can have much more gore etc that make it more mature/realistic, and also 2. animation wise arcane obviously clears everything but you cant compare them since ATLA released way before Arcane. In the end its still to early to say since s2 hasnt aired and then the scope has to be considered as well. ATLA is a finished show, Arcane isnt yet, and even if S2 ends "Arcane" we already know they will continue making shows in this world, wether it ties into arcane or not. ATLA had that aswell but with little success.
Arcane and AtLA are 2 of my top 3 shows, but I think you should check out the 3rd, Legend of Vox Machina. It has amazing animation (just 1 notch below arcane), and the storytelling is superb. It is my favorite show even above these 2, and its next season is coming out in less than a month! It is another series that centers on very complex and amazing characters set in a great fantasy world. It's also based on dnd, which can be a plus to some people, but everyone I know has loved it just as much whether or not they play dnd
I’ve heard a lot of good things about Legend of Vox Machina! Consider it added to the list
A lot of solid points. The only major thing holding Arcane back right now is the ending. There are so many examples of shows that start out strong but fail when it comes to actually ending their story. Something that separates AtLA from the rest is that the series finale is so perfect. The visuals are stunning, the fight scenes are amazing, the cast all get their moments to shine, and the story concludes in a satisfying way (that was never going to end with a 12 year old boy killing someone. despite how the saying goes at the end it was still a kid's show).
For Arcane to take the championship this season needs to stick the landing. It is going to be hard to live up to the hype around it, but if it really is the best then it will.
This is a solid take! I’m curious to see how they’ll wrap up, I’ve got complete faith in the team over at Riot and Fortiche.
I felt the same, then I got the sudden "suspicion" a few weeks ago that Arcane Season 2 wasn't going to be nearly as well-written as Season 1. Well, at least the first five episodes wont be.
Nah, I have faith in the team over at Riot and Fortiche. They delivered for s1, I know they will in s2.
For the longest time avatar was my number 1 favorite show uncontested. I had seen it so many times I can still recite entire episodes or conversations in the show before the characters say it while I watch along. But then Arcane came along and holy fk it blew my mind. I have been obsessed with league since like 2015 when I started playing it, and like everyone else who saw the cinematics riot releases, I was counting the days till they released a movie or tv till we finally got this masterpiece. I’m so excited we’ll be seeing more of Runeterra tho
I still need to watch ATLA in adult version so I am holding judgement. Great video essay. I think there is more behind the scenes on the blu-ray for arcane. Totally preordered it. So can't wait for it to ship out. Can't wait to see everyone in November for season two.
I think season 2 will help make this a much easier answer to come to terms with. Personally (as an arcane glazer) I think arcane will be cemented as a juggernaut of the industry (far more than even now) as the team shows S1 wasn't lightning in a bottle, but a resounding display of talent and skill.
If you are down to watch or react to animes, I cannot recommend To your eternity enough. It is a heartfelt story about an alien learning and understanding humanity and its range of emotions by interacting with the people around him. It is a little emotional though but it has an amazing opening episode
Arcane breaks the animation box, we need to put it up against the live action…these characters have more life and depth than just about anything live action we’ve been forced to consume in the last few years. I am Vi, Silco, Jynx, Viktor,Mel, hell even Sevelka as just a side character made sense. Everyone is flawed yet have merit, fxxking masterful and borderline scary how profound the writing and world building is 👌🏾
The only thing keeping me from saying yes is that avatar is 3 times longer while being as good as it is with 2 seasons being not as good but very comparable to season 1. But when season 2 drops and is as good it’s official for me.
@@JacobFors s2 will either put the nail in the coffin or have me reevaluate my initial thoughts BUT I have faith in the team over at Riot/Fortiche. They’re going to deliver!
I see what you eventually did with the Thumbnail, very nice👌
Great Video👏👏👏
@@gabrieloke9218 I wanted it to be a little more interesting BUT thank you!
Yes Arcane has surpassed ATLA by a huge margin.
This was such a fantastic and incredible analysis!!! Aghhh as a huge fan of both shows this was a treat to watch : D
Thanks so much for tuning in!!
Wonderful video essay.
Best of luck in your future creative endeavours. I'm so glad you found the spark again! :D
@@renehoyvik thank you so much, I really appreciate that!
I'd say for me Arcane is probably the more competently crafted product, but I won't say it's better. Just because I believe there's no Arcane without ATLA. In many ways, but I'm too lazy to write a book.
"There's no Arcane without ATLA" is pushing it, while they're both masterpieces, they have completely different tones with Arcane being a tragedy, so I doubt Arcane is a product of ATLA existing. They're both political and of the fantasy genre but..that's about it.
Fortiche actually shared their inspirations, namely anime such as 20th Century Boys, Paprika, Perfect Blue and Monster. All of them being dark.
20th Century Boys and Monster were inspiration for how the writing of side characters is treated the same as of the main characters. Paprika and Perfect Blue for the mental health aspects as well as the psychosis we see in Jinx.
Blue eye samurai mention GOD that show is peak
Another one with insanely good visuals. Excited to see more with s2!
I feel like the nostalgia is so strong that its hard for Arcane to even tip Avatar from the top rank.
As someone who’s always put Avatar on a pedestal (and this might be controversial) but I feel like the nostalgia aspect is understandable but also kind of dangerous. A lot of ATLA fans put blinders on going into new shows. They’ve already determined that Avatar is miles ahead in their eyes and because of that don’t allow themselves to genuinely invest in the potential of a newer show.
Amazing video! Beautiful use of the soundtracks too, really impressive.
Also, no shame, even crying when watching your video essay about the series. I feel like I can relate to almost every character, even the side characters, on some deep level. It has been a long time that I have looked forward to a season 2 for something the way I do now and I am actually hopeful they can deliver.
Thank you very much! I’m glad you enjoyed the video!
Good job, keep up the good work.
Thanks, will do!
I see a documentation that the avatar author are inspiring to make more projects after arcane he was inspired the animation the story line and everything...
Only two more months.
I’m (not) ready 😅
Only one more month❤
ATLA has always been my #1 show. I've had a few close shows, replacing 2nd place a few times. But never #1. Arcane here was the first to bring up this very same question. While for me, It wasn't replaced... yet. They are actually on equal ground. But... the 9 episodes of Arcane being equal to that of the 3 books of ATLA doesn't bode well for ATLA's #1 spot for Arcane's upcoming season. I suspect upon the release of season 2, ATLA will be officially dethroned for me. And... I don't know how to feel about that.
(Edit: I'm quite a bit too harsh towards Avatar here, I stand by most of what I wrote, hence the lack of a rewrite, but Avatar is way better than how I made it seem in the following.)
I mean...hot take, but Avatar hasn't really been the champion for a very long time, especially if anime is considered. With shows like Cowboy Bebop, Monster, and quite a few others, it could even be argued that Avatar never was the champion. I recently rewatched it with a few friends, and it only really reaches that coveted 10/10 in a handful of episodes, it has a lot of duds and even more just...fine but nothing special episodes.
That said, I do still love Avatar, but I now plan to watch it as many people watch One Piece, by picking and choosing the episodes that are still worth going back to.
I don't think Bebop even touches Avatar :/
@@badbadgilead2552 Fair enough. Still, I don't know that Avatar has ever really been "the best" animated show.
I knew you were working on a video essay. I didn't know you were working on giving millions of AtLA weebs heart attacks tho.
Way to come out swinging in the new format.
Thank you! As an ATLA weeb myself…I knew what I was getting myself into 😂 but I love these kinds of discussions it was worth it.
Just a small note - I think we should consider ATLA as ATLA+TLOK, since Korra adds a ton of deeper and complex questions and challenges. I cannot look at them without one another. Being a huge Avatar&Filoni Star Wars fan (and also BES) - Arcane is no doubt #1 top in my life. But, i just encourage people to take both ATLA and TLOK in consideration together. Without Korrasami we would never have CaitVi.
@@user-s4w6q I hear you, and I absolutely loved TLOK, but the general consensus is that Avatar is in a league of its own apart from TLOK which doesn’t quite carry the same acclaim - which is unfortunate because it’s a great sequel, however it holds a lot of flaws where Avatar was nearly perfect.
@@artxroyalty haha, yeah, might be. I just tend to focus on pros and miss the cons, lol :)) like I took best from ATLA and best from LOK and consider as common story.
Worth the wait.
Oh my God.
This is like Sophie's Choice.
Yayyyy! Video essay!!
If i could only watch one for the rest of my life, I would be divided. Both shows are way too good to miss out on. Its an impossible choice. *clings to both shows* you can take them from my cold dead hands! 😖
This is crazy. ATLA has always been my favorite animated show, but I've been asking myself the same question...
Does Arcane dethrone ATLA?
You've really nailed the key points on why Arcane surpasses ATLA. It evokes so much emotion in a single frame-not just through its breathtaking animation, but also by conveying layers of meaning visually, far beyond what dialogue or backstory alone could achieve. It’s truly fascinating. Yes, ATLA is a classic, but as you said, Arcane represents the future of animation. I’m incredibly grateful to have experienced it.
Not going to argue any of your points, but if we are having a conversation about dethroning Avatar we need to include Cyberpunk. Yes, it is far more adult and graphic, but the world is incredibly immersing and the characters and writing is amazing. Also, just like Arcane, it has a killer soundtrack.
@@EvilEmperorZ I’ve heard some people recommend me that show, I definitely need to check it out!
Stoooooooked!!!!
I've been waiting for someone to compare these shows! I love Arcane and I love ATLA. But ATLA is always going to take top spot for me. There's one thing in my opinion that ATLA does much better than Arcane and that is : Levity. This is super important for my personal enjoyment. If I wanted all the media I consumed to be a reflection of the world as it is, in all its morally grey glory, I'd watch a documentary, you know? For me, I watch entertainment to escape real life. And ATLA is exactly that kind of show. Arcane doesn't care to make the audience feel good nessicairily. It's a 'hard truth' type of show. And while I respect it and adore it for what it is, that just can't compete with the absolutely joy and childish wonder I experience every time I watch ATLA. If I wanna feel cathartic, and raw then yeah, I'll watch arcane but I get enough of that just reading the news lol
But of course, that's just my opinion! Thanks for sharing yours.
I feel this 100% and for the longest I felt the exact same! Idk if it’s me becoming more cynical as I age, but the morally grey glory/reflection of the world angle that Arcane takes on just hit home for me personally.
At the end of the day, it’s really about what caters to the viewer so everyone’s opinions are valid. Thanks so much for sharing yours!
@@artxroyalty Ah, yeah. It's hard not to be cynical with everything that's been going on in the world tbh 😅
I also wanted to say I completely agree with you about the art and animation. I literally said to myself after watching Arcane " I'm so lucky to be alive to see this work of art". Is this how people felt when Michelangelo revealed his work? Lmao. Especially in this era where AI is threatening creative jobs, it's like Arcane is this beacon of hope that people can still make something so unique and masterful in animated format.
I have tried watching atla but never really connected a lot with it. Ill try again just so I can come back and watch this vid!!
It REALLY picks up once you get to season 2. Season 1 is known to be the least favorite of the three 😅
@@artxroyalty So I just finished it, really liked the show it was pretty entertaining and fun, also cried multiple times (I get rlly emotional EASILY). But I didnt love that much how most of the conflicts were solved in a matter of seconds and sometimes in very stupid and childish ways, the lack of continuity between episodes, the fillers, PLOT ARMOR, how bending is sometimes so OP and characters not using it (blood bending for example), and some people being bad just because (Firelord and Azula). But I get it, its an old nickelodeon show.
I think ATLA has a lot of potential if it was to be done as a serious TV show. Really loved the world and everything about it. Great entertaining and touching show. 8.5/10 for me.
Just one question, is the Netflix live action worth watching?
@@TedSifu omg yay, I’m so glad you watched it!! That’s exactly why I wanted to take into account that it was broadcasted on a children’s television network, but it’s a classic nevertheless! If I’m being honest…the live action has its pros and cons. The graphics and spectacle was on point but the writing…not the strongest. A lot of almost cringey exposition 😅 i’m hoping they take the criticism they got from the first season and use it to make the second season better! I haven’t quite given up on it just yet!
@@artxroyaltythanks!! ill give it a try then, I dont mind it being cringe, I watched the one piece live action and it has a lot of corny/cringe dialogue, but its one of the most emotional shows Ive watched! Oh and I forgot to mention ur video was awesome, really well done and it flew by!! 10/10 vid 😊Cant wait for more video essays!!
I just don't understand why we are comparing them? In my opinion its like comparing two completely unrelated live action tv shows, when they have different target audiences and completely different things that make them good or even masterpieces. There are a bunch of animated masterpieces that have their own good aspects. I'm not trying to argue, I'm just insanely confused.
Hey, so as I kind of mentioned in the beginning, this video wasn’t exactly to compare them, but more so to answer a question from a friend who equally loves Avatar and Arcane as much as I do and just wanted to know where I stand with it as someone who has always seen Avatar as the pinnacle of animated stories.
Just a discussion for fun, please don’t take it too seriously.
Amazing sales pitch for Arcane 😅
I need to watch it immediatly
Hopefully you didn’t watch this entire vid 😅
@@artxroyalty just the start dw
I love both of these stories, but I feel like arcane is a better story overall. But, if you like ATLA I think you’ll like the dragon prince, it’s got some of the same voice actors/directors & writers. The first 3 seasons are the best though tbh
omg I absolutely LOVE the Dragon Prince! I recognize my boy Sokka anywhere 😂
@@artxroyalty yay! Another tdp fan! I never see others who like it!!!
It's like ice cream flavours...if you love ice cream it doesn't matter...it's all good.
I agree! But the discourse is still fun to have
avatar glazing goes hard, it wasn't even close
@@anonemusofficial2511 that’s a wild take lmaooo. Avatar is definitely worthy of all its accolades BUT you’re entitled to your own opinion.
I'm going to withhold judgement until they wrap up Arcane in a couple months. Arcane absolutely has the potential to be my favorite show of all time, beating out both The Good Place and ATLA. However, if they go killing off either Vi or Jinx then Arcane can forget about getting the top spot. 😤🤬
I have one quibble. I don't think Silco is driven to prevent further bloodshed and to create a safer environment. That's his spiel. I think he wants to be the recognised ruler of a nation. This puts his motive closer to Ozai, but writ smaller.
That part was for Vander 7:10
@@artxroyalty Ooops. I used the wrong quote - I should have used the "greater good of Zaun..... true freedom for Zaun" part. Mea culpa.
It's a hard choice. Arcane is definitely more perfect, like everything from start to finish. Avatar is better still for me tho. I might have to make a channel to make a response video. Avatar has some things Arcane doesn't. They are hard to grasp and explain, but maybe I'm up for it.
Omg I really hope you get around to making a vid! I love these kinds of discussions and I’d love to see your more in depth response.
honestly Im of the opinion that arcane is better than avatar soley because avatar exists, as something you can compare. I didnt have much tv growing up and actually only watched avatar for the first time a year ago, when I was 20 years old, and while I had fun with it... it didnt feel that compelling or entertaining I should say, which is quite interesting to me. I usually hate more gritty realistic shows or series and I love animation but the pacing in avatar felt a bit off to me at times which is probably due to the format it had and the serialisation, which is reasonable but some episodes felt extremely out of place like when they drunk on cacti juice lol. the writing is well done but it doesnt make me empathise with the characters as much as something like arcane and even some anime do, which I suspect is mostly those "quiet moments" where the characters can reflect and feel more complex, which doesnt really appear in avatar much due to it being more a kids show. I also think some plot points like the shipping could be completely removed and even make it a better product or at least done differently which is my main nitpick from having the show be 10/10 for me. I really like that arcane picked themes and had every single plot point matter or progress the plot even when it was involving love. (it came out of seemingly nowhere just because we are used to having hours of googly eyes before anything happens and it was so well done thematically, jace and mel "creating life" while victor was "creating life" by messing with the arcane core, very tasteful)
I watched arcane blind and im really glad I did, I was inevitably spoiled on avatar but I think it only impacted how I viewed zuko tbh. like you said everything was cut and dry but the simplistic writing is also a strength. I think on one end of the spectrum is avatar, with simplistic plot and deep characters with good characterising, and the other end has arcane, deep plot simplistic characters but that grow in depth and nuance while you watch which endears you to them and shatters your soul along with them, and in the middle of that spectrum is puss and boots the last wish. simple characters simple plot but with excellent characterising, it lays out everything from the start and then bounces the characters off each other.
looking forward to see more stories in these styles from multiple genres
I’m actually so happy that you commented this. As someone who grew up on Avatar, it was definitely an experience. I do feel that Avatar is worthy of all its accolades and nowhere near overrated BUT with that being said, I’ve felt that a huge factor of that really falls back on childhood nostalgia and all the memories that come with it.
People who grew up watching it are deeply emotionally attached and I feel like (in some cases) it blinds them to fairly assessing other shows, that may be on equal footing.
Grew up with avatar, now I get to live with arcane. Both are amazing but objectively arcane has better detail in every aspect, including storytelling. It has so much that I still find new symbolism and details after my 8th watch.
Avatar was perfect for younger me, arcane is perfect for me now.
Exactly. Couldn’t have worded this better
@@artxroyalty I'm sure you could have, I am terrible at writing lol
For me it does. Arcane is the best series I’ve watched since prime game of thrones
I’m gonna have to agree with you on this. I hadn’t felt emotions this strong in a minute.
Will you be watching the new Arcane sneak peek?
I watched the Netflix event live since I wasn’t home at the time. I’ve already seen it 😭
Why compare two great things though
@@noahruiz9532 I enjoy the discourse with my two fav shows. It’s fun to me. And as I mentioned earlier in the video this video is me answering a question my friend asked me.
I'm a die hard ATLA fanatic. I used to think I will never liked any animated series as much as ATLA but Arcane happened. To be fair ATLA is your generic good guy wins against the dark side trope vs. Arcane's realistic (humanistic?) portrayal of people/characters that are in the gray area. But kudos to Arcane tho ATLA's climax in the end after multiple seasons is literally just in every act of Arcane. It's crazy how they managed to tell a full season's worth of story in just 3 episodes. Just for that I'd put Arcane first and ATLA second.
You get it! It honestly just depends on what caters to you as the viewer. For me personally, I enjoyed having everything I thought this show would be prove me wrong, I loved how it mirrored the real world and presented hard truths in the sense that you don’t always get what you want in life, sometimes you don’t get to have that happy ending. That was honestly the beauty of it for me.
BUT with all of that being said, I still absolutely adore Avatar, that’ll never change.
A.L.T.A and A.L.O.K was both so far ahead of its time in terms of themes and storytelling that it took years for anything to match. The technology of the time was amazing, look at Davy Jones in Pirates of the Carribean 2006, Transformers 2007/2009... it was definitely financial
Helps that it isn't heavily aimed at kids, I feel like ATLA is overhyped because of nostalgia. I liked it but watching it as an adult I almost couldn't finish the first season because of how "Nickelodeon" it was.
Someone else had mentioned this as well lol. I personally don’t take any issue with it’s goofier nature especially in its first season BUT I do acknowledge that perhaps Arcane hits more for me right now because adulthood has given me a more cynical outlook and I resonate with Arcane’s characters struggles and darker situations.
Fair
Oooo it's gonna be a goooddddd night!
Get your popcorn!
Guys please! Hold your speculation until season 2 and even then at 🎉least until the last season .
I’m definitely going to circle back after s2, but it’s still a fun discussion to have now!