With the broadcast of the third act of its second season on November 23, Arcane finally reached its conclusion. A technical and narrative feat, the series set in the League of Legends universe quickly rose to the list of the most popular animated series in history. But if this Netflix Original and its season 2 are of undeniable quality, the last episodes demonstrate the inevitable limits of Riot’s initiative.
The second season ofArcane follows directly from the end of the firstjust after Jinx’s attack on Piltover Council. As the council attempts to determine an appropriate response to this attack despite its deaths and injuries, Jinx gradually transforms into a symbol of struggle for the people of Zaun. And as the conflict between Zaun and Piltover moves the region ever closer to civil warmuch more mystical forces are also preparing to play their cards.
The first beginnings of Arcane
After a first season which received rave reviews from both the public and the press, expectations were very high for what would be the final season ofArcane. At first glance, It is clear that Fortiche succeeds in demonstrating a graphic style that is even better mastered than in the past.probably proof of a better-oiled mechanical pipeline and the know-how of the studio’s artists. They demonstrate all their talent here and deliver numerous anthology sequences, enhanced by magnificent shots and making the most of the mix between 3D and 2D which has made the reputation of the French studio and its series. However, it would seem that this new season also demonstrates the limits of a particularly expensive production.
Indeed, the 9 episodes of this season regularly see parts of the story being staged in the form of a montage which strongly tends to recall the musical clip: composed of images more or less in movement and sometimes including elaborate transitions, these sequences are also supported by music (mainly pop) created specifically for the needs of the series. While some of these scenes totally work, like a funeral scene at the beginning of the seriesothers seem irrelevant or even not entirely consistent with the narrative issues of the sequence which unfolds before our eyes.
One of the confrontations of the third episode, although a poignant sequence with high stakes, is punctuated by energetic pop whose inclusion does not entirely succeed in singling out the emotional issues of the sequence. In addition, if the first season of the series also had its share of musical sequences, their punctuality underlined their individual importance and reinforced specific passages. Conversely, the musical sequences that work in season 2 ofArcane find themselves caught in the middle of a bunch of other similar sequences which sometimes appear to be the result of a desire to reduce costs on sequences with less intensive animation and sometimes closer to “motion comics” than ‘something else. Of course, these could still be real artistic choices on the part of the studio which manages, even during the scenes that work the least, to offer something interesting, but it is a decision to be questioned just as much, as it clashes with what the series had been able to install previously.
Give yourself the means to justify your end
These production considerations run somewhat through this second season, an issue reminiscent of the announcement that it was concluding the series that surprised many viewers. If the first two acts of the season remained in a narrative progression and a logical rhythm, the last act abruptly moves the story towards a conclusion, certainly consistent with what had been constructed, but which condenses far too many developments into an insufficiently broad time.
Indeed, the last 3 episodes see several major characters go through several evolutionsthis while the series introduces new narrative processes at the same time and carries out multiple reversals of situations, some of which ask the viewer to reconsider the story in its entirety. The last act, and even specifically the last two episodes, attempts to reach the end of the story by developing and concluding everything that remains (or almost) over an insufficient length of footage to give the impression of anything other than a compression of said story on its final portion.
It is also very damaging to see Arcane gradually drifting towards fantasy blockbuster tropes by putting aside its treatment of the class struggle and the sororal conflict that it places at its center in favor of a climax with the vague air of an American blockbusterwith what that implies of ambitious scenes and confrontations of grandiloquent proportions. Arcane never completely loses sight of its characters and remains particularly “character-driven” but this character study suddenly finds itself stuck between anarchic developments and the sudden change in scale of events. A damaging end for a series which until then shone for its narrative qualities.
We need to streamline the ASAP pipeline
Despite this rushed ending, Arcane remains an indisputable success which will have proven to many the qualities of the universe created by Riot Games in 2009. Supported by the talents of the Fortiche studio, the animated series achieves the rare feat of coupling a particularly solid and deep narrative with a striking visual style. In this sense, it is a shame to see the series trip up in its final stretch and rush towards its conclusion because of what we imagine to be production or even budgetary constraints.
Effectively, Arcane’s budget is no longer a secretand if its amount (estimated around 250 million dollars) can be refuted by certain members of the production, they themselves agree on the fact that the series was particularly expensive: so expensive that Riot does not even believe it can reach the break-even point on its exploitation of the work. However, the company is not discouraged and sees Arcane as a success, satisfied by the laudatory reception of his production. It must be said that the series, apart from its qualities and its failures, allowed Riot to position itself as a studio fundamentally concerned with the quality of its productions more than their commercial success and thus to create a brand image. to the spectators.
The booming budget ofArcane being partially attributable to the fact that the American studio was making its first trip into the world of television production here, it is legitimate to think that the company has since found its feet and built a pipeline that could ensure smoother production for its future projects. Christian Linke has actually already mentioned that new series are already planned and, despite all the statements assuring that Riot is extremely happy to have spent so much money on the series (it’s the price of quality, you understand), it is certain that the series which follow will be made on a better controlled budget.
If the American studio has so far only vaguely announced that it wants to visit the regions of Noxus, Demacia and Ionia, expectations are already high for the series which will succeed Arcane and its phenomenal success. For its part, Fortiche Productions should still be working on their first animated film: Penelope of Spartaa feature film whose release date has not yet been announced. This shouldn’t be the end of collaborations between the two companies however, and while it remains entirely possible that Riot chooses to vary the studios for its future projects, Fortiche should indeed return to the world of League of Legends in the future.
