Rating: 
Summary: A fanastic saga that would make Tolkien proud!
Review: This is one of the best anime titles available. It stays true to the world of fantasy created by Tolkien and then further developed in the Dungeons & Dragons games. I was especially impressed with the character development and how it played along the lines of each characters' race (human, elf, dwarf) as well as their profession (warrior, priest, thief, mage). In terms of how it rates as a DVD title, the fact that you can get it for less than half the price of the VHS collection, and get the 'making of' documentary included, its a definite for anyone building their anime collection on DVD. Like 'Lord of the Rings', I can see myself enjoying this story over and over again.
Rating:
Summary: Great price, priceless addition to any anime collection!
Review: Lodoss Wars in dubbed and subbed format for less than $50? What more could you want? My only gripe..no extras such as character sketches, etc. They did include the little movie release presentation that was present in the last VHS volume, but that's about it.
Rating: 
Summary: one of the best animes i seen
Review: this is one of the best animes i've seen in awhile besides evangelion. i got it for cheaper at some store at an outlet mall in indiana. its all the edisopdes though
Rating: 
Summary: Not what i was expecting
Review: I chanced upon this DVD collection in a video store, and having read some of the manga associated with it, i decided to but it...not a wise choice.
For thirteen episodes (each 30 minutes in length) you would think it would pass by quickly....but the fact is, the darn plot moved so slowly you feel like you have been watching for ages.
While trying to survive Parn's nievity which grows to be very annoying over time, you find yourself trying to stay awake and trying to figure out what the heck the main plot is about. They have so much going on at one time it gets hard to follow and at times it get's confusing. And instead of deeloping their characters so the viewer can feel as if he/she "knows" this person...they go to one battle scene to another where Parn believes just because his father was a great knight he automatically knows how to use a sword. I mean for peats sake....Deedlit is a better fighter than him! And she's the one that gets captured at the end!
This entire series was a total let down for me and i would advise against buying it. If you have a friend whom owns it i would suggest you borrow it and watch it from them first before you buy it....or at least read some more of these reviews.
Rating:
Summary: Falls short on so many aspects...
Review: After reading quite a lot of favourable reviews around the internet, I must confess I found myself expecting a great deal from Record of Lodoss War. Unfortunately, I believe it falls short on too many aspects, most of which could be easily improved!
One of the main things you will notice right away is it's COMPLETE lack of originality! As a matter of fact, if you take a look at the details you will find this Anime to be, in many ways, a complete copy of The Lord Of The Rings!
Just take a look at the characters... the main party consists of: 2 Humans , a powerful Sorcerer , an Elf and a Dwarf named Ghim! (I wonder where I've seen THAT before...)
If you manage to look through all that though, you will find a very nice Fantasy Anime, with a good plot and some agressive action scenes.
The quality of it's sound is one of the best aspects of Record of Lodoss War. The music is great, and considering this Anime was released in 1990 the overall quality of the sound effects is quite good.
In conclusion I can only say that Record of Lodoss War is a good Fantasy Anime that unfortunately lacks the originality of other great series of this genre, such as Escaflowne or Hack Sign.
If you're REALLY into Fantasy though, this is one of the old-school classics you would want to have on your collection, but if you're not... there are much better choices!
Rating:
Summary: The Original Epic Anime
Review: I don't know why all of the other reviewers say the plot is unoriginal, maybe they just don't understand it. First, the idea of a sorceress controlling peoples' lives in order to create a war that will 'save Lodoss' is very original in my opinion. The story is wonderful and complex and I think it is a joy to watch again and again. The characters are well thought out and you even begin to sympathize with them. I'll admit that a lot of the character and plot ideas originate from Dungeons and Dragons, but it is played out in an original way.
(You can read many other reviews for all the plot and events)
Basically the with Karla decides that the balance of power must be restored in Lodoss so that the world is not destroyed. In order to accomplish this, the witch instigates the war that is already beginning to develop. Beld and Fahn, the two opposing Kings engage each other with Parn and his companions caught up in the struggle.
On the second disc, events do get bogged down after Karla is defeated and moves on to her new body. Finally things pick up when Ashram and Parn engage each other in Demon Dragon Mountain. Both the Japanese and the English Dub are wonderful. I prefer most anime in Japanese, but this is one that I prefer in English (along with IRIA Zeiram).
I would say that for fans of any RPGs or Lord of the Rings this is a great boxed set to pick up. You may be able to find it to rent (usually you can rent both discs in one box, sometimes you have to rent them separately).
Just remember that this is an anime developed in the EIGHTIES and drawn right around 1990. The animation is great for being almost 15 years old.
I encourage everyone to just watch it and decide for themselves. Everyone has their own opinion.
Rating:
Summary: A caveat for first-timers to Lodoss
Review: This series was originally released in the 1980s and that is why the animation, effects, and style will not be up to par with contemporary anime. This series is actually a classic with great hand-drawn art, music by Yokko Kanno and Sherri, and all the favorite elements from fantasy.
This item is a must-buy for fans of this series, but all others won't be overly impressed by it, esp. if you already watch contemporary anime.
Personally, I first watched this series in 1994 on VHS, and it made quite an impression on me. Previously, I hadn't been won over by Japanese animation.
So again, if you are a fan and have fond memories of this series, this Collector's Edition is a must-buy.
Rating: 
Summary: 1 Star is too much...This is trash!!!
Review: I would give this ZERO STARS if I could, but Amazon won't let me. The animation is HORRIBLE, which I could get over if the story wasn't HORRIBLE. Maybe I'm too picky, or spoiled, or both. But in the way of stories, I have been exposed to too many good fantasy stories by authors such as Tolkien (LOTR) and Tad Williams' ("Memory, Sorrow, and Thorne" series/trilogy). These are books, not anime, but they have spoiled me for the generic and just plain bad tripe that this Lodoss War story consists of. The characters aren't developed. The background story isn't developed. It is very simple, which is not a bad quality in itself, but this story plays out like a very bad role-playing video game. There is just enough story to tell who is bad and who is good. There is some cheesy mythololgy-type story briefly given at the beginning of this series -- much like an RPG. For me, this would not bother me if the story was more in depth.
Bad story aside, this DVD series might be worth watching for its action and eye-candy visual effects, but wait, it doesn't have those either!!! The animation and bad production values make it look like this was made in the 1970s on a shoestring budget. Plus, there is very little action.
I want the dollar, and the coupon I used to reduce the price to a dollar, back from the big-name video rental company I rented this from. I wouldn't watch this even if it were free. It is so bad, it gives me that kind of car-sick feeling I get when I watch bad animation and listen to bad 1970s music and television shows. Bleecchhhh!!!! I only could handle the first four episodes. Sadly, I was hoping it would get better. It didn't.
Seriously, I don't know how some people say this is "The Best Series Ever!!" or things like that. It blows my mind, seriously. If you like good QUALITY movies, animation, storytelling, etc, STAY AWAY FROM THIS AT ALL COSTS!!!!
If you want to see good anime, watch Akira, Ghost in the Shell, Ninja Scroll, Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Perfect Blue, Cowboy Bebop, or look for Amazon lists of Anime movies that contain some of these titles and you will be on the right track. There are more good anime movies than the ones I mentioned above. Look at Amazon's "Listmania"s or their "So you want to..." lists.
Happy hunting.
Rating:
Summary: Love it!
Review: Best anime I've seen yet. I'm a big fan of fantasy, and this was simply awesome. My one complaint, and it's minor, is that the animations for the ancient dragons was less than stellar. But it's a great story, with well-developed characters. All I can say is this: Get it.
Rating:
Summary: Best fantasy before Jackson's LOTR; but borrows a lot..
Review: Okay, I'm gonna start off with a personal note: RECORD OF LODOSS WAR is probably one of my all-time favorite series ever. At the time that I was just getting warmed up to Anime (thanks to witnessing Miyazaki's wonderful artistry), I happened upon this title in my local videostore. Instantly, I fell in love with this thirteen-part direct-to-video series -- being a fan of the SNES game FINAL FANTASY III and J.R.R. Tolkien in general, watching RECORD OF LODOSS WAR was like a dream come true. It's a hybrid of these two great works filled with just about everything any fan could ask for -- dragons, elves, dark gods, a band of unlikely yet loyal heroes, villains you'll love to hate, action, suspense, romance, a small touch of humor, and engaging from start to finish. The story is hardly original, but it's done very well for this kind of show. In fact, the one minor flaw of this series is the way the plot "jumps around" from one event to the next. However, it's the characters which make RECORD OF LODOSS WAR so much fun, and much of the best scenes belong to Parn and Deedlit; especially the dance sequence. Ghim and Deed also get to bicker about each other's differences while Parn, on a quest to clear his disgraced father's name, finds a father figure in Kashue. Ashram has a Dark Elf named Pirotess (the opposite of Deedlit) who'll do anything to prove her loyalty to him... including sacrificing herself, Karla is shifty and cunning, while Wagnard is just plain evil -- an over-the-top, maniacal monster equivalent of Kefka from FF III who cackles fiendishly as he puts his dark plans into action. The chemistry between this cast of characters is so well done and the show is so engrossing that it's easy to forgive its occasional shortcomings, notably the jumpy plotting and the animation, which, although gorgeously drawn, uses a low cel count which results with some stiff movements. It may take a while for one to warm up to the music, but by the end, it really grows on you. For fantasy buffs, RECORD OF LODOSS WAR is simply great fun. Central Park Media made a DVD release of this title a few years ago, but have since rereleased it in a more beefed up package, with some new bonus features to speak of, including the behind-the-scenes featurette we saw on the VHS tapes as well as a Promotional video (dubbed in English), which sounds, I'm sad to say, awful. There's even some DVD-ROM features (identical to those on the CHRONICLES set), including the dub script and credits for both casts. As far as I'm concerned, the visual transfer is very well done, but then I've never seen the old release so I can't compare it with that. (I was told, though, that CPM used a new Digital Video Remastering process to clean up the visuals for this release.) For purists, the Japanese language track is on here with clear, easy to read subtitles, and an optional English dub. Considering that it was recorded at a time when dubs had a very bad reputation, this English production is surprisingly good. It got somewhat mixed reviews; some say it's fake and/or mediocre while others find it annoying, but here's a better review from one of its many enthusiastic fans (that's me!). No, it's not perfect, and some lines do come off as a bit awkward, but a lot of the voiceovers are really good. In particular, Billy Regan (Parn), Lisa Ortiz (Deedlit), Al Muscari (Slayn), Jacques Le Can (Woodchuck), Simone Grant (Karla & Leylia), John Knox (Ashram), Jayce Reeves (deliciously malevolent as Wagnard), and Alexander J. Rose (Wort and the Narrator), are among my favorites. Plus, the dialogue is close to the subtitled script and packed with some memorable one-liners (Parn: "Quick, Deed, what's [the dragon]'s weak spot?" Deedlit: "I'm not a dragon expert! How should I know?!") and great chemistry between the actors. I especially loved the interactions between Parn and Deedlit, the banter between Ghim and Deed, and a lot of other things. Which is why it saddens me that some would find all of this "inferior" to the Japanese language track. I listened to parts of the Japanese language track, too, and while I did find it to be of top-quality, I find that the dub still holds its own position decently. Of course, it may be in danger of being overshadowed by some of the better dub productions of today, but for a dub made in 1996, its a rather decent, if unspectacular listen. I'm still fond of it, as a matter of fact, even after hearing some better ones. Whatever language you choose to watch it in, you'll still be experiencing one of the greatest fantasy series of all time. Highly recommended.
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