Story & Characters
The story of Ragnarok the Animation entails the adventures of Yuufa, an Acolyte, and Roan, a swordsman, as they set out
across the Rune-Midgard Kingdom. Having emotionally recovered from the death of her older brother Keogh during a crucial
mission in Glast Heim, Yuufa and Roan set out on a new journey that will open them up to many mysteries and even more
dangerous situations. Along the way, they are joined by a merchant named Maaya, the magician Takius, the hunter Judia,
and their old companion, the assassin Iruga. Iruga was Keogh's childhood friend, and had saved from Yuufa and Roan
from the terrible dangers of Glast Heim.
As the story unravels, the personalities of each character developes to a point where you are able to learn more about
their lives, personal strengths and weaknesses. You get the chance to learn about each character individually, and how
they become who they are today. Also, you start to get involved in a bigger mystery, as the conditions of the
Rune-Midgard Kingdom suddenly take a turn for the worst, and an unexpected figure makes his appearance among the most
devious of enemies. As the world begins to become wrapped up in a struggle between good and evil, Yuufa and Roan soon
find themselves in the midst of the chaos.
Will the heroes be able to overcome their own weaknesses in time to save the world from a terrible fate? Well,
you'll just have to wait and see.
Rating: 7
Art
The animation style of Ragnarok the Animation is fairly basic, but definitely up to snuff. in this reviewer's
opinion.
While the characters in the series stay true to the designs of the classic MMORPG down to the letter, they still retain
the lack of realism that comes with the majority of series within the anime genre. This is not necessarily such a bad
thing, as the designs seem very fitting of the Rune-Midgard Kingdom. It allows enough detail to be given to the
characters to make enough of an eyecatch, but not enough to distract the viewer of the storyline. Also, it can be a
great indication of a given character's mood, personality or motives in a flash. I think the style chosen for this
series achieves this kind of objective very well in my experience.
While Ragnarok the Animation lacks some of the fancier, CG-ed stylings of some of the more recently famous anime series,
it can still catch your eye with stunning painted backgrounds and some of the finer attention paid to even the smallest
details. If you are a former or even a current player of the MMORPG version of Ragnarok, then you will feel very much at
home with all that you see. Otherwise, I do think that the art style of the series does show much promise to those who
have never played the game before.
Rating: 7
Sound
Personally, I really enjoyed hearing some of the audio tracks featured throughout the series. But because of memory or a
slow start, there is much that I am not able to remember in terms of music during the first half of the series. My only
explanation for that is that I might have not been able to find a lot of the music that was featured during the first
half very interesting, except during moments of action-intense battle when the mood intensified the music and some
elegence was added with the sound of a flute playing.
Later on, I really began to take notice of the music as the drama within the series began to intensify. For me, there
was never a dull moment. I found the music that was played throughout the remainder of the series highly appropriate, as
well as very original. Though some of the tracks were reused for battle scenes, many others had come into play to keep
the overall soundtrack fresh and appealing. It was one of the first times that I have ever heard such a unique
combination of instruments, and I still am highly considering the purchasing the soundtrack for this series one day.
Now, if only the opening theme didn't have to ruin a bit of the dramatic tension in the later episodes of the
series a bit....
Rating: 8
Presentation
As a veteran of the Ragnarok Online beta-testing period, I was instantly drawn to this series through my love for the
game. While the series wasn't what I expected, as I was hoping that it would be based on Mugin-Lee's Ragnarok
manwha, I was still pleased with what I had to see. The series contained some pretty original bits of humor, as you
witness poor Roan playing the part of a packmule to Yuufa in the first half of the series. Others included flirts with
danger in all the wrong places to seeing some of your favorite characters such as Iruga getting dragged into
crossdressing for a costume party. Most of the humor is still admittedly cliche in some parts, but the rest is fairly
unique and really circumstancial.
The thing that I really liked the most, in fact, was how realistic the situations Roan and his friends got to be in.
When characters got injured physically or emotionally, they wouldn't feel it for just one episode; no, they would
feel it for a few episodes, depending. Events reflect on the characters, just as they would in real life. This is an
element I feel many of the best anime series are lacking, and Ragnarok the Animation really hits the mark to the point
of seeming really dark to most viewers. So, if you are looking for a happy, fluffy adventure into the world of Ragnarok
Online, then this series is not for you. But if you are looking for a true-to-life tale involving some unique characters
taken from that world, complete with emoticons and the whole class shpiel, then be my guest.
Rating: 7
Final Verdict
7.1667 (above average)
Reviewed by sarisasenshi, May 08, 2006