Synopsis
Start with your balanced team of female adventurers: a resourceful and hard working treasure hunter, a dedicated priestess of Mylee with healing and holy magic, and an expert sword and hand to hand fighter. What’s missing? Blazing and powerful black magic! However, all the female magicians in Orphan are weak, unwilling to depart from their studies. The only available magician happens to be a hentai brawling MALE not to mention moron named Louie. Through a disastrous turn of events, their fates become intertwined for the better and for worse…
Review
Rune Soldier seems to be a misleading heading for the series. The japanese original is Mahou Senshi Riui (Louie). Rune alludes to a magical relic, charm, or instrument. Soldier, well, there technically are none except for the palace guards and king’s forces. The only person remotely close is Genie, possibly an ex-soldier but more of a mercenary now. Rune Soldier tries to describe Louie who has more befitting titles as: hero, adventurer, magician, swordsman, sluggard, and idiot. Nevertheless, Rune Soldier is can be considered a non-chibified version of the Welcome of Lodoss Island sub-series of Record of Lodoss War TV: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight. The jokes are better polished and not as corny.
The Breakdown
It may not have the widespread reputation in the anime community that Slayers and Record of Lodoss War have, but Rune Soldier definitely doesn’t lag behind with great animation and music. It packs enough humor to last not only the first time you watch it, but also every time after that.
» The Pros
The cast of characters. First you have Mirelle, a thief who always is at the forefront of misfortune. Genie, a woman whose past remains unsettled, Melissa who wrestles with her present predicament, and Aria, with her collection of rare items, labors to communicate her feelings of affection towards Louie. The star of the show Louie is indeed one of a kind. He's not your stereotypical mage. He's a tall bodybuilder, who frequently works out doing pushups. He's your customized mixed character you wish you were able to create in any Final Fantasy Tactics game. There are scenes where you'll say to yourself - I can't believe he did that! What will he do next?!?!
|
|
» The Cons
I wanted to see more of Celecia fighting. At the end of the series she is only a guide for Louie (although she played him as a sucker much earlier ^_^). The least she could have done was come back to teach Louie a lesson in swordsmanship as promised. I don't recall ever witnessing Aira cast a spell.
|
» Animation
9.0 |
Rune Soldier is brought to you by Ryo Mizuno, the creator of Record of Lodoss War. Fans of Chronicles of the Heroic Knight will notice right off the bat that Louie takes his character design from Spark, same blue hair although more muscular. You have your priestess of Mylee, whose social order is similar to Priest Etoh's Pharis structure but this time all female instead of all male. The deacon to Mylee in Chronicles was the dwarf Grivas. Conrad reminds me of the blond and annoying knight Komiyama in Hack//Dusk. Instead of Deedlit we have another blond haired elf named Celecia. MJ-Battle's comment: Aira's jewelry is reminiscent of Red Ring Rico from Phantasy Star Online. There are some monsters like golems, a black dragon, zombies, blobs, and weird indescribable ones but nothing immensely powerful like in Slayers. No hierarchy of demons. This also means less highly powered magic spells. |
|
|
» Sound
9.0 |
Any of the voices seem familiar to you? They should. Inoue Kikuko who played ever so important roles as Belldandy (Ah! My Goddess) and Mizuho Kazami (Onegai Sensei/Twins) stars as Melissa. Mirelle is done by Kawakami Tomoko (Tenjou Utena, Revolutionary Girl Utena). This last one might come as a shocker. Onime no Kyo's (Samurai Deeper Kyo) Konishi Katsuyuki is the voice actor for the happy-go-lucky Louie. Melissa's refrain - Against My Will - comes out more melancholic in japanese than in english. The opening theme Twinkle Trick by Okuda Ayan comes out cheerful and upbeat. As MJ-Battle noted, the opening is too joyful, not representative of the feelings the women have towards Louie. What it needed was a scene where Melissa, Mirelle, and Genie beat the living daylights out of Louie instead of running towards him with smiles. Or better yet have Louie screw up his flashy spell at the end of the intro. |
|
» Story
9.0 |
The series spans 24 episodes in length. In Slayers, Lina and company traveled around the countryside. They were always on the move defeating evil wherever it may be. Rune Soldier on the other hand is local. Hang out spots are the pub, sauna, marketplace, magician's guild, and the temple of Mylee. One gets accustomed to the sites in and around the city of Orphan giving a sense of home, a comfortable setting. The fisherman hunting the sea dragon Moby Dick style episode has been done before. The series doesn't have an overall plotline until the final string of episodes where the story is concentrated. Two key episodes that foreshadow a grander conspiracy are the introduction to Renard and Master Forudes's forbidden magic experiments. The ending leaves it open for a sequel but don't expect there to be one any time soon. |
|
|
» Recommend
9.0 |
The series is funny beyond belief, and to my surprise more so than Slayers. A terrific addition for any fan of the fantasy genre. |
|
» Other Information
Language: English/Japanese with English Subtitles
Extras: Stickers, an artwork piece, opening and ending themes
Package: The four adventurers Melissa (blond), Mirelle (brown), Genie (red) and coming to focus in the center on Louie (blue). Missing is Aira. |
Saturday, June 27, 2026
