Arknights Anime Gives Video Game Lore Fans Lots To Love
There are plenty of anime that started as a game before the story was adapted, such as Pokemon, Cyberpunk: Edgerunner, and Persona. The Arknights anime is yet another on this list, having started as a mobile game. The dark storyline does well at being converted into an anime, and acts as a supplement to the game, while also standing out as its own story for those who’ve never played.
The Hunt For Originium
The first season, Arknights: Prelude to Dawn, focuses on the overarching story, explaining the discovery of a strange mineral called Originium. It’s a highly sought-after mineral that is necessary for technological advancements and gives certain people almost magical abilities known as Arts.
The mineral is in areas plagued with natural disasters, caused by the Originium itself. Unfortunately, harvesting it comes at a heavy cost as those who gather it have a high chance of catching a contagious and incurable disease.
Forgotten Knowledge
This Arknights story starts similarly to the video game, with Amiya (Tomoyo Kurosawa) explaining the world to the mysterious person titled “The Doctor” (Yuki Kaida). Unfortunately, The Doctor has amnesia and can’t remember much about their role in the world or their research, despite it possibly being key to saving the world.
Arknights—the game and the anime—are from Yostar Studio (Azur Lane). Yuuki Watanabe (Little Witch Academia) was the director, who was in charge of the storyboard and the sound director for the anime.
Season Two Ramps Up The Action
The second season of Arknights: Perish in Frost jumps more into the story, with a rebel organization destroying the city of Chernobog. The group now has their sights on a prosperous city known as Lungmen, and it’s up to The Doctor and their team, led by Ch’en (Shizuka Ishigami), to defend the city.
Despite being rather unknown anime, both seasons of Arknights did fairly well for themselves. Arknights: Prelude to Dawn has an average score of 7.08 on My Anime List. Meanwhile, Perish in Frost has an average score of 7.57 on My Anime List.
Deep Lore For A Mobile Game Adaptation
Based on reviews, Arknights seems to have an interesting premise and does pretty well for a Gacha game, which is a game that entices people to spend in-game money on products similar to loot boxes, like Genshin Impact, Ganblue Fantasy, and Azur Lane.
However, the story is still missing some of the depth it needs to make the story stand out. The story is said to be intriguing and mysterious, though not as action-heavy as one might guess it to be based on the game. Visually, though, the Arknights anime is stunning, making it fun to watch.
Both Seasons Available On Crunchyroll
It is incredibly faithful to the story in the game, which is neat if you’ve ever wanted to see the story actually play out or you wanted a way to absorb the tale without having to read the details on your phone.
For those who want to watch this anime or have a bit more backstory for your favorite mobile game, Arknights has both seasons available to watch on Crunchyroll. Whether or not you’ve played the game, you can jump right into the anime without feeling like you’re missing anything.
