We’ve made fun of a lot of video game adaptations on this website, although those adaptations were usually in the live-action department. There have been some incredible cartoon adaptations of video game properties, such as the Sonic The Hedgehog cartoons, certain Street Fighter cartoon movies, and, of course, Pokemon. But it’s fair to say that some of these didn’t really push the artform in a new direction. That is, until Arcane came out. This was a bold animation project that dared to do something that honestly hadn’t been done before: fully flesh out characters in League of Legends.
Yes, while League of Legends has been a hit game for a long while now, its lore was only loosely told in the game and its website. But with Arcane, not only did we get a visually striking animated production, but we got some really great looks into the characters, especially ones like Jinx and Vi. It was a huge hit upon its Netflix debut and it resulted in many things happening, including a second season being brought out and Jinx being used in Death Battle for the premiere of season 9. Now, the series is getting more positive attention in the form of Emmy wins.
To be clear, we’re talking about the Creative Emmy Awards that debuted last night. They were there to praise the creative works that many put into projects like this one and the League of Legends show won a few really great awards. But the one that most are noting is that it won Outstanding Animated Program.
If you’re wondering just how significant that is, it’s very significant, and for a few basic reasons. First, it won an Emmy, and that carries weight no matter how you say it. Second, the other programs in that category that it beat were heavy hitters, especially with something like Rick & Morty. Third, it’s the first streaming service series to win in that category. Thus, Arcane just made the best kind of history, and that wasn’t even the only Emmy it won that night!
The team were naturally very excited about the award wins, and no doubt feel vindicated for all the effort and time that went into making this series possible.
As for what’s next, there is a season 2 coming, and they’re going to strive to make it as big and grand as the original. But more than that, whether it’s League of Legends or something else, you can bet that there will be some who try and make a big stab at this themselves. Animation may not be the most popular thing around in some circles right now, but when you make a hit? People are going to notice and praise you for it. So let’s see what animated adaptation comes out next.
Source: Twitter
