Record of Lodoss War is a 1990 OVA anime series released from 1990 to 1991 in Japan by Kadokawa Publishing. The first eight episodes are based on the Grey Witch novel, while the final five episodes loosely follow the Demon Dragon of Fire Dragon Mountain novels.
The OVA was released in Japan on VHS from 1990 to 1991. Each VHS contained one episode. It was re-released in Japan on DVD in 2006. During the production of the series, the novels were still being written; thus, the ending, and some other scenes, differ from the ending in the novels. The first episode is an introductory episode where Parn and his companions fight an earth dragon in the dwarven tunnels. This episode chronologically takes place between episodes five and six.
The dark elf Pirotess was a new character created specifically for the OVA, but author Ryo Mizuno liked her character and decided to include her in later editions of his novel series.
In 1998 a sequel television series was released under the name Record of Lodoss War: Chronicles of the Heroic Knight, which covers the novels The Demon Dragon of Fire Dragon Mountain, rectifying the vast majority of the events as they took place in the 1990 OVA, and the two The Holy Knight of Lodoss novels. Altogether, five of the seven initial novels were animated. The novel The Fire Demon was skipped; however, an audio drama using the same voice actors was made about it.
Summary[]
Record of Lodoss War recounts the adventures of a youth by the name of Parn, the son of a dishonored knight. Part of his motivation for adventuring is to find out what happened to his father, and to restore his family's honor. Despite his inexperience, Parn is considered the leader, who is accompanied by his childhood best friend Etoh, his friend and sometimes advisor Slayn (and later by Slayn's lover Leylia), and his newfound mentor Ghim. They are accompanied by Parn's romantic interest, the high elf Deedlit, who comes from the Forest of No Return seeking an answer to her people's isolationism and an end to what she sees as a slow march to extinction; and a thief named Woodchuck. Throughout the series, Parn comes into contact with friends and foes alike. His allies include King Kashue, King Fahn, Shiris, and Orson; his enemies include Emperor Beld, Ashram, and the evil wizard Wagnard.
Characters appearing[]
List of episodes[]
| Episode # | Title | Release |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | “Prologue to the Legend” (伝説への序曲, densetsu e no purorōgu) |
30 June 1990 |
| 2 | “Blazing Departure” (炎の出発, honō no tabidachi) |
30 August 1990 |
| 3 | “The Black Knight” (黒衣の騎士, kokui no kishi) |
30 September 1990 |
| 4 | “The Grey Witch” (灰色の魔女, haiiro no majo) |
31 October 1990 |
| 5 | “The Desert King” (砂漠の王, sabaku no ō) |
30 November 1990 |
| 6 | “The Sword of the Dark Emperor” (暗黒王の剣, ankokuō no ken) |
20 December 1990 |
| 7 | “The War of Heroes” (英雄戦争, eiyū sensō) |
28 February 1991 |
| 8 | “Requiem for Warriors” (戦士の鎮魂歌, senshi no requiem) |
30 April 1991 |
| 9 | “The Scepter of Domination” (支配の王錫, shihai no ō shaku) |
30 June 1991 |
| 10 | “The Demon Dragon of Fire Dragon Mountain” (火竜山の魔竜, hi tatsuyama no ryū) |
31 July 1991 |
| 11 | “The Wizard’s Ambition” (魔導師の野望, madō-shi no yabō) |
31 August 1991 |
| 12 | “Final Battle! Marmo - The Dark Island” (決戦！暗黒の島, kessen! ankoku no māmo) |
30 September 1991 |
| 13 | “Lodoss, The Burning Continent” (灼熱の大地, shakunetsu no rodosu) |
20 November 1991 |
Soundtrack[]
The Record of Lodoss War: Original Soundtrack (ロードス島戦記 オリジナル・サウンドトラック, Rōdosu shimasenki orijinaru saundotorakku) was composed by Mitsuo Hagita and was released on three CD's. The soundtrack was published by JVCKENWOOD Victor Entertainment in the span of roughly one and a half year. The first CD was released on 21 August 1990, the second CD was released on 21 February 1991 and the third CD on 4 March 1992. The CD's were released in America by JNA Animation.
Some of the tracks have been provided to YouTube by JVCKENWOOD Victor Entertainment and are linked to below.
