Netflix’s ‘Arcane’ Is Excellent (And the Soundtrack’s Great, Too)

To say I’m a gaymer would be stretching it: I’m an inconsistent dabbler at best.

But I do play League of Legends every now and then, and have for the past few years with a group of LGBTs.

I am objectively terrible at it (bronze trash, formally speaking) – largely because I do not try to learn things, like what the items do, or who’s good against whomst. I just like to mash keys and hope for the best. Just like my strategy for life, now that I think about it.

However! Playing League for so long has made me at least vaguely aware of the lore that comes with the massively popular battle game.

Riot Games, the parent company of League of Legends, smartly began expanding the IP beyond the main game, including spinoff games, and an impressively successful entry into the virtual idol world in the form of the now legendary K/DA, which may have even inspired groups like aespa. (Look, the metaverse, virtual reality, it’s all happening, so you might as well get used to it.)

Earlier this month, Riot made another big move with their first-ever animated series, called Arcane, which traces the origin stories of a handful of the League characters, including Vi, Jinx and Caitlyn – all League Queens of Pop – and the increasing tensions between the once-unified cities of Piltover and Zaun.

The series was helmed by French animation studio Fortiche, which also animated K/DA’s “POP/STARS” music video, as well as providing work for Gorillaz, Imagine Dragons (more on them in a moment) and Marvel’s Rocket & Groot.

The 40-ish minute episodes are entirely binge-friendly, and while they’re all available to watch as of Saturday (November 20), they were originally released in groups of three early on Saturday mornings, providing plenty of cliffhangers to keep fans eager for