League of Legends, the game, produced by Riot Games, is a game that’s rather controversial throughout the community. While some love the game, others hate it and vow to never play again. But something that both lovers and haters of the game can enjoy is the lore that runs throughout the universe: “Runeterra.” Luckily enough, Riot Games has partnered with Netflix and released an animated series called Arcane, which gives us a little glimpse into the Runeterra town of Piltover.

Arcane, themed around expansion and growth of a town, drives the viewer into a world of emotional distress, non-stop conflicts, and more relationships than I can count. It takes place in Piltover’s major districts: the “Undercity” and “Topside.” Years before the current timeline of Arcane, there was a large toxic gas spill that caused the dwellers of the Undercity to be considered disgusting; resulting in a war between the two sides.

Our main characters are that of Vi and Powder, who would later be known as Jinx. Being sisters, the two are orphaned after the gas spill kills their parents. They are then taken in by a man named Vander, who raises them until they’re older. They live a rather normal life for a citizen of the Undercity: fighting, avoiding the worst areas of the Undercity, and escaping the enforcers of Piltover. 

The duo, along with some of their other friends, cause a lot of mischief throughout Piltover. What sparks the main conflict in Arcane is actually by their doing: they break into the laboratory of scientist Jayce, who was accompanied by junior enforcer, Caitlyn. While rummaging through their belongings, Vi and Powder stumble upon a shimmering blue orb that, when tampered with or dropped, causes a massive explosion. 

Long story short, this blue orb, later known as “Hextech,” is what will cause a huge industrial revolution that catapults Piltover to become the “city of progress.” It is able to form teleportation gates and most importantly, weapons. 

Hextech becomes a highly sought after object and members from the Undercity want control of it. Getting control of hextech would allow for the Undercity, self proclaimed “Zaun,” to be self-governed away from Piltover.

Without getting too deep into the lore or spoiling the show, ultimately Piltover and Zaun begin fighting with each other with both sides having surprising secret weapons: Piltover having hextech weapons and Zaun having a key character in the show, Powder. Powder is separated from her sister at the beginning of the show after they try to save their father, Vander, from death at the hands of a “gang”. Powder, now known as Jinx, who just wants to be back with her sister.

Overall, the show is absolutely amazing. As any fan of Riot Games would know, Riot is known for their amazing art styles and ability to make you feel included in whatever they are producing; a game, music group, and now even a show. But Arcane blew it out of the water. The art style and attention to detail that animators at Riot did was show-stopping and really made it so you couldn’t look away from the screen. Not to mention the plotline of the show was amazing. As an avid fan of League of Legends myself, there were tons of little easter eggs, but even if you don’t know the lore of Runeterra or know anything about League, you’re not missing anything.

Arcane was an absolute 10/10, and definitely worth the watch and with the confirmation of a second season coming, I totally recommend starting now. It’ll never be boring, and it’s one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time.