During the serialization of Ragnarök in South Korea, manhwaga Lee Myung-Jin was approached by a video game company called Gravity, which itself had only been founded back in April of 2000. Gravity wanted to take Ragnarök & create a massively multiplayer online RPG based on the world of Midgard that Lee had created and, after initial beta testing starting on November 1, 2001, Ragnarök Online saw official release for Windows PCs in South Korea on August 31, 2002. Over the next few years it'd then see release the world over, including Japan in late 2002, China & North America in 2003, other Asian regions between late 2003 & early 2005, & finally European & South American regions in 2006 & 2007. Though there was a major update called "Renewal" in 2010, RO's "2D character sprites on 3D backgrounds" gameplay has stayed the same, and outside of most of Europe's servers shutting down in 2018, followed by the Malaysia, Singapore, & Philippines server shutting down in 2021, the game is still played to this very day, though its userbase has obviously dwindled since its heyday. If you want a full-3D polyognal experience, you can play the sequel, 2012's Ragnarök Online 2: Legend of the Second, which is also still available to play, minus those same specific regions as RO1. That said, while either game is now technically free-to-play, playing on any of the official servers today is apparently a massive "pay-to-win" scheme, so it's generally recommended to join one of the various unofficial fan servers, if you want to see what it's about today.
Needless to say, Ragnarök Online became a smash hit around the world, and due to its simpler visual style it didn't have the same kind of higher technical specification requirements that games like EverQuest or even World of Warcraft had at the time, which in turn made it easier for more people to install & play. It became enough of a hit, then, that it was decided to create an anime adaptation of Ragnarök... the MMORPG. Yes, instead of adapting the original manhwa (which technically is canon to the world of RO, but was at various points either a prequel and/or a sequel), it was decided to create a completely original story that simply utilized the various elements of the game, such as the world (now called Rune-Midgard), character classes, monsters, etc., though the title of the anime itself makes it sound like an adaptation of the manhwa. While not the first anime based on an online game in general (that would be 2003's Tank Knights Fortress), 2004's Ragnarök the Animation is the first ever anime adaptation of an MMORPG, and was be a co-production between Gonzo Digimation & South Korean anime studio G&G Entertainment, with the two studios already having worked together before to create 2003 cult-classic Kaleido Star; that said, there's no shared staff between Ragnarök the Animation & 2009's Arad Senki: Slap-Up Party. It took a few years, but in 2007 FUNimation announced that it had licensed Ragnarök the Animation & would release it across three dual-disc DVD singles, a one-off experiment between the old single DVD releases that were once commonplace & the half-season boxsets that are now mostly standard. Naturally, each release also included ads for RO itself, while the first DVD features a promotional video for Ragnarök Online 2: The Gate of the World, the original attempt at a sequel that only ever existed via closed & open beta testing forms between 2006 & 2010, before getting cancelled; the only thing to carry over to the actual RO2 was Yoko Kanno composing some music.
Personally, this was actually one of the very first anime I ever watched via fansub as it came out when I started entering the fandom itself in 2004. I remember really enjoying it at the time, especially since I felt that it did go down some paths that you wouldn't expect, namely in tone & mood. In the 18 years since it first aired, though, Ragnarök the Animation has essentially become a strong "Love It or Hate It" series, with some finding it absolutely abhorrent, unoriginal, & nothing more than a cheap & lazy promotion for the video game. Guess it's time to see if my memories truly are off, or if me & my friends truly saw elements that others never did.
Things have been getting bleaker in the land of Rune-Midgard lately. Monsters attacks have become more ruthless & prevalent, resulting in more harm & death amongst Adventurers who roam the land, and there's just a feeling that darkness itself is starting to come across everything. Unbeknownst to all of this are Roan & Yufa, a Swordman & Acolyte who have known each other since they were kids & have just finished visiting the grave of Keough, a Knight & Yufa's older brother who had died saving the two during a quest they were all on as a party. After meeting a blindfolded Mage named Takius, who says that she is searching for the "ultimate truth" that can help bring peace to Rune-Midgard, the three wind up forming a new party to take on the very evil that wishes to revive the Dark Lord himself. Helping them will be Maya, a young Merchant girl; Iruga, an Assassin & old friend/partner of Roan, Yufa, & Keough's; & Judia, a young Hunter who is Iruga's current partner. However, things get complicated when they find out that not only is Keough still alive, but he's actually working for the Dark Lord, as well as Zephyrus, a Wizard & Takius' teacher who put her on the very mission she's undertaking.
If the synopsis doesn't make it all the more obvious, Ragnarök the Animation has almost nothing in common with Ragnarök the manhwa, outside of both of them taking place in more or less the same world, as seen with locations like Fayon, Prontera, & Geffen being featured in both; that said, they aren't all that similar to their manhwa counterparts, anyway. However, original creator Lee Myung-Jin was still involved with the anime, being credited with "Character Conceptual Design" (i.e. he came up with the cast, at least on a conceptual level) & even being "Chief Director" (i.e. he likely just gave final approvals over everything, but didn't actually direct anything, personally). Also, considering how confusing it apparently already is in regards to how the manhwa & game relate to the in-universe timeline, I won't even bother to think of where the anime fits in; the show works just fine as a standalone product, anyway. In comparison to the later Arad Senki: Slap-Up Party, though, Ragnarök the Animation makes no bones about it being based on an MMORPG, as characters throw out special techniques & magic spells without any hesitation, complete with a reverberation effect when they say their skill names. That includes Yufa doing things like healing her friends during battle, or increasing Roan's agility/speed to help him out, Takius needing time to prepare stronger spells, Maya giving her friends various potions to help them out, or even Judia doing something as "simple" as shooting two arrows at the same time. Really, the only thing missing is EXP or levels, though Roan, Yufa, & Takius all do get class changes in the second half, and the latter half of the show does feature someone achieving an "aura", which marks someone reaching Level 99 in the game; there are even numerous appearances of images seen in word bubbles, obviously taken from the game. Make no mistake, this show is based on an RPG & makes itself clear about that, though stops just shy of going full-on blatant. That said, there is also an overall feeling that what you see can be taken as how various people play MMOs as their in-game avatars, which I'm sure was the intention, so I can understand to some extent why some felt that this was too much of a blatant promotional tool.
However, there was that mention of "tone & mood", so let's get into that as we move onto our cast. Roan is a young man who wants nothing more than to be someone who can protect Yufa better than anyone else, and dreams of one day being more than just a "childhood friend". However, Roan is also often hesitant to stand up for himself, and even when does find the courage to protect others (usually when it's a last resort) he's only really good against random grunts & the like; anything tougher he's essentially helpless against. Even when he switches classes halfway through & becomes more powerful, though, Roan simply becomes the inverse of everything (overconfident, impulsive, & a bit of a jackass), showing that his flaws are more deep down & can't be fixed with simply "more power". Yufa is a loving & caring young woman who absolutely loves helping others, especially when it comes to healing others. However, she acts on emotion much too quickly, to the point where she's willing to head off on her own, despite being unable to protect herself in any way, is prone to not knowing when she'll have exhausted her ability to cast spells, making her completely useless, and is essentially unable to accept that her beloved brother has turned to the dark side; she also knowingly takes advantage of Roan's willingness to do anything for her, pre-class change. Takius is a power magic user & is extremely reliable when taking on almost any foe, while her kind nature makes her hard to hate at first. However, she also has a literal blind belief in her master Zephyrus, to the point where she wears her blindfold at all times (being incapable of doing anything without it), as Zephyrus told her it prevents her from seeing the horrors of the world, and even her name of "Takius" is one that was given to her by Zephyrus, as her real name is Catherine; even when she's literally called a "pawn of Zephyrus" to her face by Keough, she still wants to believe in him. When it comes to the tone & mood of Ragnarök the Animation, these three emphasize that concept the most, as all three are extremely flawed people who seemingly are not cognizant of, or at least unwilling to change, any of their flaws to make them better (& stronger) people, and when their flaws are all brought to light by Keough in Episode 11 they all react in the worst ways in the following episode: Yufa falls into despair & wants to be left alone, Takius wonders why she can no longer hear her master's voice for advice, and Roan literally runs away from everyone when he sees Yufa go to Iruga for comfort, instead of him. These are highly flawed characters who don't simply get over & improve upon themselves just like that, problem solved, and that's entirely the point of it all; it's a slow burn to them becoming truly better to themselves & to everyone else.
That's not to say that the other half of the main cast have risen above their own flaws, though. Maya's backstory in Episode 7, for example, is arguably the darkest the anime actually goes, depending on how you personally see it. The only survivor of a shipwreck as a baby, she had to learn to live on the street, eventually trying to sell apples to the public with her friend Poi-Poi the Poring (RO's equivalent to Dragon Quest's Slime), only to be stopped by members of the Merchant's Guild. They destroy her cart, pull her into an alleyway while she's screaming for help... and then the next scene is her coming out the alley in the rain, looking a bit disheveled. Obviously, the intention was for Maya to have been physically abused so as to enforce her hatred of humans being selfish creatures (to the point where she's willing to befriend monsters, if they look harmless), but the animation staff seemingly went a bit further, implying that Maya might have potentially been sexually abused as well... and she's just a child. Again, it could very well be by accident, but my friend took it that way back in 2004, and in 2022 it can still definitely be interpreted that way. However, despite hating her fellow humans for being selfish creatures, Maya is also just as selfish, always wanting to find ways to make money (though she does freely use her items on her friends in emergencies), and this does result in her & Takius clashing emotionally early on. Meanwhile, Iruga is generally the stoic & quiet type, rarely speaking more than what's needed & even more rarely getting emotional. However, that's not to say that he has no emotions at all, as he does eventually reveal that he blames himself for Keough's death & turn to darkness, as he's the one who encouraged Keough to bring Roan & Yufa along, as Keough sacrificed himself to save them. As for Judia, she honestly has the least personal problems of the cast, more or less being a straightforward & headstrong woman (sometimes to her own detriment) who likes to eat potatoes & has an ally in Falco, her falcon (nice name...). At first it seems like her love for Iruga might be one-sided, but over time you do see that the two of them do trust in each other completely and that, while he's not one to talk much, Iruga does indeed care for her.
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| This one image pretty much describes Zephyrus in a nutshell. |
Then there are the forces of the Dark Lord, lead by three (technically four) people. First up is Keough, who originally was a loving & honorable man before his seeming death, but now feels that "despair" is all that truly defines the world & has no problem manipulating others to achieve his goals; he also initially wears a couple of masks, in an attempt to mask his true identity. He is also shown to have the ability to easily control Yufa at points, with his voice alone making her drop her guard so that he can almost kill her. Then there's Zephyrus, who looks to have truly lost his mind & sanity in his hunt for the "ultimate truth", and his manipulation of Takius for what seems to be years shows has conniving he can be, while also showing just how bad Takius has it when it comes to thinking for herself. Finally, in terms of direct villains, there's Zealotus, who has an extreme hatred for humanity due to her own backstory with humanity & monsters, which eventually puts her at odds with Maya. I did say that there are "technically" four antagonists, though, and that's where Baphomet comes into play. A giant goat monster that walks on its hind legs & wields a giant hammer, Baphomet is indeed a mighty foe, one that Keough & Iruga did once fight in the past & only barely managed to escape, with Iruga costing Baphomet his eye in the process. However, it's also quickly shown that Baphomet isn't purely evil & follows a code of honor, as when he quite literally has the chance to kill all of our heroes in Episode 5 he winds up letting them live, simply because Zealotus covertly stopped Roan from getting a lucky attack in, and that annoyed Baphomet; he'd rather accept being caught off guard & hurt than have someone interfere, even if it's to his benefit. He even shows nobility by even assisting our heroes with advice at one point, simply because Judia rescued his young son from a (self-inflicted) dangerous situation. When I got my FUNimation DVDs autographed by director Seiji Kishi at Otakon 2015 I told him that Baphomet was my favorite character from the show, and while that was partially as a joke (as he incorrectly assumed that it was Yufa, in some accidental anime fan stereotyping), Baphomet is still a great character who I wished appeared more often; he's literally only in four episodes.
I do feel that I may have overemphasized the "dark" tone & mood to Ragnarök the Animation, so I should clarify that there is still a lot of humor, comedy, & simply lighthearted moments to this series, like the various non-sequiturs from assistance group Kapra Service & even a handful of appearances of a blatant Doronbo Gang/Team Rocket homage. However, unlike a series like Slap-Up Party, there still is a general idea that it is meant to be taken seriously, or at least just enough so that the interpersonal clashes & character examinations actually have consistent weight all throughout, rather than have the comedy take the primary stage; the comedy in Ragnarök the Animation is there to keep things from being serious to the point of overindulgence. I mean, this is an anime where the literal first thing shown in Episode 1, before the OP even plays, is a group of random Adventurers being ambushed by a group of orcs, and while it's not visually shown it is instantly established that they are mutilated. The show also has all sorts of little visual cues that allow the viewer to read more into things than overtly stated & it is meant to be interpreted in either darker or more subdued fashion. Stuff like the aforementioned bit with Maya's backstory (as well as her relationship with Alice, a monster that looks exactly like a teenage human maid), or a flashback where a naked Takius wakes up in bed & Zephyrus is standing in front of her fully clothed, making one wonder just how far Zephyrus went in making her so committed to him. Judia is even outright indicated to have sex with Iruga to help him recover from injury at one point, Baki-style, while Yufa is often shown eating a banana; I mean, come on. This show isn't some grimdark or edgelord-esque "dark fantasy", but it has no problem taking things seriously when needed & adding in little elements that viewers can read into in darker, more harrowing ways, which is neat. Not just that, but the flaws in our cast, & their inability to simply improve just like that, plays a big part in the villains' efforts to trick, humiliate, or even manipulate them for their own gain. They don't simply despise emotions like love & devotion, but instead want to take advantage of those emotions' flaws in order to take advantage of others.
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| And it's not like our heroes don't have their own psychotic episodes, either. |
Also much like Slap-Up Party, this anime isn't exactly a showcase for Gonzo's then-famous penchant for visual style, though at least in this case it's because Gonzo didn't really do much of anything when it came to actual animation itself. While the Japanese studio did handle the OP/ED animation & things like storyboarding & animation direction, the majority of the work when it comes to Ragnarök the Animation's visuals actually come from G&G Entertainment over in South Korea. The end result is a solid enough show, though the occasional drawing with an awkward angle or slightly off model face does appear once in a while; par for the course at the time, I'd argue. Still, despite this being one of Seiji Kishi's earliest directorial works, it's the first full-length TV series he ever lead (after short series Kappamaki & the Pakistan Chapter of Yugo the Negotiator), his talent for both darker & more comedic stories does shine through enough, as he'd go on to direct the likes of Danganronpa: The Animation, Assassination Classroom, Yuki Yuna is a Hero, & Astro Fighter Sunred. The writing lead by Hideki Mitsui (Zaizen Jotaro, Magikano), who also wrote all but five episodes himself, is similarly solid enough (though some specific episodes shine particularly bright) with characters whose motives & attitudes you can understand, if not relate to (even if you don't want to admit it), though it can be argued that they are a bit "stock" in some regards. That being said, I honestly do prefer this cast over the ones in Lee Myung-Jin's manhwa, as at least all of them actually have arcs of some sort to them. While Lee essentially created the cast here himself, it was Kenji Shinohara who adapted them for the anime itself, and while the focus was most definitely on making them as accurate to their game counterpart classes, I'd argue that it's not a bad thing as those class designs are solid in & of themselves, which in turn results in unique & identifiable characters designs for our cast; there is a little bit of fanservice here & there with Takius & Judia via some "bounce", but it's actually rather rare.
However, even if the visuals & writing might not be up to your fancy, there's no doubt that the music to Ragnarök the Animation is really damn good. Composed by Noriyuki Asakura (Rurouni Kenshin, Knights of Sidonia), it's a mostly orchestral score, though there are some songs with a stronger emphasis on winds & guitars, and it has a nice amount of variety to it; even something as simple as the little song heard at the start of each episode carries a grandiose feel. While I'm not sure if there are any actual callbacks to Ragnarök Online's music, I do feel that Asakura's score here really does help elevate various moments, both in the sillier & more laid back as well as the serious & somber. Similar to what I've stated in numerous reviews in the past, however, the true gems of this anime's soundtrack come in the form of the OP & ED, both of which are sung by Maimi Yamasaki. OP "We Are the Stars" is an absolutely rousing & exciting theme song that I never skip over when watching an episode, because it is just that good, and even all these years later is lowkey one of my favorite anime OPs. As for the ED, "Alive", while the anime only uses about a solid minute of the actual song, what you do hear is still great, a triumphant sounding piece that raises your spirits at any point, and the full version is even better, even implementing a little bit of an Irish feel at some points. Overall, Ragnarök the Animation's music is very solid, with an excellent OP/ED pair acting as a nice cherry on top.
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| OK, fine, I just think this show does "crazy faces" really well. What's wrong with that? |
Finally, we have the voice cast, and for the Japanese side of things there are definitely some big standouts; first, though, let's go over the main cast. Roan is voiced by Daisuke Sakaguchi, who is more or less like what you expect from the man if you're familiar with his style, and that's not a bad thing; his silly & freaking out moments early on hit, and his more serious moments work well. Yufa is voiced by Nana Mizuki, who overall is fine if a bit standard in her role, nailing all of her moments very well, but I'd argue never really rising much beyond that; as long as you can deal with her saying "Heal!" a bunch in the first 2/3, you'll be fine with her. Takius & Maya are performed by Aya Hisakawa & Halko Momoi, respectively, and both are similarly very good for their roles, with Hisakawa getting Takius' eventual conflict of belief very well, while Momoi does justice to Maya's sometimes self-hypocritical attitude. Kazuya Nakai voices Iruga slightly against type, as Nakai never goes into any sort of shouting or major reaction, playing Iruga very straight & sometimes morose, which is neat. Finally, for the main cast, Judia is voiced by Minako Arakawa, an Osaka native who naturally gives Judia a strong Kansai accent, which actually works super well for the character. However, the main attractions of the Japanese cast are easily Takehito Koyasu & the late Nachi Nozawa, who voice Keough & Zephyrus, respectively. Koyasu can be known for his hammy delivery, but here he finds a true Goldilocks point, going just crazy & hammy enough to sound truly warped from the honorable Knight that Keough once was, but still able to deliver a natural & trustworthy-sounding character when needed, especially around Yufa. Meanwhile, Nozawa just goes outright wild with Zephyrus, truly making him sound like someone who had long lost his sanity, even prior to his manipulations with Takius; you truly believe that Zephyrus is unpredictably insane. The rest of the Japanese cast is rounded out by the likes of Mugihito (Baphomet), Yosuke Akimoto (Dark Lord), & Mariko Suzuki (Zealotus), who are also good for their roles.
As for FUNimation's English dub, directed by Tyler Walker, the simplest way to put it is that it's "just fine". It's certainly not a bad dub, with Greg Ayers doing a good job as Roan, Charles Baker sounding appropriately reserved in emotion as Iruga, & Jennifer Seman delivering a pretty damn good Takius, plus Luci Christian honestly nailing Maya down very well. Carrie Savage's Yufa, though, can sometimes sound a bit grating with how high pitched she can get at times (I could take Mizuki's "Heal!", but Savage's just reminded me of the old Magic Missile meme), despite her performance otherwise being fine, while Colleen Clinkenbeard's Zealotus went a little too gruff for my tastes; it makes sense why & it's not bad, but it just didn't click with me. Caitlin Glass' Judia, though, is easily my absolute favorite in the dub & a rare instance where the repetitive standard of "Kansai Accent=Texan Accent in a Dub" actually works out excellently, because Glass is awesome in this role. I honestly do try to avoid doing direct comparisons to the Japanese original when I judge English dubs, but in this case I just can't help doing so when it comes to Keough & Zephyrus. Robert McCollum's Keough is honestly really good & his take on Keough's two sides is great, but when compared to Takehito Koyasu's delivery it just feels lacking, which I honestly hate to say. Meanwhile, Mark Stoddard's Zephyrus can't hold a candle to Nachi Nozawa, with Stoddard feeling like he's accidentally holding back on going full lunatic, despite that pretty much being Zephyrus' entire character; instead, Stoddard sometimes sounds more like "cackling evil villain". Beyond that, the rest of the cast in the dub is, as stated before, "just fine". Overall, if you were to first watch this anime via the English dub you'd enjoy it, because most of the cast do nail their roles from good to great, but after being familiar with the Japanese cast first it just can't compare, in some regards.
In a lot of ways, Ragnarök the Animation is very much like the main cast that star in it. Similar to the likes of Roan, Yufa, Maya, & Takius being very inherently flawed people, this anime doesn't exactly introduce itself with its best foot forward, due to its "merely OK" animation, relatively straightforward storytelling, & occasional feel that this is based on an MMORPG. Not just that, but like how our heroes take a good while to finally realize their own flaws & rise up above them, the show can sometimes feel like a bit of a slow burn, and I can understand why some people felt that it might have been a little meandering, to some extent. However, just like how our main characters have those moments where their true potential shine through early on, Ragnarök the Animation is an anime that requires people to dig just a little deeper on their own & not simply take things on a face value. Upon doing so, you start to notice those early indications of the stronger storytelling that it builds more & more upon as the show goes on, and despite essentially being about saving the world from the Dark Lord at the very end it's really more about watching flawed characters coming to grips with themselves, realize where they went wrong, & work to improve themselves for the better. In fact, I honestly prefer this anime over Lee Myung-Jin's original manhwa, as aside from simply telling a complete story this also features a better, & more multifaceted, cast to it, which also results in stronger storytelling.
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| I'm sure that this is a reference to the MMORPG, but don't go overboard because I defend you, show. |
That being said, I fully understand why others weren't really fans of it back in the day, though trying to argue that it's absolutely without merit & was nothing more than a lazy promotional tool for the game, for most of its run at least, was extremely harsh. It's certainly not perfect, but Ragnarök the Animation is better than you likely heard, if you even had heard of it before.
Anime © RO Production/Ragnarök the Animation Production Committee
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