Arcane
Text by ASH MEHTA
A feat of activism, animation, and allegory
T
he new League of Legends-inspired TVshow “Arcane” has revolutionized the animation world over the past few months. With nine Annie Award nominations, the show has pushed the boundaries of what animation can accomplish in a way that I haven’t seen since Sony’s 2018 “Into the Spider-Verse.” “Arcane” serves as a
26 April 2022
Art by POLINA VAN HULSEN and from WARNER BROS
backstory for the “League of Legends” officer — named Cait (Katie Leung) emfranchise. But the show is so much more ploys Vi to help expose corruption in Zaun. than the game, starting off with some of the The animation of “Arcane” is incredbest queer representation I’ve ever seen in ible. It’s no wonder the show took six years animation and a great portrayal of socioto create — I don’t economic inequality think I’ve ever seen through the starkly “They didn’t just ‘happen a TV show with contrasting cities of this spectacto be queer,’ or ‘happen to visuals Piltover and Zaun ular, and that is not The first two be in a relationship,’ as the hyperbole. episodes are backThe moody story, exploring Vi’s relationship is critical to color palette and (Hailee Steinfeld) both of their stories, but at steampunk aesthetchildhood, and her ic create a futurrelationship with the same time, they each istic atmosphere. her little sister, PowWith a score feahave well-developed histo- turing artists der (Mia Sinclair like Jenness). ries and personalities.” Imagine Dragons The show then and PVRIS, the skips forward about soundtrack perfectly accompanies it. two decades and Though the plot itself is fairly generic examines the rising ten- and trope-reliant (dead father figure, longsion between Zaun and lost siblings…), the characters more than Piltover. An en- make up for it. They’re compelling microforcer — police cosms of their world, and viewers are sure to fall in love with them instantly. I did. As you can probably tell, I adore this show. And it does a pretty good job in terms of activism as well. Vi and Cait, though not technically together (yet), are heavily implied to be setting up for a relationship in Season 2. Their sexuality is clear without ever being outright stated. It strikes the perfect balance between queerbaiting — implying but not actually showing LGBTQ+ couples — and being too on-the-nose. Vi and Cait are what any central couple in an action show is supposed to be: they have a relationship that fits the universe of the
