This article was written for December 24th issue of Animation Magazine (#345).

When you think about it, the word “outlier” quickly comes to mind Arcane. Nobody expected the series to develop into the hit that it has become. It is even a phenomenon, as the demand for the preview in Annecy is surprisingly high and the enthusiastic fans rush out just to get a glimpse of the new and final season. Video games have long had a delicate relationship with screen adaptations – although they may fare better in animation – and the real joy of it Arcane I saw it not only overcome this historical hurdle, but also deliver a thoughtful, patient and mature interpretation of its source material, with a touch of stylish panache. We recently spoke with co-showrunner Christian Linke (the other is Alex Yee – a creative designer at Riot Games) about the series via Zoom.

When asked what was done Arcane Linke first emphasizes that they wanted a writers' room that was more geared towards long-form drama. “We’ve definitely started Arcane at a time when there wasn’t much precedent for this approach,” he says. “People told us, ‘Hey, in animation you can’t have 40-minute episodes; that's crazy.' And I think there was just this dream: 'We believe you can do this.' I think the drama, the long pauses and the silence between two characters – those are things that were very unusual, at least in Western animation.”

The Left recognizes this Arcane came about due to unique circumstances. “We were also very fortunate that we were able to have a higher budget for an animated series because we were an intellectual property (IP) of Riot. We were able to really put the art at the forefront. You don’t get this opportunity very often.”

Other stories to tell

Pascal Charrue, who works alongside Arnaud Delord as the series' director, agreed that the series was a “UFO in the animation industry,” something they took advantage of by experimenting as much as possible. With such an unprecedented opportunity, one might ask, “Then why only two seasons?”

Both Charrue and Linke say this was always the plan, with the former emphasizing the sheer time commitment. “We’ve spent nine years with these 11 or so characters at this point,” Charrue says. “So it's also about making sure that we can tell the stories of other characters that we also care deeply about.” More to the point, Linke adds: “There are people who were single when they were started Arcane and now they’re married with kids in school.”

“Hopefully other studios and IPs will realize that bigger budget animation, animated series and expressive animation can be really amazing and there will just be more. “I think that's what everyone in our circles likes to see.”

— Co-showrunner Christian Linke

Although some of the team members have been with this show for as long as their budding families, Linke and Charrue wanted to not only trust in their unit's mutual understanding, but also bring forward new voices. “The first season was led by the founders of Fortiche, who were actually the original visionaries of the entire studio,” says Linke. “Season 2 featured a number of new episode directors who were originally storyboarders Arcane Season 1 so we can grow and also have fresh voices. “I think that was a big part of what we were able to do in Season 2 that just wasn't possible before because it was still a small project and small studio.” Charrue says of the upcoming film Penelope of Sparta is also done with a small team, but Arcane's longevity meant more opportunities to hire outside talent.

Alongside these new hires, there is also a sense of continuity as Fortiche employees take on new roles. Charrue continued: “Season 1 animation director Barth Maunoury is now co-director of season 2. He is a very talented artist and a very good animator. There is also the storyboard team and in particular the supervisor Simon Andriveau and our art director Julien Georgel. I’ve known him for a very long time.”

These moves also mean new directors are coming onto the scene. As Linke says, “I don’t think anyone has ever done anything great by not taking bets. I think if you have the right team then you have the quality and it will be great, but you have to take bets. And I think we really agreed, based on the work that people did so beautifully in Season 1, that we wanted to see, “Hey, what would you do with more if you could amplify your voice and have it louder.” .” ?' I think sometimes it’s really just a genuine desire to see what that person would do if they were given the power.”

And it seems that with that power came further visual experimentation. “There have been many small improvements over time: The first episodes of ArcaneThe typical anime eye flickering is missing in the first season. This happens from the middle of the season because we just don't understand it. Hair simulation is getting better, all that stuff. So I think at the end of the first season there were technical successes, and then you go beyond that and really think about style rather than technical quality. So Season 2 definitely has a lot of crazy bets and visual ideas that really push Fortiche to the limit of what they can do.”

Charrue explains a bit about how the team got a better handle on textures: Season 2 was more efficient thanks to the trial and error in Season 1. “There is, I think, one graphic experiment per episode. I know that in the first episode you will see a black and white sequence where the art direction is linked to the emotions of the characters. It's a mix of traditional and digital art, and it's a beautiful thing.” Charrue says that they simply refer to these moments as “special sequences” and that they have a dedicated team dedicated to them. He says, “Sometimes it's very easy and sometimes it takes time just because we have to adapt our pipeline and workflow to create these sequences.”

Such sequences are often built around music Arcane's musicality goes back to Fortiche Animation's history and its beginnings in music videos, and even Linke's own past in music (as a composer with Riot, but also in a band). “The band was called Panic,” he says, “which sounds really cool to a 14-year-old!”

It's key to the series' DNA. Charrue says so, though ArcaneThe graphic style is in keeping with current animation trends and dates back to a music video they worked on in 2012. “'La Gaviota' by the band Limousine was, if I remember correctly, the first music video we produced ourselves, and it was a one-shot sequence. It was directed by Jérôme, one of my collaborators and artistic director of ArcaneJulien Georgel, was also involved in this project.”

Embrace musical beats

Charrue says it was this music video that caught Linke's attention. Left itself follows suit ArcaneThe concept returns to these roots. “The idea of Arcane It started with us saying, “It feels like you could watch the whole thing on a bigger screen for a long period of time and you wouldn't get bored.” So we always wanted to have moments where the music really Linke also said that animations allow for greater control over movement, which the music-controlled sequences take advantage of. “We can time certain beats and movements of characters with very precise timing, which is much more difficult in live action because there is only so much flexibility in human movement.”

Perhaps this intertwining of sound and movement has inspired Linke as he considers what's next for him. (Fortiche goes on to direct Penelope of Sparta.) “There are things I definitely have on my wish list,” he says. “People are going to run to places I can't control with this (sound bite), but one day I want us to do a musical.” Charrue also wants to expand his horizons, with the director expressing a desire to explore more genres and exploring styles like noir.

What they leave behind is what Linke and Charrue hope ArcaneThe popularity is also reflected in other works. Linke longs for a situation where a rising tide lifts all ships, “where hopefully other studios and IPs will see, 'Hey, bigger budget animation, animated series and expressive animation can be really amazing,' and it just becomes more and more He adds, “I think that's what everyone in our circles likes to see.” So, I hope Arcane can help with that.”

Wouldn't it be nice if the show's budget, creative freedom, and space it had to explore became the rule rather than the exception?

Arcane Season 2 will be released on Netflix in three parts, with the first act premiering on November 9th, the second act on November 16th, and the third act on November 23rd. Watch the series' new music video for “Blood, Sweat & Tears” by Sheryl Lee Ralph Below is the previously released trailer.