Over winter break, having a break from schoolwork, I sat down to watch the Netflix show Arcane, as they dropped a second season in November and immediately fell in love with the series. From its complex characters, terrifyingly impressive voice acting, stunning animation, addicting music, and emotional themes, I’m not surprised that I consider it one of the best animated shows of 2024. The Rotten Tomatoes community seems to agree with me-Season 2 has a stellar 100% tomatometer rating from critics and a 89% popcorn meter score from viewers. For both League of Legends players, the video game which Arcane is based off of, and casual show watchers, Arcane season 2 served up a satisfying ending to the story.

Arcane tells the story of two siblings, Powder (who later re-names herself to Jinx) and Vi, who struggle to keep their relationship in a world where they find themselves separated. The show is set in the world of League of Legends, and we find ourselves in the two cities Piltover and Zaun. Piltover is a utopia, where the Piltovian council oversees Piltover’s politics and is working on “Hextech”, a magical technology that would allow for further technological progress in the city. On the other hand, Zaun is a dystopia dense with crime and poverty. Corrupt crime lords are in power, and most of the undercity is addicted to a drug called “shimmer”. In addition, Piltover continuously looks down upon Zaun, even releasing a chemical gas named “The Grey” on the city and using police force to control rebellions. The conflict between the two cities only increases, as the people of Zaun want to separate from Piltover and become an independent nation. Powder and Vi find themselves trying to heal their relationship, while also fighting for what they believe is right.

One of my favorite elements of Arcane is its incredible animation. Produced by the French animation studio Fortiche, the animation style combines both 3D and 2D elements–similar to the popular movie “Spider Man: Into the Spiderverse”. In addition, Fortiche incorporates traditional hand-drawn animation for special effects. For example, all the smoke from explosions in the show is hand-drawn by the animators at Foriche. The animation helps the emotional impact of the show, as it uses watercolor for flashbacks or oil paint for landscapes. Combining both seasons of Arcane, it cost around 250 million dollars to make the show–making it the most expensive animated series ever produced. While many people were shocked by the number, you can tell that every cent invested in the show was turned into a work of art.

Similarity to season 1, Arcane season two also has a soundtrack that features both small and large artists. Season 2 features music artists such as K-pop band Stray Kids, music duo Twenty-One Pilots, Francophone artists Pomme and Stromae, and solo artist d4vd. Mostly featured in fight scenes or emotional moments, the music adds another layer of artistic creativity to the show that makes it so engaging.

In addition, the voice acting of Arcane is terrifyingly impressive. Surprisingly, the voice of Jinx, actor Ella Purnell, had no prior voice acting experience before voicing the beloved character. In an interview with ScreenRant, Purnell noted that “We very rarely get to see these interesting, violent female villains, and it’s not something I necessarily aspire to be, but it’s fun”. Alongside Purnell, Hailee Steinfeld voices Vi, Katie Leung voices Caitlyn, Reed Shannon voices Ekko, and Charles Dickens’ great-great-great-grandson Harry Lloyd voices Viktor. All the actors had outstanding chemistry between each other, and you can tell they put their best effort into their respective characters.

Arcane also does a great job of defying traditional gender roles and stereotypes. There are “masculine” and muscular women such as Vi and Sevika, while also having traditionally feminine women such as Mel Medarda. All three women are strong and intelligent in their own ways, therefore Arcane helps break harmful stereotypes against women. Similarly, there are traditionally “masculine” men such as Jayce and “effeminate” men such as Viktor. Everyone has their own idea of what gender means, but Arcane proves that gender doesn’t correlate with strength–physically or mentally.

While Arcane has many impressive elements, many fans believed that the story felt rushed compared to the previous season. Both seasons had 9 episodes, split into 3 acts, however season 2 had more character arcs compared to the first season. Although a third season or additional episodes could have been beneficial, it is a relatively small criticism compared to the achievements of the season.

Riot Games, the company behind Arcane, teased that there will be many Arcane spinoffs taking place in different locations in the League world. While familiar faces from Arcane will be present, they will also introduce many other champions from League of Legends. I look forward to the future of animation and storytelling, as the Arcane duology proves that human creativity, whether in voice acting, animation, or music, is essential to create a masterpiece.