Record of Lodoss War (OVA) - DVD

Lodoss is the accursed island — born in ancient battle, baptized in fire, a land that has known war for thousands of years. Now a new darkness stirs. The Grey Witch Karla, an ancient sorceress who has survived across centuries by transferring her consciousness through a circlet into the bodies of unwilling hosts, moves her pieces across the board with cold neutrality — ensuring that no single power ever dominates Lodoss, maintaining the island's perpetual conflict as the price of stability. Against this backdrop, six unlikely companions are drawn together: Parn, a young fighter driven by the desire to redeem his father's disgraced name; Deedlit, a high elf who is drawn to Parn with a warmth she expresses mostly through teasing; Ghim, a grizzled dwarf warrior haunted by a personal failure; Etoh, a gentle priest; Slayn, a skilled magic user; and Woodchuck, a cynical thief with a good heart. They are called into the war between the dark island of Marmo and the kingdoms of Lodoss, and what begins as a series of connected adventures becomes a confrontation with an evil deeper than any of them anticipated.
<br><br>
Record of Lodoss War is a 13-episode OVA produced by Madhouse — the same studio behind Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Metropolis, Chobits, Claymore, Texhnolyze, Kaiba, and Paprika — directed by Akinori Nagaoka, and based on Ryo Mizuno's novels, which were themselves adapted from a Dungeons & Dragons replay column Mizuno ran in Comptiq magazine beginning in 1986 — making Lodoss War one of the first major anime and manga properties to emerge directly from tabletop RPG play sessions. The series aired in Japan on satellite TV from June 30, 1990 to November 20, 1991, and was one of the first anime to achieve broad international success. The music was composed by Mitsuo Hagita. The opening theme "Adesso e Fortuna" and ending theme "Kiseki no Umi" are performed by Rumi Ohishi. The English dub was produced by Central Park Media in New York and features Lisa Ortiz as Deedlit, Kappei Yamaguchi as Parn in the Japanese version, and Hideyuki Tanaka as King Kashue. Central Park Media released the OVA in North America on VHS beginning 1993 and on DVD in the Collector's Series edition on July 9, 2002 — collecting all 13 episodes across 2 discs at an original SRP of $59.99, with extensive bonus content including comics, a fan convention with the Japanese cast, Japanese promotional video, art gallery, Meet the Heroes featurette, scripts, cast list, and production credits. FUNimation later re-licensed both the OVA and Chronicles of the Heroic Knight TV series in April 2017 and released both on Blu-ray and DVD.
<br><br>
<b>Notable Staff & Voice Talent</b>
<br><br>
<b>Director:</b> Akinori Nagaoka<br>
<b>Original Concept:</b> Ryo Mizuno & Group SNE (Dungeons & Dragons replay column, Comptiq magazine, 1986–1989)<br>
<b>Original Novels:</b> Ryo Mizuno (Record of Lodoss War novel series; English license: Seven Seas Entertainment)<br>
<b>Studio:</b> Madhouse (Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Metropolis, Chobits, Claymore, Texhnolyze, Kaiba, Paprika, Cyber City Oedo 808)<br>
<b>Music:</b> Mitsuo Hagita<br>
<b>Opening Theme:</b> "Adesso e Fortuna ~Honoo to Eikyuu no Onna~" by Rumi Ohishi<br>
<b>Ending Theme:</b> "Kiseki no Umi" by Rumi Ohishi
<br><br>
<b>Japanese Cast:</b><br>
• Takeshi Kusao as Parn (Armitage III OVA, Otaku no Video, Legend of Crystania additional cast)<br>
• Yumi Touma as Deedlit (Oh My Goddess! OVA — Urd, Moldiver, Legend of Crystania — Pirotesse)<br>
• Kappei Yamaguchi as Woodchuck (Inuyasha — Inuyasha, Inuyasha Movie 2, Urusei Yatsura — Ataru)<br>
• Hideyuki Tanaka as King Kashue<br>
• Ichiro Nagai as Wort (Dragon Half, Battle Athletes, Slayers, Urusei Yatsura — Cherry)