As the island of Lodoss braces against a new assault by the Marmo and their new allies, the fate of the land falls into the hands of Spark, an inexperienced young knight. As aging legends Ashram, Kashew, Parn and Deedlit begin to fade, a new generation of heroes will have to arise to keep Lodoss from being torn apart by conflict.
Born beneath the gallows tree from which his dead mother hung, Guts has always existed on the boundary between life and death. After enduring a terrible childhood, he spends his adulthood in brutal combat, pitting his strength against others in order to build his own. Life is simple enough for Guts until he meets Griffith, the inspirational, ambitious, and beautiful leader of the mercenaries, the Band of the Hawks. When Guts loses to Griffith in a duel, he is forced to join the group, and, despite himself, finds a sense of camaraderie and belonging amongst them. However, as Griffith leads his soldiers from victory to victory, the bloody wars and underhanded politics reveal a side to him that nobody quite expected. Can Guts, a simple warrior, defend those who have come to mean the most to him, all the while struggling not to lose to the darkness he has carried with him his entire life?
Both RoLW and Berserk are action-filled swords-and-spell fantasy anime that really get to the D&D nerd in us all. If you like knights and roleplaying you'll love either of these.
Hitomi was just a normal high school girl, until she was taken by the mysterious Van Fanel and dropped into a world of romance, magic and giant sword-wielding armor suits! Now Van, pilot of the famed armor suit Escaflowne; and Hitomi, whose hobby of predicting the future just became a frightening reality, must work together and fight the advanced technology of Zaibach: a force who want to shape Gaea to their visions of "peace". Follow Hitomi in her struggles against both these forces who seek to conquer this world, and her own confused heart.
If you liked one because of magic, fantasy, legends and neverending fight against evil, you would surely like the other. The main male characters Parn and Van both grow in strenght and maturity throughout the series and develop their relationships with close friends.
Arslan is the prince of the Palse kingdom, a beautiful country which is located amidst the sand dunes. Peace in the land of Palse is soon disrupted when the Lusitanian army attacks, led by a man known as Silvermask who claims to be the true heir to the throne. After fleeing his home under siege with his only remaining general Daryoon, the young prince travels from kingdom to kingdom, gathering the support and loyalty of new friends, including Gieve the minstrel, Pharangese the warrior priestess, and Narsus the master strategist to help him reclaim his beloved Palse.
After watching something like Lodoss War, Arslan will seem rather short, but it has a good serious tone and a great story that I'm sure you'd enjoy. It is also set in a medieval fantasy world.
For the past five years Orphen has been on a journey to find the Sword of Baltanders and Bloody August, a feared dragon who was once a human sorceress named Azelie. With his partner Cleao and apprentice Majic, he now travels the perils of the land in search of a way to free Azelie from her evil imprisonment. With only a small trail of clues to follow, Orphen must unlock the secrets to the Sword of Baltanders or everyone he cares about will be doomed to face the wrath of the Tower of Fang Elders, or even Bloody August herself!
If you liked the epic magic and swords and castles in Record of Lodoss War, then Orphen is for you. I would highly recommend it to anyone, but Lodoss War is a good comparison.
The Four Lords of Havoc have one terrible goal – to awaken the god Anthrasax and recreate the world. To stop them, Yoko, a maiden of Metallicana, awakens the ancient wizard Dark Schneider from within a 14-year old boy by bestowing upon him her virgin kiss. The only problem now is that the most chaotic, lecherous wizard in history resides inside the body of an innocent child. Even worse, he’s determined that neither hydras nor minotaurs should stand between him and his dream to conquer everyone and take the women for himself… all of which is less than convenient when trying to save the world!