REVIEW: ‘Arknights: PRELUDE TO DAWN’ Explores Loss

Based on the mobile game Arknights from developer Hypergryph, Arknights: PRELUDE TO DAWN follows the game’s opening story arc as viewers are introduced to the world of Terra and its struggles with a seemingly amazing mineral called Originum. While Originum grants people the ability to utilize arts, which is basically magic by another name. Exposure to the mineral can also cause a fatal disease called Oripathy. Those who become infected with this disease are subjected to a wide range of abuses. From being shunned and forced to live in concentrated slums in some areas, to being outrightly hunted and murdered in others. What the best approach is to save the Infected is the key conflict in this series. Something its two major groups, The Rhodes Island Institute and the Infected movement Reunion cannot agree on.

Arknights: PRELUDE TO DAWN has ambitious goals. In its exploration of its key conflict, the show tries to show the complexities of social and class struggle. However, it largely overwhelms these attempts with the heavy-handed way it treats its antagonists, Reunion.

Reunion’s stated goal is to take back the planet for the sake of the ostracized and abused Infected. With so many suffering, it sees its numbers swell as more and more Infected flock to its banner. However, before even the first episode has ended, it is clear that there is no greater social goal in sight for Reunion. What many of its members may believe is, Reunion is simply about burning the world to the ground. All of it. If you are not Infected, you are guilty. If you are, but you refuse to join their ranks, you are guilty. While this anger is born from an understandable place, it is taken to such an extreme that any sympathy you may want to feel for the group is instantly swept away. While the larger political conflict is sadly lacking in subtlety, Arknights: PRELUDE TO DAWN does manage some complicity with the personal struggles of its primary protagonist Amiya.

The young woman who leads the Rhodes Island Insitute, Amiya focuses her organization’s energy on the dual tasks of finding a cure for Oripathy and making sure that society lasts long enough to receive said cure. Amiya is a classic kind-hearted hero who wants to save everyone. She wants to help the Infected, most of her staff are carriers of Oripathy, but she refuses to believe peace cannot be found. This sees Amiya and her colleagues playing the middle-man between governments and the Infected throughout the series’ eight episodes. Her struggles are handled well, and the pain the character bears in key moments delivers impactful and thought-provoking narrative beats.

While Amiya is the prime character that Arknights: PRELUDE TO DAWN spins around, the show is filled with numerous personalities that do a great job of giving variety to this colorful cast. From the no-nonsense Director Chen to the mercenary duo of Texas and Exusiai who embody the energy of the “Someone will die … OF FUN!” meme, the cast provides a lot of entertainment and variety.

The visual presentation of this show is a bit of a mixed bag. The animation throughout is consistent and well-handled. However, where many will find the animation wanting is when combat begins. While it delivers some good hits, Arknights: PRELUDE TO DAWN never delivers any of the truly flashy combat or gorgeous attack effects that the best in the medium brings. Despite some just good animation, where this series delivers in spades is in its character designs. Yostar Pictures has done a fantastic job of delivering the coll character designs that fueled the mobile game‘s gatcha mechanics. The urban streetwear looks that most of the show’s key characters showcase is always styling and making them effortlessly stand out in any crowd.

Arknights: PRELUDE TO DAWN‘s various elements come together to make the first chapter of a story that I can say is solidly good. If you are already invested in the franchise, it is definitely worth checking out. If you are unfamiliar but what you have read above peaks your interest, it may provide some interesting elements. Just make sure your expectations on animation are in check.

Arknights: PRELUDE TO DAWN is streaming now on Crunchyroll.