Reign The Conqueror Episode 1

Reign: The Conqueror
アレクサンダー戦記
(Arekusandā Senki)
GenreAdventure, Science fiction, Supernatural
Light novel
Written byHiroshi Aramata
Published byKadokawa Haruki Office
Original run19961997
Volumes3
Anime television series
Directed byYoshinori Kanemori
Rintaro
Produced byRintaro
Masao Maruyama
Hae Jong Park
Written bySadayuki Murai
Music byKen Ishii
StudioMadhouse
DR Movie
Original networkWOWOW
English network
Cartoon Network (Adult Swim)
Showtime Beyond
Original run September 14, 1999 December 7, 1999
Episodes13
Anime film
Directed byYoshinori Kanemori
Produced byRintaro
Masao Maruyama
Hae Jong Park
Written bySadayuki Murai
Music byKen Ishii
StudioMadhouse
DR Movie
ReleasedOctober 7, 2000
Runtime90 minutes

Reign: The Conqueror was developed by some of the most creative and influential forces in anime today. The anime features character and concept designs by Peter Chung, (Creator of MTV's Aeon Flux); is produced by Rintaro (Astro Boy, Metropolis) and Masao Murayama (Trigun, Cardcaptor Sakura); and showcases animation by the famed Madhouse studio. May 04, 2009  'The episode where I run Prince of Persia references to the ground' Reign The Conqueror is the property of Hiroshi Aramata, Kadokawa Shoten, and Tokyopop. Please support the official release.

Alexander (Japanese: アレクサンダー戦記, Hepburn: Arekusandā Senki, lit. 'Alexander War Chronicle'), released in North America as Reign: The Conqueror, in Europe as Alexander the Great and in South America as Alexander Senki, is a Korean-Japanese anime first released in 1999. A re-imagination of the life of Alexander the Great based on the novel of the same name by Hiroshi Aramata, the series was produced by an international crew that drew from the resources of the worldwide animation community. Character and setting design for the show was conceived by Peter Chung (who created famous MTV Animated seriesÆon Flux). Most of the production work was handled by Korean animators.

In the original attempt at American distribution, the producers created a dub under the direction of veteran voice director Jack Fletcher. However, when the anime was picked up by TOKYOPOP and prepared for its 2003 release as Reign: The Conqueror, another dub was created. Still, TOKYOPOP retained the rights to the first four episodes of the series containing Fletcher's original dub, and used them for the first four episodes of the American release. It used the second dub for the remaining episodes.

There is also a theatrical version of Reign: The Conqueror, which consists almost entirely of recut footage from the series, with the only new content being short opening and closing scenes. The movie covers the first ten episodes of the anime, ending with Alexander's victory over Darius and the Persian army.

Plot[edit]

Alexander is son of Philip II, king of Macedonia and Olympias, a snake witch. Desiring to attain 'speed', Alexander heads to the woods with allies Philotas and Hephaestion, where he tames a wild man-eating horse. There he meets and befriends Cleitus and Ptolemy I Soter, recruiting them to join his cavalry. Macedonia heads to war with Athens, led by King Philip and his top advisers, Attalus, Parmenion (father of Philotas) and Antipater. Philip becomes concerned with Alexander's absence, but Alexander and his cavalry arrive at the last moment, exploiting a break in the Athenian lines and leading Macedonia to victory. After their defeat, Athens ambassadors head to Persia, where they hope to align with new king Darius III of Persia. Alexander and his friends however sneak in as Athens slaves then kill the guards, causing Persia to think that Athens is betraying them. While Ptolemy is caught and suspended in the air, Alexander is able to save him from execution at the last minute by releasing all the horses in the city from their stables. While in Persia Alexander also meets a woman named Roxanne.

Attalus tricks Philip into thinking that Olympias and Alexander are trying to betray him. Philip banishes Olympias and marries Attalus's daughter Eurydice, who gives birth to a son that Philip desires to become king instead of Alexander. Philip holds a great ceremony to present his new prince to the masses and also constructs a huge golden statue of himself, declaring himself a God. During the ceremony however the statue crumbles and a guard hypnotized by Olympias assassinates Philip.

Following Philip's death Alexander ascends to King and Attalus is executed. Athens plots to fight back against Macedonia, doubting Alexander's strength, but relents once Macedonia defeats Thebes in battle. Alexander places severe demands on Athens but relents on most of them after meeting with the philosopher Diogenes of Sinope. Alexander next plots an attack on Persia and starts leading his troops there. Around this time Parmenion reveals to Philotas a secret about Alexander, that prior to his birth Olympias proclaimed that he would destroy the world. In addition, Aristotle sends his niece, Cassandra, to join Alexander's cavalry. Macedonia's forces continue to head through Persia's territories with multiple victories. Along the way Alexander recruits the doctor Phillipas to join him after undoing 'Gordian's Knot' which has been said can only be undone by the King. In their next battle with Persia, Macedonia's troops are hopelessly outnumbered by Persia's which are 10 times that of Macedonia's, but Darius tells his forces to retreat when members of the Pythagorean Cult intervene. During the battle Philotas falls off his horse and has a vision of Olympias summoning demons.

While in Egypt Alexander meets Dinocrates, a member of his army who tells him of the great city he'd prefer to create there, Alexandria. Alexander has a vision of himself being in Alexandria 100 years after his death where he visits the place where he was entombed by Ptolemy. Before leaving Egypt Alexander and his men visit the Temple of Ammon where they are told that Alexander will be killed by the one he trusts the most. Ptolemy witnesses a separate prophecy, that he will become Great King of the World. Plotting with Persia, Pythagorean cult members make another attempt on Alexander's life but he is able to fight them off. Darius leads Persia's armies against Macedonia's. Aristotle meanwhile meets with Diogenes, requesting the Plato-Hedron, the device which contains the knowledge of the entire world. Diogenes claims however that he tossed it aside. The two watch as the battle continues. The Macedonian army gains new strength when there is an eclipse of the moon, and the Plato-Hedron appears and ascends to the heavens. As the battle nears its conclusion, Alexander kills Darius, defeating the Persians once and for all.

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With Persia now part of his empire, Alexander recruits Satibarzanes, Darius's former adviser and Satrap, to become a top adviser of his. The Macedonian army becomes concerned that Alexander wants to continue heading east rather than return to Macedonia. Philotas dismisses their complaints but doesn't tell Alexander. Aristotle is also concerned with Alexander's actions and tells Cassandra that she will have to kill him should he continue to push eastward. Phillipas, secretly a member of the Pythagorean cult, plots with them to kill Alexander during his wedding to Roxanne through the use of a dancer possessing poison. During the battle she poisons Alexander but is killed before finishing him off. Satibarzanes frames Parmenion and Philotas for treason. Parmenion is killed by the plotters and Philotas is tied up and stoned to death. When Alexander arrives during the stoning, Philotas requests he let him die so as to not show weakness to the Persians. Phillipas, who treats Alexander, has the opportunity to poison Alexander but instead reveals the truth to him and provides Alexander the means to heal himself, then kills himself with the poison intended for Alexander.

After executing Satibarzanes and the other Persian traitors, Alexander leads his forces towards India. Aristotle provides Cassandra with a parchment that she is instructed to read when they reach India. They reach India where they see a large number of horse-like men known as the Brahman priests. Cleitus, becoming increasingly suspicious of Alexander, questions his motives. At this moment, the Brahman suddenly attack, interrupting them. As Alexander and Cleitus fend them off, Cassandra reads the parchment, putting her under a spell from Aristotle to kill Alexander. When she lunges towards him, Cleitus steps in the way and takes the fatal wound himself.

Alexander and the others continue through India, where they encounter a massive army made up of all the soldiers they have killed over the years. During the battle, Hephaestian is killed when Alexander fights the ghost of Darius. Alexander rides on into a column of light and faces off against King Porus, who takes on Alexander's appearance. Stating that the world tells him to destroy himself, Alexander defeats his doppelganger in combat. He then encounters Pythagoras at the end of the world, but Pythagoras has no interest in stopping Alexander from destroying the world. He echoes Diogenes' words to Alexander that by destroying the world, Alexander will be creating it anew. Alexander seemingly embraces his destiny as destroyer of the world, but the world does not end: instead, the dark skies clear and Alexander emerges from a pillar of light facing west. He decrees that destiny now points him that way, and embarks for Macedonia.

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After Alexander and his army return to Macedonia, Aristotle receives a letter from Cassandra informing him that she has chosen to stay with Alexander of her own will. Later, a handmaiden attempts to find Alexander to tell him that Roxanne is pregnant. Elsewhere, Alexander is asked to get out of the light by a child drawing geometric shapes and writing formulas on the ground. Motivated by his own prophecy, Ptolemy attempts to stab Alexander, but Alexander prevents him. He then lets Ptolemy escape, stating that Ptolemy's prophecy is unchanged. Alexander turns back to the child's work, and Cassandra asks what he is looking at. Alexander replies that he is witnessing the world he destroyed being reborn.

At this moment, a soldier appears and announces that they are ready to depart for Arabia. As Alexander walks off, it is revealed that the child's name is Euclid, and he pulls out a small version of the Platohedron. This may imply that the destruction of the world was metaphysical in nature, and that the new world of Euclid and Ptolemy I Soter has replaced the old world of Aristotle and Plato. The final scene depicts Euclid's Platohedron resting on the ground next to his diagrams, catching the sun's dying rays. This fades into a stark image of Alexander atop his horse, set against the sun and a crimson sky.

Cast[edit]

CharacterJapanese actorEnglish actor (1-4)English actor (5-13)
AlexanderToshihiko SekiAndrew PhilpotWill Barrett
PhilotasKousuke MeguroAlex FernandezGeorge Lennon
CleitusHouchu OhtsukaJohn DeMitaWill Barrett
HaphaestionKouji TsujitaniJohn DeMitaWill Barrett
PtolemyShuichi IkedaMatt McKenzieMarvin Lee
OlympiasJunko MashinaJulia FletcherWendee Lee
PhilipYoshisada SakaguchiJohn DiMaggioBob Papenbrook
AristotleNachi NozawaJohn Rafter LeeJohn Wesley
CassandraAtsuko TanakaDenise PoirierMelissa Williamson
ParmenionTadashi NakamuraMichael Scott RyanGeorge Lennon
AttalosTakeshi AonoDwight SchultzN/A
DariusKouichi YamaderaCarlos FerroGeorge Lennon
RoxanneYuko MinaguchiN/ACindy Robinson
AntipaterTamio ŌkiJohn DiMaggioJohn Wesley
NarratorShinji OgawaJimmy SilverRalph Votrian

External links[edit]

Movie
  • Reign: The Conqueror (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
  • Reign: The Conqueror on IMDb
  • (in Italian)Alexander (Arekusandaa Senki - Yoshinori Kanemori, Hiroshi Aramata, 1999) (Anime Mundi), detailed production information
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Reign:_The_Conqueror&oldid=947907289'
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Alternative Titles

English: Reign: The Conqueror
Synonyms: Alexander's Campaign, Alexander Record of War

Information

Type:TV
Status: Finished Airing
Premiered:Summer 1999
Producers:Media Factory, TBS, Kadokawa Haruki Corporation, Samsung, Namisokan
Studios:Madhouse
Genres:ActionAction, AdventureAdventure, FantasyFantasy, HistoricalHistorical, Sci-FiSci-Fi, SupernaturalSupernatural
Rating: R+ - Mild Nudity

Statistics

Ranked: #86292
2 based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Members: 5,912

Reviews

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Preliminary
13 of 13 episodes seen
unclesnapple(All reviews)
62 people found this review helpful
Overall2
Story2
Animation2
Sound1
Character2
Enjoyment2
Every once in a while, an anime tries to break the mold with their approach and art style. Sometimes, this works out swimmingly, and you get a great, fresh anime like Kaiba. Other times, an anime tries to break the mold but comes out worse for it. Reign is not only a complete dud but something that manages to fail on almost every single level of basic entertainment.
The first thing people can't help but notice is the show's art style. The art is not very Japanese at all, and somewhat reminiscent of Aeon Flux. I might've been able to tolerate it, had they used it better. Sure, all of the characters are painfully ugly, but did they have to be mostly naked on top of that? In no scene during the anime do Alexander or Darius wear pants. Everyone in Reign is allergic to pants, and so I have to stare and some dude's butt or codpiece in every scene.
The plot itself is really hard to get into, because it's just a series of pointless battles interwoven with pseudo-philosophical dialogue. There's ultimately little reason to cheer for Alexander's selfish conquest, and the sub-plot revolving around Aristotle's search for a mystical object called the Platohedron seems equally uninteresting.
The characters are extremely flat and almost impossible to relate to. Alexander seems to have no identifiable personality. He only issues orders to keep fighting and frequently boasts about his love for "speed." You shall be my "speed." We can't win because we don't have "speed." Always with the speed. His mother is generically crazy. His best friend is generically paranoid. Darius, the supposed antagonist of the series, doesn't do anything to show he's more evil than Alexander is. He's just a king minding his own business, and Alexander invades *his* land. The viewer might ask himself, "Why am I supposed to be pulling for Alexander to beat Darius?" I watched the whole thing, and I don't know the answer either.
Perhaps the worst aspect of Reign, however, might actually be the soundtrack. The OP consists of little more than background noise. The in-show music that pops up during dramatic scenes and battles sounds like awful techno that some sixth grader whipped up on his PC while learning how to use the music program. Every tune associated with Reign is completely nauseating.
If you're a glutton for terrible, awful anime, then Reign is the perfect show for you. For people who want to find something entertaining, stay far away. Reign belong somewhere on every "Worst anime of all time" list.
7 of 13 episodes seen
literaturenerd(All reviews)
15 people found this review helpful
Overall1
Story1
Animation1
Sound1
Character1
Enjoyment1
Overview:
Today, I am reviewing the worst anime ever to make it stateside on to Cartoon Network's Adult Swim! Yes, it is worse than Super Milk Chan. Don't even ask. Someone..Someone out there actually thought that this steaming pile of goat shit would be a success. Adult Swim passed on airing shows like Spice and Wolf, Mushishi, Baccano, and Higurashi. What did we get? Fucking Alexander Senki! Although it was realeased in the US under the laughably cheesy title: Reign the Conquerer.
Plot and characters:
This show takes the epic battles of ancient Greece and tries to recreate them into a gritty action comic with very little focus on realism or actual history. The main character is Alexander the Great of Macedon, who is far more effiminate here than in the Oliver Stone film. This Alexander makes Colin Farrel's Alexander look like the toughest, baddest motherfucker to ever live. In addition, none of the characters have any real personality or anything that makes them stick out, besides their spectacularly metrosexual wardrobes. Alexander Senki desperately wanted to emulate Frank Miller's comic 300, but fails so god damn hard it isn't even worth laughing at. Instead it just pisses me off that Adult Swim skipped over so many infinitely better titles to bring us this garbage! Alexander Senki also tries to throw in philosophy and existentialist themes, but not since Mars of Destruction has an anime's writing looked so pretentious or so plainly awful! I poked a bit of fun at Evangelion for being a tad pretentious at times, but Evangelion's writing is literally GOD compared to Alexander Senki!
Art and Music:
I don't think I can even comment on the soundtrack because the art is so bad I can't focus on anything else. Everyone has different tastes when it comes to art and everyone will encounter a certain style that puts them off for whatever reason. Personally, I was never able to get into One Piece back when it came stateside because I couldn't stand the art. Alexander's art is so unspeakably bad that it makes One Piece look like it was drawn and animated by Rembrandt, da Vinci, and El Greco.
Overall: 1/10
I hope that no one outside of the US had the unfortune of having to ever set eyes on this abomination and blatant affront to basic fucking decency.
13 of 13 episodes seen
ggultra2764(All reviews)
12 people found this review helpful
Overall7
Story8
Animation7
Sound6
Character7
Enjoyment7
Reign the Conqueror was one of the few shows on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim block I never had a chance of seeing in its entirety over a decade ago. Being a loose take on portraying the life of famous Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great, Reign adds in supernatural elements, steampunk and influential philosophers of the time period to explore the struggles of Alexander coming to grips with his destiny to conquer the known world. The anime features Alexander gathering allies, conquering various parts of Europe and Asia and trying to make sense of the supposed destiny he has had since birth where he would lead the world to its destruction with his attempts to conquer all known lands.
The major elements that make this series stick out for quality are its excellent integration of metaphysical themes and ancient philosophical figures that were renowned around Alexander's time that influence his conquests throughout the course of the series. Alexander is blessed with a high degree of luck and charisma in his conquests that gets explained as being influenced by the fate bestowed upon him by an ancient artifact capable of algorithmic manipulation of reality that he seeks out in later episodes of the series to find meaning to his supposed destiny. This makes his existence threatening to several cults influenced by differing philosophical schools of thought who attempt to assassinate Alexander throughout the course of the series and influential Greek philosophers like Aristotle and Diogenes serve to either guide or hinder Alexander's quest to conquer countries and come to terms with the supposed destiny he has. The assumptions of Alexander's destiny made by many throughout the course of the series are not what one would assume on the surface, which is hinted to at points earlier in the series and the title's finale. On top of the show's creators shown to have done well in their research of Greek philosophy and supernatural lore for their spin on Alexander's life, they also make their own unique takes to major feats that Alexander accomplishes such as his taming of the wild horse Bucephalus, his encounter with Diogenes and his cutting of the Gordian Knot. These nice touches make the exploits of Alexander's character for this adaptation of the series all the more pleasing to see unfold.
When it comes to other characters in this series though, the series is a mixed bag in their focus on them. Some characters get enough focus to have defined personalities and developments that show what beliefs or loyalties they have that lead them to either be loyal or opposed to Alexander's pursuits. Others that have major roles in the series are either quite underdeveloped or shallow in their characters that make them difficult to connect with. The series also appears to have been left open-ended as Alexander is still alive and well following his journey in the title's finale, yet is still intent on pressing forward with his quest to conquer the known world. However, I think this might have been intentional by the show's creators since the series was more about Alexander trying to come to terms with himself instead of an actual focus of his entire life.
The presentation for this series certainly sticks out from standard anime fare. The character and setting designs for Reign the Conqueror were done by Korean-American animator Peter Chung, whom some folks may recognize as the animated talent behind the American animated cult hit Aeon Flux. On the plus side, many character designs are drawn to be quite lifelike with realistic details for muscle tone and facial features, settings that are faithful to their intended historical settings with occasional elements of steampunk tossed in for technologies employed, subdued color tones that make for a nice touch to the dark mood this series gives off and decent use of CG animation for some of the complex animations seen in the series such as a glimpse of the universe seen when Alexander enters the barrel hut of Diogenes, armies marching and the elaborate 'world of destruction' seen in the finale of the series.
On the bad end, many of the major characters in this series (mostly the men) sport very revealing attire like tight thongs, shirts that expose midriff and formal attire that look like women's bathing suits that give the series somewhat of a homo-erotic feel and are obviously not faithful to Alexander's time period. Plus outside of the CG animation, the hand-drawn animation to this is mostly subpar with animation shortcuts and tricks employed to give off a sense of fluid animation that doesn't look convincing in many instances.
The soundtrack to the series sports tense and dark insert tracks that do their part to compliment the serious mood of this series, though don't particularly stick out. The original opening song for Reign ('Anata no Kiss wo Oshiemasho ~You Were Mine~') sports an upbeat, optimistic mood and lyrics that go against the intended mood this series wishes to give off. Yet in a occasional case where changes done by an American distributor are done for the better with a series, Tokyopop created a new opening song for their English dub of the series ('Worthy of your Soul') that sports a melancholic mood and lyrics that both better accompany the feel of Reign.
Overall, I'm actually fairly surprised with this series. I was expecting a dud thanks to much of the negative reception that this series received from anime fans. But I think this reception was exaggerated thanks to Reign's attempts to be different from the norm. Granted, the homo-erotic attire of the characters will turn away some fans and there are a number of characters I felt could have been better developed. But the series does do well at integrating supernatural lore and unique spins on major elements of Alexander's conquests of the known world. It's not perfect, but I think the reputation of this series as a supposed dud is greatly exaggerated.
13 of 13 episodes seen
streetcar(All reviews)
10 people found this review helpful
Overall7
Story10
Animation7
Sound6
Character8
Enjoyment7
Alexander Senki is a deceptively complex narrative that draws its ideas from sources of the ancient world. Serving as an obliquely futuristic take on the legend of Alexander the Great, the main idea is that the conflict between passion and reason leads humanity to question the nature of what we call 'civilization'.
The series contains stylistic depictions of numerous famous names from the time of classical Greece. It also depicts the archetypal feud between Plato and Socrates, a battle of essence versus existence. Alexander is fated to bring the death of the world, but Socrates says 'Is there not death without rebirth?'
Historical purists may be turned away from the cyberpunk aesthetics, but it serves a purpose of making an unfamiliar setting more palpable to a late night anime audience. Personally, I was rather giddy at the portrayal of Diogenes the mad hermit as a Yoda-like figure (English Dub). Which is to say honestly one of the few high points of the English dub.
13 of 13 episodes seen
Joe_Bloggs402(All reviews)
3 people found this review helpful
Overall9
Story8
Animation10
Sound8
Character9
Enjoyment9
If you're like me and stumbled across some weird Alexander the Great anime from the late 90's with a bizarre art style and no reviews above a 7, you'd feel an instantaneous need to watch it for yourself, if only so that you could mystify your friends with your ability to find weird shows with ridiculous premises. As someone who has gone through this and come out the other side with a smile on my face, I feel a need to rectify this and give this show the recognition it deserves.
If you're looking for something historically accurate, you've come to the wrong place. Alexander Senki roughly follows Alexander the Great's ascension to the throne and his conquests throughout the ancient world whilst being hunted by various wizard cult members. The strange dichotomy between obvious fiction and romanticised reality gives the whole experience a sense of surreality, emphasised by the unconventional art style. The art gives the world a unique sense of identity, in that it combines strange, technology-drenched architecture in hypercolour with angular, almost jagged faces. Whilst I can understand that it may throw some people off, I feel it is key to the quality of the show and is thus almost unparalleled (if only because no-one is game enough to have such a potentially controversial artstyle).
The music choice is reflective of the art design, in that it combines upbeat, heroic tunes with offbeat synthesised ones. Watching the sub, the choice of voice actors seemed suitable. I did however dive into the dub for one episode, where the voice acting ranged from uninspired to downright infuriating (looking at you, Zoroastrians). So if you're tossing up the two, I would recommend the sub. Speaking of criticisms, there are some bits of repeated animation, but these are usually some of the better animated sections and it isn't too egregious.
I really enjoyed this show. Whilst it isn't for everyone, it certainly doesn't deserve the 5.78 average it had at the time of writing. Take a chance and give it a go - it might surprise you.
13 of 13 episodes seen
gwern(All reviews)
4 people found this review helpful
Overall4
Story4
Animation2
Sound6
Character6
Enjoyment4
Just came across _Reign: The Conqueror_ in a list of bad anime - didn't recognize it until suddenly the awful memories flooded in. The fundamental problem with _Reign_ was that it was bad enough to be bad, but the makers didn't push it up the 2 or 3 notches that would have made it interesting enough to compensate (think something like _Gurren Lagann_: if it wimped out partway through, it'd be awful, but because it pushed through to the extremes, it winds up being great). That leaves _Reign_ as just mind-breakingly awful.