Enter ELRIC of Melniboné - Razör vs. Comics
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- Опубліковано 20 сер 2024
- The White Wolf. The Prince of Ruins. Womanslayer. Kingslayer. GODslayer. The Thin White Duke. (Can you tell Bowie was a fan?)
Elric of Melniboné has been a fantasy fixture for over a half-century, but in recent years - thanks to a prominent work of Polish plagiarism - he's been relegated to the rear guard. Today? We put the Dragon Emperor back up-front where he belongs.
Ending Music:
Mutant Disease - SUMMONER (Subscribe and buy their stuff - dude rules!)
• MUTANT DISEASE - Summo...
NOTE: Many have asked me for an ideal reading order for the Elric books and their comic book adaptations. As such, I've compiled said list in a post on my blog. Enjoy:
the-rageaholic....
Also razor i cant seem to find a solid answer but is there any actual order to read the elric books?
I listed them in reading order, actually. But as for further reading? I made a blog post that should help you out:
the-rageaholic.tumblr.com/post/156925814906/hey-raz%C3%B6r-your-recent-video-on-elric-has-me
The Rageaholic
What's your opinion about the two Riddick games that came out back in 6th gen? or the books/movies of him?
I was looking for this to thanks a lot. BTW not sure if this is your doing but ruby throne is sold out on amazon now.
I think it might be. They had plenty in stock before the video went up. Pretty damn awesome, if that's the case.
***** yeah it's because of your video on Elric. Amazon is sold out of the Ruby throne. Maybe this will bring more Elric comics our way in the future.
"A creature of Chaos, consigned to the cause of Law, at the aberrant whim of a vengeful god." Nailed it.
"Fantasy ended much the same way Rock n Roll did, it got bland to appeal to a wider audience." Wow Moorecock knew the rot had been setting in for a while now huh. Much respect for being one of the few authors to recognize that.
I disagree that fantasy has gotten bland. But I've seen bland garbage, more than a few times.
@aaronsdavis Is it though? They're classic stories for sure but a slog to actually read
aaronsdavis working on innovating on the genre
Guu'Thrak the Undying Only if you are illiterate.
aaronsdavis Robert E Howard predates Tolkien
Fun fact: Mr Moorcock wrote the lyrics for 3 Blue Oyster Cults songs: Black Blade, The Great Sunjester, and my absolute favorite, Veteran of the Psychic Wars.
Love BÖC! Those three songs would probably be in my Top 10 Blue Öyster Cult songs
he also contributed to a little band called Hawkwind
Forgot about Sunjester. Thanks!
That’s awesome! Also, the Deep Purple song “Perfect Strangers” is about the Eternal Champion. (Great song too!)
@@0ff868 let's take it one step further. There's more Lemmy/Motorhead links to b.o.c. Both bands wrote a lot of songs about biker life. And also, Lemmy openly admitted to "knicking" the umlaut (from b.o.c) and adding it to Motorhead cause it looked cool. Also, Golden Age of Leather, ftw.
Ever since Berserk, I've been looking for a good Western dark fantasy because I've been on a mystical misery binge. Thanks to you, I now have Elric and Solomon Kane in my crosshairs. Especially the latter because Berserk made me realize that I love a character that MAKES himself the warrior against fate instead of one CHOSEN; it just makes them seem more badass when they bring themselves from the pain and horror of the mystical elements of their world to become the hero that kills the greatest of those evils.
How do you think, is Guts an Eternal Champion?
The manga is actually inspired by Elric and the Eternal Champion series as well as Clive Barker the horror writer.
The 2 main characters represent 2 sides to the Elric type character and the Chaos Lords are mixed with Cenobites from HellRaiser.
If you looking for a read based on that Manga then Elric is a good one as well as Clive Barker books which can get extremely uncomfortable like Weaveworld.
@KelsaRavenlock I knew Hellraiser because, well obviously the Godhand, but never Elric of Melnibone. Like, Miura was very open with his inspirations, like Star Wars, Guin Saga, Devilman, Fist of the North Star, Rose of Versailles, etc. But first I'm hearing about Elric on thar list.
If that's the case, then that's pretty cool.
@@b3rz3rk3r9 The world in the series is inspired by a mix of Conan and Elric according to the author, while some aspects of both Guts and Griffin are taken from the character Elric though at different points of that characters journey according to other material.
@KelsaRavenlock actually that does sound right. I think I remember hearing Conan as an inspiration; pretty fitting when Berserk went full Dark Fantasy and then to High Fantasy. And I have read the first three Bandes-Dessinee of Elric which were amazing and do have a similar feel.
Come to think of it: has Razor read Berserk yet? Seems like it'd be up his alley despite his disdain for many Anime/Manga failings.
So Drizzt, Dragonborn and Geralt all rolled into one, before any of those existed? Color me interested...
He reminds me a lot of Raistlin Majere too, not only the white hair, but the fact that he's pretty sickly, and his dubious morals. It's like all of them mixed in a white haired hero smoothie.
Hey, love your videos mate!
Keep up the quality.
Ah, Bob Salvatore & his flawless outcast, Do'Urden. That drow made me realize how much I prefer characters with flaws who bleed & who do not sheathe two scimitars without touching the scabbard. Drizz't was too perfect, too righteous and two-dimensional. Of course, that's just my take.
Sorin Markov sorta looks like him too, wander if his look was inspired from him as well.
Also, Malus Darkblade from Warhammer. Those books are great!
"I was a Thousand Times more evil than thou"
Classic line!
Elivail The Chlorantian Prince And so it was.
as cheesy and retarded as this sounds, I discovered this series because I listen to Grand Magus and heard the "steel vs. steel" song and started reading it on my own like the nerd that I am. it is a good book series and I plan to cover the... ugh.. *french* .. comics..
although to be fair, this is the best thing to come out of france.
Mata Nui I don't know how many great stuff I discovered because some band or other sang about them.
I want a sequel that takes place afterwards. Someone else gets the sword or something.
I've had the first two Elric novel compilations for a while now, and I can honestly say that Elric is a very underappreciated character. He transcended the common caricatures that were associated with sword and sorcery, and gave life to an otherwise dying genre. As a fan of said genre I feel that authors like Moorcock should be recognized a hell of a lot more. The contributions that they've made are very important, and without them we would still be reading the same Tolkienesque fantasy of yore.
"The Antihero"
"The Fake damsel"
"The Misunderstood Villian"
P.S. Hellboy 2 kicks ass, love the Elric inspired villian
In my eyes, Elric and Conan were the two titanic pillars that held the slowly stagnating fantasy genre aloft during that time. It's just a shame that we lost Robert E. Howard too soon, as the Sword and Sorcery genre could never live up to the standards that he set thereafter.
@@GorditoCrunch343 The Historical Fiction genre with writers like Cornwall with his Last Kingdoms - or Saxon Stories - focusing on Bebbanburg Castle is not Fantasy but has deep similarities to the Sword and Sorcery genre with Cornwall as good a writer as any. He has the ability to write great characters and maintain pace and most deeply importantly - write fantastic battle scenes and smaller fight scenes. His sales reflect that.
Blind Guardian to start us off with the video?
I'm hard and ready.
Malus Darkblade (of warhammer fantasy) also at least draws a lot of the character elements from Elric, I think. The backstory is very, very similar. Malus isn't an albino, but that isn't exactly the point.
Oh it definitely is. Moorcock even called it 'blatant commercial theft' in one of the interviews you can actually watch here on UA-cam.
Very cool. Everyone talks marvel and DC, but no one ever brings up more "obscure" books like Usagi Yojimbo or Poison Elves. I hope you'll keep bringing to our attention these different books which many or most of us will have missed out on
Poison elves is fun
Read around half of the Elric chronology and the Witcher saga. And yeah, the similarities are more than skin deep.
But damn if Fantasy isn't an entirely derivative genre as a whole. Most of it's either retelling of Tolkien or Howard.
Steven Erikson does a superb job of breaking away from Tolkien in his Malazan Book of the Fallen series.
Doesn't Elric predates Bethesda
I don't think you understand how far back Elric goes and the fact that it influenced most of the things that you might call tropes or sterotypes today because they are derived from this. You mentioned Tolkien; you should know that even though his novels were published first that they only *started* trending at the same time the first Elric story was conceived. There was no significant influence for this story and thats the point. Yet many things have derived of this story and hundreds of media creators have admitted to the fact and payed homage to Elric and his creator Michael Moorcock, all except for Sapkowski, author of the witcher, who ripped off Moorcock's story and charachter from the biggest details down to even the tinest of details.
@@0001captainawesome Robert Cockmore, or Michael Moorcock? Lol.
@@Oppetsismiimsitsitc Lol I just noticed that. I'm not sure how I managed to splice those 2 names together. I'll have to edit that but at least that mistake didn't change what I was trying to get across.
First you got me into The Shadow, then you got me into Accept, now you have gotten me into Elric. I truly do feel far more enriched because of it too.
Actually, Silmarillion was pretty morally and politically complex. Sometimes even worse then Game of Thrones.
Probably why it was published AFTER Tolkien's death.
What folks now describe as "morally ambiguous" or "politically complex" fantasy existed long before Moorcock. And heck, even so many of the preconceptions about Tolkien are memes with no basis in reality. Just like with Conan. Ever noticed how often people describe him as something of a archetypal "dumb goody-do-gooder with huge muscles" type of character? Except Conan in his original incarnation is ofter borderline anti-hero, often cruel, is rather cunning and intelligent, and stories themselves are brutal and often bleak.
+Lazar Ljubojevic Yeah, and he even ran form fights if it went bad. He was more like a sentient and cunning alpha male predatory pack animal than a muscle-bound oaf.
I've been WAITING for you to cover this.
Elric is one of my favorite fantasy characters of all time.
Moorcock is a master and Elric is a legit anti hero for must of his existence.
Blind Guardian FUCK YEAH!
Fist bump.
If wish for it hard enough and stars align maybe Razor will make a Metal Mythos episode about them someday. Just maybe, though.
Being the best power metal band isn't really saying much.
blind guardian is awesome
+Brian Boru I mean... I hope you are talking about EUPM, because if you include United States Power Metal in that I'm offended.
I discovered the Elric Saga through the album covers of the band Cirith Ungol. Was blown away that I'd never heard of it before, it was clear this character and storyline set the stage for much of my favorite modern media. Thanks for bringing more Elric media to light, I've got some comics to hunt down now.
For all you metalheads out there, check out a band called Cirith Ungol. Pure Elric worship at it's best!
Damn straight mate... and one of my favorites!
Underground force in traditional metal, Frost & Fire and King Of The Dead (the doomy atmosphere in this one is great) are fantastic albums, their later ones are nothing short of incredible, but they set the bar pretty high with those 2.
Pretty much all of their album covers appear at some point in this video, as a matter of fact. Some awesome fantasy-themed metal with a healthy dose of doom (see King of the Dead)
francompalmieri Honestly Tim Bakers vocals and their one-of-a-kind guitar tone caught me instantly. Like Bathory they stood out in their respective genre as masters of their craft!
Weird vocalists are my thing, Tim Baker, Mark Shelton from Manilla Road, Terry Jones from Pagan Altar (R.I.P), Mike Scalzi from Slough Feg.
there needs to be a game for this series. it's long overdue.
And then the public at large will proceed to call it a Witcher knock off...
Sadly, that'll be the case.
Brandon Beamish Yeah, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It would bring more people into the series.
It would maybe also launch without all the glitches. lol
There was a great RPG Chaosium Elric boxed (later hardbound) game in the 80s and it's still in print, I think. Stormbringer. Also several Elric strategy board games years ago. Also the Chaosium Hawkmoon RPG. I still have my first edition boxed Stormbringer rpg game here in the archives.
You can use the mellibonian mythos I believes it's called in the original demi gods and deities of 1e D&D. They have a whole section on all the major characters of his world and the sword.
You completely destroyed my initial scoffing and preconceived notions when I began this video. I came here just plucking random Elric links and your analysis and its precision and verbal gymnastics have me in awe!! Best youtube post I have seen in years.
I was a bit disappointed the focus was all on comics here. The huge and complex Eternal Champion pantheon deserves a full treatment. Elric is the most well-known, but Hawkmoon, Erikose, etc. are all awesome.
Well said I agree.
Most of Moorcock's non-Elric heroic fantasy tends rather long winded and uninspiring, in my opinion. The Dancers at the End of Time stuff is great, though, and I like a lot of his other works.
> Slow active parasitic poison
Reminds me of Korgoth of Barbaria. Have to re-watch that.
Shit, I loved that show. Along with Assy McGee, that was like... _the_ reason to watch Adult Swim.
n3rdm4n A shame the Cartoon Network cheaped out by not picking up Korgoth. They said the animation was too expensive. Bastards!
Yeah, that would have been a classic.
n3rdm4n No doubt.
the only thing the video was missing was some Blue Oyster Cult i mean both Black Blade and Veteran of the psychic wars are inspired by Michal meorcock's work
They were also written by Michael Moorcock.
But _Cry for Tanelorn_ though. :c
Also a note of appreciation goes out to Artist Michael Whelan for his beautiful covers on the early paperback covers (70's) 0f Elric, many of which you have shown here. Thanks !
Time to go search Amazon. I like the Witcher novels, but this guy sounds.... better than Geralt or Rivia. A lot better. Like Sapkowski took this guy, watered him down, and changed his name to Geralt. Which is probably what he did.
12:20 "Where modern fantasy authors use phrases like 'moral ambiguity' to describe a character who, distilled to his essence, is just a white knight who gets paid for it and maybe cuts a wisecrack or two..."
Razor, STAHP! Geralt, pre-fall Arthas, Han Solo, Tyrion Lannister, and 2/3 of my D&D characters are already dead!
So fun fact, apparently Blue Oyster Cult made a song directly dedicated to this series of books called "Black Blade".
Griffith of "Berserk!" fame was apparently heavily inspired by Elric. And the Elric brothers of FMA are directly named after him.
Hell, apparently the entire Legacy of Kain series was heavily inspired by Elric.
Just some interestin things I found out.
Speaking of FMA, there's an Elric character that doesn't have a body and whose spirit occupies a suit of armor.
Crazy he started writing these books before the age of 20. That’s nuts,
I like how everyone was just straight faced in the interview when an old guy is talking about dropping acid. It just made me chuckle.
I just got 'Fortress of the Pearl' in my hands today! Excited to read it after your (literal) armchair pitch.
I LOVE this idea of a decadent empire in decline, immersed in black magic. That single sentence is incredibly inspirational, and, frankly, I've been feeling a bit like a hack since my last good idea.
You know the Moorcock interview at the beginning I find to be very pertinent. Fantasy as a genre really is stagnant these days. It all feels the same.
Prophet blames Tolkien for that.
@@prophetofdoom3887 meh that’s a lazy route and Tolkien is nowhere near generic or bland.
I want to try my hand at fantasy. Base the magic system off of law. Might be fun.
Long time viewer here, I wanted to personally thank you, Razor, for these recommendations. Your recommendation and my subsequent purchase of Daredevil books quickly convinced me that you have a well educated taste in these sorts of things. I will without a doubt be purchasing these volumes as soon as I have the money to do so. Godspeed.
I don't get why Witcher fans (I myself am one) are so up in arms about the accusation of plagiarism. Seriously, I just enjoy the Witcher knowing it's plagiarised from Elric the same way I enjoy Batman despite him being a ripoff of the Shadow.
Just accept the origins of the the story and enjoy the media anyway. For God's sake if you have to forsake any product of plagiarism you may aswell throw out half of all fiction.
Hell the amount of edgy white (or black or 'platinum blonde' if the writer is feeling extra creative) haired, scarred, lone swordsmen with big tittied sourceress gfs, alone would account for a good chunk of fantasy protagonists.
That being said the author refusing to admit the ripoff really rubs me the wrong way. If he admited it, it would still be a bad thing to rip something off but at least you are giving due credit. I don't get up in arms about the vast majority of fantasy ripping off Tolkien because just about everyone admits it. To go back to the Batman comparison at least the creators eventually said that Batman was inspired by the Shadow.
Didn't the author of elric say once he read the books a lot of the similarities ended quickly and that outside of premise they where very different?
I think by todays standards its merely impossible not being accused of plaggiarism,
I m a huge Witcher fan, bit dissappointed withNetFlix, but Witcher 3 will always be one of my fav games,
I love the Witchers world and how medieval folks and tribes are realized, slavics, vikings etc and how much lore and folk tales he pays respect to, calling witcher the white wolf feels like a nice tribute..
sorry, my point is Elric is the origin for so much... the Dark Elves for example which you ll find in D&D, Warhammer Classic and Age of Sigmar, WOW, even RR MArtin used tons of Moorcocks ideas, and pays tribute to it too, eg
when Geoffreys nameshis Val-sword, some in the crowd yells Stormbringer
Have you actually read both works? Context matters, and I think the word influenced by is way more appropriate that plagiarized.
@@frederiklikesgames6481 It's a cool game no doubt but it's a little weird to here you say you're a witcher fan and you love withcher 3 but not the netflix series. The game isn't too faithful to its source material and Sapkowski, (author of the whitcher) detests what the games have done to his original story (I still really appreciate the games). The show on the other hand is quite faithful to the original story and has Sapkowski's seal of approval and newfound eagerness. It should be noted that he is on board for video game adaptations now as of recently, but like I said he still hates the first 3 games, the fourth will be more canonically correct and he may even be helping advise on the story which would be cool, all thanks to the success of his story via another medium of entertainmaint through the netflix tv show I might add. I thought the witcher series was great! 8/10. I'll admit it's better if you binge watch it though because alot of people have a problem with the pacing by which I mean how extremely often it jumps between the present and multiple different times in the past while the whole time switching between 3 different main charachters' arcs. If you're watching it week to week that could be hard to follow, I understand, but this isn't a problem if you can view it in a shorter timeframe. However this won't be a problem when it comes to season 2. The reason season 1 jumped around so much and it's story seemed so discombobulated is because it was intentional in order to be painfully faithful to the source material against hollywood money grubbing insticts. Their are a few witcher novels in the series however after they were written Sapkowski printed a prequel novel that was a compilation of short stories based off the 3 main charachters of the story: Yennefer, Ciri, and Geralt. It is from this chronologically first witcher novel that season 1 is based, hence all the jumping around in the narrative and plot. I applaud their faithfulness to the series and can't wait for season 2 as it will start to delve into the "meat and potatoes" of the witcher lore with a more cohesive story since the following seasons will next be based on full novels effectively eliminating most people's short-sighted problems with season 1.
@@DeathmetalPersian No, plagiarized is the right word. And yes I have read both works. I don't give too many shits about the multitude of similarities but I do take aception to the many times the witcher straight up takes exact quotes and plot points from the Elric stories almost word for word (many times exactly word for word) with an insulting replication of plot and dialogue to where they are identical on hundreds of points. Literally hundreds, that's about a couple hundred shy of simply being "inspired by". There are also concepts and even art designs that Robert Cockmoore (writer and creator of Elric) *invented himself* for the sole purpose of *his* story that are featured in both the witcher novels and the games.
grew up reading these novels my dad had the collection was at first so surprised how few people have heard of them. Love to see u making videos on Elric a complicated badass
Elric stories have brought me to tears more than once, when I was younger, as Stormbringer drives Elric to feed it and himself with the souls of those he loves. Oof.
I think this explains why you hate the Witcher
I liked the Witcher 3 (not as good as Bloodborne) but I think a game of the Ruby Throne would be cooler, the monster designs look super interesting and that birds eye view of the darkened city looked worthy of exploration.
Elric AKA The White Wolf
- Emperor of Melnibone and politically powerful
- Sickly albino of Elven descen who maintains himself with a cocktail of drugs and herbs
- Weilder of the 'Black Blade' Stormbringer to which he is bound. It also enhances his strength and prowess at the expense of his own life or the souls of the slain
- Powerful mage and utilized summons against his foes
- He's a literal aspect of the cosmic champion- Politically idealistic and will do just about anything to assert himself and attain his goals, often commiting atrocities as a result and caring very little for the people around him- Moorecock's Elric tales draw mostly from the English, Welsh, and French mythological traditions (at first) and draws a great deal from the sword and sorcery fantasy genre (that started with Conan and other earlier fantasy pulps) thus, stories are quick and usually not drawn out and have little to no fat compared with those of Tolkien and other authors of the period.- Black-haired pale-skinned sorceress love interest that had literally been done at least a dozen times since before the Arthurian Romances or the early 1000s A.D.
Geralt The White Wolf/of Rivia
- Low born bastard of a sorceress and a warrior
- White hair and pale skin as a result of extra mutations post-Trial of
the Grasses. He's mutated on a higher level to other Witchers
- Uses standard Steel and Silver Witchers swords. Whilst in-game you can find legendary blades, in the novels they were just swords.- Master of basic signs, which real mages and sorcerers in universe actually laugh at.- He's a Witcher, a good one and he displayed some extra tolerance to the mutations, but he's just a really good Witcher- Geralt often goes to ridiculous lengths to avoid politics and to stay neutral. Many stories are solely based around him getting pulled into a massive political conflict and goes over his struggles to remain neutral and professional
- Storylines draw much inspiration from classical Germanic and Eastern European tales (with a sprinkling of Norse mythology as well), down to the monsters, political organizations, and magical processes. The stories are a lot less pulpy than those of Elric, mostly due to major a difference in the expectations of fantasy literature at the time. Thus, the Witcher stories are much more drawn out and have more a of a tendency to philosophize than Moorecock's work. He is also a self-professed individualist that does not like to meddle in the affairs of other unless he is on business. He is very much a professional, doing work and getting paid for a good job and little else- Uses potions to supplement his already superhuman strength and senses.
-Has a small circle of friends that he is fiercely loyal to.
I can see Spakowski reading Moorcock's work and thinking how cool the "White Wolf" moniker sounds and that the pale white hair look could be interesting. Because besides those two things, there's little else to the argument. I could understand the argument if it was based off the original story of a mercenary type character, but the identities of both characters diverge significantly aside from what are honestly just cosmetic/physical/visual characteristics and some themes in the early short stories (tales of travelling swordsmen/mercenaries have been around since the classical era, and I don't see anyone complaining about Elric being a rip-off of Don Quixote). You'll find that the Witcher's world is very robust, inspired by many works of fiction, sure, but paying homage to/taking inspiration from another work is not the same as ripping off. It also seems more likely that they both simply draw from similar ancient 'tropes,' if you will. Wolves, particularly white ones, are a frequent motiff both in old and modern times. Albinism and white hair are linked to the supernatural in a variety of cultures. I am extremely skeptical that Geralt is a Polish plagiarism of Elric. Limited literary contact with the west during the cold war would no doubt be a strong indication that any inspiration Spakowski got concerning the creation of Geralt come from second hand sources or other author's plagiarized characters from what little western author's work managed to get into Poland during the 1980s (CD Projekt actually got it's start by pirating and smuggling computer hardware and software into Poland during this period). So considering that Spakowski drew any direct influence from Moorecock when he created Geralt in 1986 for a short story contest, 3 years before Polish independence from the collapsing U.S.S.R and several years more until cordial relations and open trade with the west was establsihed seems unlikely.
All things considered, I would say that the likes of Raistlin Majere (Dragonlance) and Guts (Berserk) have far more in common with Elric than the likes of Geralt of Rivia does to Elric.
I understand the frustration over all of this, and if anything, I think Elric deserves a video game first far more than Geralt, but I urge you to reconsider playing the Witcher games and perhaps reading the first two books (the best being "The Last Wish" which contains the first short stories containing Geralt). I only suggest the first two since I found the Witcher Saga to be quite dry and slow paced in such a way that I could not in good conscience suggest it to an Elric fan, being one myself.
I would be very pleased to hear some feedback on this, especially if there is something that I missed.
Read all the Witcher books. (Lady of the Lake excepted, it won't be translated until March). There's a fuck of a lot more than skin-deep similarities. Video incoming.
I know full well about the upcoming video, and I look forward to it, just got in the first compilation of the Elric saga on amazon. I read the modern graphic novels and some bits and pieces of the classic 60s and 70s comics, perhaps their is something that I missed when reading them in terms of Elric and Geralt's non-metaphysical similarities, perhaps your views on the matter will be vindicated after I read the original stories and compare both texts. All I want to do is give Geralt a fair trial since I love the games and the books, both of which I encountered before Elric, both of which I think there is more than enough room for. Though an actual lawsuit could push Elric into the limelight, perhaps enough to garner some much needed attention outside of the printing press.
Oh yeah, Geralt and Elric bone a sorceress, obviously RIPP OFF!!! I've read the Witcher Saga and the Elric Saga, and you must be really petty to hang on such superficialities.
Love that you brought up Raistlin the Black Mage. His sickly nature at the very beginning of the series is very reminiscent of Elric, yet unlike Elric, he is required to get through his weakness on his own as opposed to using potions to aid him in life.
@@TheRageaholic I think you default a little bit to being a contrarian when it comes to video games especially. It's like you have an instinct to go against the grain in all matters, could have something to do with the counter culture edge that metal has. And I feel like you're a little nit picky on trying to tie Geralt and Elric together because the games caught on in popularity. It's fine to just dis The Witcher because of how honestly shit the books are after the first and second, which where only just good to pretty good to begin with.
But give credit to CDPR on the game series. Yes, Witcher 3 is very overrated, so is the Fallout but that doesn't take away that there are damn good Fallout games. And CDPR imo actually wrote a much more interesting Geralt and Ciri than Zapkowski did and gave Ciri other things to do aside from be misery porn, and women get to do other things besides be condescending femdoms to appease Zapkowski's hatred of his own sex, or get almost raped.
Synchronicity happens allot, you might have an argument in that Elric helped start the whole, White haired swordsmen aesthetic that Geralt is a part of, but calling Geralt plagiarism under that logic is like calling every band who's had heavy influence plagiarists.
Well Razorfist... thanks for the introduction to Elric... I love it. Right now I am trying to pick up the paperbacks of the books. I did read Ruby Throne and Stormbringer graphic novels. Used the video as a roadmap of what to read first..
No mention of the 1997 comic based on the actual Stormbringer novel? Stormbringer is AMAZING! Everyone should read it, but make sure it's the last one you read.
2:03 and Elric with the Stormbringer lookin' like the dark fantasy Lion-O.
I remember reading these books back in the 80's & 90s as a teenager & loving it for its deviation from the tired "hero saves the day" plots rife throughout fantasy literature I cut my teeth on such as Dragonlance & Tolkien. I'll admit I was shocked to find you enjoyed the series, but that is only because I am always (pleasantly) surprised when I stumble upon another fan of the Elric saga.
The story of The Four Who Are One, is my favorite Champion Eternal story. The coolest aspect of it being that we see the same story from Hawkmoon's perspective later on. After that it's the Three Who Are One story from Vanishing Tower / King of The Swords for the same reason. Early 70's Moorcock, when he was connecting everything together, both with subtle references, or outright team ups, is my favorite era. Was never of a fan of the omnibus works where he changed a lot of characters into Von Bek's, and am thankful I still have all my old copies of pretty much everything he did. Would love it if he told us those two tales from Erekose's perspective, but that'll never happen.
As for Fortress Of The Pearl, I remember being underwhelmed by Moorcock's later Elric output as it was clear he was no longer an angry young man and the stories just seemed to lack something. So much so that I never even bothered to pick up the last three Elric books, something my younger self would have never believed. As I'm much older now, I probably need to go back and re-read Fortress, Revenge and the Dreamthief trilogy.
You know, I was younger, I loved the Blood Omen and Legacy of Kain. It pains me to admit, as much as Razorfist rightly calls out The Witcher novels and games, the titular Kain himself is more than a little bit of a rip-off of Elrich. C'est la vie. I still can't bring myself to love that series of games any less.
gwyn lee see, I can see the blood omen case much more clearly than the witcher case.
+gwyn lee . So what if your favourite character is based upon another? No artist should possess a monopoly on ideas.
In the first game maybe, once SR1 starts up and he becomes pseudo-omniscient he is his own character.
A runeblade that steals/eats souls wielded by a character with an aristocratic background seems to be the most commonly ripped off aspect. That they always zero in on those very particular details is why I think it's fair to call so many pieces of media that copy Elric actual clones. It would be one thing to approximate his attitude, but when they're all using a sword engraved with runes that drinks souls... I mean, that shit gets hard to deny. It's especially hard to defend because there's not really such a character in mythology and folktales that fits those details. It's pretty clear that the people involved had to have read either Elric, or something that copied Elric.
That's also why I consider Geralt less of a clone than some. Arthas is hilariously obvious. Kain similarly so, but at least he has some interesting details of his own.
+Zeriel . Well let's be fair, Moorcock was hardly the first writer to have a princely character possessing a cursed sword, he admittedly pulled that idea straight from Poul Anderson's The Broken Sword (fucking awesome book). And yes, at the very end, the cursed sword in that story does much the same as Stormbringer did.
Not to mention there exists another likely inspiration in Finnish mythology with a character named Kullervo, who inadvertently caused the deaths of his loved ones and possessed a cursed, sentient sword. And yep, his ending is nearly identical to Elric's.
Added on to that, not only did Tolkien attempt to adapt the Kullervo story into English, he also started working on his own similar story back in 1918 with a character called Turin Turambar, who carried a cursed, black sword called Gurthang. And yes, his tragic fate is much the same as Kullervo's and Elric's.
Moral of the story, the chain of inspirations is one deep, deep rabbit-hole.
Yoshitaka Amano of FF fame is something of a Moorcock fan himself, Ya can easily find a bunch of his drawings of Elric through googlin'. Animated adaptation of Elric helmed by him, either as a series or a standalone movie, has been something of a wet dream of mine.
Wasn't that 'Vampire Hunter D'?
@@IggyTthunders He's done art of Elric. The thing is that his characters tend to look like they all came from Final Fantasy. There's even a collectible of his Elric design.
Stormbringer was lifted from the Sagas, the magic sword Tyrfing which translates out to Stormbringer, that couldn't be sheathed until it killed someone every single time. And it was wielded by Hervor, a Female Warrior who was a real person - Grandaughter of Arngrim the Bearzerker, Daughter of Angantyr the Bearzerker. Tyrfing killed Hervor's father and her son. Everyone needs to read the Sagas to find all the source material for some of the major "Fantasy" works like Lord of the Rings, which much of the material was also lifted from the Sagas. Beorn and the Beornings in LOTR are Finns - they were originally a Bear cult and Bearzerkers, bodyguards of Kings who eventually became Kings themselves. Mirkwood = the Dark Forest (Myrk = Dark) that separated the Goths from the Huns, on the border of ancient Sweden and Finland. It's all in the Sagas, you will find it if you read it.
Elric of Melnibone seems to me like spiritual continuation of Conan of Cimmeria, which I find tantalizing; I'll be ordering some books here in a few minutes.
Moorccok made Elric to be the anti Conan. Conan is a physically fit warrior who detests magic, Elric is a physically frail albino sorcerer heavily reliant on drugs(or his magic soul devouring sword, Stormbringer) to not be an invalid. Conan begins as a raider/pirate/thief and ends up becoming a king, Elric starts as a king and becomes a mercenary.
I'm surprised you didn't mention the Blue Oyster Cult concept album based on these stories, as well as songs on other records that reference it.
How have I walked this earth for nearly 24 years without hearing of this? Every new image you show I fall more and more in love.
As a man who lives in Switzerland in the french speaking area and a huge fan of Fantasy and SF, every fan of SF must read Belgian and french comics from the 60's, 70's and 80's . The drawings of MEZIERES, DRUILLET, MOEBIUS and ENKI BILAL among others, are amazing! I think they are not easy to find in the US (and expensive...) but trust me , it's worth it.
He did a cross over with Conan once. It was great.
Art by Barry Windsor-Smith
Yes it was and remains so...
i mourned for elric at the end of the saga
Razor, man, thank you for introducing me to Elric and Moorcock.
I read the entire series and the Titan adaptation of the first book over the course of six months. Even with as much as you praise it, you're underselling the Titan adaptation. It's one of - if not the very best - adaptations I've ever seen. It's an objective improvement on the source material. The changes they make in that comic, especially in the second half, are so phenomenally good that it's mind-blowing. That creative team deserve all the praise in the world.
Hey razorfist what do you think about Berserk?
He confirmed in a Livestream that he likes Berserk quite a bit, and it's one of his only favorite manga.
GGGRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIFFFFFFFFIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
I'd like to see him review it proper.
OptiumusMagnum Which livestream?
I would like to know what he thinks about Hellsing.
I do love manga, but not once have I heard anyone talk about French comics until now. If I can find these books I will check them out
easy on amazon
Look for a guy called Moebius---he did the story boards for Jodorowsky's production of 'Dune'---also look Bilal. He was a huge inspiration for 'Bladerunner'.
Yeah, check out pretty much anything cyberpunk as an aside to the French comics as a more or less direct offshot, but an easy place to start is the original "Heavy Metal" animated movie (the cyberpunk-inspired Harry Canyon cab sequence is a notable highlight lifted from the French-based "Heavy Metal" comic magazaine), and that oft-overlooked cult sci-fi classic "The Fifth Element" (loosely based on much the same story, by the same artists, writers, and so on who contributed to the magazine and "Heavy Metal" movie!)
The animated movie "Wizards" also looks and feels suspiciously "Heavy Metal", and almost comes off like a companion piece to the "Heavy Metal" movie, and is another quick and easy entry point....
Moorcock has just edited a new NEW WORLDS out this fall!
I was introduced to Elric right after I'd read the Thomas Covenant books. I found my copy at a garage sale, was intrigued by the dust cover, and haven't looked back. Incredible stuff! You're dead on target -- the BEST we can call Elric is an antihero. His borderline villainy is one of the driving forces of the stories. Moorcock is freaking genius!
Did you read the comics or actual books
@@Galvatronover really? I have a copy of an Elric book in my LIBRARY.
The ruby throne, holy mother of fucking fucking. Art style is indeed different from manga. Now that is how i pictured western comics looking like, not the half ass job that marvel loves doing. I mean holy fuck that coloring that bloody fucking coloring. It's just done so well. Fuck the story, the art is so well detailed and colored it's like candy for the eyes, that is reason enough to buy it. any story to it is just a bonus.
Just when I didn't think my crush on you could grow any stronger, I watched this. I seriously despaired that no one had heard of Elric anymore. Even with those brothers running around in Fullmetal Alchemist.
Thanks for restoring my faith.
You've resurrected my interest in Elric from years upon years past. Thanks, Razorfist, for giving me new year's reading material! GFS!
Thanks for the video! I've never heard of Elric, but I looked up the book and I'm loving it! Thanks for the introduction to a new adventure
1:40 I knew that Blind Guardian song would be here! I love the Two volumes of the Titan comics! Razor ain't bullshitting: The Ruby Thrones and Strombringer are excellent.
I’m currently on sailor on the sea’s of fate...I fuggin love it.
This just now popped up as a "recommended" for me so I'm really late for this dance, but I just had to throw out a thank you anyway. For decades I thought I was the only one who had ever heard of Elric. Thank you!
*Me within first five minutes* Oh cool, seems like Razor will concentrate on presenting Elric instead of ranting about the surface similarities Geralt has to him. I'm glad he left that behind because there's no need to re-tread that...
* 5:49 rolls in* ...Never mind then.
Oh, I'll be editing an entire video essay on the subject.
You can thank the Witcher Defense Force for the privilege, princess.
Yeah, I watched the whole video, so I know. The problem is that it feels kinda silly to give so much attention to an imitation when talking about the original and it detracts from the presentation, but that's just my opinion. People don't usually talk about LotR knock-offs when they're presenting The Lord of the Rings or The Silmarillion or The Children of Hurin to a new audience.
And...am I really a pretty, pretty princess?
Blue Oyster Cult - Black Blade . One of my favorite BOC songs, inspired by Stormbringer.
I've been hearing you call The Witcher plagiarism for at least a couple years now, and always wondered what you meant exactly. So THIS is what it stole from?
Christian Owens Yes.
The Witcher's author (Andrzej Sapkowski) worked as a translator of Sci-Fi and Fantasy fiction during the 1980s. Around the same time Elric of Melniboné was first translated into Polish (1985), suddenly Sapkowski began writing the first draft of The Witcher. He lifted way more than the protagonist. Stealing everything from the way magic works, its relationship to Chaos, the 'Law vs. Chaos' moral theme, the event that caused magic to be unleashed into the world, it goes on and on, but that's a story for another video.
For the record, he steals from _way_ more than Elric. (He stole _hobbits_, for crying out loud) It's just fairly clear Elric was the primary focal point of his mimiographic inclinations.
AE Hall That's a little silly. Story isn't the only thing that makes a game.
Christian Owens It's not just a game series. It also started out as books.
what do you think the Warhammer fantasy and 40k stole from?
dude,thank you for this video! I never knew other people even knew who Elric is. your knowledge on his lore is astounding! I discovered the first books in a library they were both anthologies containing all the novels into two books and I was hooked. the second one I purchased was an anthology of stories about Elric written by other authors (Neil Gaiman wrote the intro and forward to the book lovingly called "Tales of the white wolf".)
You have sold me on this as an entry point into the dark fantasy genre of comics. Thanks for the guide. Someday... someday! I will learn to be as prophetic with my words as you are, Sir Razör! (but word jousting of my own choosing, I shall not rebuke the words of the master!)
Did you ever read Berserk?
Yea it twisted
I've read up to volume 13, then tuned out. I just don't understand how everyone angelicizes Griffith: he's literally the general of an army of child soldiers. If he were in the Sudan, we'd all call him what he is: a monster manipulating impressionable children, many with backgrounds characterized by physical and sexual abuse, to be his cannon fodder. Griffith's a friggin' war lord; I don't understand how he's a martyr in any sense.
That said, I like Guts backstory and Caska's.
@@IggyTthunders he's not in fact in setting he is the antichrist figure for the setting
@@MrGalagoth I disagree. He's Luciferean. The character is defined by a fall from grace.
@@IggyTthunders what fall when your in the pit how much farther can you go also he is full blown the black falcon aka the figure that is the antichrist of the setting
Elric Vol 2 stormbringer is great read but i kind of perfer how Elric is in the books with of a deep philosophical conflict with the culture of Melniboné, but i love how Stormbringer is portrayed in the comic and the way she talk's to Elric and it would be really interesting to see how she would react to some of the scenarios of the saga
Just found and watched this video. Better late than never but since I'm starting a dive into Elric comics, this video couldn't have come in handier. Thank you Razorfist!!!
I'm liking the mustache. Razor has gone from looking like a Satanic biker vigilante to a contemporary lone gunman from Mexico on a motorbike bike.
This is sadly more common than most people think. There’s a lot of characters modeled after Guts from Berserk that only manage to capture some of the complexity, and often are more beloved. It’s ok to love Geralt despite him being a copied fraction of Elric just as I will always love Cloud Strife despite copying just some of what makes Guts an amazing character.
except for the huge sword, i dont see much similar about them
@@aagh8714 Huge sword, very similar nemesis, trauma influcted by said nemesis, struggle against a demi-god ascending to godhood, and I could go on, though most of it has to do with Sephiroth merely avoiding plagiarism of Griffith.
I always pronounced it "melneh-boan."
In Elric At The End Of Time, the character Una Persson makes note that Elric himself pronounces it "Melnibooney" in a vaguely Scottish accent.
IIRC, a similar scene plays out in Stormbringer when Elric steals the horn from the corpse of Roland. There's a lady there who says "Mulnibooney" or something when he identifies himself. It's been years since I've read the boo though. Over the last few years, I've heard Moorcock pronounce it "Mel-NIB-oh-nay".
Space Jew I did for a long time as well. That umlaut always bothered me, though & when I really thought about it, I realized I’d been pronouncing it incorrectly for 30 years 🤣
Always wanted to give Elric a whirl, and now I have a reading list! Many thanks, and keep up the great work on the channel 👍
A lesser known compendium that is worth checking out is Wendy Pini's "LAW & CHAOS", which is the Elric saga she started before she found her muse in ELFQUEST. I think she was still a teenager when she tried doing the original 6 books in graphic form by herself. Suffice to say the workload was ultimately way too large in scope, but it is an interesting visual aesthetic she created for the Young Kingdoms. Considering it was the early 70's when she did this; the obvious Japanese art influence is pretty forward thinking.
It's my favorite epic with Chronicles of the Black Company
and for those who ask, yes "Blood for the blood God, skulls for the skull throne" was inspired by Elric
and Melniboné (to an extent) was one of the inspirations for commorragh.
So I guess 40k can thanks Michael Moorcock
Calimero Hœnir was it actually?
+weirdo3116
well GW (tm) the company owning 40k (tm) will never actually recognise it, but it's a fairly well known fact that khorne is at least in part inspired by Arioch ('Souls for Arioch!')... They are litterally called 'Chaos Gods'.
As for Commmorragh, there also is a strong influence albeit a less direct one, since it left a very strong mark on the medium as a whole. Therefore, to understand why Commorragh is linked to Melnibonné, you must first understand how it is linked (as a direct successor) to Naggaroth in Warhammer Fantasy Battles which itself was a carbon copy of Melnibonné.
To be perfectly buttfucking honest here: 40k and warhammer fantasy steal shit from EVERYWHERE. What made me love those two universes almost since their inception (ok, rogue trader era was and still is an on the fence type of deal) is how they blend everything and make it work with an obsessive level of attention to detail and the mechanics of their universe.
And then people call third grade kindergarden level ripoffs of no depth complexity or originality like warcraft superior OC when compared to warhammer. Oh well, I guess you can't win them all can you?
If I'm perfectly bloody honest: Elric to me is a trend-setter and genre creator. Of fucking course there will be a million Elric-like characters to follow. I read Elric. I read Witcher. I can see why someone would call the second a cheap ripoff ... personaly I happen to think that position is similar to people who would shriek anything with hapy noblebright elves, dwarves and humans fighting the BBEG is a ripoff of Lord of the Rings. Yes, you are technicaly correct. Now also remember that thing you complain was ripped off is the genre creator. Of fucking course it will be riped off until there is nothing left to ripoff. The question to be asked then is not how much is ripped off, but what if any original material exists in the new work and is it enough to give the new work a life of it's own.
The slavic folklore that practicaly drenches Witcher's universe is more than enough of an original element in my book to put enough distance between those 2 stories to make them enjoyable in their own specific way.
This is a good reminder of how many time that character got ripped off.
From the top of my head I could bring up at least 3 : Geralt of Reviera, Arthas Menethil and Malus Darkblade, but I'm sure ther's at least half a dozen more.
I think you can probably safely add the dark elf anti-hero Drizzt from the Dungeons & Dragons novels to the list, too, as one of the more inspired rip-offs, and with him the countless rip-off RPG characters.that have been copied from Drizzt since the '80s in turn.....
Annakin and Luke Skywalker might also arguably owe at least a minor debt to Elric for their angsty antihero-in -danger-of-being-consumed-by-darkness thing: it has been pretty common since the '70s, but I doubt you would see much of it before Elric changed the face of fantasy literature!
I just finished reading nearly every Elric comic ever written, even the ones which repeated stories I had already read.
It's pretty great. It's staggering just how vast the influence of Moorcock's work really was, it's certainly on the same level as Tolkien in terms of just how much modern fantasy draws directly from it.
I bet that very few people from my generation and even fewer from yours had ever red or known who the f... is Elric... I am impressed you being so young have endeavored in these stories. Was a joy watching your upload, took me back to my uni days.
Basically a metal album in a comic form?
That might be truer than you realize: Elric would have been the direct inspiration for more than one metal song, album, and/or album cover, and Michael Moorcock actually collaborated with more than one hard rock/metal band over the years, writing lyrics in the 1970s and 1980s for The Blue Oyster Cult and Hawkwind (Lemmy "Motorhead" Kilmeister's earlier band).
ua-cam.com/video/_p1yaNC1mNg/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/BtIN32GfBnA/v-deo.html
Moorcock himself actually sang in a hard rock/metal band for a single album, though I can't really tell whether any of the songs on that album were about Elric.
ua-cam.com/video/kS1ouoTKXRY/v-deo.html
And, there's no doubt that the mighty Manowar read more than a little Elric in their time, and wouldn't be quite the same band without that dark fantasy influence:
ua-cam.com/video/t7pd7tMgU4s/v-deo.html
Arguably, there are heavy metal albums that are Elric in rock album form: Moorcock worked several times with hard rock and metal bands, such as contributing lyrics to Hawkwind and the Blue Oyster Cult (see BOC's "Black Blade" and "Veteran of the Psychic Wars", and Hawkwind's "Chronicle of the Black Sword" album), with a number of other rock and metal bands writing songs at least loosely inspired by Elric including Cirith Ungol, Tygers of Pan Tang, and Diamond Head. Elric and metal have gone together almost from the beginning!
Love this. Love your passion for the character. Love the fact that you recognize PCR as the shit.
Razor, every time I come to your channel I get two things. Great information and awesome new bands. Thanks for being the coolest!
I'm not a fan of the fantasy genre but this series actually looks amazing. Since your recommendations have always been spot on for me I just placed an order for The Ruby Throne. Can't wait to read it!
DUDE! I discovered the Elric Saga when I was 11 and it utterly drew me in from the start--a skinny misfit who has no idea of his place in the world? Relatable, for me then and now. I do enjoy the Witcher books just fine, I admit, but Elric is still one of my very favorite fantasy series, along with a lot of the other books Moorcock has written in his storied career (Chronicles of Corum, Chronicles of Castle Brass, The Hawkmoon Saga, The Eternal Champion Cycle, and there's still more of his stuff I need to read). And for fuck's sake, YES WE NEED A GAME AND A MOVIE OR THREE ABOUT ELRIC. Problem is, those books are so dark and surreal and amoral by today's pussy namby pamby standards, they'd never get made at all, since Americans can't handle anything "grimdark" at all anymore--et tu, Larry Correia? With today's technology, we can do Stormbringer some serious justice; I've always imagined its howling to sound like the most blood curdling din conceivable. We can DO THIS, so why aren't we?! *revisits last sentence* Oh, wait. Never mind. But I am now looking into ordering those TPBs you mentioned in this video since I have the books already, including "Fortress of the Pearl" and "The Dreamthief's Daughter".
I'm a Witcher fanboy but the similarities are too many to deny that Sapkowski enjoyed the Elric comics. Thank you Mr. Moorcock for my favourite book and game genre.
More dishonest and ungrateful than full-on thief/plagiarist, but yeah.
Then Moorcock should have sued him for plagiarism. Why do you people get more offended than the author that was supposedly robbed? Less keyboard wars and more critical thinking.
Less blind fanboyism, more critical thinking.
Yay for Ad Hominem responses when you don't have a logical response! "Oh shit, that's true and I can't refute it... ummm... YOU STINK!"
If it is so, then you were the first one to make ad hominem.
I’m grateful to you brother for introducing Elric to me! I can’t get enough!
I think you so much Razor for introducing me to this character! I now have read all the Elric saga, moreover I own all comics now discussed here and a few older ones! I am just a happy camper!
Hey Razor just want to say thanks for the recommendations. I also got to read the Titan collections of Corum and Hawkmoon as well. Beautiful artwork and a great fantasy universe in general. Can you recommend other french comics? The ones I've read are by Philippe Druilett, Jodorowsky, and Enki Bilal as well was what Moebius works I can find. Beyond that could you steer me in the direction of some new titles?
The greatest series of fantasy books ever written
I randomly faceplanted into this channel from a Facebook post and I have never been so happy to be earfucked by a passionate shouty man in sunglasses. Hello and thank you sir. I will now watch every single video here.
Dude. People kept mentioning your channel for your MJ vids in relation to recent events, so I finally decided to check you out. Imagine my surprise when while going through your back catalogue, I stumble over a number of videos on my first big guy crush/favourite fantasy character ever (for going on 30 years). I've been collecting all things Eternal Champion, especially Elric, ever since. The Blondel adaption is the most beautiful thing a fan could have ever imagined coming along. Have you ever checked out italian Power Metal band Domine? Wonderfully cheesy and catchy and many songs about Elric (yes, I also collect any and all music about the books lol. Atmosphere wise Doomsword's music still feels most fitting, though I'm also very partial to Cirith Ungol).
Blood and Souls for my Lord Arioch 🤘
Hmm.. I just got tired of Conan and was looking of something new... Gonna check out these books, thanx!
would you ever debate with some one over the witcher plagiarism ?, other then that good video man, i'll give ELRIC a try.
Well, let me lay my case out first. Then I'll be more than happy to debate.
i can't really debate myself since i am getting into both series novel wise (played witcher 2 and 3). It's just over the years i've seen you state these criticisms of the wicher and always was curious if you could do a debate with a fan of the series so we can see both sides or something similar to that MJ accusation video.
(though i do agree with you that witcher has taken a lot of influence from Elric)
if the debate does end happening I think stardusk/thinking ape should represent the other side of the debate since he seems to love that series.
I remember reading the Elric series back in 1980 while I was still in High School. And recently I did just read the Titan Comics "Ruby Throne/Stormbringer" set - very well done. I hope they will do more than just the first book.
I was introduced to the Elric saga years ago and since then it has become a favourite of mine.
Blind Guardian metal Mythos when?
Personally, I have never been a fan of Dark Fantasy. "Moral Ambiguity" is often a cop out for actually taking and standing for something. But heck, apparently this is the Lord of the Rings of the Dark Fantasy realm, so much so that it has affected the tropes of modern fantasy video games. The only other major dark fantasy series I'm familiar with for its influence is the Black Company books that formed the inspiration for Myth: the Fallen Lords.
I love the black company books! And I would love the comeback of myth.
Taking a stand for something? What? I don't want a writer to preach me about moral values, I want an interesting, deep and unpredictable story. You can't have that with the same old good/evil bullshit.
Comparing to Elric to Kain in the Legacy of Kain series i played twenty years ago makes me smile.
How come this video is the first mention I've ever heard of this character in my entire life, yet I've consumed so much media with elements based off him while unknowingly plagiarizing him every time I make an Elder Scrolls character?
Thanks, man. I knew there was I reason I was subscribed to this channel.