Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim – Review

13th January 2025

Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim – Review. By Robert Ewing.

Anime based on Western media is not a new or revolutionary concept for anime fans. For years, anime has inspired and influenced Western filmmakers like The Wachowskis, Christopher Nolan, and Darren Aronofsky, so it was only inevitable that the West would start looking East to see how anime could influence their media. We saw this with The Wachowskis with The Animatrix, Star Wars with the anthology show Visions, and Cyberpunk 2077 with Netflix’s Cyberpunk Edgerunners. All those pieces of media are widely different, spanning various animation studios and creators, but there is one thing that connects them all. Japanese influence. All those anime are inherently Japanese, and it feels like they could only be made by Japanese creatives. Therefore, it is disappointing when the latest example of Western-based anime, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, feels inherently Western to its very core.

Taking place 183 years before Frodo and the fellowship set off on their journey, we follow Hera (Gaia Wise), daughter of the King of Rohan Helm Hammerhead (Brian Cox), after the accidental death of Lord Freca, who was trying to stop the marriage of Hera to a Lord of Gondor. Freca’s Son, Wulf (Luke Pasqualino), promises revenge on the entire family and is banished from Rohan. After many years of being presumed dead. Wulf returns with an army he has built from the Hill people to enact his revenge and take over Rohan. It is up to Hera to stop this impending destruction of her and her people.

Even though the film takes place 183 years before The Lord of the Rings, The War of the Rohirrim constantly makes you aware of the coming dangers nearly two centuries away. Whether it be a growing army at Isengard, Orcs scourging for rings for an unnamed master, or even the Battle of Helm’s Deep. It was a strange feeling for an anime to tackle what Western filmgoers would describe as fan service, as anime fan service is not the same thing. It so heavily relies on the already established narrative by J.R.R Tolkien and the visual and musical aesthetics of the Peter Jackson trilogy that anything original in this film feels uninspired.

Even then, the animation looks strange. The background art and the character designs do not mesh well. The characters feel separate from their backgrounds, never feeling like they live in the world they inhabit. Even then, the film is just not visually appealing. From dynamic camera movements that takes away from the momentum of the action. To faces in certain shots not being highly detailed in wide shots. Even Héra’s character design is not in line with the rest of the world. She is the closest to what I would say would be a typical anime character design with thigh-high guards, resembling how anime girls would wear thigh-high socks.

The performances are decent though Brian Cox does a commendable job as Helm Hammerhand, the current king of Rohan. You believe that he is a truly headstrong king for better or for worse. Gaia Wise is also solid as Héra, while the script around her character is lacklustre, she does a solid job with what she is given. However, Luke Pasqualino gives a rough performance as Wulf. Especially as the main villain he has no presence and there is nothing sinister about him. Wulf just comes across as someone who didn’t get his way so went into a huff.

However, my biggest issue with the film is that it feels ashamed to be an anime film. It is trying so hard to be a film it is not. In my opinion, Warner Brothers wanted this to be just an animated The Lord of the Rings film and not an anime The Lord of the Rings film. It’s a small distinction, but it is huge in its implications. Anime has been written and directed by non-Japanese filmmakers with Tekkonkinkreet (Dir: Michael Arias) being a notable example however that was based on a manga, so its core store was created with Japanese influence.

This is not the same with The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim. It’s based on source material and written solely by Westerners. It leads to the idea that this film feels like a studio-for-hire project instead of a passionate tale for Japanese filmmakers to explore the realm of Middle Earth which is a disappointment. Even then, it fails to be an engaging The Lord of the Rings film. For a film that is only two hours and fifteen minutes. It feels agonisingly longer than Return of the King.

I adore anime and I would have loved The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim to be up with the likes of Cyberpunk Edgerunners. However, it is just a bad film. Ashamed of being an anime film and not interesting or fantastical enough to be a decent The Lord of the Rings film.

1.5 Stars

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