Danielle Vanvoorst

This is literally one of my favorite animes ever and it literally pains me that it gets no attention. The story telling, the art, the character development, is immaculate. Hiromu Arakawa is the artist for not only Arslan, but also Full metal alchemist--so of course the art is beautiful. Arslan is a young prince who loses his entire kingdom in one day and must fight for it back; he gathers new retainers and an army, and later has to renew his resolve because the enemy may not be who they seem; Arslan may or may not hold any legitimacy to the throne and must work against his own cousin in order to bring pars back to former glory. It talks about the controversies surrounding holy wars, has amazing character development, and reveals in the plot; it is fantasy but the use of magic is minimal and not among any of the main characters, in that way it is super unique. And when the main love interest is literally a soldier of the opposing side--dressed as a boy--like come on. Watch it.