Quotes / The Heroic Legend of Arslan

"No matter how great your military prowess, the value of strategy is in securing victory before you exhaust it. ...

"Brave warriors such as Daryun are one in a thousand. The commander of an army must think of his weakest soldier as the standard and still emerge victorious. This holds doubly true for the monarch of a kingdom, who ought to devise his plans so that even his most incompetent commander will not be defeated. ...

"When he is too sure of the strength of his men and neglects strategy... if matters should go awry at some point... I am sure Your Highness experienced the result for yourself at Atropatene. King Andragoras never knew defeat. That self-conceit gave rise to the king who was uninterested in politics. The king who tried to resolve all matters with war. If it is your will that you would be your father's successor in that sense, I will abandon my post as Court Painter at a moment's notice, Prince Arslan.

—Narsus teaching Arslan about the basics of strategy, 2015 anime Season 1, Episode 5

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"Slaves! How long will you bow your heads to Pars, who chain you and misuse you?! Defend your dignity! Sever those chains and rise up! Rise up, slaves!"

— The Lusitanian army instigating the slaves of Ecbatana to open its gates, 2015 anime Season 1, Episode 6

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"Perhaps what is right is not like the sun, but more like the stars. There are an infinite number of stars in the heavens and they cancel out each other's light. Your Highness, whatever the case, do not be swayed by what I tell you. Your Highness is attempting to walk down the path of righteousness. Please proceed down that path at all costs."

— Narsus philosophizing on the aftermath of their failed attempt to free Hodir's slaves, 2015 anime Season 1, Episode 10

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"To live is to depart upon a journey,

And so too the same holds for death;

The pinions of the bird that crosses the river of time

Bring old age to man with but a single wingbeat."

— Gieve's farewell song to Farangis, 2015 anime Season 1, Episode 21

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"The throne itself does not have a will of its own. This is how I think of it. Depending upon who sits in it, it can be a seat of justice or it can be the seat of inhuman cruelty. As long as it is a man, and not a god, doing the governing, he can never be perfect. But should he neglect to make efforts to reach for perfection, a king will surely tumble down the slippery slope towards evil with no one around to stop him....

"His Highness, the Crown Prince, is always making an effort. It is merely that this fact is obvious to those who serve him. It is because we see him as a man to be treasured that we are all happy to serve him."

— Farangis explaining to Etoile why Arslan's True Companions and the remaining armies of Pars follow him, 2015 anime Season 1, Episode 25