Common Knowledge: The film duology is frequently referred to as "Episode 1" and "Episode 2" of the OVA series as the OVA series continues the numbering from the film duology.
Fanon Discontinuity: The last two episodes of the OVA are often regarded as being this, for having significantly lower production values than the previous four.
Ho Yay: Daryun and Arslan have quite a few moments and their relationship could be easily interpreted as a sort of Bodyguard Crush. There's also Daryun and Narsus who used to be best friends before Narsus was expelled from the court, and now play Vitriolic Best Buds to each other. It doesn't help (or does, depending on your point of view...) that many of anime character designer Sachiko Kamimura's fantasy characters look exactly the same as her Arslan characters, down to their costumes... and she's done a number of BL novel illustrations. At one point she actually had to clarify at her website that the couple in a picture are, despite all appearances, not Daryun and Arslan. (She wasn't very convincing.)
Awesome Music: Both openings of the 2015 adaptation, made by Uverworld and Nico Touches the Walls. The endings by Eir Aoi and Kalafina, by comparison, are purely epic.
Better on DVD: The 2015 anime is best appreciated by watching in one go, especially since certain episodes involve more dialogues and plotting and less action.
In Episode 12, when Daryun saves Arslan from death at the hands of a sorcerer, he suddenly increases his speed in a way that makes it look like he is running in fast motion. The fact that when he does this, Daryun also totally destroys all the people in his way makes the scene (which was supposed to be serious) comical.
Episode 24 gave us an Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy moment that's almost impossible to take seriously where upon entering the castle, Arslan's group is showered upon by a unit of Lusitanian archers...only for Farangis to walk into the raining arrows, and not get hit due to her "divine protection."
Tough Act to Follow: Season 2 of the 2015 anime since it only had 8 episodes. While it's clear that Arslan will not ascend to the throne immediately, the second season is treated more as a Breather Episode before the big showdown between Arslan, Andragoras III and Silvermask. There's also notable uneven quality on the animation.
