The Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim - Review

When The Lord of the Rings “anime” movie was initially announced, I was quite skeptical. While I am a fan of the series, at the time it felt like everything was becoming an anime, even when it had nothing to do with the medium. As information started coming in, my hopes were not going up. Sure, Kenji Kamiyama’s involvement was good news, but his works with Sola Entertainment were mainly CGI which I couldn’t imagine with the magical world of Middle Earth. Then the first trailer dropped and worry turned into curiosity. All that brings us to today and to the review of this movie, which quite honestly surprised me in a good way.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim takes place in the 2754th year of the Third Age (for reference, The Hobbit begins in the year 2941) and follows events in Rohan. The main focus is on strong-headed and independent Hèra, the only daughter of Helm Hammerhand, the king of Rohan. When Helm kills one of his lords with a single punch, his kingdom is thrust to war and Hèra’s days of freedom may come to an end.

The War of the Rohirrim

As I said above, The War of the Rohirrim surprised me. I won’t go into a definition of what anime is: the marketing team has been pushing it as such and does have a Japanese director who has worked on numerous anime titles, but it was animated (at least in part) outside of Japan. The art style is also not what an average anime fan is used to seeing every day. Still, regardless of these purist definitions, one thing that The War of the Rohirrim managed to do well was merging the Japanese animation style with the magic of Tolkien’s works.

Storywise, my main concern was that The War of the Rohirrim would feel like a cheap money grab. But I couldn’t be more wrong. The movie brought together a crew that worked on the original trilogy and The Hobbit adaptations. It may not add much to the overall story but it gives an interesting insight into a specific time in the history of Rohan. Much like LotR the good and bad are clearly defined, we know who the heroes are and who the villains are, for the most part. Betrayal is present, but so is the sense of duty, honor, friendship, and trust.

Tolkien’s stories didn’t have many female characters and the franchise as a whole never really focused much on the women, until now. Bravery and heroism were mostly reserved for men, with a few exceptions, so it was quite refreshing to see these traits in the female protagonist without it feeling forced. Hèra is not there to fill a quota, nor is she there to actually be a hero, she is there to fight and protect, but most importantly she is there to live and be free.

Helm’s characterization is also one of the points I’d like to praise: he is an interesting character but there was always going to be a chance for him to just end up being too… good. Yet, The War of the Rohirrim portrays him as an imperfect, but honorable man, fit to be a king, hero, and father.

One of the only gripes I had with the story is just how much plot armor was given to Wulf – the antagonist. It feels like he could have been stopped midway through the movie, but for some reason, he wasn’t. Similarly, once the story fully moves to Hornbug, certain things just seem to fall into Hèra’s lap and the old lady who is a keeper of the castle just conveniently happens to be there to stir things up. However, these are just minor comments and you really should give this movie a go.

How Much of The War of the Rohirrim Is Canon?

Die-hard fans of The Lord of the Rings franchise are probably wondering just how much of The War of the Rohirrim is canon. The answer is a bit more complicated than you’d expect. Helm Hammerhand, King of the Mark, is indeed a figure mentioned in the original book series. We know he was the 9th king of Rohan and that in 2754 he killed Freca (one of his council members) with a single punch after he asked for the hand of Helm’s daughter for his son Wulf. Following his death, Wulf is exiled.

Four years later, Rohan is under attack from East and Isengard, with no one to come for help. As it turns out, Wulf gathered an army of Dunlendings and other enemies of Gondor and led it from Isengard to avenge his honor. The clash that followed took place during an especially harsh winter, dubbed the Long Winter, and explains how Helm’s Deep got its name and how Rohan got a new line of kings. The books briefly mention this (Appendix A/”II The House of Eorl”), but The War of the Rohirrim expands on that by giving us a backstory, which ties to Hèra.

Also read:
Interview With Kenji Kamiyama, Director of The Lord of the Rings: The War of Rohirrim

Hèra is not a character who is named in the original movie trilogy, the books, or anywhere else. Her two brothers and one cousin are. All three are given a bit more space and backstory in this movie, with some changes, but the spotlight is still on Hèra and perhaps an unexpected group briefly mentioned in the original story: the shieldmaidens.

In the original trilogy, Éowyn claims to be the last shieldmaiden of Rohan. Whether this tradition existed in Rohan was never explicitly explained, but it does make a lot of sense for Éowyn to be telling Hèra’s story. After all, Hèra is the one who actively fights for Rohan.

So to summarize, The War of the Rohirrim does take some creative liberties in the retelling of the events that took place during the Long Winter but the ending remains the same, for the most part. Hèra’s presence in the movie changes the outcome, but in the long-term, it doesn’t do anything to affect the already established order of the LotR movie universe. As Éowyn puts it in the beginning: “But do not look for tales of her in the old songs, there are none.”

Should You Watch The Lord of the Rings “Anime” Movie?

In short: yes. It’s a wonderful opportunity to return to Middle Earth, especially if you are already a fan of the series. And even if you are not: it is a nice starting point. To me, it felt like this movie was made by people who understand the magic of The Lord of the Rings. Looking at staff listings and seeing so many familiar names, such as Philippa Boyens, should reassure the fan in you. The same goes for the anime fans.

I’m not claiming this was an incredible work of art, but it’s a solid movie with a decent storyline, amazing voice acting, and beautiful visuals that only add to Peter Jackson’s vision of the books. There is also a familiar sense of comfort that anything The Lord of the Rings brings: it’s easy to tell whose side you should be on and it feels like home. I also have to praise the small details and easter eggs left throughout the movie. I loved hearing Christopher Lee as Saruman once again, especially knowing about the connection the actor had with the original books. So yeah, if you choose to watch it this winter, you will definitely not be disappointed.