The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel – Northern War is an anime spin-off of the “Trains of Steel” video game series, set between the second and third games from Nihon Falcom. It was developed by Tatsunoko Production and aired in the United States on Crunchyroll.

Lavian Winslet (Sarah Roach) is an instructor within the ranks of the Northern Jaegers, who works to protect her home country of North Ambria. After an attack from rival nation Erebonia, Winslet is ordered to take a team consisting of Iseria Frost (Anjali Kunapaneni), Martin S. Robinson (Ben Balmaceda), and Talion Drake (Chris Niosi) on a secret mission to stop the “Imperial Hero” from harming their homeland.

I thought the dub cast did an excellent job with their characters. Everyone should up and performed very well all things considered. I also thought the animation was well done, though some of the character designs were a bit odd.

Honestly, I just found this anime quite boring. I have not played the games, so I cannot compare them, but even as a standalone show, I had trouble keeping up with the sides and who was who. Also, Lavian is a terrible leader. The first part of her mission was spent just trying to ditch her team. Not to mention, they are some of the worst spies I have ever seen.

They were supposed to be there in secret, but they were constantly causing a loud ruckus everywhere you went. Granted I am not an expert, but I am told espionage comes with a certain amount of secrecy. Not so with this bunch. They were causing scenes at parties, creating explosions, acting as vigilantes, and screaming each other’s real names and rank… all behind enemy lines.

For these reasons, I doubt they will be renewing it, after all, it was just to promote the video games. I would find it hard to believe fans of the game would even enjoy it. If by some miracle it gets renewed, I will be passing on a following-up.

Check out the trailer below:

This review is based on the dub from OkraTron 5000.

PARENTAL CONCERNS: Rude humor, Minor foul language, Some violence

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