Olan Rogers Has Hit It Out of the Park With “The Lion’s Blaze”

Synopsis: The Lion’s Blaze follows a group of four friends that have been trapped in an arcade game for fifteen years. Just when they think they have the game figured out, one of the friends gets killed. In order to bring back their friend and get out of the game’s world, the group has to go on an epic quest to collect the remaining five ‘stones of the Lion’s Blaze.’

Earlier today entertainment studio New Form released the pilot episode of youtube star Olan Rogers’ latest project, Lion’s Blaze. You can check it out here. Reminiscent of the animation styles employed by popular shows like Adventure Time and World’s Bravest Warriors, Lion’s Blaze uses clean humor and a compelling story line to engage audiences.

The premise tells us that a group of four friends have been trapped in an arcade game for the past fifteen years, forced to try and figure out how to please the unseen “game maker” in order to get released. Fans of Olan Rogers will recall a series of videos years ago playing with the same idea and title: The Lion’s Blaze. The animation is certainly more thorough, but the original videos are worth a watch too.

Present throughout the first episode is the creator’s well known humor, which is at the heart of everything Rogers does. I’ve been a fan of his work since the beginning and am proud to see years of working hard culminate in something like The Lion’s Blaze, as well as his new series coming out on TBS next year called Final Space. 

Art by Jonas McCluggage and smooth animation add to the quality of the show. I have never been a big fan of animation, but the style and quality of the animation are palatable for even casual cartoon watchers. It also holds it own unique style in the face of similarly animated and scripted stories, standing out from the pack thanks to Rogers’ well known flair that he brings to every project. 

The first episode does a lot to establish the premise, providing the main character and his friends the motivation to move their story forward. Dexter, better known in game as Thuswindburn, is content to be stuck in the game forever despite protests from his best friend Max. Tragedy changes his perspective, as it often does, and the group of friends are faced with their biggest quest yet: find the final stones of the Lion’s Blaze and face down the game maker.

We are looking forward to seeing more from this series and cannot wait for the next episode of The Lion’s Blaze. Don’t forget to check out the pilot on youtube and give it a thumbs up if you dig it. You can check out the full body of Olan Rogers’ work here on his youtube channel. It is worth it.