League of Legends fans are feasting this month. Between the World Championship, new game announcements, and crossovers with Fortnite, PUBG, and Among Us, Riot Games is really pulling out all the stops. The best thing about not being a League player (besides not playing League) is definitely Arcane, a new animated Netflix series that aired its first three episodes this past Friday. Arcane is a phenomenal TV series from almost every angle, and depending on how the rest of the series goes, it’s possibly in contention with The Witcher for best video game show ever. Considering League’s decade of history, multiple spin-offs, and a Marvel comic series, Arcane may seem wholly unapproachable to the uninitiated, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The show doesn’t rely on any prior knowledge of Runeterra - no, really. Arcane isn’t an adaptation of a more complete story, but rather the first telling of League of Legends’ origins, and you should absolutely watch it even if you don’t play League.

League of Legends lore nerds - a term I use with the utmost respect - will tell you that we know a lot about the world of Runeterra. And to an extent that’s true: lore tabs for each character, cinematic reveal trailers, voice lines, short stories on the League website, and story content in the spin-off card game Legends of Runeterra have told us a lot about League of Legends. But all of the lore in and out of the game up until this point has mostly served a worldbuilding function rather than contributing to cohesive storytelling. Character bios are written like tall tales and half-remembered stories. They tell us about each champion’s personality and sometimes vaguely hint at their backstories, but they’re intentionally written so as to leave room for their histories to be told in another format, like a TV show.

Related: Arcane Impressions: Our Thoughts On The League Of Legends Netflix Show

The lore has also evolved significantly over time. Old problematic and contradictory lore entries have been altered or erased, making the history of League somewhat murky. Before Arcane, League players who paid attention to the lore would have had a sense of Runeterra’s 13 regions and the political dynamics between them, as well as some background information on the 157 champions.

League of Legends Arcane

But what no one has ever had is an actual story to go with all this worldbuilding. Arcane is finally telling League’s story - at least one side of it - and both newcomers and veterans are seeing it for the first time. It can’t be overstated how much Arcane reveals about the world of League. The series centers around sisters Vi and Jinx, two of League’s earliest champions that, until now, no one knew were sisters. Those who pay close attention to the lore have suspected it due to the antagonistic relationship between them, but even that very basic detail wasn’t part of the League story until now. The first three episodes take place at least a decade before League’s in-game present and explore how many popular characters came to be the champions we know in the game.

A deep understanding of League of Legends lore will certainly enhance the Arcane experience. Just seeing characters like Jayce, Heimerdinger, Viktor, and Ekko will elicit a response from League players that non-players won’t understand, especially if you know how the relationships between characters like Jayce and Viktor have changed since the time of Arcane. If you’re a League mega-nerd (again, love and respect) then you’ve probably deduced the fate of Arcane’s newcomers Vander and Silco and who they may eventually become.

But all of that is just the icing on the cake - a little extra treat for those who love League. Arcane is not a great show because it panders to League fans with hints and cameos. It’s great because it stands on its own as a science-fiction and fantasy epic with fantastic characters, a gripping plot, heart-wrenching emotional scenes, and brutal action sequences that are intense in a way I’ve never seen in animation. The performances are exceptional, the art style is breathtaking, and music is...well maybe it’s a little much, but it’s still quite good.

It’s an excellent show, is what I’m saying. Don’t let the League of Legends part stop you from diving in. You’ll be missing out on one of the best series of the year and I’ll take it as a personal slight. Don’t do this to me, okay?

Next: League Of Legends TV Series Arcane Is Crossing Over With PUBG