

I am from Iran and I saw just a few episodes. This story was famous in my
parents' childhood and I really wonder why it is so different from the
original story (the author is called Naghibolmamaulek). And why is the theme
completely different from Persia?


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2016-08-29T09:05:06.317
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arslan-senki
If the story and the names of Arslan are Persian, why is the theme Japanese?


The anime's based on [Hiromu Arakawa's manga of the same
name](https://myanimelist.net/manga/51233/Arslan_Senki), which is, in turn,
based on [Yoshiki Tanaka's fantasy novel series of the same
name](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Heroic_Legend_of_Arslan). As the
Wikipedia page for the latter states, it appears to have taken inspiration
from a few different sources:

> Whilst the protagonist's name (which is
> [Turkic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkic_languages) for lion) appears
> to may have been taken from the popular Persian epic of [Amir
> Arsalan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amir_Arsalan), other than this
> anachronism, Arslan and his Parsian enemies and allies primarily share many
> parallels with [Cyrus the
> Great](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrus_the_Great) and other historical
> figures of [6th century BCE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6th_century_BC)
> [Persia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_Empire) (albeit with several
> liberties taken), whereas the conflicts with the Lusitanian forces (which
> bear the [Byzantine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empire)
> [Orthodox cross](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthodox_cross)) – despite
> mostly French names and a certain religious zealotry implying a connection
> to the ([Catholic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_Church))
> [Crusades](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusades) (again, with liberties
> taken)– appear to be based on the [Byzantine–Persian
> Wars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine%E2%80%93Sasanian_wars),
> specifically those of the [6th century
> CE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6th_century). Furthermore, several names
> of prominent Parsian characters appear to be taken from known important
> figures throughout [Persian
> history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Iran) as well as the
> historically unsubstantiated legendary parts of the historiographic Persian
> epic [Shahnameh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shahnameh). Additionally,
> supernatural elements mostly based on [ancient Near East
> mythology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religions_of_the_ancient_Near_East)
> increasingly play a role as the series goes on.

I wasn't able to find any reference to Naghibolmamaulek, the author you
mention, but the short answer to your question is: **the anime's based on a
story that was _inspired_ by the one your parents may have heard during their
childhood, among others, and it is not a direct adaptation of it/them.** As
such, Tanaka (and possibly Arakawa too) took some liberties and changed a few
things around.


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