It is rather silly to attempt to review an epic at its beginning chapters, but I will try nonetheless.

The story is handled intelligently- under the straightforward nature of Arslan's quest, there are hints of a deeper story that is slowly being unravelled through the political machinations and intrigues of the various other characters in the cast. The balance between humor and drama is also pleasant, and it never becomes tiring despite the heaviness of the ideas it tries to impart.

Events happen at a nice pace, neither too rushed or too drawn out. You are given time to process the relationships between characters, and how they fit into the bigger picture. You are given a spectrum of characters who represent different ideas on morality and ethics, and how they play off each other.

As this is an adaptation of a long-running novel, there is only so much Arakawa-sensei can modify in her version of Arslan Senki. But I trust in her ability to create multi-faceted and relatable characters, and it should be no different here in regards to Prince Arslan.

For those who complain about the weakness they perceive, what sort of hero's journey would it be it if the hero begins it already complete and fully-formed in character? The beauty of an epic is its ability to show the different paths, and different journeys, of different sorts of heroes (or villains)- how they develop or intertwine, or how they clash and destroy.

Arslan's character functions as a foil to his Father, his gentle determination a contrast with the stubborn bloodthirst that King Andragoras displays. Those who think him inadequate as a hero because of the lack of hot-blooded machismo he displays has lost the point of the story- for the hero's journey is about growth, not stagnation.

As for those who nitpick at historical "inaccuracies" or middling details- this is a story based off another story. Amir Arsalan was written as a Persian legend regarding an European invasion of a Persian city- and the rise of a forgotten Prince to reclaim his homeland. The point in stories isn't so much the accuracy of their depiction of class divisions, metal smithing tech or even their geographical locations but the values and ideas which they impart through the progression of the narrative and the development of the characters.

... Last updated on April 19th, 2015, 1:26pm

I rate 6 for anything that I can't personally finish, but everything other than the fault/s is good if not great. First off the story has a lot of potential and is incredibly different from other "typical" shounen's out there. From the characters to the plot everything is a good mix up.
Sounds good, yes?
Unfortunately, I can't continue, the prince is a horrid character in my eyes. Well, not really horrid, but for a lack of better word, he just feels "flimsy". Imagine Astal, Sion from Densetsu no Yuusha no Densetsu (the king character there) but younger, not as bright and lacking the backbone - basically anything that redeemed him from being a fluffy toy.
Yeah, I'm kind of going harsh at him, but he's the main reason I'm dropping this, so I need my reasons.
If I had to pin point exactly why I don't like him being fluffy, it would be that he couldn't ever quite be badass (which seems to be a criteria in my manga picking, now that I think about it). I'm well aware that he could grow and mature and become something resembling Sion (read a few lines back), but I honestly can't force myself through that.
Might be good for others though, so have a look and decide for yourself.

Fist, Hiromu Arakawa draw comical characters, with head that resembling rounded box for nearly all of his characters That style have great compatibility for fantasy series or slice of life. Although still count as fantasy, this Arsland's Legend is quite heavy on historical side. I don't know if it will work well, because among historical series I liked, comical drawings cannot be found. (And who the hell put FMA in historical genre?)

Second, setting detail is quite jumbled. Lusitania is in modern day Portugal, at the Roman republic and imperial era. Ecbatana, in the other hand, is in modern day Iran, about 4th century BCE. They're separated way too far! The armor in this manga resemble late antiquity Persian (far after Median era) and maybe Khwarazmian, but the weaponry include longswords (by the look of its hilt) which mainly used by Christendom in medieval period. Many manga works with this distasteful mix of setting, but the greatest don't.

Third, the characterization follow RPG-like role division, which is non-existant in Kingdom wide organization. Of course there would be general, high physician, master-archer, master assassin, or other various job title under heaven, but I bet they're not significant individually, must be attached to their retainer or master to hold considerable power, and therefore, won't be having that much time adventuring the world like the manga suggest.

These three things doesn't indicate awesomeness for future chapters. This might be an attempt to proove that shounen-esque approach can result in awesomeness. But I doubt it.