Arslan

Arslan (アルスラーン Arusurān) is the main protagonist of The Heroic Legend of Arslan series. He is the crown prince of Pars, and the leader of the resistance against the Lusitanian invasion, the Camp of Arslan.

He is voiced in Japanese by Yūsuke Kobayashi and in English by Aaron Dismuke.

Appearance
His basic appearance is that of a fragile and skinny, weak boy and because of this, people usually consider him a weakling. For example, Kharlan’ssoldiers call him a dead weight. He is depicted with long, silver hair, which he keeps in a low ponytail. He has light blue eyes and his pupils are big compared to others. He is also shorter than average, but this is most likely due to him being a child, and he is as tall as Elam and Etoile, who are at the same age as him. He wears golden earrings in both ears. His skin complexion is noticeably fair and much lighter than other Parsians. He wears high quality clothes because he is a prince. In battle, he wears golden armor, but had lost the helmet in one of his battles. He also always carries his sword with him.

Personality
Arslan is depicted as a gentle prince, being very kind and soft-spoken, which is the exact opposite of his father. He cares about those around him and values their lives over his own. Young Arslan isn’t considered a very strong successor. He lacks his father’s ruthlessness and stubborn bravery, but has a strong heart and is very perceptive. After the battle in the field of Atropatene, the soldiers he left behind weighed upon his mind and made him despondent. He also had come believes that all men are equal, after his meeting with Etoile. He doesn’t consider slaves and Lusitanians to be the same as animals and is willing to talk with them. He also became friends with Elam, who is a former slave and Etoile, who is a Lusitanian soldier.

At first his mind was weak and he didn’t like fighting, but it all changed at Atropatene, after taking a Lusitanians life for the first time, even though it made him feel terrible at that moment. After that experience, he had no trouble killing someone, even Parsian men and now, he is willing to fight if he needs to. He is willing to do whatever it takes to protect his friends, family and kingdom, and has been shown to be a skilled fighter[2] despite his frail appearance. He greatly values and trusts his company and when he learns about their trust in him, he vows to become a worthy king before they despair on him and starts to have build more self-confidence.

He is also very intelligent and insightful as he made a court-hating Narsus join him and figured out that the slaves may aid the enemy. He also grows smarter and wiser as journey goes, wanting himself to be a king fit for his people to serve and not despair of.

Abilities
At first Arslan was very bad with swords, such as calling a basic attack 'a finishing technique', but due to high regular training with Eran Vahriz, he became somehow sufficient in using swords as he was able to kill Lusitanian soldiers and Parsian traitors in different occasions. He is a sufficient archer. He also has no problems riding horses or using hawks.

Trivia

 * "Aslan" is the Turkish word meaning "Lion".
 * Arslan is fond of Azerael, one of Kishawrd's hawks.
 * Arslan is based on the character Arsalan, protagonist of the asian epic Amir Arsalan.