Based on the wuxia novel by Chinese author Jin Yong, the Legend of Condor Hero is a story set in war-torn China during turbulent times when the Mongols invaded the country. All the heroes of the time have come together to make their last stand in their capital city of Xiangyang. Amidst all the chaos, one young martial arts hero will arise along with a love forbidden yet pure...

Yang Guo - the main character; a conflicted young man who becomes an expert in several martial arts; his father was killed and labeled a traitor to his country; he trains under the beautiful and mysterious heiress of Ancient Tomb Sect with whom he later falls in love with Xiao Long Nuu (Dragon Girl) - as a baby, she was abandoned in the steps of a Taoist temple but later brought by a mysterious woman to the ancient tomb nearby where she was trained to become the heiress of their sect; outwardly cold and emotionless, she was forced to accept Yang Guo as a pupil Guo Jing - is the sworn brother of Yang Guo's father; a great martial arts fighter and a hero to China Huang Rong - Guo Jing's clever wife and leader of the Beggar Sect; she had something to do with the death of Yang Guo's father Li Mo Chou (Serpent Deity) - the apprentice sister of Xiao Long Nuu who was expelled from their sect; an embittered woman, she is jealous of Xiao Long Nuu and is after the Maiden Sutra, a secret kung fu text guarded by Xiao Long Nuu Gold Wheel Abbot - is a Tibetan lama who is also the defense master of Mongolia; he helps the Mongolians in conquering China Huo Du - a prince of Mongolia who wanted to marry Xiao Long Nuu in order to get hold of the Maiden's Sutra

Opening Theme :: Yuu by NoR - a spritely tune with an interesting beat and catchy lyrics Closing Theme :: Yae by Blasa - a haunting melody that evokes bittersweet emotion

The animation is not that good. That's probably the only bad thing I can say about this anime. The Legend of Condor Hero is an anime based on wuxia, that is, martial arts. Where is that genre that is characterized by smooth cinematography? The grace of martial arts has been reduced to chopped actions that looked as though they were a series of stills pasted together. The shots themselves aren't that bad. They're tolerable although I do have questions on the color schemes of the characters' clothes. For instance, Yang Guo has blue hair and he's wearing a long red robe with yellow underclothes. Not exactly the best combination. But like I said, that shouldn't be too bad. However, when it comes to the action scenes, these seemingly minor details come into sharp focus and you can't help but feel disappointed. For an anime with such a great storyline and character buildup, the animation sure doesn't deliver.

The Legend of Condor Hero is produced by Nippon Animation in cooperation with Taiseng Entertainment. The animation is done by Jade Animation Group.

This is really The Return of Condor Hero not Legend, Legend is about Guo Jing and Wang Yun/Huang Rong. I have to say this is one of the best animes out there! people just don;t understand it! they think the animation is bad!, hey I thought it was bad at first too, within the first 3 mins of downloading a random esp I didnt like it, the animation is behind too, I thought hey this is another one of those stupid anime these chinese people are going to make./I'm Chinese. well anyways the Story deserves a 9, it's really good and detailed. one of Jin Yong best Wuxia novels and films. The Song deserves a 8 because if you don't listen to japanese song and listen to "True love is bitter" or True love has bitter taste" by Andy Lau you would find yuourself to like it more than the japanese song. I mean sure they don't have japanese voicing but it would be refreshing to heard Cantonese voicing, why? because there is a feel to it and cantonese voice actors are good and there are more stuff that can be desribe in chinese than japanese. The production was done by Japanese animation somewhere, but than TVBI took over the production, it was more popular in Hong Kong than in Japan, but after seeing TVBI making more than 4+ return of Condor Hero series i have to say this one is one of the best. Yang Guo is still has handsome, Dragon girl doesnt wear white as traitional as the show is suppose to wear but she is still great, this dragon girl acts like the real dragon girl because she said to huang rong "I only want to protect Yang Guo and no one esle" the real dragon girl would be cold towards other and nice to Yang guo only. Wang Yun isnt as pretty as they describe in the book but in her younger years she did look pretty, one thing that strucks out to me is that Guo Fu was beautiful, in the book she is pretty but the produtction alway make her look bad, however in this one she kind of see that she is very attracted to Yang guo but still keeps her stubborness. The Animation was okay, it deserves a 7 because it was made in 2000. sometimes you don;t care about the animation and focus on the storyline, same thing goes for gundam wing and Legend of Condor Hero 1983/4, you can see the stings on them flying but you are so focus on the storyline and hand to hand or sword to sword you forget about it. I think this deserves a rating of a 9

The live action is so much better, however this animation should not ignored, it features tantalizing action and the chemistry between the lead characters is very good. I enjoyed the first season dubbed in Japanese and subbed in English and now the second season Chinese/Eng. If you want to watch some like action and interesting plot development watch this. For full enjoyment I recommend the live action.