Tales of the Abyss

The world of Auldrant is bound by the Score, a series of prophecies from centuries past that dictate the world's future. It is considered an absolute fate that everyone lives by—even people whose actions lead to bloodshed and tears. Using magical abilities known as the Fonic Arts, a war between the nation of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear and the Malkuth Empire is waged in hopes of bringing the Score's foreseen utopia to life.

Tales of the Abyss follows Luke von Fabre, who spends his days locked away in his manor after being kidnapped and losing memories as a child. One day, while honing his swordsmanship, a woman named Tear attempts to assassinate his master. Luke defends him, but the clash results in the two being teleported to a distant land. Luke and Tear’s journey back quickly escalates into a quest that will either free the world from the Score's chains or destroy it completely.

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Tales of the Abyss
Side story:	Tales of the Abyss Special Fan Disc
Character:	Tales of Gekijou

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Characters & Voice Actors

Fon Fabre, Luke

Main

Suzuki, Chihiro
Japanese

Curtiss, Jade

Main

Koyasu, Takehito
Japanese

Grants, Tear

Main

Yukana
Japanese

Asch

Main

Suzuki, Chihiro
Japanese

Cecil, Guy

Main

Matsumoto, Yasunori
Japanese

Ion

Main

Kobayashi, Yumiko
Japanese

Tatlin, Anise

Main

Momoi, Haruko
Japanese

Luzu Kimlasca Lanvaldear, Natalia

Main

Neya, Michiko
Japanese

Sync

Supporting

Kobayashi, Yumiko
Japanese

Arietta

Supporting

Yukino, Satsuki
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Maruyama, Hiroo

Producer

Ogata, Naohiro

Producer

Kodama, Kenji

Director

Kimura, Eriko

Sound Director

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Opening Theme

"Karma (カルマ)" by BUMP OF CHICKEN (eps 1-26)

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Ending Theme

"Bouken Suisei (冒険彗星)" by Kurumi Enumoto (eps 1-26)

Reviews

Jul 18, 2009

Goldeneyeuro

Recommended

Now, I should mention first that I have not played the Tales of the Abyss video game on which this anime is based. Despite that, I found it a great series to watch, with excellent characters and character development, brilliantly animated scenes, spectacular artwork, and a well-paced excellent story.

The story starts out slowly, but each character gives the viewer an immediate impression when introduced and one quickly develops feelings towards him or her, whether good or bad. Each character is developed to the fullest extent, with detailed backstories, distinct personalities, personal motivation and conflicts, and excellent designs. You can truly feel the ... conflicts they experience, and the depth they get into is truly spectacular. The antagonists are as well-developed as the protagonists, and since their development is on the same level, when conflict does arise, it’s felt much more forcefully since you don’t know which side has more willpower to win the ensuring battles. The development is especially strong for Luke, and just seeing him undergo his transformation throughout the series is breathtaking. Also, all the characters just mesh in with each other extremely well, and the chemistry amongst everyone is well-done, again, both protagonists, secondary characters, and antagonists.

The animation, like the characters, is wonderful, with fluid movements and flashy attacks. Pair that up with colorful drawings and excellent backgrounds and scenes, and scenes exceed my expectations. It even gives the .hack series a run for the money in this aspect. The pacing helps get the animation and drawings noticed, since there are moments where it’s slow enough to admire the drawings and detail work woven into the scenes, but it’s not too slow so that you get bored and drift off. There is enough action mixed into each mission to keep the pace up, plus good dialogue amongst the characters.

Unfortunately, there is a flaw in the dialogue in that the vocabulary often used is difficult to comprehend, and many references are made to these words. Explanations are given for the vocabulary and what the world is like, but having not played the games is a bit disadvantageous, since the explanations are long and require pausing, rewatching, and analysis before one understands it. What’s offered in the anime is just a fast-placed blurb and a quick picture where you have about 5 seconds to absorb all the information. Thus, without pausing, it limits the viewer’s degree of plot comprehension. I’m sure those who have played the games will be able to enjoy and understand the series without pausing and thinking for this kind of comprehension.

Despite having to take a little more time to understand some of the terminology in Tales of the Abyss, I do think the series is well worth the time. Even if you haven’t played the games, the series is very enjoyable. Great characters, good plotline, fantastic drawings and animations await those who watch Tales.

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Jun 29, 2009

Mixed Feelings

Overall, this anime would fit the bill as "mediocre". False hope, plus the excellent experiences with the Tales of xxx franchise (e.g. Tales of Phantasia fan-translations on SNES and PlayStation) kept me interested... but the operative word was "false".

I won't summarize the story, or explain why it was "dreadful" for me. Rather, I'll tell you why I hate this: there was potential for greatness, but from the very beginning, major details ruined it.

Annoying characters, huge plot holes, directing which seemed to not take itself seriously, personalities which are easily interchangeable, and no sense of "suspended disbelief".

Nothing in this anime was worth the time ...

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Apr 2, 2017

ElohimCrimson

Not Recommended

I want to make a brief review of this anime as to not spoil others

Plot: The main plot is mediocre but it has some twist that separate it from others. The ending is not the best but it is executed well.

Art: The art is good, that's the only thing I won't deny. The characters are not unique in appearance but at least they're not hurting my eyes.

Sound: The worst. There are times when I literally mute it. The MC's voice is annoying, really. He literally does nothing but SCREAM, SCREAM and SCREAM. The voice actors don't seem to understand their roles as well. Not only ...

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I'm on ep 6, and I REALLY want to drop this now... Kirukato05 - Jun 19, 2022	7 replies	by Sir-C »» Feb 26, 9:34 AM
Differences between the anime and the game? FactualTakes12 - Apr 18, 2023	3 replies	by FactualTakes12 »» Apr 21, 2023 11:30 AM
Poll: Tales of the Abyss Episode 8 Discussion ( 1 2 ) angel999 - Nov 16, 2008	78 replies	by AtroceWins »» Jan 24, 2023 11:44 AM
Poll: Tales of the Abyss Episode 7 Discussion ( 1 2 ) angel999 - Nov 8, 2008	62 replies	by tokidoki921 »» Sep 28, 2021 12:07 PM
Poll: Tales of the Abyss Episode 26 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) direbliss - Apr 8, 2009	104 replies	by AgelessPharaoh »» Nov 12, 2020 12:56 PM

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Tales of the Abyss

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Fon Fabre, Luke

Curtiss, Jade

Grants, Tear

Asch

Cecil, Guy

Ion

Tatlin, Anise

Luzu Kimlasca Lanvaldear, Natalia

Sync

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Ending Theme

Reviews

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