Ranked #621

Tales of Symphonia (Manga)

Yes yes, all tens… but I suppose I am a little biased because I absolutely love the Tales of Symphonia game, and this manga portrays the events that happened in the game beautifully – even more so in some parts. From my experience, usually game-turned-mangas are not that great, but this one is awesome. It is a beautifully drawn and well executed story, filled with sacrifice, betrayal and political and social ideals, oh my!

Story: Definitely a ten. The main path that the story takes has switched twice in the amount of it that I have read, and I’m sure it will change at least once more if it keeps following along with the way the game went. Racism, religion and doing what is morally right are the main themes for this story, and it doesn’t leave time for a dull moment. There are heartwarming and heartbreaking moments, that just make you want to read on and on and never stop!

Art: A ten! The expressions are beautiful, the proportion are awesome – really, everything about the artwork in this manga is gorgeous! And guess what? There are backgrounds! And they are awesomely detailed!

Characters: Hey, look! Another ten. The characters are not your run-of-the-mill, cookie-cutter group of heroes – they have feelings, flaws, loves, hates, and wonderful personalities. You have everything in this manga from an emotionally stoic little girl with a tragic past to a near-flaming playboy in a place of political power. Great fun. So – whatever type of characters you like, you’ll probably find something you like in one of the characters here.

Enjoyment: I absolutely love this manga so far, so I am going to give it another ten. It’s a very enjoyable manga, and I’m not sure what else to say about it!

Overall: A ten! A ten! There is drama, betrayal, fun times, sad times, and things that I never thought they could carry over from the game to the manga. I like the whole ‘I’m going to save the world!’ plots that are out there, and this is a nice twist on that basic theme. Even if you haven’t played the ToS Gamecube game, this is still definitely worth a read! So please, check it out!

That’s about all from me. I hope I helped convince you that you should read this! read more

Tales of Symphonia is a action adventure fantasy series in which the story follows some of the same happenings from the video game. Some readers that remember the TOS video game will certainly be familiar with the many peril adventures that comes from this group of heros as they journey to save the world.

During the early stages of the story, a group is formed in order to commit to the journey of regenerating mana from the depleted world of Sylvarant. However, the journey to save Sylvarant eventually goes in a different direction where a few plot twists are revealed from TOS. Throughout most of the story, the manga manages to remain loyal to several important themes of the game's plot. Some of the familar themes would include discrimination or the political ideals that occur in TOS. However, the manga's storyline is also told differently in certain parts compare to the video game's storyline of TOS. While the storyline is generally good in most areas, the TOS manga certainly could have been a little more loyal to certain parts of the game itself.

The characters of TOS are certainly an interesting and diverse cast in the story. Each one of them provides their own personality and beliefs in what they want to accomplish, so readers can certainly pick favorites among the cast. Unlike the video game's storyline though, there certainly could have been better detail among the backgrounds of certain characters.

The artwork is very good in most areas of TOS. The background drawings certainly bring out some good visuals and detail in its panels (ex: Temples or the Tower of Salvation). Some of the combat artwork also does pretty well and is easy to follow in this series. As for the character designs, they vary in appearance results from TOS. Whenever serious parts take place in the story, the character designs usually look the best with their illustrations. Sometimes the character designs are usually unappealing and plainish when serious parts do not take place in the story.

Overall, TOS is a pretty good series that manages to follow some areas from the game's storyline. However if readers haven't played the TOS game before, then that is an option worth considering due it to have a better detailed plot.
read more