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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Ancient Books of Ys

Japanese: Ys イース

Information

Type: OVA

Episodes: 7

Status: Finished Airing

Aired: Nov 21, 1989 to Sep 5, 1991

Producers: Starchild Records, Nihon Falcom

Licensors: Media Blasters

Studios: Tokyo Kids, Urban Product

Source: Game

Genres: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

Theme: Mythology

Duration: 26 min. per ep.

Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older

Statistics

Score: 6.44¹ (scored by 2,863 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #7369²

² based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #6837

Members: 8,462

Favorites: 14

Resources

AniDB

ANN

Synopsis

Mythical beasts lay siege on the people of Esteria, who have raised an army to fight back. The beasts are relentless and seemingly have no end to their numbers, while the population of defenders dwindle in every skirmish. Even in the town of Minea, where the people are safely nestled behind castle walls, the constant attacks have left them hopeless. It is then that a prophecy is made, proclaiming the arrival of a brave young soul that could be the one who will bring their salvation.

Ys follows Adol Christin, an adventurer driven by wanderlust towards the island of Esteria, who washes up on shore after a shipwreck. Following the guidance of the fortuneteller Sarah Tovah, he and his allies will travel the island in search of the legendary tomes known as the Books of Ys. It will be a long and perilous journey, but if fate is truly at work then Adol will certainly be the hero who returns peace to Esteria.

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Background

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Related Anime

Adaptation:	Ys
Sequel:	Ys: Tenkuu no Shinden - Adol Christine no Bouken
Character:	Minna Atsumare! Falcom Gakuen, Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Christin, Adol

Main

Kusao, Takeshi
Japanese

Feena

Main

Takayama, Minami
Japanese

Reah

Main

Honda, Chieko
Japanese

Dogi

Supporting

Genda, Tesshou
Japanese

Becsen

Supporting

Iizuka, Shouzou
Japanese

Roda

Supporting

Tomita, Kousei
Japanese

Adol's Father

Supporting

Nakamura, Hidetoshi
Japanese

Klaze

Supporting

Ishimori, Takkou
Japanese

Muraji

Supporting

Yagi, Kousei
Japanese

Jenokris

Supporting

Mine, Eken
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Yonekawa, Koushin

Producer

Watanabe, Takashi

Director

Kamiya, Jun

Director, Storyboard

Hiiro, Yukina

Episode Director

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Opening Theme

No opening themes have been added to this title. Help improve our database by adding an opening theme here.

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Ending Theme

"Endless History (The Morning Grow)" by Sound Team JDK

Reviews

Mar 8, 2016

Rikuson1

Recommended

Ys イース Review

Story (7/10) Good
More Specifically (7.75/10) Good+

The story for this anime adaptation of the first installment of the Ys franchise widely known as Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished is a good adaptation from a story standpoint. The progression and pacing all seemed on the money when it comes to everything important that needed to be covered in Ys 1. Obviously for anime purposes they couldn't make the authenticity of the video 100% accurate because certain scenes would probably have been more boring if that was the case. Example when Adol is venturing through the tower of Dahm he is accompanied by Dogi, Luther ...

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Jan 12, 2009

Skadi

Recommended

Let’s face it, when watching a series from the era this show was produced you have to usually endure crude (by today’s standards) animation, poufy hairdos, and campy storylines. That’s not the case here, except for maybe the poufy hairdos. I never played the games that Ancient Books of Ys is apparently based on (nor have I even heard of them) but regardless this series stands on its own as one of the truly exceptional fantasy/adventure stories of its genre.

The story premise isn’t anything that’s going to win award for originality. It’s your standard adventurer from another land who comes and is ... destined to save the world. We quickly get laid out the details and our hero, in this case Adol Christian is given a quest and each episode that follows is a fairly formulaic pattern. New allies are made along his quest which help Adol achieve his goals and make it the final battle with the villain. While the story is simplistic it does still manage to be interesting and it does give a lot of back story on the people and the land being saved. Despite being a short series I did find myself caring what happened to it and its people. The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger as it clearly sets up the scenario for part 2.

In any fantasy adventure like this one the action is very important, and there is a lot of it in Ys. The battles play out a lot like a fantasy RPG game would be expected to. In order to get a treasure, a boss monster must be defeated and that is pretty much how things play out. As Adol completes his quests his weapons and armor get better, again much like a game. The battles though are a bit disappointing though as they become a bit repetitive and basically are Adol getting beat up for a couple minutes until he figures out some new skill or power that allows him to be victorious.

Characters in Ys are a win. Adol gets pretty well developed and we get a few pieces of his past but not a lot. He manages to grow over the course of the story and is a likable character that you want to cheer for. The supporting characters are fairly good; some are more interesting than others while some are pretty much just cardboard cutouts to fill the screen. Dogi is the best and he brings a lot of the comedy moments, makes a good sidekick like you would see in a 80s action movie.

Animation and sound are difficult to rate. I have to remember that this show is almost 20 years old. I am sure at its time this was considered really good. It does hold up fairly well, I have seen far worse, later on in the decade but the characters are pretty simple looking and are colored with a dreary and dull pallet. However some of the backgrounds and terrain are very exceptional. Your either going to be ok with it or you’re going to think it’s incredibly crude. The music is very 80s, from the background music and sound effects to the ending song. The song isn’t that bad and I kinda liked it though.

Overall this series is very good. I think it would have made a great longer series that would have allowed for much more story and character depth. Fantasy lovers should check this out without fail. Anyone else who is feeling nostalgic for older anime or likes an enjoyable and short show to watch should also give this a try.

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Apr 30, 2022

Kamezuki

Mixed Feelings

“Ys” is an enjoyable, albeit by-the-book, high fantasy adventure that feels like it was lifted straight from a video game (it was based off of one, so that’s understandable).

This 7-episode OVA centers on a young man named Adol, who is driven by destiny to fulfill a prophecy and become a hero to a nation plagued by monsters. He must collect the magical six Books of Ys, which contain records of the nation’s past, to do so, while making friends and fighting monsters along the way.

The plot progresses logically, and has a satisfying conclusion that sets things up nicely for the sequel. However, the story is ... formulaic to a fault, and plays out almost exactly like a video game. For instance, a character asks the hero to go into a cave to retrieve a magical artifact for them, which the character then uses to “unlock” something else to further the plot along. The fights are repetitive; the hero slashes through the “mob” characters easily, but always gets his butt kicked during the boss fights until a critical moment when he remembers something someone told him, and then he’s suddenly able to defeat the boss. The antagonists’ motivations are stated, but not explored, so they feel somewhat unrealistic. There are a number of twists and revelations throughout the series, but they’re so predictable that you can see them coming from a mile away even if you’re only halfway paying attention. The characters are all basically archetypes, but they do get some (predictable) development.

The dialogue can be repetitive; the antagonists declare that humans are foolish at least a dozen times, for instance. Most of the conversations are reminiscent of video game dialogue. Also, while the writing is mostly solid, there are a few inconsistencies here and there.

Regarding technical aspects, the animation is serviceable, although there are lots of still shots, off-model characters and even some blatantly recycled scenes. With a number of jumpy scene transitions, the direction is subpar. The character designs and art are “classic”; not unique, but pleasing to the eye. The voice acting is just average.

The soundtrack is a mix of ‘80s rock music and orchestral fantasy-type music. The ending themes for the first two episodes are instrumental, but starting from the third episode we get “Endless History,” which is a fantastic (in all senses of the word) rock ballad, and one of the highlights of this OVA.

This series does not have much in the way of objectionable content; it’s pretty family-friendly for the most part. There’s some human vs. monster violence, and a little blood and some deaths of minor characters that aren’t that graphic.

Overall, despite my criticisms, I actually enjoyed the series and consider it an easy (or should I say “Ysy”?) watch. Your enjoyment of the series will likely hinge upon whether you are okay with formulaic plots or not; if you are, then “Ys” is definitely worth watching.

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Poll: Ancient Books of Ys Episode 7 Discussion kalroth - Nov 6, 2009	6 replies	by _-_Sally_-_ »» May 25, 2022 8:10 PM
Poll: Ys Episode 6 Discussion Kristiwazhere - Jul 19, 2019	1 replies	by _-_Sally_-_ »» May 25, 2022 7:25 PM
Poll: Ys Episode 5 Discussion DesolatePsyche - Jan 14, 2015	3 replies	by _-_Sally_-_ »» May 25, 2022 11:44 AM
Poll: Ys Episode 4 Discussion Marnie - Nov 25, 2015	2 replies	by _-_Sally_-_ »» May 25, 2022 11:08 AM
Poll: Ys Episode 3 Discussion Kristiwazhere - Jul 8, 2019	1 replies	by _-_Sally_-_ »» May 25, 2022 11:04 AM

Ys

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Characters & Voice Actors

Christin, Adol

Feena

Reah

Dogi

Becsen

Roda

Adol's Father

Klaze

Muraji

Jenokris

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Ending Theme

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Ys

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Information

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Synopsis

Background

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Characters & Voice Actors

Staff

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Ending Theme

Reviews

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