Tales of Zestiria the Cross

Tales of Zestiria the X, in my opinion is a good anime if you like action and adventure. It tells a tale of Sorey, a human and a seraphim (like a hybrid) who lives with a old man and his best friend Mikleo on a island far up in the sky. It's a place that's closed to man because seraphim and man do not co-exist anymore. Sorey and Mikleo both like exploring ruins, but more importantly they've started becoming fond of the outside world and what it had it to offer. Until one day Alisha came looking for the Shepherd. (The one that ... can stop all the evil in the world 'malevolence') and the rest if for you to watch.


(That is if you want to, to be honest the show is very good and the art is very nice indeed. Just remember this is a anime for a game as well, just like god eater.)

I have rarely encountered a story, anime or otherwise, that has such shallow, cliched, characters and overused tropes as this anime does. They are condensed and in no logical order. Here's the plot formula. If only the MC had 'x'. Oh hey, there's 'x'. Hooray, we're all saved. Rinse and repeat. With all the swords in Japanese anime, including this one, that actually don't cut people ever, I wonder how it is that there aren't hundreds of deaths a year in Japan from kids whacking each other with swords or stabbing each other with knives. If you took any 20 ... Japanese anime dialogues and plot developments, put them into sentences and then somehow averaged them you might just get this anime. Meet this character, he's cool because we said so. He doesn't look or act cool. Doesn't matter cause he's got the cool tropes: shirtless, bad boy face, haughty attitude, holier than thou personality, stupid one-liners, whatever. The MC is good. Why? You guessed it. He's got the good guy tropes: doesn't kill, collects supposedly reformed murderers like they're trading cards, forgives every transgression, everyone wants to be his friend, he stands around waiting to die while being wishy-washy, a deus ex machina saves him when he decides not to save himself, etc. Rose and her crew are irrational mercenary sociopaths, but murderers are like Pokemon in the worst Japanese anime: gotta collect them all. While I'm on the subject the princess and her would be assassins were collected. Why? Because she's good. It went something like this. "You've tried to murder me twice. I forgive you. Here's a reward. I trust you now, won't you trust me?" This occurs despite the army and a personal guard "protecting" her. They conveniently disappear every time they could be of use for no reason whatsoever. The real reason is the "no adult interference" trope. The result is the whole anime takes place in what amounts to an amusement park for kids. Where else but in an amusement park could a magical Jesus sword that hurts only the user stop a war by slashing and stabbing people and murderers and traitors be stopped with love and hope. The whole series wore out my cringe reflex. Thankfully, the only cheesy line that was left out was the one that made the most sense. It was implied, but never said. To prove how bad this anime is, I will say it now, "Mikleo, come inside me, agghhhhaaa." I pity a poor bastard, when I imagine that there is someone, right now, sitting in Japan, who wrote this, and thought it was all a good idea. He went to sleep satisfied, stinky, and innocent as a little baby that crapped his pants. I hope he's got someone to wipe his butt for him. It's probably a full time job.

I'd have to give credit to ufotable handling CG that well. The art was good, although I have qualms about some parts of the animation. I just didn't expect it to be this...well, plain. A lot of things weren't really properly introduced. The characters didn't really develop nicely.

After watching, I can say that it's not that appealing. I watched this out of sheer boredom and I had to endure it since I tend to finish watching what I already started.

This is really disappointing. I was excited when a Tales series was going to get an animation. I loved Tales games. I guess I'll stick ... to the games. Oh, well... :(

The world is in chaos; malevolence seeps out of the Earth itself and engulfs all in despair. But fear not, for you, who can see and speak with the Seraphim deity shall herald a new era as the legendary shepherd. The decisions you make and the relationships you forge shall shape the future of humanity. Tales of Zestiria the X is the anime adaption of the successful RPG franchise, and ufotable sure did a great job retaining the RPG-like feel.

If you're like me and have never set foot in Zestiria land, fear not for the story gently eases you into this deep and rich world ... full of elemental magic and unspoken horrors. If you like good stories in the medieval-based fantasy genre, this should be right up your alley. Though I had my doubts coming in, ufotable has given us a great addition to the medieval fantasy genre.

[b]Animation:[/b]
Though the animation isn't exactly always up to my expectations for ufotable, the overall quality is still many levels above your average show. Expect lots of lush scenery with great detailing along with superb lighting and shading. Whether in Tomb Raider like crypts or bustling street markets, the atmosphere is well presented. Some of the overlook vistas are particularly impressive with rich backgrounds and detailed clouds. I'm a bit more mixed from the 3D CGI perspective. Mob villagers and carriages are fairly drawn overall but you can still tell that they move differently than the protagonists in the foreground. Water and fire effects are brilliantly done, literally approaching realistic levels. Monsters... not so much. The dragons and other creatures look fake and have unnatural movements. The characters are well drawn in a unique style; the coloring is rather flat with minimal shading. This style contrasts sharply with the highly detailed, variably lit backgrounds; it takes a bit to get used to but isn't particularly distracting or annoying. I will say that one aspect I wasn't particularly sold on is character expressions; the still sprites in the post credit previews are about as exciting expression-wise as you're going to see in the show. Sorey's shepherd outfit, along with those ear clips, also gives him a bit of a Native American flair.

Expect a good deal of action in this show along with a fair amount of blood and occasional death. The action is high intensity and the show is blessed with very good choreography and excellent effects. Though "purifications" aren't as special as say the equivalent in God Eater, there are plenty of varied fights. Velvet Crowe is rather scantily clad I guess but otherwise this isn't an ecchi-based work.

[b]Sound:[/b]
Though appropriate for the genre, I wouldn't consider the sound package anything special. The OP is a rather refreshing light rock piece with a good melody and unique wind instrumentation. The ED is a slow piece with some nice instrumentation but could use a more definitive melody. The BGM is pretty airy with some uplifting, exploration/adventure themed choral tracks. The other pieces are more ordinary and rather forgettable.

The VA cast for this series is incredible; listing the notable, veteran VAs from here would literally take a paragraph. Let's just say the main cast is all pretty strong, though I particularly liked Mikako Komatsu, Noriko Shitaya, and Ai Kayano's performance. For the Berseria arc, Rina Satou shines in the main role and we also get to hear Satomi Arai voice a non-loli for once. This is definitely one show that's not short on talent.

[b]Story:[/b]
Zestiria starts off with a very bleak and saddening starting chapter; this truly is a very unforgiving world. However, from then on, it plays out literally like an RPG in video form; i.e. you meet the protagonist, learn whom the final boss is, and start hacking away at quests, and meeting important NPCs er... supporting characters along the way. I wouldn't call the setting particularly original, obviously it borrows the sword in the stone concept from King Arthur and fusion abilities from numerous other anime shows, but the seraphim were a pretty interesting touch, and the norin (though still partially a mystery) are rather cute.

The actual story consists of one single central plot with various character introductions along the way, each of which has subplots (i.e. quests). There are a few cliffhangers, one of which is oddly prolonged by a random two-episode introduction to Tales of Berseria. The story builds to an eventual climax where Sorey gets his chance at being Kira Yamato. This climax and the resolution are pretty good but also rather predictable. This really is just one arc in one giant story, and they sure go out of their way to announce that a sequel is already in the works.

The show has a decent mix of comedy, adventurous exploration, and battle. There's a fair amount of talk time and a decent amount of political dealings in the background, especially around our princess. There isn't a consistent mood in this show however; it ranges wildly from utterly hopeless to jubilant celebration. In general, despite some bleak scenes, I'd say the show is rather optimistic.

[b]Character:[/b]
Surprisingly, there's a lot of characters that I don't particularly like in this show. Our protagonist Sorey is painfully naive. This enables him to have rather grand goals in life but also makes him ridiculously defenseless against guile and women. Though quite powerful as a warrior, he just isn't relatable at all. Sorey is almost always shadowed by his Seraphim friend, Mikleo, who I have no doubt is the target of multiple yaoi doujinshi. We also have a princess in this show, who reminds me of her counterpart in Aldnoah Zero; she does a lot of grunt work on the front lines but never seems to be taken seriously by the politicians. Her selflessness is admirable though, combined with her personality, makes her feel reserved and distant. Honestly, Lailah and Rose are really the only redeeming feature in terms of personality for this show, and even they are rather static characters.

There is a huge secondary cast with numerous names, allegiances, and abilities to keep track of. What really got me confused was how so many of the characters seemed to already know each other (protagonist not included). Really, many of the characters were just barebones, just enough to further the plot. Honestly, this is not the strongest section for this show.

[b]Value:[/b]
This is a rich world full of creatures, abilities, and yet to be solved mysteries. It is a bleak world, but one that has one hope, and that is our protagonist Sorey; how he has not amassed a harem of followers yet I do not know. Zestiria's story is deep and involved, and full of elements still to be explained. It's an interesting, and engaging watch, though unfortunately the characters aren't as deep as I had hoped. Nevertheless, with ufotable's production and a huge cast of VA veterans on board, this is still a show you shouldn't miss.

I don't know why this anime received a lot of positive review because beside the art and animation, everyhing is average.

Story is very simple and straight forward, no plot twist, no suprise... Characters dont have much deep, conversations are unnatural, no humor. Insert music doesnt match the atmosphere at all, especially fighting scenes. After the first half it becomes so so boring, its not funny, not sad, not scary, not intensive... feels like I'm watching a bunch of cutscenes from the game, not an actual anime. So my advice is make such you have a high quality version of this anime, a big screen, grab ... the porcorn, relax and enjoy the art, the graphic, the cg, the animation.

When I first watched this it showed promise, but then it quickly devolved into the same old "hero of justice" trope fan-fare, but less epic when you really think about it.

Story - [2]

The story is about how humanity is cursed by evil emotions that give life to hellions, monsters that humans can't perceive, but can feel and witness as natural or un-natural disasters. Sorey is the boy who is chosen to purify these hellions (that humans can't see). So he is fighting some invisible monster to the typical person and that would look very dumb....

The anime also have plot holes in how malevolence ... can turn people into monsters. When does it happen, how does it happen? There are prisoners that are surely tortured, criminals that are rotting in jail cells. They all have anguish and malevolence, but they don't turn into monsters (hellions)? This is never adequately explained.

I also wonder when the seraphs drink or eat do bystanders see only those things, those objects moving? Also what happens if a seraph actually touches a human? This is never touched upon and the whole interaction is very awkward.

The whole premise was to eliminate malevolence, but without badness there is no standard by which you can judge goodness. Even heaven itself has not solved this problem as there are fallen angels. This is a dilemma of the plot and story.


Art - [10]

We all know the power house that is Ufotable. The artwork is vibrant as it is fluid. Everything looks good.


Sound - [6]

Most of the music works for most of the situations. Haven't heard a mis-placed track anywhere. Its good enough.

Characters - [4]

The characters are all pretty generic. We have the sheltered chosen one that plays the hero of justice, his friend who explains the world a bit. Then we have all the other characters that just serve as power ups for the Shepard for the most part.

I know that there will be many who will disagree with me, but from an individual who does not have any prior viewer experience with ufotable, watching this anime was a bit overwhelming. The art is absolutely amazing, for sure one of the best by far. The only thing that bothered me was how the story progressed. The protagonist seemed to change far too fast to the point where I can barely recognize him to the protagonist I've been introduced to in the beginning of the story. For sure this anime is a masterpiece to some and I'm very sure it was extremely expensive to ... make, but the story had a hard time keeping up with it all in my opinion. I really wished that I could have enjoyed it as much as those who had prior viewer experience with this particular studio, but because of the fact that I do not, it was very difficult for me to enjoy it.

The first thing that caught my eye was the story synopsis and that's the reason I watched this Anime series, and I must admit a really enjoyed watching it up until the end. Yes it might be your typical Fantasy, hero cliché, but there is something about Tales of Zestiria that was enjoyable and fun to watch. The only negative thing that I would say is that I would have rather introduced Tales of Berseria in episode 13 & 14 rather than introducing it right almost at the beginning and they could have put in a little bit more into Tales of Zestiria. But to ... be honest I am looking forward to watching Tales of Berseria when it gets released.

Story
The story line might be a little bit predictable at times and it goes the same for the MC or Hero, but if you think about it aren't most anime a little bit predictable in some way or form. However the story line is simple and easy to understand and there is nothing to complex about it. So for this alone I will score it a 9/10.

Art
The Art work done on the characters and landscape was breathtaking and really done well. Colours are bright and vibrant and the landscape and scope of each scenary was so well done so for the Art I will score it a solid 9/10.

Character
Character development might be in some cases a bit slow and it is evident in the main Hero but over time each character development moves at a well balanced pace as the viewer progress through each episode. I would be honest and say I would like to see some more character development in our heroes but that will come with time if a season to is rolled out, but at the end of the day I am still scoring this a 9/10.

Enjoyment
The series to me was very enjoyable and a lot of fun to watch. Yes in some cases the pace of the series was slow but at other times it was really fast paced. The action scenes are well done and beautifully displayed but not overly done. So I am scoring this section a 9/10.

Overall
Most Anime fans will have mixed opinions or feelings about this show but I really enjoyed it a lot and I do hope a season 2 gets released soon. So I would recommend this to the fans of Tales of Zestiria and if there are any new comers as well please take the time to watch this Anime you might feel like I am or maybe not. But I really enjoyed the series and it was a lot of fun so im scoring it a 9/10.

THERE WILL BE SPOILERS FOR THIS REVIEW! Please don't read any further if you don't want to be spoiled!

Okay, so. I really, REALLY wanted to like Tales of Zestiria the X. I truly did. If I hadn't played the game first I think I'd have enjoyed it a lot more than I did, but after playing the game and then watching the series... I can safely say that as much as I didn't like the game like that much, I preferred it to the mess that was this first season.

Overall yes, I enjoyed it. Mostly because I kept reminding myself that the anime and the ... game were going to be separate. It was why I forgave a few things, but the story was just so abysmal that I cannot find it within myself to excuse it. I'm not even sure where to START to be honest, there are just so many things I want to say.

First off, the pacing felt too slow at the start and then too rushed at the ending. I'm aware they had to do this because they can't fit absolutely everything into the game in just a few short episodes, however, it felt far too clunky for my liking. It just took too long to get the ball going, and it suffered immensely by including two Berseria episodes halfway through. It just didn't fit right and while it was fantastic to see my favourite characters from Berseria (Magilou is BEST GIRL) it took away a lot from Zestiria.

There was also just far too many changes for my liking. The explanation of malevolence in the game is a bit more extensive and complicated, but it's a lot better than what we were told in the anime. Yes, humans generate malevolence that thus turns them into hellions, but afterwards, the explanation just falls flat and nothing is mentioned about it again. It's frustrating, extremely frustrating. A change that I also didn't know how to feel about was Rose being revealed to Alisha during the ending of the series... A part of me, a fan of both Rose and Alisha, really enjoyed that reveal as it allowed a growth in their relationship that I thought was pretty nice. It also gave the two a lot more depth, something that both of them sorely needed in the game. But it also made Rose seem somewhat dumb as in the game Rose already knows the real corruption is Bartlow and not Alisha. It's a hard change in which I'm not sure I like or not.

Another change I DID like was Alisha's heavy involvement in this series. I am a huge fan of Alisha, even if she felt very bland and far away in the actual game. It was nice to see her conflict and what makes her the woman we see in the game - just too bad that they couldn't have done that in the game as well because Alisha's journey was enjoyable to watch. It made up for a lot of other crappiness that was scattered throughout, that's for sure.

Sorey is a very likeable character, but just like the game, he is shadowed by the companions he travels with. Lailah, Mikleo, Edna and Zaveid are arguably the most interesting characters that are full of rich history of their own, and yes Sorey is too, but it just doesn't interest me. It's like, I like the universe in SPITE of Sorey rather than because of him. Yeah his good and pure and he struggles with himself sometimes but I just don't care? I feel a lot more invested in the others than him and it makes it hard watching sometimes.

Overall the animation was the real winner of this. Ufotable have always done a good job and they did a fantastic one with Zestiria the X. Everyone and everything looks superbly done and animated and even if certain characters and the story aren't the best, the anime is at the very least pretty to look at.

So while I scored it a 7, I wouldn't watch it unless you're a big fan of the Tales series or if you just want to stare at some pretty anime people for a while.

TALES OF ZESTIRIA THE X SEASON 1 ANIME REVIEW

WARNING: SPOILER

OVERALL: 10/10

PLOT: 10/10

One of the most intriguing topic is human nature, for me. Thus, this anime series is unexpectedly good. I thought this will only consist of a normal adventure-action anime tag along with a loli character, a bishounen, you get what my point is. But it is perfect. It has a great combination of reality and fantasy. It contains of deeper views of human emotions, how they think, how they react, how fragile they can be. How a simple misunderstanding can lead to such agony and pain. How weak humans are when it comes to ... their feelings, their greed which is making the decisions for them. That very thing, that weakness, is what this anime makes into reality. How it can change the world, and can destroy the human itself. This series is interesting. I think it was first release as a game, though I still haven't try it.

CHARACTER: 10/10

Girl characters in an adventure anime is very rare. It became a norm that once a girl takes a role in such genre, they must be protected and looked into. But this series breaks it. No girl needs attention. No girl needs protection. Sometimes, it is great to see a main character who decides for what she really wants with head held high, a brave spirit which make others follow her. Not that Alisha (Heroine) is the only interesting character in the series. It is all, actually. All of them have that strong spirit in them which allow them to step forward even there are struggles ahead. Well, who said there needs to be a weak ones in a story always? Some of them needs development, yes. It is to grow, to make them more real. But it is not a disadvantage. It is what makes them human.

ANIMATION AND SOUND: 10/10

There's no doubt that the animation of this series is great. Every emotion is well expressed and every characters animation is close to perfect. The action scenes are also suspenseful and every bit of it looks way too cool. In line with the songs, I don't know but I've always have a goosebumps watching it. It feels like the song is perfectly match up on the animation of it. The way the characters action in that certain song is really awesome it gives me goosebumps.

ENJOYMENT: 10/10

If it is enjoyment, there's no way I deny it. Though I've taken too much time to finished this since there not much time, every episode is worth the watch. I forgot how many screenshots I've made for this one. It is not heartwarmimg or anything like that, if described, it is more like an eye opener if it was watched thoroughly.

ENDING: 10/10

I don't know if I'm just overreacting rating this anime as perfect, but it is for me. Though I know that there are questions that been kept hanging at the end of this season 1, I think that it has ended satisfyingly. It is not your normal ending in any action anime, as well as it is also not that overly done. It is quite simple, yet, you will know it is not the end. It can easily be accepted and you will crave for more.

Story: I give it a four. The plot bunny was decent and had the potential to be decent.

Art: I give it an 8 The characters were drawn well and the animation was smooth. The only bad things about the art were the dragons that looked awkward. This and the sound is the best part of the entire Anime.

Sound: I give it an 8. The opening/ending songs were great, and the music during the anime was also great.

It actually sucks that the art and sound were wasted on this anime, because the characters dragged ... it down.

Character: They were all horrible and dragged it down.
- The main guy is the stereotypical "I have hope that everything will work out! I will purify mankind and there will be peace!"
- Main guy's friend: just supports and serves him like a butler
- Main girl: Easily the worst character of the entire anime. Nothing salvageable about her. She didn't care about the people because she was willing to let a disease spread in order to have a festival, yet she all of a sudden cared and didn't want war. She was optimistic and peaceful, yet wanted to go to battle. I just can't...
- Other Seraphim/women: they all acted the same and they all had that weird hope/optimism

The logical and cynical characters were not taken seriously. If you expect diversity of personalities and logic, then skip this one. Most of the girls acted the same and had the same goal. It was annoying and frustrating. They didn't even get the elements right either. Why was fire feminine, healing, caring, and going with the flow? That's water! Why was water more masculine, logical, and detached? That's air! Why was earth masculine acting (she's a girl), hopeful, optimistic, and passionate? That's fire!

Overall, this was not a fun anime and it dragged at points. Logic had no place in this anime, which you kind of need. You need a diversity of characters to make it interesting. It also left questions and dumb people.

Why did the main girl and guy think they could solve all the problems by beating one thing? They do know that with humans, exist malevolence right? Human nature and the deadly sins go hand in hand. You'll always have someone that's greedy, lustful, jealous, prideful, apathetic, angry, and gluttonous. They all play off of each other and different levels.

Why were the round table people bad? What proof did the main girl have to think they were bad? Literally, the only proof we had: he disagreed with her several times and he's an ugly old man. THAT'S our proof. I'm done...

Why do people think she's such a great person who's willing to sacrifice herself, when she didn't even want to get rid of the festival in order to take care of a pandemic?

"A pandemic is spreading and y'all want to deal with it? Y'all are obviously evil people who want to take away my comfort?!" *A few episodes later* "I'll do anything to save the people I care about!" *several episodes later* "They want me to take care of sick people? They are obviously planning something evil! No matter, I like helping people anyway!" *an episode later* "I can't deal with all these sick people!"

"I'll be the first to die on the battlefield!" *at war and people die before her* "We have to be peaceful and avoid bloodshed!" *Same episode and the bodyguard kills five people right in front of her*

To be fair, I haven't play the game and finish this series, just stopped at ep 5.
After first 5 episodes, I soon find the 3D CGI just don't get along with the rest of 2D Anime style.
Good animation but no cool, everyone is like a robot with few emotion, one point for effect.
Common story line, they should learn how to make it deep, express character soul and feeling.
Still many things for ufotable to learn, 3D and CGI are strong weapons but they soon find themselves are lack of skill to control.

For anyone just started watching Anime, this show is fine, but for me, maybe no

(This review has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!)

Tales of Symphonia is one of my favorite GameCube games that I played when I was kid.

I don’t remember it all too well now, having not gone through it for many, many years. But I do recall something silly I did with it.

I read a strategy guide that stated (and I had to go online to make sure I was remembering this right because I wasn’t) if I only used Lloyd’s wooden blades up until a certain point, I would unlock a special title. Being unable to pass up on such a sweet deal, despite ... being well into the game at this point, I erased my file, started anew, and became the “Eternal Apprentice.” (Not the most flattering of achievements.)

Thinking back on it, it was not a good move to do that at all. It wasn’t even necessary. But I liked the game so much, I didn’t care. It gave me an excuse to play the opening sections again and enjoy the experience once more.

Tales of Zestiria the X instantly reminded me of Symphonia for obvious reasons. Sadly, I won’t be remembering Zestiria quite as fondly.

STORY

Zestiria begins shortly where the prequel episode left off. Alisha finds herself within a set of ancient ruins dedicated to the fabled Shephard. Upon “discovering” a secret alcove and running into Sorey, a young boy living among the Seraphim, destiny’s wheels start to churn.

This anime is based on a very popular video-game series known as the Tales of franchise. Each game (more or less) features a group of likely heroes, a fantastical setting, and an adventure to take out some great evil. Furthermore, each story is different. The cast and the plot change with each iteration without much (if any) crossover between them.

Zestiria follows this formula, too. Alisha, Sorey, Mikleo, Lailah, Edna, and Rose join forces in a world filled with dragons, magical transformations, and a capital city sprawling with festivities. Their fights against monsters, the idea that goodness prevails over evilness, and a plethora of otherworldly elements turn the anime into a common yet classic fantasy adventure.

As they traverse the land, Zestiria focuses on a major plot point that ties into one of its biggest themes: Malevolence. What creates these monsters and causes the townspeople to succumb to sickness are negative emotions. Anger, hatred, envy. Such thoughts, such Malevolence, seep into the very fabric of the world and its denizens, summoning forth hellions (the anime’s word for the demons), inciting mean-spirited-ness and restarting the cycle anew.

The show depicts this in various ways. A hidden antechamber filled with the souls of executed prisoners. Men turned into hellions due to conflict and despair. Wars fought with only bloodshed in mind.

The severed connection between humans and Seraphim also gets at the overabundance of Malevolence. Because people have lost sight of goodness, the Seraphim remain unknown to almost everyone. Mikleo will sometimes comment as such, and Lailah warns Sorey of the difficulties he will face at the hands of purging human-bred Malevolence. Regardless, the anime makes it clear that negativity breeds more negativity, and the only way to stop it is for righteousness to reign.

Zestiria has enough there to start it off on the right path. The fantasy structure, the Malevolence motif, and the mixture of the two give it a solid (albeit tried-and-true) setting.

Unfortunately for the anime, way too many problems prevent it from following that path correctly.

Its most obvious blunder occurs during the middle of its run. After the first four episodes, once Sorey officially (and expectedly) becomes the Shepherd, and right after a cliffhanger, the anime spends two episodes on an entirely different plot.

That is, a completely new iteration of the Tales of series, entitled Tales of Berseria, takes the focus. It follows a woman named Velvet Crowe as she escapes from prison with the plan to avenge her younger brother who was murdered before her eyes.

This diversion would have been at least warranted had the anime afterwards referenced these episodes. But it doesn’t. From the events depicted to the characters themselves, what happens is never mentioned again.

It would be as if, in the middle of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the story spent forty minutes on a set of characters named John, Mark, and Tammy as they go to the wizarding school of Pigblisters, only to have them and their exploits never talked about or shown again.

It has no relevance. It breaks continuity. And it is downright unacceptable.

Disregarding these two episodes, Zestiria’s narrative has its own problems. The biggest being something fundamental: what actually goes on. In essence, the anime is a bunch of random quests strung together that lack any worthwhile connection. Sorey and the others move from location to location, performing singular tasks that either don’t lead into the next in a plot-related fashion or aren’t resolved at all. It makes the story feel both disjointed and without a clear sense of direction.

The anime does its best to have a couple of goals. One is that Sorey will visit the different Shepherd ruins around the world as he cleanses the Malevolence. The second is that he will try to reestablish the connection between humans and Seraphim, finding clues at said ruins. But neither goal is tackled in a meaningful way in this first season.

(Technically the second happens since Alisha does finally see the Seraphim she always read and dreamed of. However, that’s on an individual scale and not the worldly scale that the story aims for.)

The set of dragon episodes is particularly egregious. Not only does Sorey’s trek to defeat the dragon nesting there end in failure, but it introduces a random character that does not appear again. Plus, the dialogue devolves into the same “no dragons have ever been returned back to normal” (or something similar) phrase. Edna at least joins the party, but any other set of events could have happened, and the outcome would have been the same.

Speaking of the party, the anime has trouble here, too. Sorey and the group are almost never all together. Alisha is forcibly summoned, Mikleo goes off on his own mini quest, and Rose doesn’t officially join until this first season’s conclusion. Without a solid, stable group, one of its own key fantasy elements – a full cast of heroes – is lost the whole way through.

There’s also the main-villain reveal and how oddly its handled. He just shows up. Partly because of all the Malevolence floating about the battlefield, partly because the anime realized it needed a proper antagonist of some sort. His whole going-to-crush-Sorey-at-his-peak does make some sense since, by crushing Sorey (and as he similarly puts it), he would then also destroy the epitome of hope. However, it’s a very sorry excuse to let Sorey continue on in the story, and it stops these two from adequately forming a good-versus-evil relationship.

On top of the anime reducing the importance of the trickster in favor of the spectacle, the anime forgetting about the old-man Seraphim, the missing build-up to the war, and the final bit of “drama” with the Malevolence-driven general, it’s clear the story has troubles.

But, realistically, that Tales of Berseria diversion did enough harm on its own.

ANIMATION

Zestiria is quite the beautiful anime.

Often, it will take the time to show off a scenic landscape: Sorey standing at the edge of a cliff looking out at a setting sun and colored sky, Alisha walking through a green grove caressed by the mist of a waterfall. It gives the show the fantastical feel that it strives for by giving the audience a sprawling bunch of picturesque places.

Unfortunately, many of the locations aren’t given their just detail. Open plains, rough mountains, and other scarce spots provide ample working room for the cast to battle. But these less-than-interesting backgrounds make the audience yearn for the more majestic shots that the show has shown it can produce.

The biggest exception being the capital of Lady Lake. Its festivity-filled plaza, the myriad of people lining the streets, and a royal castle make it the only area in Zestiria that always aims high.

Even so, it’s very hard to deny the various degrees of lighting, the sharpness of each shot, and the lack of any noticeable visual mishaps. It’s without argument a pretty show through and through.

Moving on but not without relation, the character designs are similarly strong. Alisha’s design is quite nice with her white-and-pink armor, side ponytail and curls, and sparkling green eyes. Edna goes for the cute look: short boots, charming umbrella, and multiple accessories like a choker and a hairband.

Even Sorey gets a nod. While his regular Shephard outfit, complete with long cloak and blue undershirt, give him that main-character look, his transformations provide the dazzle. Lailah fusing with Sorey changes his appearance accordingly. The white, yellow, and red coloring surround him with an angelic aura that befits his Seraphim connection. (Similar thoughts are had for both Mikleo and Edna’s transformations.)

Actual animation also remains high in quality throughout the entire season. Not just in flowing hair during high winds or blinking eyes when they speak. But where it matters most: the fight scenes. The multitude of magics used, Sorey’s highflying acrobatics, and even the different CG uses blend together to create flashy fights with enough explosions and pizzazz to wow anybody.

To be fair, Zestiria has perhaps one-too-many sitting-and-or-standing-while-talking segments that do not invite a whole lot of dynamism. Still, the cleanliness of these downtime shots, and what the show offers when it does pick up, make up for this avoidance of movement.

Two final points. One positive and one strange.

The positive is the previews for each episode. Sorey and the others face the audience in a “two-dimensional” fashion with predetermined reactions. These small segments match the dialogue ones from the main games, adding to the overall charm of the show itself.

The strange is the ending track’s visuals. It shows all the members of the cast hanging out and having fun as separate pairings or groups. It’s misleading since such interactions are rarely shown between those depicted, let alone the anime showing them all together at once. Perhaps it implies that they will all, in fact, eventually be together. But, for now, they’re not, so it’s an intriguing decision to show them as such to say the least.

CHARACTERS

While Zestiria’s art and animation step up its game, its characters bring it back down.

The biggest issue of the bunch being Sorey.

The anime establishes him as a plain, kind, and straightforward man. Not an issue. For that’s what makes him the Shepherd of his age. A person capable of uniting both the people and the Seraphim through his righteousness and purity.

No, what makes him a weak character is how he becomes who he is. Not the pulling-the-sword-from-the-stone event which arguably marks his best moment. It’s what the anime does – or more precisely doesn’t – to build his foundation.

Sorey’s knowledge of all-things Shepherd is excused by the village he grew up in and the book that he practically read about one-thousand times. Problem is, his childhood is never shown, let alone him interacting with the other Seraphim. And already having all the knowledge necessary to tackle the path before him, as though it was gained by default, makes said path a rather easy one.

In other words, it’s odd to see him just inherently know or understand everything about being a Shephard. Sorey simply just does it without awe, questioning, or issues. He knows how to fight using weapons and acrobatics. He knows the rituals to make pacts. He knows the ins and outs of his situation.

It’s even odder when one remembers that he has been kept away from humans for almost his whole life. So, when he has little to no worries as he walks around, dealing with the problems and newness of it all in stride, it reduces roundness of his character that much more.

To be fair, he does grow more powerful as the Shepherd by not needing to dull his senses so that Alisha can gain an audience with the Seraphim. And he learns more about the world he never knew such as with the Malevolence that permeates everywhere.

But the former is not exactly the best indicator of his growth since it just naturally happens and, indeed, does not have the same level of importance as, say, his skills or his own conflicts. And the latter doesn’t actually change his mindset. In fact, it only hardens his resolve to continue his goodness. Expected but uninteresting.

Altogether, Sorey has no backstory. No chances at personal growth. No anything. He just accepts it all, so the audience must as well.

Again, and arguably, he’s the Shepherd, so perhaps it’s required that he is so conveniently suited for this job. The show isn’t some dark, twisted drama that demands the utmost realism. Indeed, it’s a fantasy adventure with a nice guy at its helm. Meaning, it’s okay if Sorey is bit on the flat side.

Even if that’s the case, since the anime gave him a personality, gave him a big group of friends to travel with, and gave him this opportunity, more should be had. Plus, a story is being told and presented on its own, so needing a strong protagonist is not something crazy.

Many of the others fair just as miserably. For example, Mikleo boils down to a single phrase: “Sorey!” No matter how close he is with his best friend, Mikleo shouts out Sorey’s name way too much, turning him from a worthwhile sidekick and into a broken record.

Zestiria tries to give him his own purpose through an ancient-artifact-acquisition side-quest. But, since the trek has no conflict for him to overcome besides walking far, all it does is make him a broken record that also wields a bow.

Edna does not appear until the halfway mark of the season. She’s a bit snarky, but she has her heart in the right place.

Her main conflict revolves around a rogue-brother-turned-dragon. However, the miniscule flashback she gets and the anime not incorporating her appropriately beyond her introductory episodes puts her in a valueless spot. To the point that she essentially becomes the cute sidekick that occasionally says mean-yet-playful words.

Lailah had been waiting at Lady Lake for the Shepherd to appear and, when Sorey did, she joined his cause, believing in him and his actions.

In essence, Lailah is the guider. A teacher of sorts that looks out for all of them. That, is, she is purely a support character (at least for now) since almost nothing else is known or learned about her. She has her niceness and her very occasional cute moments, but next to nothing noteworthy. An overall neutral character.

That leaves Rose and Alisha. Arguably speaking, they are the strongest characters that Zestiria crafts.

The first time the audience sees Rose is the first time Sorey interacts with another human besides Alisha. Rose sneaks him into the city with her trading background, proving her helpful nature from the get-go (as well as her tradesman skills). Plus, her lighthearted personality makes her immediately likable, making it a shame to see her leave to take care of her “business.”

Quoted because that business is not selling goods but rather killing royalty.

Now, while it’s already known or at least incredibly obvious that Rose and her troupe are the assassins hired by Alisha’s governmental enemies (thanks to the prequel episode and the not-so-subtle tells), it stands as an interesting character detail. Alisha’s “policy of non-aggression” is something many of the higherups do not agree with. Same for Rose. So, they and she take it upon themselves to counter Alisha’s initiative.

Sadly, Rose does not appear for a long while. Not until the village that Sorey and the Seraphim saved. There, she goes from enemy to friend, signifying her change in position with Alisha.

Granted, her transition was underwhelming. Alisha just says a few words to convince Rose, and the whole double-walking-away-all-cool-like isn’t the grandest of ways to end their conversation. But at least she converts and proves her newfound thinking by helping Alisha and going with Sorey as the first season concludes.

Alisha is arguably the best character of Zestiria. In her own words, “I, Alisha Diphda, absolutely forbid vengeance.” To her, maintaining honor and doing what’s right, even if that means losing or succumbing to attacks, takes precedence over everything else. This makes her out to be a strong leader – with many an enemy.

Like Rose, she proves herself through her actions. Given her status, she does not have to do anything. Yet she takes it upon herself to uphold her ideals. She includes the sword-pulling ceremony to inspire hope in the people. She tends to the sick and the weary miles from the safety of the castle. She leads the brave men and women that follow her into war.

Despite her stalwart personality and grounded thoughts, she, more than any other human, believes firmly in the legends. Of the Seraphim that light this world and the Shepherd who will one day save everyone from calamity.

How fitting, then, that much of her character centers on the Seraphim. Stumbling accidentally into their home, reading the same book as Sorey growing up, and slowly but surely interacting with Mikleo and the others like him.

All of which culminate into the best writing moment in the whole season. After becoming a Squire of Sorey’s through their pact (earning the true name “Smiling Alisha”), she finally gets to see the Seraphim with her own eyes. While she always knew of them and could even hear them, viewing them in front of her made for a nice scene and capped off her character well enough for the season.

It’s unfortunate that many of the other characters were not handled similarly. Especially Sorey. But, hopefully, the second season takes to correcting these issues.

SOUND

The opening track of Zestiria is a bit stronger than perhaps at first perceived. It mixes together many different instruments: guitar, bagpipes, violin, drums, shakers, chimes. They don’t overpower one another. In fact, they do well in supporting the vocalist as he moves from empowered yelling to reserved singing. While the track itself is not the catchiest around, its small flourishes in pace and tune – like with the dancing violins in the middle, the harmonizing in the second half, and the faster lyrics near the end – place it in a nice spot.

The ending track is much slower, using such pacing to deliver a slightly happy tune. It aims for a more emotional level with its higher vocal ranges and heavier reliance on piano and violin. This direction is especially evident near the song’s conclusion when everything comes to a crescendo. Again, not the most memorable of pieces, but it’s still a solid track nonetheless.

The original soundtrack does a lot to build Zestiria’s atmosphere while maintaining that fantastical feel. A mysterious tune filled with plucking harp strings. Choir sections for those tense or victorious moments. Fanciful flutes so the downtime feels that much more relaxed. Arguably speaking, the OST comes out as the winner of the musical offerings.

Sound-effects are on point, too. Dragons bellowing loudly, Sorey firing an arrow, the clashing and clanging of armor. Alongside the calamitous sounds of a raging tornado or of a torrent of rain, the anime fills the air with a myriad of sounds that reinforce the different encounters and scenes with ease.

Lastly, there were no notable voice-acting performances.

ENJOYMENT

This one falls somewhere in the middle for me.

Mostly due to the characters. Sorey is a cool dude, but he is much too plain. Mikleo means well in supporting his friend, but he didn’t do too much to capture my attention. Lailah had a cute pout or two, but she wasn’t as charming as she seemed she could be. Edna brought a bit of fun with her silly nicknames, but wasn’t given the time to say a whole lot. Rose had the most interesting background, but showed up the least.

Given how this season ends, the characters may have the chance to make up for their missing intrigue. But, for now, they sit in that quasi state of likable but not really entertaining.

The only character I have yet to mention is Alisha, for she is the one I consider my favorite. I liked her stalwart behavior in the face of conniving political fiends and traders-turned-killers out to get her. Moments like when she first heard the Seraphim, and her sincere gratitude towards them when they saved the village from the plague, were heartwarming to watch.

While it would have been sad for Alisha to die following the war, it would have easily made the anime more interesting on both an emotional and thematic level. But the show chickened out instead. Granted, that led to arguably the best moment in the whole season – Alisha finally seeing the Seraphim in person – but, had the show killed her off, it would have demonstrated that it wasn’t afraid to try something daring.

It also does not help, though, that Alisha apparently leaves the party altogether, or at least for a long while, as she fights on her home turf in the meetings rather than in a foreign land on the battleground. Meaning, my favorite character most likely won’t be around as much as I would like come this second season.

As for the fights, it was mixed. A lot of them were rad due to their shininess. Sorey and Mikleo purifying the dragon at the small village was particularly awesome. However, many of the battles were just against a giant baddie (a transparent beast, a giant river worm), so they missed out on nuance and variety. It’s what made Rose and Alisha’s fight against Alisha’s countrymen the most interesting because Rose’s martial-arts moves actually gave something else besides the magic.

And so, all in all, while I wish the best for the anime, I don’t see myself picking up its continuation anytime soon.

Tales of Zestiria the X already has one strike in its title but chose to earn a few more throughout its run. The art is enticing, but the story’s interruption makes no sense, and Sorey is a tame protagonist. As far as can be remembered, it’s an “Eternal Apprentice” until proven otherwise.

SUMMARY

Story: Terrible, a motif on Malevolence and the negativity of man gets overshadowed by questionable plot choices, a lack of cohesion between its separate events, and a completely unnecessary narrative diversion

Animation: Great, pretty background art, clean visuals, nice character designs, and above average actual animation

Characters: Bad, Sorey stagnates from the beginning, Mikelo, Lailah, and Edna do little outside of their singular roles, and Rose and Alisha have at least a couple of interesting moments

Sound: Fine, okay OP, okay ED, good OST, nice sound-effects, and okay VA performances

Enjoyment: Fine, Alisha was cool, the others were fun on occasion, and the action was shiny, but nothing enthralling

Final Score: 4/10

P.S. I'm not very good at reviews, nor am I very technical when I am reviewing. This is based entirely on my own personal opinion.

[BASIC SPOILER FREE REVIEW]

Story: 7/10
Art: 7/10
Sound: 9/10
Characters: 7/10
Enjoyment: 7/10
Overall: 7/10
...
[IN-DEPTH REVIEW WITH SPOILERS]

Story: 7/10

The story itself is interesting. The circumstances of the world being consumed by a darkness caused by the negative emotions of humanity isn't an original concept, but the execution of it is different and intriguing. The pacing of the story is odd, however, as many characters aren't given the time they need to develop, and events aren't explained in a proper timeline. Events seem to just happen without any justification as to why. Makes for a slightly confusing timeline. Additionally, the inclusion of the two episodes of the storyline of Tales of Berseria were unnecessary. Our main story obviously follows the Tales of Zestiria game (at least it's general storyline, I cannot attest to how copy-and-paste the storyline actually is, as I've never played the game). Even without having played either of the games, it's obvious that they take place in almost 2 separate worlds. The concept of "malevolence" seems to be their only similarity, and even then it's a stretch. Neither stories benefitted from being smooshed together, and Berseria's storyline was particularly snubbed by only being 2 episodes long. Leaves you wanting so much more. At least give Berseria it's own show.

Art: 7/10

As many people have already said, ufotable does not disappoint with their visuals. The art for the majority of the series is lovely. However, I personally think that the large amount of CGI was off-putting. There were several scenes (especially the ones with the dragons) where it was painfully obvious that one part was CGI and the other was regular animation. The dragons in particular always seemed to look like were in the wrong anime. Some of the CGI in the action scenes also made it hard to get your bearings on what was happening. Though, that might just be me, as I was fighting off motion sickness whenever those scenes came on (to no fault of the creators, just my brain being stupid), so I guess I was a little distracted lol.

Sound: 9/10

Okay, I've gotta say it. The opening. Freaking. SLAPS. I'm not one to really pay attention to the regular soundtrack in any show, unless it is really terrible or absolutely mind-blowing. Neither of those were the case, so the music gets an average score from me, boosted SIGNIFICANTLY by that absolute banger of an opening. The voice acting (I watched the dubbed) was also good. Only Edna's voice acting kind of threw me off, purely because she's so deadpan that it sounds like she's reading directly from the script.

Characters: 7/10

The characters are likable, and each has their own distinct personality. Albeit, their personalities aren't super fleshed out and developed like most longer anime, but it's enough that we can understand what each of them is like. Every major character also has a well-explained backstory and reason for fighting. Some are left underdone in this season, but I assume those issues will be rectified once I watch season 2.

Enjoyment: 7/10

The show keeps your attention. The little interlude with Velvet at the prison is a little annoying, as we never get more of her story after that. Sorey's story however has enough action to keep you hooked once it gets back into it.

Overall: 7/10

Overall, Tales of Zestiria the X is a very good show. It's short, but the story keeps your attention until the end. Just wish that Berseria was done justice and given its own show instead of 2 pitiful little episodes. Personally, I want to know more about how Sorey is going to save the world, being a newbie Shepherd and all. Can't wait to watch season 2!

Heres one of the shortest reviews you’ll read, I wanna make it easy for you to understand.

The whole entire plot line made no sense and I was completely lost. Especially when they tried to tell me about the powers and stuff? Yeah I caught none of that. You’ve gotta be smart to seriously understand what the heck they actually said

Overall enjoyment- 4

Hoped this helped <3 (9/10 chance it didn’t)


The only good thing that I understood is that there are hotties :) Now to be honest, I haven’t watched this show or even finished it for at least a year so my memory of it ... sucks i just know that I’ve tried re-watching and holy hell it made no sense. I was so lost

There's a lot wrong with this anime, I'm not gonna lie to you guys. You wanna know where this anime succeeds? Music and art. That is, essentially, all that it did 100% well. The BGM was always chosen really nicely, in my opinion, as it fit the scenes perfectly. As far as the art, we all know ufotable lives up to its own reputation in that regard, especially so when it comes to lights, landscapes, and architecture. The CGI in this particular anime does get a bit out of hand in places, but it isn't like it dominates the whole art style, so it's easy ... to look past.

Everything else, though... I wanna say "ouch," but maybe that's too harsh. Let's just get to it and start with the story and premise as a whole. Honestly, I have no idea what the story is. I think the world-building that was done well enough for me to understand was intriguing, but most of it was just poorly done. The story seemed to start off without a goal in mind at all, and then when it finally claimed one, it didn't stick to it much at all. As far as the premise itself goes, again, it could've been cool, but it didn't explain itself nearly enough. All of the world mechanics from the seraphim to the kingdom to the Shepard were all introduced and never elaborated on. I have absolutely no idea how any of it works. As a result, a lot of the stuff happening within the plot felt out of place, unnecessary, or flat out incorrect.

Speaking of pointless plot devices, let's get into the characters. Listen. Every character being peppy and fluffy is really not the way to do characters. It's annoying, and that's the vibe I got 98% of the time while watching this anime. Forget about the one character that was introduced for absolutely no reason at all, despite the two full episodes the plot allotted her, and never mind the minor characters that were flat and just there, but even the *main* characters were written extremely badly. I couldn't tell you what the main character's motive is. He bounced around so much this season that I don't even think the writers knew what he was supposed to be doing. Not to mention, his development was the absolute pits. Much of the world around him was meant to be developed as a byproduct of him getting stronger as time went on, but the anime showed absolutely zero percent of that growth. The way he was involved in the secondary main character's story, too, was awful. They each hindered the other's story, which is sad, because I think they could've had really compelling journeys if they hadn't met right away or if they met and parted in the beginning.

And that's the main issue I have with this anime as a whole: the merit I found in it could only be found when I was thinking about how I would *change* the anime. There isn't a whole lot of current material that I would describe as amazing, it's just the idea of taking what this anime did and making it work better. The parts that did work for me as is-- though there were few-- are as follows: the battle scenes and also the battle scenes. It's almost the only thing that had real substance in the entire ensemble, and imagine what they would've been like if the characters and their developments were showcased properly! But really, the fight scenes were done really well, all the way down to the choreography of it all.

I think the story would've worked better had the main and secondary characters led separate stories, and the world-building needs a lot of work, but I think those changes would really make this anime awesome. I'm off to the second season for no other reason than completion status, but hey. Maybe it'll surprise me.

This anime is based off of the tales franchise - tales of zestiria (and a tiny bit of tales of berseria somewhere in 1st/2nd season)

(Short Review- Was a fun, unoriginal concept but polished and very enjoyable.

The biggest problem was the episodes based on tales of berseria because it wasnt till I looked up the tales games that I realized that this wasnt a character related to this story at all even though she has a few episodes in the middle of season 1 or 2 dedicated to her/her world)



Story was pretty fun, nothing unique. I havent played any Tales games beforehand so ... it felt very reminiscent of Legend of Zelda the Minish Cap.

Art is ufotable so great and shiny. Same with sound.

Characters arent anything you wouldnt expect, there were a bit of character pacing issues that I expect is because of taking it from a game to a anime whereas in the game the character developments are slow with huge info dumps and you learn your new powers fast, but this pacing feels unnatural in a anime.

It was really fun, it felt very different from the same old hero stories where its not just the art that was shiny.

The first thing that strikes me about Tales of Zestiria is the pure beauty of it. The animation is top flight from start to finish. The use of CG makes for breathtaking battle scenes and animation, and the character design was very, very cool. Especially, when it came to Lailah and Velvet Crowe.

I really have to point out the excellence of the fight scenes, especially when it came to hand-to-hand combat. While there are a lot of bombastic, big fights in this anime, I was most entertained by the simpler sword fights, because of their fluid animation style. ...

Beyond this, the characters were likable, but a little two-dimensional. There wasn't a whole lot of depth to the cast. They were basically just like RPG characters (this is based off of a game) and their primary motivations pretty much determined their every thought, action and interaction. But, in spite of this, there were two characters that stood out the most to me, one was Elisha Diptha and the other was Velvet Crowe. Elisha was an awesome character. Strong, fierce, intelligent, and a heck of a fighter, she was far from your typical "princess in need of help" that usually just relies on the MC to help her reach her goals. Velvet Crowe hardly got any time, just about two episodes that seemed oddly disjointed, but were entertaining nonetheless, was another character who made an impression quickly.

Overall, though, the series was hampered by the end, which was really more of a perfunctory bridge to the next season. When it seemed like some real stakes were on the table, ultimately they were pulled or reversed at the end. Disappointing.

Tales of Zestiria the X isn't rewriting the book on fantasy genre anime, it's pretty by the numbers, with a little twist of exorcists mixed in. It's your standard "save the world from dark forces anime", but it's above average in because of its beauty and action, and for me, personally, Elisha. I wish she was the MC instead of Sorey, who was likable, but Elisha was more intriguing.

Story: 7
Art: 10
Sound: 10
Character: 7
Enjoyment: 10
Overall: 8

Now here me out.
I was scrolling through the MAL, looking at recent animes from the past 3 years. I looked at the artwork and reminded me of King Arthur (who'd guess that?)...
So when I decided to watch the 2014, 45 minute special, then the series to see if I were interested. Let's say I was hooked.
The story is a bit interesting with the fact of Seraphs and their contribution to the world until the end. If you're a fantasy person, love action, fluid CG, this is your show. The lore is so enriching in my opinion.
A great show to watch in one sitting. Both ... seasons are worth your while. Some characters have great relationships, but some missed opportunities. Sound is the redeeming factor, playing small background music during drama jam packed scenes adds to the intensity and impact. An amazing show in my opinion.

Before start i should say that my english is not perfect so i'm sorry if i do some spelling mistake.

I will start saying that i never play any of the Tales of games, so i don´t know how they are but this anime simply havent soul, is like those generic anime with generic story and generic characters.

STORY 2/10
Like i said before the story is just a generic fantasy tale about a guy that suddenly becomes in the "choosen one" and gain the power to save the world, for do that, he must embark in a travel through the world and do thinds like a hero ... would do.

ART 7/10
This is the better part of the series, i think that everybody know about the good animation that Ufotable does. But in this anime i feel that even in this point it was below the averange that the studio usually does (probably fate or kara no kyoukai are the best examples).

SOUND 6/10
Well, i dont have much to say about this point, the soundtrack is good (it remember me sometimes to the soundtrack from Dark Soul), as i have not played the game i dont know if it the same from the game or not, but i should say thats ok. The opening is a meh, and the same as the ending.

CHARACTER 1/10
This where the anime screwup really bad. The characters are so boring, so generic. The protagonist is same that i saw in many others series and games before; Sorey is guy that come from a villages without any power and suddenly he becomes in the most powerfull human in the world. Mikleo is the typical best friend who is there just to help Sorey when he need it more. The princess just have no personality at all, she only want to do things for improve the kingdom. And Lailah... she is there just to tell Sorey that he will be the heroe of this story. There are some others characters too but i dont even remember them. All of them are just that what i said, they are only blank sheets. Ow.. i almost forgot to talk about the antagonist...wait a minute, who is the antagonist in this series? the big guy who only show up from nowhere in the last two episodes? the girl in black who appears in the middle of the series and we never hear from her again? I dont even know.

ENJOYMENT 4/10
After all, if you are able to not think about the horrible characters, the cliches or in the idea that the series it seem to dont have an objetive at all (because, you know, erradicate the evil and things like that are just things that you dont know how to do unless you know who is creating that evil) you might be able to enjoy the series.

OVERALL 4/10

Have a good day and like i said, sorry if there are some spelling mistake.