Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike

In recent years video games, be they console or PC based, have moved to the forefront of popular entertainment. One of the upshots of this trend has been the a marked increase in the number of adaptations and spinoffs that can be found in manga and anime (and that's without including the doujin market). The major problem though, is that studios, production companies and storytellers are doing nothing more than recycling an existing concept, and while the adaptation may actually be pretty decent in some cases (Tears to Tiara for example), more often than not one is served a big plate of mediocrity (I'm looking ... at you Ragnarok et al).

However, while outright adaptations are rife, prequels and sequels to games are actually quite rare, and it's here where Tales of Vesperia ~The First Strike~ separates itself from the horde.

The story takes place a few years prior to the game and follows two of it's main characters, Yuri and Flynn, during their early careers as knights of the empire in the town of Shizontania. Unfortunately the town isn't as safe as it used to be, and their captain, Niren Fedrock, suspects greater forces are at work.

One of the criticisms that people may throw at this movie is the fact that it is very open ended, however given that this is nothing more than a prequel to the game, the reason for this is understandable. The story itself is pretty straightforward, with a remarkable lack of convolution that can sometimes appear in game adaptations and spinoffs. The main advantage of this is the fact that it is easier to tie the events in the movie to those in the game, however the downside is that the plot lacks a degree of depth that simply can't be hidden, which is often the reason why such terrible plot convolutions occur in thefirst place.

Thankfully first time director Kamei Kanta and writer Yoshida Reiko have kept things simple and direct, and because of this Tales of Vesperia actually manages to become interesting to a degree, enough to at least enjoy the movie and maybe consider buying the game (more on this in a bit). The one thing that most surprised me though, is how very different the feel and tone is from the game, and while both have lighter and darker moments throughout their respective stories, there is a certain brevity inherent in the movie that the game lacks, partly due to the RPG nature of the latter, and partly because of the need to wrap the story up within 110 minutes.

Many people will be familiar with the work of Production I.G. and it's nice to see that they've maintained their standards in terms of art and animation.

Maintained though, not bettered.

Overall the show is well put together, with some nicely detailed backgrounds and atmospheric settings thrown into the mix. The characters are modelled along the lines used for the original game for the most part, with the two leads and sundry other characters who appear in both looking pretty much the same. It should be noted though, that there are a number of characters who only appear in the movie (for example, the twin female knights Shastele and Hisuka Aiheap), a fact which may confuse some fans of the game. Be that as it may, in terms of design the movie is pretty solid, however that is as far as it goes because of the design limitations placed upon it by the source material.

One thing I should point is that this movie is far more graphic in its depiction of violence than the game, and doesn't shy away from some of the more greusome occurences which have only really been shown in a very sanitised manner within the Tales series thus far.

As for the animation, while the majority of the film runs very well there are some scenes where things just feel off kilter. This unfortuantely occurs in several scenes which involve CG animation of some sort, and while the problem isn't large enough to warrant major criticism, it is noticeable so it bears mentioning.

The sound quality is very good throughout the movie, especially when it comes to choreography. The music is, for the most part, absent from proceedings, however this serves to enhance its effect when it is used. The choice of tracks is also well thought out, and while there is a degree of genericism about those used for dramatic or action scenes, overall the quality of the pieces adds to the scenes.

One point I should mention about the music is the surprising, and pleasing, choice of theme song. Like the original game, the Tales of Vesperia movie has "Ring a Bell" by Bonnie Pink as the title track, a fact which may please fans of the game.

In terms of acting, this film has a big plus in that the characters of Yuri, Flynn, Estellise, Rita and Raven are played by the actors and actressses who took on the roles for the game. This factor adds to the sense of continuity that is needed in any direct prequel or sequel, especially as the seiyuu in the other, movie specific roles are equally as comfortable with their lines as their more experienced colleagues. That doesn't mean there's hamming it up, but for those most part the acting is pretty natural and flowing.

The biggest problem with Tales of Vesperia is the characters. Because this is both a movie and a prequel to a larger story, there is little in the way of major development. That said, the two lead characters do grow to a degree, and anyone who has played the game will no doubt find the additional information about them pleasing. However, those who have had neither the opportunity or inclination to play the game will probably find there is a distinct lack in this department.

That's not to say that the characters are bad though. As a stand alone movie they work fairly well, however the open ended nature of the tale leaves one feeling that more could have been done with the time. In essence, the fact that this is a prequel, something which in terms of plot content is an advantage, becomes a flaw when considering the the characters as they an "unfinished" quality about them comethe end of the film.

Be that as it may, I found that I actually enjoyed the movie, however I should point out that I have completed the game, so for me the additional story was a bonus. Unfortunately, it's all too possible that many viewers will find this less of an enjoyable experience, mainly because the story is open ended. If one were to be very harsh, then it's possible to consider the movie as nothing more than a glorified advert for the game. This seems an unfair criticism to me as while there is a clear message to play the game should one wish to complete the tale, the story is original enough to warrant a degree of separation.

The major plus point though, is the fact that the effort has been made to enhance the game's storyline instead of regurgitating it. That said, making a prequel or sequel doesn't always work in terms of content (Advent Children - looks awesome, and that's pretty much it), so it's nice to see that the main aspects of the tale have only lightly been covered, and that the focus is more about showing where the lead characters came from.

On the whole, Tales of Vesperia ~The First Strike~ is one of those movies that you can't fully appreciate unless you know the full story, and that's its biggest flaw. People don't really want to be burdened with having to complete a game that they may not even be interested in just to find out what happens next, which plays a major part in whether one can enjoy this movie or not. The more rlaxed viewer may not be overly concerned with the lack of a true ending, and the movie does have a good degree of entertainment value in its own right, but in all honesty, this is one for fans of the game and the Tales franchise.

Whatever the opinion though, this movie deserves some credit for being not only a prequel, but an original tale, as it could very well have been just another adaptation.

SPOILER FREE

What amazing luck. I happen to complete the game the same week the movie comes out. This caught me completely by surprise, but I was extremely excited. When I initially started the game, I thought it was a bit corny and maybe even childish, but a few hours in and there was incredible character development and storyline threads stretching across, to the point where I even cared for the villains. Truly an exceptional experience from the game.

If you are a fan of the game, then there's no doubt you will love this movie. I went in with no expectations, except knowing that ... it's a prequel. That being said, I was very impressed by not only the quality of the movie, but the pacing, character development, seamless crossover between the prequel and the original game, while introducing new characters without harming the original.

The story was simple. But very effective. I really enjoyed the Yuri/Flynn bond throughout the game, and it was great seeing the roots of it in this movie, while also getting some more backstory on Flynn's past. This movie had be laughing at loud at some parts, and crying at others. It was a rollercoaster of emotions, but it was a complete package.

I didn't feel cheated or upset by the way things were done, in fact, I think many other game to anime adaptions should look at this movie as a role model. Simply perfect.

I really enjoyed it, and I'm certain so will you, perhaps even if you have not played the game. Definitely check this out!

*Review is biased since I played the game*
As a Tales of fan, I knew exactly what to expect watching this movie, and I got what I was expecting. Since Tales of Vesperia is one of favorite games, I was quite excited, and my expectations were ultimately met, with only a bit of expected disappointment. Fans of TOV will be happy to learn more of the back story of Yuri, Flynn, and Repede, while newcomers will be amazed by the greatness of the Tales of series.

To be fair, The story was cliche, with some points that adds more flair, however, the art, animation, and music were ... absolutely fantastic, which completely masked this factor.

The story revolves around Yuri Lowell, a few years before the events of TOV, his best friend Flynn Scifo, and his platoon. The world, Terca Lumireis has a substance called aer, which a tool called blastia can harness. However, recently, the aer has been becoming dense, causing monsters and strange beings to begin attacking the already weakening barrier blastia that defends a town. To solve the problem, Yuri and his imperial knights platoon try find the cause of increasing aer density, and solve it.

The story is carried out by the simple, "there is a major problem, and we fix it format," and is forgettable with a few exceptions, but the other features of the movie makes you completely forget it. The fight scenes are done incredibly well (but also realistically), and the music is majestic, and fits the world and movie quite well. And of course, the movie carries the badass and arrogant Yuri Lowell and the righteous and heroic Flynn from the game, adding lots of spice to the movie.

*Spoilers, Gamer's Rant*
Although The First Strike was done incredibly well, from someone who had high hopes from the game, I was disappointed. You will not be seeing any azure edges (I like to think of them as demon fangs), tiger blades, first aids, or any artes for that matter. One main feature from the game is nearly completely removed, and the movie is primarily based on melee combat without magic or artes, making the fight scenes not as dynamic as the could be. I guess this is because the producers wanted the movie to be more true to the world since blastia were said to be rare, but come on. Basically the only named arte I got to see was force field. Another disappointment was that some characters from TOV were added just to make the fans happy, and were more of breif cameos than anything else. Estelle, Raven, and Rita all appeared and their roles were nearly insignificant (except for Rita, and not by much). Although I am happy that I got to see Repede's history with Yuri.

All in all, Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike, is a great movie, with amazing battle scenes, art, and music. Although the plot is a bit cliche, you will forgive that factor, as the good points will be overwhelming. And honestly, I recommend that you should watch this before playing the game, as it guarantees that you will not be disappointed.

After fully completing the game and becoming a big fan, this movie comes out. And I have to say I was suprised and happy at the same time. At first I didn't know what to expect from this movie, but after I was done watching it I was very impressed. I was wondering how well they would do connecting the movie with the game. And they did a pretty good job. They also did a good job letting some of the characters from the game, have some scenes through out the movie.

If you played the game and enjoyed it I think you should defiently give ... this movie a try.

following is just my opinion about this anime: i found it slow paced and simple minded. it has some interesting original elements but the flaws and the plainness waste it all. the art had some nice points (a mix from various shows). the story develops without surprises, the fights have original elements but flawed. the characters are ok, nothing more... like the rest of the anime. maybe for some its worth watching because of some original elements but for me its just feels like one of the many shows that didn't pay enough attention to detail and made of something with good potential (and enough ... budget, probably) something just average.

but maybe if you played the game this show is more fun? ... maybe there are some references or so...

i probably wrote this review to warn from viewing as i found it boring but maybe the show is better than how i experienced it

Note: This review was written on my Review Book on Wattpad. If you are interested, don't be shy to check it out! (Link's in my bio)

Tales of Vesperia is a RPG game that was exclusive for the XBOX 360. It had done so well that it had received a movie adaption, that takes place 10 years after the Great War. Yuri Lowell, hero of Zaphias, along with his loyal friend Flynn, have just become Imperial Knights. Meanwhile, Estellise, Princess of the Capital, along with the Imperial Knights Commander, Alexia Denoia, are currently fighting for the power in the Capital. Now, Yuri and Flynn ... begin their first mission, learning the new ways of a knight, as well as what sacrifices it takes to be one.



So I watched this movie maybe a month or two after I finished Tales of Symphonia with my friend, who had just recently gotten Tales of Vesperia for Xbox 360 at the time. She had just finished the game, and I had just read the first few chapters of the manga, since there is no anime for ToV. But anyways, since my friend had the money, and every anime/manga browser is locked at our school, my friend bought the movie off of iTunes for us to watch at an assembly or after school at art club or something. So we finally did watch the movie, I think we watched half-and half maybe, I can't exactly remember, but we both loved the movie (well, maybe she loved it a little more than me since she actually played the game and knew more about that series than me "^^). But anyways, enough of my background on the series, let's start with the review. Hope you all like it!.



WARNING! THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!



Story: 8/10



Ok, so the story to the First Strike is really good, and its not any spoiler-filled movie that goes with the game, but there are probably things that would be explained if you played the game as well. There are probably things that I didn't quite get because I haven't played the game yet, which kinda gets me upset. Yes, I still loved the movie, it's just I need to play the game to understand it more. For those who are like me, I think you guys will enjoy it an 8/10, but it might change if I ever get a chance to play the game myself.



Art: 10/10



So if you don't know from my past review on Tales of Symphonia, I absolutley LOVE the Tales of Series art style, from the art style in general, to character designs themselves. I just love the art of the series as a whole, and I can never rate a Tales of Series art style less than a 10. I mean, I've never reallyseen anything about it that I haven't disliked about it yet (cough cough Tales of Berseria designs cough cough), but for The First Strike, I'm givning it a 10/10.



Sound: 10/10



So just like the art style of the Tales of Series, I love the soundtrack of Tales of Vesperia. Even though I don't have the soundtrack on my iPod music library like I do for Tales of Symphonia, I still really like it, because I'm pretty sure if I ever go back to listen to it again, it'll bring back feelings from the movie. And no, it won't bring as much emotion as it does for Tales of Symphonia, seeing that I wasn't able to connect with the story as much as Tales of Symphonia, but I still love the soundtrack of Vesperia. Anyways, another 10/10 goes to Tales of Vesperia the First Strike.



Characters: 9/10



Ok, so don't kill me because I gave the characters a 9/10. I really liked the cast of characters for ToV, I really did, a lot of them make you smile, or give you a chuckle, but I'm pretty sure I would've loved them more if I played the game. I'm not dissapointed in how the Tales of Series created this cast, I really liked them, it's just I might've liked them even more if I played the game. Like, I still have a giant interest in learning more about them, since they seemed really interesting in the movie, and I'd still need to play the game in order to do so. But, seeing that you don't need the game to enjoy them at least a little, I'd give the characters a 9/10



General/Enjoyment: 10/10



Okay, so like I said, I loved this movie to the fullest, especially since I haven't played the game at all. To be honest, this movie got me wanting to play the game even more, even though I can't get access to my brothers XBOX. I mean, I have read some of the manga, which I highly recommend to anyone who can't play the game like me. And also, if you're interested in the Tales of Series as a whole, I'd suggest getting the app "Tales of Link," where it's basically a better version of Brave Frontier, and the series features all the characters from the Tales of Series. But yeah, I loved this movie a lot, even though there were probably things I didn't understand, due to the lack of knowledge on the game. But all and all, this is a great movie to check out, especially since its rather short, 2 hours at max, and it's definetley something to start out for the Tales of Series. So basically , I enjoyed this anime whole-heartedly, and it receives a 10/10 for me.

This show starts out rather heavy, asking what people should protect. Then we are thrown into a large action packed fight and chase that feels really over the top. We aren’t introduced to the characters or understand what the hell they are doing. We just know a fight is going on. Although this show looks rather nice, the storyline doesn’t fit the look of the show and makes things confusing including the fact that this was supposed to have 4 video games before it to help with the story line and sadly, only two were dubbed and brought over. Sadly, I am probably in the ... select few who have never played the games at all and am left going ‘what the fuck are they even talking about’ with the small bits of dialogue the writers happened to put into the show.

It should have been a great opening for a great movie, but sadly, It feels like its small pieces of what would have been a good show. Lots of dialogue seems cut and the scenes don’t make a whole lot of sense. I know I may be coming in without watching the anime Tales of Vesperia (or actually in this sense the games) but when I watch something, I don’t want to see a action packed show, then go from that to a traveling opening where the main characters are going somewhere, then cut to them fighting about some mission I have no clue about and being scolded, all the way into the two ‘main characters’ arguing about how the room is a mess. I haven’t even been able to catch the two characters names yet and already I can probably give them nicknames, play-by-the-books and lazy-ass-long haired-guy. Not to mention we also get to strange twins who seem to be friends of the two.

The show feels like a number of clips pushed together into one long movie like they were the cut scenes to the video game without any real continuity at all. Not even an explanation on what they are really doing in the town or where these said monsters came from up. Most of the fights seem like they were thrown into the show just to put more action into it. I kid you not, even reading the plot summary on the Wiki was confusing to the point I struggled to give this show a description.

The animation is actually pretty well done, though the slight CG that they do seems a little off. I mean, it works alright and has the same feeling as the drawn animation but when you get close to it, it feels slightly off. When we get to the magic using though, it looks extremely well done. Characters seem really stiff in action and attitude even when they are supposed to be relaxed characters and not of military or governmental power. The twins also seem to grow in cup size once in a while. Even so, I give props for Production I.G. on getting this well done in the art department at least except for the hiccup when it came to the memories part. When we go into the dubbed version of the show, the animation can get a bit off with the voices. The mouth movements are a bit to realistic to the point that parts seem forced as they try to match them and fail. It may be standard when things like that happen and I give Funimation props for trying as best they can but still.

English voices seem expertly done and feel good with the characters though even with the characters that are supposed to be relaxed, they feel stiff. The script feels like it was cut up into little pieces where a lot of dialogue that is supposed to explain what the hell is happening falls away. Again, lip sinking is not that great though I don’t blame them to badly.

Having reviewed the entire Tales of Symphonia series, I thought it might be a good idea to review the rest of the Tales adaptations I can find. So first on the table is Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike. Standard rules apply with video games adaptations. The adaptation should be able to stand on its own, meaning even if the viewer hasn’t played the games or seen anything related to the series, they should be able to enjoy it just as much as someone who has. With that little parameter out of the way, let’s get cracking.

The Short Version:
(+)Animation is good, really good.
(+)The battles ... are great.
(+)The story stacked up on itself little by little.
(-)Nothing in the sound design stands out.
(-)Most of the characters are there to serve a single purpose and nothing else.

The Story (7/10): The story doesn’t introduce itself right off the bat, rather going through a couple different plot lines that evenly add up to the overarching story of the movie. If you want a very general outline of what the story is about, the characters are there to defend a town from monsters. That’s literally it. They hint towards the end what you’ll do in the game. Within the story itself there’s not a lot I really liked that much, the construction of the entire story and how they handled it was great it’s just that the story didn’t really get me invested. This is probably a lot of background regarding how magic works in this world that goes unexplained. I feel like if they explained it a little better I would’ve been just a bit more into the story. That being said I’m pretty dumb so if you decide to watch this movie you’ll probably pick it up right away and be fine.

The Characters (6/10): The characters in this movie, for the most part, are background props, even some of the ones that get a name are there for one scene at most, but the main troupe of characters have a purpose (duh that’s why they’re the main troupe Richard.) I’ll argue that two of the main characters could’ve disappeared and the story wouldn’t have been impacted that much, but anyway TO THE MAIN CHARACTERS!

Yuri Lowell: Resident protagonist and cynical bastard.

Flynn Scifo: Childhood friend to Yuri and the more military of the two.

Niren Fedrok: Guard Captain and at times the comedy relief character.

Hisca Aiheap: The quieter half of the twins and the one doesn’t get throw around like a rag doll.

Chastel Aiheap: The ‘bigger’ half of the twins and the one that does get thrown around.

The rest of the characters aren’t really worth mentioned because they’re really underdeveloped, but I will say this. Best little dog side character ever.

Art & Sound (8/10) & (5/10): The art is exactly what I expected from a movie adaptation, the characters move fluidly whenever they need to, the 3D manoeuvring is more than satisfactory and the CG doesn’t look that out of place when it’s used apart from one scene where the characters running looked like they were on ice, but as a whole the animation was well solid.

The sound is (for me) the weakest part of this entire movie, the OP & ED weren’t great, the OST didn’t grab me and the side characters voice acting was…. Not great. The main cast and the battle SFX were the best part, but they weren’t good enough to pull up the stack from the rest of the department.

What do you think of this anime?

It managed to kill 2 hours of the day and was pretty to look at.

Would you recommend this anime?

Yeah. If you’ve got some time to waste or want to watch a movie with your friends go ahead, if you’re a fan of the Tales games even more so. However you probably shouldn’t watch it if you’re expecting the next big thing, because this isn’t it.

Goodbye my brethren, see you in the next one.

When I first, came across this anime I thought that it was a spin-off of the "Tales of the Abyss" and I was quite interested because I enjoyed the second very much so I thought that I should try and watch this too. Actually some moments were almost the same like magic and that circles or whatever was there :D Well it doesn't matter. The main thing is that I am not a fan of this game and I didn't even played it so the anime was not anything special for me.

Story 8/10:
Well, I have to admit that the story was good. Like ... this Air and Blastia was quite interesting to investigate and watch how they work and etc. I also liked all that 'knights' thing because I'm a huge fan of those since I first watched 'Code Geass'. The story was captivating and exciting but they couldn't show it in the best way. The fightings were boring and slow. There were no action and the character's moves were kinda sluggish. I wanted more action :( And one of the important things that I didn't liked was the soundtrack. The music in the anime didn't create an appropriate atmosphere for the show.

Art 8/10:
The art was very good. I liked the characters and landscapes. Though inside of the eyes were kinda black as if it was a gothic make-up. That was a little annoying but after 10-20 minutes I've gotten used to it so it doesn't really matter.

Character 7/10:
They were okay. I loved the main character Yuri, which was very unusual. Because in 'Tales of the Abyss' first 10 episodes the main character was quite an annoying one. Yuri was the opposite. So cuuute

tl;dr: A prequel film that is a bit strange in how it connects to the game it's related to and has slow pacing, but is a well made film that fans of the game should enjoy nevertheless. 

Tales of Vesperia: First Strike is a prequel to the game Tales of Vesperia, which was released about a year after the release of the Xbox 360 version of the game and about a month after the PS3 version of the game. As such, I would consider it a film targeted at people that had already played the game, even if it is a prequel. To an extent it ... definitely is. It does provide background to a number of aspects from the game that weren't really fleshed out, such as Yuri's time in the knights or how Yuri and Repede formed their bond, and it also hints at a number of plot threads that end up being critical in the game. It also makes sure to have elements that very much play into adoration fans have for the game, such as including characters from the game even if it feels a bit forced or having opening of the game as the ending theme.

But at the same time there were also things that made it feel like a different thing entirely. There are a lot of inconsistencies where the film and game don't match up and not just minor things that can be explained away as differences between the game and film medium, such as in the game Yuri states he's never left Zaphias before and seems to possess the knowledge and experience of someone that hadn't but this entire film is takes place outside of Zaphias. The story of the film is also subtly connected to the main story of the game, but it also feels kind of off, such as in that Flynn's entire arc is centered around a background that as far as I remember wasn't mentioned in the game at all. And while it did try to hit things that fans would want to see, it didn't go completely out of its way to do so, and things that I would have appreciated like showing Judith, Karol, or even Patty, didn't happen.

Thus its kind of hard to decide how to judge it, as something viewed solely on its own or as in the context of accompanying the game. Ultimately, as I did just go through playing the game before watching this, I'm going to have to go with viewing it as an accompaniment to the game, and from that perspective, seeing the characters and glimpses of something that is essentially their origin story in spirit, if not completely due to the inconsistencies, was enjoyable and handled pretty well and the overall story was pretty reasonably solid. The largest issue however, was that the pacing felt incredibly slow, wherein it was bearable at first in part due to how there was a good amount of comedy, but as it went on and things became purely serious, it really felt like things were dragging on at times.

The production values of the film were incredibly solid, with great art, animation, and music. The animation was especially excellent during the fight scenes, though I should note there was use of CG monsters, though it was pretty solid most of the time. Also, as noted, the choice to play the opening of the game during the credits worked really well, though its strange that they played the 360 opening and not the opening to the PS3 version. The first two specials were really amusing and I was surprised and happy to see that Patty was in them. I did not watch the last one however as I'm not going to spend half an hour watching skits, especially without English subtitles.