Tales of Zestiria the X: ANIME REVIEW

After 12 long weeks, Tales of Zestiria the X finally came to an end, or rather unfortunately, because it was fantastic. Even before the start of the Summer 2016 season I knew that I could expect much of an Ufotable fantasy, action and adventure anime. I did not play the game so I won't be able to tell you which one was better, the game or the anime adaptation. But what I can do for sure is write  my impressions and thoughts on the anime in this review. I know I am a week late with it but I hope you still enjoy!

PLOT AND STORY LINE

As mentioned in the intro, Tales of Zestiria the X (ToZX) is an action, adventure and fantasy anime made by one of my favorite production studios-ufotable. Even before the anime started airing in July, 2016 I knew I'd love it because I've been waiting for so long for an anime like this. I wanted a good, action rich, fantastic, magical anime with a lot of legend and prophecies and stuff like that and ToZX delivers all of that. In addition to that, ToZX has a thrilling, uncommon and catchy story you just don't wanna miss. 

The anime follows Sorey, a human boy that lived his whole life with seraphim, spiritual beings that are not visible to humans. He strongly believes in the folk tale that says "long ago, every human was able to see the seraphim" and so his greatest wish is to find out a way how to make humans and seraphim live together in peace again. In his first visit to the capital, Sorey gets involved in an accident during which he pulls out the legendary sword of Ladylake from a rock and becomes the Shepherd-one who casts away calamity from the world. Even tough that is the main plot there is one more important story line trough out the anime. It is the story of Alisha Diphda, the princess of the Highland empire. She also believes the Seraphim folk tale and so finds a lot trust and support from Sorey and it soon becomes clear that they follow one and the same dream. While Sorey sets of on a journey to learn what it really means to be a Shepherd, Alisha fights for peace and stability in her own empire. 

The first thing that made my watch and later on love the anime was definitely the story. I was always a fan of anime that based their story on ancient legends, prophecies and myths. The legends about the seraphim caught me right form the beginning. It's a pitty that they didn't continue more with the legends from the ancient ruins that Sorey explored together with his seraph friend Mikelio in the beginning.

Moreover, ToZX delivers a lot of epic fights nad breathtaking action scenes. It is so magical and so amazing to see the seraphim Lailah, Mikelio and Edna fight calamity with Sorey. Besides, the powers of the three seraphim are based on the power of the four elements fire, water, earth and I think we'll meet an air seraphim in the second season. I've always loved this kind of magic and powers and I think every magic and fantasy fan will. The thing I found the most interesting in the anime is one more side-story that appears somewhere  in the middle of the anime with Crowe as the main character. It kinda came out of nowhere and with no connection to Sorey and Alisha at all. I am sure that they'll meet later in the anime and I actually just can't wait to see what will happen then. 

Now if you ask whether Tales of Zestiria the X has a moral or a deeper meaning in the story, I'd say Yes, it does. The whole seraphim/human story is not the actual moral, but more the part with the calamity. War, fights, corruption and so on result in calamity or easier said: we create the demons that destroy our world and that's exactly what ToZX wants to show. The anime keeps you on tenterhooks the whole time and I personally just couldn't wait for next Sunday just to watch the new episode. Unfortunately, the first season of Tales of Zestiria the X came to an end last Sunday. Still, the anime was a huge success so I think it is not wrong to expect another season soon. *fingers crossed*

CHARACTERS

Truth is I loved Tales of Zestiria the X a lot, but it is still not a perfect 10/10. Unfortunately the characters lack in originality. Firstly you have Sorey who is the average main character. He is the hero of every situation and his actions are mainly predictable. Gladly, he is not the annoying type of main character because that could have ruined  the anime in many ways. Also the female protagonist of the story, Alisha is a common character you've seen in other anime too. She is a brave and independent character that always fights for justice. I've always loved strong and independent female characters but to be honest, they became boring over time. I loved Erza, Yona, Kallen, Akame etc. but now I am more a fan of arrogant villains such as Gilgamesh from Fate/ UBW. The only character that I though had more depth in her personality was Clowe. She is presented as the "bad guy" in the story but I think there is much more to it. Even tough we could see her in only 3 episodes (i think) I got the feeling that she is an extremely strong yet caring character with a thug past.  I hope we'll get to see more of her in the next season. 

ANIMATION AND STYLE

What to say? I mean, it's an unfotable production. The production studio with the best animation of all. The animation of Tales of Zestiria the X is just fantastic, amazing, marvelous, magical, incredible, stunning, wonderful...I think you understand now how good it is. There is not a single flaw in the animation or the anime style. The style is also very unique and beautiful. The thing where you really get to see how good both, the animation and the style, are are the action scenes and the backgrounds. You just cannot believe how good it is. It is like a fantasy for your eyes. You cannot but enjoy it.  Lastly, I think I have the right to say that this is the best animation I have ever seen in my life. 

CONCLUSION

To conclude this review, Tales of Zestiria the X was a huge success. With a unique and intriguing story and an ufotable animation this anime could not but be amazing. And true the characters lack in originality but I think we can forgive the makers because they did everything else incredibly good. I haven't watched a lot anime form the Summer 2016 season but I am sure that Tales of Zestiria the X was among the better ones.