(L) Tales of Zestiria the Cross

[Seihai]

Originally Posted by Kazu-kun

Gotta wonder why they're putting so much money on this. It wasn't even their most successful Tales game (that's Xillia with half a million copies sold in the first week if I remember correctly).

For all we know the anime production was part of a contract between Bamco and ufotable because those two go hand in hand. And then it is the first Tales on PC so they maybe thought they'd go out with a bang and by the time they realized it was not doing as well as initially expected they had already gone too far in the anime production to do anything about it. Remember that ufotable likes to record VA scripts before animating it so they can't just tell the VAs "nope, things aren't going well, thanks for having put your work in but we are dropping the anime so go back to your own business".

And just for the record, even if the game did bad in terms of sales (is that really true btw.? I figure things released on PC usually get a general popularity good enough to counter the fact that the game itself may be bad), that doesn't need to be an indicator for whether it will receive an anime adaption or not.

[GDB]

Originally Posted by Seihai

And just for the record, even if the game did bad in terms of sales (is that really true btw.? I figure things released on PC usually get a general popularity good enough to counter the fact that the game itself may be bad), that doesn't need to be an indicator for whether it will receive an anime adaption or not.

It sold well enough in the West, but it had abysmal sales in Japan. Well, abysmal compared to expectations, at least.

[Sacredus]

And don't forget about returns in Japan (people was reaaaally mad at this game).

Steamspy shows that PC version is currently at 179k and was at 133k just before Summer sale* http://steamspy.com/app/351970 On PS4 it probably sold 2x as much so... yeah, it had good sales in the West.

*It had full price 50$/€ before and 20$/€ during sale

[Om Nerabdator]

Originally Posted by Sacredus

And don't forget about returns in Japan (people was reaaaally mad at this game).

Steamspy shows that PC version is currently at 179k and was at 133k just before Summer sale* http://steamspy.com/app/351970 On PS4 it probably sold 2x as much so... yeah, it had good sales in the West.

*It had full price 50$/€ before and 20$/€ during sale

plp were mad cause aisha turned out not to be a companion but a dlc spin off right? after all the advertising that was focused on her.

[Sacredus]

We can't discuss that (especially all that heroine controversy - it's not only about her not being in party for whole game) but not really. Alisha just become "face" of all problems with a game (camera etc) because that dlc just crossed the line for them.

[Darthtabby]

Anime only viewer here.

This preview episode has awesome production values. Unfortunately that's about the only good thing I've got to say about it. Some of the events in this episode seemed confusing and random, and I found the kill em all ending more depressing than shocking. The princess seemed likeable enough, but I didn't find the rest of the cast was all that compelling, which may have contributed to my impression of the ending.

On the plus side, what was shown in the OP/ED looked like it could potentially be fun, so I'll probably give the actual first episode a chance. Based on this preview episode alone however, I'm inclined to recommend 2014's under appreciated Rage of Bahamut: Genesis (another game based series with awesome production values) as an alternative to this series.

[ninjastarforcex]

Originally Posted by Darthtabby

Anime only viewer here.

This preview episode has awesome production values. Unfortunately that's about the only good thing I've got to say about it. Some of the events in this episode seemed confusing and random, and I found the kill em all ending more depressing than shocking. The princess seemed likeable enough, but I didn't find the rest of the cast was all that compelling, which may have contributed to my impression of the ending.

On the plus side, what was shown in the OP/ED looked like it could potentially be fun, so I'll probably give the actual first episode a chance. Based on this preview episode alone however, I'm inclined to recommend 2014's under appreciated Rage of Bahamut: Genesis (another game based series with awesome production values) as an alternative to this series.

even if the story is terrible (just like in the game, but i hope anime can improve), at least this series is an eyebleach for koolz action

Originally Posted by Om Nerabdator

plp were mad cause aisha turned out not to be a companion but a dlc spin off right? after all the advertising that was focused on her.

alisha basically that typical final fantasy guest character who accompany you in prologue only like Cinna & Blank (ff9)

[Endscape]

Originally Posted by Sacredus

And don't forget about returns in Japan (people was reaaaally mad at this game).

Steamspy shows that PC version is currently at 179k and was at 133k just before Summer sale* http://steamspy.com/app/351970 On PS4 it probably sold 2x as much so... yeah, it had good sales in the West.

*It had full price 50$/€ before and 20$/€ during sale

The problems that made people return the game in Japan weren't really as in your face here, so it's not odd it sold more here.

Having just watched the episode, I must praise the animation, some top notch stuff. Leave it to ufotable.

I'm curious as to what the X in the title means though.

[Harbinger]

Originally Posted by Darthtabby

Anime only viewer here.

This preview episode has awesome production values. Unfortunately that's about the only good thing I've got to say about it. Some of the events in this episode seemed confusing and random, and I found the kill em all ending more depressing than shocking. The princess seemed likeable enough, but I didn't find the rest of the cast was all that compelling, which may have contributed to my impression of the ending.

On the plus side, what was shown in the OP/ED looked like it could potentially be fun, so I'll probably give the actual first episode a chance. Based on this preview episode alone however, I'm inclined to recommend 2014's under appreciated Rage of Bahamut: Genesis (another game based series with awesome production values) as an alternative to this series.

From what I have read, the actual "main" cast (Alisha is main too) isn't going to show up until episode 3 (or episode 2 since last week's episode was 0, the prologue).

Every character that died weren't from the game. It was 100% Anime original stuff.

If I had to take a guess, episode 0 was to show us where Alisha's conviction comes from. She will be more dedicated than ever to find a solution.

I can't tell you how to watch it, but I would recommend that you, at very least, wait until the rest main protagonist is introduced, which is, supposedly, in 2 weeks.

Originally Posted by Endscape

The problems that made people return the game in Japan weren't really as in your face here, so it's not odd it sold more here.

Having just watched the episode, I must praise the animation, some top notch stuff. Leave it to ufotable.

I'm curious as to what the X in the title means though.

"The X" stands for "The Cross". It's likely the the crossover from Tales of Zestiria (the game) and Tales of Berseria.

They are set in the same world, but thousand of years apart. We clearly don't know what happened to Velvet (Tales of Berseria) since it hasn't been released yet. We can only deduce that she still has some quest left to accomplish, even after thousand of years.

The Cross might actually be the conflict between our MC's quests (who hasn't been introduced yet) and Velvet.

This Anime serves as a marketing tool for the upcoming game. It's also a way to boost sales from the original game. Anime are often that --- a way to sell the original material... or in this case, future material.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by Harbinger

Alisha is main too

Controversy we can't talk about aside, she doesn't get enough screentime to be called a main imo. Let's see how things play out in the anime.

[Loran Cehack]

Well, anime viewer only here.

As far as animation goes, this was stellar. That battle in the woods had some great choreography and all, but the whole thing felt more like style over substance, in that it didn't explained nothing at all and failed to get me to care about the princess friends going out in the storm.

If anything, that OP got me pumped to keep watching, cause it showed some really great stuff.

[GDB]

At the very least, I suspect that they expect viewers to have seen the prologue OVA/mini movie special thing they did a year and a half ago. While it wouldn't explain EVERYTHING, I believe it'd at least explain the general state of the world. Though I may be mis-remembering due to having played the game.

Hard to say if they expect it or not without a Next Episode Preview, though.

[Endscape]

Originally Posted by Harbinger

"The X" stands for "The Cross". It's likely the the crossover from Tales of Zestiria (the game) and Tales of Berseria.

They are set in the same world, but thousand of years apart. We clearly don't know what happened to Velvet (Tales of Berseria) since it hasn't been released yet. We can only deduce that she still has some quest left to accomplish, even after thousand of years.

The Cross might actually be the conflict between our MC's quests (who hasn't been introduced yet) and Velvet.

This Anime serves as a marketing tool for the upcoming game.

I was thinking of a totally different reason, but this makes a lot more sense. Thanks!

[Haak]

An okay start but left a lot to be desired. The going back and forth between different time points wasn't very smooth and the sheer lack of even the most basic characterization and exposition (whilst throwing us right into the thick of it) meant it was really difficult to engage with the story and care about the characters. I think the story tries a little too hard in being different and clever and loses sight of being interesting. There is some promise to it but I don't want this show to be another God Eater where it only really starts to become engaging towards the end.

(Anime only viewer btw)

[Wandering Soul]

Anime only viewer here/ My only experience with the Tales series being that I am currently playing through Tales of Xilla.

Not much too say about this episode but amazing visuals and animation. It does have a confusing start though. Needed to go over a few thing to get what was going on.

[com_gwp]

What a visual spectacle. I always did wonder what would happen if Ufotable made another tales anime series in their current state; the Xillia and Zestiria animations were a far cry from their symphonia days. And this looks as good, if not better than the short OVA they put out last year. There's no other way to describe it than "epic".

As for the rest, I'm feeling a bit mixed. This first episode/prologue does seem intentionally directed as a reply to the criticisms of the game's story, but the structure is messy; I get what they were going for with the "in media res" opening, but there were just a few too many moments that were absurdly placed.

[Grifis]

This anime I like the most among the ones debuted so far in the season. Visual is very nice and premise looks promising. Will see how things go from here.

[tsunade666]

Am I watching a movie? damn, that graphics made me drool. I felt that I was watching a movie. I haven't played the zestiria yet which is why I don't have a clue but I'm waiting for the guy which is the front cover of the game and he hasn't appeared yet. I only see the girl and is she the heroine? wait, I haven't read the full discussion so leave it. I haven't even finished xillia yet. busy replaying rewrite game with the anime ongoing.

[Kazu-kun]

Originally Posted by tsunade666

Am I watching a movie? damn, that graphics made me drool. I felt that I was watching a movie. I haven't played the zestiria yet which is why I don't have a clue but I'm waiting for the guy which is the front cover of the game and he hasn't appeared yet. I only see the girl and is she the heroine? wait, I haven't read the full discussion so leave it. I haven't even finished xillia yet. busy replaying rewrite game with the anime ongoing.

If you haven't played Zesteria, then don't do it. Just watch the anime. The game has a lot of issues, not just technical but also with the plot, and it seems the anime will try to fix at least some of the problems. I read summaries of the first 4 episodes (they were pre-screened) and I can tell you they're doing some actual effort to portray a better story than the game.

[chaos_animagic]

Originally Posted by tsunade666

Am I watching a movie? damn, that graphics made me drool. I felt that I was watching a movie. I haven't played the zestiria yet which is why I don't have a clue but I'm waiting for the guy which is the front cover of the game and he hasn't appeared yet. I only see the girl and is she the heroine? wait, I haven't read the full discussion so leave it. I haven't even finished xillia yet. busy replaying rewrite game with the anime ongoing.

Yea, sure was intense, movie quality.

seems like everyone got shredded, and in front of the main girl (I think?)
(most dramatic part was the little girl at end of ep 1)

And basing on the summary and ep 1, looks like the seraphim beings are getting mad for being forgotten for too long and is out to destroy the Humans. (looks like seraphims are Yanderes, If you don't love me, I'll kill you)