This week for Anime Sunday I’m going to cover my most anticipated series’s first episode. It’s my Tales of Zestiria Episode 00 Impressions!
Plot: I’m not going to do a synopsis as I included one in my review of the game and I’ve linked it above. Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, I have to say that I was really impressed by ufotable’s decision to cover something that isn’t covered in the game. This episode, and the episode after, cover the events leading up to the first fifteen minutes of the game. It’s great to see what happened to Alisha to bring her to Izuchi and we got to see my favorite character in the game for a few seconds. As for plot pacing I’m not at all concerned about it skipping over important details, if anything I’m worried that the entire game might not get covered in this adaptation. We may end up getting later seasons to complete the story, after all we have two more letters after the “X” in the title, so I’m hoping I’m guessing right. Either way though the pacing is excellent.
Characters: We really only get introduced to Alisha and Lunarre in this first episode, although we get a few cameo’s from other characters (including a very surprising one in the opening animation sequence at the end of the episode). I don’t like Alisha as a character all that much, but it’s good to see the reasons why she was where she was at the start of the game. We haven’t gotten introduced to the rest of the cast yet, but trust me when I say that it will only get better.
Art: The art of this first episode reminded me of the game with every shot and it’s very hilarious that it does because I specifically said back in my review of the game over half a year ago that it was like playing a game animated completely by ufotable. This single episode portrays all the reasons why I consistently say that ufotable is the best Anime studio out there, bar none. Not even Ghibli can come close to the action sequences that ufotable animates almost always flawlessly.
Music: In addition to the music reminding me of the game at every shot, every track in the score did as well. As for the new material, the opening and ending themes, they are both excellent as well.
Overall: An amazing adaptation of a Video Game, something that is so very rarely done properly. Definitely a must watch for any Anime fan.
For those who like: Action, Adventure, Drama, Tales of Games, ufotable, Excellent Plot, Amazing Cast of Characters, Fantastic Artwork, Stupendous Music.
Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above, but how can you hate all of that?