Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike
Encyclopedia
is a 2009 Japanese animated film directed by Kenta Kamei and written by Reiko Yoshida
. It is the prequel to the game Tales of Vesperia
and the first animated feature film in the Tales
series. It was released in Japan on October 3, 2009. While other Tales games have been adopted into other media, this is the first Tales game made into a film. The source game's theme song, by Bonnie Pink
, was reused as the movie's theme song.
television series in Japan
, with only Tales of Phantasia: The Animation
and Tales of the Abyss
being released in North America
. This is the first time a Tales game has been adopted into an anime film.
One day in a deep forest near the town of Shizontania, Yuri Lowell and Flynn Scifo, two knights who have just joined the Niren Corps, together with two of their senior knights and fellow Corps members, Hisca and Chastel, are sent on a mission to investigate an abnormal gushing of aer in the area.
The abnormal gushing of aer has caused forests to wilt and aberrations in the behavior of the local monsters. After their first assignment to help in destroying a monster infestation near the town, Yuri, Flynn, Hisca, and Chastel meet the leader of the local guild, Melzome Kaid, after Yuri starts a bar fight with his guild members. Yuri and Flynn, despite being childhood acquaintances, have a standoffish attitude against each other, with Flynn's stringent adherence to rules and regulation clashing against Yuri's free-spirited and just nature. Through flashbacks, it is revealed that Flynn's personality is attributed to his father, who was once a member of the Imperial Knights himself. During a battle to defend his hometown, Flynn's father disobeyed his given orders and continued to fight fervently to protect the town. Though his valiant efforts were successful, he perished as a result, leaving not even a body for Flynn and his mother to bury. In sharp contrast, Niren, the captain of the knights stationed in Shizontania, was once dedicated to following the letter of the rules and regulation of the knights. However, he attributes the death of his wife and daughter to this trait, saying that if he had defied orders he may have been able to protect them. Niren confides in Yuri that he has a great deal of respect for what Flynn's father did.
The knights' efforts to repel the monsters around the area prove to be in vain, and their blastias start to malfunction due to the abnormal amount of aer. Niren decides to take steps to protect the town. Despite being called by Commandant Alexei to attend a formal gathering at the imperial capital of Zaphias, Niren sends Flynn in his stead to attend the gathering and to request aid in defending the town. Niren and Chastel leave in search of a 'strange blastia expert' named Rita Mordio. Yuri and Hisca are left to care for Lambert, Niren's personal hound, and Repede, Lambert's son. While Niren succeeds in finding Rita Mordio and obtaining a device with which to return the aer to normal, Yuri and Flynn's assignments end in disaster. Flynn is admonished by Commandant Alexei, and his request for reinforcements to hold Shizontonia are denied until the end of the gathering, as the town is viewed as out of the way and thus unimportant. Furthermore, Alexei orders Flynn to tell Niren to stay in the town and not take any actions until reinforcements arrive, but privatly he gives his subordinate different order related to the town. Afterward Flynn has a small chat with Estellise. Yuri and Hisca assist in defending the town against a strange monster made out of aer, and while they successfully repel the invasion, the monster takes control of Lambert. As Lambert rages out of control, Yuri is forced to kill him in order to protect Hisca, leaving Yuri dispirited.
When Flynn returns from Zaphias, he and Yuri come to blows, as each believes the other had an effortless assignment. Niren, upon receiving the news that reinforcements would not be arriving anytime soon, decides to take the knights to investigate the source of the aer, which he believes to be a fortress at the center of a nearby lake. Flynn disagrees with Niren's decision, viewing it as disobedience of a direct order. Garista, the strategist for the Niren Corps, attempts to dissuade Niren, first directly, then through appealing to Flynn's personality, to no avail. The investigation in the fortress turns out to be more dangerous than originally thought, as the aer begins to turn the fortress into a living weapon to attack the knights. Melzome arrives and assists Niren's group, and the knights make their way into the center of the fortress, where a giant blastia is found to be using the aer. Niren uses the device given by Rita Mordio to stifle the gushing of aer, but a backlash is caused by the sudden ceasing of aer flow and the blastia explodes, destroying the barrier blastia keeping Shizontonia safe, knocking out Chastel, and causing the fortress to begin to crumble. As Niren attempts to carry Chastel to safety, the ground beneath him crumbles. Niren is able to throw Chastel to Yuri, and is stranded in a sinkhole of gushing aer. Despite Yuri's attempts to save him, due to a wound he received during the investigation, Niren is unable to pull himself to safety. Leaving his blastia with Yuri, Niren tells the knights to leave without him. The fortress collapses around him as the knights, as well as Melzome and his guild, are forced to leave Niren behind.
The knights and the entire town mourn deeply over Niren's death, and during the funeral service Yuri tells Flynn that even though Niren sacrificed his life as a result of disobeying orders, he left behind a town full of people willing to live on, much like Flynn's father did when he was a child. At this Flynn openly weeps as the captain's casket is taken away. However, Flynn soon realizes that the blastia used in the fortress where the aer abnormality originated were a specialized type used only by Garista. Yuri and Flynn confront Garista with this information, and Garista reveals that he was attempting to create a new kind of blastia that would give humans total control over aer. The duo say they will aresst him, but Garista implys (without directly admitting) that the higher ups of the knights already knew of his research and allowed it. Infuriated, Yuri and Flynn attack Garista, who overpowers them with his blastia. However, Yuri uses Niren's blastia to catch Garista off guard and stabs him through the chest, killing him.
In the aftermath, Shizontonia is evacuated due to the failure of the barrier blastia, and Jurgis, having been told from the beginning by Niren that Garista was likely behind the current events, overlooks Yuri and Flynn's killing of Garista. Yuri leaves the knights, taking Niren's blastia as a keepsake and bringing Repede along with him, saying his goodbyes to everyone in the town. Flynn sees him off at the gates, and the two share a fond farewell, swearing to meet again one day as Yuri leaves.
Most of the original Japanese voice actors from Tales of Vesperia returned to voice their respective characters in this film.
The film showcases the main protagonist of the original game, Yuri Lowell, as an Imperial Knight; as well as a younger version of Flynn Scifo, Yuri's childhood friend and Imperial Knight. Many other characters from the original game were also featured such as Repede when he was a puppy, Rita Mordio, Estellise "Estelle" Sidos Heurassein and Raven. The only non-protagonist from the original game featured in this movie is Alexei who reprised his role as the Imperial Commandant of the Imperial Knights.
, Blu-ray Disc
and Universal Media Disc
. Funimation Entertainment will release the movie in 2012 on Blu-ray and DVD. It was spoken by a Funimation spokesperson Jackie Smith, that they had acquired the rights for the movie., several other sources confirm they have. Funimation plans to release the movie in Early 2012 dubbed.
Reiko Yoshida
is a Japanese screenwriter and manga author.-TV anime:*Angelic Layer - Script *ARIA The ANIMATION- Script*ARIA The NATURAL - Script*Ballad of a Shinigami - Series Composition, Script...
. It is the prequel to the game Tales of Vesperia
Tales of Vesperia
is the tenth main title in the Tales series. It was developed by Namco Tales Studio and published by Namco Bandai Games for the Xbox 360. The title was announced on December 22, 2007 at Jump Festa, and was released on August 7, 2008 in Asia, and on August 26, 2008 in North America...
and the first animated feature film in the Tales
Tales (role-playing game series)
The series is a franchise of fantasy console role-playing games published by Namco Bandai Games , and primarily developed by its subsidiary, Namco Tales Studio. Created in 1994, the series now spans over twelve flagship titles, over fifteen side games, and four animated productions, into several...
series. It was released in Japan on October 3, 2009. While other Tales games have been adopted into other media, this is the first Tales game made into a film. The source game's theme song, by Bonnie Pink
Bonnie Pink
, known by her stage name , is a Japanese singer-songwriter and musician. She lived in New York during 1998 and speaks English . She writes and composes all her songs, and plays guitar and piano...
, was reused as the movie's theme song.
Development
Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike was officially announced on February 9, 2009. Four previous games in the Tales Series have been adopted into animeAnime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
television series in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, with only Tales of Phantasia: The Animation
Tales of Phantasia: The Animation
is an anime OVA based on the game of the same title, released from 2004 to 2006 in Japan in four volumes. The OVA was later licensed by Geneon for US distribution and was released in the United States in January 2007.-Plot:...
and Tales of the Abyss
Tales of the Abyss
is a console role-playing game developed by Namco Tales Studio and published by Namco in Japan and Namco Bandai Games in North America. Tales of the Abyss's characteristic genre name is The Meaning Of Birth RPG . It is the eighth mothership title in the Tales series, and was released for the...
being released in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. This is the first time a Tales game has been adopted into an anime film.
Plot
The film takes place shortly before the tenth anniversary of the end of the Great War and some unspecified amount of time before the events in Tales of Vesperia. (This is something of a continuity error.) The previous Emperor had just died and his position remains vacant with no heir appointed before his death, however the world seemingly remains in a state of peace. Utilizing the power of a powerful substance known as aer the people of the planet Terca Lumireis are in an age of discovery and prosperity. The crystallized form of aer which is known as Apatheia, is considered to be a very powerful energy source as it is essential to human life. In order to protect towns from attacks by monsters large amounts of Apatheia are being produced to create barriers around towns.One day in a deep forest near the town of Shizontania, Yuri Lowell and Flynn Scifo, two knights who have just joined the Niren Corps, together with two of their senior knights and fellow Corps members, Hisca and Chastel, are sent on a mission to investigate an abnormal gushing of aer in the area.
The abnormal gushing of aer has caused forests to wilt and aberrations in the behavior of the local monsters. After their first assignment to help in destroying a monster infestation near the town, Yuri, Flynn, Hisca, and Chastel meet the leader of the local guild, Melzome Kaid, after Yuri starts a bar fight with his guild members. Yuri and Flynn, despite being childhood acquaintances, have a standoffish attitude against each other, with Flynn's stringent adherence to rules and regulation clashing against Yuri's free-spirited and just nature. Through flashbacks, it is revealed that Flynn's personality is attributed to his father, who was once a member of the Imperial Knights himself. During a battle to defend his hometown, Flynn's father disobeyed his given orders and continued to fight fervently to protect the town. Though his valiant efforts were successful, he perished as a result, leaving not even a body for Flynn and his mother to bury. In sharp contrast, Niren, the captain of the knights stationed in Shizontania, was once dedicated to following the letter of the rules and regulation of the knights. However, he attributes the death of his wife and daughter to this trait, saying that if he had defied orders he may have been able to protect them. Niren confides in Yuri that he has a great deal of respect for what Flynn's father did.
The knights' efforts to repel the monsters around the area prove to be in vain, and their blastias start to malfunction due to the abnormal amount of aer. Niren decides to take steps to protect the town. Despite being called by Commandant Alexei to attend a formal gathering at the imperial capital of Zaphias, Niren sends Flynn in his stead to attend the gathering and to request aid in defending the town. Niren and Chastel leave in search of a 'strange blastia expert' named Rita Mordio. Yuri and Hisca are left to care for Lambert, Niren's personal hound, and Repede, Lambert's son. While Niren succeeds in finding Rita Mordio and obtaining a device with which to return the aer to normal, Yuri and Flynn's assignments end in disaster. Flynn is admonished by Commandant Alexei, and his request for reinforcements to hold Shizontonia are denied until the end of the gathering, as the town is viewed as out of the way and thus unimportant. Furthermore, Alexei orders Flynn to tell Niren to stay in the town and not take any actions until reinforcements arrive, but privatly he gives his subordinate different order related to the town. Afterward Flynn has a small chat with Estellise. Yuri and Hisca assist in defending the town against a strange monster made out of aer, and while they successfully repel the invasion, the monster takes control of Lambert. As Lambert rages out of control, Yuri is forced to kill him in order to protect Hisca, leaving Yuri dispirited.
When Flynn returns from Zaphias, he and Yuri come to blows, as each believes the other had an effortless assignment. Niren, upon receiving the news that reinforcements would not be arriving anytime soon, decides to take the knights to investigate the source of the aer, which he believes to be a fortress at the center of a nearby lake. Flynn disagrees with Niren's decision, viewing it as disobedience of a direct order. Garista, the strategist for the Niren Corps, attempts to dissuade Niren, first directly, then through appealing to Flynn's personality, to no avail. The investigation in the fortress turns out to be more dangerous than originally thought, as the aer begins to turn the fortress into a living weapon to attack the knights. Melzome arrives and assists Niren's group, and the knights make their way into the center of the fortress, where a giant blastia is found to be using the aer. Niren uses the device given by Rita Mordio to stifle the gushing of aer, but a backlash is caused by the sudden ceasing of aer flow and the blastia explodes, destroying the barrier blastia keeping Shizontonia safe, knocking out Chastel, and causing the fortress to begin to crumble. As Niren attempts to carry Chastel to safety, the ground beneath him crumbles. Niren is able to throw Chastel to Yuri, and is stranded in a sinkhole of gushing aer. Despite Yuri's attempts to save him, due to a wound he received during the investigation, Niren is unable to pull himself to safety. Leaving his blastia with Yuri, Niren tells the knights to leave without him. The fortress collapses around him as the knights, as well as Melzome and his guild, are forced to leave Niren behind.
The knights and the entire town mourn deeply over Niren's death, and during the funeral service Yuri tells Flynn that even though Niren sacrificed his life as a result of disobeying orders, he left behind a town full of people willing to live on, much like Flynn's father did when he was a child. At this Flynn openly weeps as the captain's casket is taken away. However, Flynn soon realizes that the blastia used in the fortress where the aer abnormality originated were a specialized type used only by Garista. Yuri and Flynn confront Garista with this information, and Garista reveals that he was attempting to create a new kind of blastia that would give humans total control over aer. The duo say they will aresst him, but Garista implys (without directly admitting) that the higher ups of the knights already knew of his research and allowed it. Infuriated, Yuri and Flynn attack Garista, who overpowers them with his blastia. However, Yuri uses Niren's blastia to catch Garista off guard and stabs him through the chest, killing him.
In the aftermath, Shizontonia is evacuated due to the failure of the barrier blastia, and Jurgis, having been told from the beginning by Niren that Garista was likely behind the current events, overlooks Yuri and Flynn's killing of Garista. Yuri leaves the knights, taking Niren's blastia as a keepsake and bringing Repede along with him, saying his goodbyes to everyone in the town. Flynn sees him off at the gates, and the two share a fond farewell, swearing to meet again one day as Yuri leaves.
Characters
The film showcases the main protagonist of the original game, Yuri Lowell, as an Imperial Knight; as well as a younger version of Flynn Scifo, Yuri's childhood friend and Imperial Knight. Many other characters from the original game were also featured such as Repede when he was a puppy, Rita Mordio, Estellise "Estelle" Sidos Heurassein and Raven. The only non-protagonist from the original game featured in this movie is Alexei who reprised his role as the Imperial Commandant of the Imperial Knights.
New characters
Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike showcases a number of new characters who were not originally shown in the original game, including a pair of orange-haired female Imperial Knights who are twins. Also included is the Niren Corps who were not featured at all in the original game and an extensive amount of new characters.Niren Corps
- He is one of the main protagonists of the story, Yuri was born and raised in the Lower Quarter of the Imperial Capital, Zaphias. He joined the Imperial Knights because like flynn he wanted to change the imperial law and justice.
- He is also one of the main protagonists of the story, Flynn is a childhood friend of Yuri's, as well as a friend to Estelle. He joined the Imperial Knights in order to uphold the law and justice. The two were once childhood friends, brought up in the lower parts of the Empire. Several years later, the two meet once again by chance as they join the knights together.
- He is the commanding officer of the Nylen Corps. Although he has the aura of a commanding officer, he also exudes that of a friendly middle-aged man. Both Yuri and Flynn are under his command.
- She is a female knight who belongs to the Niren Corps, together with her twin sister, Chastel. She is a knight senior to Yuri and Flynn and is the little sister of the twins. She was earlier seen in the first few character arts released for the movie.
- She is also a female knight like her twin sister, Hisca, in the Niren Corps. Though she appears to be identical to her sister, with the exception of being "the bigger one" of the two, her personality is completely different.
- He is the strategist of the Niren Corps, he often showcases his wisdom in military affairs and especially excels those of others.
- He is the vice captain of the Niren Corps, second in command to Niren.
- He is the official wardog of the Niren Corps and is also Repede's sire.
- He is a puppy who acts as the mascot for the Niren Corps, and is always carrying something in his mouth.
Voice actors
| Character | Voice Actor |
|---|---|
| Yuri Lowell | Kosuke Toriumi Kosuke Toriumi , born on May 16, 1973 in Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, is a seiyū employed by Arts Vision.-Profile:* Sometimes credited as Fube Tomomi** Nickname: , , -Anime:1999*Di Gi Charat 2000*Saiyuki Reload: Burial 2001... |
| Flynn Scifo | Mamoru Miyano Mamoru Miyano is a Japanese voice actor, actor, and singer from Saitama. He is best known for his roles on Ouran High School Host Club, Death Note, Mobile Suit Gundam 00, and Kōtetsu Sangokushi. At the 2007 Seiyu Awards he was nominated for two awards for his role as Light Yagami in Death Note, and in 2008, he... |
| Estellise "Estelle" Sidos Heurassein | Mai Nakahara Mai Nakahara is a voice actress. She is employed by I'm Enterprise. Some of her hobbies include cooking and watching movies, and she is skilled at kendo. She worked with voice actor Ai Shimizu in eight anime where most of the characters they voiced in together had close connections: DearS, Kage Kara Mamoru!,... |
| Rita Mordio | Rika Morinaga Rika Morinaga , born April 25, 1980 in Tokyo, Japan is a singer and seiyū represented by Exellex. She is best known for her role as Souseiseki in Rozen Maiden and Makoto "Mako-chan" in Minami-ke... |
| Raven | Eiji Takemoto Eiji Takemoto is a Japanese voice actor. His name is sometimes mistranslated as and also sometimes credited as being Hidefumi Takemoto . Takemoto's nickname is Takepon... |
| Chastel Aiheap | Fumie Mizusawa Fumie Mizusawa is a Japanese voice actress. She is represented by Sigma Seven.Fumie also announced that she got married on April 16, 2011, in which her new husband is not even an actor... |
| Hisca Aiheap | Arisa Ogasawara Arisa Ogasawara is a Japanese voice actress.-Television animation:*Cowboy Bebop - Meifa*D.Gray-man - Lulubell*Devil Lady - Ninomiya Tomoe*Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Reiko Kanzaki *Heroman - Holly Jones... |
| Niren Fedrok | Takashi Taniguchi Takashi Taniguchi is a Japanese voice actor from Hokkaidō. He is currently attached to Office Ōsawa.-Television animation:*Hellsing *One Piece *Rocket Girls *Tales of the Abyss... |
| Garista Luodur | Mitsuru Miyamoto Mitsuru Miyamoto is a Japanese voice actor.-Anime:*Air Gear *Aka-chan to Boku *Baccano *The Big O *Fancy Lala *Fruits Basket... |
Release
Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike was released on home media on May 28, 2010. It was released on three different formats: DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
, Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
and Universal Media Disc
Universal Media Disc
The Universal Media Disc is an optical disc medium developed by Sony for use on their PlayStation Portable handheld gaming and multimedia platform...
. Funimation Entertainment will release the movie in 2012 on Blu-ray and DVD. It was spoken by a Funimation spokesperson Jackie Smith, that they had acquired the rights for the movie., several other sources confirm they have. Funimation plans to release the movie in Early 2012 dubbed.