Tales of Zestiria the X

First and foremost, the graphics are BEAUTIFUL and so detailed. Fight scenes were also top-notch. Finding out later that the anime was adapted from 2 video games did not detract from my original experience. {7/10 Stars for basic story/likable characters +3 Stars for extreme production values} Scientiiaa's review provides a good background and plot review. On the other hand, mnasirdey raises several discrepancies with the games (which I haven't played); however, 5 of his 10 questions were explicitly answered in the series so this guy wasn't really paying much attention. Now, Episodes 6 and 7 are from Tales of Berseria and jarringly seem out of sequence with the rest, but to be honest, I might've lost interest if they were shown later. The intense excerpts only raised unrealistic expectations. Alas, there would be no more scenes from this "prequel" or hints on the fate of Velvet Crowe. Perhaps we're forced to play the game? ToZ is NOT an action anime although there was a lot of it. As it progressed, it became more like Charmed where the sister witches use their Power of 3 to "vanquish" demons; in ToZ, the main character Sorey draws a magical sword from a stone (ala Excalibur) and becomes the Shepherd, whose destiny is to "purify" malevolent (corrupted) creatures by taking on their malevolence. And therein lies the show's main pitfall. After only a few weeks on the job, Sorey achieves feats that no Shepherds before him had, so there is no dramatic tension or sense that he could lose. Like Charmed's hapless demons, none of ToZ's baddies, no matter how powerful otherwise, are immune to purification, so you already anticipate the final battle will be anticlimactic, and it is. The most glaring omission is of even one battle between Symonne and any of the heroes. {-1 Star for losing emotional buildup} Similar to the ebb of action scenes, which really bog down after Episode 18, the moral "direction", if you will, is also all over the place. With a title like The Shepherd and the fact that he previously spent his entire life in Elysia (a paradise inhabited by the peaceful Seraphim, a race of immortal supernatural beings with elemental-based powers), it should surprise no one that Sorey would espouse a form of pacifism (humans should never be killed). But despite her huge on-screen time, why Princess Alisha ended up the same way wasn't adequately explained. She was an excellent combatant who fought well against monsters and unknown assailants, but balked at defending friends/family who are under direct attack? Rose, the traveling merchant and secret leader of a "good" assassins' guild, was a little more developed, almost to the point I forget she was easily duped into a contract to kill Alisha. But the show left many loose ends about her evil victims, er, targets (their crimes never came to light). I was especially unsatisfied with the aftermath of the royal who killed her father, or rather, the lack thereof. Other reviews have already noted how several bad guys had changes of heart out of nowhere. {-1 Star for inconsistencies} Overall, I enjoyed exploring the Zesteria universe, except The North (yes, I might be spoiled by GoT). I imagine most viewers getting up to 18-20 episodes of eye-candy or even thought-provoking entertainment ("immediate justice over unreachable ideals" anyone?), before the series becomes too weird/rushed/predictable. ToZ is good, not nearly great, and hampered by the gradual diminishing of action, with no romantic angle to compensate. Although those two girls at the end... hmm? {Final grade: B- or 8/10}

just a quick note to say that I am reviewing this anime after watching only 13 episodes. but usually I can tell if a show is going to capture my attention from at least episode 6. but sad to say this one hasn't really done that. saying that I still have faith in it and will continue to watch it until at least the end of the first season. I don't know if anyone else felt the same but I found the story a bit hard to follow at times. I thought the action was really good but the main thing this show has going for it is the visuals. The beautiful scenery, the uniforms and the buildings had a deep attention to detail. even though I still think the pace of the show didn't capture me I still appreciated it's beauty.

Amazing anime if you are really into fantasy and beautiful animation! Sorey, Alisha Diphda, Rose, and the seraphs are amazing characters. The concept, the characters, the music, and the animation is what this anime is about! Highly underrated and unforgettable!

Now there will be some people who have watched Tales of Zesteria the X disagree with me,but still it's unique in it's own way.It has one of the best animation.The story takes time to understand but eventually you'll understand it.There will be times that you may wanna quit watching it because I did the same till 6 episodes.My brother watched it too and He didn't get what is happening till 12th episode.Still it has it's own plus points.And has a decent ending.

And one more thing it does not show any kind of Love relationship between characters.Its kind of friendship and support type based anime.It has some funny moments but it's less. I don't regret watching this anime.

Show not tell when characters talk about how painful it is to purify a dragon (which could not be done in the games, not sure why they changed that) they should have relied on animation to show their struggle. Also added the plots of Alicia and Berseria in it. Just one problem. Tales games are about character development/dept more so than the plot.