To be honest, I feel now Bleach has reached a slump. And while waiting for it to recover its once grandeur, Slimy!Sheldy has introduced me to several new animes, among which include Tales of the Abyss.
Tales of the Abyss is based on the RPG game of the same name. It was set in a world called Auldrant, which is composed of particles known as Fonins. For much of the history of Auldrant, there were 6 fonins representing shadow, fire, light earth, wind and water, however, recently a seventh representing sound was discovered. Seventh fonist or people who use these fonin are allowed to foretell the future. A religious figure, Yulia Jue, read the planet's memory and recorded her fortelling of the future, known as the score, in which the prophesy fortold a period of turmoil in the world followed by a period of peace and prosperity into tablets. This Score has been mightily contested by the two nations of Malkuth and Kimlasca-Lanvaldear as both want the advantage of knowing the future. There also is an order, known as the Order of Lorelei which was established to maintain peace and to ensure that the Score is followed.
This story centres around a young man known as Luke fon Fabre, who is a scion of Lorelei, son of the duke of Kimlasca-Lanvaldear and predicted to do great things. However, an abduction when he was a mere child has left him with no memories of the past and a 180 degree transformation in personality. As an effect of the abduction, he was coddled by his parents and grew up to be a spoilt young man. Luke does not care for anything; his fiancee Princess Natalia who grew up with him, his best friend and servant Guy nor his parents. The only thing which made him happy was practicing his swordsmanship with his instructor whom he felt "was the only one who understood" him.
One day, while practicing with him, his instructor Van Grants was attacked by a mysterious woman named Tear. In his attempt to protect sensei, Luke clashed weapons with this lady and they were transported far away from his homeland of Baticul into Malkuth. They found their way home and encountered the wise Fon Master Ion and his Guardian, Anise, a cheerful little girl as well as Dr. Jade Curtiss, a general in the Malkuth army who is very brilliant. They also met up with Guy, the aforementioned best friend and made their way back to Baticul where Ion postulated a proposal of peace for both Malkuth and Kimlasca-Lanvaldear. As a sign of peace the party was assigned to a mining city where Luke would act as an ambassador and extend help to the dying people there. The party was expanded by the entry of Princess Natalia, a competent archeress who sneakily joined the party despite her father's plea not to. And the story progresses from here where I shall refrain to let out any more spoilers.
Here are some pics:
The Good Guys (l-r): Natalia, Ion, Jade (he's a guy), Luke, Tear, Guy and Anise.
The "Bad" Guys: Dist the Rose, Largo the Black, Arietta the Wild, Asch the Bloody (did they mean Ash?), Sync the Tempest, Legretta the Quick.Both this pics would already have let out a spoiler.. :P Also, the "bad" guys is missing their leader which you will find out in due course who..
Basically this story is very reminiscent of any RPG where each class appear to be well represented. You have the swordsmen, Luke and Guy, the mage, Jade, the partial mage/cleric/fighter Tear, the archer/cleric Natalia, the voodoo-master, Anise. Some parts are also reminiscent of boss fights i.e. fighting Largo the Black etc. There is also a smidgen of romance for the inner fangirls/bois. But overall I think this is a good anime. Unlike most, this anime is a thinking anime, which poses the question of free-will and pre-determination. I mean, in a world where everything is pre-determined, what is life then for humans would not have any more free will as everything they do has been fortold. Would people hence follow what has been prophesied, or would they fight to establish their own free will. Other important questions which I felt was touched by this anime included the establishment of one's identity and the question of ideals. Like in the Real World, i.e. today's world, there are no clear cut "evil people" in this anime. Everything lies in shades of grey as battles are fought due to a clash of ideals i.e. people are fighting for what they believe is right. It is similar in today's world where wars start due to differences in ideals and such and sometimes, it is very difficult in knowing who is right and who is wrong (I'm referring here to the Middle-Eastern conflict i.e. Israel vs Palestine but will not venture further into this topic).
Anyways, this is indeed a good watch, although I feel some parts are a bit laggy (and I don't like Tear's seiyuu!). But like I said, the undercurrents of question lying beneath the shiny shiny surface of this anime makes it a worthwhile watch for people who like thinking shows. In addition, the soundtrack is also wonderful and I particularly like the MIDI Luke-tragedy which I felt was just angsty enough for the sad parts in the show.
