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silverthunder) wrote2013-03-01 02:44 pm
silverthunder) wrote2013-03-01 02:44 pm
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Tales of the Abyss
I watched the last episode of Tales of the Abyss today - finally. I'd been holding out because Cody and I were watching it together and he wanted to finish the game first, but enough is enough. I wanted to see the rest. So I watched it.
For a game adaptation, it was pretty darn good! Not genius - it had pacing problems that were somewhat similar to the ones I noticed in Sword Art Online, and the character arcs were a touch on the shallow side - but still very enjoyable and engaging. The characters themselves were very likeable, despite Luke being a putz at the start (although the fact that he was such a flawed character might have actually made him more likeable), and the plot was interesting. The action scenes, although a little short sometimes, were exciting and had a nice look to them, and I appreciated the use of spell/action names. Because this is based on an RPG, after all!
Overall, I really had a fun time watching it and would recommend it to anyone looking for a decent sword-and-sorcery anime.
I wasn't quite sure what to make of the ending. It seemed like a happy ending - Luke came back, although he was looking kind of grim somehow - but the music made it seem... almost sad.
What I gathered from the clues hanging about in the episode was that the fonons in Luke's body separated, exactly as the doctor had told him would happen, but Lorelei saved him somehow by shifting him into Asch's body. The fingers twitching first made me think that maybe Asch was still alive, but giving it more thought, I realized that didn't make a lot of sense - the remainder of Asch's soul joined with Luke's at the end of the previous episode, so it seems highly unlikely that he would've been alive the whole time.
So, my theory is that Luke got Asch's body - the color of his hair at end of the series made this seem more likely to me (although that could have been the lighting) - and spent two years becoming adjusted enough to be a whole person again. Parts of Asch are probably still with him, too, which just makes it all kind of strange. That could also be why he seemed so OMGSERIOUS there. And Tear's reaction - "why are you here?" - fits nicely into this.
I would still have liked to see some sort of emotional reunion rather than a kind of stunned silence from everyone, but... well, at least he came back. The music really made me wonder what sort of reaction I was supposed to have, though. Heh.
Off-topic: there's an open invitation to anyone familiar with the series to guess who my favorite character is. Just guess, you'll probably be right. I can be pretty predictable.
If you're interested in Tales of the Abyss, here is the OP video (incidentally, the same song used in the opening of the game, which is pretty cool). The OP is different for each episode because there's a little preview portion of the upcoming episode in it each time. I couldn't find the ED for some reason... too bad.
OP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5UIJ4109uQ
For a game adaptation, it was pretty darn good! Not genius - it had pacing problems that were somewhat similar to the ones I noticed in Sword Art Online, and the character arcs were a touch on the shallow side - but still very enjoyable and engaging. The characters themselves were very likeable, despite Luke being a putz at the start (although the fact that he was such a flawed character might have actually made him more likeable), and the plot was interesting. The action scenes, although a little short sometimes, were exciting and had a nice look to them, and I appreciated the use of spell/action names. Because this is based on an RPG, after all!
Overall, I really had a fun time watching it and would recommend it to anyone looking for a decent sword-and-sorcery anime.
I wasn't quite sure what to make of the ending. It seemed like a happy ending - Luke came back, although he was looking kind of grim somehow - but the music made it seem... almost sad.
What I gathered from the clues hanging about in the episode was that the fonons in Luke's body separated, exactly as the doctor had told him would happen, but Lorelei saved him somehow by shifting him into Asch's body. The fingers twitching first made me think that maybe Asch was still alive, but giving it more thought, I realized that didn't make a lot of sense - the remainder of Asch's soul joined with Luke's at the end of the previous episode, so it seems highly unlikely that he would've been alive the whole time.
So, my theory is that Luke got Asch's body - the color of his hair at end of the series made this seem more likely to me (although that could have been the lighting) - and spent two years becoming adjusted enough to be a whole person again. Parts of Asch are probably still with him, too, which just makes it all kind of strange. That could also be why he seemed so OMGSERIOUS there. And Tear's reaction - "why are you here?" - fits nicely into this.
I would still have liked to see some sort of emotional reunion rather than a kind of stunned silence from everyone, but... well, at least he came back. The music really made me wonder what sort of reaction I was supposed to have, though. Heh.
Off-topic: there's an open invitation to anyone familiar with the series to guess who my favorite character is. Just guess, you'll probably be right. I can be pretty predictable.
If you're interested in Tales of the Abyss, here is the OP video (incidentally, the same song used in the opening of the game, which is pretty cool). The OP is different for each episode because there's a little preview portion of the upcoming episode in it each time. I couldn't find the ED for some reason... too bad.
OP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5UIJ4109uQ