• Sylvarant Arc: Four 30 minute long episodes released in 2007.
Opening Song: Almateria by Eri Kawai
Credits Song: Negai ("Wish") by Kaori Hikita
Episode 3 only: Uchi e Kaerou ("Let's Go Home") by Kaori Hikita
• Tethe'alla Arc: Four 40 minute long episodes released in 2010.
Opening Song: Tenkuu no Canaria ("Canary in the Sky") by Nana Mizuki
Credits Song: Inori no Kanata ("Beyond the Prayers") by Akiko Shikata
Episode 8 only: Tsui no Kodomo-tachi by Akiko Shikata
• The United World Arc: Three 30 to 40 minute long episodes released in 2011.
Opening Song: Ho-n-to-u-so ("Truth and Lies") by Misono
Credits Song: Episode 9 only: Ta ga Tame no Sekai ("A World for Someone Else") by Akiko Shikata
Episode 10 only: Ibitsu ("Distortion") by Akiko Shikata
Episode 11 only: Hikari furu basho de ~Promesse~ ("At the Place Where the Light Falls ~Promise~") by Akiko Shikata
Spoiler Warning: I am going to give a synopsis of each episode and my opinions at the very end.
Episode 01: Sylvarant Arc
In the small village of Iselia, school children are taught that a Hero called Mithos made a pact with the Goddess Martel, sealing away the Waring Desian people. Over time the Goddess has lost her power, allowing the Desians to regain influence. A Chosen One must now make a journey of regeneration to restore power to the Goddess.
An angel named Remiel descends on the village and names a young girl, Colette Brunel, as the Chosen One. She is instructed to pray at 3 different seals before ascending the stairs in the Tower of Salvation to reach the heavens. Desians make an assassination attempt on Colette, but she is protected by her childhood friend Lloyd Irving using an exosphere crystal (a sort of power-enhancer). Lloyd's adoptive father Dirk (a dwarf) reprimands him for using the crystal, reminding him that Desians killed his mother while trying to take it from her. The next day, Desians attack Iselia looking for Lloyd and the exosphere; in-game it was because Lloyd violated a treaty between Iselia and the Desians by trespassing at a Human slave Ranch.
One of the Desian Grand Cardinals (leaders), Forcystus, challenges Lloyd and is defeated, but not without massive collateral damage to the surrounding homes. The next morning Lloyd leaves Iselia with his friend Genis Sage in order to not cause any further trouble for the villagers.
In the games Lloyd is banished from Iselia.
Episode 02: Sylvarant Arc
Lloyd and Genis catch up to Colette, who is traveling with Genis' sister Raine and a hired mercenary called Kratos Aurion. They enter the Triet Ruins (without visiting Asgard city) and defeat Ktugach (a flaming cat) to unlock the first seal. En route to the next seal at the Balacruf Mausoleum, Kratos trains with Lloyd to improve his swordsmanship.
They defeat Iapyx (harpy) next and unlock the second seal, only to become trapped in the ruins when the Desian Grand Cardinal, Magnius, arrives with a small army. An assassin named Sheena Fujibayashi, and her fox-like pet Corrine, leads the group through a secret canal where she makes an attempt on Colette's life. Sheena is defeated by Kratos and allowed to leave thanks to Lloyd pleading for her life.
Episode 03: Sylvarant Arc
Lloyd notices Colette acting strange, and she admits to no longer needing food, sleep, or feeling pain since the fire seal. They come upon a village being ransacked by Desians and a gravely wounded Sheena trying to protect it. Sheena is once again spared thanks to Lloyd and agrees to help them rescue the villagers taken to the nearby Asgard Human Ranch. Instead of stealing Desian uniforms like in the games, the group instead barges in through the front gate, alerting the entire complex. Raine, Genis, and Colette free the prisoners while Sheena holds off the guards. Lloyd confronts another Desian Grand Cardinal, called Kvar, and learns that exospheres are made from human lives. His mother was a human called Anna (Subject A-012) that escaped and turned into a literal monster that his biological father had to kill. The exosphere in Lloyd's possession is what is left of his mother Anna. Dismayed, Lloyd refuses to fight so as not to use the exosphere further, forcing Kratos to finish off Kvar.
At the final seal in Thoda Geyser, Undine is defeated, and when Lloyd discovers that Colette has now lost her voice, he decides to go back to using the exosphere.
Episode 04: Sylvarant Arc
The group is given enough money from a local church to rent a dragon
ride to the Tower of Salvation (it was free in-game), which Kratos and
Colette use to leave ahead of the rest of the group. During their walk
to the Tower, Raine reveals to Lloyd and Genis that Colette will be
possessed by the Goddess Martel and die in order to regenerate the
world. She kept it a secret in order to not worry them. A Desian
renegade called Yuan Ka-Fai then reveals himself, and because of their shared goal, offers to take the entire group to the Tower via dragon.
Upon
arriving at their destination, Kratos reveals himself to be an "angel" -
a special exsphere user that is part of an organization called Cruxis.
The Desians are also members of Cruxis and supply the 'angels' with
exspheres. The whole 'world regeneration' scheme was masterminded by the
hero Mithos,
who made his allies into 'angels' and literally split the world into
two parts: Sylvarant and Tethe'alla, in an attempt to resurrect his dead
sister, Martel Yggdrasill. Instead of battling Lloyd, Genis, Raine, and
Sheena as he does in the game, Kratos duels with Yuan.
The angel Remiel carries out the right, transforming Colette into an emotionless husk. After a short battle, Remiel dies from wounds inflicted by Yuan while Lloyd, Genis, and Raine escape with Colette to Yuan's base. Sheena then arrives to save the group from Yuan, who may not be entirely on their side. They flee to a room with personal flying vehicles called Rheairds, which they use to travel to Sheena's world, Tethe'alla, in the hope that Colette's condition can be cured there.
Episode 05: Tethe'alla Arc
The group crash lands in the middle of Meltokio (not the Fooji
Mountains) and are quickly surrounded by Papal Knights. Sensing the
hostility, Colette attempts to perform a 'Judgment' attack on the City.
Lloyd manages to diffuse the situation by hugging Colette, just as the
Chosen One of Tethe'alla arrives. Tethe'alla's Chosen One, Zelos Wilder,
takes the group to see the king, where it is explained that the two
worlds compete with each other over a limited mana supply. Mana is life,
and Sylvarant is dying because Tethe'alla is siphoning its mana. Had
Colette succeeded, the process would reverse, and Sylvarant would start
leeching Tethe'alla, causing it to fall into decline.
The king permits the group to travel Tethe'alla in the company of Zelos to find a way to heal Colette. They start by visiting the dwarf Altessa and his dependent, Presea Combatir, in Ozette. Altessa used to work for Cruxis; Presea was one of his former test subjects, and he knows how to cure Colette using a key crest (a kind of frame for the exosphere). However, he can no longer craft one because he intentionally crushed his hand in order to escape Cruxis. Lloyd, having been raised by a dwarf, offers to learn the craft, even though there is no guarantee he possesses the talent needed to successfully craft one.
Lloyd, Colette, Genis, Raine, Sheena, and Altessa travel to Toize Valley Mine to acquire ore while Zelos stays behind with Presea. Zelos then betrays the group by alerting Kratos and the Hero Mithos to their location.
Episode 06: Tethe'alla Arc
By stopping time temporarily, Kratos and Mithos gather Colette without much trouble. Lloyd, Genis, Raine, and Sheena return to Ozette where they find a wounded Zelos and a convict he was fighting - Regal Bryant, tied to a tree. Sheena gathers intel on Colette's whereabouts while Lloyd gets to work smithing. His first key crest is successful in returning Presea to normal, who reveals the only living family she has left is a sister named Alicia in the service of an aristocrat called Regal. The convict Regal, having escaped from the tree, then enters the room and confesses to killing Alicia when her exosphere turned her into a monster. He was found guilty of her murder, and the Pope of Tethe'alla threatened to kill Presea unless he assassinated Zelos. Both Regal and Presea then decide to join Lloyd's group to fight Cruxis.
Episode 07: Tethe'alla Arc
Sheena takes the group to a meeting with Yuan and his second Botta in her home village of Mizuho. Yuan reveals the location of Colette to be on a floating Dragon's Nest. To reach it, Sheena will need to make a pact with the spirit of lightning Volt, something she had tried and failed to do in the past because she couldn't understand what it was saying. Upon summoning Volt, Sheena can't understand its words, but Genis and Raine (both half-elves) recognize the language as elven and translate. Corrine is electrocuted to death while shielding Sheena from Volt, compelling her to finally face Volt in battle. With Volt on their side, and with aid from Yuan's renegades, the group is able to infiltrate the Dragon's Nest base.
Episode 08: Tethe'alla Arc
Inside the base Lloyd is confronted by Kratos, who in turn is confronted by Yuan. Yuan then threatens to kill Lloyd - Kratos' biological son, unless he releases "Origin" - a spirit capable of merging the two worlds. A sudden cave-in grants Kratos the opportunity to put himself between Lloyd and Yuan, shielding Lloyd from further harm. Kratos proceeds to keep Yuan distracted so Lloyd can slip away to find Colette. The group finds her in confinement and kills Rodyle, a Desian Grand Cardinal, to set her free. With a second key crest Lloyd made earlier, Colette is returned to normal and the team escapes via Rheairds to the city of Flanoir, where they have dinner and rest.
"Don't worry. I'll always be the ally of the stronger side." -Zelos
Episode 09: United World Arc
Exhausted from their battle, Kratos and Yuan reminisce about the time
they spent with Mithos and Martel, and how much Lloyd is just like them.
Meanwhile at Altessa's home, Lloyd, Colette, Genis, and Presea enjoy a
meal prepared by a young half-elven lad they met in Flanoir called
Mithos. Zelos, Regal, and Sheena arrive a short while later with Raine,
who had collapsed unexpectedly from the flu. While Mithos takes Genis
out to collect healing herbs, Raine explains to Regal that she and her
brother were born in Tethe'alla to an elven mother, but were abandoned
in Sylvarant. Later that night the group catches Mithos killing his
subordinate Pronyma
and reveals himself to be not just a lost boy, but their (very obvious)
enemy Mithos. He monologues about a plan to end racism by turning
everyone into an angel, thus making everyone the same.
Kratos and Yuan arrive to assist the group with the ensuing battle against Mithos, but it is short lived as Zelos quickly takes Colette hostage, revealing himself to be a Cruxis spy. He leaves with Mithos via teleportation, however, Yuan knows their destination to be Derris-Kharlan, a base in the heavens where Mithos will attempt to resurrect his sister Martel.
Episode 10: United World Arc
Mithos is in a pact with Origin the King of Spirits. As long as the pact exists, Mithos cannot be killed. Kratos, the only one capable of canceling the pact, leaves with Yuan to deal with Origin. The cost of canceling the pact, however, is Kratos' life, but Yuan offers to transfer some of his mana to Kratos in an attempt to spare him.
The rest of the group fly to the Tower of Salvation, battling angelic
forces along the way. Sheena is nearly overcome, but miraculously
protected by a Spirit of Heart called Verius - Corrine reincarnated.
Presea and Regal are similarly protected by the ghost of Alicia. In the
game, each member of the group sacrifices themselves to allow Lloyd to
progress, and are saved in-turn by Zelos.
In the anime, Zelos asks Mithos to make his sister Seles
the Chosen One instead. Zelos then attacks Mithos and is defeated.
Martel's consciousness is successfully transferred into Colette's body,
much to Martel's dismay.
Episode 11: United World Arc
Martel voluntarily leaves Colette's body at the exact moment Kratos
breaks the pact with Origin. Feeling betrayed by everyone he cared
about, Mithos launches a full assault on the party before attempting to
wipe out all life by destroying the mana. Mithos is subsequently slain,
dissolving the Tower of Salvation. Origin then presents Lloyd with the
"Eternal Sword" - a blade capable of manipulating time and space, that
he uses to merge the two worlds into one. A Great Tree that will supply
the world with unlimited mana is grown and named by Lloyd. The name
Lloyd chooses is never stated in game or in the anime, but presumably it is
"Yggdrasill" after Mithos and the World Tree from Norse mythology.
Lloyd spars with Kratos one last time and surpasses him. The two hug before Kratos leaves to climb what remains of the Tower of Salvation in order to return to Derris-Kharlan, where he plans to cast the Cruxis's supply of exspheres into space.
Zelos visits his sister Seles while Presea and Regal visit Alicia's grave and make plans to rebuild the new world. Sheena is made an ambassador between Tethe'alla and Sylvarant, and says her goodbyes to Verius who cannot physically remain by her side now that he is a spirit.
Raine and Genis decide to travel the new world, but will always consider Iselia home. Lloyd and Colette continue to live in Iselia and occasionally hang out with Zelos and Sheena.
Thoughts
Tales of Symphonia the anime suffers from the same problem that plagues
most video game adaptations in that the writers are expected to condense
anywhere from 30 to 100 hours of gameplay into just a handful of
episodes which then end up feeling simultaneously dense and rushed when
they have to cut whole character arcs
and summarize major events. This also leaves little room to fully
explain the world and lore as much as they should; Sylvarant is said to
be dying, but the viewer never gets to
actually see that or learn what it means to live in Sylvarant by the
time the characters get to Tethe'alla. There's no clear glimpse into
what makes
the worlds different, or the problems they share with racism. That said,
many of the compromises the animated series made were sensible, such as
skipping whole towns without much relevance to the main plotline and
ignoring most of the summon spirit battles which would have gotten
monotonous after a while.
But why directly adapt the game's
storyline in the first place? Why not create an entirely new story set
in the same world, or one centered around Kratos' past adventures with
Mithos and their party? Is Symphonia's main storyline even interesting
enough to warrant an animated series? I would argue the characters and
their lives in their fantasy world are what has made Symphonia the game so
memorable, and therein lies the rub. The animation focuses almost
exclusively on the main plot, ignoring or condensing most of the
character arcs and interactions. A few scenes, like Lloyd and Kratos
final farewell, were much more emotional and impactful than how the game
handled it. But then you have characters like Raine and Genis who very
easily could've had an emotional arc on par with Lloyd and Kratos' had
the anime bothered to include their backstory. Instead they are shoved
into the background for most of the runtime and largely ignored until
the final episodes. Many of the characters felt 'off' to me as well,
such as Lloyd, who was a little less likable and much more ditzy than
his video game counterpart. A scene where Lloyd deliberately uses hot
coffee to test a hunch he has about Colette's diminishing senses for
example, was changed so that he now finds out purely by chance. Kratos
was another character that suffered from the rewrites and cut
interactions; now coming off as colder and more detached. Little things
like him asking Lloyd why he duel-wields, and his quiet disbelief at
Lloyd's answer of "if one sword has a power of 100, then using two swords would make it 200", has been replaced with the much more generic "why do you fight"
anime line. That said, the emotions and themes that truly matter come
through intact, such as Colette's wholesome friendship with Lloyd and
Lloyd's strained (but still loving) relationship with his biological
father.
From a production point of view the animation is decent, with the
difference in style from Sylvarant to the United World arcs marking an
interesting chance to see the development of ufotable as a studio. The
Tethe'alla arc gets a noticeable quality boost followed by the United
World arc, which looks like a modern production with crisp lines,
brighter colors, and smoother movement. Personally I think Tethe'alla
was the best of the three arcs in their approach to writing, while the
United World arc had better art and animation consistency. I don't know
if I would pay to see what is essentially a very streamlined version of
the video game's narrative, but just within the last couple of months "Tales of Symphonia: The Animation" has gone up on Bandai Namco's official YouTube account in its entirety for anyone to watch for free.
Have you seen Tales of Symphonia: The Animation or played the game it is based on? What were your thoughts?
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