Underplayed Gems

Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike (2009)

Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike poster
Original title
テイルズ オブ ヴェスペリア～The First Strike～
Directed by
Kanta Kamei
Genre
animation, action, adventure, fantasy, Action, Adventure
Country
Japan
Runtime
1h 50m
Rated
PG
Rating
6.4 of 10 from 40 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

Two knights in a special corps protect a town from monsters. The film follows their mission and their friendship.

adventurousaction-packedlightheartedsentimentalfast-pacedfantasticalearnestwhimsical

What happens

Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike (Japanese: テイルズ オブ ヴェスペリア 〜The First Strike〜, Hepburn: Teiruzu Obu Vesuperia ~The First Strike~) is a 2009 Japanese animated film by Production I.G. It is directed by Kanta Kamei and written by Reiko Yoshida, featuring the voice talents of Kōsuke Toriumi, Mamoru Miyano, Mai Nakahara, Rika Morinaga, and Eiji Takemoto. The film is the prequel to the Namco Tales Studio's role-playing game Tales of Vesperia and the first animated feature film in the Tales series. Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike revolves around the two knights, Yuri Lowell and Flynn Scifo, from the Niren Corps as they protect a town from monsters with their allies. The project was led by Kenta Kamei who previously worked on the animated cutscenes from the Tales games. He expressed pressure due to First Strike being his debut as a director and also elaborated on how difficult was creating the storyboard. Yoshida was given the role of screenwriter in order to appeal to the female fanbase the series has always had. It was released in Japan on October 3, 2009, as a result of delays in production. Kadokawa Pictures distributed the film. It was released in North America on June 26, 2012, by Funimation Entertainment and in the United Kingdom on December 3, 2012, on DVD and Blu-ray by Manga Entertainment. The film grossed a total of US$941,610 in Japan. Its home media release had positive sales in Japan, with the Blu-ray being one of the bestselling from the year it was released. Critical reception of the film has been generally positive for its accessibility to the non-gamers of Tales of Vesperia as well as the appeal of the main cast and the production value. Nevertheless, it has also attracted criticism for its slow pace. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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