Tales of Zestiria the X Review Notes (Season 2)

Episode 14: “World Without Malevolence”

• Awe, Lailah and Michael together… fuck my heart.
• Ooh, they found a way to integrate the game’s herbs into the anime. Nice.
• God bless Rose.
• Ooh. I like Sorey practicing purification.
• YAY, LASTONBELL, MY FAVORITE TOWN FROM THE GAME.
• Mayvin has arrived, god bless.
  • I don’t get why he’s open about the “Storyteller of Time” thing, though. That’s supposed to be a secret so he can observe humanity from a distance.
• It’s odd how Sergei’s character has changed from game to anime, and I miss the fun introduction.
  • When we first entered Lastonbell, Sorey pretended to be Rose’s wife to get in, and it was hilarious. Sergei only attacked Sorey because he knew he was lying, waiting for the right time to strike, but afterwards he was chill and respectful towards the Shepherd.
    • Also he went the rest of the game thinking Sorey and Rose were legit married. It was fucking amazing.
  • I do kinda like Sergei being a sad drunk. It’s kinda fantastic.
• Oh right, I don’t think Sorey knows Rose is part of the Scattered Bones yet… odd.
• I will say the cathedral for Lastonbell in the anime is way more impressive than the small church from the game.
• Damn, nice entrance, Rose.
• The new opening’s fine, but I find it odd that FLOW didn’t get the opening like they did in the first season. “Illuminate” isn’t a bad song, it’s just… eh. It’s alright.

Episode 15: “Wind Seraph, Dezel”

• FOOD IN ANIME ALWAYS LOOK AMAZING. IT NEVER FAILS.
• Ooh, they kept Rose’s fear of ghosts. Bless.
• I love the shadow effects they use for them sitting beneath the tree.
• I seriously feel all the stuff from this and last episode could’ve been one really tightly written episode if they tried. Instead they’re dragging it.
• Daww, Sergei apologizing for being drunk and rude. I LOVE IT.
  • YES, ROSE, TEASE HIM.
• Kinda disappointed we didn’t have the Lord of the Land of Lastonbell plot from the game. That would’ve been cool to see with us going underground.
• Grudman and the Blue Storm Knights could’ve been so cool in the game, and here as well. We heard of them in the game, but never met them. Here, they’re just kinda… existent.
• I’m intrigued by this Glenn plot… I don’t quite remember where they took it though.
  • Oh, murdered by Gasparo. Huh. So Gasparo was the stand-in for Cardinal Forton? Ugh, that bothers me to a whole new degree. Actually, what if they made him a red herring, and Forton framed him to cover her tracks? That’d be a cool twisted angle to explore.
• Oh shit Dezel ready to kick ass. I like.
• Okay but “INNOSENSE” should’ve been the opening theme.

Episode 16: “Each One’s Principles”

• Yeah, Edna, FUCK UP THE KNIGHTS.
• I’m loving this music right now. This should’ve been episode 2, not 3.
• I was wondering where all the good fights went.
  • Can we just appreciate how much of a fucking badass Lailah is? This actually ties into how the elements interact with each other in the game: wind beats earth; earth beats water; water beats fire; and FIRE BEATS WIND, BITCH.
• Yay, Windrider exposition. Joy.
• OH MY GOD BABY ROSE.
• “See you tomorrow!” “Come back here!” Edna sends up a giant fucking boulder.
• This is Mayvin’s last appearance and that genuinely annoys me. Ugh.
• Okay, this season hasn’t been necessarily bad so far, but WHY IS IT SO SLOW? Kill me.
• ALISHA. HI, ALISHA.
  • I think before the game came out, there were descriptions that said Alisha had siblings closer to the throne than her, but we never met or heard about them, and in the anime, she’s a legit only child. That’s odd.
    • It’s especially more odd, because in the game though we never meet the leaders of Hyland or Rolance, we’re told they’re actually very young, but there they’re both old men. So… what?
  • At least Alisha has stuff to do this season, and Bartlow’s still a threat.

Episode 17: “Revenge”

• I’m happy Konan has more to do here. In the game, he just got a vague, unexplained flashback.
  • I still feel that Konan should’ve been in on the Elixir scheme with Cardinal Forton. That way Forton has a way to control the empire from within, instead of… you know, erasing Forton from the anime entirely.
• Daww, wedding Rose is adorable. Though I’m shocked she and the others aren’t still at large. She looks exactly the same and didn’t even change her name.
  • I’m also shocked Konan attacked here. You’d think he’d wait til the wedding in his castle, where he could kill them all easily on his home turf.
• When you think Sorey and Mikleo are gonna sit on the same bed all domestic but then they’re on opposite beds… ugh. JUST GO FULL GAY, GUYS.
• God bless any Mikleo and Edna banter.
• God Konan is fucking creepy.
• I wish we got more of a fight with Dezel against Lailah and Edna. FUCK HIM UP, GIRLS.
• Damn, that Sorey scream. I think that messed up Robbie’s voice, actually. I’ll know for sure if his VA gets replaced over the next few episodes, which I’m pretty sure it was.
• HOLY SHIT THAT ENDING SHOT AND CUT. Literally, he got cut.

Episode 18: “Justice at Hand Rather Than Ideal Beyond One’s Reach”

• First off… WHAT IS THIS TITLE? WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?
  • Could’ve just been “Justice at Hand,” but… nope. Guess we gotta have a long-ass title of pseudo-philosophy. Fucking kill me.
• YEP SOREY’S VOICE IS DIFFERENT.
• Okay the body horror with Konan is fucking terrifying and disturbing. My actual god. I still feel this could easily be the end of episode 3 instead of the beginning of 5.
• This is what bothers me: in the game, Rose genuinely believed she was doing the right thing. There were people who didn’t feel remorse or sadness in killing or causing harm, and Rose and the Scattered Bones made it their mission to take them out.
  • For example, there was this guy in the game named Romano who made his business on scamming small businesses. He’d offer them help, only to steal their goods and then claim their assets. He used children to do this, and when he had to eliminate the witnesses, he had them all brutally murdered.
  • Rose is two different characters in the anime and the game. Both are pretty well written in my eyes, but I by far prefer game Rose.
• I don’t mind Rose second guessing herself, but I still feel her approach made her a great foil for Sorey.
• BABY ROSE.

Episode 19: “Negotiation”

• Ooh, we actually get to meet the Rolance Emperor, and he has a name - Doran.
• Okay, so little Berseria spoiler here: I’m pretty sure after Artorius fell, the Holy Midgand Empire - ruled by the Asgard family - fell into turmoil. We know Earl Pen Dragonia then conquered Loegres and renamed it Pendrago, creating the Rolance Empire. Not sure what that has to do with all this other than the Dragonia family knowing of Malevolence and Velvet because of Oscar’s experiences, but hey, I’m a fucking nerd.
• OH MY GOD MAGILOU AND BIENFU. ARTORIUS. AND VELVET.
  • THEY NAME DROPPED VELVET. YES.
  • Still, I don’t see how in this context Velvet has anything to do with Zestiria.
  • VELVET’S THEME.
  • Ugh. History being so unfair to Velvet. If she hadn’t stopped Artorius, humans and Seraphim would all be slaves of Innominat.
• Oh, so if the Shepherd dies, so do the Squires? That’s new to the anime. I kinda like that twist, though.
• Still so pissed they got rid of Cardinal Forton. Pendrago and Rolance got no justice in the anime.
  • And for some reason, Pope Masedra is here, even though in the game he was run off by Forton to Gododdin and adopted the name Slenge. UGH. Seriously, the plots with Konan and the Blue Storm Knights could’ve been neat additions to the already existing plot.
• Okay, the dragon skeleton is cool and all, and visually it’s fantastic, but… WHO THE FUCK PUT IT HERE? HOW DID NO ONE NOTICE IT? I could get Cardinal Forton keeping it here to strengthen the Malevolence, but here it just makes no sense at all.
• Okay, but Rose’s true name means “Rose is Rose,” and Sorey came up with it because it was during a very tense moment. It was a comedic moment.

Episode 20: “Ladylake”

• Ooh, an Alisha centric episode. I’m at least glad they’re trying to give her more time to shine.
• Oh, we actually get to meet the King of Hyland - even though he’s still nameless. God, he does not look all that well. I can see how Bartlow and the ministry have been able to control Hyland without killing the king.
  • Ooh, what if Bartlow was slowly poisoning the king? That’d be a cool twist. But nah, he just sickly. Ugh.
  • “One of my wives?” Wait, did he have multiple wives, or does he just mean she was the last wife he had?
• Still so peeved they cut the Maltran being a Hellion plot.
• ZAVEID TO THE RESCUE. Not sure why he’s here, but I’m cool with this, especially since Alisha and Zaveid didn’t get the proper time to talk to each other in the game (Though Alisha legit never met Dezel - I think she only saw him once, and it was very brief.).
• Okay when I heard “crucified,” I expected nails through Maltran’s body. I know we can’t get that gruesome, but Ian is acting like they went there.
• Oh hi, Lunarre. At least they’re trying to have him be relevant. Maybe he’s just curious about how certain humans haven’t fallen to Malevolence. Not evil necessarily, just crazy.
• Ooh, nice fakeout, Alisha. And I like the way she and her troops snuck into Ladylake.
  • And the outro is playing in the actual episode as buildup for next episode. Sweet.

Episode 21: “Purification”

• So this episode is the game’s equivalent of the Tiamat battle in the game… kinda bitter that got cut.
• FINALLY, SOMETHING HAPPENS THIS SEASON.
• This could’ve been such a cool reveal for Maltran as a Hellion while she’s talking with Lunarre.
• ALISHA TALKS TO HER DAD. MY HEART.
  • Wow, he’s swirling with Malevolence, probably from all his guilt.
• FUCK YOU, BARTLOW. WHY IS THE UNIVERSE SO CRUEL TO ALISHA?
  • Still not sure how Bartlow isn’t filled with Malevolence. Maybe he genuinely believes he’s doing the right thing? I don’t fucking know at this point.
• At least they found a place to put “Rising Up.”
• Ooh, I like the angle of the Squires having to process the Malevolence as its purified along with Sorey.
• YEAH, ALISHA IS HERE TO HELP.
• Okay so while the dragon was purified, it still resulted in death. It’s just its Malevolence isn’t going to hang around its corpse. While that does kinda bother me still, it’s not as egregious as turning the Seraph back to how it was before… LOOKING AT YOU, EIZEN.
• Why is Symonne here exactly? And why is she telling us Heldalf’s plan? Ugh.

Episode 22: “The Ideal World”

• Okay, but why is Symonne here? Nothing she does makes sense.
• I like that we’re talking about the northern continent.
  • Okay, so in Berseria, there were multiple continents. Since then, Midgand, Westgand, Eastgand, Southgand, and Islegand have all merged into Glenwood, while Northgand has moved closer. There was a “Northern Power” (I’m pretty sure they were called the Suraga in official descriptions, but never named in the game.), but they presumably died out when Mount Killaraus erupted. I like that they tried to incorporate it into the story, but at the same time… why?
  • The final battle in the game basically went like this: the gang returns to Elysia to figure out how to beat Heldalf, only to find it filled with Malevolence. We then head to Artorius’ Throne near the village of Camlann, where this all began. I can see going to the northern land as a final battle destination for Alisha’s epilogue, with Michael as the big bad there… should do a video on that at some point.
• “What do I want?” Walks away. FUCKING COP OUT.
• Okay, I like the idea of Michael having a second Celestial Record: one for the public; and one for following Shepherds.
  • Seriously, it feels like they just forced Velvet into the story because Berseria.
• Well, at least all the characters are joining for the final battle, including Alisha.
• Nice using “Calling” to “call back” (HA) to the first season’s outro.
  • They even have the traditional hot spring moment.
• “Well they’re idiots.” “Buncha morons.” “Fools.” EDNA AND MIKLEO BANTER I LOVE IT.
• I like that the Squires are still struggling to Armatize.

Episode 23: “Be Like the Wind”

• I’m a sucker for winter outfits.
• SERIOUSLY, WHAT IS SYMONNE’S FUCKING MOTIVATION? SHE MAKES NO SENSE.
• God at this point the plot is just dragging itself out for as long as it can.
• I do like Rose trying to prep herself for Armatization, and showing what it looks like in the “mind” (If that is the mind? Idk.).
• Okay, Heldalf’s plan to spread Malevolence via the Earthpulse does kinda make sense, but it’s a Lifespring, meaning Earthpulse energy is shooting upward. It’s a struggle to get any kind of energy into it. Meanwhile Artorius’ Throne is located at a Lifepool - it’s much easier to send Malevolence out through there.
• Oh holy crap a fucking ton of dragons. Not sure how they can kill them all so easily, though.
• YAY, ALISHA ARMATIZING FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER.
  • Okay, so in the game, Alisha’s resonance was stronger than most people’s, but it was still weaker than Sorey and Rose’s, so she was never able to Armatize. I’m happy she got to Armatize here at least.
• SYMONNE, YOU MAKE NO SENSE.
  • And she becomes a dragon, because potatoes. And we don’t even fight her. Sigh.
• … welp, Lunarre made no sense as well. Lolbye.

Episode 24: “Northern Land”

• I do like the inclusion of Meirchio. It was pretty important in Berseria.
• I’m happy Grimoirh is here, but her voice here bothers me. Elizabeth Maxwell rocked as Grimoirh in Berseria.
  • Also in the Japanese, she said something along the lines of “Glad to see you’re all not dead.” Ugh. Why’d they have to change that line?
• We haven’t even spoken of the Five Lords - Maotelus, Musiphe, Amenoch, Eumacia, and Hyanoa - at all until now, so… wut?
  • So in the game, Sorey had to go through four elemental shrines to obtain the powers of Musiphe (fire), Amenoch (water), Eumacia (earth), and Hyanoa (wind), but here they just… cut it.
  • Not to mention that while they were called Empyreans in Berseria’s time, they became the Five Lords in Zestiria. This is because in Berseria, the Seraphim - then called Malakhim - were thought to be different from the Empyreans, when in actuality they are the same beings, just on different power levels.
  • Also Innominat has fuck all to do with our current story. He did get a little easter egg in Artorius’ Throne, and they referred to him as the Eight Serpents banished to the Underworld, but WHY ARE WE SPEAKING OF HIM NOW?
• Aaaand Sorey meets Velvet in a dream… and it’s a Scarlet Night… BECAUSE WHY NOT.
  • I do like the Scarlet Night happening, though. I’m not sure why it never happened in Zestiria, other than the writers not having created the Scarlet Night by that point.
  • BUT VELVET’S STORY HAS FUCK ALL TO DO WITH SOREY’S STORY.
• I do like the crew heading out together for the final battle, since it echoes back to Berseria’s cast heading for Mount Killaraus from Meirchio.
• And of course, Dezel dies because he died in the game… ugh. It still doesn’t hold much emotion for me.

Episode 25: “The Chosen Answer”

• Okay, I’ll admit this is a pretty nice place for a final battle, but I still prefer Artorius’ Throne.
• I d like that Rose is the one wearing Dezel’s hat.
• Oh, Maotelus finally decided to show up… why is he fighting?
  • Maotelus became a Hellion after Artorius’ Throne was desecrated, but he doesn’t look like a Hellion at all, and isn’t acting like one. After he became a Hellion, he became this huge black orb of Malevolence that was in slumber, and he bonded with Heldalf (Probably because Heldalf reminded him of Velvet.).
  • OH MY GOD HE HAS LAPHICET’S VOICE MY GOD.
• MY GOD, THEY ARE NOT EMPYREANS, THEY ARE THE FIVE LORDS. UGH.
• Their pronunciation of Camlann kills me inside.
• Well, they had to put the Camlann flashback somewhere. Might as well stick it here.
  • I do like that they tried to have a friendship between Michael and Heldalf to make the betrayal sting more.
• Oh shit they actually showed the nastiness Heldalf had to endure from the curse, including his inability to kill himself, and his family all dying.
• Aaand Zaveid gets the hat. To be fair, he does rock it. At least Rose got to wear it for a little bit.
  • Still not sure how Zaveid resisted Malevolence on his own without a pact.
• THE RAINBOW ARMATUS. SOREY IS OFFICIALLY A MAGICAL GIRL.

Episode 26: “The Legend”

• I remember they made us wait an entire month for this episode… this anime is evil, not because it made us wait cuz we cared, but because WE DON’T CARE ENOUGH. YOU’RE LUCKY WE ALL BOTHERED WATCHING THIS.
• I do like Sorey struggling to maintain this “Super Armatus.”
• Okay, um… what? I think this is based on Heldalf’s dragon form from when he Armatized with Maotelus, but here it’s just… idk, a “Super Kittybeard” form?
• Ooh, THEY’RE PLAYING THE FLOW SONGS, INCLUDING “Song of the Wind.” BLESS.
• I will admit… I did enjoy this fight a little.
• And cue Sorey sacrificing himself again.
  • So in the game (Take a shot every time I say that.), Heldalf was bonded to Maotelus. We had to use Mikleo, Lailah, Edna, and Zaveid as “bullets” for Siegfried to sever the bond and kill Heldalf, essentially sacrificing them (Even though they all survived.). Afterwards, Sorey went into slumber for centuries to purify Maotelus. Here it just appears to be him purifying Heldalf, so… okay then?
  • I will say… nice choice to have “Journey’s End” play here.
• ALL HAIL QUEEN ALISHA. She looks fabulous.
• Still pissed they didn’t have to kill Eizen with Edna accepting the reality. I legit cackled when Eizen went “Edna.”
• I love Rose with long hair, though the outfit doesn’t quite feel… I don’t know, I’m not sure it’s something she’d wear.
• Nice use of Alisha’s DLC outfit here.
• Okay, I actually kinda like Ian and Shiller.
• ROSALI FOR LIFE. I didn’t ship it til this scene.
• I love older Mikleo. I still kinda prefer the game’s ending with Mikleo in the ruins, and we only see a silhouette of Sorey returned.
  • Also it is so weird seeing grown up Mikleo with Sorey not changed at all.
• AND IT’S OVER. I LIVED. BLESS.

Overall:

• So the show is called Tales of Zestiria the Cross, but it’s stylized as Tales of Zestiria the X. I feel they could’ve avoided a lot of confusion by not stylizing it, and just keeping the “X” in the logo with the word “CROSS” over it. Just a thought, cuz a lot of people legit say “X” and not “Cross.”
  • ALSO PUN. GET IT. CUZ HOLY SYMBOLISM AND ALSO HOW IT CONNECTS TO Berseria. HA. HA HA. Kill me.
• The anime’s first season is pretty good. I actually like a lot of the changes they made, whether it be changing how things are presented, or adding in new details. My issues lie with the second half, namely all the cut and changed content.
  • I think for the review I’m gonna just do a very brief recap, then have sections dedicated to each thing that was changed and how I feel about it… oh god give me strength.