The series is a period piece, and the main character is a young man named Taito. He's headstrong, doesn't like losing, but is a skilled fighter. Taito has a mysterious power, but he isn't aware of it because his family has kept this secret from him. It turns out that Taito is the reincarnation of a star that grants him this power that he doesn't know how to master. He also has the mark of Alkaid on his right shoulder.
Taito has a younger sister named Laila, who is not related to him by blood. She is usually seen quarreling with Taito; however, she is also the only one who can stop Taito at times when he's acting recklessly. As the series progresses, Laila develops feelings for Taito.
Keiro is a general in the imperial army and the leader of the Black Wolf Party. He has the mark of Tonro on his left shoulder; Tonro is Alkaid's opposite. One of the major plot points in the anime deals with a sacred sword called Kenkaranpu, and legend has it that whoever unsheathes the sword has the right to rule as Emperor. In the first episode, Keiro steals the sword from the Lotus Temple.
There are also five other divine warriors: Ryoku (who bears the Bukyoku mark), Hosei (who bears the Rokuson mark), Koyo (who bears the Monkoku mark), Shokaku (who bears the Renjo mark), and Rinmei (who bears the Komon mark).
By the end of the first episode, I found myself really not that interested in continuing with the series; nothing really stood out to make me want to see what happened next. Of course, it probably didn't help that I was distracted by a couple of the characters looking similar to characters in the Fullmetal Alchemist universe; after learning that Hiromu Arawaka, the mangaka of Fullmetal Alchemist, did the character designs for Hero Tales, it made sense why I was seeing the resemblance. There were also some spots in the episode where attempts were made to utlizie CG animation, but I felt that the CG just called too much attention to itself and really didn't enhance the image.
When it came to the visuals, I didn't see anything blatantly inappropriate for younger viewers; however, with some of the duels and concepts in the series, I wouldn't recommend this series for that group. Personally, I would recommend Hero Tales to anime viewers who are 13 or 14 years of age and older.
| Hero Tales | 26 | 2007-2008 | Osamu Sekita | Studio Flag | FUNimation Entertainment |
