“We don’t know what the future holds, but let’s all continue to create great stories.”
- Event: Tales of Festival 2019
- Date: June 15-16, 2019
- Location: Yokohama Arena
Full List of Seiyuu from the Event
小野坂昌也 Masaya Onosaka (Tales of Symphonia / Zelos)
斎藤 千和 Chiwa Saito (Tales of Vesperia / Patty)
小西 克幸 Katsuyuki Konishi (Tales of Symphonia / Lloyd)
鈴木 千尋 Chihiro Suzuki (Tales of the Abyss / Luke)
鳥海 浩輔 Kosuke Toriumi (Tales of Vesperia / Yuri)
森永 理科 Rika Morinaga (Tales of Vesperia / Rita)
竹本 英史 Eiji Takemoto (Tales of Vesperia / Raven)
櫻井 孝宏 Takahiro Sakurai (Tales of Graces / Asbel)
河原木 志穂 Shiho Kawaragi (Tales of Graces / Cheria)
植田 佳奈 Kana Ueda (Tales of Graces / Pascal)
木村 良平 Ryohei Kimura (Tales of Zestiria / Sorey)
則子 下屋 Noriko Shitaya (Tales of Zestiria / Lailah)
Secret Guest: 小山 力也 Rikiya Koyama (Vesperia / Duke)
Intro: Every new Tale comes with an Exciting Adventure
The Tales of series is arguably one of the most revered for its incredibly diverse cast of characters, all of whom bring a sparkling zest to the narrative and deliver a wonderful adventure. Tales of Festival 2019 is an event that celebrates the ongoing legacy of this beautiful series, by bringing all fans together under one roof and sharing our love for the Tales of titles that changed our lives. We had the privilege of attending the second day of the event and it all kicked off with an explosive intro that showcased every flagship title opening from each Tales of series, starting from Tales of Phantasia and wrapped up with the more recent Tales of Berseria. A small trailer for the upcoming title (Tales of Arise) was also revealed, which had us pumped up for a brand new adventure. This entire sequence lasted about 35 minutes, which totally blew us away because of how much energy reverberated throughout the arena. Every time a character would pop up on the screen, the entire arena would erupt, sending a heavy shockwave of energy through your entire body, piercing the very core of your soul with love. Girls would scream out “LLOYD!!” or “RAVEN!!” while waving their glowsticks in the air excitedly, and the nostalgic theme songs would have everyone singing along in perfect harmony. To kick off like this really set the tone for the rest of the show, which was very entertaining from start to finish.
Once all of the schedule announcements were made the show finally began, with seiyuu Masaya Onosaka (MC/Symphonia/Zelos) and Chiwa Saito (Assistant MC/Vesperia/Patty) making their way to the stage to explain the details of the show. Shortly after, a short but hilarious special skit began with every seiyuu making their stage appearance and providing fans with a real-life RPG experience. As each seiyuu reprised their role on stage, it felt like a total dream to see our favorite characters brought to life in a remarkable way, leaving such an impact on us even after the event concluded. Characters from their respective Tales of series came together and created a brand new narrative on stage, which was so cool to experience up close. It really conjured up a lot of emotions inside of us both from a nostalgic standpoint, but also just being able to see your favorite characters interacting with one another in a way that no one outside of the event would ever experience. What really blew us away was the surprise guest, Rikiya Koyama, who reprised his role as Duke from Tales of Vesperia on stage and gave everyone a passionate performance. At this point, we could feel tears of joy welling up in our eyes, but we held back because we knew there was more to come!
The following segments were more catered towards fan interaction, along with upcoming events and merchandise that every fan should look forward to. A special entertainment content segment kicked off with a theme focused on “art”, along with a top 10 “Famous lines from your favorite Tales” ranking, which took opinions from the fans beforehand via the official website. This particular segment was one of our favorites because each seiyuu went into detail about their specific line, and how much it meant to them while performing it. It really gave us a brand new perspective on just how much love and devotion these seiyuu put into their work, to ensure that fans receive only the best and nothing less. Each of the rankings from 5 or higher came with the in-game cutscene of the character speaking their line, which completely tore us apart emotionally and the tears just couldn’t contain themselves any longer. 2nd place went to Chihiro Suzuki and his famous Luke line “俺は悪くね～”, which directly translates to “It’s not my fault!”. In fact, this line became an ongoing theme throughout the rest of the show, which made it even more hilarious since the other seiyuu started using it, along with the fans.
First place went to Kosuke Toriumi and his famous Yuri line “選ぶんじゃねぇ. もう選んだんだよ”, which directly translates to “Intend to? I already have.” or “I’ve already made my choice/decision.” For context, this particular scene from Tales of Vesperia was quite the powerful one because this was when Yuri and Flynn were having a deep discussion about justice, and Yuri realizing that justice needed to be dealt with in his own way. He couldn’t come to terms with people suffering at the hands of evil, so it was his shining moment to dirty his hands and take initiative. After the ranking segment concluded, everyone on stage participated in a funny mini-game in which everyone needed to draw an image of what the announcer had specified, and show it to the audience. It really showed just how humble and down-to-earth these seiyuu are but most importantly, it allowed us to see their real side in a colorful and playful manner.
The next major segment focused notable events such as the “Sanrio Puroland Collaboration Event”, which will take place July 28th and features popular Tales of characters alongside Sanrio characters. Terrace Cafe will also have its very own collaboration event a week prior (July 20th), which will feature an original menu with both Sanrio and Tales of characters. All of this was announced in skit form, with Hyangyudon being the main focal point and letting fans know what to look forward to. A Tales of Graces 10th Anniversary Party was also announced, which will feature character designs done by Production I.G. and will take place on November 24th. Others included were Tales of Orchestra ~ BRASS BAND EDITION ~ (Oct 20th), Tales of Tour, and Tales of Tour Petit, that were also announced for November and tickets for these two events have already gone on sale as of June 17th. This tour will include a dinner party, onsen, and a bus tour with all of your favorite Tales of seiyuu tagging along for the ride. Lastly, a live-action event titled ‘Tales of the Stage’ was announced, and the actors for that event came to the stage to provide more details. All of this can be found on the official website!
Performance: A Brand New Tale has Begun!
Once all of the entertainment news wrapped up, it was time to celebrate once again as popular artist BONNIE PINK gave us all a spectacular live performance, which had everyone on their feet singing along to their favorite songs. Our favorite tunes were Kane wo Narashite and A Perfect Sky, both of which were so enchanting to hear live and truly exemplified just how great the Tales of series is. Glowsticks soared through the air and everyone was whisked away into a new world with BONNIE PINK’s breathtaking vocals and the powerful instruments that harmonized beautifully with her delivery. Overall, the live performance really brought everything together and helped to conclude the event in a wonderful way, allowing fans to really come together and share their experiences under one roof. It sort of felt like a Koombayah moment, with everyone swaying from left to right, but it was an unforgettable one for sure.
Outro: A New Adventure Awaits Us!
After the live performance concluded, all of the seiyuu returned to the stage to deliver their final message to fans and encourage everyone to continue supporting the Tales of series. Each seiyuu provided their own final words, with Chihiro Suzuki sending everyone off in a comical fashion with his notable line from earlier. Everyone screamed and cheered before the cast finally departed from the stage, leaving a lasting impression on all of us. The MC thanked everyone for coming and just provided a quick recap of the event before gracefully walking off stage along with the assistant MC, who also said her thanks to her fans. All in all, Tales of Festival 2019 was amazing from start to finish and didn’t stop the momentum even up to the very end. Our hearts pumped with joy, and our voices were lost after the singing but it was most definitely a worthwhile experience that we recommend any Tales of connoisseur to participate in! See you next year!
Tales of Festival 2019
1. [鐘を鳴らして] ( Kane wo Narashite ) TOV theme song
2. [Heaven’s Kitchen]
3. [Last Kiss]
4. [We Belong] Tales of Asteria theme song
5. [ A Perfect Sky ] Shiseido [ANESSA] CM song
Author: Rob "NualphaJPN" B.
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