Anime Review: Tears to Tiara (Collection 1: Episodes 1-13)

From the moment I played my first Final Fantasy game I immediately became a big fan of the fantasy genre. Ranging from video games to books to TV shows, fantasy is something I’ve always loved. Tears to Tiara is no exception to this rule. While it hits a few bumps in the road, it is overall a well-made and immersive fantasy tale.

Like most fantasy stories, Tears to Tiara takes place in a medieval-like setting. There are knights, wizards, demons, elves… name a fantasy cliché, and it’s here. Don’t let that turn you off, though. The clichés are part of the reason why I enjoyed this series so much. One could say that they’re tired of seeing these things in fantasy stories, but to me, these things are what define fantasy.

Based on an eroge visual novel, Tears to Tiara is a story about Arthur and his sister Riannon as they struggle to fight against the Divine Emipre. An army of  imperial soldiers is sent to their village with intentions of using Riannon as a sacrifice to resurrect the demon king Arawn. Unfortunately, they simply assumed that Arawn would be on their side, and as a result, they suffer the consequences. Arawn then comes to join Arthur, Riannon, and the others in their quest against the Empire. While hardly original, the story is quite good. Despite some slowdowns and story filler, the show is presented in a way that keeps one interested. This largely has to do with its excellent cast of characters. Each of the characters have their own unique personality, and fans of nearly any anime character trope will find something here.

The series has fairly good production value. The art isn’t quite up to the standards set by anime today, and the quality can be inconsistent at times, but overall it’s good enough that it doesn’t mess up the presentation. The animation is fine, and is many times noticeably better than that of other anime. It’s no KyoAni production, but considering the niche status of this title, I’d say a surprising amount of effort went into its making.

Watching Tears to Tiara is like playing a fantasy RPG. It bears resemblance to titles such as the Tales games, Final Fantasy, Grandia, and many others of its kind. If you’re a fan of such medieval fantasy tales and don’t mind the clichés, then you should definitely pick up this title.

Tears to Tiara Collection 1 is currently on sale and is licensed and distributed by Sentai Filmworks. Also available at TheAnimeNetwork.com.

ENJOYMENT – Despite some issues, still very fun to watch

RECOMMENDATION VALUE – A must for fantasy fans; others may enjoy as well

REWATCH VALUE – Well paced enough to be worth a rewatch

Purchase Tears to Tiara at RightStuf

Also available on Blu-Ray (With new English dub)