Anime Review: Tears to Tiara (Collection 2: Episodes 14-26)

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

In my review of Collection 1 of Tears to Tiara, I praised the series for having an excellent, albeit cliché, fantasy setting/plot with a diverse array of characters. These qualities continue to express themselves in Sentai Filmworks’ release of Collection 2 of the series. Containing the final 13 episodes, this release is one that fantasy fans will not want to miss out on, especially those who enjoyed Collection 1.

The second half of Tears to Tiara starts out with a bang: a castle siege scene that spans across five episodes. It’s hard to imagine how the producers managed to keep a good pace with it spanning across this many episodes, but they did a great job of it. The battle is exciting, full of plenty of explosions, swordfights, and even some good plot development.

Unfortunately, the later episodes have some downsides. There are some episodes that are almost entirely devoted to flashbacks. These flashbacks, while they are significant to the story, drag on very slowly. Much of what happens in these scenes is a lot of talking, with nothing really exciting going on. It seems clear that these episodes were added simply to fill the 26-episode quota. While these flashback scenes are necessary, they definitely could have been a lot shorter.

Fortunately, things do pick up again in the final episodes. Everything that I love about the “epic”-ness of a final boss fight in an RPG is well presented in the show’s finale. I was a little disappointed with how the story resolved, but it’s such a small detail that’s it’s not worth being nitpicky about, especially considering how much I enjoyed the series overall.

Everything that I mentioned in my Collection 1 review regarding the show’s characters and production value remains consistent throughout Collection 2. The animation, while far from perfect, does remain a small step above that of many other anime we see today. The battle scenes continue to be exciting, and deliver some great entertainment. The diverse cast of characters continues to promise that fans of almost any character trope will find something they like.

As mentioned in my previous review, Tears to Tiara is perfect for fantasy and RPG fans. If you’ve been a fan of the Final Fantasy or Tales of series of games, you will certainly find that this show is well worth watching. This is also true if you’re a fan of fantasy anime titles such as Utawarerumono, Tower of Druaga, and .hack. I’m glad that Sentai Filmworks decided to release this series, giving US buyers a chance to enjoy it. It’s certainly a nice treat that is great for fulfilling a fantasy fan’s craving for a great RPG-esque story told in anime form.

Tears to Tiara Collection 2 is currently on sale and is licensed and distributed by Sentai Filmworks. Also available at TheAnimeNetwork.com.

ENJOYMENT
Awkward pacing at times, but still overall very fun to watch

3/5

Purchase Tears to Tiara at RightStuf

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