Going into Hero Tales I had no idea what to expect. From the trailer I assumed that the anime would be a collective story about mythical heroes from Japan who somehow come together to fulfill some sort of epic mission. The trailer is somewhat vague. What I ended up getting was something more like Avatar The Last Airbender meets Dragonball Z. Comparisons could more then likely go on forever if I was nitpicking but those two titles will suffice.

Taitou is our star character (no pun intended) who is, but doesn’t know it, the reincarnation of a mysterious star. Being such he was born with a powerful hidden ability that he has no way of controlling. When his home is attacked and a sacred sword is stolen Taitou leaves his village to track down the man responsible. Joining him along the way are his sister (not by blood) Laila and a Monk named Ryuuko. That Avatar thing? Guy is pretty much the savior in this particular world apocalypse scenario and the only one who can stand between a nation bent on control and the innocent starving people of its empire. In any case as the trio trudge along Taitou finds masters to help him hone his powers as well as other’s marked with the sign of the stars. He either learns to do this so that he can defeat the man who conquered his village, the negative opposite of his own star, or  die becoming overwhelmed by the strength of his own power.

Hero Tales is less action packed then you might think it would be and it packs a lot of humor. One particular character, Hosei, the groups archer, is infatuated with Taitou’s sister Laila and almost all interaction between the two is laugh out loud funny. Taitou is a pretty hilarious character himself who flies off the handle with pretty much everyone and gets himself in trouble more times then not. The group is actually pretty likeable from their strongest to weakest character and the predicaments they find themselves in weather it be over food or money often leads to some pretty hilarious times. With that being said you simply find yourself engrained in their daily lives and invested in their plight, especially when they do find battles. Its not the greatest series I’ve seen but definitely no slouch.

Bonus features include trailers, textless opening and closing sequences, and two Star Battle: Special Round Table Discussions. Since I watched with the English Dub I can’t say it did much for me. If you’re a fan of the series or Japanese voice over actors found here you might have a laugh. I believe what was being filmed was a podcast and the cast members were drawing cards and asking one another questions that didn’t pertain to the series that much. If you were like any character who would you be? Who is the most girly? Et Cetera. From what I’ve read fans of the Manga are really excited and fans of Full Metal Alchemist are as well. The series was co-written and illustrated by one of that series creators. As always final judgment is yours. Enjoy.