https://www..com/watch?v=xj8Vjd4YKo I have never bothered to read the Hero Tales manga I just never felt the need to dedicate something that sounds so generic. Very telling as it spares no expense in being just that generic. Hero Tales was cowritten by the same creator as the phenomenal Fullmetal Alchemist and yet I fail to find anything standout about this series. Everything begins in what is presumably a fictional version of feudal China or Japan. A kid named Taito is gifted with the fact that he is a living incarnation of a star which allows him to gain powers that he must learn to master. There are seven starborn warriors who also hold the same potential and thats where it brings us to the title of Hero Tales. The story mostly focuses on the members of his group and all of them collaborate together in order to defeat the corrupt Empire and so they are set off on a journey to save their country. It sounds cool on paper but the story execution is handled very poorly. The whole group of warriors on set on a large fetchquest to defeat the evil Lord Kero and a lot of the anime gets distracted most of the time. Its so mediocre that I dont even have to emphasize how by the numbers it is. In a sea of shonen shows this one doesnt do much to stand out. Although I cant say that I didnt have a decent time with their journey as I got a chance to see some plot elements that Ive never seen done before so much of it is just filler in a story that should either reduce the episode count or maintain a steady focus on the serious plot. Studio Flag an unrecognizable studio that Ive never heard of until now helped to animated Hero Tales. There were some nice parts of the animation like character closeups and some decent animation intros I just found a majority of it channeling early Naruto vibes. When I watched the openings for the first time I rather enjoyed their tunes. Rewatching them on YouTube made me rethink my decision. Theyre not completely terrible but there is no way inspired it just feels as its just there to showcase the shows own existence. Nothing really memorable for the intro and the same goes with the soundtrack and voice acting. The plot doesnt hide the fact that the show is your standard shonen. Most of Hero Tales centers around a group with similar abilities creating some decent scenarios for the adventure I guess? Many of these quirky characters just feel par for the course. All of them follow the same basic predictable archetype even our main protagonist Taito follows the typically strong and optimistic good guy hes sort of a combination between Edward Elric and Naruto. Most of the others are technically just stolen from the anime archetype list and they really arent as unique as you might think. Hero Tales doesnt have a distinct personality at all either which is saying something about the shows staying power. How can you enjoy a show it simply serves as a way to check off every single box of tropes? There are great surprises in life this is not one of them. Hero Tales isnt special because it never bothered to capitalize on the success of FMA nor follow up on the amazing story elements of said series with interesting characters or a remotely nuanced setting. I cant even recommend the show based on the fun factor Id rather rewatch something else namely Fullmetal Alchemist. I cant say that I didnt have a decent time with Hero Tales it might be a better alternative for some than another show like Naruto since its shorter but man does it fail to really be special with such shows existing before this one. Believe me when I say that you would have much more fun with a lowbudget show like RWBY even with its average scriptwriting because at least youre getting great action and something new. Hero Tales doesnt isnt exciting even though I expected it to be something good. Sadly I was proven wrong in many aspects and what were left with is a belowaverage anime. Rather than wasting your time with this anime watch The Legend of Korra instead a show that channels the history of martial arts with a better cast fluid animation and a good story to boot.