I actually pointed it out in my comment ;)

And I love that Rika caught on it and cared for Liko instead of blindly charging in like some hot-headed trainers would usually do. We can see Horizons' distinct "revolution" here.

Yeah I noticed that and it was awesome. Rika is cool yet kind, a true model to look up to! That scene was definitely a great idea, it's not just about battles, it's also about love, understanding, helping each other grow, and chara depth!!

YES she is!! I ought to mention it in my comment, but yeah I love her design as well (I prefer it over Langley's for example). And agreed! And I'm genuinely glad that she's your favorite character ever, I didn't expect it, I'm happy for her <3
Here, I'll share with you this fanart of her from my folder! I have many more at least as cute as this!

Arland 5 lives in my heart since 2019 when Alanya village was in atelier Lulua’s world map but never accessible

OMG I'm not the only one who noticed it and went crazy about it!! I'm genuinely so glad!! I was looking at the icon of Alanya in Lulua's map all throughout the game and after almost every new scene at the endgame, checking if it became accessible, and I spent a great deal of time praying for an update/DLC making it accessible. Looks like it still hasn't happened. But that made for great memories, actually just that icon was already making me happy. It was the acknowledgement of Alanya. My favorite town. Brittany in France is a sacred place for me because it reminds me of Atelier Totori and Alanya and whenever I go on a Pilgrimage there and visit the harbor towns I would play "The Waves Call My Name" from the OST of Totori on my headphones.
Anyway, same here!

the only tattoo i have is Totori’s staff lol

Oh wow, mad respect!! I don't have any tatoos but if I ever make the move it will be things from my favorite J-RPGs that I appreciate on a spiritual level (including Totori), Totori's staff is a nice pick, I'd like for that main artwork with Alanya in the background to be represented somehow (I have it as a poster), and if "Ophiuchus" could be converted as an image... Actually there would be too many things!! The logo of the Atelier (with the sun and moon) would be a safe pick, but maybe I'd make an edit of the Adventurer's Guild icons that pop up on screen... There would be so much to think about. Anyway that's so awesome that you have that Totori tatoo. I haven't met anyone else who has one.

arland 5 would clearly be set in the eastern continent

I'm not entirely sure, granted that continent had a LOT left unexplored, but it also felt balanced toward its goal story-wise. Sure there is a lot of missing lore about it, but maybe it was more there to enact that distinct part of the story, and to create that "huge sea travel adventure to the other side". I would absolutely love an Arland 5 focused on the eastern continent, but at the same time I would equally love an Arland 5 centered on other things, I mean there is so much potential in all of Totori not just the eastern continent, for example imagine an Arland 5 that continues from where the original game left us, and we are free to explore... the whole ocean!! Brand new continents, islands, terra incognitas, sea creatures, the whole exploration spirit would start anew, and somewhere in the middle of all that we could land on the eastern continent and we would be like "oooh is this the same place as the one from the base game, or maybe it's somewhere next to it, maybe we'll start recognizing it soon!!" and I know I'd be so obsessed with it trying to compare the maps in all their details lol (like I already did in Lulua and others). What I mean is there's so much to do, I'd like the eastern continent to be a part of it but not being limited to it. I'm probably dreaming too big though XD

Glad i made this post, now i know other fans feel the same

Yeeees always! Also I see you already made an Arland 5 post 1 year ago, it's appreciated! Well now I'll know who to call for an Arland 5 fanclub haha

Trails.

You need to play them all in chronological order because it's a single continued storyline.

Nihon Falcom is my second favorite studio but I still haven't played these Trails games, so that goes to say how much it fits for this post. Just so intimidating 😭

A worthy rival. -Pinot Noir

Seriously though, I love her a lot. And I totally ship her with Dent/Cilan (actually the anime is already very much shipping them, so I guess I meant to say that I approve of it).

Best human tsundere and each of her blushes when Dent is just genuinely supporting her rather than seeing her as a rival or bickering back, is an absolute delight and is to be cherished.

Also it always cracks me up when she says "Bonjour~! S'il-vous-plaît~!" as her introduction because I'm French and it's hilarious that someone would randomly say "Hello! Please!" as her introduction because it's fancy or something. Well. I'm all about sommellerie myself. And also it could be considered her chuunibyou so it's fine. Cute and funny.

I'm tempted to say I like her even more than Langley but Iris is my favorite character so I wonder. Maybe at least she's best rival.

I don't know what's my favorite scene with her but I'll never forget in an early episode when she thinks she can appraise a pokemon's bond as well as Dent, she's in that closed booth and Satoshi asks her to appraise his Tepig, and Tepig looks as her in such a CUTE way, and Cabernet is in disarray as she doesn't know what to say (or it is from the cuteness??) and Tepig keeps saying "Tepiiiig~!" being so cute and all, and the last one is just the cutest, and at that moment Cabernet can't take it anymore and starts pestering and stuff. So innocent and so much cuteness and wholesomeness from both sides.

Cabernet has a strong sensibility and is a real sweetheart and her heart flutters for Dent and she's actually passionate about sommellerie (else she wouldn't have gotten this far), I believe she will go far, maybe not surpassing Dent but I can see her becoming an A-Rank Pokemon Sommelier like Dent in the long run (especially with his continued support). I'm rooting for her and I'd love for her to appraise my bond with my team, or to suggest a fine French wine to go alongside my next dish for that matter.

Now we know where the bike in R:Evolution comes from!

I'm in the same situation as you. I've somehow managed to beat chapter 10, but it's been increasingly hard and I felt the new "wall" several times and I fear for later chapters.

I've been playing almost since the beginning (around a month late), maxed out the research, have my characters at level 76 and grinding EXP, have optimized gear and traits (sometimes V-IV), got the growboards as far as I could (I cannot grind for Glowing Orbs IV because I can't get SS ranks on Hard/Very Hard chapter 9+ Score Battles - except red ones and they're useless right now)...

I'm also F2P and I only ever got 1 banner character. My team is: Totori - Rorona - Snow Adventurer Totori - Corneria - Resna. Probably not ideal but I want to play with my favorite characters. I don't have any of the better banner characters anyway.

I will be continuing the grind to level 80 and hoping it helps, aside from that and training other characters to adapt to specific strategies, I don't know what to do either... That's why I'm not a fan of the gameplay of gacha games. I've played several and there is often that "wall" that you reach at some point. Maybe for you to spend more time in the game grinding, or to buy gems in the hopes of pulling new characters, I'm not sure. I'm a hardened J-RPG gamer and my experience is only helping so much here.

Here's hoping we'll both get through the later chapters! Keep at it and feel free to send updates of your progress.

Update: I'm as good as level 80 for my whole team now, I used all my grinded EXP candies and I got all those in reward from the latest event. Also got those reward Glowing Orbs IV's (godsent!)

I bursted laughing out loud at this comment... Hats off 👍

I love this comment so much <3

Yaaaay!! I'm happy to hear that! Enjoy! And if you ever feel like sharing your thoughts or discussing about the games I'll always be here :)

Gust saiko <3

I can vouch for their passion and feelings, from what I could see in their games (played all of their games from PS3 era onwards and a few earlier games).

In the Fairy Tail game they made (which I recommend btw) there is an optional scene in which >! a certain character turns to the camera and literally tells the player that they're a part of the family too !< and that scene alone put the game in my Top 10.

I'm also dedicating my bar to Gust (what with all the drinking antics in the games lol) and I homecrafted giant posters of artworks from the games, I guess it's like a temple to Gust and that's another way I'm showing my support.

But yeah, I second this!

It's okay, we can turn her into a loli again!

All of my yes to this and especially to what you said about Totori!! Totori is my favorite Atelier and I'm the biggest fan of its exploration spirit (that's why I consider Firis to be Totori 2). To get an actual Totori 2 or Lulua 2 or another Arland, would be so wonderful. And I'm a big fan of Kishida Mel too! (Both his gorgeous art and his tastes in drinks, hehe) I want to send all of my love to him and all the devs and composers at Gust too, I love them like family. So this post makes my heart flutter, I dream this could become a reality, and even if it doesn't, it warms the heart that I'm not the only one longing for Arland. I could talk for days about everything Totori and Arland in general. And Lulua certainly was a feat, actual remakes of places from Totori along with new versions of their OST tracks (Decaying Monastery!!), possibly the greatest achievement of your own alchemy in any Atelier (>! literally rewriting the infinity of parallel universes! !<), emotional callbacks to previous Arland games (Totori asking Lulua to brew the Guardian Liquor and asking Mimi to drink it!!), and more...

Heck, if Arland 5 doesn't happen, maybe me and other fans could gather one day and make it happen ourselves via a fan game or something... At least one huge fanfic with a whole map and illustrations and descriptions (and possibly commissioning Kishida Mel to make art for it??) Arland 5 already lives in our hearts <3

Unfortunately it will be impossible for you to forget/unsee. It is too late.

Why not embracing it instead? Make one with the characters, do cosplay, print posters, make a blog, embody the values of the anime in your everyday life. Rewrite your reality.

"The screen turns black, and you're left by yourself"

The only solution that exists is to start your next anime/game/whatever you're passionate in. Fortunately there are a lot of other amazing animes to watch, nothing quite like Chuunibyou, but from the same era I recommend Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko, and Kokoro Connect. You might get similar vibes/emotion from some episodes. Let me know if you need more info or pointers (or other recommendations, I'd have plenty, from the same studio - KyoAni - too).

"Your next adventure is already in sight and you're all set to go"

I love your interpretation!!

I was kind of surprised at that moment too! It felt weird because Nyarote is usually with her, and moreso considering it's such an important moment!

I wished for a hug between Liko and Nyarote instead of a return inside the ball (that was disappointing), especially considering how momentous that was for Liko's chara development and for Nyarote facing such a strong opponent on her own now too

Maybe they wanted to make it look like "Nyarote has to rest", or maybe they just wanted to make that scene with the tears on the pokeball (I was definitely not expecting that). Still, tears along with Nyarote would've been cool. Oh, maybe they did that as to focus on Liko's emotion!

"Anpan!"

Now whoever gets this reference gets a sweet bean bread from me.

Liko's crying here turned out to be her being unable to contain her emotion due to being too immersed in the battle, nothing's saddening at all!

YES!! Glad I'm not the only one who interpreted it that way!

From my comment:

It's not bitter tears because she lost while being serious (imo), it's the kickback of her newfound positive emotions of truly going all-out and enjoying the battle to the fullest. She was in another world for a moment, and it was powerful, and it suddenly ended, so there's that kickback in the form of that emotional reaction. I can understand it very well. That was... surprisingly very thoughtful and soulful of the anime. I loved it a lot. That's probably only my own interpretation, because it sounded like the message was "bitter tears/pain is to be cherished because it means you truly gave it your genuine love without restraint"

Also very much agreed on chara development!! Here again refer to my (lengthy) comment where I go into details, but I thought this may be the biggest chara development yet. We really got to feel it with how Liko was at the end, quite a revolution and shift, it feels amazing!! I remember earlier in the anime me and others were very excited about Liko's potential and "when she will bloom", and we're here!! Well it's only the start of her new path regarding to battles, but it's so exciting already! The anime really uses its length as a strength and takes its time to build characters, I was faithful they were gonna do something like that, and to see it unfold is wonderful.

Great moral on "overthinking" at the start! And I love that Rika caught on it and cared for Liko instead of blindly charging in like some hot-headed trainers would usually do. We can see Horizons' distinct "revolution" here.

Ah, the classic "Use Dig to avoid the other pokemon's AoE attack" strategy, nice!

I laughed at Liko "taking things literally" and looking around, lol. Then Katy just acknowledged that moe trait of Liko, same way we would for the clumsy moe type lol. That was amazing.

I love how Rika and Katy are more about helping Liko with her issues than the battle! They literally pause the battle to check up on her! I know it's the point of a school, but this "therapy battle" is so wholesome! Kind of reminds me of Dent/Cilan helping trainers and their pokemon as a Pokemon Sommelier in Best Wishes, appraising their bond and giving advice etc.

Again the moral on overthinking and worrying/anxiety. Something I can relate to. You want to enjoy the battle but you can't help caring as much as to think of everything in a million different ways!

Also it makes sense that someone with self-confidence issues (something I can relate to as well) would have trouble going all-out for the win in a battle because "Am I allowed to win?" etc.

OMG I love those "Occulture" books so much, I'd be all over them too!

Nyarote is pulling most of the weight of the battle on her own, amazing!! I LOVE all her initiatives and quick thinking.

Katy is calm and collected, but when she gets into the heat of a battle she can't help being hyper/aggressive with her enthusiasm and excitement, I love it! It shows her passion. It's like a kind of chuunibyou, just being yourself and throwing cool lines without caring about what others think!

Omg Penny is the League's IT, that means this takes place after the events of the games!!

As an ethical hacker, Penny should know that it was hacking and data injection from the Explorers, she should already have reported it. Not doing her job, is that lack of self-confidence? (joke, I know it's just the anime's pacing and plot reasons)

OMG the Scarlet Book!! Reference to the games!! I would have thought Violet was the canon version in the anime though. Pokemon coming from the future is more interesting than coming from the past after all.

And even that iconic drawing that I've looked at so many times!!

Even Heather is canon in the anime!! I LOVE how they're making it so accurate to the games!!

Awesome detail, the layout of the lobby's library here matches that of the games, and the book is placed at the exact same spot, that smaller set of shelves at the center!! EPIC!

Acrobatics is one of my favorite moves to use in the games so I like that she learned it!!

That certain feeling of utter excitement when you're caught in the heat of a battle, totally immersed... indeed!!

Looks like Liko still had not quite developed the "enjoying the battle" even though she had the lesson, but now she finally got a glimpse of how it feels like. I hope she will start embracing that feeling more from now on! I still think she was mainly slowed down by a lack of self-confidence. Have trust in yourself and give yourself the permission to enjoy yourself! Something not easily done (I know), and that's why they reflected that "realistic" aspect of life here, adding to her chara depth. It can just be that hard! Some people can't even manage to do it for all their life! Liko is so lucky to have such precious and caring people around her. Maybe that's why we have more troubles IRL - finding such a help can be hard.

"I become one with Nyarote!" YES!!! Shipping intensifies! (needless to say, as trainer-pokemon)

Dang, I really thought Liko could win and was cheering for her! Turns out Rika was always owning the battle with that move in her sleeve.

OMG... I totally didn't expect those tears at the end... :') I teared up with Liko. It makes sense: It's not bitter tears because she lost while being serious (imo), it's the kickback of her newfound positive emotions of truly going all-out and enjoying the battle to the fullest. She was in another world for a moment, and it was powerful, and it suddenly ended, so there's that kickback in the form of that emotional reaction. I can understand it very well. That was... surprisingly very thoughtful and soulful of the anime. I loved it a lot. That's probably only my own interpretation, because it sounded like the message was "bitter tears/pain is to be cherished because it means you truly gave it your genuine love without restraint", a moral commonly shared for romantic relationships for example. I agree but still be careful of broken heart because not everyone irl does the same thing sadly (but in the Pokemon world all pokemons do it and share your love/tender feelings, and that's one of the reasons why I'm such a fan of Pokemon!! Just what so many of us long for, a "family" to love freely without running the risk of getting hurt)

Although... I wished for a hug between Liko and Nyarote instead of a return inside the ball (that was disappointing), especially considering how momentous that was for Liko's chara development and for Nyarote facing such a strong opponent on her own now too... :/

"We were all amazing!!" "Wow, Liko never says stuff like that..." (Liko smiles proudly) CHARA DEVELOPMENT!! :DDD I think this might be the biggest chara development we've had in Horizons so far. Rivaling that of Dot in that fateful episode.

Welp, that was an episode to be remembered. And it also marks the start of a new arc, following the Scarlet Book from the games!! I'm so excited for what the anime has in store for us next.

First, I second the others who said Odin Sphere Leifthrasir. Hardly as complex and long story-wise (13 Sentinels is just something else, might be the most complex storyline ever created), but basically a must-play anyway and especially if you like Vanillaware.

But I'm gonna be daring here, and suggest a personal favorite, that blew me away with its storyline, unexpectedly going very deep and very dark, and that's why I think it can fairly be compared to 13 Sentinels in that aspect, even though it's different. It's the only game I can think of for "another game like 13 Sentinels", and it's:

Death end re;Quest.

A daring game by Idea Factory & Compile Heart who went out of their comfort zone to deliver something new and quite crazy at times. I won't spoil but one part of the game literally turned me crazy for like 30 minutes (you have to be curious about the story and select the right dialog choices to "dive deeper"), and another part was just so dark that it rivalled with what I consider to be 13 Sentinels' darkest moment. It's like a rabbit hole, and it climaxes into a masterpiece. Still not as mind-blowing as 13 Sentinels, but it certainly blew me away with its storyline, characters, twists, lore, unique-ness, dark aspects, and... something I'm especially looking for, that I won't spoil.

Now, if you're not used to IF/Compa's games, it might take some time for you to adjust or get into it, but if you use to play J-RPGs for story, chances are you will enjoy the ride.

The gameplay is more like a traditional J-RPG (with focus on story/dialog scenes, so maybe a tad more on the visual novel side, but there are battles and dungeons exploration too don't worry - if you got into 13 Sentinels you could get into it just fine), with exploration being in 3D and cutscenes being in 2D. 13 Sentinels is 2D too, so maybe that won't be a problem for you, heh. But I feel like I still have to say that it will feel different than 13 Sentinels gameplay-wise. Unless I'm just overthinking it.

Also I have to give you this protip: SAVE often! Sometimes you might get a "death end" by selecting a certain dialog choice. In the sequel you get the option to return to the last dialog choice when you get a death end, but not in the first game, so make sure to plan for that.

And speaking of the second game, it has a distinct identity, like "Resident Evil in a J-RPG", I loved it too, for its atmosphere, distinct dark aspects, unique-ness and boldness, and for its incredible hidden ending that is one of my favorite gaming memories, but for storyline strength and length the first game is still the best.

But yeah, to the risk of sounding niche, that's the recommendation I would make. The future of J-RPGs is bright with initiatives like these!

Anyway, 13 Sentinels is one of my favorite games ever and I'm happy that you liked it that much! The most complex storyline I've ever experienced! Just so crazy and I'll never forget it.

Congrats! Firis is the one I was gunning for and I didn't get her despite going all-in with my saved 16k gems XD
I didn't buy the discount tickets in order to get more coins for pity (even if it takes a while, at least pity is a guaranteed character unlike the pulls).

Wow the two of them in one pull!! Insanely lucky! Congrats!

With Sailor Totori coming up and my pity going for her in priority, I wonder if I'll ever be able to get Chuunibyou Firis. But I must!!

Firis got the power of chuunibyou finally in Atelier Resleriana. Already inspired by Revy as seen in a certain cutscene from Atelier Lydie & Suelle, she was showing potential. Now she has awakened to the forbidden truths of the black arts and will pour out her wrath on all the sinful in her sight!

Her two lines from the Returning the Favor cutscene are a delight, here's hoping for more in the upcoming chapter 11 because I can't possibly be satisifed with this.

Saskia mysteriously said "That Apexi has stepped beyond its natural boundaries, which I simply cannot allow.", doesn't that make it sound like she's controlling the Apexi biome? At the very least it gives another hint about her being the creator of this world. On the next frame Juna says "..." which is another hint that something's up, and after that she even adds "She was exuding a rather intense aura." Of course I don't believe there will be a dark twist with Saskia. But I think there is definitely more to her than meets the eye. We shall see!

And the new dungeon, Garden of Serenity, is gorgeous!! Takes me back to Seeliewood in Tera.

Folder with screenshots from the demo battles & chapter 10

Rebel Against Reality!