#zagi tales of vesperia

[satan-is-a-furry]

Tales of Vesperia more like Tales of Gender Envy holy fuck

[b0tsbby]

Tales of Vesperia’s lost: Zagi as a misunderstood antagonist

Spoilers for the Definitive Edition of Tales of Vesperia!

Disclaimer: This is my opinion on evidence and lore found in the game. This is not a comprehensive guide on how to view the game or it’s characters. I just live here.

Up in the abandoned halls of Tarqaron, my first thought when seeing a barely standing, Blastia poisoned Zagi was “I’m going to miss him”. It was almost a joke at first. After so many fights with him, I got used to having Zagi show up in the most obscure places. He was weird, sure, but he became such a constant of the team’s journey. I could always count on him to show up, eventually.

It was only after my last fight with Zagi that those words started to mean a little more to me. For the first time, it clicked. He wasn’t ever coming back. For the first time Zagi was truly gone.

And I have issues with how the following scene played out. It felt so dismissive to hear Yuri and the others reduce Zagi to simply being ‘crazy’. It felt like something was missing, like an entire plot point or development was shoved under the rug, kinda like Raven’s pretty rushed reunion upon Heracles.

That’s when the skits that followed with Raven, Rita and Judith really solidified it for me. Zagi, beyond what was initially just another inconvenience for Yuri, is a tragic character. A character that meant a lot more to the themes of the game then it let itself realise.

Okay so, there’s not much we learn about Zagi’s background, and his path in game is somewhat sporadic. First we can deduce at some point he was in leagues with Leviathan’s Claw, working as an assassin to take a hit on Flynn where he meets Yuri instead. We see him again on Ragou’s ship, where for some reason, his ties to Leviathan’s claw are broken and he now works under Ragou and Barbos. We meet him again on his own in the Coliseum, aboard Heracles and finally Tarqaron. The most logical deduction is after Zagi’s meeting with Yuri, the assassin deflects from his former guild and mission entirely to pursue Yuri. Every choice he makes from then on, even the alteration of his body with Blastia, is for Yuri.

I’m gonna backtrack a little to talk about the other character that I feel Zagi behaved as a character foil to, that character being none other than Yuri himself. Morality, justice and the weight of one’s choices are some of the big themes that drive Tales of Vesperia’s narrative, and murder as a resort is not one too steep for both the story and Yuri, though Yuri is still at a stage where he feels the burden of death upon him. Murder is a last resort and he doesn’t actively enjoy having to take Cumore and Ragou’s lives. It’s this blood on Yuri’s hands that drives him to isolate and think less of himself. It’s these choices he’s made that way so heavily on him, making him believe he’s better off facing the world alone and not accepting the trust and support of Brave Vesperia and co.

And it’s in Yuri that we can understand Zagi better. There’s no mention of how or why Zagi became an assassin or how he came to realise he’s so good at carrying out the role. In the end though, he is one. There’s a lot of blood on Zagi’s hands and Yuri only serves as a small window to what effect that may have on him.

Furthermore, Zagi’s alone as far as we know. There’s not a single mention of another character he could be fighting for, or someone who maybe drove him to this path.

To put it all together, I believe in two possible instances regarding Zagi’s past:

One, he’s a character unfortunate enough to have had to make similar choices as Yuri, but alone. The guilt and possible trauma of it all could have been too much for him to handle, turning fighting and the act of killing, the very things that broke him, into some twisted, unhealthy coping mechanism. Realising he’d never be accepted again for the choices he’s made, Zagi resorted to putting meaning into this singular act, becoming exceptional, and making it his sole reason for being.

Then there’s two, perhaps Zagi was just ‘crazy with power’ , like the game suggests, from the start. Maybe the thrill of fighting is just something he’s always enjoyed (sounds like a character I’ve already mentioned). Maybe it had all been Zagi’s prime interest from the start, so much so that he became exceptional at fighting. Too exceptional.

So in a world where Zagi was viewed more as a threat for his talent or interest, with no else to turn to, he turned to a life where his existence would be valued, accepted. The life of an assassin.

But that’s all speculation, of course.

Let’s take a look at those respective skits again, starting with Rita and Judiths’s in “Zagi - Part 2”.

Where the brunt of Zagi’s misunderstood character lies ,I think, is in this loneliness. He has nothing left to put meaning into besides fighting. It’s brought up after his last encounter, and not just in the skits. I found it interesting how even Rita here, draws a parallel between her obsession with Blastia and Zagi’s obsession with , well, his work. They’re both characters with incredible talent, and they’re both characters who seemingly know how alienating it is to be talented, to be too good at something. The joy of being the best at what you do can only last for so long, before one craves a challenge again, or more so in this case an ‘equal’ .

We get more talk about this whole idea of equals in ‘Zagi’s End’.

I’m glad Raven brings up the other antagonists in this skit, specifically making a point of how Zagi is different. Zagi’s the unfortunate case out of the three that found his equal (In Yuri) but his equal ‘turned out to be his enemy.’ The skit goes on to explain his cryptic statement.

So Raven’s specifically talking about friends or allies. Friends strong enough to ‘keep their power from distorting them’. People who’ll support and simultaneously keep you in check. (This distantly referencing the very close relationship Yuri and Flynn have).

It’s safe to say then that Zagi’s simply never had that, or hasn’t had that in a while. Companionship, love and friendship are things he’s clearly never experienced for a long time, and things he’s clearly forgotten how to pursue. So Zagi cherishes the distorted affection he has for Yuri, his ‘equal’, because it’s the closest thing he’s felt to companionship in years.

Zagi to me, represents a sort of ‘what-if’ Yuri that simply had to face the world alone, a Yuri corrupted by the weight of his choices. A character so far gone that longed for something he’d tragically never have or experience.

Gonna end off with my favourite quote from ‘Zagi’s End’:

I think everyone in the team has dealt with their fair share of loneliness, heck, it’s the only link between all their pasts! So I especially got emotional when Raven said this.

The world can be cruel, and each one of them will have to make difficult decisions, have to face inner demons, if they haven’t already. But they’ll be alright. They have love. They have each other.

[tales-of-sweets]

I am always very surprised that people still read "With Friends Like These" (my canon rewrite of Zagi's last scene) and honestly, if I knew people would be touched by it or care about him in that way I would have put in more effort than a typo riddled fic I wrote and uploaded at 3 am while half asleep lol 😅My biggest regret lol I am working on a big project right now for my other fandom, but after I'm finished I am going to rewrite that fic with more love, care, and detail as Zagi deserves <3 Of course, I will still leave the original one up too, though I will finally correct those typos that have been in there for like... a year almost I think? lol I also have some other half-finished Zagi-centric fics to post. Such as some involving my AU where Estelle is his sister (including a basically finished one that's been in my drafts for over a year), some with Yeager and the gang, and of course the next installment in Tides That Turn (backstory fic).

[crestfallencrest]

All he wants is friendship :)

[transflynnscifo]

Illustrations from Estelle's novel: 金の満月 (rough translation: Gold Full Moon) (also on imgur with the other novels)

drawn by Atsuko Nakajima (中嶋 敦子)

[wefft]

[yells-of-the-not-so-danged]

Schwann: I wonder what i taste like...

Alexei: I am not helping you with that

Zagi bursting in through the window: I CAN!!

[hopeisour4letteredword]

hot mess city

[ID 1: A one-panel image of Flynn Scifo and Sodia from Tales of Vesperia, colored in grey scale. Flynn and Sodia are seen from above, lying on a bed, covered up to their waists with the sheet. Flynn is flat on his back and turned slightly away from Sodia, eyes closed. He looks tired. One arm is across his own waist and his other arm lies along his side. Sodia is curled up next to him, one of her arms wrapped around Flynn’s and the other hand reaching up to touch his face. She is pouting. Top text over the image reads, “this could be us” and the bottom text reads, “but you’re not the perfect idealized version of yourself i had in mind before we started talking” ID 2: A one-panel comic with characters in white on a red gradient background. Yuri and Zagi from Tales of Vesperia are depicted full-body, shaded in pink. Yuri dives at Zagi with his sword, hair whipping around himself and expression grim. His eyes are shadowed. Zagi, dodging under him, looks gleeful and is blushing. The tip of Yuri’s sword is the focus of dynamic lines and the gradient background. A text post from tumblr user koideres is outlined at the top of the panel, and reads, “guy who keeps trying to make u wanna kill him bc he finds your bloodlust hot” ID 3: A one-panel image of Patty Fleur and Yuri Lowell from Tales of Vesperia, with flat-colors on a pink gradient background. Yuri is shown from the knees up, one hand on his hip and the other lifting Patty up to eye-level by the back of her coat’s collar. He looks annoyed. Patty, dangling, has pink hearts floating around her head as she shoots finger-guns at him. She winks as she speaks a tweet by twitter user OmeoMusic, which reads, “ur ex and u didn’t work out cause ur meant for me lmao wussup” /End ID]

[myachiart]

ZAGI from ToV DOODLES, sorry my caps lock was stuck. I honestly don't think I can dislike drawing Zagi; if I were to commission someone, it'd definitely be fanart of him. oh and Kayn from League of Legends is here, too. I couldn't tell you what he said to get that look in response.

[tales-of-asteria-rips]

[ormspryde]

Echoes of the past

This week's chapter of Echoes! I'm too tired to summarize it because I've spent at least 28 hours writing this weekend, but there's a bit at the end that's pretty much just me mooshing Duke and Rita together and going ADOPT EACH OTHER DAMMIT

[satan-is-a-furry]

Gay ass

[b0tsbby]

This is a safe space for Zagi from the 2009 hit JRPG Tales of Vesperia and his stans because there’s actually a lot to his character and he was done so dirty. One day I’ll write my essay and we as civil individuals will debate

[tales-of-sweets]

Zagi's Tragic Need For Validation

I don't think that Zagi became obsessed with Yuri the moment he met him or that an interesting fight alone was what motivated him to chase Yuri the ends of the earth. I believe he was out for Yuri's blood, yes, but not for blood's sake but instead because of what it symbolized... This is a headcanon/interpretation that I've probably talked about a million times before, but I'm thinking about it again! Since it chronologically references the events of the game and includes sources/examples it's pretty lengthy so I'll put it under the cut!

The first time he meets Yuri he's on a job and, while it seems to be the first worthwhile fight he's had in a long while, he leaves willingly when he's called to retreat (well, willing in the sense that this is the only time we ever see him retreat mid-battle while he's still in perfect fighting condition).

The next time we see him he's on yet another job, eager to kill "something", his choice of words even with Yuri right in front of him and they seem to recognize each other.

Zagi doesn't actually seem to acquire any fixation on Yuri at all until after the second battle, specifically after he's defeated... and Yuri compliments him. Even after what we can clearly see Zagi believes is a failure on his part (worth noting that in the official translation he says "...I-I retreated..." instead of "...I-I'm finished..." even though they both convey a similar feeling.)

From this point forward, we never see him taking another job or working with Leviathan's Claw. Hunting down Yuri appears to have become his full time fixation. Zagi to me seems like an incredibly lonely man. He is isolated by his own abilities and his inability to relate to others in a meaningful way. He has reached a level of skill that few can comprehend, let alone match (things that are corroborated by this skit here:

He takes pleasure in killing and victory but has not known the rush nor the bond of a fair fight in so long. For all of his hooting and hollering about wanting to kill Yuri, I don't think that's exactly what he was truly getting out of this whole thing. I don't think that's actually what he was chasing. That was the first time he'd found someone on his level and that was the only time Yuri ever complimented him so to me it seems like what he's really chasing is that same high of validation. A connection. He wanted Yuri to come at him with full force, to find joy in their fights as he did, to connect with him... but he only got that the one time. All future instances involved Yuri dismaying at his presence, swatting him off like a pest, fighting him only to remove him as an obstacle. So many of his lines feel like validation seeking, not only in the form of wanting friendship, but more in the way of just wanting to be recognized period. For example:

He tried to make himself stronger, augmented himself, taunted him, but there was always some bigger issue that held Yuri's attention, something greater than him. To me, that played a huge role in why, in the end, he had to make himself Yuri's priority even if it meant destroying himself in the process. While the whole "you can't break the seal without my arm" bit is a little contentious (poor wording? an outright lie? mistranslation?), the truth of the matter is that, in a last ditch effort, he made himself Yuri's number 1 priority. He was now an important part of his quest, not just an annoyance to be brushed aside. Yuri had to take him seriously now.

And when, at last, he was defeated, he thought maybe then Yuri had seen his value and worth, that at last their fight had resonated with him.

Of course we all know how that ended. While I have many issues with the way this ending was handled, I think we get some interesting insight from it that I believe lends some credence to this interpretation:

I think it's worth nothing that almost everyone expresses some sort of sympathy and understanding towards Zagi in the end, except for Yuri. While it is a very valid and plausible interpretation to think that Yuri still doesn't care even after his death, I personally choose to consider the fact that Yuri, as we have seen time and time again, is not very upfront with his emotions and is not always the quickest to admit when he's wrong. I think he could see the tragedy of the situation, I think he could recognize that he really hadn't understood Zagi's intentions, and it's my personal theory that that's precisely why he took a more forgiving approach when confronting Duke in the end. I cannot, in any way, fault Yuri for not stopping to befriend the guy who, for all intents and purposes, seemed intent on killing him. But I also can't help but see the tragedy of the situation from Zagi's perspective. Raven states that something changed after Zagi met them. While it's hard to imagine him as an upstanding citizen or pleasant person to begin with, he probably wasn't always like this.

Raven lends a little more insight too, one of the skits following his demise:

Yuri, Duke, the Don (not shown in the screenshot, though Raven does reference him and Belius), they were held together by the bonds they shared with people who understood them. I think there could have been a chance for Zagi to have turned things around, not let his obsession with Yuri consume him to this degree. Hell, I don't even think it's improbable that he could have become an ally, put his energy into something more productive (as Yuri put it several times over). I don't think Zagi was always doomed to this fate, I think he just met the wrong person at the wrong time.

[luciftixs]

fem!zagi but in a "bamco doesnt know how to give women adequate clothing" kinda way

[kilfeur]

Tales of Vesperia memes

Me

Search for the aqua blastia that was stolen Save the princess

I am a healer but

When Yuri commits a murder

Let the Vesperia guild take care of the mess. Appear at some points and be cryptic, then give the sword to Yuri The cataclysm is coming!

Well done to you all, but Estelle is in another castle.

Rita with Estelle, Rita with others

Aren't you dead?! You asshole!

Only 5000 gald ? I'm worth more than that !