LogFAQs > #936565950

Moment of truth, apparently!

#6 - Jude Mathis (Xillia)
"You go to such lengths to protect humans, so it's only fair that I become strong enough to protect spirits, too."

Jude Mathis, in many ways, is the perfect Tales Protagonist. That probably seems like a strange claim to make considering theres two more that havent been ranked yet, but let me explain what I mean.

Tales is obviously a very anime series, and its main characters tend to follow a certain anime main character blueprint. Theyre teenaged, male (but probably a little androgynous in their design), idealistic, do-gooding doofuses. Its a good, safe formula, but it doesnt always lead to the most interesting characters. KorShing was pretty much what happens when you take that blueprint and dont alter it at all. Stahn is what happens when you really lean into it and try to make it a strength. And so on.

Jude is undoubtedly cast in that same mold, but hes the best possible version. It starts with the doofus aspect. Instead of being a book dumb goofball that loves fighting and eating, hes intelligent and mature, just with a good bit of social awkwardness and a tendency to geek out about things at times. That kind of personality allows him to approach all of the ridiculousness that gets thrown at him with a calm mind, which makes the few instances where he loses his composure (namely, when something dramatic happens to Milla or Leia) seem more important.

Speaking of the ridiculousness, theres a lot of it in the first game alone. It takes him all of an hour to finish up at school for the day, encounter the Lord of Spirits, infiltrate a heavily-guarded government facility, and fall ass-backwards into a struggle that, before too much longer, involves a war between nations and a terrorist organization from another world. And most of the time, it barely seems to faze him. Which is probably because hes secretly a badass. Hes in a group with a woman that can harness the Four Great Spirits, a longtime battle-hardened mercenary, a ludicrously powerful magic girl with a booster, one of the greatest military minds in history, and Leia, and hes still the one that saves them in tough spots most often. Sometimes its just through quick thinking and situational awareness, but other times its just sheer force of will. During the fight with Maxwell, just before Milla returns, hes the only one that can even stand up, let alone launch an attack and then land a damn powerful punch after a little boost when she does show up. Also, remember when he casually steps out in front of a crossbow and then dodges it by just tilting his head slightly? Yeah. Secret badass.

But, of course, where Jude really shines is his development. The theme of Xillia 1, as Ive mentioned a few times, is the search for purpose. For meaning in life. Jude epitomizes that. Sure, hes a successful medical student and he seems to enjoy that well enough, but its pretty clear from the beginning that its not quite a passion. Its not the reason for his existence. Its the path of least resistance, though, and he doesnt have enough rebellion in him to go in another direction until he meets Milla. And maybe thats also part of the reason he doesnt freak out more about being thrown into fantastical circumstances that, for all intents and purposes, he shouldnt be equipped to handle. It seems like he recognizes that such an adventure is a chance for him to take the initiative and discover his real goals. At first, because he doesnt have a lot of experience with that (and because hes obviously taken by her), he just latches on to Milla, wanting to do nothing more than accomplish her own mission. Then, just when he thought he had it all figured out, she dies, and it all comes crashing down around him. So he shuts down. And people give him a lot of hate for how he acts at that point, but its completely understandable. Remember, as much as he doesnt act like it, hes just fifteen years old. Its a lot to take in. And anyway, it leads to a couple of great scenes when he finally resolves to move past it. He re-adopts Millas mission not just because of her, but because its something hes come to truly believe in. He finds the conviction he always wanted, and it gives him the strength to carry on when she later leaves again.

As great as that all is on its own, what really makes it shine is how perfectly its combined with a coming-of-age story. Rowen pegs him early on as desperately trying to become an adult as quickly as possible. And thats a dead-on description, because for all his maturity, its clear theres things Jude doesnt quite understand about growing up. The side-events with his father are some of my favorite not just in the Xillia games, but all of Tales. Derrick Mathis toes the line perfectly of being a hardass while still making it obvious that he loves his son. The first part of the sidequest has Derrick making a potentially life-or-death decision for a patient and having to explain to a shaken Jude that growing up means often having to take responsibility for hard choices. By the end, all of Judes experiences give him the confidence that allows him to make a similar decision when needed, followed by Derrick privately acknowledging how proud of him he is. Its extremely well done, and brings into the foreground for a little while just how respectable a young man Jude is on his way to becoming.

I touched on the Milla romance in her writeup, but I have to mention again how much I like it. It evolves naturally from what is initially a cute but lacking-substance infatuation and puppy-dog crush and idolization into something genuine and deep, born out of respect and understanding and trust. I really like that, even though it must kill him inside that he knows they can never be together, he never shows it, instead just choosing to appreciate the time they do have as best he can.

This is a good segue into Xillia 2. The appearance of Fractured Milla really throws him for a loop, as one might imagine, and he very obviously doesnt know how to feel about it for the entirety of her time with the party. His pragmatic way of thinking leads him to openly acknowledge that F. Milla and his Milla are different people, but it doesnt make him any more comfortable around her. Its telling that even though her death brings his Milla back, it still hits him hard. Part of that is sympathy for Elle and his general personality, sure, but honestly, the way he behaves around her at times makes me wonder if there wasnt some tiny part of himself that thought F. Milla was his chance to get everything he wanted. It almost feels like hes halfway trying to convince himself as much as anyone when he says My Milla and you are two different people. Thats all there is to it.


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<cite>NBIceman posted [p:936565950] in Iceman Ran... [t:78413187]...</cite> <quote>Moment of truth, apparently! #6 - Jude Mathis (Xillia) "You go to such lengths to protect humans, so it's only fair that I become strong enough to protect spirits, too." Jude Mathis, in many ways, is the perfect Tales Protagonist. That probably seems like a strange claim to make considering theres two more that havent been ranked yet, but let me explain what I mean. Tales is obviously a very anime series, and its main characters tend to follow a certain anime main character blueprint. Theyre teenaged, male (but probably a little androgynous in their design), idealistic, do-gooding doofuses. Its a good, safe formula, but it doesnt always lead to the most interesting characters. KorShing was pretty much what happens when you take that blueprint and dont alter it at all. Stahn is what happens when you really lean into it and try to make it a strength. And so on. Jude is undoubtedly cast in that same mold, but hes the best possible version. It starts with the doofus aspect. Instead of being a book dumb goofball that loves fighting and eating, hes intelligent and mature, just with a good bit of social awkwardness and a tendency to geek out about things at times. That kind of personality allows him to approach all of the ridiculousness that gets thrown at him with a calm mind, which makes the few instances where he loses his composure (namely, when something dramatic happens to Milla or Leia) seem more important. Speaking of the ridiculousness, theres a lot of it in the first game alone. It takes him all of an hour to finish up at school for the day, encounter the Lord of Spirits, infiltrate a heavily-guarded government facility, and fall ass-backwards into a struggle that, before too much longer, involves a war between nations and a terrorist organization from another world. And most of the time, it barely seems to faze him. Which is probably because hes secretly a badass. Hes in a group with a woman that can harness the Four Great Spirits, a longtime battle-hardened mercenary, a ludicrously powerful magic girl with a booster, one of the greatest military minds in history, and Leia, and hes still the one that saves them in tough spots most often. Sometimes its just through quick thinking and situational awareness, but other times its just sheer force of will. During the fight with Maxwell, just before Milla returns, hes the only one that can even stand up, let alone launch an attack and then land a damn powerful punch after a little boost when she does show up. Also, remember when he casually steps out in front of a crossbow and then dodges it by just tilting his head slightly? Yeah. Secret badass. But, of course, where Jude really shines is his development. The theme of Xillia 1, as Ive mentioned a few times, is the search for purpose. For meaning in life. Jude epitomizes that. Sure, hes a successful medical student and he seems to enjoy that well enough, but its pretty clear from the beginning that its not quite a passion. Its not the reason for his existence. Its the path of least resistance, though, and he doesnt have enough rebellion in him to go in another direction until he meets Milla. And maybe thats also part of the reason he doesnt freak out more about being thrown into fantastical circumstances that, for all intents and purposes, he shouldnt be equipped to handle. It seems like he recognizes that such an adventure is a chance for him to take the initiative and discover his real goals. At first, because he doesnt have a lot of experience with that (and because hes obviously taken by her), he just latches on to Milla, wanting to do nothing more than accomplish her own mission. Then, just when he thought he had it all figured out, she dies, and it all comes crashing down around him. So he shuts down. And people give him a lot of hate for how he acts at that point, but its completely understandable. Remember, as much as he doesnt act like it, hes just fifteen years old. Its a lot to take in. And anyway, it leads to a couple of great scenes when he finally resolves to move past it. He re-adopts Millas mission not just because of her, but because its something hes come to truly believe in. He finds the conviction he always wanted, and it gives him the strength to carry on when she later leaves again. As great as that all is on its own, what really makes it shine is how perfectly its combined with a coming-of-age story. Rowen pegs him early on as desperately trying to become an adult as quickly as possible. And thats a dead-on description, because for all his maturity, its clear theres things Jude doesnt quite understand about growing up. The side-events with his father are some of my favorite not just in the Xillia games, but all of Tales. Derrick Mathis toes the line perfectly of being a hardass while still making it obvious that he loves his son. The first part of the sidequest has Derrick making a potentially life-or-death decision for a patient and having to explain to a shaken Jude that growing up means often having to take responsibility for hard choices. By the end, all of Judes experiences give him the confidence that allows him to make a similar decision when needed, followed by Derrick privately acknowledging how proud of him he is. Its extremely well done, and brings into the foreground for a little while just how respectable a young man Jude is on his way to becoming. I touched on the Milla romance in her writeup, but I have to mention again how much I like it. It evolves naturally from what is initially a cute but lacking-substance infatuation and puppy-dog crush and idolization into something genuine and deep, born out of respect and understanding and trust. I really like that, even though it must kill him inside that he knows they can never be together, he never shows it, instead just choosing to appreciate the time they do have as best he can. This is a good segue into Xillia 2. The appearance of Fractured Milla really throws him for a loop, as one might imagine, and he very obviously doesnt know how to feel about it for the entirety of her time with the party. His pragmatic way of thinking leads him to openly acknowledge that F. Milla and his Milla are different people, but it doesnt make him any more comfortable around her. Its telling that even though her death brings his Milla back, it still hits him hard. Part of that is sympathy for Elle and his general personality, sure, but honestly, the way he behaves around her at times makes me wonder if there wasnt some tiny part of himself that thought F. Milla was his chance to get everything he wanted. It almost feels like hes halfway trying to convince himself as much as anyone when he says My Milla and you are two different people. Thats all there is to it. --- </quote>

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