LogFAQs > #936576605

#5 - Yuri Lowell (Vesperia)
You cant deny that lives were saved because those bastards were put down. Youd rather tell those people, Sorry you have to die today, I promise well change things soon?

The third straight main protagonist bites the dust.

I love Yuri. You love Yuri. Everyone loves Yuri. Even people that dont like Tales love Yuri. So while I probably dont need to go on and on explaining why hes great, Im gonna do it anyway.

It doesnt take long to get a fully formed idea of who Yuri is. When hes called to help out with the aque blastia in the opening minutes of the game, he snarks and complains loudly about it, but shows no hesitation doing so anyway. Then a much more fun option quickly presents itself, in the form of tracking down the guy who stole it, and he wastes no time knocking out a couple of knights and breaking into a mansion to do it. Hes not bothered much by his ensuing arrest, nor by his chance encounter with a mysterious girl in the castle, who mentions soon after that Flynn told her to be careful if she ever met him.

So there we go. Hes a nonchalant, mischievous troublemaker who doesnt much care for the folks in high society and who has a good itch for adventure. But of course, theres more to it than that.

Yuri being a little older than the usual JRPG protagonist puts him at a very different place in the typical persons life, and I think thats portrayed well. He has a strong idea of what he wants to accomplish, and of whats wrong with the world and the change he wants to see in it, but has comparatively little concept of how to bring any of it about or patience to figure it out. I think a lot of us can probably relate to feeling that way at 21 (as a side note, it was a bizarre feeling to realize upon playing DE that I am now a few years older than him - 21 seemed real far away during my first Vesperia playthrough).

See, Yuri, at heart, is a man of action, not thought. Hes frustrated by anything thats out of his control. But since he quickly became disillusioned with the belief that one lone man can do anything significant as far as real change, hes reluctant to really take any of that action unless hes sort of forced into it, which, as we eventually see, brings out both the best and worst in him. So he leaves the heavy lifting to Flynn, knowing hes more suited to it, and commits instead to just righting small wrongs as he can. Around this time, presumably, is when he decides internally to serve as the dark knight to Flynns light. Despite his casual attitude, it clearly bothers him that his best friend has always been a little better at everything than him. Although he believes in what hes doing, he probably also derives some satisfaction in his ability to operate in the shadows to fix some things that Captain Flynn, as he derisively calls him, cant.

Unfortunately, this makes for a bad combination when taken with one of his other traits, which he happens to share with Alvin - that tendency to leap toward drastic solutions. Remember those opening minutes of the game? Dude jumps out of a second-story window when called for, rather than just walking out the door and down some steps. Or how about later on, when he slices his own arm open to snap Estelle out of panic following Beliuss death? Sure, both are the practical and quick option, but the common person wouldnt even consider either one. You could make a reasonable argument that Yuri has thrill-seeker tendencies bordering on an unconscious death wish (charging down Barbos alone, etc.).

And all of these qualities lead up to the cold-blooded dispatching of Ragou and then Cumore. Along with being a man of action, he is one of conviction, and once he decides that the world is simply better off without those men, he doesnt hesitate. And hell defend that decision to anyone who asks.

But its not as if hes proud of it, and this is where Yuri really shines. Hed much rather have things done Flynns way, which is probably the biggest reason why hes happy to let him take credit for things that the party does more to accomplish. The more influence Flynn holds, the better off everyone will be. His faith in his friend is full and unshakable. He just doesnt believe its a realistic option in the short-term anymore, and in the absence of anyone else willing to do it, he dirties his own hands to the detriment of himself. Hes well aware that he could become what he kills, and hes concerned about the effect it could have on those around him. The only time his strong voice ever wavers (much credit to Troy Baker, of course) is when he asks Estelle if shes afraid of him, and he freely admits his intention to distance himself from Flynn if and when he needs to. And this downward spiral does eventually present himself with his resolve to kill Estelle if he has to (again, drastic solution) before the rest of the party sets him straight. Good vigilante stories have to touch on two specific dangers (that of becoming a heartless killer yourself and of falling into the tendency of killing when there may be some other recourse), and Yuris does.

Its a tragedy that Vesperias disjointed three-act structure results in his arc sort of ending without a great conclusion. The sequence with Flynn at Aurnion is awesome, but if the whole third act had been devoted to the personal story built up between them instead of the shoehorned, rushed stakes-raising of a giant space monster, it couldve been something really special.

Obviously, though, hes still great enough to deserve finishing this high, especially when you consider his chemistry with the rest of the party. Whether its his banter with Raven, the trolling of Karol, or the wholesome friendship with Estelle, Yuri shows a lot of different sides to himself in his interactions with his fellow cast members, and they go a long way toward making him feel very complete. Hes good fun in battle, too. His fighting style is silly and impractical in all the right ways for a JRPG, and gives him a flair that leads to some of his artes (Dragon Swarm, in particular) feeling memorable.

If his story had been played out to completion, hed have been in the hunt for #1. But it wasnt, so he wasnt. 5th is still pretty damn good, though.

TL;DR: Hes great and we all know it, next ranking.

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