Tales Of The Abyss

Tales Of The Abyss is a fantasy anime that takes place on a world where everyone's life can be read from an artefact called the Score. Most people live their lives by consulting the Score for all major decisions. In essence, everyone has abandoned free will and accepts that the Score determines their fate.

Against this backdrop various individuals hatch plots and schemes. Some are merely using the Score to increase their personal power. Some wish to destroy the Score and restore free will. Some want to go even further and destroy the entire planet and replace it and the inhabitants with replicas. Yikes!

The source of the Score is the memory of the planet and all its inhabitants. As long as the memory exists, the extremists believe that everything is preordained anyway. People will make the same the choice whether or not they are able to consult the Score. In order to have free will, you need to destroy the memory and start over again. Well, I did call them extremists.

The story does have a few weaknesses. One is that it sometimes feels very rushed which is unusual for a two season series. Another is that, conversely, it sometimes drags, especially in the first third of the series where the main character, Luke, is a total brat. He straights up later though, and becomes a true hero. It's quite a transformation.