open/close all folders
Main Characters
Veigue Lungberg
''"CLAAAAAIIIRRREEE!!!!"
Voiced by: Nobuyuki Hiyama
The slightly antisocial Huma hero of Tales of Rebirth. Veigue is a distant person of few words, but he softens up when around his childhood sweetheart Claire. Having grown up in Sulz, a village that treated Huma and Gajuma as equals, he is unaware of the racism that runs outside of his home. He possesses the Force of Ice.
- Big Brother Mentor: He has a lot of moments in the game where he acts like this mainly towards Annie who hates Gajumas. He does his best to give her advice and make her see that Humas and Gajumas are all the same.
- Blue Oni: His sullen and taciturn persona is presented as a contrast to both Mao and Tytree's sunny dispositions.
- BFS His sword is exceptionally large by Tales protagonist standards.
- Cruel Mercy: Does this to Saleh. After Saleh's final defeat in battle, he wanted Veigue to finish the job, but Veigue — deciding that Saleh wasn't even worth killing — ignored him.
- Deadpan Snarker: Especially towards Tytree. He repeatedly points out how talkative Tytree can get.
- Demoted to Extra: He's the frigging hero of Rebirth, yet he's mostly not included in spinoff games while his friends get in first. Case in points: Radiant Mythology 1 and Versus.
- Defrosting Ice King: He starts off very cold and taciturn, but slowly warms up to the party and lets his emotions show.
- Determinator: When it comes to rescuing Claire. Mao and Eugene often have to get angry at him just to make him rest or take a break from trying to rescue her.
- Flanderization: His original characterisation was The Stoic, but fandom tends to remember him as "that guy who yells "CLAIREEEEEEEEEEE!!!". This quickly reached Ascended Meme status, and in every Viva! Tales Of omake video, his original character is completely replaced by "yelling Claire's name a lot". See here
. - Happily Adopted: Though it takes a long time for him to admit to it, Marco and Rakiya have definitely acted as his parents since his died when young, though he insists on just calling them his uncle and aunt until near the end. But even if he doesn't admit it until then, he's obviously very happy with them as his parents and they treat him very well, standing up for him towards the villagers off-screen when his Force first appeared and he accidentally froze Claire.
- An Ice Person: Though his force of ice is actually counted as water elemental in the game. He gets a couple of wind and light Altered Artes when equipped with the appropriate spirit talisman.
- It Has Been an Honor: He tells Tytree as much during the final dungeon.
- Like Brother and Sister: When Tytree calls Claire his girlfriend, Veigue claims she is simply a childhood friend who later became his family. However, there are plenty of hints that their feelings may actually be romantic.
- Loners Are Freaks: His tendency to keep everything to himself leads to his Force going out of control and making Claire feel terrible. Tytree even notes that punches are the only way to get through to Veigue.
- Love Makes You Crazy: Deconstructed. The "Freaky Friday" Flip between Claire and Agarte puts strain on his mind, causing him to find differentiating the two difficult. This leads to his Force going out of control and prompts his friends to beat some sense back into him. Once it's over, Claire runs off in order to avoid hurting him anymore. Which just makes it worse.
- Memetic Mutation: His Say My Name tendencies almost rivals Suiseiseki. Well, almost... Also? If the PSP port's bonus DVD is anything to by, his friends treat it as an in-universe example.
- Mighty Glacier: His attack and defense are both high, but his attack speed and FG recovery are lower than the rest of the party. One of his refining skills that increases his speed can turn him into a Jack of All Stats.
- Optional Boss: He makes an appearance as a cameo boss in Tales of Graces.
- Punny Name: His name is a play of the word 'Vague'.
- Reused Character Design: Mao notes his resemblance to Woodrow/Garr (who was also designed by Mutsumi Inomata) in the "Dramatic Peach Pie" DVD. In the remake of Tales of Destiny, there's a sidequest where people constantly mistake Woodrow for Veigue.
- Running Gag: He makes small background cameos in each episode of Tales of Gekijou, either minding his own business or spying on other people. Might as well call him Truffles Lungberg.
- Say My Name: CLAIREEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!
- Shout-Out: His Hi-Ougi with Hilda, Celsius Calibur, makes his sword looks like BFS version of Soul Calibur. Add to the fact that Veigue is voiced by the guy who voiced Siegfried...
- The Stoic: His expression fails to change unless Claire is involved.
- Not So Stoic: What happens when Claire is involved.
Claire Bennett
"The outside isn't important. What matters the most, is what's inside your heart."
Voiced by: Mio Yasuda
Veigue's childhood sweetheart, whose family adopted the boy as a young orphan. Claire is a beautiful, kind-hearted and optimistic Huma. She possesses no Force and does not participate in battle.
- Disposable Woman: Zigzagged. In the beginning, her role is basically as a Plot Device to motivate Veigue into action, but she eventually comes to be the person who puts Agarte on the path to Character Development.
- Distressed Damsel: Saleh kidnaps her within ten minutes after the beginning of the game. The first act is spent trying to get her back.
- "Freaky Friday" Flip: Switches bodies with Agarte after the first act of the game.
- Harmless Freezing: Courtesy of Veigue's Force going out of control at the beginning of the game. She's perfectly fine when Mao melts the ice, however.
- The Heart: No matter what happens, Claire always has the ability to lift the mood. Her side of the events shows her trying to lift the other girls' spirits, and they later thank her for it repeatedly.
- Human Popsicle: She was accidentally turned into one for a year by Veigue.
- The Load: When she travels with the party, she is treated as a guest character of sorts. She has titles and a description in the status screen, but never appears in combat.
- Noodle People: But only in her official art. Outside of it, she's reasonably proportioned.
- Plucky Girl: During her kidnapping, she managed to keep her composure against Saleh. Oh, and then? She delivered a speech about the The Power of Love and The Power of Friendship to a crowd of angry villagers who intended to behead her... and then she decides to accompany the party into an Eldritch Location to take on the Final Boss despite the fact that she can't fight in order to support her friends. Non Action Chick she may be, but she's got ovaries of adamantium!
- Punny Name: Her name is a play of the word 'Clear'.
- Purity Personified: Nothing can shake her belief that people are the same and racial differences are essentially meaningless. Even Tytree and Eugene waver when presented with a trial, but Claire remains steadfast in her determination at the face of getting beheaded.
- Support Party Member: She has no Force and no military training. It's kind of impossible for her to fight anyone. That's not to say she doesn't stand up to anyone at all, though.
- Wide-Eyed Idealist: Despite all the things she goes through, her idealism is not actually shattered.
- World's Most Beautiful Woman: She is chosen by Agarte from a group of the world's most beautiful girls who have been abducted in order to find the 'most beautiful' for Agarte to use as a host body.
Mao
Mao Orselg
"The past isn't important. The future is!... Heh heh."
Voiced by: Akeno Watanabe
A young Huma boy with the Force of Fire. Mao has no memories of his past, and after being found wandering in Callegea Castle by Eugene, was taken into his care. Mao usually serves as the mood-maker of the group, and loves to sing. He is primarily a mage, specialising in Fire, Wind and Dark magic.
- Amnesiacs are Innocent/Children Are Innocent: Hilda and Tytree sometimes tease him about his lack of understanding when it comes to their interactions. The Sacred Beasts specifically made him like this in order to choose his own life.
- Artificial Human: Mao was created by the Sacred Beasts (specifically Fenia) as a being to observe people up close and determine whether they can carve their destiny.
- Badass Adorable: His cute act belies his ability to throw fireballs and dragons made of dark energy on the enemy's face.
- Berserk Button: He doesn't like being treated like a kid, and tends to throw a "siscon" insult on Tytree when the latter teases him.
- Elemental Powers: The Force of Fire, but he also has access to wind spells that tend to make the enemy change lines, and Darkness spells.
- Fun Personified: By far the perkiest person in the group, as evidenced by skits where he sings, tells scary stories and talks about food.
- Grand Theft Me: Mao is often subjected to this with the Sacred Beasts. Especially Shaorune.
- The Heart: He tends to be the mood maker and emotional center of the team.
- Magic Knight: One of his refining skills raises his attack value to the point it is equal to Veigue. Sadly, it doesn't last long.
- Meaningful Name:
- "Mao" means "nothing, void" in Ancient Callegean. Eugene gave him the name because no one knew anything about him, and because, as a blank slate, Mao is full of possibilities.
- "Orselg" means "Untainted Eye", signifying how Mao is innocent of any wordly knowledge and the Sacred Beasts' attempt to view society through the eyes of someone completely impartial.
- Sensor Character: Only narratively. He can detect Force reactions with his Force Cube. Veigue takes him along during an early dungeon for this reason.
- Shipper on Deck: Implies more than once that he's one for Tytree x Hilda.
- The Snark Knight: He gets some surprisingly smarmy lines in here and there, especially when speaking with Tytree.
- Tagalong Kid: Wherever Eugene goes, Mao follows.
Eugene Gallardo
"I'm not impressed that you answered my question with a question."
Voiced by: Unshō Ishizuka
A Panther Gajuma, Eugene is a powerful melee warrior with the Force of Steel. He was once a high-ranking general in the Callegia Kingdom Army, until the day that he was accused of the murder of a respected Kingdom doctor. Eugene admitted responsibility and the exile that followed, later working outside the system to discover the truth behind the suspicious actions of Agarte.
- The Atoner: His whole motivation is to make up for killing Barrs and find out just what happened to him.
- Badass Adorable: While his actual "adorability" is doubtable, in Radiant Mythology, Tear describes him as "big, fluffy and cute" and desperately wants to hug him
- Death Seeker: He offers to let Annie kill him to avenge Doctor Barrs once his investigation is complete. The Power of Friendship ultimately wins, however.
- Elemental Powers:
- Blow You Away: His first one.
- Extra-ore-dinary: His Force is the "Force of Steel", although few of his attacks have much of a "metal" theme to them.
- Fantastic Racism: He's a victim of it from Annie. He later develops a Superpowered Evil Side that is very racist and more or less wants to eradicate all Humas, although he does his best to keep it at bay until the power of Randgriz helps him to vanquish it completely.
- Lightning Bruiser: He's the token big guy but he attacks faster than Veigue.
- Promotion to Parent: He's pretty much Mao's father figure.
- Scary Black Man: Subverted. He has black fur and his voice is rather gruff, which makes him give off this vibe (doesn't help that he is voiced by Unshō Ishizuka, voice behind another Scary Black Man: Jet Black. However, not only he is calm (if he's not berserked), he's one of the most sensible, amiable and forgiving party members.
- Superpowered Evil Side: Thanks to Geyorkias... The Power of Friendship helps him to defeat it, however.
- Unstoppable Rage: As a result of Geyorkias' power going haywire, he ends up developing a Superpowered Evil Side that he keeps at bay by murdering the bajeezus out of Viruses.
- Walking the Earth: What he does after exile and the ending.
Annie Barrs
"I will avenge my father, no matter what it takes."
Voiced by: Akiko Yajima
A Huma teenager with the Force of Rain. She is the daughter of Doctor Barrs, a respected Kingdom doctor who was supposedly murdered by Eugene. Because of this, Annie despises all Gajuma and is on a mission to avenge her father's death.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Annie starts out very much hating Gajuma and especially Eugene, who often receives many harsh comments from her. Eventually, during the quest, she stops hating him and becomes more friendly with him.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Whenever Eugene shows her sympathy and when the party begs the irate Gajuma for shelter to cure her Deathgaro fever, Annie shuns their help. This fades away once she starts to warm up to him and realizes what he did was entirely justified in the circumstances.
- Elemental Powers: She has all of the main six elements via her Status Buff artes. Her circles will cause the corresponding elemental damage if attahed to the Force Cube's Physical slot.
- Blow You Away: Charge Wind. And she eventually inherits Wontiga's power.
- Casting a Shadow: Mind Geist.
- Dishing Out Dirt: Life Materia.
- Light 'em Up: Resist Wille.
- Making a Splash: Her power is the Force of Rain. All of her Fusion artes are visualized with rains. Also, Guard Wasser.
- Playing with Fire: Power Kraft.
- Fantastic Racism: Her desire to avenge her father by killing Eugene quickly turns into a hatred of all Gajumas.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: One of the uses of Force of Rain is to calm an angered person.
- Gratuitous English AND Gratuitous German: All of her artes are named in this way. The first word is in English, while the second is in German. Charge Wind, in particular, uses kana that corresponds to the German pronunciation of Wind.
- Irony: The ill girl is the best medic. Huh.
- The Medic: Standing in any of her circles restores HP and this effect is of course magnified in Life Materia. Rise Elixir revives all KO'd characters within its range. Additionally, due to the way the ailment system works, Annie must have the corresponding circle out in order to heal an ailment.
- My God, What Have I Done?: She eventually comes to realize that she's been a total ass towards Gajuma and especially Eugene and makes a tearful apology to him.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Tries to give Veigue one for siding with the Gajuma in Minal, only for him to counter with his own "The Reason You Suck" Speech over how she's condemning an entire race for the crimes of one of their number.
- Status Buff: Besides restorative purposes, her circles all confer a different stat bonus. She's extremely useful when utilised by a human in multiplayer.
- Tsundere: Turns into a platonic version to Eugene by the second part; though she still resents him for killing her father she does know deep down inside that Eugene isn't the kind to harm an innocent person.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Gets called out, repeatedly, for her racism. She gets better.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Like Tear, Annie is afraid of ghosts. "Mao's Scary Story" skits poke fun at this.
- You Killed My Father: Her reason for her Fantastic Racism and her grudge in particular against Eugene. Turns out he did kill Dr. Barrs but the circumstances makes the entire incident understandable and thus Annie drops her grudge for good.
Tytree Crowe
Someone like you who takes pleasure in trampling on the hearts of others will never ever understand! The human heart... the feelings that people have are stronger than anything else!! Remember that!!
Voiced by: Kappei Yamaguchi
A Hot-Blooded Huma labourer with the Force of Plant. When Tytree's beloved sister is kidnapped by the Four Stars, his Force goes berserk until brought under control by Veigue's party. Tytree joins up to help rescue his sister, and immediately becomes one of the most positive members of the party, believing in the power of justice and equality between races.
- Accidental Pervert: He sometimes uses the worst possible synonym for a word rather than the obvious choice (like 'hentai' instead of 'henshin' for 'transform', while the word is more often associated with another meaning).
- The Ace: Deliberately invoked. From a combat standpoint, this guy is just amazing. He's expert in hand-to-hand combat, can create geysers by uppercutting or small tremors by hitting the ground, and even has a bow-gauntlet that can shoot lasers. Not to mention he's one of the more lighthearted members of the party... Oh, yeah, and did we also mention that he's one of the single most awesomely cool, friendly and affable dudes around? Sadly, however, Rebirth is one of the Darker and Edgier Tales games (complete with Bittersweet Ending) and so, for all his awesomeness, Tytree can't solve quite as many problems as he wishes he could.
- Bare-Fisted Monk: Complimenting his moveset are kicks and a crossbow.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Out of all the heroes, he's the first one chosen to wield the power of a Sacred Beast: specifically the power of darkness.
- Duel Boss: He started the trend for Tales heroes to fight a rival to a remix of the opening theme.
- Elemental Powers:
- Casting a Shadow: He doesn't get the element in combat, but Eephon gives him this power to help him combat Geyorkias' influence.
- Green Thumb: Same deal as Eugene.
- Fragile Speedster: He is the fastest party member and can pin enemies on the spot very well, but his durability is limited.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: His legendary "socking" scene with Veigue.
- Good Old Fisticuffs: But supplemented with a bow gauntlet. Somehow.
- The Heart: He's often the one who rallies and motivates the party with his talk of equality and general hot bloodedness.
- Idiot Hero: In a change from usual Tales games, Tytree is an Idiot Hero but not the main character.
- Improbable Weapon User: Uses Good Old Fisticuffs with a bow-gauntlet.
- Justice Will Prevail: Doesn't spout about justice much, but his actions and attitude clearly screams this.
- Lampshade Hanging: Several of his artes use the Kanji for "stupid". Huh...
- Large Ham: Gives Stahn a run for his money.
- Lethal Chef: Well, his food tastes good... But he tends to make it with rotten or poisonous ingredients, mistaking them for good ones.
- Likes Older Women: Possibly... Mao likes to tease him about having a thing for Hilda, but he denies it.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Actually delivers a heroic version to Saleh. Except that it doesn't really work...
- Vitriolic Best Buds: With Veigue. Usually Veigue is the vitriolic one, offering him a lot of snark, but when Tytree gets pissed...
- When All You Have Is a Hammer…: Name a single problem he doesn't try to solve through some form of shouting heroic things. We'll wait.
Hilda Rhambling
"Neither Huma nor Gajuma will accept a Half like me. But I will definitely make Tohma pay!"
Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara
A mysterious wandering fortune teller. She first meets the party as an adversary working for the Four Stars under Tohma, only to be betrayed. Though mature and intelligent, Hilda holds a particularly bitter viewpoint of the world and a tormented past. She possesses the Force of Lightning.
- All of the Other Reindeer: As a Half, she is discriminated against by both Huma and Gajuma. Suffered this during childhood, and remains one of her main problems throughout the game.
- Bolt of Divine Retribution: Divine Saber, which she gains through her Sacred Beast trial to obliterate her Enemy Without.
- Break the Cutie: Her entire backstory is just one long series of cutie-breaking moments.
- Broken Bird: Discrimination, abandonment, rejection...you name it. Hilda has gone through it all.
- Cool Big Sis: Subverted. Her emotional issues mean that she's not quite as "cool" as Annie seems to think she is. She eventually matures into the real deal.
- Defeat Means Friendship: Hilda is recruited into the party immediately after the party thwarts her assassination attempt on them.
- Elemental Powers: Her main element is lightning, but she also uses earth and water spells. Her Arcane Artes include ice, a fusion of water and earth. She also inherits Gillione's power.
- Enemy Without: Her Sacred Beast trial involves her fighting the manifestation of all her darker emotions. She eventually nukes it with Divine Saber.
- Half-Human Hybrid: Offspring of a Huma and Gajuma, called a Half. She looks human, though she has an antelope's ears and horns.
- Interspecies Romance: Revealed in her backstory. She had a crush on a Huma, who refused to be with her because of the racial difference. It led to her cutting off her horns.
- Lady of Black Magic: Elegant and composed (most of the time), with the most powerful offensive spells in the game. Her great range is counterbalanced by her long casting times.
- Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: And how. She's left for dead and told she'd worthless before defecting to the protagonists' side.
- "No More Holding Back" Speech: Gives a truly heartwarming one at the end of the game when she decides that she won't hide her status as a Half and will live proudly and openly from now on.
- Squishy Wizard: Along with Annie, she has the lowest defence in the game. Her Lightning Rod ability at least prevents enemy combos on her.
- Tarot Motifs: One of the main aspects of her character Her old and very valuable cards are all she has left from her family.
- Tyke-Bomb: Tohma raised her to be one, predictably pulling an You Have Outlived Your Usefulness the first time she fails an assassination mission.
- The Woobie: Ultimately defied in-universe by the end of the game, when she takes a confident and very heroic "Don't You Dare Pity Me!" attitude towards her status as a Half.
- You Killed My Father: She eventually learns that Tohma murdered her parents so he could use her as his Tyke-Bomb. She is pissed when she discovers it.
Kingdom of Callegea
Agarte Lindblum
A cat Gajuma, and the current ruler of the Kingdom of Callegea. She inherited the throne after the death of her father, King Ladras Lindblum. On her orders, the Four Stars kidnap the most beautiful Huma girls across the kingdom and imprison them in her castle.
- Bodyguard Crush: Her crush on Milhaust is one that leads to disastrous consequences.
- Break the Haughty: The second arc of the game sets out to break her selfish attitude, making her into a better person.
- Brought Down to Normal: Due to Milhaust's rejection of her and realizing she has put Claire through hell, she loses her powers until the very end.
- Cat Girl: As a Cat Gajuma.
- The Chains of Commanding: It's implied that suddenly and unexpectedly having to take over leadership from her father was a factor in her selfishly deciding to abandon it all and steal a Huma's body.
- Costume Porn: Just look at it! She has bunches of grapes hanging from her earlobes, for God's sake!
- "Freaky Friday" Flip: A power of the Force of Moon. She successfully swaps with Claire at the end of the first act, and pretty much becomes the main female protagonist until the end of the game.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: Due to her selfish attitude and disinterest in anything not having to do with her love.
- Guest-Star Party Member: Though she doesn't do any fighting, she has a status screen and titles when she's in the party.
- Heroic Sacrifice/Redemption Equals Death: She expends her Force of Moon in the game's end to save the world.
- It's All About Me: In the first half she only cares about her own desires and not about the lives of the Huma girls she's ruining by kidnapping them and trying to steal their bodies. She gets better about this in the end.
- Kick The Son Of A Bitch: She's on the receiving end of one from Milhaust, who threatens to kill her if she ever comes back to the castle (in Claire's body).
- The Load: Despite having the Force of Moon, she never participates in battle.
- Love Makes You Evil: Her whole motivation is to gain Milhaust's love by switching bodies with a beautiful Huma girl. It doesn't work at all how she expected.
- Lunacy: She possesses the Force of Moon, which can be used to swap bodies with someone. At the urging of Zilva, she sought to use her Force to obtain a Huma body, as she believed that it was impossible for a Gajuma and a Huma to become romantically involved and that becoming a Huma was the only way she could be together with Milhaust.
- Love Ruins the Realm: Her love for Milhaust almost brought down her kingdom due to making her irresponsible and naive.
- Promoted to Playable: Gets to become playable in Tales Of The Rays for an event held in August 21, 2023.
- Pimped-Out Dress: She wears what looks to be an ornate wedding dress throughout the game's duration, complete with a crown to signify she's royalty.
- Royal Brat: In the first half of the game, complete with an It's All About Me attitude.
- Unwitting Pawn: Zilva is really manipulating her away from the throne and her royal duties so she can take over and begin genociding the Huma population.
Milhaust Selkirk
"A wavering heart begets a hesitant sword."
Voiced by: Shin-ichiro Miki
The general of the Callegea Kingdom Army. Milhaust is possibly the most powerful Huma soldier in the world; possessing unmatched prowess in battle despite having no Force. He is a good and honourable man who serves his kingdom faithfully and although his duty sometimes brings him into conflict with Veigue and his party, their encounters are rarely antagonistic.
- The Ace: Zigzagged. He starts out as one, then his wavering resolve puts him on the path to being a Broken Ace, then he starts to get on back on track by the game's ending.
- Badass Normal: And how. He's a Huma with no Force, he can easily own Veigue and has his own solo Hi-Ougi in a game where Hi-Ougis are done between two people.
- Bodyguard Crush: He's implied to have fallen for Agarte, the queen he's protecting, by the game's end.
- Boring, but Practical: His fighting style. In a series full of incredibly flashy sword techniques, Milhaust fights with only basic slashes and feints. Even his Hi-Ougi is just a series of regular slashes.
- Foil: To Veigue. Both are dedicated to a woman in their lives, first out of a sense of duty and later out of love. Also, on a more superficial level, they both wield greatswords.
- Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Averted. He never fights without his helmet on and his visor down.
- I Let You Win: Veigue realises after their final confrontation that Milhaust was holding back; his own conflicted heart preventing him from fighting at full strength.
- My Country, Right or Wrong: He follows Agarte's orders even when he personally disagrees with them due to his belief in putting Callegia before all else.
- My God, What Have I Done?: When he realizes he didn't recognize Agarte in Claire's body and threatened to put his queen to death.
- Shadow Archetype: Zigzagged. In the beginning of the game's second half, Veigue effectively becomes his due to his conflicting ideals about how to protect Claire whereas Milhaust always seems to know exactly what to do about everything. By the end, the roles are reversed as Veigue gets over his issues and Milhaust becomes clouded with doubts.
Zilva Madigan
"Scum like you have no place in my world."
Voiced by: Mari Mashiba
The senior advisor and confidant to Agarte Lindblum. Prior to this, she served the previous king- Agarte's father-in the same role up until his death.
- Bastard Bastard: She's revealed to have royal blood in the end, and the Force of Moon.
- The Consigliere: Her role to Agarte. Except she's actually the Man Behind the Man.
- Evil Chancellor: She poses as Agarte's reasonable advisor, except she's actually The Man Behind the Man manipulating Agarte into her worst actions.
- Fantastic Racism: He entire raison d'etre.
- Final Solution: Her plan for the Humas is to kill them all off, hence attempting to unseal Geyorkias, a Sacred Beast who once tried to wipe them out.
- Frame-Up: She swaps bodies with Doctor Barrs to frame him for the King's murder. This forces Eugene to kill him, which Zilva then uses as a pretense to exile Eugene from the capital.
- "Freaky Friday" Flip: She used the Force of Moon to switch bodies with Doctor Barrs to ensure Eugene's expulsion from the military and Barrs' death.
- Freudian Excuse: Averted. She doesn't have one beyond being a racist bitch, making her a rarity for the Tales series.
- Horned Humanoid: As a goat Gajuma, she possesses a large set of horns.
- Lunacy: She also possesses the Force of Moon and unlike Agarte, she's not adverse to using it in battle.
- The Man Behind the Man: Well, they're both women, but it still counts: The senior advisor and confidant to Agarte Lindblum.
- Manipulative Bitch: A huge one. Not only did she plan out the King's murder, Doctor Barrs' murder, and Eugene's exile, but she's responsible for tricking Agarte into stirring up racial prejudice by kidnapping Huma girls, then getting her away from the throne by having her swap bodies with a Huma so she could take over Callegia.
The Four Stars
As a Group
The Four Stars are an elite division of the Callegea Kingdom Army who serve directly under Agarte Lindblum. Their actions frequently place them in an antagonistic role against Veigue and his party.
- Co-Dragons: Collectively serve as this to Agarte. But actually Zilva.
- Dual Boss: They love pulling Veigue's party into these. The final confrontation with them is against all four at once.
- Leitmotif: "Scutum", which comes in multiple flavours depending on the mood of the scene, including two battle mixes.
Saleh
"Claire, Claire, Claire! ...You sound like an idiot!"
Voiced by: Masami Kikuchi
A cruel Huma who delights in causing suffering to others. He possesses the Force of Storm and is partnered with Tohma.
- Boomerang Bigot: He is part of the Four Stars, led by Zilva, a Gajuma who wishes to revive the Sacred Beast Geyorgyas to destroy all Huma. He is a Huma. He sees absolutely nothing wrong with this, and is even surprised when his partner, Tohma, kills him on Zilva's orders to start the massacre.
- Breakout Character: This asshole is surprisingly one of the most popular characters of the game. Saleh managed to show up in various spin-offs, such as Radiant Mythology 3 and Tales of Link (where he even got some pretty handsome skins!).
- Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: Not as visible as Millitsa's, but definitely prominent in some of his art.
- Elemental Powers:
- Blow You Away: His Force, the Force of Storm, gives him wind-elemental abilities.
- Shock and Awe: Some of his attacks are the lightning element, befitting the Force of Storm.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Saleh suffers a lot from this. It's why Tytree's "The Reason You Suck" Speech has no positive effect on him, and why he suffers a minor Villainous Breakdown after Veigue spares his life.
- Evil Gloating: For the first half, Saleh was just content at being a normally smug bastard. In the second half, after being given "The Reason You Suck" Speech by Tytree, Saleh took it at heart and... decided that he will keep gloating on how stupid 'human heart' is and it only serves to be crushed for his amusement... and he'll make sure that Veigue's party will see to it.
- For the Evulz: Pretty much his hobby is 'making a lot of people suffer'.
- Gratuitous German: While almost all of his artes are written with the same names they usually have in other Tales games, his Limit Break, "Steif Brise" is written in German for no good reason, with both words meaning "stiff" and "breeze" respectively. This is mitigated in the English release of Tales of Link, where its named "Stiff Breeze", appropriately.
- Jerkass: He's pretty much a jerk for no reason other than it makes him happy to see others suffer.
- Mutual Kill: He and Tohma turn on each other, each killing the other.
- The Sociopath: His hobby is specifically making others suffer, he sees the 'human heart' as nothing but a plaything for him and accepts no other way of thinking aside of that. Yep.
- Troll: This guy really likes to egg the party about how he likes to mess around with them to make a point that the power of heart only exist as his plaything and stating that he delights in the party's suffering and angry faces. That said, his one antic to trick the party in that one tower where he brainwashes the Dark Wings counts as a very brutal Troll action. By the end of his life, however, Veigue learns not to feed the troll by ignoring Saleh's last demand to finish him off, his final troll bait.
- Villain Ball: He really should have seen his eventual demise coming, being the only Huma in an organisation whose goal was to eradicate all Huma. Then again, this is Saleh we're talking about.
- Would Hurt a Child: In a flashback, he's shown to have almost killed Mao on the Dusk of Ladras, and was only stopped by Eugene getting in the way of his attacks.
Tohma
"I've no use for weaklings."
Voiced by: Daisuke Gōri
A brutish bull Gajuma who hides an evil, manipulative intellect. He possesses the Force of Magnet and is partnered with Saleh.
- Abusive Parents: While he's neither Hilda nor Militsa's biological father (and is highly offended by the suggestion he would have fathered either one) he acts as one, having raised both of them in an abusive fashion to be tyke bombs.
- Bare-Fisted Monk: Tohma fights using only his fists.
- Casting a Shadow: His "Magnetic Geyser" Mystic Arte counts as the "Shade" element in this game.
- Extra-ore-dinary: Implied, as part of his Magnetism powers... although we never actually see it.
- Evil Sounds Deep: He has a deep, booming voice and is one of the most evil bastards in the game.
- Gonk: He's the ugliest of the villains, with bulging eyes, a receding hairline, a hunched back, and grossly exaggerated musculature.
- Hate Sink: Tohma is an ugly, gloating, sadistic bastard with no redeeming factors. His Establishing Character Moment involves brutally berating Hilda, his charge, and trying to kill her for failing to kill the party.
- Horned Humanoid: He has massive horns befitting a bull man.
- Manipulative Bastard: He manipulated both Militsa and Hilda into becoming assassins for his personal glory, pretending he would give them "pure" bodies if they worked themselves to the bone for him but in reality attempting to murder them once they failed any task.
- Moral Event Horizon: In-universe, the party considers his treatment of Hilda to be this. Her backstory, however, reveals that he never crossed it. He's so evil he must have been born on the far fucking end of it.
- Mutual Kill: He and Saleh turn on each other, each killing the other.
- Obviously Evil: Who could have guessed the gonky Horned Humanoid was going to be evil?
- What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: He really lost the Superpower Lottery with his Force of Magnetism, but more than makes up for it with his brute strength and intellect.
- You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: His very first appearance has him pull this on Hilda when she fails to kill the heroes. And, later, he does the same to Saleh.
Militsa
''"There is no place for a Half in this world."
Voiced by: Yuko Mizutani
A Half who serves in the Four Stars. Though a kind friend to Hilda, she is slavishly dedicated to the Four Stars as she believes (due to the Brainwashing of Tohma) that it is the only place a Half can be accepted. She possesses the Force of Rainbow and is partnered with Waltu.
- Cute Monster Girl: Her inhuman features are limited to her horns and ears. Other than that, she's a gorgeous dark-skinned babe.
- Doppelgänger Attack: The main power of her Force. She seems to be able to create at least four copies, that hit just as hard as she does.
- Dual Wielding: She uses a pair of knives to fight. She is not particularly good with them, but her Doppelgänger Attack powers more than make up for that.
- Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: Might be a result of her Brainwashing.
- Elemental Powers: She has the Force of Rainbow, that essentially combines Light 'em Up and Making a Splash, as well as having some unorthodox uses.
- Evil Counterpart: To Hilda, though played with in that they start on the same side.
- Fighting Your Friend: Her and Hilda are adoptive sisters and clash several times throughout the game.
- Half-Human Hybrid: She's half Huma and half Gajuma.
- Horned Humanoid: Like most Halfs, she has a pair of animal horns on her head.
- Parental Abandonment: An optional scene found in the desert before meeting Hilda's mother reveals she was abandoned there as a child.
- Phantom Zone: Another power of her Force is the ability to teleport herself and others to an Amazing Technicolor Battlefield.
- Power Floats: She inexplicably floats before and during her battles.
- Undying Loyalty: To the Four Stars, as a result of Tohma's brainwashing. She's disconcerted by Hilda joining up with the heroes, but never leaves on her own. Thankfully, she's teamed up with Waltu, who unlike Tohma is actually a kind and reasonable individual.
Waltu
"I have sworn an oath of loyalty to Callegea. Even if it is the Commander, I cannot overlook someone who has turned his back on his country."
Voiced by: Hōchū Ōtsuka
A bat Gajuma who is good friends with Eugene. He is an honourable man who fights in the name of the Kingdom of Callegea. He possesses the Force of Sound and is partnered with Militsa.
- Anti-Villain: By far the most sensible and reasoned member of the Four Stars. It's no surprise that he's the first to Heel–Face Turn.
- Bad Powers, Good People: He's got friggin' Mind Control as a power, yet he's still an unambiguously good person.
- Black Eyes of Evil: Subverted. While he's on the side of the Four Stars, he's the Token Good Teammate.
- The Dragon: Due to being the most senior soldier. Noble Top Enforcer is in full effect.
- Mind Control: His Force can be used to control Huma, but he prefers not to use it if he doesn't have to.
- My Country, Right or Wrong: He knows Agarte's acting oddly, but he'll obey her for the good of the country right or wrong.
- Noble Top Enforcer: He's a part of the Four Stars, but unlike the rest of them Waltu is a reasonable individual who takes his orders from Milhaust rather than Zilva.
- Obviously Evil: Subverted. He's probably the single nicest and most affable baddie in the game. If Lawful Good has a face in Rebirth, it's Waltu.
- Token Good Teammate: Unlike the other Four Stars. This is probably because he answers more towards Milhaust rather than Zilva, and is last seen rebuilding Callegea with him
Other Antagonists
Geyorkias
"My duty is to deliver peace to this earth. To that end, I will eradicate all Humas."
Voiced by: Kenyū Horiuchi
The King of the Sacred Beasts. He believes that the Huma race is the source of all evil in the world, and wishes to wipe them out completely.
- Barrier Maiden: Turns out that he and the other Sacred Beasts have been working overtime to keep Yuris in check.
- Beam Spam: Uses variations of it to cover the whole stage. The simplest version covers only one line, but he can also shoot one that covers all lines at the edge.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Thanks to the influence of Yuris he attempted to Kill All Humans and had to be sealed away by the other Sacred Beasts.
- Disc-One Final Boss: His defeat comes at the climax of act 1. In true Tales fashion, there is a lot more to do after that.
- Dual Boss: His complete form serves alongside Zilva as an Optional Boss in Cyglorg's Chambers.
- Light 'em Up: His special attack, Severity Overlord. It's unavoidable and hits for tons of damage, so expect a Total Party Kill without an invincibility recipe or guarding.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Not once, but twice. His actions were meant to prevent the world from falling into chaos, and he believes the issue would be solved if only one race remained. He tried the same thing during the ancient war. The reason he intends to wipe out Huma in particular is because they attempted to enslave the Gajuma and caused the ancient war to break out.
Yuris (Unmarked Spoilers!)
A being of darkness created from the negative thoughts of Huma and Gajuma. If left unchecked, its power could grow to consume the world entirely.
- Anthropomorphic Personification: It's the personification of racism.
- As Long as There Is Evil: The Sacred Beasts warn that it might rise again if the feelings that gave birth to it should grow out of control.
- Beam Spam: Always starts the battle with one. It uses a less powerful version throughout the first half of the fight, but at lower HP, its beams hit a very large area.
- Eldritch Abomination: It resembles a white fleshy creature with unnaturally long limbs and no head or face.
- Elemental Powers: Capable of using the Prism Stars, Shining Gate, Nova Explosion and Dimensional Material Maxwell extensions, though not consecutively. Its perpetual eye mooks also use high-level elemental spells.
- Flunky Boss: Yuris is one of the few enemies that is entirely static. To compensate for that, it summons eyeballs named "Yuris's Eyes" at set intervals. When its HP drops, the number of eyes increases, and they begin casting high level spells.
- Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: His presence is only revealed in the last act of the game.
- Hate Plague: It spreads racism and hostility wherever it goes.
- Sealed Evil in a Can: His influence is suppressed by the Force of Moon and the Sacred Beasts. A sidequest reveals it is sealed inside a royal jewel called "The Moon of Goldoba.".
- The Speechless: Yuris does not make any sound, not even during the final battle. The only time sound effects are present is during the time it is summoned, and it sounds more like unintelligible hissing.
