Anise Tatlin

Anise Tatlin (アニス・タトリン) is one of the protagonists and a Fon Master Guardian in Tales of the Abyss.

History
The true reason Anise is so greedy is because her parents, Oliver Tatlin and Pamela Tatlin, got themselves deep in debt. They were gullible, and did not notice they were being conned until most of their money was gone. Grand Maestro Mohs saw this and offered to take them out of debt, as long as they worked for him, so Anise could not refuse his demands, especially after Mohs took her parents hostage. This eventually led to Anise spying on the party, and giving away their location so that the God-Generals could attack them. Anise later betrayed them, taking Ion away to Mohs so Ion could read the Planetary Score. He died after reading this, making Anise feel responsible for his death. She makes amends with the party and rejoins the group, believing it to be what Ion would have wanted. When the party encounters Arietta in the Cheagle Woods, Anise fights her in a duel and wins. As Arietta dies, Anise mourns for her despite the animosity between the two.

In a manga sidestory titled "Dance Gaiden", Anise's secretive and mature nature is revealed to have stemmed from being bullied by a group of older female Oracle Knights out of jealousy for her position as Fon Master Guardian.

Appearance and Personality
Anise is often shown as a very outgoing girl. Her behavior is usually cheerful and childish, and all displeasing remarks are met with her trademark moan. At times she is openly violent and ruthless, such as an incident when she screams she will kill the "bastards" on the Tartarus after falling out of a window. However, she is careful not to show this side of her personality around Luke fon Fabre or Jade Curtiss. Underneath that giggly exterior, Anise is undeniably clever. She has a knack for taking advantage of people, from blackmailing Tear Grants into buying her cake after spotting the Melodist with a stuffed doll, to teasing the gynophobic Guy Cecil into submission. She is even able to convince Natalia Luzu Kimlasca-Lanvaldear that Van Grants can shoot lasers from his eyebrows, and she constantly teases Luke when she is not attempting to become his future bride.

But aside from the teasing, Anise proves to be remarkably mature for her age and even earns the trust of the cynical and unreadable Jade. She is precocious and surprisingly knowledgeable about the world, perhaps because she has seen the worst of it. But Anise is not one to reveal if she is sad or suffering. Instead, she puts on a resolute or cheerful front to cover up her true feelings. She is also very flirtatious, as a result of her family's financial problems. This causes her to latch onto any rich men she might encounter, especially Luke after discovering that he is the son of a duke. However, eventually she decides to give up on marrying into money and instead, aim to become the first female Fon Master to reform the Order to the way Ion wanted it, as a religion that saves people rather than controlling them.

Fighting Style
In battle, Anise is a force to be reckoned with due to her high physical defense and access to both melee and magical forms of attack. While she likes to claim that she is a delicate maiden who needs protection, Anise is more than capable of beating enemies to a pulp. Instead of fighting on foot, she rides her automated doll, Tokunaga, which she commands through her skills as a puppeteer to attack enemies using an unarmed martial style. However, compared to other characters, Anise is more susceptible to being damaged by area-based attacks due to Tokunaga's large size and decreased evasive abilities. Anise has access to three Mystic artes in the game: Final Fury, Dying Moon which is an extension of the previous one and finally Fever Time.

Nevertheless, Anise receives a higher HP progression and greater defense, allowing her to withstand extended enemy aggression. Her attack speed is also slower compared to other party members, but this enables her to keep enemies staggered while she performs her combos, allowing other characters to benefit from a less restrictive recovery period before resuming their own combos. She is also capable of casting fonic artes, mostly focused on the Light and Dark elements. Through these spells, Anise can create Light and Dark FOF Circles which can enable elemental FOF Changes of all elements. While Anise can equip maces or rods to augment her physical and magical damage abilities, she only uses these weapons as part of her somatic spellcasting actions, completely relying on Tokunaga to deal physical damage.

Relationships
Arietta - The God-General Arietta, or "Gloomietta" as Anise calls her, expressed her hatred of Anise from early on in the game. It was originally because she believed Anise took Ion away from her when Anise replaced her as Fon Master Guardian. In truth, this was because the original Ion died and was replaced with a replica, an entirely new person Arietta did not know. Many among the God-Generals believed she would kill herself if she found out, so they took her away from Ion. However, because she was not aware of this, she persisted in her hatred. She blamed Anise for Ion's death, and challenged her to a duel in the Cheagle Woods, which resulted in her death. Anise felt guilty for killing her, although she returned Arietta's hatred.

Ion - Anise is the most trusted member of Ion's personal guard, while also serving as an important friend. The exuberant Oracle Knight is often a foil to Ion's gentle nature, but the two have a strong bond regardless. Ion trusts Anise enough to put his life in her hands, bringing her along with him as his sole guardian during the journey. Anise expresses her frustration at Ion's tendency to get kidnapped and wander off, but her anger only serves to show just how much she cares about his well being. Anise is always ready to defend Ion in any situation. Some characters speculate that there is some sort of young love between the two, but regardless of the nature of their relationship the two care deeply for each other. It is eventually revealed that Ion is a replica of the original Ion, alive for only two years. He does not expect to anyone to see him as anything more than a mere replacement, but Anise assures him that he's not a replacement for anyone.

Later in the story, Anise starts acting strange. It is learned that she had been threatened by Mohs and forced to lead Ion to the Zaleho volcano to read the Score. It is there that Ion breathes his last. While Anise is the one responsible for Ion's death, neither Ion nor the party blames her. Ion clearly states this, and thanks Anise for all she had done for him. Anise truly regrets what happened, and firmly believes that she is the cause of Ion's death. Arietta blames her completely after learning what happened, and wants to have a duel. The duel comes and goes, and it is only then Anise can move on, deciding to continue Ion's legacy no matter what. The duel ends with Arietta's defeat and death, almost causing Anise to cry over Arietta before she is carried away by Largo. Later in the story, when the party journeys to the Absorption Gate for the second time, Anise rescues a forgotten replica of Ion who was forced to read part of the Score that Mohs had obtained from Van. Despite having read part of the Score, this Ion replica survives and is brought back to Daath with the party. They decided to make this new replica the replacement for Ion, and he grows quite fond of Anise. When deciding on what to name the replica since the idea of Ion being alive would cause confusion, Anise gives the new Ion the name Florian, making the Ion replica very happy. She promises to visit him more when the battle is over before the party goes on to confront Van at Eldrant.

Tales of Hearts
Anise is available as a support arte using Sousenga and X-BUSTER, an arte normally accessible only when she's equipping the "Artificial Life Form" doll accessory in the original game.

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2
Anise appears in Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2 as a playable character, fighting on the back of Tokunaga. Anise arrives on the Van Eltia after Paneer alerts Jade that a someone who knows him has arrived on the ship. Anise explains to Jade the information she got while out and decides to stay on the ship. When the player chooses a male character she will often fantasizes about her and the Protagonist being together. Halfway through the game the player is forced a Dark Character of Anise born of her sorrow and grief. The weapon Anise uses throughout the game is the "Fonic Mace".

Tales of VS.
Anise is a unlockable character in Tales of VS. She fights alongside Jade in his story mode.

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 3
Anise appears in Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 3 as a playable character. Although she does not have a specific role in the story, she is recruitable after completing Jade's personal quest, in which he is searching for her. She can be located in the second area of Sacred Mountain Absol during the last mission with Veigue Lungberg and Spada Belforma.

Trivia

 * Anise's outfit appears as a costume for Patty Fleur in "Tales of Vesperia".
 * Anise's outfit also appears as a costume for Sophie in Tales of Graces ƒ. While her costume is equipped, the battle theme changes to an arrangement of The Edge of a Decision, the second normal battle theme of Tales of the Abyss. The victory theme also changes to the fanfare used in Tales of the Abyss.
 * Anise is also mentioned in a skit in Tales of Graces ƒ. When Asbel Lhant is looking through the marriage proposals on his desk, one of them is from Anise. However, Asbel ignores it, since the proposal states she is thirteen-years-old, but mentions how she reminds him of Cheria Barnes when she was that age.