Yuri Lowell

Yuri Lowell (ユーリ・ローウェル) is the main protagonist of Tales of Vesperia, the tenth major release in the Tales series. A young man from the Imperial Capital, Zaphias, Yuri originally leaves his life in the lower quarter in order to pursue the thief who stole the blastia core required for regulating the area's water supply. After being imprisoned in the castle dungeon for trespassing, Yuri escapes continues his journey with Estelle and his faithful dog Repede for the sake of the common people. His journeys have him crossing paths with many new people, places and thrilling adventures, eventually escalating into a quest to save the planet.

Humble Beginnings
Yuri was born and raised in the Lower Quarter of the Capital. As an orphan, the local residents cared for him as if he were one of their own. He became Flynn Scifo's friend when Flynn moved to the Lower Quarter. The two would practice sword fighting and compete with one another, where Flynn always won. They vowed they would fight to make people happy. When an accident occurred in the Capital, Flynn's father died protecting the citizens of the Lower Quarter. This event caused Flynn and Yuri to strive for different perspectives in life. After the two reached adulthood, Flynn joined the Imperial Knights in order to change the Empire from within, while Yuri remained in the Lower Quarter. When Hanks told Yuri to "work properly", Yuri reluctantly joined the Knights, as well, but he nearly failed the recruitment exam by saving a fellow soldier from being killed by a monster. Because Yuri managed to kill the monster in one blow, his instructor decided to allow him in the Knights.

Imperial Knights
As shown in the movie prequel Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike, a major part in his time in the imperial knights is with the Niren Corps often arguing with Flynn, Hisca Aiheap, and his captain, Niren Fedrock, though he admires Niren's ideals. His personality during the movie is much more impulsive often doing things on his own but holds ideals in the highest regard. After returning from a mission to destroy a large pack of monsters from attacking a town due to the increase of aer, Yuri starts a bar fight with a local guild though gains the respect of the guild leader. After Niren and Chastel Aiheap go to investigate the aer and Flynn to attend a gathering in his place, Yuri and Hisca help to quell another monster attack. During the attack, Niren's dog, Lambert, is taken control of by a monster comprised of pure aer forcing Yuri to kill him.

Disheartened, Yuri decides to take care of Repede, Lambert's son, and clashes with Flynn who failed to acquire reinforcements. Niren decides he must take matters into his own hands as Yuri, Flynn and the rest of the Niren Corps go to investigate a fortress which is the center of all of the aer. Yuri, more than ever, tries to save everyone but after successfully stopping the device causing the overflow of aer, the fortress collapses and Yuri fails to save Niren who was caught in a sinking sinkhole. Flynn informs him that Garista Luodur was probably involved in the device as they confront him. When he reveals his plans, he attacks Yuri and Flynn. Yuri, using the blastia that Niren gave to him before he died, catches Garista off guard and kills him. In the aftermath of this, Yuri, who is seen in his familiar black clothes from the game, leaves the knights with Repede, who now has Niren's pipe. The experiences Yuri had in the movie carry on with him throughout the story.

Vigilantism
For the story's first part, Yuri and his party chase the core thief across the world. After discovering that the thief in question, Dedecci, is linked to a much bigger operation by the Blood Alliance leader Barbos, one of the Five Master Guilds, and the imperial councilman and Capua Nor magistrate, Ragou, Yuri's group puts all of their efforts into foiling their scheme to control both the empire and the guilds. Along the way, they discover the horrors that Ragou has committed against his own people, which include taxing them to impoverishing levels, kidnapping and killing citizens and children, and disposing of the corpses either by feeding them to monsters or selling them for money. Following the defeat of Barbos, Ragou uses his standing in the council to reduce his charges. Unable to forgive Ragou, and knowing that the laws of the empire will never punish him, Yuri takes matters into his own hands and murders him, a secret that he keeps from the rest of the party for much of the game. Following this, Yuri marks his departure from the laws of the empire by announcing to Flynn that he will start a guild, and with Karol Capel and Judith at his side they form Brave Vesperia, named after the brightest star in the night sky by Estelle.

During the story's second part, Yuri and his party clash with Cumore, a captain of the imperial knights who has ambitions of becoming the Commandant. Cumore's crimes are soon revealed to be just as bad as Ragou's, and include forcing people to work in slave labor camps and sending innocent citizens, and even his own soldiers, on a suicidal mission into the desert to search for Phaeroh. While the party hopes that Flynn will be able to bring Cumore's actions to an end, Raven off-handedly comments that the only cure for the stupidity for people such as Cumore is death. This unintentionally inspires Yuri to strike again, chasing Cumore out to the edge of the town, where Cumore falls into a sandpit.

Cumore begs Yuri for help, but his pleas fall on deaf ears and he slowly sinks to his death. However, the event is witnessed by Flynn, and the two become engaged in a heated argument. Flynn insists that Yuri's ways are wrong, telling him that his behavior is that "of a common criminal", while Yuri defends himself, stating that his actions were necessary. At this point, Yuri has rejected the law entirely, stating that it is nothing more than "the tools of whoever happens to hold all the chips", and leaves Flynn with the haunting message that he understands his actions entirely, and has chosen to dirty his hands in order to destroy the villains of the world. When Yuri afterward realizes that Estelle was listening to everything, he asks her if she is afraid of him. While she knows that what he has done is against the law, Estelle says that she understands Yuri's reason and thinking, since his actions have saved the lives of others who would have been victimized by Ragou and Cumore in the future and also states that if she ever was to be taken down by him, she knows he would have his reasons, as well.

Yuri's sins are eventually revealed to the party at Nordopolica, following the death of Belius by Flynn. When Flynn crosses paths with the party, insisting that they hand over Estelle and the Entelexeia's apatheia, Yuri tells his friend that he is going down the same path as Ragou and Cumore, and that if he does not stop, he will have no choice but to dispatch him as well. Karol is the most affected by this discovery.

Resolution
Following the revelation that Alexei Dinoia has been the mastermind behind Ragou, Cumore, and even Barbos, and the kidnapping of Estelle and abuse of her power as a "Child of the Full Moon", Yuri begins to realize that his actions have solved nothing, and that all they have done is make way for a monster even more twisted than either of his two victims. Resolved to put an end to Estelle's suffering, Yuri decides that his already dirtied hands are the only ones that have the strength to free her. However, he is stopped by his friends, who insist that Yuri's attempt to bear the burden of defeating the monsters of the world all by himself will only hurt him, and them, in the long run. Inspired by their dedication to him, Yuri agrees to travel with them to stop Estelle, only to find her under the complete control of Alexei by the time they reach Zaphias, who brings forth the Enduring Shrine of Zaude. Realizing that there may be no other way, Yuri prepares himself for the worst case scenario: his original plan of killing Estelle. However, his words eventually manage to bring Estelle out of her power-fueled trance and restore her to her normal self.

Appearance and Personality
Yuri comes across as sarcastic and cynical, possibly due to the way the nobility treated the people of the Lower Quarter. He seems to enjoy teasing others, especially Karol and Rita Mordio, although he does develop a strong bond of friendship with the former, becoming something of an older brother figure. Unlike many main characters in the Tales series, Yuri has a more fully-formed personality due to his matured age. He is an emphatic young man who prefers to solve smaller problems from individuals rather than the larger, more political ones. Yuri grew up in the Lower Quarter of Zaphias with Flynn. According to many of the residents there, Yuri and Flynn were the best of friends who shared everything, such as the first sword that they bought together. Growing up as a commoner caused Yuri to develop a dislike for the empire's nobility, due to their haughty nature towards anyone less fortunate and their tendency to turn a blind eye to suffering. Thus, throughout his adventure Yuri takes the side of normal, average people over nobility.

What sets Yuri apart from many other protagonists in different games, particularly those in the Tales series, is the fact that as the second-oldest member of the party, he already has some awareness and knowledge of the world around him. While most other protagonists grow up and develop their ideals as they continue through their adventures, Yuri is quite comfortable with the person he is, already having an established mindset and personality that changes and develops very little over the course of the story. This manifests mostly as mocking quips directed at Boccos and Adecor during tutorials, but is also apparent during discussions about the nobles and their treatment of the lower classes. This also makes Yuri less prone to depression and hesitation. He is not afraid to take difficult matters into his own hands, and throughout his travels comes to decide that taking the law into his own hands is the only way to ensure that the villains of the world are punished. However, as shown by his conversation with Flynn in Mantaic, he is fully aware, and to some extent even worried, that in doing so he risks becoming a person that, in a sense, is just as bad as those whom he despises.

Fighting Style
Yuri is capable of using both swords and axes in battle, though axes usually reduce his attack speed while providing more damage. He uses his fists and feet in combination with his weapons, often punching the enemy with his gauntlets instead of using his main weapon. His attacks and artes range from stylish and flashy to brutal and powerful. When compared to other swordsmen in the game, Yuri does not have as much technicality and he tends to do more tricks with his sword such as flipping it around him and spinning it during attacks. He has a good balance of speed and power in his attacks, with artes like Tiger Blade or Shining Fang reflecting his speed, whilst artes like Raging Blast and Wailing Havoc reflecting his power. His Fell Arm is "Blazor Edge Abyssion", and the sword he is seen with in official art is "Second Star", the sword received after the battle with Estelle.

Friends
Repede - Yuri adopted Repede after his previous owner, Niren Fedrock, was killed before the events of the game. In the movie, Yuri considers him annoying, although Repede still shows affection toward him. However, after Repede's father, Lambert, is controlled by the monsters, Yuri has no choice but to kill him. This event causes him to decide that he would take care of Repede. Yuri and Repede share a deep bond of loyalty and friendship. In a skit, Yuri says that "Repede is Repede", as he does not consider him an ordinary dog.

Flynn Scifo - Flynn, having grown up together with Yuri in the lower quarter's of Zaphias, is Yuri's oldest and best friend. Both of them aspired to become knights in order for the chance to help others, but while Flynn stuck with it, Yuri dropped out. Flynn has a starkly different attitude and personality compared to Yuri; Where Flynn is methodical and polite, Yuri is impulsive and arrogant. While Flynn is more willing to stick to regulations in hopes that he will eventually gain enough influence to change things, Yuri is impatient and is not afraid to resort to, and will do, whatever he wants in order see an injustice rectified. Because of these differences, they tend to frustrate each other, but despite this the two of them remain good friends. Yuri has stated that Flynn had a knack for swordplay when they were children and had always been the noble one.

Estelle - Yuri takes on a supportive role when it comes to Estelle's indecision and her desire to find out about her power; he constantly guides her and encourages her to find her own path in life. He is always willing to offer an attentive ear should Estelle have a need to talk to someone about her worries, and as if in return Estelle trusts Yuri to never judge or harm her. When Estelle was under Alexei's control and forced to fight Yuri, he refuses to kill her despite her pleas for him to do so, and she is ultimately saved. At the end of the game, she states that she looks forward to staying with everyone, especially Yuri. During the end credits, it is shown that Yuri and Estelle remain close friends and still travel together from time to time.

Karol Capel - Although Yuri kept teasing Karol throughout their travels, Yuri eventually becomes a big brother figure to Karol as well as a role model. Karol also admires Yuri, and becomes hurt when he finds out about Yuri's crimes. Throughout the game Yuri serves as a sort of support for Karol, encouraging the younger boy to be brave and take leadership should the situation present a chance for him to do so, for example he always considers Karol to be the "captain" of Brave Vesperia because he was the one who had the idea to start the guild, despite the fact that Yuri in general takes more command. As with Estelle, Yuri encourages Karol to make his own decisions and trusts that he will make the right choices. Eventually Yuri's somewhat subtle efforts pay off and Karol does become a stronger person.

Rita Mordio - Because of the problem between him and Rita, they do not have many interactions. Like with everyone else, Yuri is normally sarcastic with Rita. However, as the game goes on, Yuri and Rita seem to form relatively strong friendship. Later in the game, when Yuri is injured and goes missing, Rita claims to have "looked all over" for him. Even Estelle and Judith notice that Rita is happy that Yuri is safe.

Raven - Although Yuri did not like Raven initially because of the latter's perverted personality and stupid behavior, he trusts him to some degree. When Raven, as Schwann, seemingly resigns himself to death, Yuri tells him to get a hold on himself and to not throw his life away. When Raven returns to the group and requests that Yuri kill him as punishment for his betrayal, Yuri instead declares that whether or not Raven dies will be dictated by Brave Vesperia, indicating that Yuri did not hold hard feelings toward the betrayal and wanted Raven to keep living. The two of them can also hold some insightful conversation, partly because both of them understand the harsher aspects of life.

Judith - Yuri and Judith began working together even while Judith was viewed as the party's enemy. Because they are relatively close in age, they are fond of flirting with each other, though due to their similar personalities it comes off more like friendly banter. The two of them are lone wolves, both holding secrets from the rest of the guild, which eventually do come to light. Their character development throughout the games is therefore similar, as they have both gone through life's hardships alone and now learn to put more faith in their friends. Both of them love to tease the other party members, though they rarely manage to tease each other as they catch on to the other's witty remarks really quickly. Yuri is also one of the more concerned party members when Judith decides to split from the group to hunt blastia.

Enemies
Yuri claims to be an enemy of the Empire, as he hates their system and the corruption in the world. However, his real animosity is directed towards individuals who abuse their power to hurt others, and his opposition of the Empire mainly stems from the fact that many nobles, like Ragou or Cumore, will gladly torment the common people just because they can. Yuri also makes an enemy in Zagi, who sees him as a worthy opponent for making him bleed in their first battle. Yuri dislikes Zagi's bloodthirsty attitude, single-minded persistence, and tendency to challenge him to battle when the heroes have more important things to do, such as chasing Ragou or hunting for Estelle. Yuri also comes into conflict with Duke Pantarei, although this is more of an ideological conflict than a genuine animosity between them.

Tales of Hearts
Yuri appears as a support cameo in Tales of Hearts. Yuri can only be summoned if the player has obtained the "Vesperia Bangle". When Yuri is summoned he uses Shining Fang on the enemy.

Tales of Graces
Asbel Lhant can obtain Yuri's clothing as a costume, using a code on the bonus disc that was packaged with preordered copies of the original Wii release of Tales of Graces. In the PlayStation 3 version of the game, Yuri's costume has been made available within the game by playing the "Magic Carta" minigame and winning with a 100-0 score against a player within Stratha. Yuri himself is also one of the cards collected in the game, with his quote being "Intend to? I already have."

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2
Yuri appears as a playable character in Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2. Yuri and Estelle arrive on the Van Eltia after a certain amount of missions are completed. Yuri serves no actual purpose in the main story, but he can be recruited for missions. After Goede is finally defeated, Yuri and Estelle are on the Van Eltia looking at the mana spreading across the world. Due to the close release dates of Tales of Vesperia and Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 2, Yuri lost almost all of his artes from the original game, keeping only eight, including his mystic arte, Savage Wolf Fury. The sword Yuri uses throughout the game is the "Compact Sword".

Tales of VS.
Yuri appears in Tales of VS. as playable character. During his story mode he is paired up with Farah Oersted from Tales of Eternia, who coincidentally also is alone without her counterpart from same game. Yuri's ultimate Weapon in this game is Dein Nomos, but can obtain the even stronger "Vesperia 2nd" through DLC battle 33.

Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 3
Yuri appears as a playable character in Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology 3, and to a much more playable extent than in Radiant Mythology 2. Yuri is first seen after the protagonist saves Estelle from Saleh, where he and Rita were separated from Estelle and went off to search for her. He obtains a very good portion of the artes he had in Tales of Vesperia, resulting in him having a much more complete moveset compared to Tales of VS and Radiant Mythology 2. Yuri is also able to be fought in the arena alone, or with Flynn. There is also a battle that features Yuri, Leon Magnus, and Asbel Lhant, which is a battle against the three most popular characters in the Tales series, the prize being Yuri's signature Second Star sword.

Tales of The Heroes: Twin Brave
Yuri appears in this game as the protagonist of a serious scenario with Flynn being his partner. Upon hearing about an official oppressing some villagers, Yuri and his best friend Flynn, who is a knight in their country, set out to solve the problem. After successfully liberating the village, Yuri and Flynn learn that the official has been recruiting a private corps to retrieve the Eternal Sword in some guarded ruins. The sword is said to grant the owner with the power to travel through time. The two decide that such a sword should never be obtained by ordinary people, let alone someone like him.

Later, Yuri gets the information that the official was released without charge. Infuriated, he assassinates the official and goes on the run. When encountering Flynn who intends to arrest him, he states that he committed the murder because he would not forgive the officer even if the law did, and he has decided to destroy the Eternal Sword before receiving the punishment for himself. Flynn hesitates at first, but decides to help Yuri out in the end by defeating other knights who come to arrest him.

On their way to destroy the Eternal Sword, they encounter Veigue Lungberg who intends to revenge the officer for the good deeds he has done for his own village. Yuri defeats him nevertheless knowing that he can never explain himself to him as it is also a part of his crime. After the battle, Yuri and Flynn proceed to the ruins to find the Eternal Sword. In the ruins, they encounter Elraine, who offers to eliminate all the criminals in the world using the power of the Eternal Sword. Yuri declines the offer and defeats her with Flynn. Later, the two of them have a fight with each other to sort out the problems with the clashes of their respective ideals, and Flynn wins in the end by knocking the sword out of Yuri's hand.

Having seen Flynn's determination to change the law for the sake of a better country, Yuri admits his defeat and hands himself over to Flynn, ready to receive his punishment. Yuri is also the partner of Flynn in a comical scenario, in which he reluctantly follows an impulsive Flynn around trying to stop the misbehaviors of some other Tales characters. Flynn's efforts are to no avail, however, as Yuri keeps behaving inappropriately right beside him, causing him to lose his own credibility. In the end, Flynn becomes aware that it is his friend's misbehavior that needs correction most and starts a fight with him. Nevertheless, Yuri still shows no intention to change himself for anybody else's sake, and Flynn admits that he should not have brought him along in the first place.

Project X Zone
Yuri appears in the crossover game, Project X Zone, a collaboration between Capcom, Sega, and Bandai Namco Games, alongside Estelle and Flynn. Estelle is his partner character, who assists in his combos directly, while Flynn is an assist character, who can be called upon at any time to increase damage and combo potential. Yuri retains his mystic arte as his finishing move. Yuri and Estelle's introduction level is inside the Fujisakura in Kaguya Nanbu's hometown of Kagura Amahara, immediately after being warped from Halure's tree. They have a brief battle with Sanger Zonvolt from Super Robot Wars: Original Generations to prove themselves "worthy" in his eyes before the rest of the X Zone team shows up to help them deal with a massive monster ambush.

Project X Zone 2
Yuri appears in the sequel, with Flynn as his partner instead of Estelle. Yuri's introduction is during the game's final prologue, in which he and Flynn team up with Valkyrie from Valkyrie no Bouken and Chrom and Lucina from Fire Emblem: Awakening to defeat Valkyrie's longtime nemesis, Kamuz the ogre.

Trivia

 * Yuri is a common given name for males in Russia, meaning George (Юрий), sometimes referring to a farm boy. In Japan, it is a traditional female name, meaning lily (百合/ゆり/ユリ). In Korea, it is also a female name, meaning glass (유리). Lowell is often a prominent English and American surname. It is also Old French for young wolf, which corresponds with some of Yuri's artes possessing a wolf theme, such as Wolf Strike and Savage Wolf Fury.
 * Yuri is the first protagonist in the Tales series who is truly ambidextrous. By default, he carries his sword in his left hand. This means he can fight with his weapon in either hand, although he never fights with a weapon in both hands at the same time like Lloyd Irving from Tales of Symphonia.
 * In the PlayStation 3 port of the game, Yuri can wear the clothing of Asch from Tales of the Abyss. In contrast, Flynn gains a costume of Luke fon Fabre from the same game, emphasizing the opposing relationships of both pair of characters in their respective games.
 * There is a skit in the PlayStation 3 version of the game in which Karol questions why Yuri and Flynn possess some of the same artes, yet the two perform them very differently, such as Dragon Swarm and Tiger Blade. Flynn states those were artes they learned while in the Knights, but Yuri decided to add his own twist to the artes by implementing a few kicks or a punch to them, fitting his style.
 * Yuri's default attire appears as a pre-order costume for Jude Mathis in Tales of Xillia 2.
 * In Tales of Festival 2013, Kosuke Toriumi, Yuri's Japanese voice actor, explained that Yuri's charm point is unlike that of any other protagonists in the series, who tend to maintain a normal sense of justice. Yuri's sense of justice is different and much darker. He also has a mature personality and anti-hero qualities.
 * A plushie resembling Yuri appears in Tales of Xillia 2. The Japanese version requires a save from Tales of Vesperia in order to obtain it, while the international version requires a save file from Tales of Graces ƒ. Another plushie resembling Yuri appears in Tales of Zestiria. A save file is required on the system for the Japanese release in order to obtain it.
 * Yuri's outfit appears as a DLC costume for Sorey in Tales of Zestiria.
 * In July 2015, Yuri appeared as a part of the collaboration between Tales of Asteria and Granblue Fantasy, in the latter. He retains Zankou Roueijin as his special attack.