Yuri Lowell

"I think there are some things that you have to do, even if they're a crime. Someone has to do them, even if it means taking the blame."

Yuri Lowell (ユーリ・ローウェル Yuuri Rooueru?) 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 is forced to leave his life in the lower quarter behind to pursue the thief who stole the blastia core required for regulating the area's water supply.

Yuri's pursuit of the thief eventually leads to him being imprisoned in the castle dungeons. After making his escape, he 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.

Personality
"If you don’t know the value of junk, you’re worth less than junk yourself."-Yuri.

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 empathic 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 swordsman 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.

Repede
Yuri adopted Repede after his previous owner, Niren Fedrock, was killed before the events of the game. Yuri and Repede share a deep bound of loyalty and friendship, and seem to understand each other in a debatable manner. In skit Yuri says that "Repede is Repede", as he does not consider himself an ordinary dog.

Estellise Sidos Heurassein
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. Yuri has proven on several occasions that he cares for Estelle very much and looks out for her well being. 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. Yuri is also resolute in his desire to rescue Estelle. 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, and he tells her that he "feels the same way". 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.

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.