Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike (Japanese: テイルズ オブ ヴェスペリア 〜The First Strike〜, Hepburn: Teiruzu Obu Vesuperia ~The First Strike~) is a 2009 Japanese animated film by Production I.G. It is directed by Kanta Kamei and written by Reiko Yoshida, featuring the voice talents of Kōsuke Toriumi, Mamoru Miyano, Mai Nakahara, Rika Morinaga, and Eiji Takemoto. The film is the prequel to the Namco Tales Studio's role-playing game Tales of Vesperia and the first animated feature film in the Tales series. Tales of Vesperia: The First Strike revolves around the two knights, Yuri Lowell and Flynn Scifo, from the Niren Corps as they protect a town from monsters with their allies.

The project was led by Kenta Kamei who previously worked on the animated cutscenes from the Tales games. He expressed pressure due to First Strike being his debut as a director and also elaborated on how difficult was creating the storyboard. Yoshida was given the role of screenwriter in order to appeal to the female fanbase the series has always had. It was released in Japan on October 3, 2009, as a result of delays in production. Kadokawa Pictures distributed the film. It was released in North America on June 26, 2012, by Funimation Entertainment and in the United Kingdom on December 3, 2012, on DVD and Blu-ray by Manga Entertainment.

The film grossed a total of US$941,610 in Japan. Its home media release had positive sales in Japan, with the Blu-ray being one of the bestselling from the year it was released. Critical reception of the film has been generally positive for its accessibility to the non-gamers of Tales of Vesperia as well as the appeal of the main cast and the production value. Nevertheless, it has also attracted criticism for its slow pace.

Using a powerful substance known as aer, the people of Terca Lumireis live in an age of discovery and prosperity. The crystallized form of aer, Apatheia, is considered a potent energy source as it is essential to human life. Large amounts of Apatheia are being produced to protect towns from attacks by monsters and create barriers around towns. One day, in a forest near the town of Shizontania, Yuri Lowell and Flynn Scifo, two knights who have just joined the Niren Corps, together with two of their senior knights and fellow Corps members, Hisca and Chastel, are sent on a mission to investigate an abnormal gushing of aer in the area.

After their first assignment to help destroy a monster infestation near the town, Yuri, Flynn, Hisca, and Chastel meet the local guild leader, Merzhom Keida. Niren, the captain of the knights stationed in Shizontania, was once dedicated to following the letter of the rules and regulation of the knights. However, he attributes the death of his wife and daughter to this trait, saying that if he had defied orders, he might have been able to protect them. The knights' efforts to repel the monsters around the area prove to be in vain. Despite being called by Commandant Alexei to attend a formal gathering at the imperial capital of Zaphias, Niren sends Flynn in his stead to attend the gathering and to request aid in defending the town. Niren and Chastel leave in search of a "strange blastia expert" named Rita Mordio. Yuri and Hisca are left to care for Lambert, Niren's hound, and Repede, Lambert's son. Niren succeeds in finding Rita Mordio and obtaining a device with which to return the aer to normal. Commandant Alexei admonishes Flynn, and his request for reinforcements to hold Shizontonia is denied until the end of the gathering. Yuri and Hisca assist in defending the town against a strange monster made out of aer. While they successfully repel the invasion, the monster takes control of Lambert along with two other wardogs. As Lambert rages out of control, Yuri is forced to kill him to protect Hisca.

When Flynn returns from Zaphias, he and Yuri come to blows, as each believes the other had an effortless assignment. Meanwhile, a platoon of high-ranking knights from central is seen in the forest being slaughtered by monsters. One survives and flees to Shizontonia's front gate, where he delivers a report to an unseen individual in the city. Niren, upon receiving the news that reinforcements would not be arriving anytime soon, decides to take the knights to investigate the source of the aer, which he believes to be a fortress at the center of a nearby lake. Flynn disagrees with Niren's decision, viewing it as disobedience of a direct order.

Garista, the strategist for the Niren Corps, attempts to dissuade Niren but to no avail. The investigation in the fortress turns out to be more dangerous as the aer begins to turn the fortress into a living weapon to attack the knights. The knights make their way into the fortress' center, where a giant blastia is found to be using the aer. Niren uses the device given by Rita to stifle the gushing of aer, but the sudden ceasing of aer flow causes a backlash, and the blastia explodes, destroying the barrier blastia that keeps Shizontonia safe, knocking out Chastel and causing the fortress to begin to crumble. As Niren attempts to carry Chastel to safety, the floor beneath him crumbles. Niren is able to throw Chastel to Yuri and is stranded in a sinkhole of gushing aer. Despite Yuri's attempts to save him, due to a wound he received during the investigation, Niren is unable to pull himself to safety. Leaving his blastia with Yuri, Niren has the knights leave without him.

The knights and the entire town mourn over Niren's death. Flynn realizes that the blastia used in the fortress where the aer abnormality originated, along with the piece he spotted on the floor, were a specialized type used only by Garista. Yuri and Flynn confront Garista with this information. Garista reveals that he attempted to create a new kind of blastia illegally but failed. He decided to leave the blastia to destroy itself, destroying Shizontonia and killing all witnesses. Yuri and Flynn attempt to arrest Garista, but a fight ensues, and Yuri kills him. In the aftermath, Shizontonia is evacuated due to the failure of the barrier blastia. Yuri leaves the knights, taking Niren's blastia as a keepsake and bringing Repede along with him, saying his goodbyes to everyone in the town. Flynn sees him off at the gates, and the two share a fond farewell, swearing to meet again.