Overview
Anima is one of the six Esper elements in Neverness to Everness. The six elements that make up the Esper Cycle are Cosmos, Anima, Incantation, Chaos, Psyche, and Lakshana. Each element participates in specific duo and trio reactions when combined with adjacent elements in the cycle.
Anima sits between Cosmos and Incantation in the elemental cycle. When paired with Cosmos, it triggers the Blossom reaction. When paired with Incantation, it triggers the Hexed reaction. A trio reaction called Charge can also be activated when Blossom interacts with the Lakshana-Cosmos reaction known as Remora.
Anima characters fill a range of combat roles, from melee burst damage dealers to ranged damage-over-time specialists and close-range DPS utility hybrids. Building a team around the Anima element rewards players who maintain steady offensive pressure and coordinate elemental switches to keep reactions firing consistently.
Anima Characters
Three playable characters currently use the Anima element. The table below summarizes their key details.
Name | Rank | Arc Type | Weapon | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
S-Class | Solid | Claws | Main DPS / Follow-up Attacker | |
S-Class | Solid | Dual Pistols | Burst DPS / Control | |
A-Class | Liquid | Dual Blades | DPS / Utility |
Nanally
Nanally is an S-Class Anima character affiliated with the Eibon Antique Shop. She is widely regarded as one of the strongest melee burst damage dealers available at launch. Nanally fights with her claws using a street fighting style passed down through the Coluccis family, and she can perform up to five consecutive combo attacks.
Her signature mechanic, Ichi-daime's Authority, is an enhanced combat state lasting up to 12 seconds that she enters through her skill. During this state, Nanally gains access to anti-gravity walking, allowing her to move freely along walls and ceilings. This provides both combat and exploration advantages. Her ultimate summons an Underboss companion that fights alongside her for 6 seconds, dealing Anima damage that counts as follow-up attacks while pulling enemies together.
Nanally's Esper Cycle Passive enhances the Blossom reaction: she fires 10 smaller attacks for each Blossom spawned and increases their attack frequency. Additionally, when teammates trigger Esper Cycle damage while she is in her Ichi-daime's Authority state, she applies follow-up attacks dealing 60% ATK as Anima damage (once per 2 seconds).
Jiuyuan
Jiuyuan is an S-Class Anima character and a member of Sterry Express. She serves as the organization's top courier while also operating as a spy within Hethereau. Jiuyuan wields dual pistols and excels at safe mid-range combat, applying damage over time through her unique mark system.
Her core mechanic revolves around the Lethal Rose Pact and Rose Pact Bullets. Basic attacks grant 2 Rose Pact Bullets and bind targets with Lethal Rose Pact, while her dash skill gathers enemies, deals multiple instances of Anima damage, and grants 4 Rose Pact Bullets. Jiuyuan can consume these bullets for continuous fire that prioritizes Pact-marked targets.
Her Esper Cycle Passive, Seize the Moment, spawns 1 additional Lebenstamm and increases the on-field Lebenstamm limit to 6. Her ultimate, Final Reckoning, causes all Lethal Rose Pact targets within range to enter a state where Pact Settlement can be triggered, unleashing accumulated damage.
Mint
Mint is an A-Class Anima character and a cheerful elite operative from Containment Squad Unit 2 (CSU-2) of the Bureau of Anomaly Control. She fights with wind-infused dual blades and can perform up to five consecutive strikes, aerial plunging attacks that scale up to 200% based on fall height, and a held spin attack that creates continuous damage tornadoes.
Her Esper Cycle Passive, Transform! Super Mint!, directly enhances the Blossom reaction by expanding its damage area on hit. She also gains a 20% DEF increase and 30% Interruption resistance while on the field through her second passive, Bingo! We're Done Here! Mint's ultimate, Thunderous Whirlwind Slash, channels wind into multiple impact strikes followed by a massive final slash.
Duo Reactions
Anima participates in two duo reactions within the Esper Cycle. Duo reactions are triggered by building Esper Meter through attacks, skills, or successful parries, then switching characters to activate an Esper Cycle attack that combines two adjacent elements. The charging speed depends on each character's Cycle Rate stat.
Blossom (Cosmos + Anima)
Blossom is triggered by combining Cosmos and Anima in the Esper Cycle. When activated, it spawns an autonomous attacker on the field that deals area-of-effect damage to nearby enemies. This reaction is considered one of the most comfortable to play around because it adds continuous pressure without requiring additional field time from the player.
The spawned attacker operates independently, allowing the active character to focus on their own combos while the Blossom entity handles supplementary damage. Each Anima character enhances Blossom in a unique way:
Nanally: Fires 10 smaller projectiles for each Blossom spawned and increases the attack frequency of Blossom entities.
Mint: Expands the damage area of Blossom on hit, making each attack cover a wider radius.
Hexed (Anima + Incantation)
Hexed is triggered by combining Anima and Incantation in the Esper Cycle. When activated, it triggers extra Unison damage based on the elemental damage the target has taken in the last several seconds. This reaction rewards continuous offensive pressure and clean attack sequencing rather than short, isolated bursts of damage.
To maximize Hexed's damage output, teams should focus on sustained elemental application before triggering the reaction. The more damage a target absorbs in the window leading up to the Hexed proc, the larger the resulting burst. This makes Hexed especially strong in extended engagements where players can maintain uninterrupted damage chains.
Duo Reaction Summary
Reaction | Elements | Effect |
|---|---|---|
Blossom | Cosmos + Anima | Spawns an autonomous AoE attacker on the field |
Hexed | Anima + Incantation | Deals extra Unison damage based on recent elemental damage taken by the target |
Trio Reaction
Charge (Blossom + Remora)
Charge is an advanced trio reaction that occurs when a Blossom entity hits a target already marked by Remora. Remora is the duo reaction produced by combining Lakshana and Cosmos, which marks and slows the target's movement and attack speed. When the Blossom attacker strikes a Remora-marked enemy, each hit grants the active character ultimate energy.
This three-element chain (Lakshana, Cosmos, and Anima) creates one of the most efficient team structures in the game. Remora slows the enemy and keeps them under control, Blossom maintains constant pressure through its autonomous attacks, and Charge converts that sustained chain into ultimate energy. The result is a loop where control, damage, and energy generation are all built into the same structure, letting the team cycle ultimates faster than teams that rely on raw damage alone.
Reaction | Trigger | Elements Involved | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
Charge | Blossom hits a Remora-marked target | Grants the active character ultimate energy per hit |
Team Building Tips
When building teams around the Anima element, the goal is to create reaction chains that keep pressure on the field while generating resources for the squad. Below are some key strategies.
Lakshana, Cosmos, and Anima (Control Route)
This composition triggers all three reactions in the Anima chain: Remora (Lakshana + Cosmos) slows enemies, Blossom (Cosmos + Anima) spawns autonomous attackers, and Charge converts hits on Remora-marked targets into ultimate energy. The route is more control-oriented than a pure damage setup but tends to feel smooth in practice. Control and energy generation are woven into the same structure, so players do not need to choose between safety and efficiency.
Anima and Incantation (Pressure Route)
Pairing Anima characters with Incantation characters triggers the Hexed reaction. This route rewards teams that can maintain continuous elemental damage over several seconds, since Hexed converts accumulated damage into a burst of Unison damage. It works well in longer fights where sustained pressure is more valuable than single-target control.
General Tips
Esper Cycle Passives stay active off-field. Anima characters' passives that enhance Blossom or other reactions remain in effect even when the character is not the active fighter. This means slotting an Anima character into the squad improves the entire team's reaction output without needing dedicated field time.
Cycle Rate matters. The speed at which the Esper Meter charges depends on each character's Cycle Rate stat. Characters with higher Cycle Rates can trigger reactions more frequently, so prioritize this stat when choosing Arcs and accessories for Anima team members.
Mix ranks freely. Mint (A-Class) holds her own alongside S-Class characters like Nanally and Jiuyuan. Her Blossom area expansion passive provides a genuine gameplay advantage, and her A-Class availability makes her easier to obtain and awaken.
Fourth slot flexibility. In a four-character squad, the fourth slot can be filled by any element. Consider a healer or shielder from an unrelated element to round out survivability without disrupting the Anima reaction chain.