Written by: Kevin Berge
Are you ready to see the origin of Fate/Zero where the most powerful and intense character is just used as a love interest? (Image Courtesy of: onlinefanatic.com)
Much like with any television, anime is driven by great concepts; however, the execution creates the great product. Fate/stay night was the original series to tell the story of seven mages battling with legendary heroes for the Holy Grail.
However, the proper execution of this idea came later with Fate/Zero (which I already reviewed). This is not to say that Fate/stay night is a bad anime, but even going in, I was aware that this was a strong concept with great characters but lacking in the complexity that would later be added to this series.
Still, as someone who had fallen in love with many of these characters, I could not help but give the original series a shot, and I was far from disappointed with the time I invested.
Note: This review will include Fate/stay night and the re-imagined 2014 series Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works so as to cover the second series without an unnecessary extra review given much of the review of the second series would be comparative.
However, the proper execution of this idea came later with Fate/Zero (which I already reviewed). This is not to say that Fate/stay night is a bad anime, but even going in, I was aware that this was a strong concept with great characters but lacking in the complexity that would later be added to this series.
Still, as someone who had fallen in love with many of these characters, I could not help but give the original series a shot, and I was far from disappointed with the time I invested.
Note: This review will include Fate/stay night and the re-imagined 2014 series Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works so as to cover the second series without an unnecessary extra review given much of the review of the second series would be comparative.
Synopsis
Shiro Emiya, the sole survivor of the destruction in Fuyuki City brought on by the Fourth Holy Grail War, is thrust into the Fifth Holy Grail War when he sees a battle between two epic heroes. Lancer decides it is his duty to kill Shiro who must then be saved by the surprise summoning of his servant Saber.
Shiro must then decide how to fight in the Grail War alongside his temporary allies Rin Tosaka and Archer. He learns that he must fight six other epic heroes and their masters with the ultimate goal at the end the Holy Grail, promising any wish to be granted.
Shiro must then decide how to fight in the Grail War alongside his temporary allies Rin Tosaka and Archer. He learns that he must fight six other epic heroes and their masters with the ultimate goal at the end the Holy Grail, promising any wish to be granted.
Count me in for whatever Fate series stars Rin alone. (Image Courtesy of: heroes.wikia.com)
Story Arc Analysis
***This is the one section of the review that will contain spoilers with the expectation that the reader has seen the series. If you have not, skip ahead to the Impact and Art Style section.***
Fate/stay night
Choices in War (Episodes 1-9): This series has a strong and engaging opening that quickly establishes the rules and stakes. By nearly showing the main character die right off the bat, the threat is made real. Couple this with Saber's introduction in the nick of time and it's easy to get wrapped up in the anime quickly.
The introduction of Berserker, the most frightening threat of the series, works beautifully as he seems completely unstoppable. It however unfortunately also leads to the development of Shiro's most annoying character trait. He constantly tries to save Saber as though her being a woman supercedes her being an epic hero.
Learning to Fight (Ep 10-16): Here the series' action kicks into high gear. The battle with Rider and Shinji to save everyone in Shiro's school is creepy and enticing while the full-on war to defeat Berserker unfortunately kills off an enticing threat too early but gives him his due.
While Shiro continues to evolve in his understanding of his abilities, it is Rin whose character becomes more involved here. She has to let Archer die for the sake of Shiro and Saber thus showing her true heroic nature in spite of some sense that she would ultimately be frightening.
The Eighth Servant (Ep 17-24): In order to deal with losing Berserker, the anime needed to introduce a new threat thus revealing the truth of Kirei Kotomine as well as the eighth servant, Gilgamesh, who had survived all the way from the Fourth War by feeding on people's souls. These reveals are well delivered especially for one who wouldn't have expected they were possible thanks to Fate/Zero.
The final battle and ending with Saber vs. Gilgamesh does not feel as epic as it should even though the action has more genuine completeness than their Fate/Zero encounter. The ending also echoes that series but with less clarity over why Shiro and Saber decide to destroy the Grail.
Throughout the series, the anime tries to establish a romance between Shiro and Saber, but it is by far the weakest aspect of the anime even as it tries to be the defining attribute of the conclusion. It is even worse as every other girl in the series also seems to have a crush on him, leading to an awkward harem atmosphere with all those girls living in the same home.
Fate/stay night
Choices in War (Episodes 1-9): This series has a strong and engaging opening that quickly establishes the rules and stakes. By nearly showing the main character die right off the bat, the threat is made real. Couple this with Saber's introduction in the nick of time and it's easy to get wrapped up in the anime quickly.
The introduction of Berserker, the most frightening threat of the series, works beautifully as he seems completely unstoppable. It however unfortunately also leads to the development of Shiro's most annoying character trait. He constantly tries to save Saber as though her being a woman supercedes her being an epic hero.
Learning to Fight (Ep 10-16): Here the series' action kicks into high gear. The battle with Rider and Shinji to save everyone in Shiro's school is creepy and enticing while the full-on war to defeat Berserker unfortunately kills off an enticing threat too early but gives him his due.
While Shiro continues to evolve in his understanding of his abilities, it is Rin whose character becomes more involved here. She has to let Archer die for the sake of Shiro and Saber thus showing her true heroic nature in spite of some sense that she would ultimately be frightening.
The Eighth Servant (Ep 17-24): In order to deal with losing Berserker, the anime needed to introduce a new threat thus revealing the truth of Kirei Kotomine as well as the eighth servant, Gilgamesh, who had survived all the way from the Fourth War by feeding on people's souls. These reveals are well delivered especially for one who wouldn't have expected they were possible thanks to Fate/Zero.
The final battle and ending with Saber vs. Gilgamesh does not feel as epic as it should even though the action has more genuine completeness than their Fate/Zero encounter. The ending also echoes that series but with less clarity over why Shiro and Saber decide to destroy the Grail.
Throughout the series, the anime tries to establish a romance between Shiro and Saber, but it is by far the weakest aspect of the anime even as it tries to be the defining attribute of the conclusion. It is even worse as every other girl in the series also seems to have a crush on him, leading to an awkward harem atmosphere with all those girls living in the same home.
It is nice for one of the Archer servants to actually use a bow... every now and then. (Image Courtesy of: pinterest.com)
Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works
Text (Episode 0-7): Even though this section mostly follows the original with better animation, there is a sense instantly of stronger attention to the story with a better script and characters. The opening being entirely from Rin's perspective actually sells the idea that it might be better if she was the only main character.
The battle with Berserker is far more exciting even if it doesn't as clearly establish Berserker as indomitable but rather just invincible as he takes the best shots of Saber and Archer and gets right back up.
Betrayal and Broken Bonds (Episode 8-16): The second section of the anime truly showcased the variety in vision. Characters quickly changed positions with the improved and frightening use of Caster as a villain while Rider was taking out with ease. Even Berserker was taken out more easily for the sake of developing the true threat of Gilgamesh.
Where this shined was just how large the threat became. With Caster taking over Saber and Archer turned on Rin to join Caster's side, there was a moment where it seemed like there was no answer to the villainous threat. The dark tone was accentuated when Archer killing Caster did not even feel like a victory.
Shiro's Destiny (Episode 17-24): It only took until the end of the second Holy Grail telling, but Shiro finally became a compelling hero here. The reveal that Archer was Shiro from the future was well laid out in a way that it made an impact without being overly surprising even as no lore pointed to this possibility to date.
Archer had suffered so much for his ideal of saving everyone and making them happy, so he had come back as a hero with the wish to kill his younger self and end his suffering as well as the suffering he felt he had caused for others by living with his ideal. This dynamic with Shiro having to battle the ideal of himself was a perfect symbolic story.
Ultimately, Shiro won, and Gilgamesh was the final boss with Archer returning to make the save at the last moment. It all worked out though it did somewhat separate the story too much from Saber (which made sense given she had been the focus of the previous two series). The ending was satisfying with an unnecessary full episode epilogue.
Text (Episode 0-7): Even though this section mostly follows the original with better animation, there is a sense instantly of stronger attention to the story with a better script and characters. The opening being entirely from Rin's perspective actually sells the idea that it might be better if she was the only main character.
The battle with Berserker is far more exciting even if it doesn't as clearly establish Berserker as indomitable but rather just invincible as he takes the best shots of Saber and Archer and gets right back up.
Betrayal and Broken Bonds (Episode 8-16): The second section of the anime truly showcased the variety in vision. Characters quickly changed positions with the improved and frightening use of Caster as a villain while Rider was taking out with ease. Even Berserker was taken out more easily for the sake of developing the true threat of Gilgamesh.
Where this shined was just how large the threat became. With Caster taking over Saber and Archer turned on Rin to join Caster's side, there was a moment where it seemed like there was no answer to the villainous threat. The dark tone was accentuated when Archer killing Caster did not even feel like a victory.
Shiro's Destiny (Episode 17-24): It only took until the end of the second Holy Grail telling, but Shiro finally became a compelling hero here. The reveal that Archer was Shiro from the future was well laid out in a way that it made an impact without being overly surprising even as no lore pointed to this possibility to date.
Archer had suffered so much for his ideal of saving everyone and making them happy, so he had come back as a hero with the wish to kill his younger self and end his suffering as well as the suffering he felt he had caused for others by living with his ideal. This dynamic with Shiro having to battle the ideal of himself was a perfect symbolic story.
Ultimately, Shiro won, and Gilgamesh was the final boss with Archer returning to make the save at the last moment. It all worked out though it did somewhat separate the story too much from Saber (which made sense given she had been the focus of the previous two series). The ending was satisfying with an unnecessary full episode epilogue.
Don't worry, Sakura plays a very important role in this series... playing dejected crush that clearly makes the most sense to be with Shiro. (Image Courtesy of: typemoon.wikia.com)
Impact and Art Style
Fate/stay night is not a stationary story based upon the way it was originally written as a visual novel which allowed players to make choices that would drastically affect events. In fact, there are three lines of the story with only two currently told in anime form: Fate and Unlimited Blade Works.
The third, Heaven's Feel, will soon be adapted as a series of films. I bring this up because the anime itself feels like it cannot quite pin down its own arc, leaving character threads lying or hastily wrapped based on certain shifts in the story. The running themes are fascinating but also not cleanly delivered.
The two anime covered here focus on two sides of the anime's primary focus: conquering the self. As the original creators put it, the original series covers "oneself as an ideal" while Unlimited Blade Works covers "struggling with oneself as an ideal". It can be hard to like the main character Shirou in any of the stories as he continues to make selfish choices that only play out near the end of each arc.
If the series had just been able to capture these ideas wholly as Fate/Zero had, the anime would be a fun if imperfect watch, but there is too much excess throughout as well as an aversion to the vicious undercurrent. The original art in Fate/stay night works fine, but it is truly stunning in Unlimited Blade Works, capturing its world with a dark vibrancy as well as making the action some of the most impressive in anime.
The third, Heaven's Feel, will soon be adapted as a series of films. I bring this up because the anime itself feels like it cannot quite pin down its own arc, leaving character threads lying or hastily wrapped based on certain shifts in the story. The running themes are fascinating but also not cleanly delivered.
The two anime covered here focus on two sides of the anime's primary focus: conquering the self. As the original creators put it, the original series covers "oneself as an ideal" while Unlimited Blade Works covers "struggling with oneself as an ideal". It can be hard to like the main character Shirou in any of the stories as he continues to make selfish choices that only play out near the end of each arc.
If the series had just been able to capture these ideas wholly as Fate/Zero had, the anime would be a fun if imperfect watch, but there is too much excess throughout as well as an aversion to the vicious undercurrent. The original art in Fate/stay night works fine, but it is truly stunning in Unlimited Blade Works, capturing its world with a dark vibrancy as well as making the action some of the most impressive in anime.
Sub vs. Dub
The dub of Fate/stay night and Unlimited Blade Works have different casts, but neither are that great. The sub meanwhile keeps the same cast and makes for a better listening experience from start to finish.
This is a fairly expected given the dub is done by two separate studios, each not known for fantastic casts. While the English side is easy enough listening, the sub is simply stronger and more affecting.
Recommendation: Sub
This is a fairly expected given the dub is done by two separate studios, each not known for fantastic casts. While the English side is easy enough listening, the sub is simply stronger and more affecting.
Recommendation: Sub
Apparently, this is the great heart throb of all heart throbs. (Image Courtesy of: wallpaperup.com)
Conclusion
Fate/stay night does not have all the great characters that would later be introduced in Fate/Zero nor the intelligent dialogue on power and fate, but it still makes for an engaging ride from start to finish. If its more ill advised trappings were removed, it could have been a worthy companion piece.
Unfortunately, the series has a tendency of leaning toward a romance that is wildly unbelievable and a building harem feel to the comedy that just gets old fast. The plot line is fairly linear with a few references to the Zero timeline rather than full flashbacks that only further emphasize a lack of consistent quality.
Having now watched three Grail Wars play out in Zero, stay night, and Unlimited Blade Works, I can recommend both Zero and Unlimited Blade Works, but I have no qualms stating that the original Fate/stay night is not worth investing in especially once Unlimited Blade Works has better used nearly every characters.
This is an action anime with brilliant ideas in the hands of solid creators. It would likely stand out more strongly if it did not have to match up with the work of Gen Urobushi. Still, most anime fans will find something worth exploring, at least in the modern Ultimate Blade Works.
Unfortunately, the series has a tendency of leaning toward a romance that is wildly unbelievable and a building harem feel to the comedy that just gets old fast. The plot line is fairly linear with a few references to the Zero timeline rather than full flashbacks that only further emphasize a lack of consistent quality.
Having now watched three Grail Wars play out in Zero, stay night, and Unlimited Blade Works, I can recommend both Zero and Unlimited Blade Works, but I have no qualms stating that the original Fate/stay night is not worth investing in especially once Unlimited Blade Works has better used nearly every characters.
This is an action anime with brilliant ideas in the hands of solid creators. It would likely stand out more strongly if it did not have to match up with the work of Gen Urobushi. Still, most anime fans will find something worth exploring, at least in the modern Ultimate Blade Works.