Fate/stay Night Anime

[wolfx]

I was really waiting for the anime interpretation of Type-Moon's highly lauded Fate/Stay Night H-game franchise. I knew nothing much about the story due to my inability to read japanese, but i been seeing the character designs, screenshots and basic storyline for it.

1st few episodes really roped me in. Excellent animation and combat sequences. Set the pace of the anime. From episodes 4-10, i was wondering why was the pace so FRICKING SLOW. I was disturbed that Saber one of the main characters didn't even have much screen time. By episode 11 onwards, the ball starts rolling with things happening pretty fast. Perhaps maybe too fast. Plot twists were happening faster than things were being resolved. By the end of the series, I was left with 101 questions.....plot holes were everywhere.

Reading off wikipedia and some fansites, i understood the story more cause the game had the story more structured and explained whereas the anime seemed to leave out things and hinted some stuff that gave a nod to the game. Only the game ppl would notice these.

Another problem was the game had 3 different paths to be taken, and each path had very varying storylines. The anime sort of melded the paths together into a story which caused more plot holes to open.

Fans of fate stay night sort of say its the best anime of the year and laud it for its subtle hints. But I think most of these "hints" dont' really tell someone who's just watching the anime anything. You gotta know what's goin on in the game in all the story paths to get that hint. There's also a big problem with "forgotten characters" which seemed to play a big part in the plot but was forgotten totally after their 1-2 episode arc, especially the Sakura arc.

Anyone seen the series yet? What did you think?

[chrono]

I got as far as the Rider vs Saber fight in the school.

But even then I thought that the pace was somewhat slow and the main character overly boring. Which is a typical given since they virtually had to write a new character for the anime. Though that is kinda off-set by the fact he kept getting killed I do agree that more Saber would've been good. But if it got slower.... ugh!

But even if it's not the best anime out there at least it's not more Gundam, High School school, or Super-powered kid stuff.

*goes back to wait for more of his Hellsing.....*

[JB0]

Here's the problem.

It's based on an H game.

But there's no sex. They only even come close once.

There's barely even any nudity.

There you have it, the Y chromosome review of Fate.

[Sumdumgai]

Based off H game, no sex, almost 0 nudity. To hell with that!

[chrono]

LOL!

Yeah there should've been some mature material in there. At least Shuffle! teased you some.

[wolfx]

Here's the problem.

It's based on an H game.

But there's no sex. They only even come close once.

There's barely even any nudity.

There you have it, the Y chromosome review of Fate.

413446[/snapback]

The sex wasn't necessary since it was supposed to be used to regenerate the servant's mana. The anime changed it to a CGI dragon scene instead which was fine. It was implied they did have sex right after they kissed in one of the episodes though.

chrono:

There's ample saber later. The beginning episodes just had crap pacing.

[Panon]

If you've actually played the game, you'd know Fate Stay Night isn't a porn game that is about it's sex or nudity.

That content is relatively minor, it's a heavily story and dialogue based visual novel game.

The Fate anime had two problems - one is it's pacing, at times it's perhaps a little too faithful to the game and get's very wordy and it just really kind of drags at times.

The second probem is, it's the Fate storyline of F/SN - arguably the simpler and more generic of the games three storylines. The other two storylines, Heavens Feel and especially Unlimited Blade Works are considerably more interesting, but the problem is you can't just make an anime based on either of them because they rely on the Fate storyline to introduce characters and set up their personalities and motivations, etc. They also don't showcase the full range of servants the way Fate does.

The anime kind of does itself a disservice by showing hints of those other storylines, since it gave gimpses of interesting things it wouldn't cover.

[JB0]

No fun at all. Just take my post as a joke, like it was intended.

[wolfx]

The Fate anime had two problems - one is it's pacing, at times it's perhaps a little too faithful to the game and get's very wordy and it just really kind of drags at times.

The second probem is, it's the Fate storyline of F/SN - arguably the simpler and more generic of the games three storylines. The other two storylines, Heavens Feel and especially Unlimited Blade Works are considerably more interesting, but the problem is you can't just make an anime based on either of them because they rely on the Fate storyline to introduce characters and set up their personalities and motivations, etc. They also don't showcase the full range of servants the way Fate does.

The anime kind of does itself a disservice by showing hints of those other storylines, since it gave gimpses of interesting things it wouldn't cover.

413515[/snapback]

So i assume you're a fan of the games? Did you think the anime was done well like how the other fans thought?

I thought how they kinda melded the 3 stories were pretty cool, and doesn't disrupt much of the "main story". But as you said, if it wants to introduce hints to pivotal things that happened in UBW and Heavens Feel, at least explain stuff abit more clearly. This makes F/SN anything but standalone as an anime. If someone like me as a casual anime viewer who knew nothing/knows little about the games, i'd feel totally lost and be left wondering wth is goin on.

For one, the whole Holy Grail War wasn't explained properly either. They just said it would grant the winners of the war their wish. Then by the end of the series, it seems that this isn't quite the case and it wasn't explained properly why. This was a very major plot hole IMHO cause it makes the whole point of the HGW totally and utterly pointless if it wasn't explained. It wasn't until i read the synopsis of Heaven's Feel that I understood why the holy grail wasn't so holy after all.

Generally I think the F/SN source material (graphic novel) is an awesome piece of work. The anime definately doesn't do it justice. It doesn't serve as a standalone material and for most casual watchers of anime, they will feel lost by the end of it. But generally if i forgot all the major plotholes and focused just on Shiro and Saber arc, I felt it was done quite well in that sense. Maybe if they actually told viewers about the Archer and Shiro arc and not just hint on it, it would've moved the anime up a notch.

[Akilae]

Personally, I think the F/SN anime could have been set up to go more in line with the UBW ending. Although the Fate ending is a tad more coherent, the UBW ending makes for more interesting storytelling, while not being entirely contradictory to the point of impossible to meld the two.

The way the anime portrays it, Saber is the main point of the story, which is nice, but doesn't explain the whol Grail War, and doesn't explain the crapload of not-so-subtle plot hints thrown into the anime (Shiro <-> Archer). UBW would have made more sense to explain why Archer was the way he was. Maybe if they had taken two seasons instead of rushing for one....

There's also the slight deviation from the already impressive game art. The Shir/Saber and Berserker fight comes to mind...

[wolfx]

2nd trailer for the Unlimited Blade Works movie. Looks promising.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX8pYPTs32A...player_embedded

[Seto Kaiba]

2nd trailer for the Unlimited Blade Works movie. Looks promising.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX8pYPTs32A...player_embedded

Yeah, it does... 's one of the few new titles I'm looking forward to. I'm hoping they'll follow this up with a movie version of the realta nua version of the Heaven's Feel scenario next... the original version'd be a bit too graphic for them to get away with it.

[VFTF1]

Here's the problem.

It's based on an H game.

But there's no sex. They only even come close once.

There's barely even any nudity.

There you have it, the Y chromosome review of Fate.

Excellent review.

What's an H game? Hentai?

Pete

[Vepariga]

yea pete,i believe H game is hentai.

I didnt mind Fate/Stay Night, i love type-moon but I could not watch Fate/Stay Night all the way thru,i only got up to the rider fight and that was it for me, I cannot stand Shrio getting in the way of practically EVERY saber fight saying 'no waa waa' GTFO you fool,Saber is the best fighter and shes been doing it for centuries and you step in thinking its not what she wants? lol? get out. shiro was one of the most annoying chacters ive ever seen,sorry but that really rubs me when fool characters think they can stand between a seasoned battler and a giant beast having a 'whinge'.

[kung flu]

am not really sure what fate stay night is about, but i like the character designs, especailly saber, i bought the ebcraft figure of her probably 2 years ago now. I like how they gave her a dress with armour.

[Lynx7725]

FSN anime does have issues, as stated -- It's slow at the start, there're plot points that aren't explained well. But it's still a good story.

[VFTF1]

So Fate/Stay Night is like Icky Toes Blend? Hot girls fighting and taking off their cloths? :/

Meh.

I have the Revoltech Tohsaka Rhin. I always thought the figure, as well as the character design, were very good. Too bad it sounds like story story is basically Mortal Kombat Playboy version.

I have nothing against it, but sexually it doesn't turn me on and I guess if it doesn't turn you on then it's like watching bad porn... no story...porn not interesting in and of itself...yawn.

Pete

[Seto Kaiba]

FSN anime does have issues, as stated -- It's slow at the start, there're plot points that aren't explained well. But it's still a good story.

Eh, it's because it's really a simplified version of the Fate scenario from the game... in the trimming-down it lost a fair bit of backstory and setting to get the show down to a manageable size.

So Fate/Stay Night is like Icky Toes Blend? Hot girls fighting and taking off their cloths? :/

No... not even close I'm afraid. Even the original h-game's doesn't fit that particular mold. It's a reasonably well-executed visual novel with a largely shonen manga-style action/romance plot, and a surprisingly well thought-out "classical fantasy elements in the modern day"-type setting. In truth, there's precious little "h" material in the h-game, usually consisting of one brief sex scene hastily jammed in about two-thirds of the way through each story track with a weak rationalization. If not for those obligatory one or two brief hentai scenes, the game would've been an exemplary shonen fantasy story, and the developers did actually see the potential of the story to stand on its own, and released an all-ages version of the game as well.

Likewise, the Fate/stay night anime series sells itself pretty much entirely on the basis of the story. To put it bluntly, everybody's clothes stay firmly on, and don't disintegrate in mid-combat like in Ikkitousen. In fact, I'd say it's far lighter on the fanservice than even Macross Frontier.

[Wanzerfan]

Excellent review.

What's an H game? Hentai?

Pete

"Got it in one, Mr. Gerabaldi."

[wolfx]

If not for those obligatory one or two brief hentai scenes, the game would've been an exemplary shonen fantasy story, and the developers did actually see the potential of the story to stand on its own, and released an all-ages version of the game as well.

I like how the included the "dragon" in the anime.

[Seto Kaiba]

I like how the included the "dragon" in the anime.

Well they had to get around the Fate scenario's obligatory hanky-panky somehow... and that way seems as good as any other. It did lend itself to some truly bizarre/funny comics once the fansubs started hitting the net.

[VFTF1]

No... not even close I'm afraid. Even the original h-game's doesn't fit that particular mold. It's a reasonably well-executed visual novel with a largely shonen manga-style action/romance plot, and a surprisingly well thought-out "classical fantasy elements in the modern day"-type setting. In truth, there's precious little "h" material in the h-game, usually consisting of one brief sex scene hastily jammed in about two-thirds of the way through each story track with a weak rationalization. If not for those obligatory one or two brief hentai scenes, the game would've been an exemplary shonen fantasy story, and the developers did actually see the potential of the story to stand on its own, and released an all-ages version of the game as well.

Likewise, the Fate/stay night anime series sells itself pretty much entirely on the basis of the story. To put it bluntly, everybody's clothes stay firmly on, and don't disintegrate in mid-combat like in Ikkitousen. In fact, I'd say it's far lighter on the fanservice than even Macross Frontier.

Ah. Now that sounds more reasonable.

I have never been big on fantasy, but I could give this a try on the basis of you saying "surprisingly well thought out classical fantasy elements in modern day" settings. I have never really lliked magic. Super robot "anime magic" is fine because I always take it to be kind of like artistic license mixed with science fiction - but fantasy in a pure D&D type sense always annoyed the hell out of me. It always made me think of weak cop out plots where characters are stuck in a rut and somebody just says "Abra Cadabra!" and the thing resolves itself.

I'm also completely not into any kind of romantization of pre-industrial life usually. All good pre-modern works simply have great human characters and great dramatic plots to them. It's kind of like - a modern setting with lots of FX and flashy gizmos but no plot sucks to me. So...also a midievil or pre-modern setting which attempts to romanticize...

uh...never mind - turning into another long post...

Point is - this sounds remotely interesting.

And I think Saber is hot in her regular clothes - not so much in that Knight outfit...

Tohsaka Rhin, on the other hand...I dunno...

Maybe if I got to know the characters, I'd like it?

Thing is - there was surprisingly little available to see on Youtube when last I checked - and I usually like sampling anime etc on Youtube to get a flavor for it.

Pete

[Seto Kaiba]

I have never been big on fantasy, but I could give this a try on the basis of you saying "surprisingly well thought out classical fantasy elements in modern day" settings. I have never really lliked magic.

You'll probably find the magic in Fate/stay night tends to be relatively unobtrusive on the whole, with most of the magic being simple low-key stuff like Shiro's habit of using the only kind of magic he doesn't suck at to fix things, and Rin's occasional ineffectual projectiles. The only showy magic is the magical macguffin they're fighting over (called the holy grail, but is for all practical purposes just a magical wish-granting machine) and the battle magic employed by the "servants", who are themselves magical constructs created in the image of and bearing the souls of well-known ancient heroes and the like, created to do battle to both fuel the holy grail and determine who gets to actually use it for a wish. Odds are if the sort of shonen manga stuff you saw in Bleach didn't mortally offend you, the battle magic used in Fate/stay night won't either.

I'm also completely not into any kind of romantization of pre-industrial life usually. All good pre-modern works simply have great human characters and great dramatic plots to them. It's kind of like - a modern setting with lots of FX and flashy gizmos but no plot sucks to me. So...also a midievil or pre-modern setting which attempts to romanticize...

Well, you won't have any issues with Fate/stay night on that front, as the whole thing is set in modern-day Japan.

And I think Saber is hot in her regular clothes - not so much in that Knight outfit...

Agreed, though the "knight outfit" is for... well... combat purposes.

Tohsaka Rhin, on the other hand...I dunno...

Eh... personality like Asuka from Evangelion... and tsundere as the day is long.

Thing is - there was surprisingly little available to see on Youtube when last I checked - and I usually like sampling anime etc on Youtube to get a flavor for it.

Probably because it's licensed in the west... I forget who holds the license, but it's out on slimpack DVD for like thirty bucks. I think there're torrents of the high-def version on BxT too.

[Ghost Train]

You'll probably find the magic in Fate/stay night tends to be relatively unobtrusive on the whole, with most of the magic being simple low-key stuff like Shiro's habit of using the only kind of magic he doesn't suck at to fix things, and Rin's occasional ineffectual projectiles. The only showy magic is the magical macguffin they're fighting over (called the holy grail, but is for all practical purposes just a magical wish-granting machine) and the battle magic employed by the "servants", who are themselves magical constructs created in the image of and bearing the souls of well-known ancient heroes and the like, created to do battle to both fuel the holy grail and determine who gets to actually use it for a wish. Odds are if the sort of shonen manga stuff you saw in Bleach didn't mortally offend you, the battle magic used in Fate/stay night won't either.

There is no evidence that the grail is actually a wish-granting machine, rather it has just been perceived as such by the participants of the Holy Grail War. Per the anime, and the prequel light novel it was actually a "corrupting" influence that had to be destroyed.

Which is why Saber's first master, Kiritsugu, used his last command seal ordering Saber to destroy it against her will. Basically, Shirou+Saber did the same thing in anime ending.

But UBW film looks awesome though... can't wait to see it.

Edited January 11, 2010 by Ghost Train

[Seto Kaiba]

There is no evidence that the grail is actually a wish-granting machine, rather it has just been perceived as such by the participants of the Holy Grail War. Per the anime, and the prequel light novel it was actually a "corrupting" influence that had to be destroyed.

Which is why Saber's first master, Kiritsugu, used his last command seal ordering Saber to destroy it against her will. Basically, Shirou+Saber did the same thing in anime ending.

Not entirely accurate... they establish in Fate/stay night and Fate/hollow ataraxia they establish that the reason the Holy Grail isn't "as advertised" in the 4th and 5th Holy Grail Wars (depicted in Fate/zero and Fate/stay night respectively) is because it was tainted during the 3rd Holy Grail War when the Einzbern family accidentally summoned the only known instance of an "Avenger" servant, Angra Mainyu. Having the embodiment of all worldly evils and seething hate dumped unceremoniously into the holy grail at the war's conclusion is what screwed it up in the first place... both allowing magi to summon servants with an evil alignment and turning the grail from an impartial wish-granting engine into a fairly malevolent object that interprets all wishes in the context of destruction.

[Ghost Train]

Not entirely accurate... they establish in Fate/stay night and Fate/hollow ataraxia they establish that the reason the Holy Grail isn't "as advertised" in the 4th and 5th Holy Grail Wars (depicted in Fate/zero and Fate/stay night respectively) is because it was tainted during the 3rd Holy Grail War when the Einzbern family accidentally summoned the only known instance of an "Avenger" servant, Angra Mainyu. Having the embodiment of all worldly evils and seething hate dumped unceremoniously into the holy grail at the war's conclusion is what screwed it up in the first place... both allowing magi to summon servants with an evil alignment and turning the grail from an impartial wish-granting engine into a fairly malevolent object that interprets all wishes in the context of destruction.

I see.... I don't know much about ataraxia other than what's on the internet. Is it even considered canon though? From the descriptions I've read it seemed nothing more than a collection of "short stories and vignettes." What prompts this question is the fact that pretty much everyone from Gilgamesh (though in a different form), and every other servant seem to be alive, though I'm sure there is some absurd type-moon explanation for that too

[Seto Kaiba]

I see.... I don't know much about ataraxia other than what's on the internet. Is it even considered canon though? From the descriptions I've read it seemed nothing more than a collection of "short stories and vignettes." What prompts this question is the fact that pretty much everyone from Gilgamesh (though in a different form), and every other servant seem to be alive, though I'm sure there is some absurd type-moon explanation for that too

I can't imagine whoever told you it was a collection of "short stories and vignettes" had ever actually seen a copy of the Fate/hollow ataraxia visual novel... because that's not what it is. It's a nominal sequel to Fate/stay night, that involves a magically-induced stable time loop created by Avenger (Angra Mainyu) after the 5th Holy Grail War. It's a bit messy, story-wise, but it is supposed to be canon.

[Vepariga]

i think Shingetsutan Tsukihime is better from type-moon.

[wolfx]

i think Shingetsutan Tsukihime is better from type-moon.

You should try its precursor, Garden of Sinners.

As everyone on the internets agreed, there's NO Tsukihime anime.

Hollow Axtaria is complicated because Shiro isn't shiro and it has some funky stuff like magical girl Rin?

[Vepariga]

You should try its precursor, Garden of Sinners.

As everyone on the internets agreed, there's NO Tsukihime anime.

Hollow Axtaria is complicated because Shiro isn't shiro and it has some funky stuff like magical girl Rin?

precursor huh, wow...i have to check that out then.. has it got Shiki and his sister in it? and Ciel?

anyone play Melty Blood/Melty blood REact...That game was awesome,i still have it on my pc somewhere.

Edited January 12, 2010 by Vepariga

[wolfx]

precursor huh, wow...i have to check that out then.. has it got Shiki and his sister in it? and Ciel?

anyone play Melty Blood/Melty blood REact...That game was awesome,i still have it on my pc somewhere.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_of_Sinners

It has Shiki Ryogi in there but not Shiki Tohno. Its set in the same universe as Tsukihime but otherwise standalone. You should check out the movies. I think there are 7 currently.

[RedWolf]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_of_Sinners

It has Shiki Ryogi in there but not Shiki Tohno. Its set in the same universe as Tsukihime but otherwise standalone. You should check out the movies. I think there are 7 currently.

Nasuverse is pretty much a bunch of multiple realities.

One can say Tsukihime is a AU of Kara no Kyoukai.

That said I enjoy 4 Leaf's non-H doujins of Fate. One of them jokes that the absolute rule in the Nasuverse is that a Illya route would never happen.

Also Fate/Kaleid liner Prism ☆ Illya 2wei! where it is a magical girl-schoool life manga. Shiro and Illya portrayed as siblings with their "parents" Kiritsugu Emiya and Irisviel von Einzbern alive. What I like about is an Archer clone version of Illya. Where it is implied she knows what Illya is. Not to mention the regret of Illya in that lifetime being chaste to Shiro even when Illya is a bro-con. Bricks were Shat when Illya found out her brother has an unknown harem.

Edited January 12, 2010 by RedWolf

[wolfx]

Nasuverse is pretty much a bunch of multiple realities.

One can say Tsukihime is a AU of Kara no Kyoukai.

That said I enjoy 4 Leaf's non-H doujins of Fate. One of them jokes that the absolute rule in the Nasuverse is that a Illya route would never happen.

Also Fate/Kaleid liner Prism ☆ Illya 2wei! where it is a magical girl-schoool life manga. Shiro and Illya portrayed as siblings with their "parents" Kiritsugu Emiya and Irisviel von Einzbern alive. What I like about is an Archer clone version of Illya. Where it is implied she knows what Illya is. Not to mention the regret of Illya in that lifetime being chaste to Shiro even when Illya is a bro-con. Bricks were Shat when Illya found out her brother has an unknown harem.

oh dear...remember this meme?

http://encyclopediadramatica.com/A_cat_is_fine_too

Poor Len.

[VFTF1]

Odds are if the sort of shonen manga stuff you saw in Bleach didn't mortally offend you, the battle magic used in Fate/stay night won't either.

Actually, I use this honey-scented gel for my hair. Sometimes use hair spray (although I hate the kind that stiffens your hair and makes it look like a dog humped your head). I have natural colored hair - never used any bleach. It doesn't mortally offend me on other people though.

Pete