Hello everyone, here’s a little author’s note in regard to this review. If you guys haven’t seen my blog post updating you on my life and general blog maintenance issues feel free to click here and get the skinny version on that. Otherwise, let’s get on with it.
Title: Fate/ stay night Unlimited Bladeworks
Animated by: Ufotable
Produced by: Ufotable, Type-Moon
Licensed by Aniplex
Story: 4/5
Style: 5/5
Sound design: 3/5
Overall: 12/15 (4/5)
Introduction:
I would be lying if I told you guys I didn’t have a deep and passionate love for the Fate series. While I am immediately biasing myself by saying such a thing, bear in mind that I actually sat through the Studio Dean version All the way back in 2006, so I was there in the dark times of the series where the main meme of the series was “People die when they are killed” Though I feel like I’m giving my age away with that reference, it does feel nice to see the series get a much-deserved comeback and coat of paint with the UBW route.
For those of you who have been living under a rock or just now became able to read or watch Fate, it is important to understand that the source material that they’re adapting for the series is based on a visual novel written by Type-Moon legend Kamehero Nassu. While it started out as your normal harem-based anime dating sim, people found the prospect of mage’s fighting a war for the legendary Holy Grail to be one of some intrinsic value, and thus the series we know today is Fate/stay night was born. As enthralling as it is to see seven mystics use historical figures in a battle to see who’s worthy of getting a wish granted by Jesus’s pimp cup maybe I have to ask myself one key thing. In an era where Fate now stands as one of the biggest gotcha game franchises/anime multiverses in the game right now, does the original still hold up? More than that, can the coat of paint provided by Ufotabe really be the only thing this series needed to be catapulted from obscurity? I guess we’ll find out here.
Story:
When examining the story of Fate Stay Night Unlimited Bladeworks, henceforth known as UBW for my sanity, it is important to realize that it is part of a visual novel and thus it hears the trope of multiple plot routes. Also, keep in mind that The Studio Dean adaptation of the story’s main plot route Oe the Fate route is valid and in play. Therefore, the same basic plot structures we find in that route as it was animated again here. But, that doesn’t mean that UBW isn’t a beast of its own.
The story for those of you who haven’t seen the anime or read the visual novel goes a little something like this. Shirou Emiya, a lonely magical orphan with a hero complex, finds himself knee-deep in a battle between mages and servants for the aforementioned pimp cup. Having managed to summon the most memed face in the series is his very own servant, he enters this supernatural Battle Royale to make a wish upon the grill and become a hero of justice. Fans of Urahara from Bleach I await your snarky comments.
Anyway, along the way he meets up with Rin Tosaka, our resident mage, love interest, and thigh queen if you believe the fan base alongside her partner which is a very moody and edgy version of Archer that honestly acts like the porcupine on his head is whispering kill them all into his ear constantly. They slowly but surely find out about each master-servant combo and proceed to try and take them down as best they can. Then some shenanigans ensue based on some bad blood with a certain priest and a couple of folks from 10 years ago that honestly are just side mentions in the story at this point. Anyway, things come back to bite our beloved hero of Justice in the keister when his father’s indiscretions from the last 10 years literally come back to bite him in the form of two things, the former archer of the last war who comes out of nowhere to essentially duke it out with his servant and his lolli yandere sister who is dead set on putting this guy in the grave.
Well, it turns out that the priest Kerei Kotomine, otherwise known as Father douchebag, happens to have a hedonistic heart on for the pleasure of literally watching the world burn. The former archer from the last war, Gilgamesh, views the world as an interesting place and claims to own everything so he’s just fighting for what’s his. And the yandere Lolita Illiysveil had such a tragic backstory and simply just wants to get her own twisted form of revenge. Slowly but surely everything gets wrapped up and ends in a satisfyingly bloody rampage of insanity that sees impromptu her surgery, blindingly staggering sword fights, the tragic death of literally 10 different characters with at least two occurring off-screen, and a metric ton of overly complicated exposition and more that it would take me hours to explain I come to the final battle of the route. One where big surprise edgy douchebag archer decides to go after our hero because reasons then I refuse to explain due to spoilers. Seriously, if you want the full story outside of just my snarky explanation give it a watch when you can.
Anyway, it all comes down to climactic fights with The single most arrogant character I have ever seen and the morally forthright character in the series. In the end, by the power of McGuffinite and plotonium Shirou figures out he has the power to take down the arrogant golden codpiece with what is literally the title of the series. Sure, you can say I’m making light of it but this is as close to a spoiler-free version of the story that you’re going to get. Now, let’s get to the things that make the story so interesting in my opinion.
True, the characters we know and love from the original adaptation are back for another bloody walk down the same road, but I’m happy to say that we get a lot more context this time around. All the servants and masters from the original are given a bit more characterization hear that really helps you to root for them. Shirou Emiya doesn’t come off as a poultry hero of Justice who’s poorly written into a Gary Stew. Instead, he comes off as a person who’s had a hard life following the death of his father and draws heavily from The man for inspiration. Rin isn’t just a callous magician who is out to win it all costs and simply allies with Shirou to find the other masters: she’s a complex character the questions the morality of his judgment and struggles with the dividing line between being a mage and being a human. Illya isn’t just some tropy Lolita with a fear-inducing complex, she’s dealing with the passing of her father and finds comfort in the strong and silent Hercules.
In essence, these people are dealing with the past and how it relates to them. Each in their own way, they have to come to terms with aspects of themselves throughout the war and the hero’s journey for each could really be plotted in detail. The same can be said for the anti-hero analog we find in Archer and even the villains in some respect.
It’s Archer that we have to focus on because he’s the center of the route. We find out more about him and by extension our main character From day one almost. Though he may be a bit prickly at the exterior, quite literally, we gain a deeper understanding of why it is he does what he does. He’s not some idealistic hero, in fact, his exact opposite, that being a hero whose idealism was shattered by the cold hard grip of the experience. In a way, Archer’s character arc Is it twisted story of redemption going wrong. He’s come back acting as a villain in order to save the one person he couldn’t before, himself. But in trying to save himself, he is reminded of his convictions and the ideals that drove him to become a hero in the beginning. While he doesn’t fit Joseph Campbell’s archaic hero’s journey, his story arc throughout UBW is one of the most well-executed points in the series in my opinion. He is neither a hero nor a villain in this scenario, instead, he’s simply a man bearing the weight of his life and has to be reminded of what he lived for.
For those of you who don’t know there’s an intrinsic connection between our protagonist and the heroic spirit Emiya that makes all the questions about Shirou’s moral stance and life choices a secondary conflict of the show. In a certain sense, Shirou represents the naivete of a person just starting their journey whereas Archer, for all his faults, represents a man who’s lived long enough to see himself become the villain. Of course, these ideas clash and both grow from their experience. In a way each person takes away a vital piece of information that completes who they are. For Archer, it’s the knowledge that his ideals weren’t inherently bad and served as a good foundation for what he would one day become whereas Shirou had a reaffirmation of his beliefs and values standard front and center before him and literally explain the folly of what would come upon him.
Strangely, in this way, he actually parallels the main villain of the arc Gilgamesh. Once known as the King of Heroes, Gilgamesh has quite literally seen the heights of heroism only to fall to villainy for his own hedonistic desires. The same thing can be said for Kerei who has fallen to desire on his own. The writing here is so crisp and clean that you really do get the subtext that you usually would only get in the knows. And this even the villains have backstories that kind of make you understand them.
There’s a deep tragedy in The series that permeates every story. Rather it is Artoria’s wish to redo the selection of the king, Archer’s misguided attempt to save himself, or Rin’s struggle between identities as a mage and a human there’s some sort of tragedy to latch onto. And it really brings a melancholy darkness to the series that you didn’t get in the Dean version. Yes, it was dark, but it’s the depth of that darkness that we’re seeing here. This leads me to talk about the stylistic choices of the anime.
Style:
When it comes to stylistic flourishes and intensity, Fate has it in spades. Animation is crisp and flowing all with a certain dark mystique that brings a whole new level of mystery to the undertone of the series. Outside of the fight scenes, the animation is still gorgeous and it’s this, in my opinion, understated beauty that provides the series with more than it’s fair share of spectacle moments outside of the war arc that’s happening on screen. With that said, having our main characters rendered in a 2D 3D hybrid style brings a layer of realism to them that gives them a sense of weight and gravitas in the world.
But, it is in the fluidity of the fighting that’s some of the best animations is shown off.Ufotable. It isn’t just characters dancing in a shower of sparks this time. Fights feel weighty and thus more meaningful in my opinion. You get this visceral back and forth between characters and seeing some of the most legendary fight scenes in the series with this new coat of paint has really added more emotional value to the clashing between servants. They don’t feel so much like RPG fights as they do legendary boxing matches between the who’s who of ancient and current mythology. In my mind, that’s what heroes only Battle Royale are supposed to be.
That isn’t to say that all the style is saved for the fight scenes. There are plenty of emotional moments that benefit from the stylistic overhaul as well. The battle between Hercules and Gilgamesh comes to mind in this. Instead of things being quick and relatively underdone, we come into a more emotional climax where not only is Hercules defending his master but she’s forced to watch from the sidelines is her only friend is cut down by the king of heroes. The way these scenes are structured gives more authority to them which is why I think the series has become so popular. While not as flashy it has its prequel series, UBW has it where it counts and really gives a new vibe to Fate that makes it seem both darker and more mysterious than the version put out by Dean.
Sound design
Here we are folks, one of my favorite parts of the review where I get to speak about two of my favorite parts of any show the music and the voice acting. All of winter capably done here, we get remixes of classic Fate franchise tunes including the original theme at one point. Alongside new classics like Aimer’s Brave Shine and Last Stardust which serve as the opening and ending theme of the first half of the series respectively. I’ll be frank, these songs we’re such earworms that they immediately made my Spotify playlist, the very same one I listened to when writing these reviews. Honestly, I’m a big fan of the entire OST for the series in a way that I can’t say for any other incarnation of the franchise.
As far as the voice acting, I have a few nitpicks. First off, my least favorite voice actor of all time, you know him as the voice of the decade, Mr Kirito Yeager himself Bryce Papenbrook takes up lead duty for Shirou. While he does perform the role capably I find that the voice actor for the abridged actually put more effort into the character. Bryce, no offense, but your professional, if you have the lead role at least act like you’re supposed to be there. That being said, the talent he has on backup more than makes up for his lack of gravitas in the role. Honestly, it’s the supporting cast here that I feel makes the backbone of the series as far as voice acting is concerned.
We have people like Kari Walgren returning as the world’s strongest tiger mom meme Saber from Fate Zero alongside the likes of series regulars like Mila Lee who provides the smooth and soothing voice of Rin Tohsaka. Other famous voice actors include douchebag priest Keirei voiced by Alucard himself Mr. Crispin Freeman. I have to say, with him playing the main real antagonist watching him play the villain is just as off-putting and scary as it should be, and honestly, he did all that without going into the Alucard range which I found really surprising.
Then, of course, we have Kaji Tang coming forward as Archer and, if I may say, bringing his best to the role. He’s both dark and mysterious with shades of Shirou’s personality only taken in a more jaded and experienced direction. Overall, his performance leaves only one thing to be desired and that’s the gruffness that one would expect from a grizzled old veteran. However, given the fact that he is supposed to be a hidden antagonist until the end of the piece I can honestly say this can be overlooked.
I have greatly enjoyed talking about the voice acting and UBW as well as every other part of this review. In many ways, it has reminded me of why I do these things. I love to criticize because it helps us learn what works and what doesn’t in the medium we choose to actually watch. But let’s move on to my final conclusion and leave the waxing nostalgic for a much older and more ” get off my lawn ” style Phoenix.
Final thoughts:.
On the whole, Fate Stay Night UBW is a surprisingly good adaptation of a novel that has no right to be as good as it is. The animation is stellar and the voice acting as well performed makes for a surprisingly compelling drama. But, as always, don’t take my word for it. This is one of those few series I would say without a doubt to watch yourself and really realize if you like it or not. For those of you who heard the discerning watcher, it’s available on Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu and others. For those of you who wish for a physical media release, be sure to check out the fine selection at rightstufanime where you can pick up the series box set for $144.96 if you prefer DVDs and $219.98 if you want the Blu-ray. Keep in mind for international readers all of the prices that I put down here are in glorious USD because I am American and sadly don’t have the conversions off the top of my head.
As always thank you for reading and keep it tuned here if you want more of my thoughts on different pieces of media. This is Phoenix signing out
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