So where do I begin? I am brain dead at the moment so forgive me if this gets a bit too much like rambling but I have to catch up with all this so here’s my best shot at being somewhat competent. WIth these two episodes we have the setup of this grail war established as well as the general master and servant pairings. There may be those wondering about the masters of the Red side but much like the opening suggests the only ones we really need to concern ourselves with is Kairi Sisigou who summoned Mordred and Shirou Kotomine. Now what is likely the question at the forefront of anyone’s mind if they are somewhat familiar with the Fateverse is likely “Is Shirou Kotomine and alternative version of Shirou Emiya?” and the answer to that question is no. These two have nothing connecting them and Shirou Kotomine is very much his own character. I admit that the idea of an alternative universe Shirou raised by Kirei Kotomine does sound really interesting but sadly this is not the case. So far Sisigou is proving to be the more likably of the two as Shirou is far too enigmatic to get a clear read on him. In fact Sisigou and his servant Mordred so far are proving themselves to be the most endearing characters of the cast so far though members of the Black faction are quite charming as well.
Mordred is indeed another Blue Saber clone but one of the things I find rather amusing is that Sabers clones often have far more interesting characterisation than Saber herself. I say the only exception to this would be Joan of Arc who is equally boring. I really like Mordred. Her brute force fighting style and brash attitude make for more interesting interactions between her and others. I also really like the correlation between her desire to attempt the selection of the king when Blue Sabers wish was to redo the selection of the King. Overall she just has far more depth to her rather than some self righteous purity. On the black side of things I feel A-1 pictures is starting to let me down. There definitely feels like favoritism going on here as interactions between the likes of Chiron and his master feel rushed whereas Moeserker and her master as well as Astolfo get far more attention. I really didn’t need to see two scenes of Astolfo’s master indulging herself with him as i am pretty sure there was only one in the novels and I think this is A-1 throwing in more fanservice. Though I do hear the writer of the novels is involved with the production. I do still laugh at how nonchalant Astolfo takes this molestation by his master though I should mention that his master is a real piece of work. Here’s the thing, she’s got a massive interest in torture and the only reason she isn’t torturing Astolfo is because none of her tools are effective enough to make a dent in him.
Gordes is getting the short end of the stick as well. I don’t like Gordes as a character though he’s not really supposed to be liked. However I don’t really like the anime skimping out on his characterisation. For you see Gordes was actually really looking forward to this whole Holy Grail War thing and sees it as a place to satisfy his ego. He treated the war seriously but ultimately he’s just a really petty. The fight between Siegfried and Karna is supposed to be a wake up call for him as it really hits home the point that a master has no place in a servants battle. He can play support but actually assisting is generally impossible. Well aside for special individuals. He tries to get some glory by baiting the master of Karna to show himself but as we know that master simply isn’t here. In this battle there’s no glory for Gordes and he is designated a support role, something which might come to urk him in later events.
As for animation I find A-1 is so far passable but I wish they would slow down and have some actual choreography. I find in fights that things often progress too fast or is obscured by explosions which doesn’t help as the sound design is rather weak with these explosions sounding too similar. What little choreography in the Karna and Siegfried fight was rough and choppy so it’s my hope that seeing as this series is rather battle heavy that A-1 is saving the budget for the bigger fights.
I thought Moedred was the real moe one. XD After she get past her tsun-mode. And yeah, it was really startling to me how her apparent wish fit so well with Blue Saber’s. Although I hope to see this change as the story progresses. Either Mordred changing to get closer to succeeding in pulling out Caliburn or changing her wish to something she would really want. Cos I’m pretty sure she doesn’t want to be King. That blank befuddlement she had when Kairi called her King. Epic. I’d love to hear more about what happened between her and Arturia, and more importantly, Morgana. I’ve seen three other Mordreds in Fate Grand Order, each in very different settings. The one in London is probably the closest to this one but I’m trying to draw lines to see if any/all of them connect somehow.