Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Bladeworks – 01

First things first. To those of you coming into this anime from the prequel anime Fate/zero I suggest that you do not expect another fate/zero. Fate/zero and fate/stay night are two different beasts. If I was truly pushed I would say that Fate/zero is the more mature series whereas Fate/stay night was the more shounen series. However that does not mean that the latter is weaker than the former. Both have their strengths and weaknesses and it’s best to enjoy what you get rather than lament what you don’t. If you intend to experience this as a different kind of story then you can get the most enjoyment out of it.

So to recap. This is not a remake of Studio Deens 2006 Fate/stay night. The original visual novel had three routes. These routes could be considered alternate tellings of the same story. Same characters, same setup but a different way that things turned out. The routes are named Fate, unlimited bladeworks and heavens feel. This is the unlimited bladeworks route so our main heroine has changed from Saber to Rin. To provide a simpler explanation, think of the 2006 anime as Full Metal Alchemist and this new anime is Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood. Both may start the same but end up completely different stories. Our episode begins to retell the events leading to the climax of the prologue. However this time from the perspective of Shirou Emiya, our main protagonist. (Yes I am sure many hoped it would stay with Rin but bear with me.) The first thirty minutes deal with Shirou’s daily life of helping fixing broken objects at school, cooking at home, and small touches foreshadowing the things to come. To new viewers this may not be very interesting but to those of you coming from the visual novel or prequel anime, the slight subtleties are bound to interest you. Then upon witnessing two figures fighting at school our main is quickly stabbed in the heart and left for dead. But thanks to mystery helper from last episode manages to heal and walk back home. But his previous killer is coming back to finish the job.

Lets talk about Shirou for a minute. He’s been called a sexist pig, a stupid idiot and a outright annoying useless whiner. To those of you coming from the source we know these things are simply not true. This is a misconception spawned by a lacking adaption and…by some questionable things in the source itself. Withhold your gasps and outcries my kin. This is coming from someone who is currently re-reading the source. And yes there are some rare questionable “stay in the kitchen” moments that no amount of monologuing justify. This moments are only present in the fate route however and seeing his actions in the other two make Shirou being sexist not add up. The reason I bring this up is because gentlemen this is UFOtables greatest hurdle. Of this anime the main, if not most important element is to fix this years held misconception of Shirou. Because this is his story and if you do not care for this character then all the pretty animation in the world won’t get you invested.

How are they doing so far? I say, fair. The fact is that a lot of his character is in monologues and those are things which do not mix well with a visual focused medium such as this. There are moments where they are attempts to turn his inner monologues in dialogue though I argue that the result is a little bit unnatural. Considering what was omitted from the visual novel I say one of the most important ones was the battle between Lancer and Shirou. This was bypassed pretty fast. A pity as it was a strong character moment. Speaking of Lancer I am fond of the business like manner displayed when killing Shirou. In another anime this would have some psycho hyena with a half moon smile yelling how awesome killing is and how he can’t wait to get home to drown kittens, punch babies and worship satan. But with Lancer there is none of this. Just a bored sense of duty firmly disappointed in having to perform the act. It’s nice and shows that he is not someone without a heart. His second attack was also notable. At first trying to end the kids life quickly but seeing him put up a fight giving him a decent chance to defend himself. I like that. And do I even need to speak on the Lancer vs Saber fight? It’s UFOtable level animation, quite frankly it speaks for itself.

Lastly, one thing I find rather irritating is that if you judged this based on the opening then you would assume that Saber is once again the main heroine. She isn’t. Sabers had her story and she shouldn’t be so prominently featured in someone elses. But once again Type moon seems reluctant to change their poster girl. By the way I know my kin well so I will say this. Guys keep the talk of future events and lore out of the comments. No spoilers, even if they are asked for. Because gentlemen we didn’t need someone at our side shouting how awesome this series is to recognise it’s value. Let them see for themselves.