Anime Review | Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (Lights, Camera, Action!) Page 1

Anime Review | Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (Lights, Camera, Action!)

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works

Fate/Stay Night originally got an anime release in 2006 by Studio Deen and, more recently, a prequel series entitled Fate/Zero by studio UFOTable. Although Fate/Stay was well received by the fans after the remarkable job UFOTable did, Fate/Zero fans could only imagine what could have been had they covered the original story, too! Now they need imagine no more, UFOTable is back and bringing its 'A' game. The source material lends itself perfectly to what it had planned. Being a multiple choice game with three branching paths and different endings, the team was able to follow along what happened on an alternative path.
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The original anime followed the "Fate" path, while this adaptation (as per the title) follows the "Unlimited Blade Works" path. Gilgamesh is still the primary antagonist and the fundamental beats are the same, yet the steps along the way are drastically different. Fate follows the story of the "Holy Grail War," where seven sorcerers from around the world fight for the titular prize of the Holy Grail, a magical artefact that can grant any wish or desire. Each of the participants in the war is paired with a summoned hero known as a servant. Each of these servants is the spirit of humanity's greatest heroes - Alexander the Great, Hercules, even King Arthur. Shiro Emiya, a high school boy with a latent talent for a specific type of magic and a storied past when it comes to the Holy Grail War, finds himself chosen as one of the seven Magus and is thrown into a life or death Battle Royale against both strangers and friends.

Shiro is the quintessential anime protagonist, believing that he can save everyone and never have to sacrifice anyone, to be a "Hero of Justice." Finding himself paired with the most powerful servant, he's loathe to even take part in the battle and will put himself in the way of danger even to protect someone who was an enemy moments ago. This path of the story focuses on Shiro's beliefs and nature of fighting against personal destiny. Every other Mage and servant has their own motivations and history coming into the battle and this new pathway helps to show other aspects of their stories. In particular, it's nice to see Lancer actually have a chance to do something other than play the role of the redshirt on the original Star Trek.

The action scenes are some of the best in recent memory, the choreography and movement of the characters are simply spectacular, and the production values really show. During the physical fights between the servants, the action is fast paced and stylish and when the magus start letting the spells fly, the effects are gorgeous, and every battle is a joy to watch.

It's not a one note battle anime, however, as while the combat scenes certainly are a high point, the character development is equally well done. Each of the main supporting cast of characters is well written and three-dimensional. Fans of the original anime series will enjoy seeing them have brand new interactions and the new relationships that develop between them.

9/10

Exceptional - Gold Award

Easily one of, if not the, best of the season. A great story, great script, solid characters, phenomenal action scenes - all-in-all a spectacular series from start to finish in every aspect. UFOTable has again knocked this one out of the park and with another path still to explore for the original Fate in the "Heaven's Feel" branching path, hopefully UFOTable will return to tell that tale, too.