Post — Aaron Ngo

Hello there! I have officially finished the original Fate/stay night series!

As I continue to dive into this universe, I just keep on learning about things. Apparently, Fate/stay night UBW was not the original version but rather this anime series was. I preferred Unlimited Blade Works over the original but mostly because the animation was much cleaner.

Then again, this was 2006. They did the best they could at the time.

Recap: this anime centers on Shirou Emiya, an amateur mage who attends high school in Fuyuki City. He aspires to become a hero of justice like his foster father, Kiritsugu Emiya. He is roped into a secret tournament called the Fifth Holy Grail War, where seven masters compete to win the Holy Grail, a magical chalice that can grant the winner any wish.

Let's dive into why there are different versions of Fate/stay night in case you don't know. Because I didn't know until I ran into this 25-episode series on Hulu while finishing up Unlimited Blade Works Season Two.

Fate/stay night was originally a video game that had three routes for the player to get through. Each route was based on which romantic relationship Shirou would pursue, which altered the events of the series and the outcome of the Fifth Holy Grail War.

For example, this version he fell in love with his Servant Saber, the King of Knights. In UBW, he fell in love with Rin. Then there is a movie I have yet to see called Heaven's Feel. In that movie, he falls in love with Sakura. Also in each version, the females get significantly big roles: the secondary protagonist essentially.

Now that we're clear on that, let's get into this anime review.

Overall, I watched for the differences between this series and UBW.

The series starts off the same as UBW except they expand more on Shirou's partnership with Saber. The show develops this more than anything else, making Rin a supporting character who serves to help Emiya get out of tough situations.

This anime expanded on the relationship between Shirou and Saber a lot more compared to Unlimited Blade Works. Shirou is infatuated the second he summons her, and the anime also expands Saber's background in more depth. We learn how she pulled Excalibur out of the stone and became the famous "King Arthur of Camelot".

However, I am personally not a fan of this romance. This weird relationship did not help Shirou develop all that much and in fact, he became more reckless in his actions because of his love for her. Personally, I ship Rin and Shirou together in UBW. Those two kids make more sense because they helped each other grow into better people.

In addition to the romance, we got numerous more hints about Rin and Sakura's connection to one another in this version of events.

Illya and Berserker were more of a threat in this series compared to UBW. However, I did not like the outcome of the final fight. But I appreciated how Illya survived the series. The show, however, did not disclose the bond they had through their father Kiritsugu.

Gilgamesh did not go rogue like in UBW. He stayed true to Kirei's goals and wore his original outfit. I appreciated that a lot because the sweats attire he had going was too causal for the Epic Hero Servant. Lancer was underused compared to UBW as was Archer, but the hint he was a future Emiya persisted. Especially during his death scene.

Overall, I did find amusement in several moments and key scenes, but the overall series is simply okay. If you're a causal fan, I'd just stick to Unlimited Blade Works and Fate/Zero.

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