This has been a wild ride for us, all these episodes. From Episode 0 all the way here to episode 12. To make things only fitting, the final episode, like episode 0 and 1, are over 40 minutes long, but the excess is actually rather welcome. It does however give the episode as a whole a very odd vibe as all the different events happen, sometimes giving mood whiplash. The episode pretty much has three parts to it. The first is rather fun and simple-Rin asks Shirou out on a date.
This part actually gives us a lot, alongside episode 11, of what we have been waiting for, the romance between Shirou and Rin. Shirou doesn’t have fun, so Rin is trying to show him how. And Saber meanwhile is along for the ride, and it leads to lots of fun scenes and nice, easy events.
Seriously, this is some light, fun adorable stuff. I especially like Saber’s part. While Shirou and Rin are talking and doing date things she’s like “I’m going to have all the tasty things” and its really adorable after all the fighting to see some r & r and character building for Shirou and Rin. And this is only part of the adorably fun stuff the episode shows. Its really just a treat. What could possibly bring down the mood?
Well, how about Caster fucking with EVERYONE’S SHIT for one. First, she kidnaps Taiga, then, she destroys the bridge the gang need to get back into town, so they all nearly drown, before showing up in traditional evil sorceress fashion.
She offers Shirou a chance to join her with Saber, because she needs Saber and Shirou interests her with his unique magical talent. Naturally, he tells her to piss off, due to the fact that kidnapping and collateral damage seems to be how she likes doing things. However, one thing that is revealed, and something that Rin has no idea about, was Shirou’s relationship to the Grail. The Grail war 10 years ago wiped out most of what he knew and nearly killed him.
Caster says she can give him his wish, he doesn’t even need to fight. With the right resources, she claims she can summon the grail without the servants killing each other, and once again offers him he choice to join her. Naturally, he refuses, so she pulls her ace; give her the command seals or Taiga dies. He seems willing to sacrifice it..even sacrificing an arm to save Taiga’s life (even though here’s no way he can trust Caster).
However, Saber tries to fight it, not wanting to fall into Caster’s hands, despite the danger to Taiga. Shirou has to use his last command seal to stop her, which allows Caster to use her trump card.
Oh yeah, seems Caster has something quite broken for the Grail war, the Noble Phantasm Rule Breaker. It severs the contract Saber has with Shirou and gives her Saber, with three command seals. One she uses almost immediately to order her to kill Rin, and, despite her magic resistance, she only can hold out so long against the power of the command seal. Only a timely arrival by Archer saves them, leaving Saber now abandoned, lost, and under the control of a monster.
Wow..after all that sadness and darkness and tragedy..where do you even go from-
Huh……..yeah. I’m certain it was just because of the rain. This scene does have a purpose; now that Shirou is no longer a master, Rin has no reason to protect him or work with him, and she knows that. Its quite clear that while she likes Shirou, she’s still thinking like a mage, and on how to best deal with Caster now that her resources have only grown.
The remaining parts show how Saber is..not doing well with the Witch of bad touch, who decides to go for the grail. But to do so, she apparently needs information from a certain priest that clearly is just as he seems.
While he’s clearly still..KIREI FREAKING KOTOMINE!!!, it looks like he’s pinned down, and we don’t see how the battle between them ends. However, we end this off with Shirou and Rin. Shirou, naturally still wanting to be a hero, doesn’t want to give up the fight even though he’s no longer a master and woefully underprepared for the challenges they’re facing. Rin gives him a cold dose of reality: Saber is gone and if he continues to be part of this, he’ll just needlessly get himself killed. She leaves with Archer, and Shirou is alone, with no no allies in addition to no power, his path uncertain.
This episode was a wallop of a finale, and moved very quickly. On the onside, the big finale gives it scale, but on the other, it can seem very jarring how once there’s happy fun times and then the heavy stuff hits like a truck. Still, while the blend may have been imperfect, both sides were good in their own way. The fun stuff was fun and the dark dark, and both served their purpose-to develop the characters and their relationships. We see Shirou, Saber, and Rin happy, and see Rin and Shirou only grow closer, but then we see things tested in the most brutal way. The focus is on Rin and Shirou, Shirou losing everything and dealing with what to do now, while Rin has to deal with her mage ideals going against her feelings. She has no reason to be with Shirou or help him;if he fights he’ll likely only get killed. And, while she’s always liked Saber, Saber is now a pawn of a dangerous enemy that she may have to take down. It leaves us waiting to see what would happen next, and gives us all he feels, action, and pretty pretty animation we expect.
Final Impressions- Savage
Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works has been a wild ride, and a lot of fun. I was looking forward to this for years, and it doesn’ disappoint. Ufotable’s animation remains brilliant, I would even say it sometimes exceed what we’ve seen in Fate/zero. The action is fluid, beautiful and also styled perfectly so i can be quick but you can still see what’s going on. Its just brilliant on an art level all its own.
From a story perspective, I found myself surprised. I’d seen the Studio Deen animation of the game, and it was bad. The memories of that have been washed away by this. Shirou is no a misogynist idiot, he’s a scarred but very noble person, and its interesting seeing is worldview and those views be challenged by those around him. He got to grow and show a much deeper side, and he and his camaraderie with Saber was especially enjoyable (who expected they’d have more chemistry in the story they AREN’T a couple?). I enjoyed each character in turn, even Shinji in that “I get joy out of seeing you suffer you little shit” kind of way, and I do yearn to see more. Each twist and turn is done well, and the fights mixed with the down time give the show a nice, if predictable, balance.
I will say this, while Garo had a clear opening for season 2, it had closure enough for the season itself. Not so for this anime, as the ending leaves a lot of questions to be answered. While it is not a bad thing (especially compared to Fate/Zero…cut the season right as the big fight’s about to happen) I feel tha because of it, I can’ really rate this fully due to the second season not being out. The story simply isn’t over.
However, for everything amazing that its done and he continued quality and enjoyment I got each episode, without one weak one in he bunch, I give this show a 8.5/10.
Midnight’s Impressions ~
This has been one hell of a wild ride and it’s not even half-way done. I’m with Savage when I say I saw the Studio Deen anime back in the day and well, the memories associated with it aren’t the best. Ufotables’ adaptation has washed away the sins of the Deen anime and changed my opinions of many of the characters greatly. I went into this hating Shirou, he’s now in my top three favorite characters.
Before I thought Rin was just some annoying tsundere, now I know that’s not true.
Everything in this story serves a purpose and it’s beautiful. I mentioned before over and over that even the smallest conversations in this show could have layers of meaning and it shows. From the animation, to the seiyuu work.
THIS is the adaptation fans of the visual novel deserve. I enjoy the subtle call-backs to Fate/Zero that are in here as well that give even more layers to the world. Though I feel the show doesn’t assume you’ve watched Fate/Zero either and provides just enough explanation so you won’t be too lost.
On an animation level this has to be some of the most fluid animation I’ve seen in my life. There were times I’d pause a battle to take a screen shot and it would look beautiful, not strange and wonky or like still frames being used over and over again. Each shot had such detail and movement that it was just shocking to move through and see every inch of detail the animators put into the fight scenes. One that I remember clearly going through almost frame by frame was the fight against Saber and Assassin and being shocked at how each sword movement was animated.
The show is a wonderful balance of drama, action and comedy. Though as the series progresses I am sure the comedy will all but vanish but such was the story of the visual novel as well. I think this shows biggest problem is episodes like 11, which were mostly talking. It’s not that being dialogue heavy is a bad thing, just when it’s stuck between two episodes that were full of action it’s a little jarring to go “Oh, we’re going to have an episode dedicated ENTIRELY to talking.” I think it might just be the result of being adapted from a visual novel since a lot of that is world building and character development through talking.
If there is one thing I can say about this is that it really captures the essence of Type-Moon’s Fate Universe and brings it to life like never before. I loved the first half of the series and I can’t wait to continue on covering the second half of it.