Rightly so, because even if as the Fate universe is so infuriatingly complex and multi-faceted, it is also one of the most powerfully imaginative setting that has ever been conceived. Some might even call it convoluted, but one cannot deny the sheer scale of its conflicts and how epic the entire story is. So epic, in fact that the anime cannot correctly portray it well enough.
And that brings us to the crux of this post. We shall disregard the first two adaptations of the series, namely the Studio DEEN's adaptation of Fate/Stay Night and the movie adaptation of Unlimited Blade Works, made by the same studios, because both were utter failures and a complete fiasco, desecrating the name of this peerless visual novel.
Thankfully, the ufotable adaptation of the ongoing Unlimited Blade Works is definitely a huge step-up from the Studio DEEN's monstrosity of an anime, but unfortunately it is not without its flaws, and this is what this post is intended to address.
For the uninitiated, some background of the Fate Universe and its origins are necessary. Firstly, one must understand that the original Fate/Stay Night visual novel is not one story, but essentially three different stories, with three completely different route directions. The three routes - Fate, Unlimited Blade Works and Heaven's Feel - are all heavily inter-linked and must be played in succession, as many plot details are revealed in the preceding route that are essential in the next. Therein lies the problem with ufotable's adaptation of the Unlimited Blade Works route.
Since Unlimited Blade Works is the second route of the story, it already assumes that you have completed the Fate route, where most of the world-building and mechanics of the Holy Grail War and the Fate universe has been established. ufotable is marketing the show to be available to first-time viewers of Fate, or those who have already watched the prequel Fate/Zero (made by the same studio), but they are already limited by the fact that most first-time viewers will have no idea what is going on, as they have no prior knowledge of the Fate universe. To its credit, ufotable tried to explain most of the mechanics of the Holy Grail War with its two double-length first two episodes, but the sheer complexity of the universe made it such that many details were omitted, even if they have heavy plot significance. Therefore, many of first-time viewers are undoubtedly overwhelmed with some of the details, and reduced to simply enjoying the flashing lights, which thanks to ufotable 'Unlimited Budget Works' credit, is still supremely enjoyable to see.
But then, should ufotable instead adapt Fate, the first route instead? Well, Studio DEEN knew that first-time viewers would not know much of it, and tried the aforementioned. However, they wanted to include some of the awesome events present in only Unlimited Blade Works and Heaven's Feel, but botched the entire anime and ruined it. To be fair, the Fate route is undeniably the weakest route in the entire visual novel because it is a 'introductory route', and deals with a lot of mundane details, especially Shirou's pathetic idealism. The Unlimited Blade Works route is widely known to be one of the better routes of Fate, or perhaps even the best route, and I support ufotable for focusing on this route rather than adapting the frankly banal Fate route.
But that still leaves another problem - why should first-time viewers miss out on the incredible plot that can hardly be matched? One should always have the option to have their cake and eat it too.
For first-timers who want to enjoy this anime to the fullest, I strongly encourage you to pick up the visual novel and at least read the first route, and then watch through this anime. An alternative would be to watch the Studio DEEN's adaptation of Fate/Stay Night. For all its faults, it managed to explain most of the details of the Holy Grail War and the mechanics of the Fate universe (while also establishing the infamous F/SN meme 'People die when they are killed."). The route also branches off pretty early, so you won't really see much repetition.
But for those who cannot spend the time to play through a 15-hour route or watch a 24-episode anime series, over the next few weeks, I will be releasing a couple of posts to explain to you the mechanics of the Holy Grail War.
BE WARNED: It is almost impossible to discuss Fate/Stay Night without revealing some plot details. However, I will try to keep the spoilers to the absolute minimum, and fade out explicit spoilers.
P.S. DO NOT READ THE WIKIA PAGE to find out more about the Fate universe. You will spoil yourself the experience and regret it for the rest of your anime viewing life.
No comments:
Post a Comment