Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works (TV)

[Kenchiin]

#1

Spoiler:

I think the decision to use the Command Spell is what triggers the Unlimited Blade Works route, if I remember correctly

 

[Silversnk]

I am so far loving this. While Shirou is an idiot no matter how you look at it, he seems a little more normal in this series, which I hope they don't ruin because that was the main reason I didn't like the 2006 Fate/Stay Night. (Character development sucked a lot -Rin also felt plain and stereotyped; all that and the meh animation)

Imo, no matter how you approach it, you should watch Fate/Zero first. (Or play the VN if you want to) For those who have already watched/played Fate/Stay Night+ Fate/Zero, the hype is real.

 

[Oryx]

I am so far loving this. While Shirou is an idiot no matter how you look at it, he seems a little more normal in this series, which I hope they don't ruin because that was the main reason I didn't like the 2006 Fate/Stay Night. (Character development sucked a lot -Rin also felt plain and stereotyped; all that and the meh animation)

Imo, no matter how you approach it, you should watch Fate/Zero first. (Or play the VN if you want to) For those who have already watched/played Fate/Stay Night+ Fate/Zero, the hype is real.

I strongly disagree with you acting like it's a given that you should watch it in chronological order. The story of Fate/Zero inherently wasn't made to be experienced before the story of Fate Stay/Night, because the LN was written after the VN had been out. Thus, it's very easy to come to the conclusion I had, which was "watch it how the story was meant to be told, FSN first and FZ after".

It's like deciding to watch Haruhi in broadcast order or in chronological order; they came in that order for a reason, but it still technically works in chronological order; you just lose a lot of the nuance that is created when the two fit together the way they're meant to.

 

[Silversnk]

I strongly disagree with you acting like it's a given that you should watch it in chronological order. The story of Fate/Zero inherently wasn't made to be experienced before the story of Fate Stay/Night, because the LN was written after the VN had been out. Thus, it's very easy to come to the conclusion I had, which was "watch it how the story was meant to be told, FSN first and FZ after".

It's like deciding to watch Haruhi in broadcast order or in chronological order; they came in that order for a reason, but it still technically works in chronological order; you just lose a lot of the nuance that is created when the two fit together the way they're meant to.

It's not because of the chronological order having something to do, but you definitely are missing some key points if you don't watch Fate/Zero before this one. It's ok if you watch the Fate route first, but I strongly recommend watching Fate/Zero before this new adaptation of UBW. I'd say people should play the Visual Novel first, but since we're talking about the anime here, that's just my recommendation.
If the source for this adaptation is the Visual Novel and not the UBW movie, then you don't necessarily need to watch F/SN to get it.

For 2006's F/SN sure, it was awesome when it came out, but now that I'm more mature and critic with the anime I watch I must say it felt like I was watching SAO with poor animation.

 

[Oryx]

It's not because of the chronological order having something to do, but you definitely are missing some key points if you don't watch Fate/Zero before this one. It's ok if you watch the Fate route first, but I strongly recommend watching Fate/Zero before this new adaptation of UBW. I'd say people should play the Visual Novel first, but since we're talking about the anime here, that's just my recommendation.
If the source for this adaptation is the Visual Novel and not the UBW movie, then you don't necessarily need to watch F/SN to get it.

For 2006's F/SN sure, it was awesome when it came out, but now that I'm more mature and critic with the anime I watch I must say it felt like I was watching SAO with poor animation.

The point is, those "key points" aren't key points at all when it comes to understanding FS/N; if they were no one would have understood or liked the visual novel when it came out because F/Z came after it (not to mention the tons of people - myself included - who loved the VN without knowing anything about Fate/Zero). Yes, there are things in FS/N that are explained in F/Z. But that doesn't mean you should watch the explanation first. The explanation came after for a reason.

Plus, in my viewing of Fate/Zero the show was much deeper because I knew the future of what would happen. I wouldn't have liked it nearly as much if I just interacted with it as a surface-level backstory with no knowledge of the rest of the universe.

 

[Silversnk]

The point is, those "key points" aren't key points at all when it comes to understanding FS/N; if they were no one would have understood or liked the visual novel when it came out because F/Z came after it (not to mention the tons of people - myself included - who loved the VN without knowing anything about Fate/Zero). Yes, there are things in FS/N that are explained in F/Z. But that doesn't mean you should watch the explanation first. The explanation came after for a reason.

Plus, in my viewing of Fate/Zero the show was much deeper because I knew the future of what would happen. I wouldn't have liked it nearly as much if I just interacted with it as a surface-level backstory with no knowledge of the rest of the universe.

But Fate/Zero isn't a climatic part of the series, which is why I recommend watching it first. I have many friends who have watched Fate/Zero without knowledge of anything Fate-related and have loved it (and I totally feel like it's a more solid show on it's own than 2006's F/SN); F/SN doesn't complement F/Z the same as the other way around. In any case, I didn't mean it to sound like it's a MUST but it certainly makes everything more enjoyable, because by the time you watch UBW you're still missing a lot of twists that will be explained again and I'm sure will be pulled off better than watching them on F/SN.

For many F/SN fans prior to F/Z it was a great comeback for the series but that's because of the time lapse between both pieces of work. The hype is definitely not the same. If someone plans to watch it continuously without stopping for years, I'd still say watching F/Z first is probably the better option unless you want to play the VN.

 

[Oryx]

But Fate/Zero isn't a climatic part of the series, which is why I recommend watching it first. I have many friends who have watched Fate/Zero without knowledge of anything Fate-related and have loved it (and I totally feel like it's a more solid show on it's own than 2006's F/SN); F/SN doesn't complement F/Z the same as the other way around. In any case, I didn't mean it to sound like it's a MUST but it certainly makes everything more enjoyable, because by the time you watch UBW you're still missing a lot of twists that will be explained again and I'm sure will be pulled off better than watching them on F/SN.

For many F/SN fans prior to F/Z it was a great comeback for the series but that's because of the time lapse between both pieces of work. The hype is definitely not the same. If someone plans to watch it continuously without stopping for years, I'd still say watching F/Z first is probably the better option unless you want to play the VN.

Well my experience was from playing the VN like the year before Fate/Zero came out, so the time gap isn't really relevant to me.

It's not that I think Fate/Zero doesn't stand fine on its own; I think we can both agree that both series can be watched fine on their own. But it's just not right to say "it certainly makes everything more enjoyable" as if that's a fact (and I'm not really buying that "every way you approach it my way is better" wasn't meant to make it seem like your way is a must). That's subjective. It's not inherently more enjoyable to watch the show in reverse order from when it was released. It may be to you, but that doesn't mean that's the way it is as a fact. I strongly recommend the opposite of you for any new watchers; at least watchers that enjoy nuance and a deeper, better story than a surface level relationship with characters and plot.

 

[Silversnk]

Well my experience was from playing the VN like the year before Fate/Zero came out, so the time gap isn't really relevant to me.

It's not that I think Fate/Zero doesn't stand fine on its own; I think we can both agree that both series can be watched fine on their own. But it's just not right to say "it certainly makes everything more enjoyable" as if that's a fact (and I'm not really buying that "every way you approach it my way is better" wasn't meant to make it seem like your way is a must). That's subjective. It's not inherently more enjoyable to watch the show in reverse order from when it was released. It may be to you, but that doesn't mean that's the way it is as a fact. I strongly recommend the opposite of you for any new watchers; at least watchers that enjoy nuance and a deeper, better story than a surface level relationship with characters and plot.

What I meant with that part is that either you watch F/SN before or after F/Z, you should still watch F/Z before UBW, sorry if that wasn't too clear, I didn't mean to impose anything ): and that was just my opinion, it's not like I'm forcing anyone to do that.

I personally don't think that F/Z is seen as having surface level relationship with characters and plot, maybe that was your opinion but for me it was pretty much the other way around; F/SN it's the one lacking, not F/Z. I would rather tell people to just skip F/SN and play the visual novel instead.

Just remember that anything I, or anyone else write here about the subject it's inevitably gonna be biased; I thought that was implicit.

 

[Oryx]

What I meant with that part is that either you watch F/SN before or after F/Z, you should still watch F/Z before UBW, sorry if that wasn't too clear, I didn't mean to impose anything ): and that was just my opinion, it's not like I'm forcing anyone to do that.

I personally don't think that F/Z is seen as having surface level relationship with characters and plot, maybe that was your opinion but for me it was pretty much the other way around; F/SN it's the one lacking, not F/Z. I would rather tell people to just skip F/SN and play the visual novel instead.

Just remember that anything I, or anyone else write here about the subject it's inevitably gonna be biased; I thought that was implicit.

Okay for the record - when I say FS/N, I'm talking about this show, the thread we're on, lol. Or the visual novel, depending on the context. I'm not at all talking about the original anime adaptation, I was told to skip it so I did.

I'm saying that watching it in chronological order, to me, creates a surface level understanding of the characters. Not that Fate/Zero is surface-level and FS/N is deep. Gonna put this in spoilers for those that haven't finished FS/N or watched F/Z, but this is what I mean in an example.

Spoiler:

In FS/N, the fact that Sakura was Rin's sister is a HUGE HUGE HUGE twist. It's something that shocks you, sends you reeling, makes you rethink everything you've read before. Except...if you watched F/Z first, it's no longer the twist it was meant to be. It doesn't shock you, because you knew. All the build-up to this tense, emotional moment is gone, because you watched F/Z first. FS/N was not meant to have this climax ruined. You were supposed to look at that moment and think "what hints were already there?", combing back through the interactions to see if there's any foreshadowing. Fate/Zero gave explanation to the twist that people already experienced. It wasn't meant to spoil the twist for people that hadn't experienced it yet.

PS: I used Sakura because best girl and HF best route 10/10

It's possible that ufotable will intentionally make their show in a way that it's meant to be watched back-to-back; however, it's far too soon to say whether or not that's true so I have to go with how the original VN and LN were supposed to be experienced. It's so much richer to follow (Sakura example again I'M SORRY I LOVE HER)

Spoiler:

it's so much richer to follow Kariya, knowing that he's going to fail, feeling his desperation and the empty feeling of hopelessness because you know Sakura comes to Fate Stay/Night a broken girl who was failed by the one person who was looking out for her. Knowing her fate makes Fate/Zero deeper, richer, more nuanced than if you watched it with no context whatsoever.

 

[Silversnk]

Okay for the record - when I say FS/N, I'm talking about this show, the thread we're on, lol. Or the visual novel, depending on the context. I'm not at all talking about the original anime adaptation, I was told to skip it so I did.

I'm saying that watching it in chronological order, to me, creates a surface level understanding of the characters. Not that Fate/Zero is surface-level and FS/N is deep. Gonna put this in spoilers for those that haven't finished FS/N or watched F/Z, but this is what I mean in an example.

Spoiler:

In FS/N, the fact that Sakura was Rin's sister is a HUGE HUGE HUGE twist. It's something that shocks you, sends you reeling, makes you rethink everything you've read before. Except...if you watched F/Z first, it's no longer the twist it was meant to be. It doesn't shock you, because you knew. All the build-up to this tense, emotional moment is gone, because you watched F/Z first. FS/N was not meant to have this climax ruined. You were supposed to look at that moment and think "what hints were already there?", combing back through the interactions to see if there's any foreshadowing. Fate/Zero gave explanation to the twist that people already experienced. It wasn't meant to spoil the twist for people that hadn't experienced it yet.

PS: I used Sakura because best girl and HF best route 10/10

It's possible that ufotable will intentionally make their show in a way that it's meant to be watched back-to-back; however, it's far too soon to say whether or not that's true so I have to go with how the original VN and LN were supposed to be experienced. It's so much richer to follow (Sakura example again I'M SORRY I LOVE HER)

Spoiler:

it's so much richer to follow Kariya, knowing that he's going to fail, feeling his desperation and the empty feeling of hopelessness because you know Sakura comes to Fate Stay/Night a broken girl who was failed by the one person who was looking out for her. Knowing her fate makes Fate/Zero deeper, richer, more nuanced than if you watched it with no context whatsoever.

Ok, NOW I can agree with you haha. It was confusing since I've been referring to the 2006's anime adaptation. At the end it all depends on how this series tie everything, though. My personal experience was that I played the VN after Fate/Zero, and to be honest it didn't took away to the feeling and the hype of seeing things happening, even if I knew things a normal player wouldn't; so I stand firm with my recommendation: Fate/Zero should still be perfectly watchable before this one without losing the feels (It is better if you just skip the Fate adaptation so there's more twists for you to see in this one).

Spoiler:

HF and Sakura def the best.

 

[Kenchiin]

The wait for the second episode is killing me ;___;

 

[Altairis]

Well, I haven't read or watched anything from this series before and I watched the prologue and first episodes and I really liked it a lot. I love the animation, first off, and it seems to be a pretty popular series so I'm wondering where it'll take us. Does this end up like Mirai Nikki where the Masters just go around killing the other ones, and that's the extent of the plot?

 

[Kenchiin]

#2

Spoiler:

A lot of explanations for one episode, they worked well on the screentime, given the amount of things that Rin explains in a few minutes.

 

[Nakasu]

Well, I haven't read or watched anything from this series before and I watched the prologue and first episodes and I really liked it a lot. I love the animation, first off, and it seems to be a pretty popular series so I'm wondering where it'll take us. Does this end up like Mirai Nikki where the Masters just go around killing the other ones, and that's the extent of the plot?

Well..somewhat. That's basically how the story is going. Last one standing is the winner xD

 

[derozio]

Well, I haven't read or watched anything from this series before and I watched the prologue and first episodes and I really liked it a lot. I love the animation, first off, and it seems to be a pretty popular series so I'm wondering where it'll take us. Does this end up like Mirai Nikki where the Masters just go around killing the other ones, and that's the extent of the plot?

That's the basic premise, yes. They're mostly after each other. With a few exceptions like our main character, of course. :p

I personally believe people should watch Fate/Zero before watching this. A lot of characters and their motivations become clear once you've seen that. Sure, it spoils you about one of the upcoming twists regarding the kind of character (good/bad) one of the characters is as well as some things about character relationships, but I believe that's a small price to pay considering the fact that you gain so much knowledge about the characters you're dealing with in this show. Some of the questions you'd be able to answer after having seen Fate/Zero would be - what really happened ten years ago? Why is Shirou so fixated on his "hero of justice" thing? Why did Shirou's dad have a totally different outlook on "hero of justice"? Who is the "fake priest"? Who is the white-haired girl with Berserker? Who Rin and Sakura really are? Who is this blond character that popped up in the prologue as well as the first episode?

Those, and a lot of other questions. And Fate/Zero is a great watch (at least I think so) as well so it isn't like you're gonna waste time.

 

[TwilightBlade]

I watched an episode or two of Fate/Zero because it's a recommended start, but didn't really get into it. :(

However, I have started on this one and I'm really enjoying the fights. Saber, Archer, and Berserker were amazing in the latest episode.

 

[Sheep]

Fate/Zero was amazing but the first few episodes do start off a little slow so I'd recommend getting through some more if you're able!

Spoiler:

But aaaa, the episodes just keep getting better. I was really impressed with Archer here but more so Berserker given how.. indestructible he seems to be, especially with that Noble Phantasm. Illya is really something.

 

[Kenchiin]

#3

THE ANIMATION. MY BRAIN. IT WON'T RESIST.

SO PROUD.

 

[Altairis]

I really love the animation too the fights are so amazing I'm really loving this. Normally I wouldn't care too much for art style but when it's like this, hnnnng <3

 

[derozio]

That fight in ep #3 was definitely pretty goddamn amazing. I knew Berserker would be strong as **** but I was blown away by the portrayal that ufotable managed to do in here, haha. He seems so damn imposing and monstrous.

Fate/Zero just doesn't do it for some people, really. It is heavily dialogue-oriented and the first episodes more so than the later episodes rely on it and hence end up being boring. But I really, really like the anime and would definitely recommend trying to watch a little more if you can. It is good.