Written by Sam Beale
Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works
Directed By : Takahiro Miura
Produced By : Ufotable
Genre : Action/Fantasy
Watch it now on Crunchyroll !
Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works , one of the biggest hype trains of 2014 is finally here, and it is better than expected. Maybe that was too downbeat, what I meant to say was “OH MY GOD! IT’S SO COOL! UFOTABLE I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.” Alright, now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, let me explain why you should be following Unlimited Blade Works if you aren’t already.
The series is based on the extremely popular Visual Novel of the same name. The story can pretty much can be boiled down to the following: The Holy Grail grants you a wish, magus (mages) want it for various reasons, they all summon badasses from the past, such as King Arthur, then battle it out, with the winner taking the Grail. If you’re new to the Fate series then what goes on from there has yet to be revealed, but if you’re part of the old guard who watched the 2006 adaptation of Fate/Stay Night or it’s prequel Fate/Zero , you’ll have a good idea of where it’s going. But I can promise people new to the Fate franchise that you’ll fall in love with some of the characters and probably have one, maybe several that you hate. If that premise sounds even the slightest bit appealing get started with Unlimited Blade Works , you could even watch it’s prequel Fate/Zero during the long, painful wait for the next episode.
Let’s talk animation, this is where the hard work and talent of Ufotable really shines, the series without a doubt can be described as a feast for the eyes. It’s detailed and coloured to such a level that you can just gaze slack-jawed at it, while you take in the story, and this is without mentioning the fight scenes. As they were in Fate/Zero , the fight scenes are beautiful, lightning fast and just a plain joy to watch, it’s just so good to have them back, because trust me, you’ll remember them for a long time.
The prologue and first episode are both an hour in length, allowing us to meet some key characters. The prologue follows Rin Tohsaka, a series mainstay, who was in Fate/Zero and remains a fan-favorite. Then episode one focuses on Shirou Emiya, the protagonist. If I had to level one somewhat minor criticism at Unlimited Blade Works , it’s that the first few episodes are going to be confusing without some background knowledge, but that will most likely be addressed in the future, hopefully improving on the exposition dump that Fate/Zero ‘s first episode threw at us.
To conclude, if you aren’t already watching Unlimited Blade Works prepare your soul for a hype overload and dive in, I can guarantee you won’t regret it. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to curl up in the corner and wait for the next episode to come out.
Watch Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works at Crunchyroll now!