Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works

[Kraco]

"Shirou Emiya finds himself an unwilling participant in a deadly competition where seven Mages summon heroic spirits as servants to duel each other to the death. They compete for the chance to make a wish from the Holy Grail, which has the power to grant any wish. Shiro is unskilled as a mage and knows nothing of the Holy Grail War, but he and his servant, Saber, enters into a temporary partnership with another Mage, Rin Tohsaka." -ANN

Links: AniDB | ANN | Official

Download: Episode 00 720p | 1080p - HS







- -- - - - - - - - -




I doubt this show really need any introduction. My favourite route of the FSN VN, with Rin as the main girl as this 00 episode, Rin's episode, demonstrates. My most awaited show of the year, and this first episode didn't disappoint me. Unlike the movie, this one isn't a slide show of action scenes, although the action scene we did already get was brilliant. While I was actually happier with the movie's character design and music, it's not like this would be bad either. The director and script writer succeeded very nicely with Rin's introduction, giving her the correct kind of image. There also was surprisingly little lecturing, just a few short ones (not that explaining stuff with Kirei's voice would bore anybody). That's probably due to the fact most people watching this already know their stuff from the previous shows and movie.

This decision to tell the beginning twice (I assume), from Rin and Shirou's point of views is rather interesting, but I reckon this serves Rin very well. It also might serve the format of a TV series better, to keep up the dynamics better, rather than to go back there in flashbacks or something.

I'm 100% assured to watch this through all the hardships till the end. This and the old show from years ago are like Heaven and Earth in visuals. Time has really been generous with Type-Moon.

[shinta|hikari]

Delicious. RinXArcher!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Archer is like the most humble servant ever.

SABERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG I have lost all eloquence after being slammed with 40 minutes of awesomeness.

The first 5 minutes were better than the UBW movie.

@Kraco - This art style is actually more consistent with the VN.

[David75]

The art style is a little too geometric on faces at times. But overall the visuals, background and animation smoothness are at the top end of anime I watch. I hope this is the basis for the season and not a one shot, because 00 is considered a movie/OVA.
For some reason, that intro to the universe was a lot easier to understand, with many subtle implications and all. But it might only be that I'm back to an universe I've been immersed in a lot of time.

It's been a long time since I played the VN, but that ep felt like an animated version of the beginning of that route, with no scene cut and no detail forgotten.

As for the Saber intro, it's a lot less powerful than Shiro's route. Just thinking about it wets my eyes a little.

[Kraco]

@Kraco - This art style is actually more consistent with the VN.

The art style is a little too geometric on faces at times.

This was my problem with it as well. As expected, a Frenchman could describe the core of the artistic problem easily. It didn't show all the time, just during some moments.

[Ryllharu]

With the updated art, Rin's usual outfit of the red sweater and miniskirt looks really out of place.

I realize that after years of updated art for Kara no Kyoukai, Fate/Zero, and even Prisma Illya that FSN's art has ended up a little...simplistic. Rin and Lancer's outfits stick out the most as being outdated. It's always been a problem of inconsistency though, since Archer, Berserker, and Saber are much more detailed than Lancer or say...Rider. Even Caster is often little more than a hood and a cape (except in this arc).

Maybe it was just the art style making it stick out more. There were scenes were Rin's ass would suddenly look huge (and she's no Sakura or Tohsaka Aoi!) and then back down to her slender normal size moments later.

[lelouch]

Seriously, those of you who are still nitpicking are pretty sad. This was an amazing first episode and the battle scenes were excellent. Not to mention the UBW adaptation is finally here. To say anything other than "fucking awesome", I'm convinced you would find something to complain about regardless.

[KrayZ33]

Seriously, those of you who are still nitpicking are pretty sad. This was an amazing first episode and the battle scenes were excellent. Not to mention the UBW adaptation is finally here. To say anything other than "fucking awesome", I'm convinced you would find something to complain about regardless.

#

this is like...perfection, at least close to that
not kidding, this episode was as good as it can get, especially for the first one in a series.
Its so typical for Gotwoot to do that.

I'm not mad about it, no ones really *that* dissatisfied with this episode or the animation, I give you that. So don't mind me too much.

From what I heard the first 2 episodes will have a different artstyle than the rest
At least thats what my friend said who watched this preview episode which aired in Nuremberg last week. I'm kinda disappointed already if thats true, it looks so good right now.

[Ryllharu]

We've all played the game about 3 times. What do you expect?! There's not really much to discuss about the prologue for the lot of us, it is essentially verbatim.

So yeah, we're gonna nitpick.

[KrayZ33]

I've played the game too, watched the movie, the original and the prequel, even played some of the fighting games, there's still no reason to nitpick. Might as well accept the goodness and keep the trap shut because there is *nothing* to cricitise this adaption for.

[David75]

Roll expressed it right.And it's not like what I said is either a bad thing or false. And I enjoyed every second of it

[KrayZ33]

Did anyone notice the sound when Archer took care of the "landing"? It felt like I was sitting in the cinema, really cool stuff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NtV8D1rKP8&t=1m10s

[neflight86]

An excellent premiere. It being labeled as 00, did it not air on TV or something?

[Xelbair]

It follows the prologue from the game - Rin viewpoint of early days. ep 01 will follow shirou.

[Buffalobiian]

Tohsaka Rin is back! I would die of happiness, but then I can't buy any more Rin figures, so I'll hold out.

I don't believe it's so much nitpicking as just making observations. Things such as geometric faces were quite obvious, and imperfections are more obvious when they're put next to excellence (which in this case is everything else). I would argue that for a non-F/S_N initiated person evaluating this episode on its own, there could be too much exposition here. Indeed, Ryll's recent "show, not tell" could apply. Given the nature of the story though, it can't be helped. I by all means endorse this over the movie approach. One can learn to bear with overexposition, but missing information will ruin what little is displayed.

I didn't really notice anything (bad) about Rin's ass though, but more so the glow of red on her and archer. Light seems to behave differently on those shades of red. I'm sure it's purposely done to highlight them.

@Krayz33: yeah, that landing sound effect.

---------------------


-edit-

@Ryll: Sakura and Rider's assets may blind you from seeing others', but Rin's really isn't half bad. At the very least, I believe she's more bottom-heavy.

[Ryllharu]

Buff, it isn't even close.

Sakura: B85/W56/H87
Rin: B77/W57/H80

Saber: B73/W53/H76
Rider: B88/W56/H84
Caster: B86/W57/H84

Gilgamesh: B94 W73 H93

For comparison:
Aka Saber: B83/W56/H82
Ciel: B85/W56/H88

Rider is the most buxom of the FSN characters, Sakura the most voluptuous.
Leysritt doesn't count, she's barely in it.

Source

[shinta|hikari]

B73 niceeeee.

[NeoCybercoin]

Pfff Gilgamesh has dem hips.

[Buffalobiian]

Sakura: B85/W56/H87
Rin: B77/W57/H80

!!!!!

The FSN gods must have made it up to Sakura.

[Kraco]

Episode 1 - HS





- - -- --- - -



Damn, this was good. I've got absolutely no complaints. The pace felt just right. Not too fast, so it built sufficiently Shiro's normal life that was shattered for good, yet not too slow either to lose the dynamics and get boring. I especially liked how some "noname" characters got a bit of screen time, as, to be honest, playing the game it always felt like the school had only a few students (Sakura, Rin, Shiro, Shinji, Issei, and Ayako) and then a gray, faceless and nameless mass in the background. This episode made it feel more like a real school.

The visuals are really great. Normally with most series I'd now say that they will severely drop towards the end, but with a Type-Moon show, I trust they will remain good. Lancer's noble phantasm could have been done either in a minimalistic way (because, honestly, when explained it actually is really simple) or in the flashy way we saw here, and I don't think either would be a bad choice. I suppose the flashy way would suit this show with the fights overall being so full of movement and light effects. Shiro's fight against Lancer was really nicely made, and like Lancer said, his last defence was particularly good.

I'm gleefully waiting for all the Rin goodness in the coming eps. Ryll may appreciate more Sakura's perfectly womanly shape, but Rin's personality and stunts are much funnier.

[shinta|hikari]

The visuals will remain good not because it is a type moon story, but because it's a ufotable series.

WTF? That was fucking horrible.

Sakura said "Senpai" 6 fucking times in the span of 50 seconds since her introduction.

Shirou's eyes look too fucking big.

It wasn't fucking oyster sauce but Worcestershire sauce.

Rin's face in the ED isn't fucking correct in terms of proportion.

Kiritsugu was fucking smiling? That made no sense.

Why the hell were Shirou's bones not fucking broken to pieces after being kicked that hard?

/jk THAT WAS FUCKING AWESOME.