Episode Rankings: Fate Series

The Fate series is an absolute mess of continuity, anime adaptations, and timelines. However, it also happens to have a fascinating world, a likable cast, and high-concept premise good enough to attract a lot of fans who are willing to wade through it all. I really just saw the animes by Ufotable, but I really enjoyed what I saw of it all. Here's my ranking of the Ufotable Fate movies and TV show episodes:

1. The Last Command Seal (Fate/Zero: Episode 24)
2. Spring Song (Heaven's Feel: Movie 3)
3. The End Of Honor (Fate/Zero: Episode 16)
4. Unlimited Blade Works (UBW: Episode 25)
5. Discussing The Grail (Fate/Zero: Episode 11)
6. The Final Decision (UBW: Episode 13)
7. The Sea At The End Of The World (Fate/Zero: Episode 23)
8. Golden Shine (Fate/Zero: Episode 15)
9. Idealism's End (UBW: Episode 20)
10. Spearhead (Fate/Zero: Episode 4)
11. Rin's Big Adventure (Fate/Zero: Episode 10)
12. A Battle Of Legend (UBW: Episode 16)
13. The Mage Slayer (Fate/Zero: Episode 8)
14. Unlimited Blade Works (UBW: Episode 21) - Yes, there are two episodes with the same name. Yes, it's confusing.
15. Fate/Zero (Fate/Zero: Episode 25)
16. The Reward For The Fight To The Death (UBW: Episode 8)
17. The Mion River Battle (Fate/Zero: Episode 14)
18. Lost Butterfly (Heaven's Feel: Movie 2)
19. Incarnation (UBW: Episode 24)
20. The Fifth Contractor (UBW: Episode 11)
21. Knight On Two Wheels (Fate/Zero: Episode 21)
22. The First Battle (UBW: Episode 4)
23. A Wicked Beast's Roar (Fate/Zero: Episode 5)
24. The Dark Sword Bares Its Fangs (UBW: Episode 18)
25. The Eighth Contract (Fate/Zero: Episode 17)
26. Answer (UBW: Episode 22)
27. Dark Forest (Fate/Zero: Episode 7)
28. Where Justice Was Found (Fate/Zero: Episode 19)
29. Time To Departure (UBW: Episode 14)
30. The Forbidden Feast (Fate/Zero: Episode 13)
31. Epilogue (UBW: Episode 26)
32. Winter Days, Where The Heart Is (UBW: Episode 9)
33. Prologue (UBW: Episode 1)
34. All The Evil In The World (Fate/Zero: Episode 22)
35. The Fake First Shot (Fate/Zero: Episode 2)
36. The Beginning Of The Circle (UBW: Episode 19)
37. Master And Servant (Fate/Zero: Episode 9)
38. Presage Flower (Heaven's Feel: Movie 1)
39. Mirage (UBW: Episode 7)
40. Distant Memories (Fate/Zero: Episode 18)
41. The Grail Beckons (Fate/Zero: Episode 12)
42. The Summoning Of Heroes (Fate/Zero: Episode 1)
43. Winter Days, Fateful Night (UBW: Episode 2)
44. Winter Days, The Form Wishes Take (UBW: Episode 17)
45. Return Of The Assassin (Fate/Zero: Episode 20)
46. Fuyuki City (Fate/Zero: Episode 3)
47. A Visitor Approaches Lightly (UBW: Episode 12)
48. The Princess Of Colchis (UBW: Episode 15)
49. Dancing After School (UBW: Episode 6)
50. A Night Of Schemes (Fate/Zero: Episode 6)
51. Winter Days, A Long Way Home (UBW: Episode 23)
52. The Distance Between Them (UBW: Episode 10)
53. Finding The Will To Fight (UBW: Episode 5)
54. The Curtain Goes Up (UBW: Episode 4)

Fate Stay/Night: Heaven's Feel Trilogy

It took a while, but I'm finally watching Fate Stay/Night: Heaven's Feel, the last Fate series made by Ufotable. It's a pretty fantastic trilogy, and an even better end to this series of Fate adaptations.

Presage Flower: Heaven's Feel is basically the third route of the Fate Stay/Night visual novel. The main premise about Shirou joining the Holy Grail War where the same few families bring in historical figures to duke it out is the same, it's just the events that play and who of the three main female leads Shirou ends up with that differs. In Heaven's Feel, the Holy Grail War gets a wrench thrown in it when a mysterious shadow starts to kill people involved in the war, and the main focal heroine is Sakura, Shinji's childhood friend who starts off having the least involvement in the war. Sakura never got much focus in Saber or Rin's routes, and while she still doesn't do too much here, the movie does a great job at fleshing out her relationship with Shirou, who's also a lot more interesting than he was in UBW. Heaven's Feel puts a lot more focus on Shirou's PTSD from being orphaned, likely to parallel Sakura's abuse from her family, and seeing them support each other through their trauma is just really heartwarming. Shirou and Sakura just feel the most natural together, there's a really personal bond between the two that Presage Flower does a great job at selling the viewer on.

Unfortunately, that kind of comes at a cost. Presage Flower starts with an extended prologue about how Sakura and Shirou met, not inherently a bad idea, but the prologue takes a full half-hour, an entire fourth of the movie! Even more, once the prologue ends, the movie skips past Shirou meeting Saber and Rin through a title montage. Like, sure, I know I've seen that scene a few times already, but that just feels really clumsy and messes with the pacing of the movie. Thankfully, once that time jump is gotten out of the way and especially once the shadow comes into play, Presage Flower becomes a ton of fun, even if it's still pretty blatant that the plot hasn't fully ramped up yet. There's a great balance between fun character interactions and bonkers action scenes, and the final act packs a pretty massive twist that should drastically change how the next two movies play out. However, I'm not entirely sure if Presage Flower works as a standalone film, since nothing really gets resolved in the ending. Assassin and Zouken are still alive, the Shadow is still killing people, and as a whole, the movie just felt like a highlight reel of the Holy Grail War up until the big Saber twist kicks off the change. Just because it's part of a serialized trilogy doesn't mean a movie shouldn't also tell its own contained story, and it doesn't help that the sequels do a much better job of this.

As far as the presentation goes, the entire Heaven's Feel trilogy is absolutely fantastic. Ufotable's visuals are even better than in Zero and UBW because they got a whole movie budget to do these films and it shows in some of the fluid moments of animation and bonkers action scenes. Presage Flower, in particular, has a crazy chase sequence between Lancer and Assassin that stands out as probably the highlight of the whole movie. The music is also fantastic, since Yuki Kajiura is back as composer. While there aren't as many memorable cues as in Fate/Zero, it's still a massive improvement on UBW, and Kajiura makes sure to go hard on pretty much all of the action scenes. Overall, Presage Flower is a solid first film with well-written characters, great action, and an amazing score, but it suffers from wonky pacing and an inconclusive ending that makes it easily the weakest of the trilogy. It's still a fun time though, 

3/5 Stars

Lost Butterfly: Lost Butterfly is a lot to take in, it's a truly relentless film. It's stuffed with nonstop action, plot twist after plot twist, and reveals entirely new and unflattering facets to pretty much every cast member. But despite all that, I actually think it stands on its own better than Presage Flower. That movie was blatantly an introduction to the trilogy, but Lost Butterfly is pretty much entirely a psychological character study for Sakura. We learn about her past, delve deep in her abusive relationship with her family, and discover her connections to Rider, Rin, and most importantly, the Shadow (Yeah, I know most of this was in Fate/Zero but it's been a while and I forgot, okay?). She spends the whole movie slowly losing her sanity culminating in that dark ending where she gets corrupted. It's such a tragic character arc, but the movie does a good job at keeping Sakura incredibly sympathetic even as she gets worse. The movie is filled with these character reversals, like seeing Illya and Rider be good guys who also get a lot more screentime as a result, and the fascinating arcs about Shirou considering losing his ideals to solely protect Sakura and Rin contemplating killing Sakura despite knowing she's her sister.

It's interesting how Lost Butterfly actually has less action than Presage Flower, yet it feels more action-packed. Part of this is because of the sheer amount of plot crammed into the film (seriously, there's like a plot twist every five minutes). It also helps that the action scenes we do get are lengthier, flashier, and better than most of what we got in Presage Flower. The production looks even better this time around, and Kajiura's score is an improvement as well. I really can't understate how well her musical style fits dark stories like this and Madoka. But despite all of that intensity, Lost Butterfly is still almost entirely focused around Sakura and Shirou's relationship, which I think was a pretty good call. When compressing a lengthy visual novel campaign into a six-hour trilogy, Ufotable chose to prioritize the central relationship above all else. However, I do have one issue with Lost Butterfly, though, and that's in regards to Sakura's sexuality. While I appreciate how the film tries to tackle Sakura's rapes and the complexities that prevent her from opening up about them, her whole subplot about the crest worms making her aroused really messes with that and makes for some incredibly uncomfortable scenes. It's generally hard to tell Fate was originally an adult game (something I'm perfectly fine with since I've never been into that sort of stuff), but the remnants like mana traversal and sexually arousing crest worms feel pretty jarring. 

Overall, though, I still really liked Lost Butterfly, and I thought it was a massive improvement over its predecessor. The darker tone, blistering pace, abundance of big plot twists, more development for Sakura, and better production values made for a really strong entry in the Fate series. I'm still not a fan of the sex stuff, they came really close to ruining the movie for me, but the rest of it was so good that this didn't happen.

4/5 Stars

Spring Song: Ultimately, I think Lost Butterfly left the biggest impact on me due to its crushing sense of dread, but Spring Song is definitely my favorite of the three films, on top of just simply being the most fun. Focusing on the main cast fighting to save Dark Sakura and stop her from unleashing Angra Mainyu, the whole movie just feels like this grand finale to not just Heaven's Feel, but Ufotable's Fate "trilogy" as a whole. There are just so many amazing moments here, both big and small. In terms of sheer badassary, there's that whole Nine Lives Blade scene, Rider vs Saber Alter, and Shirou's fight with Kirei. In terms of impactful drama, there's that brutal opening, Rin and Sakura's entire confrontation (especially that hug), and Illyasveil's sacrifice. There's even what is possibly the funniest moment in any of Ufotable's Fate adaptations when Kirei punts Shirou through a window. It's just such a massive crowd-pleaser of a finale, it feels so rewarding knowing how dark and painful much of Heaven's Feel (especially Lost Butterly) was. It even brings in a character from an entirely different Nasuverse story at one point, which I'm glad I happened to stumble upon or else the ending would've felt like one hell of an ass pull.

What I found especially interesting about Spring Song is that, since Sakura spends much of the movie as a bad guy, the film focuses more on the core sibling relationships within the cast. Shirou spends a lot of the movie with Illyasveil, with the entire first third devoted to him and Kirei teaming up to rescue her from Sakura. They have a nice dynamic, and it pays off in a pretty powerful sendoff for Illya at the end of the movie. Rin and Sakura also get a surprising amount of focus, with Rin being the one to confront Sakura in the movie's climax rather than Shirou. More than in the two earlier films, it becomes very apparent that Rin cares about Sakura more than she lets on, and it leads to, once again, some great emotional moments as well. There's an awesome parallel between Rin and Illya, they're both older siblings who, after years of being distant from their siblings, make a grand gesture in the finale to give them a better future. Not to say that Shirou and Sakura's relationship is shortchanged either, though, since they get what is probably the happiest ending out of any Fate route, if not the whole franchise. That cherry blossom scene is perfect, and once again, it feels like a perfect way to end off Ufotable's weird lopsided "Fate trilogy".

Overall, I really enjoyed Spring Song. It doesn't have that consistently oppressive tone that made Lost Butterfly stand out, but it makes up for that through sheer fun. It's full of fantastic action and badass moments of payoff, while also nailing the emotional moments by revealing that the true heart of the trilogy isn't Shirou and Sakura's relationship like I thought. It's about the sibling relationships.

5/5 Stars

Overall, I thought the Heaven's Feel movies were a massive improvement on Unlimited Blade Works, though I still think Fate/Zero is the peak of the series. Heaven's Feel may be darker, but the characters are more complex and nuanced, and their struggles are more personal. Where UBW treats justice as this grand world-saving endeavor, Heaven's Feel focuses on finding justice for the ones you care about, especially family. The themes are genuinely fascinating here, on top of the fantastic direction, stunning presentation and music, and the ridiculous amount of plot twists. 

Sure, I still had by problems with the trilogy, particularly the pacing and the sex stuff, but I found that each movie was better than the last. Presage Flower is super action-packed but had a slow start and aimless story progression, Lost Butterfly was grippingly dark and confidently messy but it had some really gross and uncomfortable plot decisions, and Spring Song brought it all home for a fun and satisfying finale that revealed what the trilogy was truly about.

4/5 Stars

My ranking of the Heaven's Feel movies is:

Spring Song > Lost Butterfly > Presage Flower

My ranking of the Fate series is:

Fate/Zero > Heaven's Feel > Unlimited Blade Works

My favorite fight scenes are:

• Saber vs Lancer (Spearhead)
• Saber vs Rider (Knight On Two Wheels)
• Kiritsugu vs Kirei (The Last Command Seal)
• Saber vs Assassin (The Reward For The Fight To The Death/Incarnation)
• Shirou vs Gilgamesh (Unlimited Blade Works)
• Lancer Vs Assassin (Presage Flower)
• Rider Vs Saber Alter (Spring Song)

My favorite episode from the shows is: The Last Command Seal

And finally, in my UBW review, I said I'd make my verdict on the three female leads once I saw Heaven's Feel, so here goes:

• Saber is my personal favorite as a character. Obviously it helps that she gets the most fight scenes, but I also really enjoyed her moral dilemma in Zero, and the fact that she's displaced from her time period allows for a lot of great moments of levity. Of course, since she's not from her time period, I think she's the worst for Shirou. Also, one of the best things Urobuchi ever did was give her a suit and motorcycle in Fate/Zero, utter genius.
• Rin doesn't really fit as just a love interest, instead her charismatic and complex personality makes her full-on protagonist material, and I would've loved to see a version of UBW where Shirou didn't show up. She even keeps stealing the show when it's not her route, like her solo episode in Fate/Zero and her arc in Heaven's Feel. I think Rin is a bit too serious for Shirou, if anything I feel she fits better with Saber (because of course I had to start shipping a random queer pairing).
• Sakura is probably my least favorite of the three (though that's not saying much), but she's also incredibly complex. Flawed and sympathetic, but most importantly, I think she's the best for Shirou. As I mentioned several times in my review, I like how supportive their relationship was (at least in the first two movies), and how they helped each other through their trauma. The fact that they're childhood friends means they have a stronger bond and sense of history than Rin or Saber too.

Fate Stay/Night: Unlimited Blade Works

Now that I'm done with Fate/Zero, it's time for the adaptations of the Fate Stay/Night visual novel. Unlimited Blade Works focuses mostly on Rin, and while it might not be as dark and compelling as Zero, it definitely excels with its action and characters.

So if you've read my review of Fate/Zero, you know how the Holy Grail War works by now. UBW is about the Fifth Holy Grail War, and many of the masters are the children of much of the cast of Zero. As a whole, I wouldn't say this war is quite as dramatic and devastating as in Zero, though it makes a lot of sense given that a large portion of the cast are kids. However, this means that this anime isn't quite as epic as Zero. We didn't have these massive attacks like the building explosion and the Mion River battle, the war here is far more personal and less... war-like. It's not a bad thing, this series being more character driven has its benefits, but it definitely means there just isn't that same gravitas and unique tactical conflicts. I also think UBW's start was quite a bit weaker than Zero's. While I think Zero earned its double-length premiere due to the massive roster of characters to introduce, UBW's first two episodes were both 45 minutes long and about the same events, and even with some action, it didn't really feel like things got going until Episode 12. Still, that's not to sell UBW's story short. The anime is packed with great twists (Caster summoning Assassin, Shirou losing Saber, Archer's true identity), and once Saber gets captured and Archer defects, seeing Shirou and Rin try to win the war without their servants was an incredibly cool concept. The entire second season is far more action-packed, fast-paced, and intense, holding its own as one of the better Fate seasons for sure.

However, while the plot is good enough, where UBW excels is definitely its cast of characters, which I'd argue is even stronger than in Zero. The main character of Stay/Night itself is Shirou Emiya, who ends up getting Saber as his servant. He's an alright protagonist and his arc about helping others is pretty good, but he's nowhere near as fascinating as Kiritsugu. However, while Shirou is the central character, UBW primarily focuses on Rin Tohsaka, as she tries to win the war despite not getting the servant she wanted (Saber). I found her infinitely more interesting than Shirou, her snarky attitude and constant teasing were a ton of fun, and her arc about learning to be a different person from her family was great. Knowing that Saber, Rin, and Sakura (who didn't appear too much in UBW) are Shirou's love interests in the VN, I think Rin and Shirou have a really natural romantic storyline in this anime. I'll wait until Heaven's Feel to make my full verdict, but right now, I think they're a pretty great match. I also really liked Taiga, Shirou's caretaker, due to the levity she provides. As for the servants, Saber's back and just as great as ever, but the real highlights were probably the antagonists. While Zero's Caster was terrifying and grotesque, Stay/Night's Caster is a far more intelligent and charismatic, so I actually felt even more terrified every time she was on screen despite the lack of eldtrich horrors. Archer was a pretty interesting character due to his unknown past and disdain towards Rin and Shirou's methods, but he's also pretty hateable at times. As a whole, I actually liked this cast better than Zero's. Except Shinji. Screw him.

As for the presentation, UBW is a bit more of a mixed bag compared to Zero. On one hand, the visuals are much better across the board. Fate/Zero was great with the action scenes and spectacle, but normal character interactions looked a bit stilted at times. In UBW on the other hand, the entire anime looks just plain stunning. Nearly every shot looks great, even in the dialogue-focused scenes. And that's not even considering the phenomenal action scenes which might also look even better than Zero as well. If anything, they're just as flashy and spectacular, and might be even more frequent. I especially love how the masters themselves end up getting involved in some of the fights, intentionally or otherwise, which results in some really tense sequences. However, one thing that isn't an improvement on Zero is the music. It's hard to top Yuki Kajiura in pretty much anything, but I found UBW's score to be on the generic and unremarkable side. It's not bad, but it rarely stands out unless its using themes from Zero and the visual novel itself.

There were quite a lot of great episodes in UBW, with these being my favorites:

The Reward For The Fight To The Death: This action-packed episode had some pretty great twists, and sets up Caster as an amazing villain. The reveal that she summoned her own Assassin definitely caught me off-guard, and the big battles in this episode were really fun. It was also the point in which Archer's antagonistic side started to show a bit.

The Final Decision: Just like Fate/Zero, UBW is split up into two seasons, but this time, the first season finale is a huge turning point in the series. The battle with Caster is one of the biggest and most dramatic in the series, Shirou losing Saber and getting kicked off the war is a tragic and surprising turn, and the extra length means we get a ton of great character interactions, especially in the first third. This is a massive, dramatic, and jam-packed episode, a big jump in quality for the anime so far.

A Battle Of Legend: This episode was just heart wrenching. Illyasveil's backstory was super interesting coming off from Fate/Zero, and her and Beserker's last stand was as visually stunning as it was devastating. I was kinda hoping for some more interactions between her and Shirou, but that's probably what the other routes are for. 

Idealism's End: This was just a nonstop series of twists and reveals, and start of probably the best stretch of episodes in the anime. Obviously, most people know that Saber is King Arthur, but then we get the crazy reveal that Archer is Shirou from the future, and then Kirei shows up, and then Lancer is forced to commit suicide (sound familiar?). This is easily one of the heaviest episodes in UBW.

Unlimited Blade Works (the first one): This is a rarity, two episodes have the exact same title. The only other instance I can think of is RvB which had two episodes titled Heavy Metal, but they weren't super important like these are. The big fight between Shirou and Archer was definitely worth all the buildup, as was Lancer killing Kirei and saving Rin. But the real highlight of the episode is the iconic line "Just because you are correct, doesn't mean you're right".

Unlimited Blade Works (the second one): Similarly to Zero, this anime saves the climactic final battle for the penultimate episode, and it's pretty great. The fight between Shirou and Gilgamesh is unbelievably epic, which was helped by the music taking a noticeable step up compared to the rest of the series. It's a far more bombastic conclusion than Zero's, but it still manages to have some strong emotional punches when Saber and Archer disappear.

Overall, while it's not as epic or compelling as Zero and has a bit of a slow start, Unlimited Blade Works is another great Fate anime with amazing animation and fights, memorable and likable characters, and some genuinely stellar twists.

Season 1: 3/5 Stars

Season 2: 4/5 Stars

3.5/5 Stars

Fate/Zero

Before I start this review, I'd like to outline my plan for going through the Fate anime. The Fate series was something that I wanted to get into for quite some time, the only problem being how do I get into it? Three different routes, a prologue, anime adaptations of varied qualities, it's kind of a mess and it took me days just to figure out the best route through it all. Here's my plan: I read up on the Fate route of Fate Stay/Night, I know what happens and how it ends along with who most of the major characters are, so I won't be watching the bad, spoiler-y, and oddly unavailable DEEN version. I'll be starting with the prequel Fate/Zero, then I'll move onto UBW, and finally I'll end with the Heaven's Feel movies (once again, if I can somehow get access to them). Now let's start the review.

Fate/Zero is a prequel to the Fate Stay/Night visual novel written by Gen Urobuchi of Madoka fame (see why I wanted to watch this now?). It's also epic, compelling, and pretty damn good.

Fate/Zero is about the Fourth Grail War, where seven people call in historical figures to help them battle for the Holy Grail. Stay/Night is about the Fifth Grail War, so this anime depicts the events that led to that series. The first season is fairly slow, introducing the cast and setting up a lot of the threads that would get set up in the second season. Most of the series actually has a defined villain in Caster/Uryu, a serial killer who managed to find his way into the war. But once they're defeated, the anime shifts back to the cast as they fight each other, and the deaths become far more numerous. Something that I think is really fresh about Fate/Zero is how it really feels like an actual war is playing out, with large battles and game-changing risks scattered throughout the series, along with episodes that dealt with the ramifications of said battles. As the anime progresses, each battle feels grander and more devastating than the last as the war becomes closer to a conclusion. Despite how the war is just among a select group of people, everything is played really seriously and the show feels epic and dramatic. The sheer lengths that the characters would go through (from arson to murder) just made me genuinely compelled to see how it would all fall apart. My only major with Fate/Zero is how it was structured, split up into two seasons at a fairly arbitrary halfway point that make both feel incomplete. That's why I wanted to review the show as a whole, as its first season ends up being too uneventful and its second season ends up being too relentless with its death scenes.

This anime has a pretty massive cast, following each of the seven masters and their servants, among other important characters like Irisveil, Risei, and some of the children who would become major characters in Stay/Night. With 25 episodes, it's not hard for the cast to be spread a bit thin at times (especially with Kiritsugu getting two flashback episodes), but I still found most of them at least interesting. Out of the human characters, I think Kiritsugu and Irisveil are strong protagonists, and I really like Waver for his strong character arc. Speaking of which, the servants are the real highlights here. Each of their designs does a good job of anime-fying the historical figures they're based on. Saber (based on King Arthur) is obviously a highlight for her great fight scenes and noble attitude, and she works really well as a main protagonist. Also the decision to give her a motorcycle was just the coolest thing ever. But I was surprised to find that Rider (based on Alexander the Great) might have been my favorite out of the whole cast. Not only was it a superb translation of the historical figure, but his jovial attitude, surprising moments of thoughtfulness, and bombastic powers made him even more memorable. I especially love his friendship with Waver that develops throughout the anime, their dynamic was just so adorable and they had a lot of mature and heartwarming moments together.

Presentation-wise, Fate/Zero is predictably spectacular seeing as it's animated by Ufotable (Demon Slayer) and has music composed by Yuki Kajiura (Madoka), both of which I've praised in earlier reviews. The character animations are mostly pretty good, though it really comes alive during the fight scenes. Demon Slayer's fights were great, but nearly every battle in Fate/Zero is phenomenal. The movements are fluid and weighty, and the visual effects are just so bombastic. I also really like the backgrounds in Fate/Zero, they're so detailed compared to the rest of the show. I especially like how they get destroyed during fight scenes. The show also implements CGI really well without it feeling too unprofessional. As for the music, Yuki Kajiura is really shaping up to be my favorite composer in anime. The score in Fate/Zero is just amazing, it's grand, epic, and fits most of the scenes really well. Some of the anime's best scenes are made even better thanks to a great score, especially the fights.

There were a whole bunch of pretty great episodes throughout the anime, but these were my favorites:

Spearhead: This episode contains the first big action sequence in the series, and it's really spectacular. The fight between Saber and Lancer is exciting, tense, and incredibly well-animated. It's a great back and forth as whichever fighter is in the lead changes constantly, only for Rider to storm in at the end of the episode and ruin everything.

Rin's Big Adventure: I've said this a few times, but I hate the term "filler". An episode can still be entertaining even if it doesn't progress the plot, and that's exactly what this episode was. We got to spend a whole story with young Rin as she takes on Uryu all on her own. I got some serious slasher vibes from the episode, and seeing Rin improve her magic skills is really satisfying. I also thought it was nice to see Kariya actually do something for once.

Discussing The Grail: It's so easy for people to resort to violence, so seeing Saber, Archer, and Rider discuss their motivations in a simple yet gripping conversation is far more interesting and fascinating, and Saber's debate with Rider is up there with any flashy fight the anime had to offer. It's even cooler if you consider the fact that King Arthur, Gilgamesh, and Alexander the Great are having a conversation with each other. But even if you wanted action, this episode also had Rider wiping out every assassin in spectacular fashion.

Golden Shine: This episode ties up a ton of loose ends in spectacular fashion. Saber gets her arm back, and finally reveals Excalibur, using it to completely annihilate Caster. There's also the fight with Beserker, Kariya's near death, and some more cool Rider moments to help make this easily the most bombastic episode yet.

The End Of Honor: Well, it was only a matter of time, but Urobuchi's starting to kill people off. Prior to this episode, it was just antagonists, but here we get the shocking deaths of Risei, Kayneth, Sola-Ui, and worst of all, Lancer. This whole episode is just a repeated bloodbath and punch in the gut, from Saber and Lancer's fight, to Kiritsugu's deal, to the argument about honor in the last few minutes, this was easily one of the show's best episodes.

The Sea At The End Of The World: And so, the final battle begins. Overall, this was a pretty fun and action-heavy episode, but there were two scenes in particular that got me. First is the reveal of Berserker's true identity, him being Sir Lancelot makes a ton of sense given his design and Saber's realization is heartbreaking. Second is Rider's last stand which is not only beautifully animated but also just painful given he was one of my favorites.

The Last Command Seal: In an anime where historical figures duke it out every other episode, I was surprised that one of my favorite fights was just between two normal people. Kiritsugu vs Kirei was all kinds of badass, and when you add in the more emotional Saber vs Berserker fight, the first eight minutes of this episode might be the best of the whole series. Not that the rest of the episode isn't also amazing, the corrupted Grail stuff was a surprising twist, and the ending was an amazing cliffhanger. I'm also starting to pick up a trend that Urobuchi really likes dealing with utilitarianism in his works.

Fate/Zero: Coming after the last two action-packed episodes, this was a bit more of a denouement. It's also the second Urobuchi finale to leave me a bit confused (what did the Grail even do?!). Still, this finale did a good job of tying things up for all the characters and did an excellent job of setting up for the events of Stay/Night, from Kariya's inability to save Sakura, to the long-awaited appearance of Shirou.

Overall, Fate/Zero is a compelling story with a large but interesting cast of characters, phenomenal action, and a top-notch presentation. Both seasons felt incomplete on their own, but when viewed as a complete 25-episode story, it's works really well.

Season 1: 4/5 Stars

Season 2: 5/5 Stars

The whole anime: 4.5/5 Stars