Fate/Stay night – Wrap-up

That this is a obligatory wrap-up post to archive F/SN under "past series" probably speaks volumes about my enthusiasm for the series. To be fair, I enjoyed the finale and the series did have its moments (mostly harem-induced ones). But a solid ending and some sparks does not a good series maketh. I thought my insightful brother Zyl says it so well when he describes F/SN as flat.

I have to admit F/SN is a difficult story for anime adaptation. Unlike its predecessor Tsukihime, it does not contain an encompassing story arc (like Kohaku's) that can be used as a central vehicle to string all the characters and story threads into a coherent tale. Nor is Studio DEEN brave enough to take a road less travelled like SHUFFLE! (The best game to anime conversion IMHO) by making a seemingly lesser character (Sakura) the heroine so that the richest track of the game (Heaven's Feel) gets told. Well, the commerical reasons for pimping Saber are sound. I'm sure Saber merchanising have never seen such feverish heights prior to the anime. I'm just not certain the F/SN DVDs would have the same reception.

My main gripe with the series (other than lesser evil of uninspired storytelling) would be its half-hearted character developments. Besides Saber and Shiro, none of the other characters were fleshed out sufficiently (despite some initial investments which created expectations) or had satisfactory closures. Granted, unlike SHUFFLE! or harem series where the plot can be modular by having the approximately 5 characters take turns to tell their tale, F/SN has the immense challenge of integrating close to 20 character backstories (Masters and servants, past/present) into the over-arching Holy Grail premise. Given a mere 24 eps, that would have been an impossible task. Still I had expected better treatment on Sakura and Rin's stories instead of over-developing Saber's. Their later involvement in the series as Holy Grail props to boost the over-embellished FATE arc was especially disappointing for me, a 3/4 Sakura 1/4 Rin fanboy.

Overall a forgettable plot with memorable characters and an unshakable feeling that it could have been so much more. Well, at least I will be getting some really nice Fate/Hollow Ataraxia figures out of this F/SN craze.

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A great ending with plenty of emotional impact, nice animation and music. But overall, I have similar complaints as Tsukihime - by concentrating on one scenario from the game, it failed to exploit the full richness of the franchise. The lack of material also made itself felt in the turgid pacing in some parts of the series and may have worked better as a 13-14 episode series instead. As a business decision, I'm not sure that it was entirely wise either - while I'm sure they're rakin' in it with the Saber merchandising, there will probably be a lot of fans of Rin, Archer, Rider etc. who are hugely pissed off (perhaps explaining the cool reception to the limited edition DVD Vol.1?). In any case, I'm just thanking the anime kami that the ending wasn't botched *coughGSDcough*

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OMG! They killed Rin! You bastards!

The Unbearable Lightness of Non-Being: Sakura Matou

"Oi! You, the ordinary, barely existing one!" (Rebecca Miyamoto to Kurumi Momose, PPD!02) Discuss the extent to which this statement applies to Sakura Matou of Fate/Stay Night.

Just kidding! Still waiting for the torrent to complete for FSN23...

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~ My love, my darling
I hunger for your touch
Alone, lonely time
And time goes by
So slowly ~