Fate/Stay Night - worth a watch?

[Don_Don_Kun]

hey

One of my friends at school is really into this series and told me that I should watch it. He burned me the entire series and I currently have it sitting on my hardrive. Theres currently a few other series that I wanted to watch, but I'm wondering if I should watch this first or even at all.

Heres what I like to see in an anime

- A meaningful story, with likeable, intriguing characters.
- Having drama or romance in a show is fine, as long as there are some good twists and the ending isn't foreseeable.
- A show that is genuinely groundbreaking and can really make you think at times without being overly complex
- a bit of humor to lighten the mood
- Good animation, voice acting and sound (but thats really just icing on the cake:))


Heres what I'm not so fond of (but can still overlook if needed)

- Shonen or pure action oriented anime with a weak story and characters
- if the humor begins to get out of hand


Some of my Favourite series

- Higurashi no naku koro ni
- Shakugan no Shana
- Neon Genesis Evangelion
- Nanoha


So I'm wondering if I should watch this series or not. Some feedback would be much appreciated.

[qtipbrit]

- A meaningful story, with likeable, intriguing characters.
- Having drama or romance in a show is fine, as long as there are some good twists and the ending isn't foreseeable.
- A show that is genuinely groundbreaking and can really make you think at times without being overly complex
- a bit of humor to lighten the mood
- Good animation, voice acting and sound (but thats really just icing on the cake:))
-The main character is widely disliked, and several of the other characters aren't exactly fan favourites. Except for one manly character that you'll meet if you watch it, he's the origin of the term GAR, and rightfully so.
-It has a good bit of romance/drama, probably a little more than Shakugan no Shana had (the two are often compared.), and the ending isn't an over-the-top happy one either, and it's quite difficult to predict.
-I wouldn't say it's genuinely groundbreaking or complex, but it's not something where thinking doesn't matter.
-There's just a bit of humour in Fate/Stay Night, but it serves as decent comic relief.
-Good animation, the voice acting is fine (except for the main character, who sounds like a ____.), I've heard that people liked the music a lot, but I didn't find it particularly amazing.
Heres what I'm not so fond of (but can still overlook if needed)

- Shonen or pure action oriented anime with a weak story and characters
- if the humor begins to get out of hand
-It's an action anime, but it's not one where everything is based on the action.
-There's not that much humour, so it never really gets out of hand.

Some of my Favourite series

- Higurashi no naku koro ni
- Shakugan no Shana
Same production company as Higurashi (though it doesn't mean much.)
People have said it's similar to Shakugan no Shana, and I agree to some extent.

I would personally recommend it if you liked Shakugan no Shana, though I think it's not quite as good.

[Utter_iMADNESS]

a)Has good characters with mysterious traits.
b)Contains romance and a bit of drama but you may be able to figure out how the romance ends near the end of the story. It has a similar strong fighting female with weaker but special power-wielding male relationship as Shakugan no Shana.
c)Makes you think, just not too hard.
d)Fuji-nee adds some odd humour, but there is some humour from the main character's misfortune as well.
e)It's not high quality (as in normal resolution) but the fight scenes are really well animated and the voices are fitting, the sound is also fitting (I really enjoyed the soundtrack).

So overall I would highly recommend this series. It may even get you to play the extremely popular visual novel.

[jedinat]

The series is crap. I dropped it 2 episodes before the finale; that's how crap it is. Go watch Tsukihime instead, which at least has something of a story.

The game was boring as well; all they did was talk and talk and talk about the lame magic system, and they weren't even naked while doing so.

[Z3120]

Fate//Stay Night had so much potential. I disliked the series when it was all said and done because FSN was one of the very few animes where I wanted to look up it's original source (the game), and it confirmed one glaring plot device I knew of and realized they never took advantage of. So many great story elements they could have used from the FSN universe. FSN could have been one of the greatest series to me, but the anime adaptation of the game doesn't seem to do it justice. So in the end for me, FSN was nothing more than Black Cat, Busou Renkin, Law of Ueki and Shaman King to me.

Edit: Scratch that. I rate Busou Renkin much higher than all the other Shonens I've listed right now. And just maybe Law of Ueki too. Shaman King was pretty sweet until the 2nd half killed it for me.

As for the plot device I wish they explored more... *Warning, spoiler*
The connection between Shirou and Archer

[Utter_iMADNESS]

The series is crap. I dropped it 2 episodes before the finale; that's how crap it is. Go watch Tsukihime instead, which at least has something of a story.

The game was boring as well; all they did was talk and talk and talk about the boring magic system, and they weren't even naked while doing so.

Well, maybe if you had watched the last episode and actually finished the show you might have a different view of it. I'm not saying that you're wrong, just that sometimes shows with a good ending can really make a difference for the whole series.

Hmm, you seem to care a lot for the plot to be good, yet you seem to be saying that the game was boring because they weren't naked throughout the whole thing. The reason why they talked a lot about the magic system is that that's what the story is based on. The rules of the magic system are what make and break the relationship between Shirou and Saber (which you seem to care about because of the h-scenes).

And may I ask if you've actually finished the game? I agree that they do talk a lot about the magic system in the beginning of the story, but as I've said, this is to introduce and help familiarize the reader with the magic system

[deltakano]

If you like EXTREMELY weak male protagonists (like in Shakugan no Shana), then F/SN is definitely a must watch.
It has everything you described with the twist of an extremely weak male protagonist (who has a huge ego).
Busou Renkin is better as Z3120 stated.

If Neon Gensis Evangelion is one of your all time favorites, then RahXephon is a must watch. It's one of the best mecha/romance series I have ever watched. Animation is top notch.

[OceanBlue]

Shirou has a huge ego?
Never mind. I guess I can see how people would interpret it that way.

I'd recommend it. Do some searching of ratings as well, since the Suggestions forum isn't the fastest thing on the Earth.

http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=animevotes&aid=3348
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=5394
http://www.animenfo.com/animetitle,1811,jcnygv,fate_stay_night.html

I provided some sites that have listed ratings [These are peer ratings]. I only know of those three sites though, and AnimeNFO only has 36 ratings anyways.

[tripperazn]

My simple suggestion: Go through your list, when you finish and have some free time, give it a try.

Your friend probably isn't going to want those disks back any time soon, and this series isn't that great. It's definitely not a must-watch, by any standards. It's another poor TYPE-MOON adaption. If the characters/story intrigues you, go play the Visual Novel instead, it's almost done being translated.

[jedinat]

Well, maybe if you had watched the last episode and actually finished the show you might have a different view of it. I'm not saying that you're wrong, just that sometimes shows with a good ending can really make a difference for the whole series.
I dropped it after sitting through almost an entire episode of Shiro and Saber talking and making absolutely no sense. They were all emotional about being broken apart or somesuch and I had no idea why. I have no patience for magical systems and whatnot that are made up solely to create hopelessly tragic situations. (not that I had an ounce of sympathy for the characters by that point)
Hmm, you seem to care a lot for the plot to be good, yet you seem to be saying that the game was boring because they weren't naked throughout the whole thing.
The plot sucked so at least they could have been naked. That was what I was getting at.
The reason why they talked a lot about the magic system is that that's what the story is based on. The rules of the magic system are what make and break the relationship between Shirou and Saber (which you seem to care about because of the h-scenes).
Which is exactly why the plot was bad. I didn't care about the stupid magic system.
And may I ask if you've actually finished the game? I agree that they do talk a lot about the magic system in the beginning of the story, but as I've said, this is to introduce and help familiarize the reader with the magic system
I never finished the game. I stuck with it for quite a few hours, but I was bored out of my mind, and the relationships were progressing at a snail's pace. And the fighting scenes weren't exactly rivetting as still images and sound effects... too little character development/annoying characters, and too much fighting and talking about the plot.
And it isn't as though I don't have the patience for a visual novel. I played through all the paths in Tsukihime and that isn't exactly a faced-paced game.

[Utter_iMADNESS]

Well jedinat, that's you're own opinion so I'll respect it. It seems that we have very different tastes in anime and in what a good story is, so we will obviously have opposing opinions.

[SeedFreedom]

Im going to have to disagree with Jedinat and tripperazn. I found this to be a good series usually near the top of my recommendation list. The story is interesting, except for the main lead who is very annoying at times. It does involve fantasy/magic elements so if that bores you you should skip it.

In response to your particular taste in anime:

-The story is pretty interesting. Its very complete and doesn't leave you lost.
-The romance is noticeable. not a focus point of the anime, but its there. This game was based off an H-game so it does have some of those elements
-Im not sure what you mean by groundbreaking so... Its also not a very deep plot. not much phlosophical thinking or revolutionary ideas. like i said though, it wont leave you going "WTF is happening?".
-There is little in the way of humor IMO. Its got some moments, but not a comedy for sure.
-animation is pretty good. There arent any voice that make you cringe.
-the protagonist character developtment is pretty weak. There is quite a bit of development within the rest of the cast though.

Overall, its a very good anime and i defiantly recommend it.

[qtipbrit]

-Im not sure what you mean by groundbreaking so... Its also not a very deep plot. not much phlosophical thinking or revolutionary ideas. like i said though, it wont leave you going "WTF is happening?".
-There is little in the way of humor IMO. Its got some moments, but not a comedy for sure.
WTF + Comedy moment:
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c201/sdskater92/Nice/FSNObvious.png
-animation is pretty good. There arent any voice that make you cringe.
-the protagonist character developtment is pretty weak. There is quite a bit of development within the rest of the cast though.
I dislike Shirou's voice (a lot), but then again, I just can't stand any of Noriaki Sugiyami's characters, they all make me want to kill myself Rika style.

As I said before, it's a decent anime (7/10 in my book.), and if your tastes are as such, you'll probably like it.

[Skyfall]

I would say this series is just about mediocre. It had the potential to be great, but it didn't live up to that premise. I don't know how much depth you are looking for, but there isn't much - the plot is basically there so we could get those character pitted against one another to enjoy the fight scenes, and doesn't get much deeper than that ... its a good thing the action sequences are actually decent.

Hard to say about the characters - you would probably like some, but the cast isn't of the most sympathetic ones ever created. Chances are the male lead would get on your nerves with his attitude, as quite few people dislike him.

It isn't groundbreaking and doesn't aim to make you think - watch it for the characters and action if you like it, but don't expect much in terms of thought provoking ideas. There is some humor every now and then, but generally nothing noteworthy.

There is some romance in the show, more so than in case of Shana and it actually goes somewhere. As for being predicable i would say quite so, but it never tried to be otherwise i think.

Overall ? Not terrible, but nothing to write home about either. There are a lot of other shows to watch before this one.

If you like NGE i would recommend RahXephon (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=14) - the two share quite a bit of similarities thematics wise.

If you want a bit more action oriented, but still sharing somewhat of a resemblance - Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=1806) would be a good place to start.

If you are after something aking to Shana / F/Sn though (not mecha), i would suggest the already aforementioned Busou Renkin (http://anidb.net/perl-bin/animedb.pl?show=anime&aid=4516).

[Sorrow-K]

I agree with Skyfall, the series is wonderfully mediocre. It did have a great amount of potential, but the storytelling wasn't up to par, and there's a frustratingly large number of unanswered questions and underdeveloped subplots. The lead characters are, well, rather unsympathetic to say the least, while a lot of the really interesting side characters just disappear before anything worthwhile is made of them. The animation begins getting more and more inconsistent in the latter episodes as well.

"Worth a watch" is such a subjective criterion, so I'll just say it's worth watching if you're morbidly curious. Just don't go in with particularly high expectations.

[DragoonKain3]

Ugh... F/Sn was so riddled of plot holes and/or things that can only be ever explained if you played the game, that for the uninitiated, it wasn't just medicore, it was downright confusing. So if you're looking for characterization (good luck trying to explain the reasoning for a lot of the characters' actions), meaningful story (in the end, it's just one big shounen tourney), or humour (rotfl@dragon), it's best you look elsewhere.

The only good part would be some of the fight scenes, if even at that. And considering you aren't in the Over9000 group of people, there really isn't anything in F/Sn that will grab your attention.

Go watch Tsukihime instead if you liked something that made more sense from the same company that made the original. Or if you liked the supernatural mystery of Higurashi, check out Ghost Hunt. Likeable characters? Check. A bit of humour? Check. Some romance? Check. Makes you think a bit about the cases? Check. All systems go!

[deltakano]

One word to sum up the series:

SAAAAAAAAYBAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!

[Claude]

I tried to watch this a few months ago but dropped it after 3 episodes for scrapped princess.

[SeedFreedom]

To be fair, that quote is taken out of context and does make sense with the show.

[devildog23]

Lol you guys are haters!

I really liked Fate/stay Night. Just give it a shot, and if it isn't down your alley, drop it. If you like it, watch it.


- A meaningful story, with likeable, intriguing characters.
- Having drama or romance in a show is fine, as long as there are some good twists and the ending isn't foreseeable.
- A show that is genuinely groundbreaking and can really make you think at times without being overly complex
- a bit of humor to lighten the mood
- Good animation, voice acting and sound (but thats really just icing on the cake)

MY OPINIONS

- I thought the story was decent(could've been better) | There are some good characters, like Rin, Archer and Saber. Shirou can go either way with like or dislike.
-There are twists, and I didn't necessarily see the ending coming(the "end" end, not like the last battle or something).
-It didn't make me think that much, wasn't too groundbreaking, but it was entertaining.
-little to no humor
-Quality animation, good voice acting and I thought the soundtrack was great. The music fit the scenes perfectly.

[Deathkillz]

Go watch Tsukihime instead if you liked something that made more sense from the same company that made the original.
Someone might kill you for saying that, hahaha :heh:

F/SN isn't the best but I did enjoy watching it, though I can see where the complaints came from when playing the game. Still though I would say that it is worth watching and still above average for me :)

[Sorrow-K]

Someone might kill you for saying that, hahaha :heh:
If Type Moon fans judged anime on storytelling rather than loyalty, they'd save their knives for people that defended F/SN, not Tsukihime.

Like DragoonKain3 says, unless you have an inside knowledge of the game, the second half is a confusing mess of seeming non-sequitars. That's by far my biggest gripe with F/SN, and a problem that Tsukihime managed to rise above for the most part. That's why I'll never understand why Type Moon fans bitch and moan about Tsukihime. I think they're complaining about the wrong adaptation.

[Oxtail]

I'm one of those people who really wanted to like F/SN, but just couldn't get past the main character. Another huge thing that really bothered me was that it's supposed to be a fight to the death and yet in the first few fights I saw, the other fighters would invariably kick the kid's butt and then leave without finishing him off. Just felt so much like a lame plot device to keep the plot going. If they didn't want him to die, they shouldn't have thrown him into so many fights where he got beaten so badly early on.

I'm surprised people are recommending Busou Renkin, though. I felt that series was even worse than F/SN. Soooooo cheesy...and not in a good way.

[Synria_]

Just watch it. Nice character designs and good action. You will like the characters and it will definitely get you thinking.

I say watch it. This series was the main reason I registered on the forums. Now i'm happily following other popular series that they have in the upper forums.

[devildog23]

Like DragoonKain3 says, unless you have an inside knowledge of the game, the second half is a confusing mess of seeming non-sequitars.

I didn't have inside knowledge of the game and didn't find it confusing at all, even less in the second half. I actually thought the plot was simple.

Another huge thing that really bothered me was that it's supposed to be a fight to the death and yet in the first few fights I saw, the other fighters would invariably kick the kid's butt and then leave without finishing him off.

I'm surprised people are recommending Busou Renkin, though. I felt that series was even worse than F/SN. Soooooo cheesy...and not in a good way.

I could've sworn The main character "dies" in the first few minutes of the show.

I don't really know what fights your talking about though.

Busou Renkin wasn't bad, but I don't find it better than F/S N

[Oxtail]

I could've sworn The main character "dies" in the first few minutes of the show.

I don't really know what fights your talking about though.



So I watched like the first 6 episodes or so. Ok, the first girl won't kill him cuz she has a crush on him. I can overlook that part. Then the little girl with the big ugly servant decides to just beat him to within an inch of his life and not kill him. Considering that servant could crush his skull with his pinky, it's kind of convenient that he beat him to only an inch of his life, but held back enough to not kill him. Then the S&M servant in the woods behind the school had his arm impaled, toyed with him, and could have killed him in an instant, but took so long that the first chick comes to save him. I mean come on, like she couldn't put a stake through his heart then and there before she flew away?

Just seemed really contrived to me. That far into the show the main guy showed that he was a complete weakling and couldn't do a thing without Saber. So many chances other masters could have killed him and they all decided not to. It's like the worst stereotype of Hollywood villans ever. :/

[deltakano]

Busou Renkin is definitely better than F/SN. The male protagonist isn't that much of an idiot and both male and female protagonists have equal exposure time during the anime series.

The main protagonist of F/SN is all talk and no action. He always thinks that he's stronger than Saber.

[Don_Don_Kun]

hmmm... this is tough

The general consensus here seems to be...

- a decent series with a mildly engaging story
- some characters which follow certain archtypes and others which are memorable
- a good mix of romance and drama (similar to shana in a sense)
- strongly action oriented, but not to the extent of pure shonen
- good animation, voice acting (this is subjective) and a wonderful soundtrack
- a "weak" adaptation of an excellent visual novel
- a small amount of humor that won't get out of hand
- overall not a must watch but nevertheless still entertaining

this is basically my summary of the opinions from people who have posted so far. Of course, this summary isn't supposed to reflect one opinion but the majority of what most people have been saying about Fate/Stay Night.


After I finish re-watching higurashi season 2 (yes re-watching) I'll probably watch the first four or five episodes to get a feel for the series and decide from that point on whether or not I want to continue with the anime. If it isn't living up to my standards then I'll drop it. Although, if I really think that this series has some serious potential, I might ask that same friend for the visual novel and play that instead.

I would like to thank everyone so far for their (thoughtful) opinions and recommendations. Any future suggestions would still be welcomed if people so incline.

[FuzzyWuzzy]

LOL you'll eventually run out of anime and you will be forced to watch this whether you like it or not.

[dotTgz]

LOL you'll eventually run out of anime and you will be forced to watch this whether you like it or not.

lol that is so true

[qtipbrit]

- a decent series with a mildly engaging story I would say so. I'm not sure whether or not it was confusing like some have said, since I often wikipedia the anime series I'm thinking of watching to see if it interests me, and I also catch onto the plot much more easily that way.
- some characters which follow certain archtypes and others which are memorable There are actually few archetypes followed except for the main character, who fits into almost all of those archetypes people generally dislike.
- a good mix of romance and drama (similar to shana in a sense) Not really. The romance and drama are less central and believable than Shakugan no Shana's, which > this.
- strongly action oriented, but not to the extent of pure shonen Agree. If you're looking for a couple catchy fights without it being the only part of the series, then F/SN fits quite well.
- good animation, voice acting (this is subjective) and a wonderful soundtrack Ehh, can't really comment, but I would say the production values were quite high.
- a "weak" adaptation of an excellent visual novel No comment.
- a small amount of humor that won't get out of hand Yup.
- overall not a must watch but nevertheless still entertaining Just about. As I said, Shakugan no Shana > this.

this is basically my summary of the opinions from people who have posted so far. Of course, this summary isn't supposed to reflect one opinion but the majority of what most people have been saying about Fate/Stay Night.
By all means, try it, but yes, drop it if you don't like it. It's not something where you can eventually get used to the series if you don't like the first couple of episodes.
LOL you'll eventually run out of anime and you will be forced to watch this whether you like it or not.
Holy crap. Tell that to my to-watch list of 50 items plus half of the Spring Season.

[Z3120]

LOL you'll eventually run out of anime and you will be forced to watch this whether you like it or not.

You'd be surprised, if you're not bound by genres, just how much anime there are. Excluding the possibility of rewatching series.

[meh]

So I watched like the first 6 episodes or so. Ok, the first girl won't kill him cuz she has a crush on him. I can overlook that part. Then the little girl with the big ugly servant decides to just beat him to within an inch of his life and not kill him. Considering that servant could crush his skull with his pinky, it's kind of convenient that he beat him to only an inch of his life, but held back enough to not kill him. Then the S&M servant in the woods behind the school had his arm impaled, toyed with him, and could have killed him in an instant, but took so long that the first chick comes to save him. I mean come on, like she couldn't put a stake through his heart then and there before she flew away?

Just seemed really contrived to me. That far into the show the main guy showed that he was a complete weakling and couldn't do a thing without Saber. So many chances other masters could have killed him and they all decided not to. It's like the worst stereotype of Hollywood villans ever. :/

Surely you're not trying to apply logic and realism in a shonen action show. By your standard, no action anime is worth watching.

FWIW, I do agree that such things are annoying. But it's just one of those things where you need to keep your brain asleep for the sake of entertainment.

[NervZero]

Ok people Fate/Stay night is a GREAT anime.. This anime has a very good story behind it.
At anime-source fate/stay night is ranked 12th in the top romance anime with a rating of 9 out of 10
However the question was is Fate/Stay night worth watching and I say yes because most anime is worth watching.

Also, about running out of Anime.. I dont think that is possible, you just have to know where to look for good anime. Or you have to have other anime freaks to ask about what are good anime to watch. Which is why this site is such a blessing, because their are so many people here that not only watch anime but are what i might term as anime "freaks" (which is what I aspire to be.)

[tejvenim]

I think the first 14 episodes are good. Relationships between characters are interesting and refreshing, and action scenes are exciting. The suspense is there to make me keep watching. A little humor (not much) is thrown in to lighten up the mood.

Episodes 15 to 24 are boring. The relationships become awkward like a cheap romance novel, and action scenes are boring. There is no more suspense to make me keep watching. There is no more humour.

[aka Providence]

Mm, to be honest I dislike fate/stay night, though I can understand why it's liked. I'd say it's worth a watch, though I also think that the anime isn't something to go crazy about. It's a hit-or-miss case, in a nutshell.