I want to watch Fate/Stay Night but...

[NinjaRealist]

...every review has described it as mediocre to terrible. I loved Fate/Zero so I want to give it a try but it's really long and after all the bad reviews, I'm hesitant to say the least. Am I just asking for frustration and disappointment if I watch this show?

I take your opinions very seriously, AnimeSuki forum-goers, very seriously (no sarcasm intended, really really) please help me make up my very confused mind.

[jedinat]

I stopped watching it like 4 episodes before the end... not because something horrible happened that put me off... but because I just didn't really care what happened. I guess that says something, lol.

[KholdStare]

I would put it at mediocre. Note that Fate/stay night (the visual novel) splits into 3 routes and the anime only animates the Fate route. From experience, most of the gripe people has about F/sn is mainly due to their preference of the UBW route being animated instead. So I would say most of the reviews are misdirected anger towards the choice of which arc to animate.

However, that's not to say there is nothing wrong with Fate/stay night. The production value of ufotable (Fate/Zero) is much, much, better than the production value of DEEN (Fate/stay night). So there's that. Plot-wise, there were a few things that didn't get included in F/sn (F/Z was more faithful to the original material). Most of the time, this isn't a problem. Remember though, F/sn aired before F/Z, but F/Z chronologically comes before F/sn. So when people watch F/sn without knowing F/Z, those details left out were important to piece together the events that occur before F/sn. That's why the plot of the F/sn anime can seem disjointed at times, and the ending was like...what happened? You, however, shouldn't have this problem, because you already watched F/Z. Which means F/sn might come easier for you than others.

So that's my opinion. I thought F/sn was entertaining enough. It wasn't great, but I didn't regret watching it. After I watched F/Z, I had a "lightbulb moment" with many of the events that occured in F/sn. I would give it a try, but don't set your expectations sky high. I think you'll enjoy it.

Spoiler for MAJOR SPOILER for Fate/Zero! Do NOT click if you haven't watched it!:

If you watched F/sn first, you are introduced to Matou Sakura and Tosaka Rin. If you watched F/Z, you would know that Sakura is in fact a Tosaka. While this tidbit does not influence the plot, not really, missing out on Sakura's past makes me view Sakura as sort of annoying in F/sn. Many events regarding Sakura in F/sn became clear after I watched F/Z. There are supposedly "hints" in F/sn that Sakura and Rin are biological sisters. I didn't pick up on any of them.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by NinjaRealist

I take your opinions very seriously, AnimeSuki forum-goers, very seriously (no sarcasm intended, really really) please help me make up my very confused mind.

Okay, just see it like this: F/SN anime is not exactly a continuation of F/Z nor a good representation of all the elements of the Visual Novel. F/SN anime is just a romance story between Shirou & Saber with Holy Grail War as a background. Also, don’t expect the animation to be compararble to F/Z. That was my recipee to enjoy F/SN anime and it works well for me .

So, given the right (read: low) expectation, you’d be able to actually enjoy it. I’ve seen the anime and I don’t think it wastes my time since I was entertained. The VAs have done a good job and the OST is above average. Also, if you like romance drama, the ending of this anime is pretty good.

[NinjaRealist]

Ok, thanks for the input you guys. I really loved everything about Fate/Zero, so I think that even if some aspects of Fate/Stay Night are disappointing, it sounds like it still might entertain me.

[Reckoner]

I would highly recommend playing the VN if at all possible if you're interested enough.

The anime (And especially the UBW movie which is just not even worth watching), just incredibly subpar compared to its source. Its directing, production values, execution, and anime original inserts make the experience at times extremely aggravating.

If you're hoping for another F/Z experience or even close to one, you're going to be immensely disappointed.

Really if you want to see what is ahead, just play the VN if you're that curious. I don't think I can recommend the anime as it is right now. Or hope Ufotable redoes it later .

[CasualAnimeFan]

I have Fate/Stay Night on my DVD shelf. I started watching it many moons ago, lost track of where I was. I'm going to pick it up again from the beginning. I mean, it seemed decent enough to me. I'm glad to see that Fate/Zero is good. Also on my list to watch.

[Urzu 7]

I want to watch F/Z more than I want to watch F/SN. Should I watch F/SN first anyway? Am I likely to not like F/SN all that much if I watch it second?

Is F/SN streaming anywhere? The DVDs are way too expensive now.

[KholdStare]

Originally Posted by Urzu 7

I want to watch F/Z more than I want to watch F/SN. Should I watch F/SN first anyway? Am I likely to not like F/SN all that much if I watch it second?

Is F/SN streaming anywhere? The DVDs are way too expensive now.

To this post, it's my opinion that you should watch F/sn first. You'll know some events that will let you focus more on the intricacies and character development of F/Z, which ultimate made me like F/Z as much as I did. As in, you'll try to look for the "why"/"how" and not the "what." Just an opinion, anyways. I don't see anything wrong with doing it either way.

EDIT: Whoops, I didn't know F/Z is actually on CR. 0.o My bad!

[NinjaRealist]

Originally Posted by Urzu 7

I want to watch F/Z more than I want to watch F/SN. Should I watch F/SN first anyway? Am I likely to not like F/SN all that much if I watch it second?

Is F/SN streaming anywhere? The DVDs are way too expensive now.

Lol, not to influence your decision but Fate/Zero is LEGALLY streaming at crunchyroll.

I thought Fate/Zero was incredible but it is also extremely unsettling in that way where you want to cry but you also want to just turn away in in horror and shock.

Originally Posted by Reckoner

I would highly recommend playing the VN if at all possible if you're interested enough.

The anime (And especially the UBW movie which is just not even worth watching), just incredibly subpar compared to its source. Its directing, production values, execution, and anime original inserts make the experience at times extremely aggravating.

If you're hoping for another F/Z experience or even close to one, you're going to be immensely disappointed.

Really if you want to see what is ahead, just play the VN if you're that curious. I don't think I can recommend the anime as it is right now. Or hope Ufotable redoes it later .

I have never experienced a visual novel before and am hesitant to try out a new medium. Is it basically like a video game?

[hyl]

Fate/Zero was originally a light novel , not a VN >_>

But because of that it was more accesable for the English speaking people, seeing that it's easier to translate a LN than a VN (and make a patch for it)

edit: i have been going a little off topic
So i might as well make this post more on topic

I agree with KholdStare with this. Eventhough Fate/zero is the prequel to FSN, it's better to watch FSN first because some elements in F/Z were vaguely or not explained because F/Z assumed that the viewer had some prior knowledge about the Fate universe. Personally i think you will be able to appreciate Fate/Zero more if you have watched FSN.
Also F/Z spoils some reveals for FSN.

[jedinat]

Originally Posted by NinjaRealist

I have never experienced a visual novel before and am hesitant to try out a new medium. Is it basically like a video game?

It's like a "choose your own adventure" book with spoken dialogue and character portraits... and an occasional hentai segment to break up the tedium (depends on the visual novel, lol).

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by NinjaRealist

I have never experienced a visual novel before and am hesitant to try out a new medium. Is it basically like a video game?

Think about a story-book with pictures & narrative where you can choose your own route (you know that one, right?). Only this time, instead of opening some pages in a book, you’re clicking your mouse/keyboard on your computer.

Just to be clear:
Fate/Zero is a Light Novel (LN), a literal book.
Fate/Stay Night is a Visual Novel (VN), an electronic story book/game.

[NinjaRealist]

Ok guys, thanks again for your input. But just to be clear I have ALREADY seen Fate/Zero so I'm asking if the Fate/Stay Night Anime will just seem disappointing and pointless by comparison.

Also, the production value of Fate/Zero were indeed incredible but the production values aren't make or break for me. If the story is compelling I even like to watch really dated anime with low (by modern standards) production values.

[creb]

Originally Posted by NinjaRealist

...every review has described it as mediocre to terrible. I loved Fate/Zero so I want to give it a try but it's really long and after all the bad reviews, I'm hesitant to say the least. Am I just asking for frustration and disappointment if I watch this show?

I take your opinions very seriously, AnimeSuki forum-goers, very seriously (no sarcasm intended, really really) please help me make up my very confused mind.

If you are one of those rare individuals who watched Fate/Zero without having experienced the horrible butt-puke that is Fate/Stay Night, do yourself a favor, and do not ruin your memory of the excellent characters of Fate/Zero by watching Fate/Stay Night.

Keep in mind that the Fate/Stay Night anime's source material was an eroge video game. Zero's source material was a light novel written by Urobochi Gen. You can probably figure out why the two anime are so different from each other.

Now, if you enjoy eroges, or enjoy harems, than you might enjoy watching Stay Night (the eroge part is largely absent, but it's about as haremy as you would expect). A sizeable percent of the anime fan base does enjoy that type of show, so there's certainly no shame in it.

[Reckoner]

Originally Posted by creb

Keep in mind that the Fate/Stay Night anime's source material was an eroge video game. Zero's source material was a light novel written by Urobochi Gen. You can probably figure out why the two anime are so different from each other.

This is pretty irrelevant because Urobuchi Gen was basically mentored by Nasu for Fate/Zero.

Second, the anime is not very comparable to the visual novel itself. The differences aren't that stark between F/Z and the VN, but the anime yes.

Originally Posted by NinjaRealist

Ok guys, thanks again for your input. But just to be clear I have ALREADY seen Fate/Zero so I'm asking if the Fate/Stay Night Anime will just seem disappointing and pointless by comparison.

Also, the production value of Fate/Zero were indeed incredible but the production values aren't make or break for me. If the story is compelling I even like to watch really dated anime with low (by modern standards) production values.

Well if you're able to tolerate what's essentially a light novelish written story with pictures, again I'll say the VN is much more worth it. The anime only covers one of the routes anyways, and much of the stuff hinted in F/Z only comes to pass in the other routes of F/S N. So even if you watch the F/S N anime, your experience is still yet incomplete.

The thing that breaks the F/S N anime is that the complexity of the source is watered down and diluted to embarrassing levels. Fate/Zero was enjoyable for many aspects, but most of all it carried a level of depth and meaning in its plot/characterization. This is largely absent in the F/S anime, but is present in the F/S N visual novel.

[Obelisk ze Tormentor]

Originally Posted by NinjaRealist

Ok guys, thanks again for your input. But just to be clear I have ALREADY seen Fate/Zero so I'm asking if the Fate/Stay Night Anime will just seem disappointing and pointless by comparison.

If you’re not gonna play the VN, might as well watch Fate/Stay Night anime but with the right expectation that it’s a flawed adaptation like I said in my first reply to you. Many VN players bashed F/SN anime (some say along the lines of “It’s the worst adaptation evahh!!!” if not “It’s the worst anime evahh!!”) because they feel insulted with how the anime portayed the story and they have the right to do so. Still, if you see it as an original story without all the baggage from the game/VN or Fate/Zero, it’s actually enjoyable enough. Like I said, this show is mainly about Shirou x Saber romance with some action and harem elements added.

As for whether it’s pointless or not, take it like this: as flawed as it is, you at least will see some continuation of some plot in Fate/Zero. For example: here you can see grown-up Shirou, Rin, Sakura & Ilya and how they live their lives. You will see Kotomine Kirei continue on with his plan in summoning Angra Mainyu. You will see Gilgamesh trolls Shirou by claiming that Saber is his. You will see how Saber’s inner-conflict (which isn’t resolved at all when she served Kiritsugu) resolved in the end by Shirou’s love for her etc. Yes, the anime’s execution of things isn’t perfect, but it still watchable.

[NinjaRealist]

Three episodes in...this show feels more like a goofy cross between a harem comedy and a serious action show whereas Fate/Zero was more lie a grim/dark action thriller.

After the intensely depressing experience that was Fate/Zero I guess it seems kind of nice to think that maybe these characters will do something other than die horribly or return to some eerie afterlife of perpetual doubt or something slightly more or less awful.

Spoiler:

Kariya's whole storyline was especially horrifying in the most visceral way and his fate was particularly awful.

EDIT

Episode 4...the fights in this one are decidedly more wire-fu, but still pretty compelling actually.

EDIT

Episode 5...wow Saber is a lot less fierce and a lot more cute in this one.

[NinjaRealist]

Final Reaction to Fate/Stay Night at Episode 12:

Spoiler:

This is a completely different show than Fate/Zero and Saber is basically a completely different character in Fate/Stay Night. I can't even really look at her as the same character from Fate/Zero, her characterization is just that different. Also, the scene where Rin stops in the middle of a fight to hold her skirt down? WTF? Who cares about things like that when they are trying to kill each other. There are so many things like this, but this one stood out to me the most.

It is really not just that the animation is worse. The writing is also much, much worse. And the fight choreography. A lot of you guys are saying the visual novel is better. I did some looking into the visual novel, but I guess I'm weirded out about the fact that it has H Scenes in it with the justification being that characters transmit mana through sex. What the hell? Isn't that an even weirder way to make the characters do out of character things?

I didn't necessarily like the fact that all of the characters in Fate/Zero were prudes, for the most part, who didn't even have implied sex, but this nonetheless rang more true to the characters for me. This makes me wonder if it will ever be possible to make a good aime based off this visual novel that is also honest to the material?

Maybe if they had split this into two separate franchises and made Saber actually be a different character, I would have liked it more but as it stands I think I'm done with the Fate/Stay Night franchise. It seem to be more geared for titillation than serious writing.

[totoum]

Originally Posted by NinjaRealist

This makes me wonder if it will ever be possible to make a good aime based off this visual novel that is also honest to the material?

It is,F/SN wouldn't be so highly regarded if it was just porn,they're only there because writers are expected to include them but they're not the point of the story.