Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works

Story-line => 3/5 (I liked the uniqueness of the plot but they got some major loose ends.); Acting => 5/5 (The voice acting was good. Portrayed the characters nicely.); Directing => 5/5 (The directing was awesome. I liked the way things were directed and presented. The soundtracks were also syncing with the battle scenes. ); Animation => 5/5 (The animation is amazing, treat to the eyes. I don't know the budget. I almost feel like this is 'Unlimited Budget Works'); Screenplay => 3/5 (The screenplay was not very deep. The character buildup in many cases were not up to the mark so the dialogues got bland in some cases.); Personal Recommendation => 4/5 (I would highly recommend watching this for the animation and the plot. Also watch Fate/Zero.); Most Favorite Character => Rin Tohsaka (Most mature, considerate and badass character here);

True to its hype, Fate Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works is a must-see of the year whether you're a fan of the visual novel or coming into the series as a newbie. There's much to adapt, but the first half captures that very well with the setup. To say the least, this show has that sort of momentum every episode. It is set up and then delivery, with the series capitalizing on every opportunity. Along the way, we also get breaks with useful info dumps, humorous gags, and relationship building. The action will no doubt leave you in awe thanks to Ufotable's technical qualities. Still, there are some characters you may like and some you'll despise; more people will probably have that decision by the second four of the show. Characterization is not a masterpiece though and neither does the story offer perfection. There are parts in this series that will sometimes waver off with its mood and peculiar balance. Still, there's a saying that third time's a charm, and Ufotable hit the bull's eye on this show. Now, the second half of the series awaits.

This show is compared to the big popular animes underrated. Forget about the couple reviews that complain about the plot or the characters. The artstyle and the level of detail in all animations is by no doubt simply magnificent, especially for its time. The fights are fast paced and with the camera flow from different angles and some slow-mos visually top notch.

The plot is very decent, much improved written than the original, which wasnt bad either. You can almost never foreshadow whats coming next. Due to the core of the story beeing a competion between seven magicians and their (usually) on the front fighting servants over some holy grail, it is not clear who the bad guys are. Despite having some unlikable characters with clear bad intentions they can all be distinguished in what their motivation of winning the grail is (some dont care about it, some have yet to find out or change their mind, some master and servant agree with each other, some dont).

The character build up is fantastic, from having way better introductions than in the original with improved writing and dialogue. Its not the stereotypical anime with the main characters beeing the strongest and winning every fight, they especially at the beginning get their ass beaten up quite frequently, even though you know that there is yet more to come from them. Some characters do surprise you in terms of what their abilities are, with ,what i liked the most, early subtle hints that they might be more dangerous than their appearance suggests, what adds to the writing level.

You definitely will have a great time watching this anime and probably the whole series, if you like.

This show is absolutely fantastic. The animation, voice acting, and story are all great. Its really interesting, and I'd highly recommend it.

Oddly enough, this is essentially a remake of "...Stay Night" with various outcome changes; not sure why they did that, but, here we are.

Once again, as I have criticized before, the trouble with stories that have magic in them is the amount of magic the authors use. The temptation is to use magic everywhere to solve every problem and develop every plot, no matter how ridiculous and impossible the magic is. When the creators go too far, they lose you, shatter your willing suspension of disbelief, and wreck the story and drama. In this, "...Unlimited Bladeworks," they have done that occasionally, especially with the character Caster, the witch, who uses magic liberally. Sometimes, it's just too much, and you have to ask yourself why doesn't she just destroy everybody, since she could certainly employ enough magic to do so - but then there would be no drama and no story, so the writers have to stop, and put limits on her. But that becomes apparent, and takes a little away from the believability of the story. A brilliant writer-philosopher I once knew said "life is about the struggle." Period. In every storyline that has ever been, the struggle of the characters, of one kind or another, is the key element. You take away the struggle of the characters, because you have magic doing everything, and you lose your story.

That little problem aside, there is a decent storyline here, with a little romance that everyone can see coming from the first episode, but there are enough youthful problems in developing it to make this story arc interesting. The graphics and artwork are excellent and pleasant to watch, the music satisfying, the battle scenes well-done and gripping, while the animation itself, that is, the technical moving of the characters, is good for this type of anime, better than many, while naturally nowhere near the Disney-Pixar level, which is 3D and another expensive thing altogether.

Although this is not truly light entertainment, it is not heavy and serious either, but something you can watch & enjoy without using major brain work. It's a fun ride and most people will find it gratifying.