Fate/Extra: Last Encore

Oh boy, Fate/Extra: Last Encore. I should say, right off the bat, that while I am a fan of the Fate universe, I am not a fan of some of their more recent adaptations. (I’m looking at you, Fate/Apocrypha) As a series that’s over the top like Fate/Extra Last Encore, it felt like a chance for me to take a wild ride, turn my brains off, and try to enjoy this for what it is. How did I feel at the end? Well, let’s just say that I want my time back if I had a holy grail.

When Shaft was announced as the studio for ... production, I immediately raised an eyebrow and found myself wondering if this could ever work. As an anime adaptation of Fate/Extra, this became a plot that’s modified for the sake of anime storytelling. It sells its story similar to some of the other Fate franchise’s series if you’re familiar with the franchise. Jumping into this show was not easy for me despite my familiarity with the Fate universe.

So I decided to give this a shot anyway. Why not? It has an alluring premise and takes place in an alternate timeline to Fate/stay night. In this timeline, mana have disappeared and Wizards are forced to use virtual space for magic. Similar to some of the other Fate series, a Holy Grail War is set up by a computer that pits 128 Masters in a tournament. The winner will be chosen with a wish to be granted by the Moon Cell Automaton, a mysterious computer of unimaginative powers. Main male protagonist Makuno Kishinami gets caught up into this battle for survival and is clueless on why he is involved. Luckily for him, he gets a servant called Saber. (do note for the sake of avoiding spoilers, I’ll just refer her as “Red Saber” from now on)

Yes, this formula is definitely not something new despite some differences with the world setting and premise. What bugs me though is how the main plot is executed with Hakuno and Red Saber as the main characters. Don’t me wrong. They are highly entertaining to watch at first but after a while, you may wonder if it’s worth investing time into them at all. In particular, Hakuno is a very oddball character and seems to be only motivated to survive and avenge the deaths of others. In a way, the guy can be viewed as an anti-hero. My impression of Hakuno gradually faded more and more after seeing his development. In essence, he doesn’t develop much at all and his personality feels all over the place. It doesn’t help that Red Saber is incredibly one dimensional and behaves like a child. While she can be addictively cute to watch at times, Red Saber is hardly a character I would declare as well-written. We don’t know much about her and it’s hard to judge what her motivations are in the story. So yeah, watch this for the mindless character chemistry but if you’re watching for concrete characterization, look elsewhere.

If you’re hoping some of your favorite Fate character to show up in this series, then prepare for disappointment. Only a small handful of characters like Rin, Sakura, and Shinji appear and most of their roles are downplayed to get over the main cast. Some of the characters from Fate/Grand Order game also shows up although their roles are so small that you’ll likely forget them incredibly easily. Most of the minor characters have their roles minimized and episodes’ resolutions feel rushed. Oh and Shinji….what a bastard. I wish the series deleted him and never gave him a chance to show up for his abominable personality. But the series’ main story is not abominable. It’s actually much worse. For the majority of viewers, you’ll probably scratch your head on what the hell is going on. I know I did and feel like the series tries to do way too many things at once. Now, I know Shaft is known for their style to present this anime like a theatric thriller with avant garde cinematography. But wow, this show easily fell apart in the beginning and didn’t manage to salvage itself at all. With just 10 episodes, it became more of mindless popcorn entertainment than a creative story to tell.

I mentioned Shaft few times already but I’ll do it again. The studio’s ideas can easily be recognized by their artistic choreography and avant garde artwork. Running gags with violence and head tilts are also pretty easy to spot. The biggest culprit here is Hakuno as he gets his limbs tore apart, body impaled, and put into a position where he can easily die. Somehow, he survives and we see his reaction in a dark grimy way. I think Shaft wanted us to experience what they do best at and honestly, I think they went a bit overboard this time. The shock value in this anime feels impactful but serves little purpose besides amplifying Hakuno’s personality up to the 11. Oh and the fan service. It seems this show wants to milk Red Saber as an eye candy ever chance it gets. The camera always flirts with her by showing lewd body parts, poses, and try to make her as sexy as possible. Bath scenes occur several times in the show and Red Saber never seems to be uncomfortable being nude. It’s pretty shameless and easily distracting to the point where viewers may talk more about the fan service than the story. On the other hand, I think the battle cinematics is nicely made. It’s fast paced and captures an alluring style of fighting. While glorifying servants’ abilities to fight, it also doesn’t make us forget how badass Hakuno can be. Finally, I have to point out that both the OP and ED theme songs are quite attractive once you get used to the style. The charismatic movements of Red Saber is exceptional there.

After watching Fate/Extra Last Encore, I have to wonder what the hell the producers were thinking. Were they trying to make a show to get us viewers into liking the characters and story? Or was this another attempt for cash grab so fans can pour their money into their franchise. Either way, this show ended up being a disappointment for me. I can’t recall how many times I scratched my head. Oh and Red Saber's voice...she sounds like a kid stuck in an adult’s body with that infamous UMU. What a shame for a show that could have been something so much more.

When it comes to what makes the Fate franchise what it is, some will might say it's the very well-made fight scenes while others will say it's the dark psychological tone that it has. While all of that is definitely true, what really makes the Fate franchise what it is; it's the interesting philosophical dialogues between the characters and that is really, what Fate/Extra Last Encore succeeded at most.

Fate/Extra Last Encore is a studio Shaft's adaption from a game and it serves as an alternative setting to Fate/Stay Night's. The concept of the story is pretty much the same as you can imagine, there are ... chosen masters that summon a servant each, each servant and master are fighting together to be on top and get a wish granted. The big difference is that it's happening in a tournament in the far future, year 3020 where not a lot of humans are alive. It's hard to get any deeper than that in the story because otherwise, it will be a spoiler. I also don't think you came to check this anime out thinking it will be very different than the original series story anyway. What is very different is that compared to Ufotable's adaptions of the Fate franchise, Fate/Extra focus more on the philosophical dialogues and less on the flashy fight scenes but it has those as well. As I mentioned before a lot of twists will be discoverable later in the story but I will not mention them to not spoil, just so you know that there are a lot of other interesting differences. The downside of the story category is that it doesn't explain the settings really well.

The characters are easily the most interesting part here. There is the protagonist, Hakuno who seems a bit uninteresting at the start but don't worry they made sure he will be interesting, there is a lot of focus on "who he is?" which make the character a lot more interesting as the story goes on. For the face of the series, it's obviously the Saber "UMU" Nero, she will get a lot of focus, even more than you imagine which is a good thing in my opinion since she is probably the most fun character to watch (Red Saber>Original Saber, fight me). Rin also gets a lot of shine here, she is more badass than the usual herself. Besides that, there are the other servants and masters, I will assure you that they all have an interesting unique design so you might enjoy watching them.

Well for the art it's really a matter of opinion, those who are familiar with Shaft's works like the Monogatari series and such will welcome the art easily and would even find it great and suiting, others might despise it, as it doesn't look like ufotable's art and flashy animation. I personally belong to the group who are familiar with Shaft's works and finding the art great even though ufotable is my favorite all-time studio. The one thing that most fans will most likely won’t admire shaft for, is the different character designs for the characters that aren't new to Fate like Rin, Sakura, and Shinji. Overall, the art and animation style is a plus for me as I think it's really suited for the psychological and mystery tones of Fate/Extra.

For the music part of the series, the opening ("Bright Burning Shout" by Takanori Nishikawa) is amazing, it's rocky and catchy, really suiting for this series, it took my favorite opening spot this season (Winter 2018). Visually it only shows Nero fighting with different hairstyles, take that however you want. (Fun fact: It's the first time that a male sings the opening song for a fate series). For the ending ("Tsuki to Hanataba" by Sayuri), I think it's quite suited, don't sure if I love the song but I do like it, what I love is the visuals, they are showing the connection between Hakuno and Saber while also showing the Master and servant they are currently fighting, I really liked that. For the voice acting there is, of course, the umu so enjoy it. The ost has all kinds of tracks from futuristic to emotional, nothing crazy but I think it's very suited.

Summary:

Pros:
- Characters are fun to watch.
- Interesting philosophical dialogues.
- Great and catchy opening.
- Suited animation style. (Makes the dialogues more psychologically interesting)

Cons:
- The art style might look weird to some.
- The story isn't explained so it'd be easy to understand.

Fate/Extra Last Encore isn't for everyone, that's for sure and that's why I wouldn't recommend it if you aren't a huge Fate fan. Because if you have only watched Fate/Zero and Fate/Stay Night [Unlimited Blade Works] then you have nothing to do with this series, you wouldn't enjoy it. However, if you are a huge Fate fan who have read the original visual novel, watched all the anime adaptions or of course, if you played the game then watch it, it was made for you.

Fate/Extra is yet another installation in the popular Fate franchise. Being a fan of the series, I went into this anime with some expectations, especially considering the fact that Studio Shaft, the one who took on this project, is one of my favorite anime studios. Now I've never played the source material, so I came into this anime with no knowledge on what it would cover. Unfortunately, by the end of it, I still wasn't entirely certain on what it was about.

The biggest issue that I had with this anime was it's convoluted story. Now while I feel that Fate/Extra is somewhat underrated, I have ... to admit that the plot left more to be desired. I honestly tried to understand what was going on, but so much of the story and details around the characters were left vague or entirely unexplained. This problem can be partly attributed to the short supply of episodes, but that still isn't a good enough excuse considering the fact that many short anime are able to succeed. There were several intriguing plot twists, such as the origins of how protagonist Hakuno came to be, but even they were a sort of double edged sword. Because while they shed some light on the story and characters, they also opened the door to many more questions that were usually left unanswered. I sadly couldn't enjoy each episode to the fullest because I was constantly trying to make sense of everything that was going on, and based off of what I've heard from others, this problem plagued many who watched the anime.

The second and final significant issue that I had was that aside from the main characters, the rest of the cast received very little development. Now don't get me wrong, I actually liked a lot of the characters. The servants were pretty interesting, with my favorite being Nursery Rhyme. However, the anime decided to have several two episode arcs featuring the protagonists vs a master and servant pair, and after the heroes prevail, they move on and the losers are forgotten. Now let's briefly analyze how Fate/Extra's sister anime Fate/Zero went about showcasing it's characters. In the entire 12 episode first season, only ONE out of the 14+ participants in the Holy Grail War perished. This allowed for every master and servant pair to develop over the course of the first season, making them much more fleshed out and letting viewers more easily connect with them. Fate/Extra on the other hand barely dedicated any time in developing it's supporting cast, which resulted in many otherwise interesting characters being quite shallow.

Now that we've got the boring critical analysis out of the way, it's time to talk about the good stuff. UMU! Let's go!

First of all, the visuals are stunning. Shaft's animation techniques can be a bit of an acquired taste and aren't for everyone, however I think that they're amazing and really creative. I particularly loved the visuals used during the Alice and Nursery Rhyme arc, because they were similar to the inventive and unsettling animation used in segments of Madoka Magica, one of Shaft's most iconic anime. Another great aspect of the show was the soundtrack. There are several great tracks in this anime, with my personal favorite being the ending theme song by Sayuri.

Let's address the star of the show. Who is this stunning person you may ask? Why Saber of course! Since it's not immediately revealed in the anime, I'll keep her true identity a secret. Now I've seen complaints stating that the anime is just Saber fanservice and has no depth to it, but I'd have to somewhat disagree. Yes, the anime does dedicate a lot of time to Saber's antics, cuteness, and naked body. But she is also used as a device to dig into the mentality of Hakuno, the true protagonist of the story. The pair have many a philosophical conversation throughout the course of the anime that provide insight on each of their beliefs and conceptions of the world and themselves. These talks are oftentimes quite deep, and actually end up being the highlight of each episode for me. I don't think there's anything quite as intriguing as studying the psychological state of a character, and the anime really succeeds at gradually providing insight into Hakuno's thought process and his eventual spiral into despair. Saber herself is oftentimes full of inspirational advice that not only touches Hakuno, but can even reach out to the viewers themselves. This isn't an anime about cool and flashy action sequences. In fact, the fights showcased in this show are generally quite lackluster, especially when compared to others in the franchise, and I believe are one of the prominent reasons as to why this anime has generally low ratings. However, this isn't a show about fighting, but about people, as most good Shaft anime usually are about. And if you recognize this, then you may just realize that Fate/Extra isn't really all that bad.

You know, I sorta enjoyed this anime. Despite the confusing story and underdeveloped side characters, there was still so much to like about this show. The cast was still fun to watch, the presentation was fantastic, it was intriguing, and just a simply entertaining viewing experience. Oh, and it had Saber in it. Bonus! Now as the actor's take their final bow and the curtain closes, it seems that many in the audience left the theatre unimpressed. I, however, overall enjoyed the show, and I hope that it satisfied you too.

“I am not a fake, I will forge my own identity”

There is a saying that goes between the Ufotable Fate series purists, that “Any Fate not made by Ufotable is shit” and that statement was usually right from what I've seen, Fate Loli was as mentioned all about Lolis, Fate Apocrypha was a laughable joke to most and then we have this anime, Fate Extra Last Encore that was made this time by Shaft. The Fate series is popular enough to be adopted by almost every studio and this brings either positive or negative results, and fortunately unlike other non-Ufotable Fate anime series, Fate ... Extra did not disappoint as much. Why? It had a main character even better than Emiya Shirou. And that's saying something.

Based off the game of the same name, Fate Extra introduces us to a character named Kishinami Hakuno who is betrayed by his friend Shinji (oh Shinji you are there every time) but escapes death and is chosen to participate in the Holy Grail war, not before getting the most powerful servant of them all, Saber (yada yada same introduction as all other Fates) but this time Saber isn't an elegant King of Knights, oh no, this new Saber is a busty mainly-for-fanservice character whose sole purpose isn't just to attract horny teenagers to get a Saber Figure but this Saber also plays an important part and thankfully unlike Unlimited Blade Works, her backstory is given a proper explanation in a later episode, further fleshing her out as a character (no pun intended).

Even though we had 10 episodes we didn't see much action, it was mainly build-up, discussion, backstory and meetings. This Fate wasn't the action Fate, if you want that go to UBW, this Fate’s focus was more in world building and character introductions like Rani who play an important part in the Fate Universe (although she plays a small part in this anime). One of the things I didn't like much about this anime was that mostly adopted a 'villain of the week’ Shounen trope and to be honest it didn't bring as much development as I had hoped, although it’s portrayal was better than many Shounen anime out there it still felt somewhat lacking, either due to my dissatisfaction with the trope or because it wasn't done well. On the other hand the plot progressed smoothly, thankfully the episode number was increased from 6 to 10 mid-season this meant we got much more development especially for our main character Kishinami Hakuno.

Many times (or actually every time) it is the male main character who defines an anime for what it is, Emiya Shirou defined the storyline for Fate UBW, Kiritsugu defined Fate Zero, much in the same way, Hakuno defined Fate Extra. Although he had little to no personality in episode 1 (please note that he was still better in character than Shirou, at least to me) the focus and improvement noticed in the second half is what made me appreciate the show a little more, Extra just felt that good that it felt better than UBW and to a lesser extent with Zero (Fate Zero is best Fate, fight me :P). As for the other characters Saber was quite the focus as well even though her relationship with Hakuno felt more like Saber was teaching Hakuno everything instead of them both working together equally (although I must say that also changes later on) but the important fact here is that Nero got her backstory while Arturia didn't. Or at least it was much more explored. So overall for the main characters development was excellent and elegantly done.

Now where does that leave the side characters? Unfortunately they didn't get enough screen time or development. Tohsaka came at convenient times and although her fight with Berserker and another friend-turned-enemy (I'm not spoiling it, watch and understand) was amazing she had little or nothing to do with the plot progression which is unfortunate since she could have done much better given the chance. Other than that I could only find Rani a recurring character that too only because she came for 2-3 episodes and not 1-2 for the villains and she didn't get development at all. Her story as well was very brief and felt like an afterthought. As for the other characters we have the villains, only some of which got development and the cameos by Shinji and Kotomine Kirei in the first episode. Pretty disappointing for the side characters but amazing for the main ones.

Disappointing and amazing reminds me of the confusing yet amazing yet somewhat disappointing art style of the anime. Animated by Shaft (you know, those Monogatari people?) I made a huge mistake by expecting Ufotable-like art style and instead got an animation below average. It felt horrible at first and I couldn't get used to it at all in the first episode. Fortunately the staff themself might have realised and fixed most of the issues and after episode 3 or so the art improved considerably, especially so in the Dream Land. The Dream Land arc was my favorite since it was so dark and intriguing not to mention mysterious, the Dream Land arc might as well be the only reason Fate Extra is so amazing. If the main characters don't impress you, there's a high chance the Dream Land arc will, so I won't gloss over it much and move on. Something you should gloss over is the soundtrack, because that is amazing and my favorite part about Fate Extra apart from the main characters.

As a nod to UBW, the OP started off a lot like Brave Shine and the song itself was just as amazing not to mention the visuals used. Meanwhile something I found much better was the ED sung by none other than Sayuri who sung Tsuki to Hanataba and all you need to do is to go on YouTube, search this song and listen for yourself the amazing power of Sayuri’s voice, if you haven't already heard Sora wa Sore wa Chiisana Hikari no Youna from Boku dake ga Inai Machi (ERASED) and fallen in love with her voice. On the other hand the background music used was unsurprisingly excellent, why unsurprisingly? If you've watched the Monogatari series you'll realise.

All in all Fate Extra is an anime that although falls short of beating Fate Zero it does pretty much equal UBW in many aspects which says a lot about it's quality since most other Fate anime made by non-Ufotable studios were either flawed or garbage (very rarely did we see a good non-Ufotable Fate) but Fate Extra has its shortcomings and they measure up on the scale as well. Although this was a show I enjoyed a lot, I can't ignore it's flaws as well, side characters, art style and villains were problems Shaft couldn't fix for the anime and so I felt disappointed to a certain extent but also was amazed too since this quite literally is the best non-Ufotable Fate we have (apologies for repeating non-Ufotable so many times) so we can move forward. What will the next Fate be? Will it be better than UBW (arguably the most popular Fate)? Will it surpass Fate Zero in quality? These are questions only the future can answer so all we can do is wait and see what happens. As for now, enjoy this beautiful anime.

Born directly from the father of Type Moon, Kinoko Nasu himself, Fate/Extra: Last Encore is a fascinating title in the franchise of Fate, and the Type Moon universe at large. Despite Nasu’s attempts to inform everyone about the intentions behind this anime and how everyone would be at an even playing field here, mass confusion broke out. It is only loosely based on the game, and due to the unique circumstances of the show’s narrative, it has been deemed unfit as a start. Perhaps this explains the disgustingly poor reception of this wonderful show.

Such a shame, since this anime is a sheer, flooring spectacle. It ... does not stop. It explains as it goes along, showing the sheer brutality of its style and depictions of events. Regrettably the blitzed pacing makes us ask questions in order to connect how characters figure things out or otherwise do something important in terms of progressing the narrative. Thankfully it is the only severe problem with the narrative, as all other questions you ask slowly get answered. The anime should let itself breathe more, as its crammed tightly with exposition that moves at a lightning pace, whether that be exposition about the setting or about a character. It clenches you by your wrists and never lets go, as it flies off into the hellish world it wants to show you as it unfolds before your very eyes! A disorienting start that gives you an oppressive, dreadful vibe, and never lets that vibe escape. It is ubiquitous throughout this precisely crafted, chaotic spectacle of a series. The series gradually pieces itself together like a puzzle. The information we learn shows is that this is no ordinary Fate anime; this technological nightmare of a system the character's life in is equal parts bewildering and horrifying. The more you learn, the more crushing everything feels, as the setting is nothing more than an automation of atrocity in which mankind has no hope beyond one last chance at survival. Nearly everything makes sense in broken context of this ravaged, now disorganized world of the frightening future, despite how brisk the pace is and how convoluted things can be regarding the floors and the vile, disturbing setting. The visions Hakuno has are largely an exception, excluding visions of the past. Sadly, that alone makes this a daunting choice, no matter where you are in terms of Fate expertise, and what makes or does not make sense will not only be difficult to explain, but will likely be lost on you regardless. The excessive flashbacks do not mitigate this issue either.

The scenery is a glorious feast for the eyes, and the directing conveys this omnipresent sense of dread masterfully. SHAFT and the main director, Akiyuki Shinbou, as well as an added director, Yukihiro Miyamoto, mastered their craft perfectly with the most brimming of creative architecture your ever-pleading eyes can consume. An interesting idea that helped sell the distorted and discomforting feel of the events and setting was how often times, certain parts of the images on screen would distort as if it were a static channel on a TV or a moment of poor connection. The fight in the opening alone is proof of their luscious visuals, even if the fights in the show itself are a bit more into the territory of clumsiness to an extent, depending on the fight. Said fights are certainly far superior to Apocrypha, however, as all of them have the lovely styles and kinetic movement to rival the 22nd episode of that series. The designs are wonderful as well; everything blends perfectly with the fascinating, layered, brisk, and intense nature of the show. It is every bit as beautiful as this show’s incarnations of Rin and Sakura, and Saber herself. The rose petals and all of the attacks look majestic and vibrant, almost as much as the aforementioned architecture. Locations like the school, and Wonderland, are distinct and mesmerizing for the eyes, with such beauty only being comparable to the uniqueness of it all. The only issue is the occasional tampering of brightness that has no purpose. Other than that, the visuals are beyond exemplary.

The music, while not able to be as much of a pleasure to the senses as the visuals, is still wonderful and interesting. The Opening, "Bright Burning Shout" by Takanori Nishikawa, is fantastic, perfect for a series of action, given how adrenaline-pumping it is. The Ending, "Tsuki to Hanataba (月と花束)" by Sayuri, functions in mucha similar way, with a more emotional tinge to it, though the vocals may prove bothersome to some. The background music works well for whatever scene it is in, blending in wonderfully with the mind-bending environments and the crystal clear mood of every scene. Each smaller setting within Last Encore has its own music, so aside from the opening and ending, if you hear a track in one primary location, it will almost never be played anywhere else. Think of it like video game level music, almost. None of these tracks are absurdly memorable but are ultimately nice accompaniment.

What is most raw of all is what it says. People are full of desperation. They cling to survival to the point where they forget what makes life meaningful in the first place, regardless of any conflict or glory or despair. People can lose a sense of purpose and identity, a sense of life. They can be swallowed up by hatred, by confusion, by pettiness and vanity. People must always have a drive to make their lives fulfilling, finding out the meaning in things and what purpose they wish their life to have. They cannot let fear or hatred hold them back, let alone consume them as they proceed to make pathetic and ruinous decisions. They must make their lives truly have value, even with the inevitability of death, as the dead leave a legacy of decisions and worth for the living to interpret. The protagonists and each master servant pair each convey this in their own fascinating ways, with standouts aside from the beautiful and boisterous Saber and the unnerving and interesting main protagonist with his nightmarish powers that haunt him most of all, including this show’s fascinating and visceral incarnation of Shinji Matou, and other masters. Each master has a strong desire, far more than the main protagonist, and it can be fascinating and even disturbing to know what they’re in for, particularly due to the magnificent presentation of each of these, courtesy of Shinbou whose directing is phenomenal. Other characters, such as Rin, are merely there for other narrative reasons, but are entertaining nonetheless. Saber, however, is the ultimate joy, and Hakunon is fascinating to see get pieced together, at least for now. It's up to the finale special to determine if this was worth it, and I feel the original message I found slipping away by the end here as is.

Fate/Extra Last Encore is arguably the most fascinating of the franchise's installments. It is a sheer spectacle in a completely different way to its brethren, and what it attempts to convey is far removed from what installments such as UBW and Zero wanted to tell, and what concepts works such as Apocrypha and Grand Order failed to properly explore. Does that make it the best? Not necessarily, but it is the most intriguing. It is the most terrifying and somber, next to Zero, the supposed holy grail of the franchise itself. Yes, UMU; it's such a fascinating work in so many respects deserves the respect it sorely lacks! Incomplete work or not, this work is a sight to behold. As I bid you adieu and await the continuation, I implore for this series to get the respect it truly deserves, as it is a passionate risk that pays off surprisingly well.

When I heard there was a Fate anime in 2018 done by SHAFT, one of the best studios out there, I was hyped with its weird pairing.

Now it's over and I'm here to give my thoughts.

Story (2/10)

The Fate series has always been slightly confusing at first but at the end, you'll understand everything and have fun.

And it's always related to 7 classes of servants with masters fighting to win the Holy Grail.

... This show took this and went 10000x more complex with it.

With the War being like a RPG where you have to clear floors to progress to the top, it was interesting on paper.

I loved how they were taking risks with the writing.

However, for 10 episodes, the exposition dominated the show so not many fights happened.

10 episodes was too short. Due to this, the story was super rushed and everyone, me included, are left confused.

Characters (2/10)

Red Saber and Hakuno were the only 2 that were showcased in this show.

The other servants and masters were forgettable with barely anything being explored about them.

Red Saber was cute and charming but I feel like the writers milked her character too much.

Hakuno has some interesting abilities but is such a boring lead.

Rin was fine but nothing special here.

Alice and Hakuno was great in their episodes.

I'm disappointed. So many characters felt so useless in the end.

Art & Animation (8/10)

It doesn't have great fights since the studio is inexperienced with fights.

Otherwise, excellent job with such a weird yet breathtaking world.

Characters looked good for a world like this.

Sound (7/10)

Good OP and ED songs, solid OST.

Enjoyment (2/10)

Not really too much to enjoy. Just a boring, overly complicated and lackluster mess.

Weakest Fate show I've seen and it's too bad since I thought this would be amazing after that 1st episode.

Score 2/10

If you like Madoka, you like the style of the Monogatari series and you're at least familiar with the Fate/Stay story, then you'll probably like this.

The pace is good, the art and music are good and it's got a reasonably good, epic story. Perfect for non-sober viewing, I expect to rewatch it at least a few times.

There are scenes that the show could benefit from having cut out though. As with Madoka, a condensed version would be great.

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MAL insists that reviews are long and drawn out for some reason, so I've had to add this just so it'll let me submit mine.

UMU!
After episode 7 I felt the need to write a review about it.
But First let me address something that I see happening a lot
the Fate/Extra LE anime is not newbie-friendly so if you were not into fate.. like ate least have watched all the animes and plays Fate GO then you will prolly not understand much of it.. its the same as Buying FATE EXTELLA on steam without having played Fate Extra CCC on a PSP.. because stella is a direct sequel to CCC and so on... in case of fate extra le if you play FGO you are already familiar with the servants, ... knows their background story and maybe have even some kind of emotional attachment to them.
Or if you have played the Extra games it will be even better because you will enjoy the modifications BASED NASU is personally doing as he is charge of the series.

So for me the anime is outstanding.. And im not even a fan of nero... I also would prefer Hakunon instead of Hakuno hahaha.
Shaft's Artstyle and screenplay make it even suitable for this kind of plot
Bringing back Gekidan Inu Curry to do the art makes me want to hug Akiyuki Shinbo.
Story-wise I just feel like its being kinda rushed since its only 2 episodes for each battle but its faithful to the game.. its a fucking dungeon , you win the floormaster and go up.. simply as that.
I personally really like when they change vibes for something.. the OST of the anime gives a mistery and omnious feeling making you feel curious abouts wtf are really happening.
The Characters in the anime are portrayed way more serious and mature than they actually are.. Mainly nero.. her own voice actress Sakura Tange stated that. ( I Wonder how Shaft would make Richard I look like serious because he is literally a clown Saber. I wish it was Him instead of Gawain but ok ok )

Overall.. Im really happy with this adaptation so far.


Thanks for reading.

While writing a review on a show that is more of a mystery more than anything is a bit foolish before the series has finished having seen seven episodes what I have seen is promising. The main problem most people have coming into this is that they are expecting a different kind of show, believing it to be primarily about action and what a "normal Grail War" is about. However Nasu's stories have always been at their best when they are about something else. There is always a element of mystery present in his works. From the question of the situation of the Tohno family, ... and the details behind Tohno Shiki's injury, and his connection to the vampire killer. The slowly unfolding plot of Kara no Kyoukai where confusion is further added from the non-chronological order the story is presented. To the questions about the history and workings of the Grail War, and the question of what the Shadow is in Heavens Feel.

The things presented in Last Encore have their basis in concepts presented and dealt with in many other Nasu works, allowing a savvy-fan to theorize and think of many in-setting answers to what is going on. Things such as Deadface have relation to the concept of grudges in Nasu, tying our protagonist potentially to things like the Jack the Ripper of Fate/Apocrypha. Only that he is likely a being born of and propelled by the grudges of dead masters and npcs rather than aborted children.

There are things we can theorize, and things we expect, but Last Encore has both been a lot of fun making people think as to what is going on, and pulling out surprises that make sense in hindsight.

To those who feel discontent about the series it is somewhat understandable, but it is worth checking out the discussion on it on the forum of Beasts Lair, or to watch again and think things over again.

You will feel more lost as a anime-only viewer, but I do not believe that it is impossible. Playing Extra, or understanding CCC gives further context to the characters, and gives you the base of the setting. But Last Encore is meant to be a confusing and enticing ride for everyone, veteran and new.

What i want to say first is: DON'T LOOK THE SCORE ON MAL AND WATCH THIS MASTERPIECE!!!!!
Ohh man,i want to say that i didn't play the games (Fate/extra,Fate/Extra CCC) but i loved the show and i think shaft did more than ufotable would be able to do, i like the way that shaft play with your mind and after you watch a episode you are like "what the fuck?" and after a episode "owww that was, how could i be that stupid to don't think about that", if you want to understand the show you need to be careful on dialog and what happing on ... screen, that what Nasu want, to play with our minds "For the people familiar with the original game, I want them to go "What...?" at the differences."

IF YOU LIKE MYSTERY AND LOVED MONOGATARI AND MADOKA MAGICA YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS!

Story 9/10

Some things are still not clear and the episodes 2,3 are made
in hurry, but the story is very good!

Art 10/10

The way shaft is careful with every detail is brilliant, and i love the animation and the way that is made

Sound 10/10

The sound in this show is awesome, the voices are awesome, and OP/END EARGASMMM

Character 10/10

I loved all the characters in this anime, Hakuno the transformation like in episode 1,2 was that guy that is bored all the time and don't give a fuck and after episode 3 he get personality,motivation and a purpose, like n the episode that pass caught up personality, the death face, his "past", AWESOME

Nero is just brilliant, UMU, i love the way that Shaft make his past

Rin/Rani their past was so fucking sad but so fucking good, and i love that shaft don't change Rin personality, like is the same Rin from Fate Stay Night

And all the floor master, JUST BRILLIANT

Enjoyment: For me this is a fucking masterpiece and i loved the show and i can't wait until July

Overall: In my opinion, this is the best fate series, and the way that Nasu/Shaft is brilliant
I RECOMAND TO EVERYONE TO WATCH THIS SERIES AND DON'T LOOK THE SCORE ON MAL AND WATCH THIS MASTERPIECE!!!!!

When first hearing Fate/Extra would be adapted into an Anime, I was excited for one of my favourite PSP games to finally have an anime form, right on Apocrypha finishing it’s spotty airing.

...right up until SHAFT reared its ugly head.

Right from the start, you can tell this is a show made by SHAFT just by colours and composition alone, it almost feels as disjointed as a Wes Andersen movie without the humour as every introductory shot insists on bombarding the viewer with artsy stills and not getting to the point of the story. Failing that, SHAFT at least set up the story in the Moon ... Cell; a supercomputer within the moon that mages' go to in attempts to win the Holy Grail using summoned historical and mythological figures, the typical fanfare of the Fate franchise, with the literal blank slate of a protagonist and incredibly oblivious Saber servant included!
I don't have anything against works made by SHAFT, but the studio itself for copy-pasting the same style of production onto everything they get their hands on, as well as retroactively touching up animation after airing for commercial release. After being disappointed with 3-gatsu no Lion, Arakawa and Mekakucity Actors, I have zero confidence in being able to like anything made by SHAFT that doesn’t involve Gen Urobuchi. Akiyuki Shinbou’s caustic style of filmmaking bleeds far too much into adaptations, so much so that TYPE-MOON may as well abandon the animated features to come after the cliffhanger ending of Last Encore left me with a foul taste.

While I'm compelled to TL;DR this as a 3/10 burning trash fire that truly shows SHAFT being incapable of adapting anything that isn't Monogatari, seemingly oblivious to the fact that their stylistic choices and direction overall do not go with everything - and the studio can (and will) sabotage an anime by adapting it as poorly as possible to fit their image.

Now, for the long wall of text that summarises my feelings in individual segments.

Animation: 3/10

I almost wonder if shaft, with all their talented animators who can work wonders with over-the top sequences and scenes actually did this anime - not that the animation looks bad, but the opening is this mess of CGI environments that the singular Saber looks like a ragdoll in, hitting literally nothing but shadows with her sword - frames are skipped or missed out entirely in action sequences to make the motions look clunky and jittery, with shoddy post-production dust, light and smoke effects that do fights a disservice. Scenes of dialogue are atrociously bad, with still frames and cutaways occupying a majority of the screen-time while voices ramble on - gestures and motions made for only either displaced dramatic emphasis or memes. Shinji Matou doing the cliched shaft head-tilt in the middle of conversation is just jarring and honestly lazy, it feels like this studio keeps a template on animating this crap over and over, regurgitating any value that pose once had at the viewer.

Choreography in scenes is jarring and strange, with settings being as inconsistent as they are colourful, and characters moving about well enough, but the transitions are always to some unknown - no consistency is established, much like the first episode of GATE, except all the way through. The main problem for this occurrence is that the setting is in distinctly different locales, each with their own visuals and aesthetic, and this type of scene transition only works with one part of the story thanks to the context of the setting. In everything else, there is zero cause to unnaturally alter the colour palette of the setting unless you're trying to instil a certain mood, yet nothing in the dialogue even indicates a change in tone, and no result comes of it.

Fight scenes last for such a short time, without any buildup to it in previous scenes, and entirely stupid moments where the brightness on-screen noticeably fluctuates between fine and so dark that the bright colour palettes become indistinguishable from the background, and the viewer barely sees these shots that would be cool if not for this ridiculous toying with contrast and white balance in scenes that are supposed to be tense. IN THE VERY FIRST SCENE, this happens for more than three seconds to the point where I had to squint to see what was going on because the editors made it intentionally hard to see - likely to prevent the flashes of bright reds and yellows from causing any seizures, but given the mature visuals and themes that occur occasionally, surely SHAFT can animate it properly, seeing as UFOtable made UBW with similar effects without compromising the viewer's ability to actually watch the show.

Story and Characters: 2/10
There isn’t enough character in the characters and the story is a mess, so one section for both!
I know Nasu was involved in the writing of this show, but his obsession with Fakes does this entire anime a disservice - while Shirou Emiya is at least a protagonist whose ideals are challenged as a blank slate, Hakuno Kishinami was always a bland-self insert for the player of the Fate/Extra games, though that's not to say the character had poor writing initially. Hakuno in the games is introspective, using an internal monologue as commentary while being involved in the plot. Hakuno in Last Encore has been twisted, warped into something that is not Hakuno at all, but a caricature of what the director and writer believe to be a good protagonist – disconnected, bland and redundant. A protagonist who is neither expressive or particularly interesting in Last Encore, and who never seems to have words of his own - which the writing STILL manages to screw up whenever he speaks, or anyone else does. The female version of the same character who has a speaking role in only one episode is more interesting by far, and she barely gets screentime between the exposition dumps.
Everything characters say is either half-assed exposition or incredibly dull dialogue that's supposed to retain my interest while the bright, flashy colours hold my attention, with no less than three tired bathhouse scenes where Nero goes into triads about herself or meaningless conversation, all the while naked or in something that reveals even more skin than her regular outfit – to the point where the show will concoct any excuse for Nero fanservice.
Saber, out of all the playable servants in Extra, is the least interesting despite being well-written, since Archer from Stay Night or even the other Extra original, Tamamo-no-Mae, could have been in with much better contribution to the plot than Nero. The show even references Tamamo and EMIYA in the first few episodes as a sticker and a crumbling tutorial boss-like jobber, much to rub the wasted potential of Last Encore in the faces of thee audience.

Speaking of Nero, whose identity really shouldn't be a secret at this point, she's the most interesting character by having the most to say - Sakura Tange voicing, Nero essentially speaks for a majority of the runtime. Between hearing her tall tales like some kind of overly-cheerful war veteran between every 'Umu!' was refreshing for the overall dull pacing of the show, and her explanations in short, concise remarks before promptly going back to the subject of herself was honestly refreshing - while grating, Tange's voice talent is good enough to put charm and character into her role, much like Jack the Ripper in Fate/Apocrypha. It's a shame since every other character is about as base as possible, with no real motivations laid out or actual character to speak of, even the protagonist who takes up to the very end of the anime to realise his own motivation before the series is left on an abrupt cliffhanger.

The main crux of the plot is that one-thousand years after an alternate ending to Fate/Extra, the digital environ within the Moon Cell, S.E.R.A.P.H, is now falling apart as it now has floors between each stage of the Holy Grail War, with floor masters mirroring the cast of the original game and servants the piece of cardboard known as Hakuno has to defeat to ascend to the next floor. Each floor is a different landscape shaped by the floor Master as they contain the last remnants of humans while earth has apparently been left as a barren wasteland, but we never hear of earth outside of one scene, so automatically the motivation of one character, Rin, is utterly removed to make her an atypical mentor character. To see characters whose stories were complex and gripping be reduced to two-episode arc villains upsets me, especially when their interactions are reduced to the same quality as bad fanfiction – the appearance of Robin Hood was excellent, seeing as he retained the same charm present in Fate/Grand Order and Extra thanks in part to Toriumi Kousuke.
Alongside that, new characters are inserted to service the plot for very little reason other than to earn my ire, as a pink haired character who screams ‘Determined Opportunist’ and whose name I’ve honestly forgotten appears several times to engage in meaningless conversation. Why not a different character, instead of a new one? Four characters from Extra are entirely missing, each of whom could fill that role instead, so why paste on a generic stand-in when the designs and characters are already there to use in the production of the show? It makes no sense to design an entirely new character who serves no purpose, let alone not use that character outside some vague exposition.

One of the most egregious things Last Encore does to patronize the viewer outside of stating the obvious or dumping exposition in moments of still shots and clunky transition is to pull things out of thin air to retroactively explain them later – like Dead Face, a weird rage mode for Hakuno made from pure edgy fanfiction, explained away five episodes after it first appears, with the power to apparently resurrect him from being fatally wounded at least three times in the entirety of the show without explanation. He’s stabbed, many, many times only to appear spotless an episode later, without a single problem from being impaled on several swords at once.
All this time spent on just talking to explain away the shitty writing within the show does what shaft like to regurgitate best – retroactively explaining it away and expecting the viewer to nod their head in amazement at their “good writing”. It feels like the villains lose for no reason whatsoever and have zero sense to kill the protagonists while they’re incapacitated, and since it’s established repeatedly that Hakuno can just come back if he dies, the plot loses all tension whatsoever since the narrative is following the immortal cardboard cutout and his babbling fanservice girl.
As much as this series likes to pretend it has any deep psychological elements, it falls flat when everything is explained to the viewer – no use of camera angles, tension, music or expression to convey the struggles of the protagonist going through an identity crisis, just a blank slate.

For a short series, I do understand the need to cut content. But if that was the case, why include so many scenes where nothing is accomplished or developed upon? It baffles me to think that so much time could be wasted turning parts of the story that could be covered in single episodes and drag it out to double the runtime. So much more could have been squeezed out of Last Encore if it wasn’t trying so hard to be a flashy art piece and convey a narrative that is coherent while having those same interesting themes tied into it instead of loosely covering it with a sheet of vacuous, surface-level dialogue.

Music and Art: 5/10

While the writing, animation and composition ruin the show, the art style is actually pleasant enough to distract from the atrocity of writing that Last Encore is, where Wada Arco’s design actually make the series nice to look at when the animation isn’t being a let-down – the Nursery Rhythm episodes are by far the best for creating the strange atmosphere that suits shaft’s style, where colour and contrast are emphasized greatly. Nero standing out amongst the blue hues predominant in most of the background in episodes, the contrast turned up in scenes to make the characters really show. Which is a shame as the aforementioned turning down of the brightness occurs too just when the colours and artwork is a spectacle in action scenes, taking away from the value of Last Encore’s art direction.
The music isn’t bad, however both the opening and ending themes feel incredibly disjointed from the animations themselves, especially the opening as a good song for an opening isn’t synced at all to the animation, highlighting just how poor the sound mixing was for these segments. In Last Encore overall, there isn’t any real problem with the music otherwise. The score matches the mood of the scenes very consistently, though the music itself sounds very much like stock fantasy RPG soundtrack, with very little techno influences despite being set in a virtual world – failing to set up any growing sense of tension throughout it – the music could have done with being remixed for certain scenes like transformations or episode 10 to incite a sense of wrongness, but the bell chimes used in Alice’s episodes instill a good balance of music that would accompany a traditional fairy tale and something being very, very wrong with the setting.

Enjoyment and Overall: 3/10

While the art and sound direction are redeeming qualities, the story, characters and direction alongside absolutely dogshit pacing where content is stretched out to fill runtime with irrelevant conversation, Last Encore does no justice at all to the game the adaptation comes from.
If you want a solid story with the same setting, I would recommend the original game or it’s sequels, but not this at all. Shaft should not have been trusted with this adaptation, and simply ‘looking good’ by way of art style or animation is not a way to impress when the writing and characterization are so lacking.

Kinoko Nasu, the main writer of the original Fate/Stay Night and Extra, stated that he wanted this to be a starting point for those as their first “EXTRA” experience, for the audience to become familiar with the original game and other works from Last Encore, and vice versa, yet this only really succeeds at confusing viewers for the first time and annoying fan of the franchise with it’s inconsistencies. If you’re expecting this anime to give fans fanservice in the form of cool moments from Extra, don’t. If you’re unsure of where to start with the fate franchise, it’s not this. Last Encore is an awful adaptation, and many who are starting off are simply better off watching Apocrypha, which at least has more than one redeeming quality outside of the evidently higher production value.

I really enjoy Shaft animation, the Monogatari series in particular being my favorite anime series

I really enjoy the Fate series, having seen most of the main animated material and Zero being one of the first anime I ever watched.

So why don’t I like Fate/Extra: Last Encore, a Fate installment animated by Shaft?

In all fairness, many of the elements that make up smaller portions of the story work or present themselves perfectly adequately. Shaft animation might often appear in a trademark stylized way, but since the animation was fluid and reasonably detailed it certainly gains a pass.

Some of the scenery shots and images from the ... final episode very well make their way into wallpaper-worthy territory. Music, whether background, battle, or theme song, aren’t particularly stand out, but music is at least doing its job if it stays supporting the action and not interrupting it.

Characters have always formed the major backbone of the series, since all of events and themes revolve around the actions of key characters. Fate/Extra Last Encore falls more in line with past Fate installments rather than branching out into some of the wider Nasuverse characters.

The main character falls somewhat into the generic high school age MC with burgeoning intriguing characteristics, but lacks the originality of Shirou in Stay Night or the more mature takes on heroism seen in Fate/Zero. Tohsaka Rin makes an appearance and remains in the character expected from her earlier appearances in Fate anime. The other more minor characters come and go on an almost episode-level basis and barely do more than act as obstacles and opponents for the main character and his servant.

And the main servant, the Arturia Saber lookalike from the media, commercials, games, art, and ruiner of trying to learn anything about the Roman Empire, Red Saber Emperor of Roses. Saber Nero Claudius.... Why Fate has an obsession with genderbending is still unknown. She certainly adds an upbeat, optimistic outlook to the usually downcast Fate series, but the reception would vary viewer to viewer.

The largest sticking point for the series comes from the plot. The Fate series has always used the Holy Grail as its principle McGuffin, and while that is present in Fate/Extra, it doesn’t appear to be the focus of the main characters. Instead the plot wanders, passing through different and mostly unconnected stages.

Each stage wanted to discuss different ideas or the traits of the cast, but seemed to devote too little time while trying to balance action with dialog, and the series ended up not allowing for enough of either. Episode 7 stands out as something I personally rewatched multiple times and still failed to comprehend the reason for it and the point it was trying to make.

Some of the actions and abilities of the cast also seemed to be skated over due to a lack of time to explain their existence, but only poked further plot holes or raised more questions. Many lines of dialog seemed to try to explain what the reason for these abilities was, but became unnecessarily philosophical and lacking in focus to the point that it was more confusing than simply accepting "magic" as the explanation.

Fate/Extra: Last Encore falls as the weakest entry to the Fate series in the animated universe. The characters were functional, but failed to distinguish themselves, the technical aspects worked fine to well, but the plot left so much to be desired that the series as a whole is hard to recommend. Perhaps supplemental material helps Fate\Extra make more sense, but until then it seems fine to skip this entry in favor of Zero or Unlimited Blade Works.

The Fate franchise being one of my favorites;Fate Extra LE was an anime I was excited to see ,but I should have learned my lesson from getting hype for Apocrypha in 2017 and not jump on the hypetrain. I felt like my reasons were justified for LE though as it was being animated by Shaft, one of my favorite studios and also had Nasu himself writing the script. Before I get into my reasons for not liking Extra LE, I will say that I never played the game Fate Extra or CCC, I`ve only played Extella so my understanding of the anime is not as ... good as someone who has played the game it`s based on.

One of the main reasons I disliked LE is the format. Everyone is probably familiar with the format of the Holy Grail War but LE has a strange take on it. Hakuno and Nero and sometimes Rin would get to a floor, fight the master that controls the floor than advance. If you ever read Tower of God it is kind of like Baam and co climbing the tower floors. In Tower though each floor is given enough chapters to form a well-paced story; in LE each floor was over in 2 episodes and you could forget about one floor as soon as they move on to the next.

Even if it was the usual Grail War it wouldn`t have helped. The battles were all lackluster. Fights are a vital part of a Fate anime and I wasn`t expecting the fights to be as good as Zero and UBW but better than what we got from this. All the fights felt too short and none of them had that epic feel. Even Apocrypha for all its flaws had fights that felt epic. The biggest kick in the balls was Nero unleashing her Noble Phantasm. It lasted all of 30 seconds and the whole sequence was just her dashing over with a big slash. The main servants Noble Phantasm deserves more than this. The first time I saw Artoria use Excalibur in Zero was one of the most exciting parts of Zero; in LE Neros NP was just another forgettable moment.


The story was the biggest problem. It was hard for me to summon any interest at times. Hakunos whole thing of trying to recall who he is and what his purpose is felt cliché. It was hard to care about the enemy masters and servants when you knew they would get beaten in 2 episodes. They felt like villain of the day type of characters to me, so why should I care? The only good part was the designs of some of the floors like the city floor and the Madoka Magica themed floor.

The characters also lacked depth. Nero as the main servant should have good character interaction with Hakuno but most of their dialogue involved Hakuno being depressed and Nero encouraging him. Hakuno would have random moments of anger and put his serious face on and ramble about how much hate he has like Sasuke used to do. The most memorable of Nero and Hakunos scenes were the fanservice ones. I make no secret of liking ecchi/hentai as my list will show but from this anime I wanted interesting conversations like the ones Kirei and Gilgamesh had in Zero; instead we get an emo kid needing encouragement every step of the way.

The only things I really liked about LE was the animation and opening song. A boring story and bad use of characters really lowered the enjoyment of watching this every week. There`s supposed to be a continuation of this but I have no hope for it getting better. If you are new to Fate do not start with this shitshow under any means and even if you have watched Zero/UBW/2006 Fate I would not recommend wasting time on this.

So I an not the kind of person that writes reviews but I just have to do my best to correct the mistake that is happening here.
The rating that I see on this anime is simply wrong and I don't want it to make people avoid this anime like I did.
All I see about this anime is great. The story and plot twists are actually some of the best fate has to offer and the characters are not half bad.
Shaft did an amazing job as they usually do but I think that this is the reason why people are salty with this anime.

It really ... is different from what one would call normal for fate. But at the same time it is better in so many ways and that is why something like fate zero having such a high rating and this having such a low rating is misleading and just objectively wrong.

The reason for this would be that average watchers can't accept when something is different from what they are used to even when it is better so if you are one of those maybe you won't enjoy the anime.
But if you actually are open minded then this is a great story that you should enjoy.

And here we go again. Another Fate adaptation. Was I hyped? Of course, it’s Fate. If not for the story, Fate is at the very least worth watching for its amazing fight scenes. That’s what I thought till now. And then Shaft’s adaptation of Last Encore came out…

Story: 5/10

This is not your regular Fate story. In this world magic is more of a technological/scientific - phenomenon. Usually not really my cup of tea, but it has a potential to be an amazing and enjoyable story if done right.

The 1st episode was confusing to say the least, but I was willing to give it the ... benefit of the doubt. I mean, the 1st episode of Steins;Gate didn’t make much sense either and the show turned out to be a masterpiece. But while Steins;Gate picked up its pace rather quickly, Last Encore is still a mess after 6 episodes.

Characters: 4/10

This is going to be painful…and not only because the characters look awful (I mean, what’s up with Rin’s design?)
usually, I start caring for characters by episode 2 - 3. In case of Fate/Zero/UBW/Apocrypha (yes, I enjoyed Apocrypha) I already cared by the 2nd half of the first episode. After 6 episodes of Last Encore I still don’t give a thing about all these characters. You wanna know why?

The main character is way too plain and not capable of showing any emotion (even Sieg in Apocrypha had more character and he was SUPPOSED to be plain being a homocolus and all). From time to time he says how he hates everyone, but he doesn’t show it at all, so it’s hard to believe. I have absolutely no idea why his servant even bothers with him. Speaking of...

Saber has potential to be a badass character with the right amount of cheerfulness. However, Shaft seems to use her only for unnecessary and obvious fan service, not giving her any character development.

As for other characters…they don’t get enough screen time and don’t get any character development (till now). They each get to be an episode the most and they don’t even get the spotlight. Other Fate adaptations have proven that a servant or a master doesn’t need to be the main character to get some decent backstory and to make the viewers care for him/her. Last Encore fails miserably in that regard.

Art: 2/10

Biggest disappointment of all. Simply put, the animation does not do Fate justice. AT ALL. It looks way too cheap and flat for a Fate series. While watching this show I constantly have the feeling that Last Encore is a low budget project that tries really hard to hide this fact by adding random movements and poses. Some scenes make me thing that someone put a ‘darken’ filter over them and muted the colours, other scenes just scream that the staff lacked imagination. This all is really dissappointing, since Shaft has produced some nice - looking stuff (like 3 - gatsu no Lion).

Music: 6/10

Not memorable at all, but guess it’s okay - it at least isn’t annoying, unlike the characters and the animation

Am I going to continue watching this show? Probably. Is it worth watching? Probably not

This is probably the first review i've ever made. Lemme start by saying this: I'm disappointed.

I was very much looking forward to this anime. The game has a cool story, but the actual gameplay is awful so i'd rather not play it if I could. So what better way to enjoy the story than through a beautiful anime, right? Wrong. This anime took what I knew of the story of Fate/Extra, and tossed it in a blender with some Shaft-ness and fanservice and let it go.

Story: Almost no clue what's going on most of the time. They jump between backgrounds and settings, drop ... random story elements then never mention them again. The first episode doesn't leave you wanting more, it leaves you thinking "...What?"

Art: As expected of Shaft, the artwork is amazing. Beautiful character designs, gorgeous backgrounds and unnecessary head tilts. This anime is pretty, if nothing else.

Sound: It's alright. The fact that no music in particular comes to mind when I think of this show makes a point that it's very unremarkable.

Character: Let's be real here. We're all here for Nero. Nero is the selling point of this show. Without Nero, the show is nothing, and this anime knows it. From her being literally the only character in the opening, to them constantly shoving her near-naked body in our faces, Nero is more of a focal point than the supposed main character. Speaking of the main character, he's so boring and one-note that it's almost funny. All he really does is keep a straight face and say "hate" for 23 minutes while Nero does seven backflips and screams UMU.

Enjoyment: As you may have guessed, I didn't enjoy this show at all, so I ended up dropping it. I WANTED to like this show. It had tempted me with great visuals and one of my favorite Fate characters, but let me down with the bad story execution. Unless you told me that show does a complete 180 later on, I wouldn't bother picking it back up again.

Overall, if you're one of those people who watches anime solely to see that one cute character you saw on social media, then maybe you'll stick to your guns and watch this. Hell, maybe you'll even enjoy it. But as someone who was looking forward to seeing how Fate/Extra played out in anime form, it's preeeetty bad.

the story was a bit hard to follow and there wasn't the same action as other entrees in the series but it had a very cute and attractive art style that I was left wanting more of. Fate/Extra: Last Encore to most wouldn't feel the same as the rest of the series and it shouldn't and personally It was a breathe of fresh air with a very loveable characters with far better and more in depth backstories, and not to mention the most adorable Saber we have seen so far in my opinion.

I have seen all of the entrees to the Fate series so ... far and we can all agree that the fight scenes in other entrees like Unlimited Blade-works, and others were far more in depth and meaningful, but in this series The main premise wasn't solely about the fight scenes and in reality fight scenes wouldn't last more than 10-20 minutes unless they are in a complete stalemate.

The main character has been one of the most indepth ones in the series so far and by far the one that has shown the most growth and advancement comparatively, going from a being born out of death and hated for everything to someone we can relate to who while isn't very expressive has emotion as seen more so in the later half of the show and even more so in the second season of 3 episodes.

If you came to watch the show solely because its a Fate title and you expected the same action as before then you will be disappointed in this show, the fight scenes are far shorter and less drawn out often only lasting for part of an episode.

It is somewhat troubling that a review has to begin like this, but let me adress the elephant in the room: This is not Fat/Extra, this is Fate/Monogatari.

Many viewers seem to be turned off not only by the rather strange setting for a Fate series that we've been given in the first 2-3 episodes, but especially by how little this feels like it is Fate, if one were to compare it to the popular anime adaptations by UFOtable that is.

As a fan of the franchise myself, I initially found it difficult to get into Shaft´s Extra, mainly because of how different the setting was from ... the game, followed by whatever that plot during the second and third episodes was supposed to be ( was that a Tron reference?). However, as the show progresses, it shows more similarities to the original VN in terms of character interaction, which gives the show it's own value. Sadly, it fails to impress in the battle royale aspect of the fate franchise.


Here's what the show isn't:

A Battle Royale

A clash of ideals

Gritty

Magical




Sadly, it has to be said that Shaft has ditched most of the things that make Fate an appealing series, leaving not much for the general fan to enjoy, unless they had delved into the game before and had become interested in some of the more intricate parts of Fate´s magic systems.

What remains to enjoy for the average viewer is character building through character interaction and conversation. Shaft are known for lengthy dialogue in their works since Akiyuki Shinbo joined. Luckily Type-Moon's VN's somewhat well-known for those as well. Last Encore stays true to this, especially in the two recent episodes as of the writing of this review.

Spin-offs and sequels that break with the style of the original series too much tend to have a rough time entertaining the existing fanbase and meeting the expectations of newcomers. Last Encore is no exception to this, though I have to say that the show is still very enjoyable if it is judged on its own merits. It still retains a cast of interesting characers, both in terms of personality and waifu/husbando material. For veterans it holds a new outlook on the grail wars within the mooncell and is certainly a worthy "sequel" of sorts to the original trilogy of Extra, given its narrative references to the game. Sadly it falls completely on its ass when it comes to the fight scenes. I've heard the often unjust criticism of shaft not being able to do action many times, but this time I will have to agree. Not looking at this show from the angle of it being supposedly action made it a lot more ameable for me.



Overall, the show has lots to offer for those who are willing to take it as something other than a battle royale and are versed in the original game´s lore. For newcomers to the franchise or even just to the world of the Extra series, this series is most likely a complete miss.

If an anime gets you to think, really cares about the character and ask questions, this is the one. There are so many questions in the show, why the earth is corrupted; why the holy grail system is built; instead of getting burnt, why dead body sort of like...disappeared in the incinerator; who is the glasses nerd; why is Rin disappeared... After a few episodes, I am sure if you really pay attention to every detail in the show, you will have so many questions and you really want to watch the next one. And maybe you will ask yourself this: if you not sure ... about something, and you know this will harm everyone's interest, will you still accomplish it? My girlfriend answered this question without hesitating LOL she said: if I have you, I don't give a damn.

The animation was okay at best, the plot was all over the place, scenes were shown out of order, the ending; while not as bad as Arcana Famigilia or Soul Eater, is a let down because while it doesn't piss you off the show just... ends. So why did I like it? Because it had Nero and Nero had umu. So I don't rate this a 7/10 I rate it am umu/10

Break it down a tad more:

Story - all over the place
Art - its no Ufotable but it does its job. Action is mediocre
Sound - I mean it works...
Character - MC is an edgelord, Nero ... saves this show
Enjoyment - Nero saves it with her umu powers
Overall - Umu