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The Fate universe has always been notoriously known as a convoluted and confusing one hell of a franchise, spawning countless alternate multiverse. And that’s not counting the multiple routes under each of them.

Stay Night/Fate route, in particular, and without a doubt, is the most widely known of them all. Most probably due to the fact that it was the very first one to receive an anime adaptation. A pretty mediocre one, to be honest. Or at least that's as far as my impressions were from the first 3-5 episodes about 8-9 years ago. I never got around to finish it, nor am I determined ... to do so in the nearest time.

Fate Zero, released in 2011 on the other hand, forever changed the landscape and stigma often associated with visual novel/novel to anime adaptations. Ufotable and Gen Urobuchi showed to us how far one can maximize and perfected the formula of translating a novel into a great anime adaptation.

Fast forward 3 years later, Unlimited Blade Works was released. This time the spotlight was switched mainly to our forever best girl, Tohsaka Rin and her servant, Archer. It was the 2nd route out of 3 from the visual novel and a fun roller coaster ride. Fun, but shallow and sloppy to some extent on the writing. And I don't really want to touch on that for now. Maybe another topic for another time.

Enter 2017 and the time has finally come for the long-awaited third route, 'Heaven's Feel' to unveil its curtain. Also the final and supposedly the 'darkest' route, as claimed by some of the original source material's enthusiasts. What's my take on it? Well, here goes..

The opening 10-15 minutes served as a quick introduction to the characters. Some words of advice for first-time watchers, you might want to watch at least the first 2 episodes of Unlimited Blade Works to get a better grasp of the movie since they skipped some of the earlier parts. Brief, but crucial parts. On a side note, and without spoiling anything, there's a cleverly implemented PSA involving Shirou, the protagonist, and a certain fan-favorite character in the first 5 minutes or so. Quite a cheeky move I would say, as that particular scene managed to make me chuckle a bit.

If in UBW the heroine was Tohsaka Rin (she still plays a rather prominent role here, albeit less involved in real battles), this time around the focus was shifted to another girl with a stark contrast to her, in terms of personalities. Enter Matou Sakura, who at first glance, appears to be an innocent and shy character, but as we venture more on more towards the end, one can't help but feel there's something amiss going on behind the scene with the way she acts around Shirou. And that's where I'm a bit torn here. In a way, her enigmatic persona and mysterious aura intrigued my curiosity, but on the other hand, I can't help but feel frustrated by how bland and one-dimensional she was a heroine. Yes, there's definitely more to come and this is only the first movie out of the trilogy, but still, it kinda dampens my personal enjoyment a little.

What is a Fate adaptation without the awesome animations and fight scenes? This is Ufotable we're talking about here. If I counted correctly, there were 3 major fight scenes throughout the movie, and each one of them was crafted to perfection. The exhilarating combinations of 2D animations and CGI in each of the fights produced impeccable visuals, a true feast for the eyes. And to my surprise, that's not even the major highlight here, as the fight choreography was even more phenomenal. Each exchanged strike and blows had some sort of weight and dynamic realism to them, guaranteed to keep the audiences on the edge of their seats. ESPECIALLY and PARTICULARLY the second fight, where a certain Servant fought and died honorably. And no, I'm not going to spoil anything, but Fate enthusiasts might have already guessed who it was, and it is a no-brainer, really.

Given that this a movie adaptation, I must say they had done quite well in properly introducing some of the characters, even under the time constraints. And I'm stressing the word 'some' because one should expect a lot of deaths this time around. Master and Servants, no one is spared as spotlights were intentionally given to the main characters. Congratulations Shirou, you were right all along, people really die when they are killed. Who would've thought?

Moving on, one thing that is interesting to note here is that, even with all the wild and over the top action scenes, it's actually the quiet scenes that impressed me the most. Instead of the usual, mundane internal monologues often used by most other shows, the focus was given to the slick movement and motion of the characters itself - a simple sigh or a subtle flick of their eyes was enough for the viewers to interpret whats on the character's mind. And that was also helped by the grim and dark nature of the overall atmosphere here. Funnily enough, this movie is so much closer in tone to its prequel, Fate Zero than its 2 other direct 'siblings'.

Soundtrack-wise, there's nothing too much to dwell upon here. It's already a proven fact that one could never go wrong with the combinations of Kajiura and the Type-Moon franchise. Watching the movie in cinema further amplifies the exhilarating experience - especially during the fight scenes where the score duly delivered and accentuates the intensity of the battle. But again, it's during the quiet scenes where I'm most impressed with. The slow and slightly eerie tunes really capture the overall macabre and morbid nuances of the show.

That being said, I, unfortunately, would not recommend this movie to newcomers as they'd probably find the lore behind the Holy Grail War a bit hard to follow. But I can safely say that people who are familiar with the Fate franchise will certainly be content with this adaptation - at least with the amazing production values.

In a nutshell, Heaven's Feel starts out a tad slow but once the plot gained and shifted its momentum to a much grimmer tone, it excels and never looked back from thereon. Yes, it's too early to judge since this movie only serves as an 'appetizer' of what's more to come, but fingers crossed, if ufotable can keep up the same pace for the next two films, we may have one of the best, definitive Fate adaptations in our hands.

*This review will cover both seasons of Gin no Saji / Silver Spoon*

First of all, I’ve got to admit, the premise of the show didn’t impress me at first. The Harvest Moon franchise is as far as my knowledge about farming and agriculture goes. But then, I found out that Hiromu Arakawa, the author of the brilliant FMA is the one behind the manga. Going by the ‘3 episode rule’, I decided to put this anime to the test. And I must say I’m pleasantly surprised by how good it turned out to be and ended up binge-watching ... it later on.

The story follows a boy named Hachiken, who for some strange reasons, decided to leave the city and applied for a transfer to a school in the countryside. There, he learns how to adjust to his new environment-an agricultural school called Ezono and it didn’t take that long for him to realize that life there was not as easy as he thought it would be. The first season focuses more on the education part and I’m impressed by how well represented and interesting it was. Unlike most ‘educational anime’ where sometimes it feels like you were forced to learn about something and all the references went straight over your head, everything felt natural here. You don’t need any lengthy and complex explanation to figure out what the show’s trying to convey, instead, they simply show through their actions. Be warned, though, it’s not all fun happy ride all the way. The show can also be serious when it wants to. Being the city boy he was, Hachiken certainly didn’t expect that the industry can be harsh and challenging at times, and we as the viewer can’t help but sympathize with him. But at the end of the day, it’s rewarding to see how he handle and cope with that problems, maturing little by little as time progresses. In the second season, we saw a much more mature Hachiken dealing with his family problems and we finally get a clearer picture of the reasons behind his action. Expect more drama and conflict in the second season, but worry not, it’s not to the point where it ruined the heartwarming atmosphere of the show. The comedy was alright I guess, compared to Arakawa-sensei’s other work, FMA. One of FMA's weaknesses to me, was the comedy aspect as it felt awkward and out-of-place most of the times, but it was handled and felt more appropriate here due to the lighthearted nature of the show.

In terms of animation, the first thing you will notice is the similarity of the character design with the manga and I applaud A-1 Pictures for that. If I have one thing to complain about, it is on how simple and bland the characters look. While it was not awful by a long mile, but if we’re comparing them to let’s say FMA, most of them looked dull and generic in comparison. But who knows, maybe they were supposed to have that simplistic designs, with the story being set in the countryside and all. A-1 Pictures instead, emphasized more on making sure that all animals looked realistic and well-proportioned which is a fair trade-off if you ask me. Thinking back, there was nothing spectacular about the animation overall, but they still managed to capture the essence of the show and that alone is good enough for me.

Unlike most anime where the OP completely outshines the ED, it’s the other way around here. While the 1st OP sounds catchy and can brighten up the mood, the ED reflect the show’s atmosphere better with its relaxing, country-style tunes. The same goes with the 2nd season where I think switching the OP and ED around would be a better idea. The ED was performed by Goosehouse, the same band behind the catchy ‘Your Lie in April’ OP and in my opinion it is as equally good if not better. The 2nd season’s OP was alright but not as memorable as I constantly find myself skipping over it every episode.

Character development has always been one of Arakawa-sensei’s strongest point and it shows here, albeit with a few hiccups. Just like what I mentioned earlier, most of the conflicts happened in the 2nd season and we can see how well Arakawa –sensei handled the character development here without being overly melodramatic. I also liked how they portrayed the students here, where even the dumb ones are not actually idiots, unlike countless other anime out there that just can't get enough of recycling these annoying tropes/cliché over and over again.

Without spoiling anything, the 2nd season focuses more on two important supporting characters that were having a serious crisis and Hachiken, being his usual optimistic self, try to intervene and solve their problems not knowing that his attempts are futile and won’t really change the outcome. By the end of the show, he finally realized that not all problems can be solved with determination alone and as a viewer, it’s nice to see how far he has matured compared to his older self. However, there were some setbacks as well. Many questions were left unanswered and left open, something that you expect would be answered in the 2nd season but sadly, it’s not. Why does Hachiken’s dad act like that? Why did Hachiken’s brother quit that prestigious university? What is Hachiken’s real goal? Now that both main characters have finally realized their true feelings towards each other, how far will the romantic development go? And the list goes on and on…

Like most manga adaptations, the only downside is that it suffers from incomplete, open ending issues and considering that the manga is currently on a hiatus, I doubt a 3rd season will follow anytime soon. But don’t let that discourage you from watching it. This show is without a doubt, one of the best ‘coming-of-age’ anime I’ve seen, bested only by ‘Honey & Clover’ and ‘Hanasaku Iroha’ - other fine examples of its genre. All in all, any complaints I may have had with this show are compensated by its believable dramatic situations, its realistic demonstrations of the farmer’s life and for its beautiful, serene atmosphere. A must watch.

Looking for an anime to relax and kill some time with? Then this one's for you. 4 episodes, only around 13 minutes each, it surprisingly left an impact to me, as simple as it is.

The plot revolves around Daru, an old kitty living together with his owner, a woman struggling to find a steady job. The story is narrated from the POV of the cat, cherishing the time he had with his owner in a series of flashbacks. The plot sounds so simple, but that's exactly why it works. Nothing too complicated to think about, just a fine and relaxing 'healing' kind of show.

Nothing much ... to talk about the visual here. One thing I can say is that it's a pleasant to look at. The choice of color palettes here suit the overall theme of the story, subtle and calm. One thing that I particularly liked about the show is how realistically they portrayed Daru. He moves and acts like a real cat and that makes him much more likable and believable.

The soundtrack was nothing too outstanding, but it fits and never felt out of place with the overall theme of the show. It has a calm and relaxing tune with a slight sad undertone to it.

Overall, I can say this is the perfect show for a cat or even any animal lovers and by the end, it even made me shed a few tears from its bittersweet ending. It's amazing how an anime this short can left that much impact to me. And for that, I gave it a solid 8.

In the midst of the star-studded Summer 2016 anime lineup, there's one particular show that I missed out on watching at first and that show was Alderamin On the Sky.

Let's get started with the story, shall we? The story follows the adventure of Ikta Solork, a lazy and laid-back teenager together with his friends and comrades. Using his tactical brilliance, he must defend his land. Yes, the plot may not sound original, but believe me the anime executed it brilliantly. How? It lies in the characters.

Ikta is not your typical male Shounen MC. In fact, he's the exact opposite of it. He's the ... kind of character you can't help but hate at first, but slowly you will root for him later on. One of the interesting aspects of the show was the dynamic or one could call it platonic, relationship between the two lead characters which is rare to find in anime nowadays. Even Yatori is not your typical, damsel in distress heroine. I won't spoil anything, but if you liked your female MC to be strong and badass, she won't disappoint. The supporting cast, though, were just so-so in terms of development. The 13 episode count didn't help either.

Moving on to the animation, I would say it looked gorgeous at times, especially during the action scenes which can be bloody and violent, but overall for an anime released in 2016, it just looks average at best. I certainly didn't expect that from Madhouse, the studio that produced a large number of stunning and beautiful anime adaptation. The same goes to the soundtrack. Nothing too memorable that I can think of, even the OP and ED.

Yes, it's nothing outstanding, but it certainly was an enjoyment to watch as a whole. Just don't expect anything conclusive in the end, since the LN and manga are still ongoing which is one of the reasons why I kept the overall score at a 7.

Overall, I can see why a lot of people decided to skip on this show, but if you have enough time to spare, give this one a try. It may surprise you-in a good way.