Preface:
Like Shiro Emiya to Kiritsugu, Fate/Stay Night is the red headed step child of the Fate series, without a doubt. Back in 2006, before the acclaimed VN had achieved a monumental amount of success, complete with multiple TV series, movies, and spinoffs; there was one that came before. It was a time when the studio Deen, an industry veteran, was experiencing a huge run of success with a trio of titles: Higurashi, Hell Girl, and our very own Fate/Stay Night.
In today's world, FSN has been ragged on for its shonen-ness, immaturity, poor animation, and overall inferiority in both tone and execution to more recent efforts in the Fate universe by ufotable. Is it because it's a truly inferior product, or that it has not withstood the test of public opinion over time like its stablemate Higurashi? Let's find out.
Artwork and Animation: 8
FSN was visually striking from the beginning- the magic runes and swirls of power are well animated, and the various reds, purples, and golds that make up the flow of energy lend an arcane and weighty feel to the action. The action sequences are very flashy, and typically are very fleshed out, though some animations are repeated- it never feels tiring.
The idle animations can be kind of boring, and I can see where some people find the chibi style thrown in (think FMAB) with the humorous elements off-putting in a fairly serious show, but within the framework of the show itself, it works. Beware of the ASS dragon though... the 3D CGI appears once, and you might need an acid eyewash, because you'll think the ass dragon took a steaming lava dump in your eyeballs.
The character animations are what are hit and miss here. Obviously some corners were cut for budget saving measures- When there's no action and the characters are seen from far away, they're typically very low detail, particularly the eyes. A lot of pans and sweeps of a stillframe are also used, in both action and non action sequences.
Sound and Voice Acting: 9
FSN's musical composition was handled by one Kenji Kawai. He might have done work for another little known anime you might have heard of... I don't know... GHOST IN THE SHELL 1995 and Innocence? That's right. Before Yoko Kanno provided her talents, this guy was on the stage. He also did the composition for Higurashi.
The insert/next episode preview song "Unmei no Yoru" is absolutely phenomenal. It's a very fitting song for a medieval inspired fantasy series, complete with a high synth, chimes, strings, bells, a heavenly chorus, and synth drums that give it a very listenable New Age sound, but retaining the epic feel that befits such a series. The 2nd opening song, "Kirameku Namida wa Hoshi ni" by Sachi Tainaka is also very catchy and mood setting for the show.
"You might not have noticed it, but your brain did."
On the voice acting front, the English cast is another great one put together by Geneon (May they rest in peace). Kate Higgins (C2, Code Geass) heads up the cast as Arthuria, the Saber, and does a fantastic job as a commanding, yet heartfelt warrior king. Sam Riegel (Viral, Gurren Lagann) voices Shiro in a good performance, and finally, Mela Lee does an outstanding job as Rin Tohsaka.
Story: 7
My experience with the Fate series has been anything but usual. Given that I started with Fate Zero, and am watching it chronologically by in-universe date and not by airdate, it gave me some interesting insight into this story, having some outside knowledge of what would otherwise be the normal viewer's first foray into the Grail War.
Briefly, the Holy Grail War is a proxy war waged between seven masters and their summoned "servants"- or the spirit of a fallen legendary hero from ages past- over the Holy Grail, an omnipotent wish granting device. The last master/servant duo standing is the winner, as declared by the Holy Church. The pair is then granted a wish: that which they desire most.
As Shiro Emiya fits into this: he is chosen to fight in this war due to the intervention of one Rin Tohsaka, a girl in his class at school. After Shiro is injured as a result of the shadow war, he accidentally summons his own servant, Saber, who then, along with Rin, discuss with him the purpose of the war, along with their own reasons for why they fight including the eventual goal of obtaining the grail: the greatest achievement for any Magus.
All is not as it seems though, and through Shiro's determination to fight solely for the sake of others at the possible expense of his own life, he discovers that the Grail War is much more than he anticipated, and may very well be more than he can handle while staying true to himself.
Characters: 7
This is where I have the hardest time grading Fate/Stay Night. It began much like many other shonen shows do- a self sacrificing, headstrong protagonist with a tragic flaw who goes on the Hero's Journey in a quest to discover both themselves and the hearts of others. What it transitioned to was something in between that and a fairly enjoyable character drama with a tacked on, but somehow acceptable love story.
Saber, the same strong willed, unflinchingly loyal to her knight's code of honor character that she was in Fate/Zero returns, as resolute as ever. Unyielding and extremely stubborn, Arthuria takes up more of a role of protector in Stay Night. Her radical, extremist ideals of "honor" and "integrity" before personal gain and victory- the denial of self for the sake of others mirrors that of Shiro's persona. In that aspect, she's eternally flawed. She desperately clings to her ideals when her own constitution and abilities fail her, which ultimately becomes the turning point in the story. She is too weak to be able to be anything else but the embodiment of her principles, which is ironically why she appears "strong".
However, unlike in Zero before, where she refuses to cast aside her ideals and start anew, she finally sees the fatal flaw in her ways, and is able to overcome her arrogance and hubris in order to perform the greater good. This is the kind of character development I watched 46 episodes of Fate to see. I truly enjoyed her growth as a character, which would not have been apparent to me if I had seen FSN before F/Z.
Similarly, Shiro himself overcomes his inner turmoil in order to grow exponentially in his reasoning and thought processes to be a competent, if self sacrificing hero. The motives and perspective changes from that of an idealistic martyr to an altruistic realist- who finally sees the value in himself as much and as hard as he fought for others.
Rin Tohsaka takes up a supporting, but very important role in the story as Shiro's instructor in the art of magic, helping him to hone his entirely undeveloped skills and untapped potential into something that resembles a magus. Though she's also a master, she's an interesting look into the mind of a "pure" magus: a person who puts their research above all else, including their life. This helps serve as a foil to Shiro, who puts the well being of others above his own life. She also experiences her own arc about what it is that's valuable to her, that is- her perspective on her goals, and the means of achieving them change in a sort of "do the ends justify the means" type of philosophy transformation.
Enjoyment and Overall: 8
This show aired from January of 06 to July of the same year. This means it was in production around the same time as shows as Code Geass and Death Note. While neither of the aforementioned titles are paradigms of absolute perfect execution in animation, they're both very quality productions for the time. Fate Stay Night is no different. (I looked at the charts for Winter 2006 anime, and besides a Gundam OVA, there are no titles that I've ever seen mentioned again).
As this relates to my opening question- Fate Stay Night has been remembered, and not lost to the sands of time. While it gained newfound popularity with the advent of Fate/Zero in 2011, it certainly had its own popularity among fans and new entrants to the series alike- else it wouldn't have warranted another movie and an entire prequel series, which spawned another TV series and yet ANOTHER movie. It all started somewhere, and that somewhere was in 2006, with Deen.
The tonal consistency is sometimes a bit off, it changes from a pretty heavy conflict driven ideological narrative to sometimes silly, sometimes just annoying comedic relief (think FMAB, again), typically involving Taiga, the schoolteacher and surrogate mother for Shiro. It focuses much more heavily on the characters who matter in the second half, like Fate/Zero before it, and is much better for it.
I enjoyed the growth of a character that I formerly hated, and some new ones that I wasn't too sure about. The resolution of Kirei Kotomine was also very satisfying and deliciously ironic (again, due to having seen Fate/Zero first, I truly understood why it was so.) While there were two plot points carried over from Zero that were never discussed (perhaps they will be in the Unlimited Blade Works series), as a whole, it's a very likable entry in the Fate Series which doesn't necessitate the hate it receives just because it wasn't made by ufotable. The handling of the series may be different, but I contend that this one is just fine for what it is.
Recommend?
Yes, both as a good shonen series, and as an entry in the so-far-excellent Fate series.
tl;dr
+ Good character development (Rin Tohsaka, Arthuria in particular.)
+ Good action and animation (for the time)
+/- Romance sub plot may be off-putting to some
+/- Main characters can be incredibly annoying (Don't worry, Shiro gets used as a punching bag A LOT.)
- Interesting supporting characters don't get enough screentime
"Was all their suffering for nothing? Embracing the pain and moving on... Isn't that the only way to truly honor those you've lost?" - Shiro Emiya
