Reviews

Feb 8, 2018
Let’s get straight to the point.

This film is not for everyone. Not because of the violence, blood and gore one may expect, but because this is not the right place to start if you have just started getting into the Fate franchise.

The context of this review serves as an overview to anyone who has watched previous works within the Fate series and therefore may address some spoilers for beginning watchers. As such, it is not recommended to read this review if you believe you do not have a proper grasp of the franchise’s world-building, lore, and other elements.

Heaven’s Feel, the third route to the 2004 visual novel Fate/stay night—a catalyst to the gargantuan moneymaking franchise it is for Type-Moon now—acts as a culminating story built up from several hours of background knowledge one has experienced from the previous routes, and even its prequel, Fate/Zero. The film disregards any sort of exposition and cuts right to the chase, which may be overwhelming for the beginner, and may even be for the experienced.

The first in a trilogy, Presage Flower tells us from the get-go what it hopes to accomplish in this story—skipping the lengthy introduction of knowing the characters into a larger focus on two factors that were overshadowed in the previous routes: Sakura Matou, sister of the obnoxious Shinji, and the very nature of the Holy Grail War itself, a thing that was often hinted and shown at in previous installments but never fully explored until now. Action comes second as revelations become unraveled, and emphasis is placed more on silent, mood-heavy scenes that divert from the usual cheery highschool in-betweens of Unlimited Blade Works and Fate. Little to no comedy exists, and each scene serves a purpose to meticulously bring the story into progression.

The impressive thing about Heaven’s Feel is it serves as an ultimate story to everyone who has read or watched about the previous routes, and then rewards them with twists and turns that break expectations, putting up such a strong contrast that tells a whole new side to the world of Fate. Watching Fate/Zero may outline the surprises it has, but regardless has enough steam to maintain its slow, mysterious atmosphere to keep the audience second-guessing. It addresses the viewers by properly handling its themes, and this mature way of execution is worth the merit.

Another reason to not watch Heaven’s Feel early is the chance to miss out on the context behind the characters that get this film running. As Shirou Emiya’s reckless hero-of-justice principle gets dissected in the Fate and UBW routes, Heaven’s Feel is where it starts to formally address his philosophy—a legacy left by Kiritsugu Emiya, and brings it into conflict in accordance to the events that transpire in this film. However, as the pace is slowly laid out, there was not an actual chance to have this conflict be brought into light, and like much of the entire film, only serves as an introduction to how it differs as a story—and why you should care about it.

The route’s lead heroine, Sakura, actually gets little involvement for the rest of the film, but it hints how she will have a major role to play later on. Other characters mostly serve as agents to move the plot forward, with the early interventions of Kirei Kotomine and Zouken Matou into the story offer a glimpse of what is to come—and it does come, with the climax of the film involving an important character’s fate.

By the outside, Presage Flower may have weak characterization, but much like the pace of the plot, should not be treated as the end of all judgment.

Of course, Heaven’s Feel brings out the forte studio Ufotable possesses. As much as action is treated with less importance, the studio does not falter at providing yet another visual spectacle nonetheless. While there still exists a bit of an exaggeration in the “superhuman speed” of the Servant fight scenes wants to portray, the way that they are laid out sequentially over the course of the film gives the viewers the ability to take a breather before being treated with an exhilarating clash of weapons and magic. It may not be on the same level of depth as Fate/Zero’s mental chess games, it is still better handled than how scattered UBW was with its inherent abuse of fast-forwarding, somewhat mindless choreography and constant camera movements.

With Yuki Kajiura as the lead composer, one would expect choral tracks would permeate the film and every moment would be infused with them. Surprisingly enough, and as aforementioned, the film takes its time more before delivering the suspense-filled pieces and probably had the most silent scenes more than any other Fate entry. Music is used sparingly, but stood out well enough in the times they were used, making a good complement for the scenes. Sound effects and the voice acting retain the consistency of previous installments, so there isn’t anything to virtually comment about it.

There are several aspects to which the pace and presentation could’ve gotten better, but for encompassing several hours of visual novel gameplay into three 2-hour long films, Presage Flower is a mature and worthy sequel for its predecessors—not only to Fate/Zero, but to Fate and UBW as well.

Being part of a franchise in this manner is a double-edged sword. There are ways that this situation can execute a story trimmed of all fat, however at the same time it can alienate the audience with what significant regard for context it has. Heaven’s Feel: Presage Flower is not the gateway into the series, but a delightful reward for the ones who have given their time into Type-Moon’s lore-heavy and immersive world.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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