I didn't regret picking this up.
(My typical fashion of reviewing - discussing various categories in order and then a summary, with also very light spoilers - there's one part I just cannot omit from this one.)
Story: 7/10
While definitely an interesting story, the biggest flaws of the story aren't any kinds of plot holes. No. The biggest flaw of the story is attempting to shove it into a 24 episode format. Even though it's done really well, there's still the occasional lack of information, unlike the VN version, which just spouts details at you since day one.
Art: 9/10
I will admit that the artwork has gotten me by surprise. For a time when HD just started being a norm, the visuals are great and the overall art style is also great. One thing I really expected was more blood/gore, but for the kind of an anime it is, there's a surprising lack of that.
Not that I'm complaining.
Sound: 9/10
Another good point of the anime. While I don't recall much in the music department of the series, I can assure you that the audio is very well done, and even the openings have decent music. Not much to talk about here.
Character: 7/10
Probably the biggest flaw of the whole series are the characters. Shirou Emiya has a typical case of trying to protect everyone. It gets surprisingly annoying after a while, but he tends to stop it for a while, and then he pulls the quote that sparked a meme of a lifetime: "People die if they are killed.."
Other than that, some of the characters are there to just be there. Some of them have actual motivations or motives to commit something, yet there is a character that does none of the above.
All in all, characters are a good hit or a bad miss.
Enjoyment: 9/10
Despite these problems I've listed, Stay night is surprisingly enjoyable, to the point where I've binged the rest of the episodes, ruining my 2-episodes-per-day rule. Although there isn't much action in the beginning, it starts to ramp up near the end, while still keeping the same quality.
Overall: 8/10
While Fate/stay night is a good anime, it definitely has its flaws, and it definitely is overrated. I even considered watching Carnival Phantasm, and then I realized I watch gritty anime that tends to be edgier than bismuth.
Pros:
-Good story
-Great sound and art
-Very enjoyable overall
Cons:
-The story needs to be more fleshed out, including world building
-The characters tend to be hit or miss.
(Well, that's about it. I completely forgot about Stay night, and so most of the review goes from my memory, which is thankfully very long, and the visual novel I haven't finished yet. Even though I think I wrote this review well enough to be understandable, I would want to see some feedback on my profile about it. Thanks, Hab.)
