White Rice is my Body and Soy Sauce is my Blood.
I have eaten over a Thousand Dishes,
Unknown to Fast Food,
Nor known to Gourmet.
Have withstood Hunger to enter many Buffets
Yet those Hands will never Cook Anything
So, as I Pray--
Unlimited Seconds Please
I am not the biggest fate/nasuverse/type-moon fan, but there is something that I absolutely adore: the characters. And I adore them to a point that I have actually seen Carnival Phantasm 4 times (so far). That scene where Berserker turns into a car and Illya says "Berser-car" is among the most adorable pieces of art created by man. I get a coronary every single time. Naturally, when I heard Fate would be getting another show that has nothing to do with the main plot line, I was beyond thrilled, and now that I have seen it offer a scene where Illya wishes Berserker Merry Christmas after giving him a self-baked Christmas cookie that looks like him, I can only say that I will, most likely, never in my life giggle like this again. Perfection.
The first half of this show is a bit problematic. Let me describe it with a meme: "You either go all the way or you go home. I am not dealing with this." And I am not. This isn't proper fanservice, this is just fanservice undertones, and the real content (cooking, other food related thingies, sol nonsense and... just being there) isn't strong enough. But then the show starts going for better and pleases all my needs for cute, comfy and fluffy things. The series becomes incredibly funny and adorable after the 6th episode. The remaining episodes all are rather different from each others and they all have something unique to offer. For example, the beginning of episode 7 shows us a beach volleyball game that is... a bit overboard. Episode 09 contains one of the best background animation sequences where Saber is trying to refrain from eating her food. The way she shakes among the facial expression burned in my soul. The 12th is incredibly comforting, almost soothing to watch with its atmosphere and level of cute. It's almost hard to believe how enjoyable the show end up being after its weaker start.
The art and overall production is quite lacklustery. Especially the animation can be surprisingly mediocre, but it's not a big problem in a series of this sort. The music on the other hand can be real weird at times. Strange OST choices, the Op and Ed songs are quite awful to a point that they stand out. Some better decisions from the BGM department could have been done for certain.
I still easily prefer Carnival Phantasm over this series, but I highly recommend it for those who like the cast and warm, wholesome thingies. Seeing type-moon characters act like clowns truly offers something that no other cast seems to have because even when the series is this comedic the character traits remain and their behavior never quite feels out of character.
