My opinion is a bit biased as I play the game and thoroughly enjoy it, so my review will be in the perspective of a seasonal anime and a comparison to the game.
Story
The narrative is rather expansive, as it would be when following a war between humanity and the gods. The few moments in which the characters take their time to explore Uruk, really tries to drive home the importance of the culture at the time and how it shaped that society.
The game goes more into detail about the technology, and the work of daily civilians, unlike the montage in the anime. It's the little things in life that really emphasize the travesty that is war. By setting up a modicum of peace, the story travels into a narrative of constant battles and loss. The loss has meaning because you saw the everyday life of everyday people. It doesn't hurt that the battles become larger as the stakes grow, and most of the time(while it may feel like it) it's never a total victor. The anime on this part rushed...a lot, the low count of episodes never fully emerged the viewer into the piece, or the atrocity of the war...(I.e pacing was faster than it should've been.
Tldr:The pacing wasn't so fast that you couldn't understand that there's a super amazing story , but it was just fast enough to be chanting next kaiju fight! Next kaiju fight! Or something similar to that...
Art
I've seen quite a few memes about how the character design is pretty much the same for all the characters(look at their faces if you switch the hair it'll be hard to tell the difference). While, it's understandable why a studio may choose to budget their resources into other parts of the anime like the animation, it is disappointing that it had to be done. Some people on the internet have made the great point, that character designs which are distinct, can not only be a easily recognizable by their silhouettes, but are also capable of making a statement about the character. All this to say, that distinct characters leave a better impression on new people who have little to no experience in the fateverse.. the lack of it while not earth shattering is disappointing.
While the character design may be lacking, the set pieces are just a marvel, the city of Uruk, the underworld, the lighthouse, the sea, every single field has an intricateness , a thorough love of the place. The details feel so perfect with the story from the scale of everything , to the small details in the ziggurat, and the hut. The tone and colors match very well, and it's just beautiful.
Tldr: the character design is bland in comparison to the game, but the set pieces are a gem.
Sound
It's perfect...
Nothing left to say
Tldr: PERFECTION IN THE FLESH
Character
The characters needed more time. This is where the game and anime should be mostly compared. There's a lot of story in this chapter, so the harsh reality is that the higher ups who created the anime decided it would be for the best if they completed the stories rather than allow the audience to care for most of the characters. The game had more time and power so it was able to do both, that's the harsh reality. However I can only review what I see, and what i see is some sentiment and character explored, but not enough so that the payoffs, the farewells have the meaning they are supposed to. There was a few unique scenes that were anime only and made the series more captivating, but what we were given was fairly standard with little understanding of some the more sidelined characters(jaguarman, siduri, Romani,gorgon, da Vinci, even Merlin(at least for me). These characters have depth and personality that without a doubt exists, and it's disappointing to not see the in their full form in the anime.
Tldr: the characters are good but lack depth, due to most likely the budget and time constraints. While understandable it's a little disappointing.
Enjoyment
It was very good, there were lows and highs, a few laughs here and there, overall a solid piece. The story was delivered and it made sense. The characters were enjoyable, though a bit flat, but the biggest thing was the animation was killer on certain scenes(ushiwaka v"Tiamat" , quetz v Tiamat, etc. ). There is a certain happiness seeing the character you love come to life and the shivers that go down your spine when they use their noble phantasm( I don't know how many times I rewatched merlin use garden of Avalon). It's a beautiful ode to fans of the nasuverse, I don't know how enjoyable it would be for those outside the nasuverse, because at this point I'm to integrated that it's impossible for me at least, to give an outsiders unbiased perspective.
Tldr: a great piece of work, that may not stand the test of time to those who are not integrated into to the nasuverse, or players of the game
Overalll
I think the series did a great number of things , some of which I may not have said(not that I need to , others will sing the praise I didn't) . It was a solid piece of work with a definitive end to the chapter, and a teaser after the end credits for more. It works well as a stand alone , but I think the most amount of pleasure that can be derived from this tale is after you've played the Babylonia chapter within the game. ''Tis the type of series one wants to bunker down with a lot of snacks and binge the series straight, then at the end of it go back to see if you actually remember any of the lore or the background of the plot points. There's enough in the anime you could make it a fa,e if you want to
Tldr: it's a great solid work, worth the time if you have it...
