Animation:
1) For the first 9 episodes, the animation is absolutely brilliant. From battles, to action and to casual scenes, everything was a work of art. Every episode surpasses the previous one in terms of visuals. However, from episode 9 onwards the visuals get downgraded and I have no idea why. It was a major let down because the anime set the bar extremely high after so many episodes with such incredible visuals. It's such a shame to have the 2nd half of the entire season with fights that were poorly animated
2) boobs without nipples is lazy animation and will never look good
3) CGI was overused on pointless occasions (ex: random people walking around) and it broke immersion constantly
Sound:
1) sound volume is not optimized: the sound effects are way too loud compared to sountrack and dialog
2) I didn't like the soundtrack, particularly an english song. It just doesn't fit a show that's 100% japanese to all of a sudden have a random language coming up and rocking the music
3) Ueda Kana's voice range cannot keep up with a dark character that she was assigned to. SPOILERS: every Dark Ereshkigal's line with more than 3 words, Ueda Kana's voice cracked and sounded awful. I love her Tohsaka and Ishtar's voices and I feel that the sound team did her wrong.
Characters (SPOILERS):
1) Ishtar doesn't have enough of Tohsaka's personality
2) Ishtar's design is obviously inspired by Tohsaka but the nakedness doesn't suit her at all. I don't mind fanservice but to see her constantly in her underwear is something that does not feel right
3) PLOTHOLE: Ushiwakamaru is the ONLY servant that is not aware of his "future"/legacy. No reason is given for this fact. Only on the 8th episode does she remember who she is and why is she a heroic spirit without any reason for this sudden memory gain.
4) To have a servant based on Leonardo Da Vinci and give it 3 second appearance per episode is the biggest waste of a heroic spirit I've ever seen
5) blonde hair on a character based on Tohsaka is a crime
Story:
1) I love how they took the time to give a short history lesson about the time period and civilization
2) unfortunately the pacing of this series is not consistent. I was really hyped until the 6th episode. That's when the story slows down and characters decide to talk a lot and repeat themselves or do things that no one really cares about. This only ends at the last second of the last episode.
3) too predictable (I didn't even play the game and I guessed most of the events)
4) between most episodes, things happen that the viewer must fill in using his imagination
5) SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT FORWARD - Leonidas and Ushiwakamaru's sacrifices looked terrible for Fujimaru because he just stood there watching his allies fight on their own
6) Ishtar refers to Fujimaru as the 1st friend she had. Instead of thinking of Mash or Dr. Romani, he thinks of Ushiwakamaru. Logic? None.
7) hated how Jaguarman got pushed aside to "team B" because she's clearly more powerful than any servant
8) 80% of the anime goes like this: Fujimaru has an enemy -> enemy is super powerful -> enemy is a woman -> Fujimaru decides to talk -> woman enemy blushes and joins the harem... not harem, sorry. The team. I meant the team. Joined the team.
9) Awesome reference to the legendary line of Emiya Shirou "People die when they are killed".
As I said, by the 5th episode I was hyped like crazy because the show had a lot of potential and I liked the general direction it was going but unfortunately it's not more than a 6/10 for me.
