Anime 6922 Fate Stay Night Movie Unlimited Blade Works Reviews Filter Check 3

Who is this for? Why was this even attempted?! Who the hell thought cramming 30 hours of story into a 90 minute movie was a great idea?! This "movie" is a disaster! If you have never heard of fate, you will be lost in this incomprehensible mess. If you have seen fate stay night by DEEN, the first third of the movie is a boring recap, the twists in the second act will be rubbish to you and in the third act... you will have an embarrassingly hilarious final fight and instead of a CG dragon you will get a ... CG dolphin. If you have read the visual novel, you will probably hate it the most, especially when there is a superior adaptation by ufotable you should watch instead.

To sum this up (in case you don't want to read about me tearing this to shreds): this is a shiny pointless piece of crap that has no reason to exist exist other than to spoil twists in the novel and take 2 hours of your life. Unless you don't care at all about this franchise and just want to see flashy animation... stay away from this film.

Story: 1/10
Example of Real storytelling: Basis/premise, Story and Character building, character interaction, internal struggle meets external forces, twist, climax, resolution
This film: Basis, TWIST TWIST TWIST TWIST TWIST DOLPHIN (WTF?) DEUS EX MACHINA!
The pace is all over the place, sometimes you don't even know how characters got to places, nothing is explained, and there is no flow or consistency.

Characters: 1/10
90 minutes trying to cram 30 hours... Ya... there is probably not going to be much room for development, but even if you know the characters you will be disappointed. The protagonist is an idiot who makes wrong choice after wrong choice, Archer (one of the other main characters) is an indecisive whore that switches sides every two minutes, Saber is reduced to a damsel in distress, Rin doesn't do anything smart, in the third act an "goldy archer" takes out two swords and charges in melee mode like a moron, ect. I kid you not, there isn't even a real conversation until 45 minutes into the film.

Art/Animation: 8/10
Admittedly it looks really good. There is a particular amount of detail emphasized on the character models and it all looks great. However, considering that the remake has already bettered this movie in these regards belittles this complement.

Sound: 9/10
Really the best thing going for it. The soundtrack by Kenji Kawai is excellent, making the action feel more epic and exciting than it otherwise be.

Enjoyment: 1/10
DEEN's movie is the bone of my suffering,
Broken is my body, and boiled is my blood,
I have created over a thousand tears,
Unknown to Death, nor known to life,
Have withstood pain to find my sanity,
Yet those hands will never hold me,
So as I pray, Ufotable's Blade Works

There are many times in anime where I've been left dry simply because I was out of the target audience. However, there is a time, rare that it may be, that an anime is created with absolutely no target audience in question. Unlimited Blade Works is lucky that I don't consider it a movie because it would be one of the worst, if not the worst anime movie I have ever seen. Unfortunately compiling a slide show of random fights without any well established context, background information, plot, scene transitioning, and character development does not qualify as an actual movie.

First thing's first though and for ... an animated film, Unlimited Blade Works has pretty poor production values. This should not come as a shock, seeing as this is studio DEEN who are notorious for budget cutting anime, but it is nonetheless disappointing. Several times through the anime there is a constant abuse of distant still shots and camera rotation. The designs were mostly alright, but the worst issues are around Archer and Shirou's UBW, and Gilgamesh's Gates of Babylon where it initially renders the swords properly, but then turns them into glowing sticks flying across the screen. Personally, this is not appealing and is yet another corner costing by DEEN.

The true problems of the movie are definitely the direction and content. Whoever thought that adapting a 10 plus hour long visual novel route, longer than the Fate route adapted in the original anime, was a good idea is extremely naive. It was clear from the onset that this movie could only ever serve to be a taste of this story to the original anime watchers, and/or a treat to the original VN players with the animation of many of UBW's few key scenes. But the execution of this entire film by DEEN was just horrible.

Frankly, for any newcomer to the Fate/Stay Night universe, I'm not even sure how this film was in anyway comprehensible whether it be the plot, the characters, or even just the action. Many of the events of the first episode or two of the original Fate/Stay Night are quickly glossed over in but a mere few minutes, and to exasperate the problem, the plot never slowed down, if even for a moment. Each new scene began with a new character showing up, followed by a fight, concluding and then doing the same thing all over again in the next scene. There was no real established context, and each fight was fought for vaguely defined reasons at the beginning of the film (That one would only understand if they saw the original anime or played the VN).

This is in no way, shape or form to show a movie. This is but a slide show of events. And what's worst, these events are not even a treat to the VN fans since they muck up so many of the plot details, that one cannot help but feel enraged. Whether it be how they disproportionately stronger Shirou is in the movie compared to the VN, the way Shirou and Archer fight, the quick conclusions of the battle, or especially the last fight in this movie, everything was so off detail from the VN that no VN player would be able to truly enjoy this anywhere near the level of their respective scenes in the VN. Not to mention that if you were a Rin fan before the movie you would have been severely disappointed by how much interplay between Shirou and Rin was cut out in this film as well.

Perhaps some of the original anime waters could have managed to find some enjoyment in this film (Without any VN knowledge), but I can't imagine it can be seen as anything but a huge fan service movie with many random fight scenes between their beloved characters. It is my opinion that no matter what, this movie has to stand up on its own, and it is clear that it doesn't.

Now before I finish, let me break down all the possible target audiences they could have went after, and why in the end, it was for none of them. You have people who have played the VN, people who have seen the original Fate/Stay Night anime, and then you have the people who are entirely new to Fate/Stay Night.

A newcomer would find this movie utterly incomprehensible. An anime only viewer would find this film extremely confusing, borderline incomprehensible as well, but might enjoy the fights to a degree. A VN player would be utterly disgusted with this trash adaption.

In any case, I think it is impossible to view this in anyway as good story telling, or top notch anime productions. DEEN is good at wrecking franchises for sure, and it seems they are no different with Fate/Stay Night.

*SPOILERS*

As the other reviews suggest, there might be many types of people watching this show, but I believe the outcome can only be the same. Let's take that you have neither watched the TV series nor played the game, because there are still too many loopholes in the context of this standalone movie to enjoy, regardless of any rules set up in the TV series or game.

As for the plot, you will not understand who is who doing what with whom unless you look it up on Wikipedia. Here I'm just going to make a list of unacceptable loopholes (which doesn't require knowledge from the ... TV series or game to acknowledge) that make me so sick:

- In the first fight of Berserker - the giant Servant, he proved invulnerable to both physical and energy attacks (Archer's first and second attacks) - in other words, iron skin - but he eventually died by Gilgamesh's rain of swords, being stabbed to death.

- Knowing that a Servant will perish if the Master dies, in the first fight, instead of just attacking Illyasviel the Master, Archer and Saber threw out a futile fight over Berserker the Servant. It's not like Illyasviel has any ability to hide at will at all, even though she "mysteriously" managed to make it to Berserker's shoulder in the midst of the fire started by Archer's AoE attack.

- The main male, Emiya, is just an i-want-to-save-em-all-but-can't-fucking-do-so-'coz-I-m-too-weak(-but-still-jump-out-to-die-like-a-dog-anyway) archetype. Even after he has discovered the evil barrier which drains life energy from school students, pursued Shinji, and even when he was on the verge of death, he still refrained from calling Saber, albeit knowing that she'd be gone anyway if he dies. Silly enough, this stupid main male proved to be invulnerable, taking countless fatal wounds from being a meat shield for others.

- Caster emerged as an almighty Servant who can even summon another Servant. She appeared to be even more dangerous when teamed up with her Master (based on Archer's statement that "Caster is too difficult to deal with now") but shortly after that both Caster and her Master got killed (while on guard, not off guard) in a single blow by Archer's rain of swords.

- Archer's "cool foolishness" really bugs me like hell whenever he belched his stupid phrase "I don't like to kill meaninglessly/without gain." Because in effect, both Caster and, in a later fight when Archer betrays Tohsaka, Emiya and Tohsaka combo did come back to mess with him after being spared by him. Archer just conveniently doesn't think ahead about the consequences so that he can blurt his stupid phrases and conveniently switched between saving and killing Emiya. Or more accurately, the author just conveniently prolongs this stupid movie with his stupid nonsensical twists.

- Another stupid and convenient twist: when Caster infiltrated Emiya house and attacked him, instead of drawing out her sword or just fists, Saber jumped out as a meat shield to be stabbed by the Rule Breaker and be forced to defect to Caster's side.

- After the fight between Archer and Lancer, when Archer surrendered, Lancer withdrew unconditionally, knowing that only killing Archer can fulfill either the order from his Master (to kill Archer) or his own aim - to protect Tohsaka, who was betrayed by Archer and would soon be kidnapped and stranded also by Archer, leading to Lancer's own death. The reason for why Lancer let Archer pass and was just waiting outside is conveniently left out.

- When Lancer came to the castle to rescue Tohsaka, Kirei emerged as the mastermind of his Holy Grail project but soon he got killed by Lancer who turned out to be miraculously and RIDICULOUSly tough that he could withstand a stab in the heart to both kill Kirei in one blow and wound Shinji. Kirei was also too stupid to notice that Lancer should have vanished into thin air if he really died.

- The last events in the movie are probably the most stupid of all: After clashing swords and swearing at each other, Gilgamesh and Emiya ended their battle as a mysterious black hole appeared and sucked Gilgamesh in. Soon after, Archer, who had already died and vanished, ridiculously turned out to survive and in effect helped kill both Gilgamesh and the Holy Grail.

- Finally, the "reality marble - Unlimited Sword Works," which makes the title, has completely nothing to do with the course of the movie. In all 3 times it was summoned, it did nothing particularly in favor of its summoner and those battles always ended abruptly.

I would give this really poor work a 2, but since I don't want to make this a flamebait, I would give it a 3. Are you fine with that?

This review contains a SPOILER.

This is just Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Work (both seasons) made into a movie with the older art style.
I'm telling you, it's literally the same story but just made into a movie. I don't know why this exists, but it's useless.
If there's already a movie or TV series about the same story, why make a copy of it in a different type? So that people could watch this movie instead of the TV series because it's shorter?

I didn't know it was going to be the same, so I completely wasted my time watching it. Plus they killed Illya in this one ... too.

I am a fan of Fate/Stay Night and the Fate series in general, but in my opinion, this movie is quite bad. Let's start with the good points though.

Art: The artwork in this movie is quite nice. It's more or less what I expect out of Studio DEEN and all of the fight scenes are animated quite spectacularly. Each fight is full of light and particle effects, and it really is one of the few enjoyable parts of this movie.

Sound: The soundtrack of this movie is pretty standard. The music was there, and I noticed it was there. It didn't make me cringe, but at ... the same time, it didn't particularly stand out. The only reason I rate it higher than 5, is because I sort of liked the voice acting.

Story & Character: This is where the entire trainwreck is. The plot makes absolutely no sense. At all. Now, this is the part where some might object and say that you should play the game, or at least watch the anime, first. If you haven't done either of the two before, the story just ends up being a montage of 2-3 min scenes and you never have any clue how they end up going from one place to the next. There is little to no motivation for what happens next in the story. Even while the next event is happening, there is little explanation as to what is even going on. If you have played the game/watched the show before, then it's simply a rushed recap of everything that happened in the game. This would be more acceptable if the aim was to get to a more important part of the plot and focus more time on it. Unfortunately, the rushed "quick recap" pace continues throughout the entire movie making it pretty much one giant mess. Due to the nature of the presentation, the characters also come out extremely shallow. If you have not seen the previous works, it's likely you will have no idea why anybody is doing what they are doing. Characters will yell at each other asking "When did you become like this?" but you'll have no idea what they were like to begin with.

Conclusion: The artwork is quite nice, and the battle scenes look quite epic. However, why the fights are happening, why we should care about any of the characters at all, what the basic premise even is, are all poorly explained or not explained at all. If you are new to the Fate series, good luck sorting out what is going on. Even if you aren't, it's still a giant muddled mess that basically tells you to go play the game if you want to have any idea what just happened.

UBW movie is a wreck, and if you're one of the few people that didn't know that, now you do.

What makes it a wreck?

- It's an adaptation of about 15-20 hours long route in a VN. You probably already understand what that implies. Cuts are out of control, to the point where by the end of the movie I couldn't understand what the hell happened despite knowing story of UBW quite well. That's because movie chaotically jumps from fight to fight to get in all the action bits, throwing out a lot of the exposition.
Spoiler ahead: my personal favorite is when after ... first encounter with Shinji and Rider they run away from school while Shirou and Rin go back to their classroom and discover Shinji scared shitless, with Rider lying dead on the floor. Good job DEEN.

- Bad animation and art. It looks like entirety of the budget was spent on animating first Berserker fight which admittedly looks decent, especially compared to the rest of the movie. Right from the start you will see just what DEEN animators are capable of, as two badly drawn still frames of Archer and Lancer, clash against each other as VFX desperately try to cover up this mess. Even though there's nothing visually pleasing about this movie, it's the shitty art and animation that made me choose 6 for enjoyment. A lot of the time it's so bad that I couldn't help but laugh.

There's really not much more to say. If you want to get familiar with F/SN but really, really hate reading then you're better off with watching 2014 series. Otherwise it's not worth time or effort.

Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] is an intricate and engaging story that captivated audiences through its extended television series. As someone who revisits and reviews anime on AnimeNew, it's evident that the attempt to distill this rich narrative into a single movie has resulted in a lackluster experience. With a rating of 3/10, the Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] Movie struggles to capture the essence of the source material and falls short of the series' brilliance.

One of the fundamental issues with the movie is the overwhelming sense of cramming. In an attempt to fit what the 25-episode series painstakingly built over time into a mere ... hour and 20 minutes, the movie sacrifices the intricate character development, world-building, and emotional arcs that defined the series. The result is a disjointed narrative that fails to adequately convey the complexities of the Holy Grail War, the relationships between characters, and the philosophical underpinnings that make Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] so compelling.

The decision to treat the movie as a recap of sorts seems more appropriate, as it does manage to touch upon the crucial plot points and pivotal moments. However, the movie's downfall lies in its attempt to be more than that. By striving to condense an epic tale into such a short runtime, it robs the story of the depth and emotional resonance that made the series a fan favorite. Viewers who are new to the franchise might find themselves struggling to connect with the characters and grasp the significance of the events unfolding on screen.

Furthermore, the movie's timing in relation to the release of the series is a point of contention. While recap movies can be a way for fans to relive the key moments of a series, the Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] Movie falls short by releasing before the full series did. This disconnect creates confusion for newcomers and frustration for fans who were eagerly anticipating a faithful adaptation of the beloved source material.

In conclusion, the Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] Movie, with its rating of 3/10, struggles to capture the magic of the series it attempts to adapt. The rushed pacing, lack of character development, and absence of emotional depth hinder its ability to do justice to the intricate narrative and compelling characters that fans grew to love in the original series. While it might serve as a passable recap for those familiar with the source material, it ultimately falls flat in its attempt to stand as a standalone cinematic experience.

Note: It's important to approach this review with an understanding that the movie's shortcomings may be a result of the challenge inherent in adapting a lengthy series into a condensed format. The intention is to provide an honest assessment while acknowledging the difficulties of such an endeavor.

Note 2: Ill add, the one thing i liked is this is a lot more gory than the other fate works, showcasing the brutality of the battle.

This movie is a mess whether you've seen the original series or not. It starts out rushing to introduce multiple characters with fight after without any context. Each fight has many dramatic twists and turns but as an audience you're left wondering who you want to win or why the fight is happening anyway. Even the overall story has no history to tell you why anyone is fighting for the holy grail, which turns out to be an odd pile of goo. The only real positives are the general character designs and the slightly greater focus on Rin, who I always thought was more interesting ... than Shiro. Don't waste your time or money on this.

They should've restructured the show for the movie instead they made a summary of the show with minor changes.

Animation and fighting are fun to watch. Other than that there is nothing special here.
The TV show is far better than this.

It's only for people who are familiar with every character. It lacks character development and there is no storytelling or narrative. It feels like a compilation of random events.

It does not feel like a movie at all. nobody should watch this at the cinema because this thing has nothing to do with the cinema.

Waste of time.
Not recommended.

I'm really disappointed by this movie! First of all, I'm a huge fan of the "Fate" franchise and have watched "Fate/Zero" and "Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works" the anime and am currently watching "Fate/EXTRA Last Encore", but this movie really is bad.

The worst thing is, that it feels like a summary of the anime, but without all the important scenes to understand the story.
Don't get me wrong here, the visuals are outstanding (Like you'd expect it from the "Fate" franchise), but I don't see any reason to watch this movie! This is also the reason I didn't enjoy it and giving it only a 1. ... To make this clearer: If you watched the anime, then there's no need to watch this movie, since it's the exact same scenes, just cut together with important scenes cut out so it fits into movie length. And if you haven't watched the anime, you shouldn't watch this movie, since there are so many scenes missing to understand the movie, that you will miss out on great things from the story and should just rather watch the anime.

The anime is great and I really like "Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works", it's actually my favorite "Fate" show, but I just don't get why this movie exists. If you ask me, just watch the anime, you'll enjoy it more...

This review will once again from a Visual Novel player.
[ Minor Spoiler ahead ]

The movie adaptation is just horrible. You can't even call this a summary, because 75% of Shirou's monologues and voice lines are cut. This is not a good starter for a first timer watcher. I can't really amass my dissatisfaction after finishing the movie.

The only scene I liked from the movie is the Shirou vs Archer, other than that all of it are completely dumpsterfire.

PLEASE IF YOU WANT TO WATCH THE FATE UBW ROUTE AS AN ANIME ONLY WATCHER AND IF IT'S YOUR FIRST TIME. WATCH THE UFOTABLE UBW ADAPTAION. ALTHOUGH ... THE VN IS STILL SUPERIOR, THE UFOTABLE ADAPTATION IS FAR FAR FAR BETTER THAN THIS.