It all started with a Japanese adult visual novel called “Fate/stay night.” Released in 2004, the game tells the story of Emiya Shirou, a highschooler who unwittingly joins the fifth “Holy Grail War,” an old magical ritual where seven participants have to fight until one person survives. This survivor is then granted a wish by the “Holy Grail,” a mysterious and powerful magical item. To this end, each participant gets to summon a “Heroic Spirit” as their “servant” and become their “master.” These heroic spirits range from historical figures to characters in classic stories and myths. The game has three main story routes with each allowing the player to learn more about certain characters as well as the lore behind the world in general.
“Fate/stay night” was so successful that it was re-released in 2007 without the pornographic elements to reach a wider audience. Countless anime, manga and video game adaptations and spin-offs followed. Now “Fate” has become one of the biggest anime franchises, a mega universe populated by iconic characters such as King Arthur and Gilgamesh. They are re-imagined and given life like never before, interacting with their “masters” and with the modern world. They bounce off of each other and they try to kill each other. This is what makes “Fate” so interesting.
However, the franchise’s sheer volume has become its own downside. With so many shows, manga series and video games available, getting into it can be quite confusing and intimidating. So here are my recommendations:
Watch “Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works” first. This is the 2014 anime adaptation of the visual novel, specifically one of the three main story routes. You’ll get a decent grasp of the world’s lore and get to know many of the recurring characters such as King Arthur and Gilgamesh. There are a total of 25 episodes, with each ranging from about 25 minutes to an hour. Expect really smooth, high-quality animation. People joke that it’s “Unlimited Budget Works.”
Next, watch “Fate/Zero,” the 2011 prequel to “Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works.” This installment tells the story of the fourth “Holy Grail War” and it will provide a lot more background to many of the characters in the original story. You can watch this one first too if you’d like. I prefer it over “Unlimited Blade Works,” because it’s a lot darker and I find the protagonist to be more compelling. Expect the same episode format and a similar animation style and quality as the “Unlimited Blade Works.”
Then if you really find yourself enjoying these shows, you should check out “Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel,” a 2017 film trilogy adaptation of another main story route of the visual novel, which will give you the most knowledge on the lore and characters. However, the third film has not yet been released into the U.S. due to the coronavirus pandemic, so you might want to wait a while.
These are, I would say, the core experience. The rest of the entries here are spin-offs I find worthwhile.
“Carnival Phantasm” is a 2011 parody series of the visual novel with lots of cute moments where you get to see characters interact when they’re not locked in a serious fight-to-the-death scenario. It has 12 episodes, with each being only 15 minutes long.
“The Case Files of Lord El-Melloi II” is a 2019 anime adaptation of the light novel series with the same name. It follows one of the characters from Fate/Zero after the events of that storyline. This is basically a detective series set in a world of magic. It has 13 episodes, each 25 minutes long.
“Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya” is a 2012 magical girl spin-off that takes place in a parallel universe and has a surprisingly good plot. The caveat here is that it’s very lewd at times, so make of that what you will. The show has four seasons and there probably will be more in the future. Each season has 10 episodes with each being about 25 minutes. There is also a prequel movie released in 2017 called “Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya: Vow in the Snow.”
Finally, I would like to recommend “Fate/Grand Order,” a freemium turn-based role-playing mobile game released in 2015. It has an engaging narrative told in multiple episodes and an incredible number of characters in the “Fate” universe to collect and power up. I think this is the best game on mobile and I’ve been playing it across multiple accounts for the past three years. The problem is that it’s a freemium “gotcha” game, which means that, while technically you can get everything for free, you can also spend real money on premium currency for more random rolls to get a character you want out of a pool of prizes. It’s also grindy and time-consuming in general. If you’re a fan of the franchise (perhaps there’s a character you really like) and you are looking for a quality game to just sink your time (and possibly money) into, this is the perfect game for you.
There’s a lot more that isn’t covered here, and since the franchise is so popular, there will always be more “Fate” content in the future. That’s why I think being a “Fate” fan is such a privilege. You essentially get a premium membership which grants you a huge community of fans to interact with online and life-time access to a compelling fantasy universe that’s always expanding.
