Forum - View topicREVIEW: Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works Complete Blu-Ray Box Set
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whiskeyii
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I remember liking this series for its action and Rin, but as far as Shirou himself, I felt like I’d seen his story better executed in Revolutionary Girl Utena, right down to the commentary on self-destructive self-sacrificial tendencies. And maybe part of this just has to do with better stories building on Shirou’s type of story and me encountering those before I sat down to watch this, but I felt so keenly in my soul that Shirou’s conclusion felt like utter bunk and didn’t really solve what was in my mind his biggest problem, which was his total disregard for his sense of self in order to “do good”. I could never shake the feeling that this route’s conclusion spoiler[(double-down on what got you into this mess the first time, but harder)] was such a weirdly black-and-white, absolute solution to a much more nuanced problem. I’m sure the VN has more context for why spoiler[doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result this time] isn’t a bad idea, but I don’t think this series did a great job of conveying that for anime-only viewers.
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The Anime Binge-Watcher
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pachy_boy
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I do understand and not really argue against anyone who says this adaptation is a slog in multiple places. Yet speaking for myself, I have been able to rewatch this series multiple times, and that epilogue episode always feels like a sweet payoff to me each time. Slightly off-topic, but people have similarly said that Tales from Earthsea is a straight-up boring film, and yet that's personally one of my favorite movies regardless. Don't quite know what that says about me--maybe I actually appreciate slow pacing more than most people, probably partly because it helps play a role in immersing me in the fantasy story's world and characters.
When you know what you know from Heaven's Feel, it doesn't even remotely feel like an 'okay' resolution between the two (or Shinji himself for that matter, whose fate was screamingly undeserved). That's one of several reasons why it feels like Heaven's Feel is the most important route--not to mention it also feels like the one true follow-up to Fate/Zero, since all lingering elements from that story come full-circle in the 3rd route like they don't in the others. But then again...
And yet this is where Saber gets the happiest ending she can possibly deserve (especially after all the crap she went through from Fate/Zero), while she gets a more fairly at-peace resolution in the true ending. For that reason alone, I can't help but appreciate all anime adaptations of all three routes, since they each contain great elements that the other two don't have. |
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yurigasaki
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I don't want to nitpick too much, but since no one else has mentioned it I just want to say – there's a very particular reason Rin is keeping an eye on the archery club and uh, let's just say it's very definitely not Shirou. |
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OtherSideofSky
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So it doesn't have the short Nasu and Miura interviews for each episode, like the booklets in the older sets did?
It took me about 90 hours to absolutely 100% everything on the Vita port, but I was listening to all the voices, doing every single bad end, etc., and my Japanese also wasn't as good at the time. With my current reading speed (or reading in English) I bet I could get that down to 50 hours or so for 100% (which does actually unlock bonus content, so there's a reason to do it). You could probably get through the true ends of all three routes in 30 or so, depending on reading speed and if you accidentally hit any bad ends and have to reload, etc. If you do play it, you can save some time by mashing through parts of the three different extended explanations of the Grail War rules they hit you with in the first few hours. |
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Stelman257
Posts: 272 |
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It's funny, while I definitely agree episodes 19, 20, and 21 slow the pace down so hard, everyone I've ever shown the series too, or recommended the series too, at the very least always feels the episodes are justified, even saying 21 (or whichever one Last Stardust plays in) was absolutely necessary. The main complaint is that yeah, the series ends kinda weak with many side characters sorta discarded because we still have another route to cover. Still, glad to see this series has aged well.
Haha I couldn't disagree more, I honestly really adore Mela Lee as Rin, love her take on the character just as much as Kana Ueda's. Don't get me wrong, absolutely, fully understand why the reviewer and so many huge fans of the series will forever stand by the Japanese voices, as they're fantastic. But I love how these characters ended up sounding in the dub. Imitating Kana Ueda's style in English I feel wouldn't have done the character justice, so instead Mela Lee's take is much smoother, and very confident. It gives Rin the dignified air she always has, in a different style, and one that has stood the test of time even in the ever changing landscape that has been the Fate series dubs. Many VA's have come and gone, but Mela Lee has always been the voice of Rin. And she owns the part. Even manages to make the transition to Ishtar and Ereshkigal wonderfully as well! And of course, Crispin Freeman and Jouji Nakata go together so smoothly, so wonderfully, so both of their Kirei's (and their FGO character) sound brilliant. Not to mention Kari Walhgren's noble and mature voice for Artoria. As well known as Ayako Kawasumi's take on the character is, for me I always hear Kari Walhgren's voice. Especially for how great she was in Fate/Zero. Kaiji Tang as Archer I know has received so much scrutiny, probably the most going into this dub. Both from the Japanese side comparing him to Junichi Suwabe's iconic performance, to even fans of the original dub who adored the legendary Liam O'Brien. Hell he's such a huge fan of the Fate series that even he was harshly judging himself when he got cast! He even wrote about his feelings and everything going on in his head on his tumblr blog, over 5 years ago now. It's such an interesting read: https://kaijitang.tumblr.com/post/127150646240/the-tale-of-two-archers-heroic-bad-ass-vs-broken But when I finally got to hear him, and more importantly, hear him deliver the huge amount of monologuing towards the end, I really loved his take on the character, and more than believed he had done Archer justice. His voice may not be as "smooth" as Junichi Suwabe's, but he carries Archer's emotions through in his delivery and performance. And so many of the other side characters sound brilliant, especially Megan Hollingshead's Medea. Cristina Vee and Bryce Papenbrook as Sakura and Shirou honestly I feel get to really show their stuff in the Heaven's Feel movies. I can't wait to see the final one dubbed. It was fantastic in Japanese of course. Last edited by Stelman257 on Thu Mar 14, 2024 3:21 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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levonr
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Yikes, all these years and I didn't know there was hate for Mela Lee as Rin, I really liked her in that role and I wish she did Rin for Prisma Illya. I greatly prefer Mela Lee over Carli Mosier. Its a shame Sentai dubbed Prisma Illya, that dub was a huge miss for me.
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zrdb
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If something has an english dub I refuse to watch it in japanese. Fortunately both Fate/Zero and Fate/Unlimited Night Blade Works both have fantastic ones. Nuff' said.
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