Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya / First Impressions

「邂逅と再会」 (Kaigō to Saikai)
“Encounters and Reunions”

Illya’s world is the happy one. It’s Miyu that lived in the Fate-style hell.

Saved By the Call

If you’ve been reading my writing for a while, you might be aware of one of my biggest fiction pet peeves: convenient storytelling. In popular parlance, that’s when something happens just because, in a way that’s useful to the plot. Sometimes things just happen, this is true. But what about when Beatrice Flowerchild gets a call right as she’s about to flatten Illya, and it actually takes more effort to stop her swing than it would have to crush Illya and then answer the call, and it just feels like all of this is happening solely because Illya is the main character and she can’t be allowed to die?

I’m not going to harp on this for too long, ’cause I enjoyed the rest of the episode. I can even see why they didn’t have Tanaka stop the swing or something, ’cause then that’d ruin the surprise when she inevitably shows us what she can do. But couldn’t they have scrambled over the car and still been running? Or, I dunno, Beatrice swung, Illya dodged (she’s done it before), and then Beatrice got the call? Something to slightly deserve it, i.e. the kind of stuff Boku no Hero Academia would do. Don’t get lazy now, source material/Silver Link.

Kirei Never Changes

I definitely laughed out loud when Kotomine Kirei (Nakata Jouji), of all people, appeared as a ramen shop owner. It’s definitely all an in-joke, people who haven’t played/watched Fate/stay night, Fate/Zero or the like aren’t liable to get as much out of it, but damn if it wasn’t fun for those who have. I’m not surprised that, no matter the timeline, he doesn’t really change. Dude is still evil. Beware the mapo tofu of a madman!

Destroying the Ainsworths

So as the Einzberns were to Illya’s world (before Irisviel and Kiritsugu rebelled), so are the Ainsworths to Miyu’s. (I know there were two other families involved, at least in the classic Fate scenarios, but shush, let’s keep this simple.) There’s so much to chew on here, from the hidden atelier to our heroes almost dying because of mapo, but we all know who the star of closing scenes was. No, not Gil-kun (Endou Aya), though it was nice seeing the chibi Gil still act fundamentally like Gilgamesh, even if he’s a bit more willing to save people than other versions. (Him realizing he can use “onee-chan” as a way to manipulate Illya was just too perfect.) No, it can only be one man, and this time it’s Fate/stay night’s original protagonist, our old friend Emiya Shirou (Sugiyama Noriaki).

It’s been nice seeing Shirou as a comic relief side character and occasional focus of his imoutos’ love/lust (and his classmates’ too . . . lucky bastard). As with Illya, after all the suffering we’ve seen him endure, it’s nice to see him getting a happy life for once. Yet if Illya’s world is the kind one, Miyu’s is back to classic Fate-style grimdark assholery, and Shirou doesn’t get to sit out the pain. Here he’s Miyu’s brother, and shackled in a dungeon for rebelling against the Ainsworths. While the Gil on Gil battle that’s shaping up oughta be super cool, and I’m looking forward to it, what I really want to see is Shirou throwing down after someone breaks his butt out. I’d also like to see him survive and go over to Illya’s world, but I somehow doubt that the world would allow two Shirous to be happy at once. I have a feeling, if he does get a chance to fight, it won’t end well for our old friend. It might end well for Miyu, though, which is probably all this Shirou wishes for.

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Kirei’s a ramen shop owner, & Gil-kun joins Illya & Tanaka-san to infiltrate the Ainsworth’s atelier. Time to throw down! #prisma_illya s4e2

Random thoughts:

  • Beatrice mentioned the while one. I wonder if that means Illya, due to her white hair? Though since Illya was confused, hmm… (No spoilers, manga readers)
  • It’s hard to look cute, Beatrice, when your footsteps shake the very ground. Scary.
  • Is that a dragon balls? Gil-kun has dragon balls! USE THOSE.

My first novel, Wage Slave Rebellion, is available now. (More info—now in paperback!) Sign up for my email list for a FREE sequel novella. Over at stephenwgee.com, the last four posts: I love sales jobs, Good realism is character realism, Dying idols, and Frictionless routines.

Full-length images: 01, 18.

 

Preview

48 Comments

    1. Is that strange? EMIYA has white hair as well

      https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20kaleid%20liner%20Prisma%20Illya/Fate%20kaleid%20liner%20Prisma%20Illya%203rei%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2017.jpg
      Mmmmmm, instead of Ilya and Shirou, my shipping instincts are shipping Ilya and Child Gil who, Figuratively, stole Ilya’s heart.

      https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20kaleid%20liner%20Prisma%20Illya/Fate%20kaleid%20liner%20Prisma%20Illya%203rei%20-%2002%20-%20Large%2014.jpg
      Kotomine wanting money? That is the first. Well it is more appealing to have a priest crave for money rather than meaningless destruction and misfortune. I want Caren to meet her father soon

      L002
      Reply

    2. In the manga’s flashback, Show Spoiler ▼

      Magnus Tancred
      Reply

      1. Indeed, I can’t understand why they changed that.
        I mean, in the manga it made way more sense for the exact reasons you stated: Beatrice smashed Tanaka, then she got the call and left. It didn’t seem too convienent because she actually hit someone before leaving.

        Lelo
        Reply

    2. Apparently, they axed it out because of time constraints. Prisma Drei is being adapted on a tight clock here, if they want to make it to a natural stopping point for this arc.

      Andmeuths
      Reply

  4. That whole Mapo scene was just as great animated as I had hoped. As if it wasn’t apparent already, the manga author is a giant Fate nerd so there are plenty of references both comedic and serious which is one of the reasons I enjoy this series so much.

    The scene with Beatrice was shorted but the end result is the same with Beatrice being stopped right before going for the finishing blow. The missing small section tell us a little about Tanaka and her nature, but that will also be on full display next episode. So…chalk it up to adaptation choices.

    This season has been great so far, and next episode should be just a taste of whats to come.

    atram151
    Reply

    1. @atram151 @Andmeuths

      Switching that up for time constraints makes sense. If we’ve got to put up with a little wonk on largely inconsequential scenes to make sure we get to a natural stopping place, I can live with that. I’d still argue that the scene could have been done better without taking any more time (don’t make her swing the telephone pole, for instance, or have her swing and purposefully miss to toy with them), but that’s probably just splitting hairs at this point. As I mentioned in the post, I didn’t want to dwell ’cause it ain’t a huge deal in the grand scheme of things.

      Stilts
      Reply

  5. Though Tanaka does get smashed by the telephone pole in the manga, Beatrice still leaves them because of the call. At that point, why couldn’t she just have finished them off? Whatever transpires be it in the manga or the anime her actions are still questionable regardless so the change is largely inconsequential.

    I personally like the anime better because it doesn’t immediately reveal from the get-go that Tanaka can survive a hit like that and leaves what’ll happen to her down the line, next episode specifically, to have that much more impact.

    Footlock
    Reply

  7. Not just a dragon ball Stilts. Gil also had a Kamen Rider belt in the Gate of Babylon. Anyways, what I like about this is how the show still manages to sneak in a few gags, like most of Illya’s reactions, into what I hear is the more serious part of Prisma Illya. Also Stilts, Is there a gag about Kirei and ramen? Or it’s just that he’s evil. I for one thought he was doing something nice there. Guess I just don’t know Kirei well enough yet. And considering that he was about to turn Illya and Tanaka into ramen ingredients, I now wonder what they were eating.

    Zhinvu
    Reply

    2. It’s not about the ramen, but the Mapo Tofu.

      In one of the weirder scenes in the Heaven’s Feel route of Fate/Stay Night, Shirou enters a small restaurant after being invited by Tohsaka, only to instead be greeted by Kirei of all people who downs several bowls of Mapo Tofu while explaining things to Shirou.

      The scene kind of stuck with people due to coming out of nowhere and Kirei downing the super spicy food with a straight face.

      Zannafar
      Reply

      2. Not to mention that part of the gag there is that Kirei is eating mapo tofu so hot, it makes other people suffer to watch him eat it.

        Kirei’s evil knows no bounds, I tell you.

        RuneGrey
        Reply

  8. Oh god this episode was meme face central, my anime reaction face folder grew at least 3 sizes today. Illya’s facial expressions especially were perfect, I forgot how great the humour of this series can be sometimes.

    Also every time the Ainsworth name comes up the only thing I can think of is hot springs. Anyone who can get why definitely deserves a cookie 😛

    Pancakes
    Reply

  11. Besides the pole thing with Beatrice and Tanaka, there were also two small things they left out.
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Would have been nice if they kept them but they’re probably pressed for time.

    Gil vs Gil next episode. We’ve seen UBW vs GoB but not GoB against itself. It’s a fun matchup.

    belatkuro
    Reply

  13. Loved it. Ilya going on all her rant’s, can’t recall or spell the Japanese word for that, was funny.

    Yep getting to cute with the club swing, should have been a few seconds before with her stating I’m going to kill you and then getting the call before swinging. I take not killing though as the call broke the mood she was trying to set up for her kill so she figured it would be better later, she must like to play with her prey before the death blow. Finally stopped the normal stop the bomb with only one second on the clock in most shows would like shows to avoid the same effect to often in others. (now the clock with have many seconds maybe even over a minute on it as that still is cutting it way to close)

    Dragon Ball is just too much 🙂 is Illya going Super Saiyan later? (not a serious question 😉 )

    Glad Ilya got a coat, I have to assume she’s wearing hose to keep her legs warm and that it’s hard to animate legs with clear hose so they don’t bother, I assume that same for Girl’s and Panzer girls in skirts in snow, it’s my fanwank and I’m sticking to it. Plus Illya is not a normal human with her running speed so she’s probably environment resisting as well.

    RedRocket
    Reply

  14. Oh forgot. Knifes should not leave deep gashes in stone just a slight line at best and maybe sparks. Yes it was probably a special knife but they should have special walls in their HQ.

    RedRocket
    Reply

  15. For real, Kadowaki Mai is the one and only Illya. Her voice handled the comedy of this episode impeccably XD

    I loved how Gil-kun was all chill and was essentially an uncontrollable ace. You can never know when he’ll turn sides. All that he was after in this episode was his power and just some fun.

    Kotomine Kirei….he pretty much spoke for himself already XD

    And Shirou.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    yoloalchemist
    Reply

  16. Shota!Gil: “It would be a cinch with Vimana, but… Hmm, guess the other one has it.”

    I’m guessing “the other one” is a reference to Gilgamesh in ufotable’s Fate/Zero (and by extension, F/SN: Unlimited Blade Works) alternate reality/continuity.

    Also, Illya has the best facial reactions… XD

    Incognito
    Reply

    2. I’m pretty sure he meant the Ainsworth woman he’s about to fight. He was implying that his powers (or his riches—however you want to classify the Gate of Babylon) have been divided up between him and her(the card).

      Stilts
      Reply

  19. “Illya’s world is the happy one. It’s Miyu that lived in the Fate-style hell.”

    Illya’s world, as far as we know, do not have a Kirei.
    Can’t be a coincident.

    il-Palazzo
    Reply

    1. But there can’t be a Caren without a Kirei. Perhaps Kirei decided to go troll the Ainsworth with his ramen shop of super spicy Mapo Tofu and migrated there or something.

      Mincemaker
      Reply

  24. Given the fact that 3rei hasn’t finished in the comics yet, I’d not be surprised if this wasn’t a 3 or even 4 cour show. 3rei has been the longest by far, with the most recent chapters pushing it to twice as long as 2wei. Of course, 2wei was packed FULL of filler to get it to stretch to 2 cour, so we’ll see what happens…

    RuneGrey
    Reply

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