Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya / First Impressions

「空白 夜の終わり」 (Kuuhaku Yoru no Owari)
“A Blank and the End of Night”

Chills. I knew what was coming, and still I got chills. This battle was a thing of beauty.

False Climax

Usually stories like these are about the good guys triumphing over evil, so there’s not much question about how they will end. The joy is in finding out how they’ll get there. A false climax like the one we got here, where it looked like Rin and Luvia finished it in one blast only to have them apparently die, is a great way to dial up the tension. The trick is coming up with a reason for the heroes to triumph that makes sense even though it wasn’t obvious immediately beforehand.

I think they did that.

Illya, Mode: Archer

This is still a Fate story people, and some of the old rules still apply (except when they don’t…eh, you’ll see). Yes, I could criticize the reveal for not being as easy for non-Fate fans to follow, but a protagonist suddenly manifesting special powers isn’t exactly a new development (trope!). Original it may not be, so what matters was how well it was done.

It was done well. I don’t think I can do justice to the beautiful, terrible, vibrantly brutal battle that took place this episode. Even the screen caps don’t do it justice, not without seeing that artful movement as they danced and clashed across the screen. It was a treat to Fate fans to see Illya cracking out all of Archer’s old moves (gar + moe = gaoe? Moer? Gamoer? Eh, I’ll think on it), but for anyone watching it was still a spectacle that must be seen. This is how a manga-to-anime adaptation should do a battle – take what was great on the page and bring it alive with movement and sound, as only an anime can do.

Atmosphere, Pacing, Tone

The pacing has been a touch spotty in the last two episodes, mainly because they had to cover three manga chapters in two episodes, and that’s an awkward gap to span. That’s why we saw some of the previous episode repeated before the OP – they were stalling for time. The slow pacing extended through Rin & Luvia’s argument, but after Saber fired her first Excalibur blast, it started working in our favor. The slow tempo plus the haunting soundtrack really evoked the feeling of desperation and despair. There were moments where you almost can’t help wonder whether this was going to go full Fate/Zero and really start fucking with our heads and hearts.

Once we got to the battle though, the pacing was wonderful. That was the centerpiece, the reason this part of the story was told, and it succeeded in spades. Plus, one minor thing that especially impressed me: how they included a humorous moment right before the peppy ED. They would have run into the ED dissonance that I’ve argued against so frequently, but that quick little joke staved it off. Great directing there.

Looking Ahead

Meido Miyu. That is all. Okay, so actually there’s more on the way, but meido Miyu. I think I’ve said all that needs to be said for now.

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Chills, chills, chills. I knew what was going to happen, and still it was amazing. So many chills #prismaillya

Random thoughts:

  • That’s how real mahou shoujo do. Full power, total annihilation! Erh, uh oh–
  • Illya is more badass than you will ever be. That is all.

For more from yours truly, check out my blog on writing, art, and the book I’m working on at stiltsoutloud.com.

Full-length images: 10, 13.

 

Preview

End Card

157 Comments

  1. This was just an unbelievably awesome episode. I mean holy crap. Illya just went into awesome mode there.

    I think this episode just did things well. Had that really unsettling period where there is just no one besides Miyu and Illya. Just walking around in that desolate area. Then Saber shows up and things are looking incredibly bleak. They give some mystery with that lock breaking and Illya unleashing that power. Using the card not to just augment their weapons but rather to actually transform her into Archer.

    What can one say besides the fight was unbelievable? The motion and fluid action was just great. The music also just completely did a great job adding to the scene. Archer Illya just fought with a lot of grace. Not just power on power, but deflecting and deft movements. At the end it was about power on power, but hard to gracefully deal with an Excalibur blast XD.

    FlareKnight
    Reply

    1. Mind u, that is how Archer is supposed to fight . It’s funny how the ‘proper’ F/S fights are being animated in a ‘side story’ (This show is considered canon) rather than the main one.

      Radiosonde
      Reply

      1. Yeah, have definitely heard that before and agree with it. Seems very much like she took Archers skills and fighting style and fought just like him out there. Certainly a great representation of his style. A flexible fighting style with good parrying and throwing in some ranged strikes when the timing is right.

        Honestly I’m glad this series had such an awesome episode. Hopefully this really catches people’s attention.

        FlareKnight
        Reply

      1. It should be noted that the Archer card is supposed to represent a certain someone.

        On the side note is how I thought Saber was going to win this one with her black Getsuga Tensho. Pretty ironic in the end, the card that was thought to be the most useless turned into the most powerful.

        L002
        Reply

      2. Nobody knows if it´s a remake or the animation of the Heaven´s Feel scenario, I prefer to see Sakura´s story since it´s the most powerful emtionally speaking but a remake with the awesomeness of ufotable wouldn´t be bad at all.

        haseo0408
        Reply

  5. When I started this episode I was worried that Rin and Luvia where going to be the ones that defeated Saber, and I was already a bit disappointed that she wasn’t the last card. However by the end I had stars in my eyes at all the awesomeness that I had witnessed. With how awesome everything was and the Emiya Remix, I consider this one of the best fights of the year, who knew Illya would turn out more badass than Shirou.
    Here’s hopping the real final battle (who I’m guessing is Berserker)is just as awesome.

    xephx
    Reply

  6. I like the soundtrack. A remix of the good old fate stay night’s ost. I wonder if adding Kajiura’s battle music theme during the Archer X Saber fight would do anything :3

    Cybersteel
    Reply

    1. Kajiura Yuki only contribution to the Fate franchise was with Fate Zero, not FSN, which are by different studios. Her other contribution to the Nasuverse is in Kara no Kyoukai.

      echykr
      Reply

  8. OMG, Illya-Archer UBW FTW! And Silver Link was even sensible enough to throw in a variation of the Archer theme song from Studio Deen’s FSN anime all those years ago for maximum satisfaction.

    Such is the strength of EMIYA’s UBW, that Illya-Archer’s copy Excalibur was able to defeat the real thing.

    If the rules of the Nasuverse still apply in this universe, then this Illya must also possess some sort of Grail-like properties, to enable her to subconsciously enter God Mode with all these Heroic Spirit Class Cards.

    PS Looking forward to seeing Illya-Archer cosplays.

    echykr
    Reply

    1. The EMIYA OST came from the VN first. Kawai Kenji’s versions are still pretty good.

      Yeah, no. There are several reasons why Illya Archer was able to overpower Saber here but in truth, the real Archer will kill himself if he tried to pull off that feat. Plus the Excalibur that he has is technically not Excalibur but something similar to it.

      And this has always been Nasuverse. Everything is canon and these are still those characters. So yeah.

      belatkuro
      Reply

  9. Emiya Kiritsugu will be proud that even his own daughter has her own “EMIYA” remix.

    This is 10x better than Studio Deen’s F/SN. This IS how Archer should’ve fought after all (It was said that Archer’s fighting style was more of a ‘dance’)

    Now I’m all the more excited for the potential season 2 (assuming they animate both 2wei and 3rei) Show Spoiler ▼

    Radiosonde
    Reply

  12. Dat Excaliblast
    Dat seal breaking
    Dat Illya midriff Archer
    Dat UBW
    Dat Rho Aias
    Dat melee exchange
    Dat Kanshou and Bakuya Overedge
    Dat Caladbolg
    Dat double Excaliblast
    Dat new EMIYA OST remix
    Dat everything

    Best episode ever or best episode ever?

    belatkuro
    Reply

      1. This Camera shaking, has a side effect. To demonstrate the Force of the Impact, just to spice this all Up. It is indeed made very well. “Dance” and “Camera” worked here in perfect Symbiosis

        Germanguy
        Reply

  14. I consider this fight among my top 3 animated Fate series fight .
    1) Gilgamesh vs Rider
    2) THIS FIGHT
    3) Kiritsugu vs Kirei

    Studio Deen’s F/SN fights are just pure bad that I don’t consider the fights. UBW movie doesn’t count either.

    Raila
    Reply

      1. It wasn’t the action, it was all about the style. It could only end one way, but seeing Broskander struggle against the ultimate tyrant, and even earn the villain’s honest respect? His last words to Waver? Miles and miles of style. Enough to conquer the world, or at least the hearts of any who hear of it.

        Iskander can’t move like Illya-chan though, that’s for sure!

        Stilts
        Reply

  15. Chills. I knew what was coming, and still I got chills. This battle was a thing of beauty.

    Actually Stilts, the TV version was better
    >More fighting frame
    >Much better Excalibur execution than Niconico

    so
    ||TO THOSE WHO WATCH THE NICONICO BROADCAST, RE-WATCH THE TV VERSION. THE QUALITY OF THE BATTLE IMPROVED A LOT.||

    †Croos†
    Reply

    1. Really folks, I realize some of you are impatient, but do you really want your first impression of some awesome thing to be… well… less awesome than it’s actually supposed to be? Wait a bit, and rather than seeing it in a poor quality first and then later rewatching and saying “yeah that’s prettier, but I’ve already seen it” you can say “that is f***ing awesome!” the first time.

      This has been a pubic service announcement, reminding you that in the end, you only hurt yourself by watching niconico preairs. 😉

      Wanderer
      Reply

      1. Nah. It’s just the same feeling like watching TV version and waiting for the Blu-ray to appear.

        And even so. I just noticed that during this part(IMASINE) where the TV was airing it, after a few days they re-aired it in another channel and correct it(darn I already deleted the correct version 🙁 ).
        So I bet they want feedbacks from Pre-air episode to lessen the error when they air it on sched and perfect it in the BDs.
        Though its really a pain in the ass in the budget side. So props to the animator.

        †Croos†
        Reply

      2. In theory waiting for a better version makes perfect sense. See something at close to its best. At the same time the moment I heard “Archer Illya” there was no way I could wait a whole week to see this episode.

        I mean come on, something that awesome needs to be seen immediately. And I don’t think it’s impact was diminished. Watched it a dozen times on the low quality and will probably keep on watching now XD.

        FlareKnight
        Reply

    2. I always watch the TV airs – that’s why I post this on Fridays instead of the Saturday prior. Because yes, it’s way better this way. I’m the twisted kind of guy who can wait for months (or even years…herro, Evangelion movies!) to see something, so it’s easy for me to wait a mere 6 days for such better quality. I mean, look at that!!

      Stilts
      Reply

  16. I am very glad that these people had the good sense to break out an Emiya remix for this scene. Background music can make or break an action scene, and this was definitely the perfect choice.

    Wanderer
    Reply

  18. wow. watching this episode felt really special. the animation is top-notch and i’m glad to have been along for the ride. my only regret is not having watched or played stay night. i have a gist of what “tracing” does but i’m sure only a true fan would have felt the intended impact. still, i’m quite speechless as to how well the fight scenes were done.

    bolton
    Reply

    1. double-post: i’d really love to see a fighting game be fully adapted for the fate universe. there’s just so much raw material such a product could use. the PSP game currently out is all good but i’m sure an even bigger project that included characters even in the prisma illya universe would be absolutely mindblowing. i probably wouldn’t even care if it was balanced as long as i could watch archer illya fuck everything up.

      bolton
      Reply

      1. … i wasn’t expecting sense to be made of it but damn. not sure if something so heavy that it needed to be supported by the back of her hand can fly that far so fast but we could probably take some liberties and say that’s how she missed, haha.

        bolton
        Reply

      2. I was going to give a serious reply, but then I read this:

        She’s shooting a sword…perhaps that’s the proper technique for shooting a F-ing SWORD! Screw logic.

        XD Amen to that!

        Stilts
        Reply

      3. As a guy who was taught how to fire a bow, Illya takes a normal bow stance before firing it. You can tell due to how her elbow is situated. If her hand was still in the same position, her elbow would actually be arched higher into the air. Hence, she re-positioned her fingers while drawing the sword arrow.

        Doesn’t make it any less cool though! I thought it actually made her more bad ass because she pulled back, marked the target and fired. All in one go.

        Dorian
        Reply

  21. it is decided, im picking up the series…
    was initially not exactly into srsbzns of Fate universe being moe-ified but even Iskander himself would love the epicness of the battles – if I can believe the reports!

    ewok40k
    Reply

  24. I was waiting to read your recaps on this all week, haha. I was really happy with this episode.
    I just re-watch the TV version, and realized that I was gaping through all the fight scenes. Watching the edited version is a MUST !

    PS. love the episode’s end card. Archerya’s so attractive. <3

    Seorori
    Reply

      2. Specifically, Sword Dancers chapters 2 and beyond, which details the struggles of Archer-ko while she was alive. Here is an example of the epicness, without spoiling anything.

        By the way, Archer-ko is not a genderswapped Archer, if you are wondering. She is an entirely different person. You have to find out who on your own.

        MasterDragonKnight
        Reply

  25. I am the seal of my vessel,
    Grail is my body and berzerkar is my blood,
    I have died in thousands of routes,
    Unknown to good ends,
    Nor known to have a route,
    Having withstood apathy to create to have her own spinoff,
    Yet these hands will not hold oniichan,
    So as I pray, Unlimited Illya Works!

    Cybersteel
    Reply

  26. Excalibur/Morgan: Sword of Promised Victory(Saber Alter) vs. Excalibur: Sword of Promised Victory(Archer-Illya). Illya won despite her Excalibur a lower quality because she had hax on her..

    Ungas
    Reply

    1. yea, while I was watching the scene, I was thinking “they’re breaking all the Fate/stay night rules!”
      corrupted Servants in F/S N are generally stronger but lower defense (more specifically magic resistance, which contradicts the aura field Fate/kaleid had)
      as someone mentioned earlier, Hero EMIYA wouldn’t be able to pull such a tactic off as Tracing Excalibur cause that’d be a suicide attack. plus it should be a degraded version and thus should not beat the real thing. plus, Rho Aias wouldn’t be able to easily defend against an Excalibur blast, especially since it’s not a projectile.

      not that it detracted from the gar+moe. my explanation is just this is a different “world” and thus the corruption here isn’t the same. this Saber’s Excalibur isn’t completely real either. this would explain Rho Aias and non-suicidal trace; however, this still leaves the problem of a traced weapon beating the “original”

      or, follow Illya’s example. Don’t Think. Imagine!

      GoXDS
      Reply

      1. Two things to keep in mind: 1) Illya’s “special circumstances” can upend quite a lot of the rules, and 2) the cards are not necessarily the same as the corrupted servants. Hell, they could be, I don’t know if they are or not myself, but either of those (or both) are good reasons why Illya should have won.

        Also, garmoe Illya > scary awesome Saber. Barely.

        Stilts
        Reply

      2. Correction about Rho Aias. It technically can block Excalibur.
        Rho Aias was able to block Gil’s Enuma Elish in the UBW route of the VN, though Gil was severely holding back there. Nevertheless, Shirou was unhurt after that and it means Rho Aias can block beam attacks.
        The problem would be if Archer can withstand it. Any damage that Rho Aias takes, it’s reflected to the user’s body. He actually received a lot of damage when he tried to block Gae Bolg’s Death Flight version(the spear being thrown) and its rank is B+. Excalibur is A++.

        And like I said above, Archer can trace something similar to Excalibur. It just won’t be considered Excalibur as some inherent parts of the blade is different since Excalibur still has divine elements not of this world like with Ea.
        The thing about him being unable to pull this off is not because he is unable to trace Excalibur, but because the heavy prana usage of the Excaliblast will kill him. That’s where Illya comes in but that’s another story.

        belatkuro
        Reply

      3. Am I only one that see things like this?

        “Everything here uses mana (prana). Saber block Rin and the other magical girl’s supposedly killing attack. End result was her losing ALL HER ARMORS (which is sustained and made by prana). 0.9 Excalibur(copy) times Ilya’s full mana > 1.0 Excalibur (Sword of promised victory) times 0.4 (or even less) Saber’s mana.”

        Excalibur is a skill that can be extended for extra destructive power by pouring additional prana into it.

        Fraye
        Reply

      1. Trace on = a mode where one traces the origin of something, how it was made, what it is and what composes it. I am not sure, but as far as I can remember, archer’s “trace on” is not an act of copying something yet. It was like determining what something is as a whole. Archer uses a different skill after tracing to recreate what he/she has traced.

        Fraye
        Reply

      2. Half correct.
        “Trace on” is just the chant Shirou(and Archer) uses in order to use Tracing. It’s kind of like a spell word. Tracing is the skill/magecraft itself to create the weapon that includes its shape, size, properties and entire history. There is no process to copy a weapon. Once they are able to see the weapon, its blueprint is stored in UBW already because that’s how UBW works. They just need to pull it out via Tracing.

        belatkuro
        Reply

      3. My understanding is that Archer/Shirou’s ability is a reality marble, which is overwriting the real world with the contents of your mind. UBW is a total overwrite, whereas summoning a weapon is just a tiny one. What he’s doing is along the lines of sorcery, not magic (magic has a cost, prana. Sorcery is above the rules). If it was magic, he’d be transferring one form of substance (prana) into another (an object), and the result would be a weak object that isn’t permanent. This is why he was taught to do strengthening (add prana to something existing to make it stronger) instead of ‘projection’ (make something using prana) but what he was doing wasn’t projection, it was his reality marble thing. The stuff Shirou makes is permanent, like the collection of stuff he’s made in his shed, which means he created new matter rather than just used prana.

        flap
        Reply

      4. Yes and No. The Unlimited Blade Works is an endless factory producing weapons and compendium of blueprint of EMIYA’s encounter on different weapons during his life time. A successfully identified weapon can be produced and stored on his Reality Marble and is only projected on real world when ever he requires it. A projected weapon becomes 100% proficiency to the user while a destroyed projected weapon can be reprojected as long as he has stock on it on his Reality Marble. However, there are limitations on what he can successfully produce.

        1. Weapons can be only successfully produced if the materials required on making is found on earth. Therefore weapons made from space and other planets, from another plane or from another dimension can’t be reproduced. Ea, Gil’s Ultimate Weapon could never be reproduce. However it does not stop EMIYA(Shirou and Archer) from identifying it. That is why Shirou won against Gilgamesh on UBW route.

        2. Legendary Earth weapons such as Excalibur can be reproduced. However it will always be a quality lower compared to the original and it requires a lot of prana which is normally used as a suicide attack. Archer’s Excalibur will always never win against Saber/Alter’s Excalibur/Morgan and “die” afterwards on normal circumstances. Ilya won and lived cause she had hax from the start.
        —–
        Wait… Excalibur shouldn’t be able to be produced on normal circumstances despite having UBW… It was only possible because of Excalibur’s scabard was stored inside Shirou’s body.
        —–
        Ilya-Archer does not actually need to see the Saber Alter’s Excalibur/Morgan. The card already knows about it.
        —–
        Won’t it be cool and ironic as well if Ilya-Archer does Nine Lives Blade Works?
        —–
        Rho Arias is a shield and can be reproduced despite it not being a blade. Probably EMIYA took considerable time to analyze it since it was outside his Origin of Sword.

        Ungas
        Reply

  27. she went all hax on on corrupted saber!

    but wow.. she is moe..and can kick ass omg !

    reallllllllly impressive episode.. previe is nice tho..lol maids. i bet the Einzbern will complain.

    PS: .. that uniform looks 100% better on Illya than on her brother lol.

    PS: mmm mmmmhm .. gives Archer is the future Shiro.. did he just “installed” her own brother? … lol good hes never gonna get to see her in hax mode.

    inanis
    Reply

  28. When Illya went into Archer mode, I was just like “Oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit oh shit omg oh shit” the whole time. Totally didn’t expect that; I was blown away. And then she did Excalibur and it was like “ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh shiiiiiitt!”

    Blazaking
    Reply

  30. If Illya can trace/use any Noble Phantasm, because HAX and FUTURE REVEALS, just think how broken she is in the Fate lore, officially:

    >Summons Ioian Hetaroi
    >Summons GoB
    >equip each servant with the treasures from GoB
    >proceed curbstomp

    Or

    >Swordspam using UBW and GoB

    TheMoondoggie
    Reply

    1. Uh, no.
      Ionioi Hetairoi is a Reality Marble so it can’t be traced. It’s the manifestation of Broskander’s dreams and philosophies.
      Although Gate of Babylon is actually a key shaped sword and grants access to Gil’s treasury, I doubt Archer or Illya Archer can access those as they’re not him. It can probably only be used by him. I also doubt it can be traced perfectly as it might probably be the same as Ea that has properties that cannot be replicated.
      Also, UBW can only trace weapons and only those Archer himself has seen and has placed inside it. He cannot trace what he did not see or what he cannot comprehend.

      belatkuro
      Reply

  32. I read the manga of fate/kaleid and I must say that it’s… the most entertaining of fate series (maybe bec. illya live lolz)

    Can’t wait to see the new fate by ufo
    and I hope to see s2 and s3(my fave season of the manga) of fate/kaleid

    ricz
    Reply

  33. To be honest I was expecting Illya to start chanting the Unlimited Blade Works when she went into Archer mode. Especially since she also started using pretty much every weapon Archer used against Berserker in their fight aside from the actual UBW. Speaking of which with Illya learning this are we having a reenactment of Archer vs Berserker now? Considering that we have all cards but 1 captured and only 6 episodes in I’m guessing Berserker is gonna take several episodes and several encounters since we know what his Noble Phantasm is no?
    I still wanted a docile, well spoken Berserker though since it’s supposed to be ‘out of control’ while the actual Berserker class is out of control itself.

    Man badass Illya mode was awesome!

    gawrshness
    Reply

    1. Wrong-o! You forgot about Assassin.

      Also, I think her actually chanting UBW would have interrupted the flow of the battle too much. It worked really well when it was mostly movement and all of us with our jaws dropped, too much talking might have gotten in the way.

      Not that I wouldn’t mind seeing a version where she chants it, just to see if I’m right or not… 😀

      Stilts
      Reply

      2. OH RIGHT! I did feel someone was missing. Still the same Kojirou assassin? Based on the fact that they kept emphasizing that, that guy was a fake spirit because his summoner was a servant I can’t see him being a ‘canon’ Heroic spirit. Well stlits bro Archer chanting the UBW didn’t really interrupt the butt kicking he gave Berserker, though yeah I guess it wouldn’t have been as epic hearing a little girl chant it.

        What I wanted to happen was seeing Saber say something to be honest, other than Excalibur. Since she was all special and all in the other Fate series though her out of control state would have been special too other than be extremely overpowered. But in the end you were right the fight was a doozy, and seeing Saber get mauled by the pure version of her own Noble Phantasm performed by a little girl was an epic moment in anime history.

        gawrshness
        Reply

  34. I loved the episode, it was fantastic. But I’m confused on what the lock breaking was about. Is it something to be revealed or am I missing a connection. I’ve read the v/n, watched f/s and f/z. Either way, my jaw hit the floor and I was in the zone when Ilya went heroic.

    igniteous
    Reply

      1. I must be really dense. The only thing that popped in my mind from your statement is something that really really shouldn’t be inside of her. I know that really it was light before it became black because of bad people, but it couldn’t be that, could it? Anyway, thanks for the hint. 😉

        igniteous
        Reply

  36. I’ll agree that Ilya’s fight itself was excellently set up and animated, but I have to disagree on the part with Rin and Luvia. Because of how it was set up in the previous episode and this one we all know exactly how it’s going to play out. Rin and Luvia do something impressive that shows how more experienced they are, they argue a bit and talk about how the fight’s done, the enemy turns out to be just fine, Rin and Luvia get beaten up and maybe even killed (even though we all know they’re fine) and the main character saves the day. I’m sorry, but when the audience knows how it will go down to the smallest details there isn’t much tension.

    What saves this episode is Ilya’s fight. That’s the draw to watch the episode, that’s what keeps us watching and that’s what we’ll remember afterwards.

    Grant
    Reply

    1. For a little context from the manga, the first part of this episode was actually at the end of a manga chapter, so the false climax worked much better – with only a few more pages left in the chapter, it seemed like Rin and Luvia could do it, only for Saber to still be alive and nuke the hell out of them. Like I said, the necessity of covering three manga chapters in two episodes (which is an odd stretch to make) made for some less that ideal pacing, and that’s one example.

      I do think that Illya’s fight was amazing enough that it wasn’t really diminished by spoilers. I mean, I knew exactly what was going to happen and it still gave me chills! Like I said, it’s not whether it’s original (nothing really is), it’s whether it’s done well, and this was done really, really well : )

      Stilts
      Reply

  37. I totally dropped this at episode 3 but I saw Stilts’ caption for this and was quite intrigued to give it another try. Oh Stilts you don’t know how thankful I am for your very appropriate caption! Plus I’m happy that I got to marathon 3 episodes because the cliffhangers from the past episodes would’ve killed me! 🙂

    nagi
    Reply

    1. I’m glad to hear that! I knew this show would probably get a bit underestimated as too “cutesy” and “not serious enough” early on, so I was waiting for this episode (and later) to see if people tuned back in. I’m really happy to see that apparently, more people have!

      Stilts
      Reply

  38. I think I’ve made my point in an earlier post that this is basically a Fate flavor with a different approach. New painting using the same set of tools to tell a story. But I’m really surprised they mixed the two totally different things together.
    Ilya + Archer = MAGIC
    They combined badassery with moe madness and they got me squealing under soft pillows for more.

    launcelot
    Reply

    1. A great way to put it. A good spin-off takes the same setting and explores a different area, or tells a different story in a slightly different way. In other words, what Prisma Illya is doing. And what a beautiful painting it is.

      Stilts
      Reply

  39. I just say this…

    *clap clap clap clap* Awesome, thank you

    Until now, i was thinking of Moe, Loli Magic Girl thing Anime… But this Episode teach me better..
    You Guys suprised me, in the good way. More, i want more

    (just a Quote of my Last comment)

    Germanguy
    Reply

  40. Mind blown

    Just mind blown

    Its by SILVERLINK and my body can’t take it. If its by Ufotable…. My body would explode

    I’d rather have Illya as Illya Archer. Looks MUCH more hotter and cuter.

    Plus, reverse trap anyone?

    c2710
    Reply

    2. Ufotable is great, but I honestly don’t know if they could have done much better. Personally I rank Silver Link at their level, except they don’t always seem to have the insane budgets that Ufotable does, which makes what they do (including their directing, casting, pacing, & everything else) even more impressive to me.

      Stilts
      Reply

    1. oh, No. I do not know the Manga, and do not know it now. I just only know the 1 Fate Anime here, and the Screenshots.

      please dont put Spoilers, i can not resist to click on them 🙂

      Germanguy
      Reply

      3. they diverge from the fate/stay night(-UBW / -Heavens Feel) plot before the 5th grail war… at that point Illya was still gonna be the grail vessel.. soo since there were never summoned servants on PRISMA dimension (they actually stopped both the Einzbern and the GW if i understand it correctly) .. you can guess were all that mana went (or where it didnt go!) xD .. is specially telling that Iri KNOWS about it… so i guess all those trips she and Kiri do are related to that reason.

        What i dont get is who is Miyu .. i mean is she just an AU character? or someone we actually know from the fate dimension (with changed name)? i mean..she is totally cool in combat lol

        PS: i need to get a copy of that manga.. is fully translated?

        PS2: i must have missed the info in the first episodes .. but what are the class cards? i mean they are from other dimension (in PRYSMA dimension the GW never happened…and they have to use dimensional magic to travel wherever the cards are) .. but what are they? mm gonna go re-watch the first episodes!

        inanis
        Reply

      5. Wrong on both accounts, Cyber.
        The Edelfelts participated in the 3rd war, not the 5th. They didn’t have a candidate for the 5th as it was an impromptu war.
        Second, no, Miyu isn’t from FHA. She’s a new character introduced that’s not from any franchise. Anymore and it’s spoilers though.

        belatkuro
        Reply

  45. Daaamn. I started watching this series today, watched all 6 episodes in one go. I love how they balance out the serious and comedy moments. So much nostalgia with this episode though!

    Misk
    Reply

  46. I honestly haven’t had many good things to say about this show until now. Very good fight (though it was predictable Illya would get some crazy power up at some point. HOORAY FOR STANDARD SHOUNEN FORMULAS!)

    I hope Saber comes back though 🙁

    leatherhead333
    Reply

  49. Along with the EMIYA/Sword of Promised Victory remix, I loved the remixed segment of ‘Trapped Thoughts’ from the F/SN VN at the end of the episode where Miyu carries Ilya off.

    Got hit hard by nostalgia.

    Seiba
    Reply

  50. “where it looked like Rin and Luvia finished it in one blast only to have them apparently die, is a great way to dial up the tension.”

    Because God forbid the secondary characters from EVER doing the finisher move to actually save the day.

    OverMaster
    Reply

    1. Hah! Well, that’s fun sometimes, but in this case it’s more like “god forbid the MENTORS ever do the finishing move” etc etc. Secondary characters can have their day in the sun, but mentors are usually there to teach and possibly die (Obi-Wan!!). I mean, what fun would it be if they walked around curbstomping everyone with their superior power and experience?

      Stilts
      Reply

  53. The moment that burst of mana came after she said “Install”, it echoed through the rest of the ongoing anime series, I’m pretty sure even Shingeki no Kyojin characters even felt it :))
    That’s how epic it is.

    Helrouis
    Reply

  55. I take back everything I thought last week about Ilya being weak and not fit to be a hero.

    This fight jumps to the top tier of battles in the Fate Universe right next to Kiritsugu vs. Kotomine near the end of fate zero.

    BraveSong
    Reply

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