Fate/stay night / First Impressions

「神話の対決」 (Shinwa no Taiketsu)
“A Battle of Legend”

There’s only one thing to talk about this week: Illya. I knew what was coming and it still got me. Damn.

Illya’s story, and subsequent death, were to me some of the most powerful scenes in the entirety of the original Fate/stay night. To this day, no single image from the visual novel—not swords on hills, not Excaliburs—haunts me quite as much as the simple composition of Illya and Berserker, having a quiet moment in a beautiful white forest stained with blood. It is appropriate that, in a tale of tragic heroes like Fate/stay night, Illya’s story is, too, a tragedy. For a good deal of Unlimited Blade Works and Fate she had nominally been a villain, and a whimsically cruel one at that, but she had the advantage of being a cute child and retained a measure of her innocence. So the reader was always invited to look for excuses for her rather than vilify her, especially since (minor spoiler alert) she turned out relatively well in the Fate route and one had a hope that she and Berserker would join the party in UBW. Not only does she not, but she’s also brutally murdered, all set to some rather touching flashbacks. It’s altogether an unhappy story, and one of the undercurrents of UBW, the wish granting Holy Grail, and Shirou’s philosophy is wanting to save everybody, make them all happy. Illya represents the girl that Shirou could not save.

Although we do get longer to know Illya in the visual novel, and she did have more opportunities for character development, one advantage that they’ve offered her in the anime is an expanded back-story. We see more of the Einzberns (yet another terrible magus family), this old coot, failed homunculi, the painful contract with Heracles, and whatever the hell this is (it’s from Carnival Phantasm. Seriously). One issue I’ve always had with the Fate franchise, though, is that it tends to get overly technical. I don’t feel that there’s much need to know exactly what Illya is and how she got to be a bleeding martyr. All of Nasu’s jargon, all the finicky details about recreating the Third Magic, etc etc, are secondary. The essence of Illya’s story is that of a neglected child who misses her absentee father. What I valued were subtle things, like brief glimpses of lucidity from Berserker, because it kept things layered but simple. Simple stories are elegant, and elegance is beautiful.

Looking ahead

There are many reasons to revile Gilgamesh as a villain, but killing Illya probably clinches it. Although I already knew that Gil could not be defeated here, I still relished his look of shock, and rooting for Berserker to get there. But alas, like last week with Shinji, so close, yet so far. What a shame. There’s nobody left but our protagonists to deliver justice and retribution and all that cathartic stuff. As I mentioned before, Illya’s death, and Shirou’s inability to do anything but stand and watch, is a defining moment for him. Again, note the difference between Rin and Shirou. Rin is ultimately practical about their powerlessness, while Shirou still could not help himself. Honour before reason, perhaps, but it could also be that he simply has a different value system.

Rin’s pragmatism may mean little, though, as even if they bided they time, what are they to do? Their last saving throw, an alliance with Illya, is now obviously untenable, and they have no means to even challenge Caster, let alone Gilgamesh who has fast emerged as an even Bigger Bad. Shirou, certainly, has nothing but sticks and harsh language, while Gil has, apparently, everything. Thrilling as betting on the underdog is, at some point Team Rin (let’s not confuse who leads this operation) is going to need some more cards in their hand or else their misery won’t even be interesting anymore. Thankfully, next week it seems we’re turning the camera back to Caster, which I’m sad to say is the relatively more hopeful match-up for our protagonists. Who needed Berserker, anyway? A single magus and a chump will have to be enough.

 

Full-length images: 08.

 

I almost forgot: regular warning on spoilers. Please mark all your spoilers in the comments in spoiler tags. Thanks in advance.

 

ED3 Sequence

ED3: 「ring your bell (in the silence)」 by Kalafina

Preview

117 Comments

    1. While it’s unlikely to be translated, Gilgamesh is one of the 4 possible Servant for the main character in the RPG VN Fate/Extra CCC (released for the PSP), so if they adapt it in the far futre (They would have to adapt Fate/Extra (that one was translated , but had no Gil) first) there’s a chance they could go with Gilgamesh. So a show where Gil has a main chraracter role is more likely than you think (Although the chances aren’t high, given the manga adaptations of the games have gone with Saber or Caster as the MC’s Servant)

      bassgs435
      Reply

      1. “.. I’d like to see Gilgamesh dead.” I feel the same here.. and more in other aspects.. this episode was too much to me… emotionally too much to bear in a way. shocked.. (with mixtures of emotions: pains, pity, sadness, indignation, injustice, etc..) It was so heart breaking / wrenching seeing Illya going through all the pains after pains (and revolting, nightmarish, traumatic ordeals) .. “alone” .. and in the end brutally murdered (with deeply saddening circumstances). Her excruciating pains of (parental and other) abandonment, sense of betrayal, abject lone state, psychological and physical abuses, … g**z, it’s.. it is criminal and unforgivable. sheer violation of her rights. I felt indignation. her story was madly saddening, to say the least. I had to keep telling myself this was a fictional story, NOT what really happened. but, to be honest, tears were about to well up in my eyes and I had to resist hard several times in this episode. I felt really sorry for her. I had to ease pains / discomfort and wash off bitter aftertaste with the help of the comical parodies suggested by others. and finally, I really wished Hercules’s last strike at the moment of his death reached Gilgamesh a bit physically too. painfully frustrating.. but it at least reached Gil psychologically and smashed his smug arrogant face into smithereens: his surprised, discomposed, flustered one. Serves him right. evil sb b**ch. (he slashed her eyes and stabbed her like that? omg.. wtf.. how dare he.. savagery.. now I hate this version of Gil. or whatever sh*t. f*** this badass and punch his head off for pity’s sake.) As for the last moment of Illya, it really gave me so much pains of sadness (She died believing Hercules (and his body) was still there? but actually it was nothing but a cold stone that her hand was touching!? unbelievable.. so painfully sad if this is the case. (;_;) (tears..) (T_T) or she could still feel his presence via the disappearing sparkling dusts (=the remnants of what her Berserker once was?) that were falling on her? a bit of relief / salvation? if so, but still either way, so d**n sad!! (;_;, T_T) tears.. tears..). really f*~d & m*~d up. dam* it! Gahhhh! I was worked up and my brain was feeling much pain, pity / sympathy for Illya. and I just had to express my thoughts / sentiments and release pent-up emotions here. Thanks for your attention.

        cmnt
        Reply

    2. Somewhere on an alternate universe, Illya wields a powerful magical stick, has a magical girl waifu devoted to protecting her and a magic clone she’s obligated to keep alive by regularly making out with her. Always look at the bright side.

      fragb85
      Reply

  4. I don’t know how they did it, but they were able to convey the relationship Illya and Berserker had in such a short time frame. The guys over at ufotable connect with us with the characters in such a short amount of time that it’s unbelievable. Sure, there could’ve been more time given and more things showed and said, but honestly, I don’t thing we as the audience need any more. I think that a lot of us would like more about Illya and Berserker, but I don’t think we need it because there’s a sense of completion to the story/relationship of the two. Studios should really learn from what Ufotable is doing, and maybe, we’ll get more stuff like this. It really doesn’t need to be said, but I’m going to say it anyway. With works like Kara no Kyoukai, Fate/zero and now, Fate/stay night under their belt, Ufotable is undoubtedly my favorite studio right now.

    dytianquin
    Reply

    1. And that’s an important thing; even if there’s a lot more that could be conveyed from source material, as long as the studio is able to convey enough of the important parts, then people are usually more than willing to forgive them for what didn’t make it in. Ufotable manages to do that spectacularly here by showing the parts that, for this route anyway, are the most important in terms of Ilya’s character – her general (lack of) childhood and the relationship between her and Berserker – and that is all we really need.

      HalfDemonInuyasha
      Reply

    2. That’s sort of what I mean by simplicity. The role of any adaptation is to convey the essence of the source. At its heart, Illya’s is a simple story, and she has simple relationship with Berserker, The important part is the emotion, and that can be gotten across without overcomplication.

      Passerby
      Reply

    3. I think i know why Illya’s Death hit me or us so strong. It is not only UBW and his predecessors Fate’s Animes. No they reap the Sow of Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya Subplots. There we gain more deep bond with her, and here now in front of our Eyes. We see her Dying (Congrats to her Seiju for splendid Emotions. It was very touching. Nothing against her, no i praise her for this. Domo Ariganto). i blame this Scene with the Bonds of the Subplots, to have an such Impact on me. Me an Anime only Fan, that was first suspicious of the UBW Plotting

      WorldwideDepp
      Reply

  7. There is no Illya route

    Illya says otherwise. There’s also Fate/kaleid Prisma Illya as well. Hiroyama actually tweeted last night as to why he decided to draw a spinoff of Illya after this episode aired.

    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20stay%20night/Fate%20stay%20night%20ubw%20-%2015%20-%20Large%2020.jpg
    A-rank teeth.

    And I knew what was going to happen in this episode but seeing it is a different matter. Was looking forward to the heart puns though. Dr. Gil failed to deliver this week. On the flipside, we got this instead.

    belatkuro
    Reply

    1. A-rank teeth. Thanks for pointing that out. Before Gil drew out his spears, Berserker’s chest muscles were deflecting the shower of swords as if they were toothpicks. How did that wolf bite into that skin and draw blood…

      flCer
      Reply

      1. I think that was Illya’s blood. Remember the wolves were biting Illya beforehand, so it’s likely that their drool mixed with the blood still in their mouth and got on Berserker while trying to bite him.

        Hanabira.Kage
        Reply

      2. His skin isn’t red there, so my guess is he hasn’t activated his god like skill yet. Heracles was half god half human, so in human form he can be hurt just like any human.

        livid
        Reply

  10. I don’t know anything about Gilgameshe’s motivations, but I don’t think it’s apt (yet) to label Gilgamesh the villain you make him out to be.

    You can call him arrogant, but all he really did in this episode was take out an enemy master and his servant. Not once throughout this episode did he relish the opportunity to kill Ilya. He didn’t kill Ilya because of a psychopathic tendency to kill people. When he stabbed Ilya, his face was expressionless; In contrast with his fight with Berserker, he stabbed Ilya with a face that somewhat resembles an expression of pity.

    He is simply a participant in this war and is as evil as Archer, Rin, Saber, and all other masters that seek the grail. Objectively speaking, all masters and servants have signed a waiver to seek out and kill each other. Shiro is simply the oddball for joining this war to… I don’t know what he’s trying to do.

    He is a servant in a grail war after all. Any participant in this war should have one motive: To kill all the other masters and servants.

    flCer
    Reply

    1. I consider ‘villain’ to be more of a role than a character trait, set up as they are to be opposed by the hero. I also don’t think that one has to be utterly depraved to be a villain, in either sense. Most everyday villainy is awfully banal.

      That said, Gilgamesh hasn’t exactly built a flattering case by himself. Even if you ignore the preceding Fate adaptation, slashing the eyes of a little girl, stabbing her, and watching her bleed out dispassionately is a big no no. It’s not a good look.

      Passerby
      Reply

      1. If you were to objectively look at Ilya, dereferencing all her physical traits, and consider the context of the situation and personalities, I find it hard to label Gilgamesh as anything other than a soldier in a war.

        You mentioned that Gilgamesh killed Ilya with a dispassionate look on his face. That’s agreeable, and more importantly, it reflects what he thinks of his actions; He takes no pleasure and no displeasure in killing Ilya. He has shown that he had no vile intentions in his act. He did it because that’s what he had to do to proceed in life. Much like how humans might be killing some # of ants a day walking to school/work. Nobody considers us evil. For Gilgamesh, winning the war is his job, and Ilya is a insignificant obstacle that he needs to take care of, and quick.

        Ilya is cute, young, and has some shred of childhood innocence, but these traits should not be considered in this situation. Once you’ve signed up for this holy grail war, it is your actions and motivations that are of consequence. You can say that it’s tragic that a little girl has signed up for war, but once you’re in, you’re a soldier, not a child, teenager, girl, boy. The war against ISIS right now for instance make no such distinction. If you’re part of the insurgent group, you’re the enemy. And while none of the soldiers in Iraq seek the war as a way to amuse themselves, they continue to kill without passion, because they have a cause. Those soldiers seek to defend US interests, and Gilgamesh seeks the grail.

        If they portrayed Gilgamesh to laugh hysterically while slicing Ilya up, then I’ve got your concerns. In the UBW movie Show Spoiler ▼

        flCer
        Reply

      2. I don’t want to get heavily into moral ethics, because that’s far beyond the scope of the comments section of an anime blog, and I don’t really want to have to take things too seriously. I would say, though, that I’m not of the school who things all is fair in love and war; the international conventions that govern them imply otherwise. Even in the Holy Grail War, there are still differing standards. There is, for example, no requirement for Masters to be killed, it’s simply expedient, and indeed Shirou refuses to do so. Others are willing to exploit civilians, others are not. Some Servants are insistent on codes of behaviour as ‘heroes’, some are not. To think that there are only ‘us’ and ‘them’ and nothing else is, in my opinion, a bit too much of a whitewash.

        I also tend to value human life more than ants, but that may just be me.

        Passerby
        Reply

      3. I also tend to value human life more than ants, but that may just be me.

        Hey, me too. At least I hope so! I still occasionally ponder on the meaning of life, and often times I find myself placing all forms of life at the same level of significance. Let me know if you find others!

        But I digress, we are talking about Gilgamesh, not our petty perspective of values. In Gilgamesh’s point of view, all beings are insignificant compared to him. But even knowing that, I cannot brand him as the villain based on what I know so far. Based on the events in Fate/Zero, the little man that I am has a strange form of respect for the character.

        The word tragic is as far as I can do to describe this event. It is beyond the scope of my intelligence to think otherwise :^)

        flCer
        Reply

    2. Gilgamesh started off simply as an arrogant and prideful (and one could say, well-deserved) Hero-King, but he can respect his enemies. Just recall his battle against Rider in Fate-Zero.

      Now, something happened at the end of Fate-Zero. Show Spoiler ▼

      In FZ, Gilgamesh would have admired the bond between Berserker and Ilya and their loyalty, in FSN he mocks it as a weakness.

      Faolan
      Reply

      1. F/Z Show Spoiler ▼

        I do not think Gilgamesh was referring to the bond between Berserker and Ilya. The Gilgamesh I knew wouldn’t attack Ilya anyway, if Berserker set her aside (until their fight was over anyway) Show Spoiler ▼

        . Gilgamesh seeks a good fight over all things, and Ilya’s presence is distracting Berserker’s focus.

        flCer
        Reply

  12. Shellshocked. Crawls back to Fate Prisma, where a relatively mentally undamaged, and more stable, unbroken Illya exist. And yes, I believe Fate Prisma Illya is exactly how Illya would be like had she been raised normally, in a stable household, minus the Einzbern brainwashing and modifications or corrupted grail torment.

    Yes, FSN Illya is a horribly psychologically broken young woman. And if it is indeed the corrupted Grail psychologically destroying young Illya, it’s a testimony to Illya’s sheer mental strength that there are still shreds of sanity left in Illya in FSN.

    Andmeuths
    Reply

  14. “…bleeding martyr.”

    Gaah…NO! That pun’s too painful–figuratively and literally–especially for the Illya fans. (Don’t worry though, at least there’s still Prisma Illya…)

    I assume these are the same chains that bound Rider Broskander back in Fate/Zero. Nice little call back there.
    Show Spoiler ▼

    Incognito
    Reply

    1. That’s not why the chains glow. They are more effective the more divine the opponent is. Berserker is Hercules, a half-god, so the chains are much more effective on him then they were against Rider.

      DmonHiro
      Reply

      1. Yea Gil even explains that, I was surprised he did as I was about to explain it to my wife and then he did. Haven’t seen them mention any of that kind of stuff in the series before.

        Kurisu Vi Britannia
        Reply

      2. Alright, true. I forgot to mention that divinity thing (and my memory of Fate/Zero is admittedly hazy at this point).

        But still, binding a divine demi-god would require a lot more (magical) power than binding someone with…umm…lower divinity. (Or those chains could be made out of a magical metal that negates divine power, who knows? Gilgamesh gets the haxxest stuff.)

        Still a nice little touch, nonetheless.

        Incognito
        Reply

      3. Nothing to do with magical power. It’s just a special property of Enkidu. The more divinity its target possesses, the tighter it binds him/her, and the harder it is to break. Hercules/Heracles was born a demigod, then later ascended to godhood, so it’s max-level binding for him…but he shattered them through sheer willpower (supposedly).

        Hanabira.Kage
        Reply

  15. I once asked a friend of mine, who was a fan of the visual novel, how this scene actually played out after watching the UBW movie. It was described to me in a grotesque manner and such poor taste that I was all but certain to hate this moment and drop the series completely.

    THANK FUCK IT WASN’T HALF AS AWFUL AS I WAS EXPECTING IT TO BE!
    Ufotable actually made this scene really tragic unlike the Deen movie which came off completely mean spirited and rushed.
    This scene best summed up my emotions by the last 30 seconds before the credits roll:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zruIrGjF_kc

    kawaiigendo
    Reply

  20. Ilyas death was cruel and I didnt expect that Gil “the King of Kings” would doing something like that! I wished that Heracles had at his last move crushed Gil’s head.

    Flobb3k
    Reply

  21. Well… she was blinded first, then her chest was stabbed with sword…. so it is not as horrifying as VN where she was blinded, and then her body was ripped open with bare hand.

    porn
    Reply

  22. One issue I’ve always had with the Fate franchise, though, is that it tends to get overly technical. I don’t feel that there’s much need to know exactly what Illya is and how she got to be a bleeding martyr. All of Nasu’s jargon, all the finicky details about recreating the Third Magic, etc etc, are secondary. The essence of Illya’s story is that of a neglected child who misses her absentee father. What I valued were subtle things, like brief glimpses of lucidity from Berserker, because it kept things layered but simple. Simple stories are elegant, and elegance is beautiful.

    I have to disagree here, kind of. Not all beauty is found in simplicity and especially the whole fate-universe heavily relies on its vast and complex background, which, in turn, holds the whole construct in place.
    Getting to know more about Illya as a Homunculi and the reasons for the Einzberns are important. Maybe not so much regarding this episode and Ilyas Subplot, but for the whole Series.

    csg
    Reply

    1. I don’t mind detail, per se, but I believe that detail must serve the story, rather than the story serving as a vehicle to deliver details. Stories are not technical documents; for one thing, nobody wants to read a technical document. I, too, consider the complex universe to be a strength, but Nasu does sometimes get so wound up in his own mechanics that it creates unnecessary speed-bumps in the narrative. Details are strong tools of the writer, and should be used conservatively.

      To put it all into perspective, the visual novel had stat sheets. Stat sheets. I don’t think we really needed those.

      Passerby
      Reply

      1. Heck, a recent example of such a problem being the anime version of Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei. So much focus given to details and explanation to a number of things regarding the magic tech that it felt more like the anime version was given minimal story just to justify all of it and it quickly became boring and a bit of a chore to watch. It also doesn’t help that a number of things were just used once, got a wordy explanation, then never used again afterwards.

        HalfDemonInuyasha
        Reply

  25. Illya’s death was quite brutal in the UBW route of the VN. But once again, UFOTable always takes the extra step and milks every dramatic scene in tear jerking fashion. Its quite effective especially when you consider that Illya had the least development in UBW, coming for a big fight then getting killed by Gil. Once again, it shows how the anime can benefit both old and new audiences of the franchise. Franchise veterans get to yet unexplored backstory for Illya while the new audiences get to understand Illya without reading the VN.

    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20stay%20night/Fate%20stay%20night%20ubw%20-%2015%20-%20Large%2008.jpg
    Onc thing I never did consider was the possibility that the corruption could be affecting Illya. This was was never shown on the VN but here we can actually see it affecting her youth as it goads her. I find this quite interesting as it provides a certain perspective to why Illya is a psychopath. Poor girl has it rough.

    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20stay%20night/Fate%20stay%20night%20ubw%20-%2015%20-%20Large%2028.jpg
    I also liked how Shirous reactions are empathized in the anime. Unlike the VN, Rin actually has to physically restrain Shirou from getting himself hurt. This is all precedent for the next episode, where one of the most important scenes of UBW happens and finally give the audience some perspective on Shirous character. I hope UFOTable can do it justice.

    fragb85
    Reply

  31. I just realized… Gilgamesh is boring as fuck when he do battle. He’ll just summon thousand of noble phantasm and stand there, uncaring. I actually like Gilgy in the Fate Route with Ea…

    Oh wait. That’s him being boring as well. He simply swung once and everything was over.

    Where’s the epic Gilgamesh from Fate/Zero have gone into?

    Reikakou
    Reply

      1. Yay! Passerby replied!! SQUEEEE!!

        Ehem!!

        I’ve watched the UBW movie so I know Show Spoiler ▼

        Reikakou
        Reply

  32. RIP Illya, may you find true happiness in Prisma Illya, to be resumed in July.

    Concerning this scene, here’s my take on it.
    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20stay%20night/Fate%20stay%20night%20ubw%20-%2015%20-%20Large%2008.jpg

    Now be warned that while this scene is original by ufotable, knowledge of spoilers of the highest order is required in order to understand.

    Massive spoilers:

    Show Spoiler ▼

    echykr
    Reply

  34. Where-as it was fun to see gil being cocky and arrogant in zero, here it just feels boring.
    There, he was only annoying to Saber with their idea’s of how to rule and for the rest actually applauded courage and being steadfast. He even could be considered nice against a few servants and masters. Here? Here, he is just arrogant and boring.

    Heracles on the other hand was just awesome, even managing to break Enkidu (the chains) which is supposedly impossible. Berserker might have the worst of luck in the opponents he gets to face in almost all routes, he managed to break free of Enkidu while being weakened considerably by all the damage he received just a few minutes before. Not only did Gil say that berserker would have a chance at beating Gil if he would fight without protecting Illya which is already damn rare with him, he even showed shock when Heracles broke free of Enkidu in his weakened state.

    damrod
    Reply

    1. Not sure if you know, but I’m pretty sure this is spoiler so i’ll put spoiler thing just in case but
      Show Spoiler ▼

      Trap Master
      Reply

  35. I have a whole new respect for ufotable.

    Who would have never thought that they would take a character that they have invested so much into and murder her is such a brutal way.
    I can’t think of many writers that have the kind of guts it take to do that to such a fan loved character.

    trunkmonkey
    Reply

    1. Ufotable only animated the FSN UBW route, the original creator was type moon 😛 Not saying ufotable didn’t make one hell of an adaptation of the scene, but it was type moon who wrote the scene of illya being killed.

      Trap Master
      Reply

      1. I see. excuse my ignorance. so Ufotable is the animator and Moon Type is the story writer.

        I’m not knowledgeable about the original works that make up the Fate story lines

        trunkmonkey
        Reply

    2. Type-Moon is the company, Kinoko Nasu is the writer and Takashi Takeuchi is the artist.
      Ufotable is the company which is and has animated a lot of Type-Moon’s works.

      Fate/Stay Night is a visual novel. A visual novel is most of the time an digital interactive story with images, music and voice acting. The reader has the option to influence the way how the story unfolds by making choices when they come up how Shirou should react in certain situations. Because of the branching nature there are multiple way how events van play out and that Ilya dies in one branch of the story doesn’t mean she will die in another one. The three main branches are Fate, Unlimited Blade Works, Heaven’s Feel. They can only be read in this order. Because of this Nasu can be sure what kind of knowledge the reader has in ever route. The current adaption is a bit awkward in some places because the Fate route was skipped and UBW was written with the assumption that the reader has read the Fate route. In the Fate route Shirou has a lot more interaction with Ilya which makes it not much of a risks to kill her of in the UBW route, because the reader is already familiar with her and she will appear again in the last route of the visual novel.

      Chaos_Alfa
      Reply

  36. OMG I’m getting that feeling of Game of Thrones trauma again, but from watching a cartoon.
    What is this black magic?
    What is this feeling of getting punched in the gut and the floor under me turning into a sinkhole?

    Bring her back god damn it

    SuperSaiyanZero
    Reply

  39. I had to bleach my brain with Carnival Phantasm and Prisma Illya after this episode.
    Even when Goldie is one of my favorite characters, you just don’t do that to Illya-chan T_T.

    I find it interesting that Ufotable is adding those anime originals: first with Caster and now with Illya.
    Unlike 90% of anime original content, this fits very nicely into the source material.

    I can’t wait for the second season of Prisma Illya Zwei!
    Show Spoiler ▼

    haitechan
    Reply

    1. Not absolutely certain, but there’s a pretty good chance Nasu himself is working on the story in these new scenes. With such ridiculous amounts of budget going into the animation, it’d be a waste to not go all the way and make sure the story is top-notch right?

      Hanabira.Kage
      Reply

  43. Damn it all!

    Seeing how this is unlimited blade works, I knew this was coming, but the prior knowledge didnt help soften the agony!

    The way Illya died is a criminal offense!

    White haired lolis are protected by international law you know!

    Ginobi47
    Reply

  46. It’s times like this that it’s good to remember there is an Illya route. Thank you Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA☆ILLYA for existing. A dark episode like this needs some kind of positive in knowing that at least things could go better in one possible universe. That’s the kind of positive universe I need to bring my mood up after this episode.

    It really was a great moment having Gilgamesh sweating when Heracles made that last desperate effort. Too bad he couldn’t get that one step further. Sadly will have to wait to see that guy get what he deserves. Nothing short of his utter defeat will be satisfying.

    FlareKnight
    Reply

  48. God, that was brutal. Very well done episode by Ufotable. I’m stunned at how well they managed to fit the important defining bits of her back story and make me tear up for her death. A few things I appreciate is Shirou’s reaction to the onslaught very fit his character, and is likely to change him a lot. Also, Gil’s one look of fear was nice to see, but I wish he was smashed a bit, even if he’s not going to die yet :X

    I’m thinking of watching kaleid liner now. RIP Berserker and Illya of UBW Route </3

    chromenova
    Reply

  49. I thought this was tamer as compared to the OVA where they got really graphic, but Ilya’s death still got to me, especially when you somehow know the struggle was going to be futile the moment Gilly appears.

    And how one-sided it was. I think it pretty much adds even more despair to Shirou and Rin upon seeing their greatest chance of getting back into the War get completely obliterated by a new Servant and ironically the weakest Master. I was half expecting the scene to get a little more bloody with Gilly being turned into a complete A-hole by slowly killing Ilya, but thank God the darker desires of my viewer’s soul were not met. Agreed that he was much more respectable in Fate Zero, though I’d say Gilly isn’t excessively evil to the point of being hated on aside from killing one of the more lovable characters of the Fate universe.

    He STILL is arrogant, of course. there’s no question about that since that’s part of his personality.

    Ilya’s and Heracles’ backstory was a nice touch, but I thought parts of it got a little draggy there. Shirou’s reactions were also good, and I like how you mentioned thatit seemed to be a turning point for him. The death and his lack of ability to prevent someone in front of him dying could very well be a driving force for Shirou to become stronger, even to the point of endangering himself, I believe.

    I got terribly excited when I heard the last voice in the preview, by the way, as one of my favorite Heroic Spirits is coming back into action. No spoilers, but I think next episode should reverse a bit of the gloom and doom in this one.

    Owaranai
    Reply

  50. Many people stating how much more evil this Gilgamesh is compared to FZ because he was tainted by the grail. Personally,I think Gilgamesh has always been the same arrogant asshole since FZ, it’s just that he gets more of a chance to get his hands……errr dirty in UBW compared to FZ. In FZ,rather than commit outwardly acts of evil, he was subtly manipulating another master into opening up to his dark desires just so he could get his own original master killed simply because he finds him “boring”. Also,he did seem to get a kick out of watching the love triangle soap opera scene in the church play out, while sipping wine and treating it like some play in a theater.

    kawaiigendo
    Reply

    1. I think the big difference between Gil in FZ and in UBW is motivation. It’s which leads to him appearing more “evil”.

      In FZ his goal was simply to find things that amuse him because the thought of someone else winning the grail was impossible.

      Whereas in UBW he is actively pursuing the grail (would rather get his own hands dirty then let others go about it for him) to wipe out excess humanity and rebuild his empire.

      I also seem to recall reading in the typemoon wiki that albeit Gil’s ego kept him from being corrupted by the grail, being physically reborn had an effect on his psyche which could explain why he’s a lot meaner/cynical(?) now than in FZ.

      Vagrant
      Reply

  56. Even if they weren’t already, Ufotable just became my no.1 anime studio.

    This was done so perfectly and accurate (with a slice of extra connection to F/Z), I slightly teared up partly cuz of what actually happened and partly because of how well done it was.

    The move adaption really is just cheap lazy-ass piece of crap now (partly the reason why I’m so overwhelmed of how good this episode was). Show Spoiler ▼

    Feeling more and more confident about Heaven’s Feel. Even if it’ll take quite some time.

    JHN
    Reply

  57. Ep 16:

    Show Spoiler ▼

    WorldwideDepp
    Reply

  58. I cant wait for Gilgamesh to get a taste of his own medicine. I really hope Shirou uses the Unlimited blade works to skewer him endlessly and for the heck of it, use his own chains of heaven against him seeing as he has a he is a demi god as well.

    Ryner
    Reply

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