Fate / stay night ~ Unlimited Blade Works

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Title : Fate / stay night ~ Unlimited Blade Works
Genre : Action, Romance, Supernatural, Thriller
Developer : Type-Moon
Production : Studio Deen (Japan)
Director : Yamaguchi Yuji
Writer : Sato Takuya
Released Date : January 23, 2010
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Plot

Basically, this movie tells us about an idealist teenager’s life named Emiya Shirou who being dragged on a battle royal war between seven masters along with their each servants in order to obtain Holy Grail, a holy and legendary chalice capable of granting wishes. Ten years ago, Shirou became one of the victims in massive fire that consumed a large portion of Fuyuki City. As he was dying, a certain man found and save him. That man, Emiya Kisitsugu, decides to adopt him and then become his foster father. That’s why his family name is changed to ‘Emiya’.

Shirou really admired Kiritsugu—who also a magus (magic user)—because he always wanted to become ‘Hero of Justice’, a guardian of mankind who could protect the weak and innocent, even though he failed. Touched by his father ambition, Shirou intends to devote his life to achieve that distant ideal. And then Emiya Kiritsugu die in peace.

Entering his high school life, not knowing anything that will befall him, he accidentally stumbles upon the battle of two servants—Archer and Lancer—in the school courtyard. Even though he is killed by Lancer cursed lance, he is succesfully revived by Tohsaka Rin, the master of Archer.
The tension is not over. Knowing his prey still alive despite being stabbed in the heart by his lance, Lancer comes to Shirou house once again to hunt down him. Cornered in the shed, Shirou prepares the worst. But before Lancer can inflict another fatal blow, a young woman clad with armor with an invisible sword is summoned and block Lancer’s attack. Later on, she introduces herself as Servant Saber.

After their sudden meeting with Rin and Archer in the same time, they are going to one of Roman Catholic Church in neighbouring city to meet Kotomine Kirei, a person who becomes a supervisor of this war. Listening to all of his explanation about this war, Shirou decides to take a part as a master. However, he do not doing this in order to obtain that holy artefak, but to destroy it and stop this bloody and foolish Holy Grail War.



Hot Keys

It’s normal for a child to admire his/her parent, as Shirou do when he looked at Kiritsugu. But he is going too far. He thinks that other people happiness and safety is more important than his life. There will be a time when he will be forced to accept his own contradiction despite his fake believes. How could he manage anything when he has nothing he dreamed himself, but a borrowed one?

He knows he can’t save everyone. He knows there is no help without sacrifices. His ideal is just an excuse to cover up his ugliness. He knows reality is like that because he will become an adult. Then, is that ideal wrong? Is it a fake if it’s not him? Even if his wish is a fake, is it wrong and impossible for it to come true?
Moreover, when Archer reveals that he is the future Emiya Shirou who is betrayed by his ideal he fought for, and now he seeks to create a time paradox by killing his past self, also in act of mercy so that Shirou doesn’t need to see his ideals betray and crush him.

Fighting his own image is the most cruel thing, moreover after he sees by himself Archer’s dreadful destiny that being betrayed by his own ideal hundred times, thousand times, and for the eternal times over and over. Will Shirou’s feeling towards his ideal crumbling down and let him be killed by his future self? Or will he denied his own existence and fight for his ideal even if that is a very distant and unreachable utopia? What will be his answer for Archer, who is the result of that very ideal?



Appraisal

When first time released in January 30, 2004, Fate / stay night rapidly became one of the most popular visual novels in history, securing the title of “Highest Selling Visual Novel” in 2004 and second in 2007. To the japanese public, Fate / stay night was hugely appraised as the “Best Visual Novel Ever Made”. The popularity of its visual novel made Geneon Japan and Studio Deen produced a twenty four episode anime series based on the original story in 2006.

This 2010, Studio Deen released the animated movie version in international scale based on the storyline of the Unlimited Blade Works route as the main focus that differs this version from the storyline of the Fate route in its TV series version. With the staff from the anime television series and most of the voice cast reprise their roles, this fim will be able to sow great success and able to satisfy the fans all over world, considering that Unlimited Blade Works route is being seen by the fans as the best route among other two routes in its visual novel.

Score:

Story = 5/5
Secara keseluruhan, adaptasi dari visual novelnya sangat bagus. Hampir tidak ada unsur penting yang dilewatkan begitu saja.

Chara Development = 4.5/5
Fokus cerita pada Shirou dan Archer memang sangat kental. Namun, peran karakter yang lain jadi agak dibiarkan tanpa improvisasi. Mungkin karena pengaruh waktu tayang yang terbatas.

Artwork = 4.5/5
Great! Baru kali ini saya melihat kualitas animasi jepang yang seharusnya baru muncul dua tahun mendatang!

Music = 4.5/5
Yang paling menonjol mungkin adalah OST nya yang berjudul "Imitation". Benar-benar lagu yang membuatmu tak terkalahkan, bahkan oleh siapapun yang jelas-jelas lebih kuat darimu!

Humour = 3/5
Oke, untuk unsur ini memang sedikit. Karena sejak awal movie ini lebih bertema action, angst, sedikit romance, dan idealisme.