Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works 21 – 「 My dream is not wrong」

And here marks the anime’s ending of Shirou’s epic therapy session. There were bumpy moments before this episode that made me doubt how they were going to handle the most emotional fight of Unlimited Blade Works, but in the end, Ufotable managed to pull through.

The execution of the anime version was what did it for me. I don’t even care anymore that Archer invoking Unlimited Blade Works makes no sense logically – okay, I still kind of care – but it was worth it in the end. Just the sight of Shirou pulling through, charging in and conquering Archer’s Reality Marble with his clear skies while EMIYA played in the background was worth everything in the end.

Not sure if the blue-sky UBW that you also see in the ED is just symbolic or is going to be Ufotable’s version of Shirou’s Reality Marble, but Shirou’s canonical red-sky UBW certainly wouldn’t have much of a visual effect in the anime.

Also, the moment where the EMIYA track starts sounding more forlorn and Archer looks into what he describes as an “old mirror” and witnessing his promise to Kiritsugu, culminating in hin pretty much throwing away the fight was just executed so perfectly. The mediums are different, so it’s not the same kind of hype I felt when reading the VN, but it was equally good in the anime in its own right.

Only problem I could think of is that the Ufotable version had too many cuts to other scenes earlier in the fight (the previous episode) and didn’t utilize the Emiya track as well as (gasp) DEEN did. Although their use of Emiya’s theme during the final moments more than made up for it. That, and they managed to play it up as an epic therapy session just as much as the VN did with what the animation medium could provide. (On that note, something I forgot to mention in my previous UBW post: I wished Aniplex were better with their subtitles in the previous episode. While it’s not necessarily wrong since the Japanese sentences didn’t technically use any pronouns, and Archer is Shirou either way, it would have been much better if some of Archer’s down-talking on Shirou’s ideals were translated in first-person.)

Ufotable anime

Visual novel

DEEN movie

The Ufotable anime has the art, and the DEEN movie had Seiiiiibaa.

But the visual novel still has the hair.

Side Note: Fate/Extra outfits for Young Archer/Ally of Justice Shirou is used in the UBW anime!

Makes you really want a Fate/Extra anime, huh? (Female protagonist is canon)

ただいま、セイバー

お帰りなさい、セイバー

Oh yeah. Once again to remind you.

Ufotable will never animate the Fate route.

You will never see Last Episode animated.

;_;

Yet those hands will never hold anything

Spoilers for the ending of Unlimited Blade Works.
[spoiler]
No, Archer didn’t come back at the end as part of the Counter Force. One way or another, he managed to survive Gilgamesh’s rain of swords and laid low for the rest of the Grail War.

Alaya only sends out the Counter Force when the world’s already going to shit, so being capable of compassion enough to let EMIYA be summoned to save his loved one is a bit of a stretch. I say him being Emiya Shirou, taking those swords like a boss, and managing to evade inevitable death long enough to save everyone when it counts is a lot more believable.[/spoiler]

You think Shirou being impaled by a bunch of swords… arouses him?

Nothing’s really changed from the visual novel in terms of Gilgamesh’s dialogue, but I absolutely love Gilgamesh’s depiction in the anime better than the visual novel. Don’t know if it’s the animation depicting extra disgust at the current era of humanity or if it’s just Seki Tomokazu.

I mean, I can point out a bunch of places where the voice cast haven’t been doing too well compared to their earlier performances in the VN, Carnival Phantasm, or the DEEnime, but Seki Tomokazu manages to be at his best as Gil in the UBW anime.

Also, god damned Servant designations. I wonder if Saber felt a little awkward talking to Gilgamesh Archer and calling him Archer right after the person who she has been calling Archer the majority of this Grail War, who is Shirou, got skewered by him.

Reminder that Lancer is still saving people, even after death

The rape victims are going to be so offended at this rapist writhing in pain from being turned into a monstrosity by All the World’s Evil.

In all seriousness, I don’t feel sorry for Shinji, but that was pretty horrific, in-between Caster murdering children and Sakura being raped by worms in Fate/Zero… But Fate/Zero had total respect for life, women, and children, clearly.

[spoiler]
This is sarcasm.[/spoiler]

Will the next episode be the bone of my sword or will it be dolphins?

ＴＯ ＢＥ ＣＯＮＴＩＮＵＥＤ