Search - Fate/Stay Night - Advent of the Magi (Vol. 1) on DVD

BATTLING FOR THE HOLY GRAIL

Sesho | Pasadena, TX USA | 01/04/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"16 year old high school student Shirou was raised by a powerful mystic after being found in the ruins of burned up section of Fuyuki City after the death of his parents. Shirou learned a bit of magic from his adopted dad but not much. His sole remnant of those teachings is the ability to touch objects and figure out what is wrong with them. Doesn't really bode well for a large place in the world, does it? Things are pretty normal with him until he witnesses a battle between two supernatural warriors after school. One of the figures appears to be controlled by one of his classmates, the beautiful Rin. Rin is involved in a tournament like affair called the "Holy Grail Wars" between seven "Masters" and "Servants". Masters are chosen by the Holy Grail (yes, THE Holy Grail) every couple of decades to fight for mastery of its power, which can grant any wish. The Servants are the spiritual embodiments of great warriors from history that are used as the champions of the Masters. Whichever Master is left standing at the end of the game gains control of the Holy Grail. Unfortunately for Shirou, he's a marked man because any witnesses to the War must be killed immediately!

Fate Stay Night really had to work on me to differentiate itself from many other anime of its ilk. It brought Angelic Layer to mind and a bit of Steel Angel Kurumi, especially when Shirou's Servant, called Saber, appears dressed as an armored maid. But the great thing about Shirou's and Saber's relationship is that it isn't as wishy washy as is usual in the genre of wimpy nerd meets powerful female robot or warrior. Saber is hard-edged and thinks Shirou sees her merely as a tool but she quickly realizes that he is something completely different than the typical Master, especially since he has no clue as to what is going on. I'm eager to see how their relationship is going to evolve. The animation and voice acting is awesome on this first volume and really goes a ton of the way to redeeming the subpar story. I mean, if the Holy Grail holds the blood of Christ, would Jesus really compel people to have violent fights, sometimes to the death, to wield its power? That's where the story trips a bit, in the reason that the Holy Grail makes people fight. Doesn't it go against everything Christian to see might as right? Of course, the Japanese do not view our religion with a religious eye, but more of a secular one, so the creators simply saw the Holy Grail as a mystical gimmick that sounded cool. If you can look over the religious inconsistencies, this is an average show with above average talent."