What I marathoned because I had too much to drink: Fate/Stay night
Most anime I watch is watched alone. My family and most of my friends aren’t really into that sort of thing so it’s only on occasional visits to fellow fans’ places that I can enjoy the experience of watching anime with other people. For over-analysis and appreciating the mellow slice-of-life shows it’s fine to be in an empty room but sharing the experience on a simple entertainment level, or discussing ideas on more complex series, is a refreshing change.
I had already joined my good friend and generous host in catching up on Xam’d and Kurozuka then we sat through the first disc of Planetes too, which incidentally left me really impressed. He also suggested the first few eps of the Fate/Stay Night anime and since Owen had been recommending the visual novel to me in recent weeks I thought “Why the hell not?” and poured myself another glass of cider.
At this point in the evening we were sitting back with a few drinks, planning our upcoming trip to Tokyo later this year and generally having a laugh. The occasionally NSFW joke-laden commentary on what we were watching was turning us into an older and more well-educated, if inebriated, British equivalent of Beavis and Butt-head. Whether it was the relaxed atmosphere because of the alcohol or the communal viewing I don’t know, but whatever the reason F/S N was surprisingly enjoyable. In fact we marathoned the whole lot in one sitting.
I found this to be fairly similar to Shakugan no Shana in some ways although the protagonist knows of the unique situation that his special abilities have placed him in right from the outset. If nothing else it provides a premise that doesn’t merely begin with “[insert character name here] is an average high school student…”: while the likes of Shana, Evangelion and Escaflowne work wonderfully by introducing a seemingly ordinary individual and throwing them headlong into an extraordinary situation and revealing their true 1337 SKILLZ with a huge-ass robot or magical powers afterwards, it’s an over-used concept that wears on me these days.
F/S N’s central characters in contrast already know of their personal circumstances and responsibilities to varying degrees. Shirou and Rin share an innate sense of duty regarding the use and significance of sorcery and at the start of the series are shown going about everyday lives while trying to keep their thoughts to themselves. It’s as much of a burden as it is a blessing for them but they have a stoic attitude of doing what they can and remembering who they are in the bigger picture.
I do believe Shirou is more ballsy than many viewers seem to give him credit for however: he’s driven by the old champion of justice thing which he follows to the point of foolhardiness. At a number of junctures he’s putting himself into harm’s way – sometimes protecting his servant when the very nature of their working relationship dictates that it’s an absurd and illogical move – in the name of doing the right thing. I mustn’t run away? Hell, the very thought of making it to safety never occured to me. The trouble is that people are supposed to, y’know, die when they’re killed and stuff.
A military doctor once quipped that soldiers should be awarded for cowerdice in the field, not valour. I take that to mean that there’s a fine line between bravery and all-out stupidity, which extends to falling off the mortal coil in the line of fire and necessitating someone else to revive you. Shirou’s reluctance to place Saber in what he deems to be unecessary danger is interesting in a romantic subplot sense but I never grasped quite why Rin felt the need to come to his aid so often.
Pierce the wall of text with black hair ribbons!
Maybe Rin’s concern for him is supposed to be obvious but it added a bit of mystique to the character I think of as the other lead, and as such was probably my favourite of the bunch. Her fortitude and tenacity endeared her to me from the get-go…or perhaps it was just the way she did her hair. Either way I found her at least as likable as Shirou or Saber, and much more interesting than the rather generic Sakura. Her pairing with Archer had a great dynamic too: they’re a pairing of stubborn and in many ways very similar personalities, which worked really well on screen.
The sheer number of female characters here had me worried that this would turn into a harem type of show though: the young-at-heart schoolteacher, the subservient childhood friend and the hilariously implausible way in which Shirou manages to introduce Saber into his household with few questions asked didn’t bode well. Fortunately the sheer stage presence (for want of a better word) of Saber and Rin more than made up for this, plus the back-stories and connections that were either revealed towards the end or merely alluded to.
*SPOILERS*
Saber’s true identity for instance was a great plot development, which is a textbook example of what I’d use in arguing that F/S N had a great story and a staggering amount of characterisation behind it. This show goes as far as its own rewrite of Arthurian legend by suggesting that the man himself, well, wasn’t; whether this also implies that the thing with Lancelot and Guinevere was history’s first example of a shoujo ai love triangle I wouldn’t even hazard a guess. One scene in which Saber screams “EXCALIBUR!” unintentionally had me in stitches, by the way; I cannot believe a crossover with Soul Eater hasn’t popped up already.
*END SPOILERS*
In closing
It was generic at points and needless to say my memories were a bit fuzzy later on but the sheer volume of characterisation and storyline that couldn’t be explained properly in the anime adaptation has left me with only one course of action to take. *takes a deep breath* I’m going to take on my first visual novel.
While I’ve played the game, I’ve only seen half of the anime. But from what I have seen, I can imagine it being a good watch with a mate and some alcohol.
*SPOILERS*
I had the accidental pleasure of playing the game while taking a course in Arthuriana and, once we make allowances for F/sn being a visual novel, made in Japan, its interaction with Arthurian stories is quite interesting. To simplify brutally, there are two medieval traditions of Arthurian texts: the earlier, ‘chronicle’ tradition tends to focus on Arthur as a martial hero, and a hero who fights on foot, while the later, ‘romance’ tradition focuses more on Arthur’s knights as its heroes – they tend to face romantic and chivalrous challenges which are less about fighting, and when they do fight they tend to fight (starting) on horseback. The Grail and the Lancelot-Guinevere-Arthur love triangle belong to the romance tradition. (For the cleverer medieval writers, and for writers after the medieval period, the lines blur again: Malory’s Arthur is a blend of the two.)
Apart from the presence of the Holy Grail, F/sn seems (by accident or by design – probably the former) to be more in the chronicle line: Saber, not any of her knights, is the central figure, she fights on foot, and what we see of her past is dominated by battles. Part of the story is her growth out of that entirely martial mindset into what we might, perhaps, call a romance.
*END SPOILERS*
My probably unwanted digression on a pet subject aside, it’ll be interesting to read what you think of the game. If nothing else, I think it fills in a lot of the gaps in the anime.
It’s been awhile since I saw F/SN (when it first aired, actually). I always thought Shirou was ballsy, and honorable. I also thought he was thickheaded. His desire to keep Saber safe or not use command spells at his own expense made me slap my head more than once. I wanted to cheer when Shirou, kicked out of the high school window and plunging to a certain death … FINALLY decided it might be a good time to summon her.
Planetes is one of my favorite anime and well worth the time. I actually feel that the first disc is the weakest!
I tried watching this not that long ago and got half way through episode 7 before quitting. Too sober? There really wasn’t anything about the cast (Saber aside) to get me interested, the direction felt leaden, and the action scenes didn’t excite me at all. The only thing that got on my nerves more than Shirou was the way the entire cast seemed to collaborate in not punishing the nitwit. “Next time we meet, I shall kill you” and so forth.
Having just started Shana, I’m also finding it fairly similar – but far more enjoyable.
I don’t plan to watch F/S anytime soon, but it’s interesting how some entertainments are better enjoyed in a lighter, communal atmosphere. Weeks ago I watched the movie “Mummy 3″ with my friends, HORRIBLE movie, but incredibly fun. I think it had to do with laughing at how bad it was.
@Iknight: it’s a series with a nice mix of action, intrigue and comedy so yeah, a lot of fun to watch in the way that I did. The Arthurian slant was also enjoyable, although I can easily believe how much more there is in the VN that the anime couldn’t include. I’ve just started playing/reading that this weekend actually. Good stuff so far.
@Peter S: while it’s refreshing to see a male lead with guts, Shirou is a bit slow on the uptake in terms of putting his ideals into practice. The manly desire to step up and do the right thing is admirable but when your female comrade is considerably more capable, it’s not very practical. Planetes is one show that I REALLY want to watch all the way through now.
@coburn: yeah, you might not have been sloshed enough! ^_^ It took a while for me to get into the series for the reasons you outline here, but after a couple of discs it got kinda addictive…I have the second disc of Shana to watch in the next couple of weeks and if the first disc and the movie version are anything to go by, I think I’ll enjoy that too.
@gaguri: I haven’t even watched the third Mummy film, although the first was a fun blockbuster type of movie that’s light entertainment. Some stuff is meant to be taken seriously and as such is better viewed on your own so you can quietly think about it, but this series isn’t really one of those.
Maybe sobriety (or lack thereof) is the key to watching this. I’m guessing marathoning it is important as well. I watched it as it aired, and as it progressed there was just more and more in it that I couldn’t take seriously. The cake was the mana regen sequence with the giant CG dragon. I haven’t played the game, but I had a pretty fair idea what was going on in the equivalent scene in the source material. I just couldn’t take it seriously after that.
Rin is my favourite character too. I remember some (slightly sexist) comments from a fellow anime fan who I respect, who said that Rin’s emotionally driven indecisiveness, especially with regards to wanting to be Shirou’s enemy or ally, made her realistic as a woman. This was before the word “tsundere” was in wide use, IIRC.
@Sorrow-kun: one thing I’m looking forward to in the VN is seeing how the character interactions play out. I know it’s supposedly an eroge but TBH whatever ’sauce’ happens later is perfectly in context and wouldn’t feel forced at all. Both Rin and Saber saved Shirou’s life at various points so it’s understandable he looks upon them fondly; similarly the fact that he’s a decent and selfless guy makes it understandable that they feel affection for him.
Rin does have emotional indecisiveness, as Shirou does; I agree that saying it makes her more realistic as a woman is a bit sexist, because I see it as a realistic portrayal of a human being. Rin and Shirou are Masters who must fight but fundamentally they are still people so human emotions will still come into it. Of course, Rin’s tsundere-esque personality traits make her more endearing to me as well… ^_^’