FIF#58-Fate/Extra: Last Encore

Hakuno Kishinami awakens in a digital world with no memory of his past or how he got here.  All he knows is what is presented to him: he has been selected to partake in an event known as The Holy Grail War and he has been given a partner to fight alongside him, the beautiful Saber.  Thrust into a conflict he knows little of in a world he knows even less of, Hakuno must face both friends and enemies with Saber by his side.  Only by winning the Holy Grail itself can Hakuno unlock the secrets of his past…secrets some might not want to remember.

 

I was a little excited when I heard that Fate/Extra: Last Encore was coming my way.  Sure I had no idea what it was about, but the sight of Saber and Rin back in action was enough to make me smile.  Unlike Fate/Apocrypha, there was familiarity and that meant something safe, even if it came with the Fate franchises penchant for confusing exposition.  Now that ive checked out the first couple of episodes…this is going to be more of a chore than I thought to watch, but it’s not without its redeaming qualities (unlike Apocrypha).

 

The opening of Last Encore is confusing as heck.  There’s cryptic talk about the setting being a digital world somewhere on the moon and people got here…how?  Yeah this is probably going to be one of those slow reveal type shows where little is established only for more to be fleshed out by series end.  This isn’t helped by the main protagonist, Hakuno.  He claims to be angry but is so devoid of any emotion it’s like watching someone drag a stick through the mud just to get a reaction out of him.  Heck, he isn’t even phased when Saber gets naked to take a bath alongside him…though im not sure if that’s cause he’s a guy and he knows she hot or he just doesn’t know what an emotion is.  Either way, if I were to keep watching this series, it wouldn’t be for Hakuno’s Jason Bourne Amnesiac story. 

 

On the plus side, theres the aforementioned Saber and Rin.  The girls are back and in one case better than ever.  Rin remains one of may all time favorite Anime heroines.  Sure she’s mostly relegated to spewing out exposition, albeit familiar stuff about the Holy Grail War, but her confidence and sense of fashion (trading her signature thigh highs for leather boots) are still a Godsend.  And then there’s Saber.  Whooooo boy.  I don’t know if fans of Fate were pissed or excited to see this radically different iteration of the beloved Auturian legend.  For one thing, she’s smiling, a lot.  Then there’s her outfit, sporting more leg than ever before.  And she’s freaking cheerful, almost excited…a lot.  Simply put, this aint your Fate/Zero or Unlimited Blade Works pride of the Saber class Saber.  And…I kind of like it.  It’s disturbing for sure but I like the breath of fresh air this Saber brings to the table.  If anything, she’s a good balance for the dull and boring Hakuno.  And once again, im back to wondering why the hell any writer of the Fate series and its spin offs cant just pair up Saber and Rin and let them have some fun (especially here in Fate/Extra, where Saber proudly proclaims her love for girls…to a group of short skirted police girl soldiers no less…yeah new Saber is weird).

 

One other thing to touch on is the animation.  I noticed immediately how…artsy it was.  I mean, Fate/Extra seems more like an art house presentation than a straight up fantasy action series.  Double checking my facts, I realized why this form of Anime looks familiar.  Studio Shaft can now join the ranks of Studios Dean, Ufotable and A-1, as animators of an entry of Fate/Stay Night stories.  For those unaware, Studio Shaft is best known as the studio behind Puella Magi Madoka Magica (and it’s movies) and the Monogatari saga (pretty much every chapter).  So while the action is up to the usual standards of Fate, it doesn’t surprise me that there’s a lot going on in every single frame of the episodes ive seen so far, it’s kind of a staple of Shaft.

 

Ehhhhh…I guess I could continue on with this one?  It’s only ten episodes long but im confused as all get out while im writing this.  Why does this digital Holy Grail War world exist?  Who created it?  Are Hakuno and Rin both humans in this digital world or not?  Fate/Extra: Last Encore either fails to deliver proper establishing set up of the world it wants to play in OR tells it in such a way that it could get lost on some viewers.  Still, some good looking animation and the presence of Rin Tohsaka and a wildly entertaining Saber do make up for a lot of the shortcomings I mentioned.  Now when can we finally see their glorious spin off Japan?  Come on.  Rin and Saber?  It should be a no brainer

 

And with that, actually, we conclude this little Spring/Early Summer Season of First Impression Friday.  I’ll be taking a short break cause of all the Fate/Stay Night stuff (which I guess makes ending this set with a Fate/Stay entry kind of fitting?).  But rest assured, First Impression Friday will return in September with the premiere of FLCL: Alternative.  And who knows, maybe one or two of the titles ive covered here in the last couple of months might get full series reviews at some point.  With First Impression Fridays, you may never know.  See ya next Monday for the start of THE SUMMER OF FATE with Fate/Zero.