Wednesday, August 1, 2018

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works Part 5 Episodes 13-16


With Saber now in the hands of Caster and Kuzuki, Shiro is rendered a useless contender in the Holy Grail War.  Rin’s attempt to turn the tide is ruined when an unexpected betrayal leaves her just as powerless as Shiro.  With their allies and options running out, the pair of mages decide to seek out help in the form of the tiny terror that is Illyasviel von Einsbern and her powerful Berserker.  However, Shinji Matoh is back in the game with a new servant, one far more deadlier than any currently in the war.  If this blonde God with a million swords can bring down Berserker, what chance to Shiro and Rin have against him?

Well Round 2 kicked off big didn’t it?  Gilgamesh reminded me why I hate him (doubly so now that he’s paired with Shinji).  Archer make a crappy move and broke Rin’s heart.  And surprisingly Shiro was finally able to get off his ass and be honest about his feelings for Rin.  Plus, for some reason, we got Saber in a cute dress in a very suggestive pose…ok?  Oh and for the record, “Brave Shine” by Aimer is the best OP Theme Song in an Anime…well at least as far as Fate/Stay Night is concerned.

After finishing this set of episodes I can say that my opinion of Illya has done a complete 180.  Sure she’ll always have that annoying hollier than thou attitude added to her spoiled brat posture.  But now that I know her backstory and how her role in this series ended, I feel so sad for her.  The loss of both parents and the torture she endured from the Einsbern’s clearly screwed her up, no child should ever have to endure what she did.  Furthermore, there was a strange sense of “Beauty and the Beast” that was added to her relationship with Berserker.  The Hulk like brute had a heart after all and it only wanted to keep his master safe.  It made the deaths of both characters all the more tragic.  Berseker wasn’t able to save Illya, who received a “Temple of Doom Kalli Ma” heart rip out courtesy of Anime greatest bastard.  He did, however, get one helluva send off battling golden boy Gilgamesh and his hundreds of thousands of swords.  I know I couldn’t stand Illya in the Studio Deen series and definitely thought she needed to be taught a lesson…but I never wished for an end like that for her.

Meanwhile, back with our power couple, it was obvious Shiro wasn’t going to just sit out the rest of the war even with the loss of Saber.  Turns out, he wasn’t going to be the only one in dire straits as Archer decided to switch sides and leave Rin in the dust…wow.  He claims it’s because Caster now has Saber plus Assassin (plus Terminator Kuzuki) and therefore cant be defeated.  Was he really that miffed that Rin kept choosing Shiro’s safety over winning the Grail time and time again?  Well his loss is Rin’s gain and I cant believe im saying that.  It only took the loss of both of their servants to see Rin and Shiro confess their feelings for one another.  Again, the nighttime scenes in this show are gorgeous beyond compare and I really wish the whole show was set at night.  It was the perfect setting for a love confession under the moonlight.  Ok, neither of them used “the L word”.  But it’s clear that Rin and Shiro are officially a couple and even have Lancer’s blessing on the matter.

I’m a little stunned Rin is willing to let this happen cause, as she said, Shiro is totally messed up.  Even after everything that’s happened: the loss of Saber and the death of Illya, he still thinks he can be a hero cause he wont quit.  In a show like One Punch Man or My Hero Academia, id agree with that but this is Shiro Emiya, the guy who should never be a hero cause he ends up doing more harm than good and never takes criticism, he just ignores it.  And now Rin is determined to follow Shiro down this endless rabbit hole of repeat to make sure he doesn’t die in the process…cause let’s face it, when it comes down to it, Shiro’s got less of a hero complex and more of a straight up death wish.  At the very least, I did enjoy the new banter that came with Shiro and Rin officially pairing up, with one trying to insist the other stay out of battle and both bickering even in the face of an enemy.  Shiro’s faults and all, he and Rin will always be kind of cute together.

It was actually good to see Lancer once again, especially since he’s been notably absent since the beginning of the series.  His charming smugness was a nice change from all the vile wickedness ive been seeing from…well pretty much anyone in this show who isn’t Rin, Saber or Shiro.  Gilgamesh needs to die, Shinji can pretty much join him and Caster and Kuzuki are now that level of OP I cant really stand from most Anime villains (whose ranks also include Gilgamesh).  Lancers fun teasing of Rin and Shiro’s newfound romance and his own admiration of Rin makes me hope that if his mysterious master does drop him (though I have an idea of who that might be), Rin can just forget Archer and take him on as her new servant, cause as much as I don’t want to admit it, Saber has to go back to Shiro at some point.  As for Kuzuki and Caster, we got backstories for both characters but even with Caster getting rid of her master in a flashback and going about her own cheating ways, she still comes off as one note to me.  And Kuzuki, he’s a guy I just cant read.  He’s nice to Caster but is cruel to everyone else?  At least Ryunosuke and Caster in Fate/Zero were a bit more defined in their short amount of screentime.

Well, we’ve got a showdown in a chapel ready to go next time.  Can Rin and Shiro take on the Terminator and his Servant and save Saber?  Will Lancer and Archer’s rematch be as awesome as their first encounter?  And come on, is Kirei really dead?  After all that guy went through in Fate/Zero I cant imagine his demise being anything less than epic in a grand battle.  See ya next time.

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