Well then, we wanted a Team Deathmatch Holy Grail War and
surprisingly, Fate/Apocrypha delivered big in only its second set of episodes. That didn’t mean the series skimped on some
important character development or quieter, contemplative moments. But if it action you seek from a Fate series,
well…todays set of episodes mustve been Christmas.
Picking up directly from the previous cliffhanger, Jeanne
and Astolfo managed to keep the Homunculus now known as Sieg from going back to
Team Black’s Homonculus power plant. As
I figured, Sieg is taking his new name from the Siefried, who sacrificed his
heart to save his life. I don’t know if that means his lifespan is getting
extended past that three year time limit.
However, Sieg is safe for now and he’s making nice with both Jeanne and
Astolfo, getting flirty with one while another is locked away in her crazy
masters torture/sex dungeon for treason against Team Black. I liked the instant bond between Jeanne and
Sieg. Kind of like how it is for most
Sabers in a Fate series, it’s hard to not be enamroued with a lovely moonlit
closeup of a beautiful woman who helped keep you from dying. Not that they in that particular territory
yet, but thanks to Jeanne’s kind words, Sieg started learning how to live, from
enjoying the countryside to learning how to eat, though I’m sure Sieg is also
listening to Astolfo’s “seize the day” mentality too. Though clearly, Sieg wasn’t staying on the
sidelines though Jeanne had a reason for doing so. I do have a bad feeling what Team Black has
in mind for him and now that Sieg is in the middle of the battlefield, I don’t
think he’s in for a fun time.
While Sieg and Jeanne charmed with their adorable report,
we did spend some more time with the other central duo of Fate/Apocrypha, Kairi
and Mordred. Somehow, Kairi had a dream
that was Mordred’s lifestory, which means that we got to see a very familiar
face from the Fate universe: OG Saber Arturia Pendragon herself and we even got
to see her clash with Mordred briefly.
Clearly Mordreds got a lot of pent up aggression against the parent who
killed her because she was unworthy (and kind of led a failed rebellion
too). Though, the spitfire is more than
willing to take it out on Servants as Mordred clashed with Archer of Black
(Chiron) and Jack the Ripper. It is so
disturbing to see Jack as a teeny girl (in a very inappropriate outfit) and we
still don’t have the full scope of her connection with this woman she calls
“Mommy”. Ignoring the lack of plot movement there, Mordred proved that for all
of Jack’s deadly slaughter techniques, she’s still no match for a Saber servant
and even Chiron had to back off. Not to
be left out, Kairi got to go toe to toe with Chiron’s master, the paralyzed
Fiore, who came prepared for battle with a backpack containing gun toting metal
tentacles that enabled her to move freely about…so A. Why is she using the
wheelchair when this works just fine and B. Wow, Doc Ock would be proud.
But let’s face it, these minor skirmishes were only minor
compared to the all out battle that closed out this weeks set. Vlad vs. Karna; Chiron vs. Achilles;
Frankenstein screaming and tearing her way through hordes of skeletons; even
Astolfo got to wage a one person battle against a flying fortress. Cudos to Fate/Zero and Unlimited Blade Works
for executing grand battles with only a couple of participants. Fate/Apocrypha, however, delivered on the
promise of one of the biggest battles ever seen in the Fate franchise. And it looks damn good too. Ufotable may be the home of the best looking
Fate projects, but A-1 has killed it from the get go and is showing everyone
that Sword Art Online isn’t just a one trick pony for them in terms of
production. The action set pieces are
well choreographed, there’s plenty of blood and gore to go around, and with the
exception of some wonky lighting effects here and there, the animation is borderline
flawless. Of course, several of the
previously mentioned match ups above came with their own personal elements,
especially the reveal that Chiron and Achilles were mentor and student in the
past. With the way theyre ramping up the
tension, youd think we were approaching the end of the story rather than the
halfway mark…and already im wondering just what’s going to be left to fight
with in that latter half when this fight is over?
My complaints for these episodes kind of mirror the last
set, mostly centering on the lack of Red Team development. I guess I shouldn’t be too upset as a seven
man team of Mages has been reduced to two more or less officially. Keeping the focus on Kairi and Shirou isn’t
terrible either. It just feels
misleading that both sides have a good selection of Servants, but one team
doesn’t even get to feature more than half of its players for more than a brief
glimpse. As expected though, Shirou has
his own hidden agenda, and it solidifies his true fusion of Shirou Emiya and
Kirei Kotomine: Save everyone…but burn the world down if that needs to be
done…classy. Still, Fate/Zero will
always hold the crown for doing the best job developing a great cast of seven
Mages and seven Servants. Fate/Apocrypha’s
mere mentioning of Red Team members before doing a quick jettison of them
without so much as a line just feels lazy.
But hey, there’s an all out fight going on and Mordred
and Kairi haven’t even made it to the action yet. This was one amazing opening to one of the
biggest centerpiece clashes in all of Fate.
All I can think of is I need to start the next set of episodes and hope
that Fate/Apocrypha can pull off one amazing mid season cliffhanger next
week…cause what the heck is the second half of the show going to be about if
they kill off more than half of their cast next week…possibly…maybe…idk but man
am I curious. See ya next week as this
blockbuster level Fate event continues.
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