Summary: >

There is a sort of game that is played every few years. Seven masters are chosen with the chance to obtain the holy grail, which will grant a wish. Each master is given a "servant", who is a heroic soul sometime in history. Masters and Servants battle it out until only one master is left. And while a servant can be defeated, it is typically easier to kill the master. The only rule is really that no one can see the battles take place. Aside from that everything is fair game.

Ten years ago Shiro was caught in a catastrophic fire, but was rescued by a solitary man. He became a father to Shiro before eventually passed away. He taught Shiro a few things about "magic" which Shiro diligently practiced every day. Aside from his power that he kept hidden to himself, life was pretty simple for Shiro. Although strange events began to take place around town. Then one night Shiro witnessed a battle between two masters. He was almost killed but somehow managed to survive. Unfortunately one of the servants decided that Shiro would not be allowed to live and followed him to his house. After a brief fight, it looked as though Shiro would be done for, until a servant was summoned to him. A beautiful but brave knight named Saber would now be his servant, and he was now a master. That wasn't such a good thing because Shiro doesn't actually know much of anything about the game. Coupled with his bone-headed necessity to always try to protect people at the cost of his personal safety, it didn't seem like Shiro would stay in the game long. Yet with the help of Saber he persevered.

But the farther he gets into the game, the more Shiro learns about himself, the game, and the man he came to know as a father... who was actually a master himself. But Shiro begins to question why he wants the grail - to stop the catastrophe 10 years ago. And why does Saber want the grail? And more and more the biggest concern for Shiro is over Saber herself. At some point Shiro realized that he loved Saber, however once the game is over, the servant will disappear. Obtaining the grail may mean that he will lose Saber, however not obtaining it may mean that one of the other psychotic masters will have it instead. And Shiro would rather not see what sort of horrible wish they would unleash upon the world.

Thoughts: >

This is the second big game from Type-Moon, after Tsukihime. If you've read my review of that one, you know how disappointed I was with it. It was no surprise then that I just wasn't all that enthusiastic about watching this anime. I mean if the limitless possibilities of Tsukihime could be screwed up, then what would become of other anime based off of Type-Moon games? Fortunately Fate Stay Night turned out quite well actually. As is telling by my ratings, this anime actually didn't lag in any category. Characters mainly got one point off because Shiro is such an idiot through much of the story. But that's okay because he really doesn't detract from this title too much. He also gets a bit less stupid as time goes on. It's interesting how even some characters you'd think were just background fodder, like caster; have such intricate stories behind them. I think that goes to show the power behind using Type-Moon games as the story base. (Type-Moon being renowned for their story lines).

Screen Caps: >