Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works is the story of a secret tournament between seven chosen mages that happens in the shadows of our modern day world. Each mage is paired with a legendary figure from myth or history and the last pair standing receives the ultimate prize: the wish-granting Holy Grail.
Thus enter the two leads: Shiro, a normal high school boy with only the most minor of magical abilities and Rin, a young but powerful mage from the same school. After Shiro accidentally becomes a contender for the Grail when he is paired with noble female knight “Saber,” Rin and her pragmatic partner “Archer” decide to ally with him to defeat the other teams—lest they risk the Grail falling into far more devious hands.
As Unlimited Blade Works is a fighting anime, the battles between legendary heroes are the very core. These battles look amazing—even in comparison to prequel series Fate/Zero (also a Ufotable anime). The 2D animation is astoundingly smooth and well-choreographed—bolstered by the 3D effects of magical spells and energy from the various supernatural weapons that add dynamic light and shadow to the images portrayed on screen. The result is a feast for the eyes. It is so far beyond what viewers expect in animation quality that fans have nicknamed the series “Unlimited Budget Works.”
However, the visuals are far from the end all be all of Unlimited Blade Works. It delivers in the story department as well.
What's great about Unlimited Blade Works is how different it is from the 2006 anime. The setup is the same and all the players competing for the Holy Grail are identical. Shiro and Saber are still partners and they once again agree to team up with Rin and Archer, but the tiny choices Shiro makes wildly alter how the story plays out. At first, the differences seem minor and can be hard to spot. But by the cliffhanger ending of the first half (the second half of the anime will be airing this spring), the plotline has shifted so radically that it’s impossible to predict what will happen next.
