筆の海 ver.8

Finals came and gone. Pretty much drained by today's OSCA. Overall there were their ups and downs. Frankly I didn't feel the examination tension as much as last year, maybe partly because of the location of the exam hall which was just above the library. It's a narrow hall with tables too close to each other. If I had the will, I could have peep over the tables in front or beside me. (<__<) I missed the Basement Hall which was huge and the ambience was just right for a Finals setting. *sighs* Results will be out on Friday. Here's hoping for the best. (@__@)

OSCA...despite sounding like Oscar, ain't as glittering as the latter, *sighs* Having a headache, which is a first after so many papers. (>__<) My Simulation Lab live-stations are a pain and I'm guessing loads of marks have already been deducted with the mistakes I made. (T__T) Technology lab wasn't that bad. Had more fun there. (<__<) Hopefully I fare well in both. *prays*

Today was such a breezy day. So cooling that it can induce even the most stubborn person to sleep. (>__<) *sighs* Been dozing off each time I read my notes. Had it been more than 5 times, I'm not too sure for I have lost count. Xp Still pretty windy at the moment. Man, I want to finish studying fast so that I can snuggle under my blanket. XD

Just to start off, I'm one of the very few people who actually shunned Fate/stay night when it came out. Why? Maybe because I tend to avoid over-hyped stuff which may just turn out disappointing to me. Furthermore a plot based on an eroge game? What ran through my mind was harem, ecchi and more harem. But (once again) I was proven wrong and I'm taken back by how engrossing the plot can be.

A detailed plot summary can be found at Wikipedia (my virtual textbook =p) but basically it's a battle royal with magicians/humans as Masters with summoned Epic spirits as their Servants. The protagonist is Emiya Shiro who unwittingly ended up being a Master and forced to participate in the struggle to obtain the Holy Grail which could grant its owner his greatest desire. Pretty much the typical battle storyline but there are few notable things to mention about FSN.


SPOILERS AHEAD





Firstly, Type-Moon intrigued me with its novel idea of using heroic/legendary spirits as Servants. Being one who absolutely adores mythology, this was what mainly drew me into FSN. At each Holy Grail war, 7 servants from different classes would be summoned and for the 5th war in which FSN anime is set:

Archer: Counter Guardian (aka adult Emiya Shirou)
Assassin: Sasaki Kojirou
Berserker: Heracles
Caster: Medea
Lancer: Cu Chulainn
Rider: Medusa
Saber: King Arthur

I was impressed with the wide range of mythology the spirits were based on - ranging from Greek to Sumerian. Type-Moon did their own versions of those legendary characters with each one having their own comprehensive pasts and abilities. I had a lot of fun just reading them. =D


My favourite character in the show has gotta be Gilgamesh. The ultimate bad-ass who is arrogant, selfish and charismatic with bishounen looks to boot - the finest features of an antagonist. *hearts* XD His Noble Phantasms wowed me especially Gate of Babylon, his vault of numerous weapons. Extremely powerful with anti-World destructive force. Truly the King of Heroes. woot!

Next is the seiyuu selection. FSN has a fine cast of seiyuus with Sugiyama Noriaki (Shirou), Kawasumi Ayako (Saber), Ueda Kana (Rin), Nakata Jouji (Kirei), Canna Nobutoshi (Lancer), Suwabe Junichi (Archer - drools), Miki Shinichiro (Assassin) and Seki Tomokazu as Gilgamesh (total fangirl love! (*o*)) to mention a few.

Action are aplenty and thankfully the blood is red instead of some blue or sorts. Studio Deen isn't afraid to provide the gore which is a good thing. With epic characters fighting each other, there is no way censorship would do justice to the battles. =p Music is by Kawai Kenji and quite befitting. Theme songs were okay but not very impressive, but I do love Jyukai though.

Despite the raving, there are some rants. FSN anime isn't as elaborate as the game with some exclusion of details of the servants' identities. I find reading the Wikipedia entry more engaging than the adaptation. (-___-) Studio Deen combined the 3 game scenarios into one but focusing more on Fate. Little is mentioned about Archer's true identity and there were some unexplained situations. The only way to gain true understanding of the whole story would be by playing the game as well as reading the Fate/Zero novels so the anime is kinda advertising for the two. (>__<)

Another let-down was the ending. Not that it was disappointing, it was just depressing to me. The anime remained true to the game's ending and well, it is realistic that those from the past do not end up with the present...but then, I don't like the bittersweet impression. (T__T) It kinda makes me reminiscent other animes that had similar ending - Escaflowne, Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo, Chrno Crusade etc. Arthuria uttering her final words and Bedivere giving her partings left me dejected. *sighs*

Interesting premise but If only the anime was as extensive as the game, it would have been outstanding. Still noteworthy on its own though.



Some minor side-notes, it took me nearly 2 hours to write this....man, I pretty suck at writing reviews ne? (x__x)

Another series that took me by surprise. Black Blood Brothers turned out to be quite entertaining - vampire, blood, gore, action-packed, what is there not to love? I did mentioned VAMPIRES no? hehe.Who wouldn't love those proud creatures of the night? (*o*)

A 2006 production with only 12 episodes...which was too short in my opinion as the storyline is only like an arc of something longer. Can't help it since it's based on an ongoing light novels series but they can make it like Full Metal Panic (another title that is based on light novels) with 3 seasons under its belt (and maybe more to come?). BBB has a strong plot but was not fully exploited in the anime...which is such a pity. (>__<)

The reason to why Cass killed Eve was never explained...actually a lot of things are left unexplained. Oh curses! (@w@) Oh, and I found myself giggling whenever the vampires feed on women - with the sound of ecstasy the victims make. (O__o). Not forgetting to mention that they can be pretty violent to kids (ouch for Koutaro during episode 1) (x__x)

There are various of interesting characters in BBB but unfortunately the anime didn't dwell much into their pasts. I would sooo love to see the lifes of Eve, Jiro and Cass together in the past. We only get to see some bits and pieces at the beginning of each episodes...*sighs* Gah! I wanna see the showdown between Jiro and the Kowloon vampire king. (T__T)

Seiyuu-wise, Sakurai Takahiro voices Jiro. woot! Can't miss his voice. =p However I find his character design a bit weird. Why wear a tall pointy hat when you're already tall and the red jacket can be a bit out of place but then again, this is anime where you need bright colors to stand out. Fukuyama Jun also played a part as Zelman Clock which is my favourite character in the series.


Zelman Clock, the fire-wielding Old Blood with a bloodline from the War God Asura. Seriously cool. (^o^) In episode 10 where he fought against Cass, he released this huge fireball (reminiscent of One Piece's Ace's Dai Enkai Entei) and told Mimiko and Koutaro to get down and pray to God. Kakkoii~! (*o*)

Love the ending theme for the show, Shingiru (蜃気楼, "Shingiru" / 신기루) by Loveholic which is a Korean song. I think this is the first time a Japanese anime has ever used a Korean song as its theme song. Songs by Korean singers are aplenty but not actual Korean songs. The song is as melancholy as it sounds and I had been looping it ever since I downloaded it (which btw was waaayyy before I watched this series XD).

Short but enjoyable. Hopefully there'll be a second season but chances are slim since 2 years have gone by. (<__<) Here's to hoping and on to the next series! (^__^)