I’m not much in a writing mood at this point, so this will likely be brief, and even more disorganized and worse than my usual “reviews.”
I had a love/hate relationship with this series. Early on it was love, except for Shirou. Then it was hate, except for Tohsaka Rin. But when it ended, it was love, except for Shirou who I could at least tolerate by that point.
So, what caused this roller coaster of differing opinions? Generally, it was how much of the time was spent showing Shirou as a guy with a martyr complex who is both boring and bordering strongly towards being a sexist. When Shirou was in the background with Rin taking the lead, things were great. Before Saber became a blushing damsel, things were great. But when Shirou started getting more and more, “No, only I can sacrifice myself, because I’m the guy,” and the more Saber started blushing and getting weak because of Shirou’s touch, my opinion of the series plummeted drastically.
However, that’s one of the good things about anime. Something that is completely awful can have a fantastic finale (and vice versa–anime, it’s always a surprise!) And so, while this series was not completely awful, its mediocrity was blown away by a well thought out ending sequence of three episodes that injected a great deal of depth into the story (which was sorely lacking), and giving a satisfying ending that maintained the integrity of the story of King Arthur.
So, what were the best elements of the series overall? Fights, fights, fights. No matter how badly the interpersonal relationship moments went, fight scenes were almost always fantastic. They had plenty of power, and while they included plenty of cliches, there was often a lot of ingenuity in them that kept them from feeling too repetitious. Generally, as long as Shirou kept his mouth shut, battles were great.
The music, aside from the second opening theme, was also fantastic. The background music throughout that final arc was exceptionally wonderful, and very fitting for the series. The first opening and the closing were very enjoyable to listen to, and the ending animation, simple as it was, kept my attention every episode.
Character designs were also a plus, usually. Normal male characters tended to be pretty bland (and in the case of Shirou, downright ugly), but female characters and the Epic Heroes were very attractively designed. Archer, Saber, and Rin were my favorite designs, particularly Rin when in full school uniform and jacket, and Saber in full armor (or wearing that under dress without armor–never liked the skirt and blouse Shirou liked.) Lancer and Gilgamesh were also interesting to look at, while Berserker’s design was both ugly and perfect.
The bad? Well, Shirou, mostly, but I think I’ve said enough about him. More bad? Lack of information, as well as all of the depth being inserted into the last 3 episodes rather than spreading it throughout and toning down the harem aspects that were starting to crop up a bit too much through the center. The lack of information was particularly frustrating, because I know there is so much there to know, but instead of getting it from the anime, I’m going to have to peruse Wikipedia. There are just too many unanswered questions that have no reason to be unanswered. Ambiguity is fine, but introducing a concept then dropping it to never be mentioned again (this has to do with Rin and Sakura in particular) is quite the waste.
So, what did I think overall? As much as I was frustrated through so much of the series, the ending really did make it worth watching. The action is great, many of the characters are enjoyable, and as long as you can put up with Shirou’s antics and make yourself realize that even if you don’t know what the ending is, don’t worry, it’s excellent, it will be an enjoyable show to watch. Not the best, but most certainly not the worst.
