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FATE / STAY NIGHT: WAR OF THE MAGI (VOL. 2) |
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Tuesday, 03 April 2007 |
 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | GENEON ENTERTAINMENT | | | ▪ | ASPECT RATIO: | | 16:9 ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN | | | ▪ | AUDIO: | | ENGLISH AND JAPANESE DD 2.0 | | | ▪ | RUNNING TIME: | | 100 MIN | | | ▪ | RATING: | | 13UP | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 02/20/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 04/04/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | HOLLY ELLINGWOOD |
Thrown into the hidden War for the Grail against 12 magi with their deadly servants, Shirou attempts to refuse to take part, unwilling to take a life or harm others. But will his naïve idealism get others killed, let alone putting his life in jeopardy? In a world of danger and incredible powers, magic has never been more alluring – or deadly!
Fate Stay Night is an exquisitely rich fantasy series. The highly unusual oddity in this series is Shirou himself. As the potential hero of the piece, he is proving to be more and more of a liability to all those around him. His pacifist ideals render him helpless to attack because he won’t even learn the necessary magic to do so, and his defensive arts are no match for the vicious attacks by the servants of the other magi. This behaviour of his takes the highest toll on his servant – Saber. She is thrust into danger to protect him because he will not fight. His desire for neutrality in this war is completely unrealistic, let alone impossible. At first we see how badly it works for him when at school he is attacked by Rin. Their battle shows how inept his skills truly are. Later, when wondering about who is draining the mana from people, it is Saber who feels obligated to protect her master and set off alone to confront the dangerous servant waiting for her. Alone without her master, a servant is weakened considerably. She may very well be rushing off to her death.
His problems are made everybody’s problems because it puts more than just Shirou at risk. As new characters enter the scene, Shirou will soon have to make a choice: either fight or die. When a third possible magi appears after a new (and utterly fascinating) new servant by the name of Rider appears, Shirou is tempted to betray friends and make new alliances. Naturally he doesn’t trust the smarmy schoolmate, but his response is full of a lack of understanding of the reality his life now exists in. The magi are at war, like it or not, Shirou is one of them. Even Rin’s servant, the handsome and strong Archer, has some choice words for the young man. After all, this isn’t only Shirou’s survival, or his servants, Saber, which is at hand, but that of the human race. Whoever possesses the Grail controls the world. If not soft hearted Shirou, than what power hungry and maniacal tyrant will he allow to lead the world to rack and ruin?
Such a weak hero for a series is almost unprecedented unless you include Shinji from Neon Genesis Evangelion. It does make for a fascinating series to see how his flaws will lead those around them. Will he finally face up to reality and his obligations or will he be the ruin of those around him? Meanwhile the action is fantastic. The magical battle sequences are amazing visually, having a vital quality that is a pleasure to watch and exciting to view. The character designs of the servants are wickedly alluring, especially the latest servant to be introduced, the deadly and enigmatic Rider. With the way it keeps throwing twists into the plot, it will be interesting to find out if the show goes the more predictable route or if it keeps coming out with more surprises.
EXTRAS:
Bonus features include clean ending animation, Geneon previews, and a fold out insert and reverse cover art featuring Rin.
IN SUMMARY:
Gripping battles with vibrant and atmospheric magic duels in the dark of night, Fate Stay Night is an alluring fantasy series with danger, intrigue and some unusual components to make for a thrilling series so far.
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