Fate/stay night [Heaven's Feel] - I. Presage Flower Movie Review

Hello Inu here...

Just recently I managed to catch a screening of Fate/stay night [Heaven's Feel] which was released back in October in Japan. It is meant to be a trilogy movie for the final route of the Fate/stay night franchise. This is my review for part 1 of the trilogy, titled Presage Flower.

I want to keep this review simple, and I don't want to go too much into the movie mainly because this is just one part of the trilogy we are getting in the next few years. Which also means that it would be unfair for me to pass on a judgment for the series based on this movie alone.

What do I like about the movie?

This movie present Fate/stay night is unlike any other Fate/stay night routes there is. In fact it is more like a true sequel to Fate/Zero compared to the other two existing routes. Heaven's Feel introduced new characters, fair enough, but it still focuses more towards the characters introduced to us in Fate/Zero and build on them further. Yes, some of the original stay night characters need to take a step back, but it was worth it.

What do I not like about the movie?

The first part of Heaven's Feel is an information bomb. There's so much information in it, it kind of leaves a little room for the action and the romance. At this point of time, some of the scenes felt repetitive as it has been presented before in previous media, and some scenes are just inserted without any particular reason (refer to the spoiler section). But seriously, I really think it is a difficulty due to the fact that the first three days of the Visual Novel is the same for all routes, so it is kind of inevitable for it to be repetitive.

Judgment

Alright, as for the entire Heaven's Feel route I can't judge it based on the first movie, because truth be told I still have no idea what's going on. However, if you are a huge Fate fan, just go ahead and watch it you'll have a great time.

From this point on... SPOILER ALERT!

Characters

Heaven's Feel has the exact same cast as the other stay night routes, with an addition of some characters from Zero whom I believe will play a very huge role in this route.

Emiya Shirou

Emiya Shirou is the main protagonist of Fate/stay night and he will remain so. In this route, I feel that Shirou is portrayed as a more mature individual. His goal is still the same, to be a Superhero but he thinks through scenarios before he actually do anything in this route. It is like the complete opposite of the Fate route, but maybe that's just how I perceive him in this route. 

I also like how they spend a lot of time on building the relationship between Shirou and Sakura. I really like this aspect of the movie because while it is information heavy and can be rather boring, it delivers the viewers with a story that they have not witnessed in the previous route before. It explains a lot on why Sakura visits Shirou a lot and how their relationship actually began.

Matou Sakura

Matou Sakura is the main heroine of the Heaven's Feel route. In the two other route, Sakura feels neglected a lot, being seen mostly as the supporting character. It is quite sad because her character was built so much in Zero but she played little role in Fate and Unlimited Blade Works. However, in Heaven's Feel, she takes the spotlight.

I honestly never liked Sakura's character because she seemed weak and overly dependent, and it is still true in Heaven's Feel. I still feel that she is kind of underused in the first part of the movie, but I like how they present stay night in Sakura's perspective. She is the main heroine but as for now I really cannot say much because the real conflict has not really begun in part 1. They do tease a lot of what to come and I really can't wait to see how Sakura develop as a character.

Saber

I know I said that Saber is useless in Unlimited Blade Works because she was overshadowed by Rin. Entering the cinema, I expected the same thing to happen in this route, her being overshadowed by Sakura. I was wrong. Saber will play a pivotal role in this route, and that is proven at the end of the movie. Once again, I look forward to part 2. 

As for now, Saber is portrayed as a servant who cares a lot for Sakura. YES! Not Shirou, but Sakura. In this route it seemed that Saber wanted to protect Shirou more because Sakura cares for Shirou and Saber does not want to hurt Sakura's feeling rather than because Shirou is her master. This is once again a new aspect of stay night and it is really exciting to see how it unfolds.

Matou Zouken and True Assassin

A Fate/Zero character, Matou Zouken, brought again to stay night this time as the main antagonist. At the same time, True Assassin is also summoned and became his servant. For those who didn't know, True Assassin, as the name suggests, is the real Assassin that is supposed to be summoned for the Fifth Grail War instead of Sasaki Kojiro (the Assassin in the previous routes). This anomaly is caused by Caster who summoned Assassin instead of a real master. 

These two characters brought the Matous into the Grail War, something I really wanted to see after Fate/Zero but never actually received due to Shinji and Rider. These two brings stay night from a light series into something as dark as Fate/Zero, maybe even darker.

Plot

Nothing much to say about the plot as this movie only builds up on what's to come. The movie managed to fulfill its job, I believe, which is to introduce Shirou's relationship with Sakura and also a new threat which is Matou Zouken and the corrupted grail. It increases the stakes for the next part of Heaven's Feel, and in the end of the day, it leaves the viewers wanting more.

Coherence

I like how they take their time to explain new concepts and skips some parts which has already been told in the previous routes (which was the first 3 days of Fate/stay night basically). It makes time for the real plot of Heaven's Feel and saves a lot of budget which is awesome. However, it does come with a price. It can feel a bit choppy sometimes, and they actually skipped the iconic "Night of Fate" scene when Shirou summons Saber, it kind of disappoint me, but I accepted it in the end. To be fair, they do this to save a lot of budget so they can assign it more towards the second and third part of the route, which I am sure, will contain a lot of epic stuff.

Effects

First of all, another job well done by ufotable. All the great things that ever happened in UBW and Zero is being further improved in Heaven's Feel and that is an exceptional work. The highlight of this movie in terms of effects is without a doubt, the battle between Lancer and True Assassin. It's a sight to behold.

I do have to make an exception to the 3D CGI bugs in Matou residence, it looks ugly. Really, those bugs in Zero look much more menacing than in Heaven's Feel. I really wish they can do something about it.

One more thing, Yuki Kajiura did an awesome job making the soundtrack. Especially, during the emotional moments. I really feel that the soundtrack focuses more on the romantic aspect instead of the action sequences and that is fine, because I believe that this route should be more emotional than the other routes. The collaboration with Aimer is also top notch, the Flower Song (Hana no Uta) is commendable and leaves an everlasting sad emotion as the movie ends.

Emotions

There are a few emotional scenes in the movie, mostly sad. The first one was the warehouse scene when Sakura talks to Shirou. I don't want to go into the details but for me it is emotional because of how Sakura convey her message. We already know that Sakura has not been living a good life after being adopted by the Matou, and now she talks about how she may become evil in the future and all this, it kind of gives the impression that, worse things are going to happen to her. That, accompanied with Shirou's look being unable to comprehend what she is trying convey, yet at the same time, wanting to help, it just makes me sad.

Another sad scene was at the end of the movie. Simply to say, Saber 'died' guys. I pity those Saber lovers. At least Alter is coming!