Fate/Apocrypha Anime Review

You know those moments where you are so in love with a series, you have such a high expectations for new releases? I guess this is one of those moments. When I heard that they are making this into an anime, I was hyped, after all it was bigger than ever.

Fate/Apocrypha is another entry to the Fate series, however it exist in a different timeline from the original Stay Night. It is a story about the Great Holy Grail War, which unlike any Grail Wars that involves 7 masters and servants, this war involves two great factions. These two factions each has 7 masters and servants, and they both are fighting for the possession of the Great Grail. Sounds great right, I mean, 7 servants are already one hell of a show, what about 14? The potential this anime possess is just off the charts, but I was left rather disappointed.

What do I like about the anime?

I really love the idea of historical figures fighting each others, and that was one reason why I love the Fate series so much. This anime brings even more of this, and as everyone expect there will be even more fights that could potentially leave a mark in anime history. I believe that action anime lovers will most definitely enjoy Fate/Apocrypha due to the sheer amount of fights they have.

This brings us to another point, Fate/Apocrypha, unlike the main Stay Night storyline, get their hands right into the matter. It was not information heavy, and it goes straight into the action. It was not boring in the first 5 episodes or so as you are getting glimpses of what's going to happen. It goes straight into the war and make their stand clear that this is not a story of before the war, this is indeed a story of the war itself.

Another plus point for this anime is definitely the characters. The choice of characters are remarkable. Even heroes that you thought you won't like, each has their own reasons of you to like them in a way or another. There are some heroes that you originally thought would serve as a great main characters even though they are not. Simply to say, these characters each contribute a huge portion of the plot-building of Apocrypha.

What do I not like about the anime?

Unfortunately, I don't like a lot of things, particularly in terms of story-telling. Apocrypha has a very confusing plot. In fact, Fate really loves to make a case for a "unique" Holy Grail War in their stories which makes their stories special. For example, would simply be the Stay Night routes, there are three different unique story telling each with a different story line. The closest you can get from a pure Holy Grail War is the Fate Route. What about a story about pure Holy Grail War? Can it be good? Yes of course, look at Fate/Zero. In the case of Apocrypha, it is a story about a Great Holy Grail War, this time a war between two factions and involving 14 servants. The idea is awesome! But sadly, Apocrypha insists on adding further "uniqueness" onto the story which in the end actually causes a lot of confusion especially in the midpoint of the series.

How do one solve a confusing plot? With a good coherent stories filled with explanation. Yes it can be dry sometimes, but Zero and Unlimited Blade Works did this and they do a great job in explaining their story. Apocrypha rushes things, before you know what is going on, they tend to avoid explanations and focus on their main highlights, which are the fights. In the end, it leaves us with a somewhat confusing story, a story that hopes to defy expectations and increase interests, but fails to do so and instead, did the opposite.

While the servants choice are likeable, the servant-master relationship for some is a minus from me. Some characters have so many good potential bonds that can be further developed, especially those from the Black Factions. These really affects the emotional factor when things happened throughout the series such as death and betrayal, because for some, you just don't feel it.

The final thing I hate the most, is how Apocrypha does not play on its strength. I continuously bring out the fact that battle between 14 servants are a crazy awesome highlight and a showcase of potential of the series. Yet, the anime does not make every single fight meaningful. They tend to oversimplify the nature of Noble Phantasms, making it as if it's a mere ultimate moves by the servants when in fact it means much more. They make the fights look haphazard, and it can be hard to follow what's going on sometimes. The fights between the servants look like a mere hack and slash, there are little to no strategy involved. Some fights that can be meaningful (especially between the Knights class servants) become a mere battle between Berserkers.

Judgment

Unfortunately, Fate/Apocrypha don't buy me. I am a huge fan of the Fate franchise, and I am a huge fan of the original timeline. I watch Apocrypha with a HUGE expectations which was brought down due to the lackluster story telling and the dissatisfying fight scenes. Apocrypha is one of the few anime that can be really good given a lot of budget, but if A1-pictures reasoning are really due to a lack of budget, then why bother trying for Apocrypha in the first place? I am giving this anime a B-.

From this point onwards..... SPOILER ALERT!!!

Alright, since I feel that it's easier to explain things after I laid out the plot, I guess I will once again start with the plot before continuing with the characters. 

Plot

Fate/Apocrypha is a story about the Great Holy Grail War. It is the first anime from the Fate franchise that diverges from the main timeline. The background of the story revolves around the Yggdmillenia Family which managed to steal the Great Grail during the Third Holy Grail War away from Fuyuki. From that point onwards, whenever there is a grail war, it's a matter on how the Mage's Association attempts to reclaim the grail from the Yggdmillenia family (at least this is what I understand). 

This brings us to the existence of the Black faction which is the Yggdmillenia family and the Red faction which are mages sent by the Mage's Association in order to fight in the Great Holy Grail War. Each faction possess 7 servants from the original 7 classes, and they are supposed to fight each other. This concept of war between two factions actually really bring up the concept of war itself, which is different from the battle royal between 7 servants that we usually see in the original timeline. It is therefore really refreshing to see something new being brought into the table.

The Grail also summoned a mediator (think of Kirei in the Stay Night route) but this time round, due to the sheer intensity of the war, the mediator is a servant. A servant class Ruler, which is supposed to be a superior class compared to the other 7, became the mediator, she takes no allegiance to any of the faction and is meant only to bear witness to the war. (and of course become something like a referee). 

Alright, the first few episodes, stay true to the main material that there is indeed a war going on. The Black faction possess Homunculi army and the Red faction is able to summon an army of Dragontooth Warrior themselves. Each of the faction has strategy and tactics in order to conquer a particular piece of land, something like a real war should be. Servants are fighting each other in order to gain control of the territory, and rivalries are even made, particularly between Saber of Black and Lancer of Red. It is really entertaining to watch, it is as if you are truly bearing witness to a war. Then, everything got sideways when they introduce the main character.

The main character is actually a Homunculi from the Black Faction who feel that his destiny is beyond the war. Basically he wants to live as a normal person and not participate in the war despite the fact that he was made specifically for the war. The story then continues following the Homunculi, later named Sieg, as we progress further into the war. At this time around, the story begins to hint us that there is something wrong with the war, and that Sieg's existence isn't even supposed to happen. Then, Ruler begin to interfere with the fights and she tries to resolve the problem which wasn't exactly pronounced in the first half of the anime. The attention begins to shift from the likeable characters and potentially meaningful master-servant relationship among the two factions, into Sieg and Ruler.

Now then the story continues on with things getting weirder and weirder. Saber of Black sacrificed himself to bring Sieg to life and inherit 3 command seals (which of course eventually makes him a master). But this still happens during the first half of the anime where the war is still somewhat apparent. The Black Faction still persists on fighting the Red faction, but the weird thing is, none of the masters from the red faction is to be seen (except for Sisigo which is another story). It turns out that the Masters of Red were actually "hypnotised" and that the servants are taken control by Amakusa Shiro Tokisada which turns out to be the Ruler Class servant from the Fourth Great Holy Grail War. BOOM! Everything you expect is not what you expect!

After this revelation, which was marks the beginning of the second half of the story, the attention shifts entirely away from the war. It becomes a battle between the Black Faction + Sisigo and Amakusa Shiro with the remaining Red Servants. Most importantly, it becomes more like a battle between two Ruler class servants that has control over pawns comprising of servants from various classes that fight each other in a game of chess. Now at this point of time, I am rather pissed because, it may be better if the story keep it to a fight between two factions instead of a Force for Good fighting a Force for Evil. In fact, I believe you can do it only and only if, you have more emphasis on the main character instead of building the love for the secondary characters. This makes the story feels divided and it feels as if you are not watching what you expect to watch.

The story ends with, of course, the Force for Good winning, and Sieg turns to a dragon that need to bear with the granted wish of the Force for Evil. It is to be honest a unique ending, and it could be a potentially good ending. In fact the entire plot is potentially good, but I really feel that their execution is flawed. Not introducing the main character as soon as possible, reinforced with not making the main character as likable as the secondary characters, feel that it really affects the expectations for the plot and adversely damage the coherence of the plot. It makes a potentially good plot wasted with many confusion in the half mark and many expectations are dispersed.

Characters

Let us start from our main characters, which for your information, are not introduced in the first episode.

Sieg

Sieg is a homunculus made by the Black Faction to fight the war. He is a part of their army and is destined to die like a soldier would in a war. However, somehow, he has this other conscience inside him and the will to live. He is firm that he do not want to die in the war he did not start and did not even understand of. So, he defected from the Black Faction. Normally, considering that he is just a normal homunculus except for the fact that he has a unique magic circuit, he would have easily die against a servant, or even against a normal master. However, he did survive after he gain the assistance from Siegfried, the Saber of Black, Astolfo, the Rider of Black and the Ruler, Jeanne d'Arc. The focus of the story then shifted entirely to this homunculus after Siegfried sacrificed his own life in order to save his. Which explains why he adopted the name Sieg in the first place.

Throughout the story, I feel that Sieg could have been a much better character if the story bothers to actually make viewers like Sieg. From the beginning of his existence, Sieg is pictured as an individual who is powerless and pathetic, even more so than Emiya Shirou. Then they went on killing Siegfried whom I believe to be a much better character than Sieg in order to save his life. At this point of time I feel really uncomfortable with the fact that a servant fighting a war would give his life to a nobody. In one sense, it puts Siegfried into this likable state of being noble and honorable while at the same time it puts Sieg into a character worth hating. This is weird and an unwise decision especially due to the fact that Sieg is the main character. To put it simply, my first impression of Sieg was not the best. When the story start to shift towards him, I kind of feel that the character is ruining the story I honestly have been enjoying so far. Going further into the story I expect to get to know him more and hopefully, give him more credit.

So as the story goes on, he did get a lot of development. I actually notice that instead of being pathetic, Sieg actually inherit the qualities of Siegfried, of wanting to become a hero and to save people, especially his kind (the homunculi). I like this aspect, because it feels like Siegfried still lives within the story. I, however, hate the fact that he is still somewhat overly-dependant on other servants but at the same time he feels that he can do everything himself. It feels that he keeps getting saved over and over again throughout the story despite having his life restored once, and granted power.

Speaking of his power, I find it unsatisfying. Sieg possessed a unique Command Seal, as usual he is granted 3 uses of Command Spells. Like normal Command Spells, he can give an absolute order to his servant, but additionally, he can transform into Siegfried, yes, the servant. Initially, I thought that, this is amazing, and I wondered what will happen if he used all three Command Spell. Will the life Siegfried gave him be gone? It is intriguing to have this aspect, and that his power comes with a great cost. However, guess what, turns out Ruler can restore his Command Spell, and all that interest just disappear. I am really disappointed in this aspect, I really feel that Ruler should not be able to restore a unique Command Spell. Moreover, I believe that keeping to a "three usage then death" aspect of Sieg's power would have make him a much better character overall. 

Ruler a.k.a Jeanne d'Arc

Alright, Jeanne as we all know is the patron saint of France and is really popular in the world. She is widely used as fictional characters from many franchises, and now we get one version in the Fate series. 

Jeanne was introduced earlier than Sieg in the story, which is good, because you get to know her better. Initially, I thought that her role is somewhat important to the story, but I don't expect her to be the highlight of Apocrypha. How should I say this? I should have known, the fact that Jeanne is advertised to be the main character of Apocrypha, the story of Apocrypha would not be a battle between servants, but instead it will include some anomaly in the war. That is because Ruler should only intervene when there is something amiss with the war. The fact that Jeanne is the main character already kind of spoils the backbone of the story itself, and this is exactly the problem of Apocrypha.

If we should follow the story of Apocrypha, we actually find that Jeanne is just a character doing her job as a Ruler. I honestly feel that there is a lack of character development for Jeanne. The first time I see her, she is just a servant that's trying to do her job, which is to foresee the war. The stake was increased when Amakusa Shiro Tokisada emerge, but yet again she attempts to fight Amakusa because she is doing her job as a Ruler. She is indeed just trying to do the right thing. From the beginning until the end, I cannot see anything special out of Ruler compared to how I see Saber from the Fate Route or Archer from Unlimited Blade Works. There is some attempt to develop her character through her relationship with Sieg, but I feel that it does not add any value to the story. I only feel that it is just a glue between Sieg and Ruler.

Ruler a.k.a Amakusa Shirou Tokisada

Yes, another Ruler and this is the anomaly of the Great Holy Grail War. We are first introduced to Amakusa with him taking the name Kotomine Shirou (which I believe to be a throwback to "what happen if Emiya Shirou is raised by Kirei). The character instantly clicked with me, and it interest me. In fact, he is one of the most interesting character introduced in Apocrypha. He was first introduced as the Master of Assassin from the Red Faction and due to him and Sisigo, I was actually rooting for the Red Faction when the show just started. 

As the story goes forward, it is revealed that Amakusa is actually another Ruler from a previous Grail War and that he had been plotting for the past decades against the Yggdmillenia for killing his previous master (I hope I get this right). Then he moves forward to seek the Grail for himself to get rid of the World's Evil by accessing "Heaven's Feel" which is a Third Magic, a superior magic in Nasuverse... Honestly, I don't understand... The anime does not explain much in this aspect, and I really hope Ufotable's version of the Heaven's Feel route will clear my doubts in this aspect. Back to topic, Amakusa Shirou is one of the better character in Apocrypha because he has a clear motives for his evil and it is well explained throughout the series. He is a well-developed antagonist and is one of the few saving grace of the anime.

I really like Amakusa Shirou from the beginning of the anime until at the final act. I don't exactly like the very end because I find his death weird, I don't exactly understand what's going on during the last fight.

Alright, I have set the main player aside, I'll go forward to the characters from each factions but I don't intend to give too much details because it is impossible to do so. I'll give brief statements on what I like and what I don't like on the character.

Red Faction

1. Saber of Red, Mordred Pendragon and Kairi Sisigo

Without a doubt, the best pair in the anime. Initially, I thought they are the main character. Sisigo's story is so intriguing about how he cannot have descendants for him to pass his magic crest to, and how it mirrors Mordred's regarding how she can never inherit Artoria's legacy. Ah yes, Mordred is Artoria's "son", which automatically it's an instant like on the character. I like how Mordred acts like a child sometimes and her interactions with Sisigo is the best thing that exist in the anime. What I don't like is the fact that their story has so much more "real life" meaning and emotions in it especially regarding legacy and how parents leave one for their child. Yet it is only briefly touched and not explored on. But honestly, I can't ask for more considering the sheer amount of characters and how little screen time they get. Mordred, is the best girl in the anime, and there is nothing you can say about that. Leave your arguments in the comment and I am willing to argue all day long.

2. Archer of Red, Atalanta 

I don't mention the master's name because they don't play any role in the story, and it is true for all of the masters of the red faction except for Sisigo and Amakusa. Alright, there is nothing much to say for Atalanta, except for her feud with Jeanne in the final act of the series. I find it meaningful for the character because you get to know more of her, but it is one of the moments I feel that it doesn't really add any value to the story. The feud was about her views on children after Jeanne killed Assassin of Black.

3. Lancer of Red, Karna

Oh I expected a lot from Karna. His initial feud with Siegfried reminded me a lot of Saber versus Lancer in Fate/Zero. I was hoping more from this aspect of the story, but it got reduced to ash when Sieg arrived. Oh well, true enough, afterwards Karna's role is merely a servant-slayer for Amakusa and I don't get to enjoy more on his knightly aspect.

4. Rider of Red, Achilles

I am actually surprised that Achilles stole my attention in the final act of the series. Initially, I don't expect much from him, but his feud with the Archer of Black was awesome. It was something that Karna vs Siegfried could have been, but instead we get a showdown between Achilles and his master, Chiron. It's interesting and is a + point on characters for Apocrypha.

5. Caster of Red, William Shakespeare

He is just an annoying character whose only role is to create illusions and summon Gilles de Rais in the final act. He has almost zero contribution in the first half and I honestly have no idea why he is in the story.

6. Assassin of Red, Semiramis and Amakusa Shiro Tokisada

I wrote a lot on Amakusa now it's his servant. Semiramis is more like a caster instead of an assassin but she is another great servant. She is extremely loyal to his master until the very end, despite having doubts on his morality. Semiramis is a typical powerful servant you will get in the Fate franchise and she is definitely a solid character. I guess many find her appealing, but seriously guys? She killed Mordred, I hate her.

7. Berserker of Red, Spartacus

Useless character, another reason why I hate Apocrypha. They made servants look like pawns who doesn't contribute much, and it makes it as if Ruler is a much superior class compared to the other classes. In the case of Spartacus, his only purpose in the story was to self-destruct and show off how cool Jeanne's Noble Phantasm is.

Black Faction

1. Saber of Black, Siegfried and Gordes Musik Yggdmillenia

Another interesting pair. I really like this pair in the sense on how conflicting their ideals are. It once again, reminds me of Lancer and El Melloi in Fate/Zero. Siegfried is another solid servant, in fact, a true hero, whose motive is just to save people while Gordes would do anything to win the war for his family, even if it involves playing dirty during a fight. This result to many disobediences and many conflicts within the pair, once again is something always interesting to see in Fate. Sadly, it got Sieg-ed and Siegfried died to give life to a mediocre protagonist. I like how they give a different perspective of Gordes later on in the story though, it shows quality why he is chosen as master in the first place.

2. Archer of Black, Chiron and Fiore Forvedge Yggdmillenia

Chiron is one of the best servants in the anime. I would definitely rank Mordred 1st but Chiron would be 2nd. Chiron is a mentor figure to many other characters, especially towards his master. It is an interesting interaction between the pair because a master-student relationship is rather new. Chiron survived until the very end against Achilles and a lot of screen time was given to him. It calls for one of the more-developed servants in the anime. Fiore as well, has a lot of character development in her, starting from a kid who would do anything to serve his family, to a kid who finally understands herself under the guidance of Chiron and her brother. 

3. Lancer of Black, Vlad the Impaler and Darnic Prestone Yggdmillenia

Initailly, a very charismatic pair especially as a leader. Vlad is extremely likable, once again due to his charisma and due to how powerful he is. Darnic however, looks really pathetic and in the end he betrays Vlad which makes him look even worse. I would say, this pair is decent, Vlad is a really likeable character. However, one downside, Vlad dies once again to show Ruler's prowess, this time round how Amakusa defeated him with ease, despite the fact that the two factions needed to have some truce to overcome the Legend of Dracula.

4. Rider of Black, Astolfo and Celenike Icecolle Yggdmillenia

Simply to say Celenike is a useless character. She is a really minor master that doesn't play a huge role. There are some hint of dislikes between Astolfo and Celenike but it is only briefly shown once and never developed, which is a waste. Astolfo however, is a major character. He eventually becomes the servant for Sieg and is the only servant that gets reincarnated as a real human after the war ends. If there's a great aspect from Astolfo, it is the fact that he contributes to the story particularly the birth of Sieg and he keeps the humour level high throughout the anime which keeps it from being boring. Oh and most importantly, Astolfo is a trap!

5. Caster of Black, Avicebron and Roche Frain Yggdmillenia

They play a small role in building the army for the Black Faction through manufacturing golems. Honestly, that's all. There are some betrayals by Avicebron in the end but I don't feel the emotion from this because I feel like their relationship lackluster despite the fact that they should be more "Teacher Student" than Chiron and Fiore.

6. Assassin of Black, Jack the Ripper and Reika Rikudou

I have to be honest, this is one of the most redundant character ever created. I have no idea why they make this pair a rogue aspect of the war and how it adds on the problems for the Black Faction because to be honest, it has no added value to the story. In fact, the entire Jack the Ripper arc with how Ruler and gangs deal with her has no added value to the story whatsoever, except for some fight scenes and the set up for the feud between Atalanta and Jeanne (which has no value to the story in the first place).

7. Berserker of Black, Frankenstein and Caules Forvedge Yggdmillenia

This is one of the most wasted characters in the history of anime. Seriously, both servant and master are likeable, and their relationship can be as deep as Iskandar and Waver in Fate/Zero. Yet, I did not see such a thing. There are hints here and there, but once again never developed. This damages the emotion aspect by a lot, especially when Fran self-destruct in the end. Her sacrifice and Caules's pain, I don't feel anything. Hell, when Iskandar died, it was worth more man-tear than this scene.

Coherence

Alright, Fate/Apocrypha started off strong with a solid idea, a battle between 14 servants within 2 factions. But in the middle of it, they decided to shift the plot into something more high-stakes, which is to prevent an individual from "destroying" the world. Ideally, stories like this can be good, like seriously, many have done it. However, the sudden shift in focus in Apocrypha makes the entire plot confusing and it affects the entire anime.

Many times in this anime, it goes for fights after fights after fights, which can be good if the story is merely about a war. However, right in the halfway mark of the story, when the Black Faction invades the Red Faction's base, the focus shifts from a war between two factions into a single threat that is Amakusa Shiro Tokisada. This happened right after a huge fight especially after Vlad activates his Legend of Dracula Noble Phantasm. The focus was still on the fight when suddenly there is this sudden information that "Hey guess what! Shirou is the primary antagonist!". Then you keep asking, what why? It was revealed that Shirou is a ruler and things happened in the past and all that, but you are not exactly focused to digest that much information in such a small timeframe. What's worse was this episode happened right before the mid-season break, which means that you get cut off entirely for a few weeks before finally realising what really happened. 

There are also additional stuffs that I feel really unnecessary. Particularly the entire thing about Jack the Ripper, feels unnecessary as it adds no value to the main plot. In fact, I believe that it may add some value to the plot if the plot remained as a war between two factions. Jack the Ripper could impose a threat to the Black Faction if that's the case, but they changed the focus of the plot to Amakusa Shirou. This means that the war is no longer important, and so why care about Jack the Ripper in the first place? It makes the anime feels disjointed and it makes you feel that these few episodes could have been done for more character development between the more significant master and servants, especially Sieg and Jeanne.

Effects

What could have been the saving grace for this anime, now becomes an added failure. The visual effects of this anime is really pathetic. Some of my friends begged me to just shrug it off because A1-Pictures is not Ufotable, but seriously? As I said previously, the potential of this anime is from its fight scenes especially due to the involvements of 14 servants, wait no 16! However, they don't play their strength. The fight scenes are often hard to follow due to the style of animation, honestly if they just follow the Sword Art Online formula for the fight scenes it may even look better. There are no substance to the fight and it just look like hack and slash between the two fighting servants.

What I hate the most is how they treat Noble Phantasms. They made it as if it is like some ultimate ability of a servant instead of a "treasure" and "trump card" it should have been. Mordred's Clarent Blood Arthur looks like a beam shooting of from her sword, the same is true for Siegfried's Balmung. Oh wait, the same is also true for Karna's Vasavi Shakti. Ah yes, and then there's Jeanne's La Pucelle, what the hell was it about? It has no beauty. Ufotable's animation on Exacalibur was one of the greatest light work I have ever seen in an anime, it doesn't look like a beam shooting off, it look like a sword of light slashing towards an enemy.

Of course there are some exceptions, I particularly find Jeanne's Luminosite Eternelle scene particularly mesmerising. If they are willing to treat the other Noble Phantasms to such a level, Apocrypha would have been a much better anime. Another memorable Noble Phantasm scene was Chiron's Antares Snipe. Those scenes were awesome! Of course you are left wondering, how epic it would be if Ufotable would have done these...

I have some good thing to say about the soundtrack though! Masaru Yokoyama compose one of the most memorable and catchy set pieces I have ever heard. It can be repetitive sometime, particularly the battle theme, but it doesn't really matter because it manage to capture the epicness of the Holy Grail War! I would say that Apocrypha's soundtrack is deserving to be a part of the Fate franchise!

Emotions

Those chills you get from watching the fight scenes in Stay Night and Zero? It doesn't exists here so don't expect it to impact your watching experience.

I don't feel much emotion coming in from this anime. I rarely feel exhilarated or sad. There are some moment that viewers are meant to be sad, but due to the lack of connection with the characters, it doesn't really happen. Often than not, I feel that the reason for me to watch Apocrypha is because of it is a Fate series and I am a huge fan, but sometimes I'd honestly rather spend my time watching something else.

The only thing that brought me close to feeling any emotion was the scene of Sisigo and Mordred dying to Semiramis. There were some flashbacks that connects the father-daughter relationship between the two characters. Yet, even after so much love for Mordred's character, her death does not make me cry. Come on... you have to step it up! Especially me, who is very soft and cry a lot to small things.