Customer Reviews

Fate Stay Night Box Set

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I found this series to be both entertaining and very enjoyable to watch. The short storyline is every few decades a sort of magical tournament is held where the victor after defeating or killing their enemies is granted one wish from the holy grail but only if that person is worthy to truly have the wish granted. The person who is usually a magician summons a spirit to fight for them the spirit is someone who shares their summoners personality and ideals to the most point. Also the summoned spirit is also granted their wish if they and their master win the tournament thus causing the servant to do their best to obtain victory. Thus Shirou a high school student with some unlearned magical abilities unwittingly becomes one of the combatants in the tournament. The story for me also seemed to have a more adult version of Pokeman in it but instead of some kid saying "I choose You" the master summons the spirit servant to fight for them. The animation was great nicely detailed and also sharp and clear. The audio was also great the English cast as well as the Japanese voice actors did superbly well. There are some extras with the box set the standard textless intro/ending, trailers, but you also have some music video clips as well as some Japanese t.v. commercials for the series. So I thank Funimation and Geneon again for re-releasing this great series for all to get.

Fate/Stay night fought an uphill battle for a few years to get released stateside and I had always heard about the craze for it in Japan, so needless to say I was ecstatic when it was finally brought oversea's a little over a year ago. Of course it was extremelly limited and I had to fight tooth and nail to compelte the collection, but with this new package it can be yours easily.

As for the series itself, its a simple premise, but one with slight nuances and touches that make it interesting enough to sit through. Seven people who are themselves Magus'(people controlling the elements and magic) must summon themselves each one servant to do their fighting in a sort of battle royale to determine which is worthy to recieve the ultimate prize, the Holy Grail. Thats the main jist of this series, but again, I won't say anything more about who or what or why because its a fun series that mixes very well action and plot. The action sequences are some of the best I've seen in a long while, on par with something like the more epic scenes in Samurai 7. This IS a series about magic and beings who posess incredible powers afterall and, more often than not, they will be taking a lot of the environment around them with them during these scenes. I think a great thing about this series too is that its more relatable to our society than most animes because the character's are based off of many cultural, historical figures, not simply those pertaining to Japan.

If you love action scenes in your anime and some good story laid down over a foundation of suspense and dramatic mystery, then you'll love this series. I think it deserve well its enormous following in its native homeland. And who doesn't love a hottie like Saber wielding a simply wicked sword anyways?

Ordinary person becomes reluctant hero, hero is torn between choosing love or his humanity. Stong character's, villians, heroic story. Hard decision by the hero, do I choose my heart or what is right for humanity? Many noble sacrifices are made during the story. WILL CRACK YOUR HEART!

The Japanese blu-ray of this collection has only been out for about 3 months. Unfortunately while it is region free the cost of importing the blu-ray is just around $320 (not including shipping), compared to the current (on sale) price of $38.49 for the domestic DVD collection. Also, there are /no/ English subtitles option with the Japanese blu-ray release. So for now it is still easily recommended to purchase this DVD collection. But for those who want to see this series in 720p resolution and English dub or sub it will require more patience as it may still be a much longer wait for Funimation to release the domestic blu-ray set. Hopefully it will be released at a much lower price than the current cost of importing.

Additionally note that this reviewed item is the 2009 re-priced version of the DVD collection. I am not sure if there are any major differences within the extras or content compared with the earlier DVD collection.

Forget that review with a 2-star. This anime is a great example of how anime should be done!
It details the story of a teenager named Shiro who is involved in the Holy Grail War, with his partner (called Servants) named Saber. They must go about and defeat the other Servants and Masters in order to win the Holy Grail, which gives it's possessor one wish that it may have granted.
PROS - Great artwork, and great animation. You can tell that it has great production values.
- Great storyline! It's a bit difficult to follow at times, but if you are attentive, you will understand and enjoy this story.
- Awesome characters! Each character is in this War for their own reasons, and each character has his or her own personality; no "vanilla" characters here! The main character Shiro does seem a bit bland compared to the rest, but that doesn't mean he's a paperweight! The relationship between him and Saber is what's most significant in this anime!
CONS - It seemed a bit rushed in the last episode, and some aspects weren't fully explained (such as the connection between Archer and Shiro, and about the last Holy Grail War).
Overall, this is a must-see anime! You will NOT regret it!

Another one of my top favorites of all time!
This series is quit the adventure for the holy grail and item of great power to make dreams come true that the magi fight to the death over! A brilliant part of the series is the fact that magi summon servants to fight on their behalf for the holy grail, however these servants are epic spirits such as King Arthur, Hercules and many more who on their deathbed agreed to become fighters for a chance to correct their mistakes in the past by the power of the holy grail.
The Story Follows Shiro Emiya who wants to become a "champion of justice" and his servant. I'll leave the adventure and all its glory to you. Buy it and Watch it! You won't regret it!
5/5

Now here is a real hidden gem of an anime.

On the surface, 'Fate/stay night' doesn't look that much different from many other fantasy, harem, and high-school drama series. A fantasy-themed battle anime depicting a variety of "Servants" fighting each other may sound a bit derivative on paper. Yet it tweaks the formula just enough to set it apart from similar anime, making it a very memorable and enjoyable series.

For me, the characters are what really make the anime great. All of them are familiar, yet distinctive and with surprising depth. Shirou is a fairly standard male lead for these sorts of anime, a "nice guy" who balances a desire to do the right thing with a reluctance to fight. Sakura initially comes across as a typically shy and submissive girl, but she has a great strength that manifests over time. Fan-favourite Rin is everything Asuka Langley should have been; bold and assertive without being obnoxious and snotty. Despite her confident manner and sharp tongue, she is a very likeable character. And of course there is Saber, Shirou's servant, who combines old-fashioned grace and femininity with ruthless fighting ability. While there are a couple of genuinely "evil" characters, the majority of the other Masters and Servants are simply antagonists because they stand against Shirou. Quite a few of the rival Servants are very memorable and likeable characters in their own right, such as Archer and Rider.

The anime combines many elements; obviously it is fantasy and action based but also includes some quite realistic drama. The series doesn't shy away from the fact that this a real War, and people die or suffer injuries during the battles. The more serious elements are offset by plenty of light-hearted comedic and romantic moments, plus some quite strong character development. There are also some obvious harem influences (Shirou had FIVE girls living in his house at one stage!), but there is very little if any fan service or cheesecake nudity. Apart from the obvious crush Sakura has on Shirou, the relationship Shirou has with the female leads are more friendly and platonic, so we're spared the silly sight of perfect girls pointlessly throwing themselves at the hero.

The art and animation are generally well-done, although it's a bit inconsistent in the character designs. The main females (Saber, Iliya, Sakura and especially Rin) are all beautiful and fluidly animated, whereas Shirou is a pretty basic design. The battle scenes are well animated, with the different abilities of the Servants utilised to good effect.

In all,this is a fantastic series, and proof that you can make an anime that is both very familiar, but unique enough to be memorable. Well done Fate/stay night!

I'm not sure what the 2-star review person is going on about. I'm a 20 year old female and I think this show rocks. XD This is the very first anime I ever watched, and it had me hooked from the very beginning. Which, given my short attention span, says something in and of itself. :P If any of the information in this review is off, I apologize, it's been about 2 years since I last saw it, hence the reason for me buying it again lol.

Pros:
Great artwork, epic fight scenes, both Japanese and English actors did a fantastic job. Each character has their own individual storyline, and their own issues. It's one of those shows where you can actually feel sorry for the bad guys. AMAZING soundtrack, Kenji Kawai is a freaking genius. To be perfectly honest, if I don't like the opening theme for an anime, it usually means I won't like the anime itself. I'm not sure why. But I loved the opening theme for Fate/Stay Night, and loved the rest of it as well.

Cons:
I thought there were too few episodes, so the end of the show seemed a little rushed and packed into a too tiny time frame. The relationship between Saber and Shirou was one of my favorite parts, and there was not enough effort put into that. Also the ending is slightly abrupt, and leaves you wanting more, which sucks because there is no more, unless Fate/Hollow Ataraxia is released in the US. (Hint hint! XD)

That's about all I can think of lol, I haven't seen this in about 2 years so I don't remember too terribly much. I'm really super excited to receive it in the mail and watch it again! Anyhow, great show, maybe not the BEST, but certainly worth watching. :)

I can't really write a review for this item, only because I got it as a christmas gift for my brother. But I will comment on the fact that the box set arrived in a timely manner and was in great shape! Thanks will definitely do business with you again!

I guess its not popular enough to warrant a reprint to stop such silly prices? Huh? im just being ironic and its actually worth reprinting? So you dont need to pay such a silly price? you dont say!.You have to be delusional to spend , over 100 bucks for
this set. Aniplex of America takes alot of great licenses and hoards them. If your smart enough to see through all the bull , you can see ,this company is pretentious and just rips off fans , especially with their 300 dollar bluray set of this series. There are other fish in the anime sea and other competition , so there is no reason to give aniplex your time. If you want a good example baccano is 23 dollars for all the episodes from funimation ,but aniplexs bluray is around 120 dollars.