Fate/strange Fake: Whispers of Dawn

Admittedly I wasn’t aware this was a prologue/introduction for an anime (which has only just been announced as of writing this), so I was a bit confused by the methodical pace when watching. After all, Fake was apparently an April Fools’ joke that was made real, so I was expecting a little cheeky hour-long animation of that and that’s it. But this felt like it was taking itself as an actual story seriously, which I think is (ironically) a funny way to present jokes like this. However, I was admittedly confused at everything that was going on. Almost everyone speaks verbosely, terms are thrownaround, characters are cut to, and relationships are revealed in a way that was pretty hard to follow for me (and in a way I don’t remember the other Fate introductions being). Maybe I've just been out of Fate for too long or missed a few too many spin-offs that are prerequisites. It probably all comes together in hindsight once you watch the actual TV series at least? It’s nice to see who the characters are going to be this time around. But personally I didn’t get much out of watching it alone simply a taste of what’s to come.

Ahh Strange Fake, the Holy Grail War, with a twist. 8/10 overall. Going into this special, I'm not sure what I was expecting from A-1 Pictures given most of the Fate franchise has wow'd me from Ufotable's production team, but I am not disappointed. We witness a unique twist in this grail war in that it does not initiate in the standard ways we have seen before... Also it leaves one to question, who is in charge, the Master or the Servants? The animation was top tier, perhaps not ufotable level but great non the less, my only gripe in that department is the weird nosesthey decided to go with on several characters, but yeah I know, the anime industry can't make up it's mind on how to draw/animate noses even in 2023. Some of our headliner servants taking the stage (as shown in Characters & Voice Actors on this animes MAL page) include the King of all Hero's! None other than Gilgamesh! And his faithful green haired sidekick! Although this time around, I don't foresee their relationship to be exactly.... amicable. Gilgamesh never ceases to amaze me with his personality and kingliness. Many of the other servants have undisclosed true names in this special, but you can pretty much guess who they are if you are a real fate fan/play FGO/ read VNs. Regardless, I'm sure that info will be revealed in the next installation of this Grail War. Plot wise, This is summing up to be definitely one of the most interesting Holy Grail Wars, especially in the sense of it can go any direction because the typical rules just don't seem to apply, at least not yet. I can also say that the pre-war build up in Strange Fake has been the most spicy in my opinion, but I won't spoil you with those details! This special ends right around the time this Holy Grail war starts, so it leaves viewers with most of the juicy content to look forward to later. Anyways, I don't usually write long boring reviews with fancy words to woo you into watching anime, So I'll just end with this.. When you are listing your must watch Fate franchise paths, (FSN UBW/FZ/FGO/HF etc... you are going to include SF)

If this was the fake, I don't think I want to see the real thing. The art work is nothing to write home about. It's about the same old-same old for the franchise. I did like some of the background stuff. But the animation was the epitome of flashy trash. Lots of color, and camera angles jumping around during the big battle. But if you looked past that, the rest was less than average. Half a notch above kid-vid. You'd think a franchise that has made this much money could do a lot better. Well, I am sure they could, but that would cut intoprofits. The characters are the usual cut/paste assortment they've been using for years. Not a smidge of anything original or new happening here. Just slap a new skin on the old animation, and push them out the door, as fast and cheaply as you can. Got the same impression from the VAs. They sounded like they were in a hurry to go get a bite at McDonald's. The direction is a study in inompetance. Especially where the soundtrack is concerned. I rarely mention that, but this one was so woefully abused and distracting, I'd be remiss if I let it slip. This left me screaming at dusk. Time forever lost, to yet another gambit, to fleece otakus from another yen. If I graded this prolog, it gets no better than 64/100 for a mere D. Doesn't bode well for the series.

Finally!!! After Fate/Apocrypha, my expectations from the Fate franchise had dwindled. Then came the brilliant "Heaven's Feel" trilogy and I found myself lamenting the end of the story when the credits rolled for the final film. Fast-forward to the MLA notification about Fate/Strange Fake. I dared to think that maybe, just maybe I'll be treated to another Fate extravaganza which would remind me of the likes of Fate/Zero. (I should add that I haven't seen Fate/Grand Order so do forgive me if I'm not giving it the praise it may deserve) The story behind (not of) Fate/Strange Fake is quite the amusing one. What began asan April Fool's joke soon blossomed into this wonderfully original idea. Well, not exactly original but the introduction of the servants, their respective masters and a general foundation of what is to come is one that I haven't seen in the other stories. My appetite for Fate has well and truly been revived. And I look forward to seeing if the story matches the prologue.

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