The Fate franchiseis a massive multimedia piece of fiction that extends into several anime, manga,video games, light novels, visual novels, and even mobile games. Most new fans ask the golden question “Where do I start?”. The short answer is the original visual novel, and the cool answer is the Fate Zero anime.
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Ever since the Fate Zero anime premiered in 2011, the franchise has only grown and the anime adaptations seem to have a standard of quality that is expected from each installment. If you’re watching a Fate anime, you may expect the production quality to be the best in animation, but how does each one compare?
10Today’s Menu For The Emiya Family
If you’re familiar with the original Fate Stay Night story then you know the series has a less than happy ending for most characters. Enter “Today’s Menu For The Emiya Family”, a spin-off slice-of-life rendition of the cast from the original visual novels.
What if there was no Holy Grail War and our favorite master and servants lived together in peace? This show is the answer. Produced by the famed studio Ufotable, this slice-of-life entry is one fun comedic time!
9Fate Extra Last Encore
Fate has manymultiverse storiesbut none as infamous as Fate Extra. What started out as a single-player RPG, became an ever-expanding story and is now brought to life in anime form.
Fate Extra tells the story of a distant future where the Holy Grail War takes place in a large super computer called Mooncell. There, our protagonist Haruno must discover the secrets of this Mooncell world and fight their way to the top, befriending several familiar and unfamiliar faces on the way.
8Fate/Kalied Liner Prisma Illya
Another spin-off of the original visual novel, Fate Prisma Illya tells a different story with Illya as the main character instead of her brother Shirou. Strap in for this one because this is the longest Fate anime adaptation to date.
With three seasons, two OVAs, and 3 movies, Prisma Illya is a wild ride from start to finish. Although it is criticized for its fan service, this anime tells a different type of story for the franchise with some interesting battles as well.
7The Case Files Of Lord El-Mellio II
If you’re a fan of Fate Zero, more specifically the character Waver Velvet, then this canon spin-off might be your new favorite show. Following the events of Fate Zero, and 2 months before the original visual novel, this anime tells the story of Waver (now named Lord El Mellio II) as he solves different magical mysteries pertaining to the Mage’s Associations.
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Anime series like Noragami, Blue Exorcist, and Btooom! echo the captivating world-building and battles of Fate/Stay Night.
This is one of the rare cases where a Fate anime doesn’t focus on the Holy Grail War, but instead builds the world of Fate, showing how the mages operate.
6Fate Grand Order Babylonia/ Camelot/ Solomon
Fate Grand Order is without a doubt the most popular installment due to it being like a connection point for all the series within the franchise. FGO would receive its first TV anime series adapting the last arc of the main story.
Of course, the story is way longer in the mobile game. But the anime, and the movies produced after, managed to adapt the last 3 arcs of the mobile’s game main story in a nice package for casual fans.
5Fate Apocrypha
Without a doubt the most popular spin-off in the franchise, Fate Apocrypha tells the story of a much larger Holy Grail War, where teams of 14 fight it out in a massive epic battle. Not only does this anime tell a complete story, but it also features some fan-favorite servants like Jeanne and Astolfo.
If there is any anime adaptation that captures the sheer chaos that is the Fate universe and the power of the characters at play, it’s Apocrypha.
4Fate Zero
The most critically acclaimed adaptation, and the anime that launched the franchise into the mainstream, Fate Zero is the prequel story to the original visual novel. I know many fans are going to be upset that it’s not number one.
While Fate Zero is without a doubt the franchise at its best, it’s not the only one that can be labeled as “peak Fate”. That aside, this anime is the start for most anime-only watchers, and it is probably the best start one could ask for.
3Fate Strange Fake Whisper of Dawn
A recent adaptation of theFate Strange Fake light novel, this time the Holy Grail War is in the USA, and with a stellar production team and some of the strongest servants in the verse, this war might just be the greatest one yet.
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Anime like Noragami, Record of Ragnarok, and Magi explore rich mythological worlds with vibrant storytelling.
The anime has only released a 1hr special with a promise of an upcoming TV series. If the show is anything like the “Whisper of Dawn” special, this just might become the best Fate anime ever.
2Fate Stay Night Heaven’s Feel Trilogy
The original visual novel is split into three different routes a player can take. Heaven’s Feel is the last of the three routes to be adapted into anime form. Studio Ufotable decided to adapt the route into three separate films and upon binging the trilogy, this route is Fate’s storytelling at its best.
This story is the heart of the Fate franchise, and it’s clear to see why this and the other routes opened a floodgate for multiple stories to come after.
1Fate Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works
While Heaven’s Feel is great, it’s not the best route out of the original three. Unlimited Blade Works is probably the best anime one could watch if they want to get an idea of what this franchise is truly about.
At the end of the day, Fate is a clash of ideals and no anime represents this better than UBW.
