Fate/Apocrypha

Preface

The story of Fate/Apocrypha is a spin-off from the Fate series, with its events taking place after the Fourth Holy Grail War in Fate/Zero and the events of Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files. It precedes the current events of Fate/strange fake. The story is about a bloody war initiated by the Yggdmillennia family against the Mage's Association's "Big Bang Tower." This family has stolen the Holy Grail and now competes for it. Thus, two factions are formed to obtain the Grail: the Yggdmillennia family, called the Black Faction, and the Mage's Association, called the Red Faction. In this war, 14 Servants participate, with seven Servants for each faction, along with a 15th Servant, the Ruler, who serves as the judge of the war to ensure the laws of the Holy Grail are not broken.

Main Discussion

The anime carries an independent message, showing another perspective within the Fate story, namely the existence of more than seven Servants and a war judge, something that has not been repeated in other parts of the series. This is why it is called the "Great Holy Grail War." The goal is simple—to obtain the Holy Grail and grant humanity's wishes. This installment is mostly known for focusing only on the characters' dreams and wishes rather than how their pasts influence the events, which has become a negative point.

The commander of the first family selects the seven masters himself, and it is their job to use a catalyst that allows them to summon one Heroic Spirit from the seven classes to serve as the Servants who will fight for them. Command Spells can be used as a tool to enforce obedience or simply to pour a huge amount of magical energy into a Servant to push them beyond their limits. In this installment, obedience to Masters is much less emphasized. Their motivations are very strange but are fitting for the story's direction.

The reduction of detail to make the animation smoother is completely acceptable. The fights looked very beautiful and were fun to watch, but they were somewhat unengaging. Especially in the first six episodes, there was no emotional weight; they were just preparation.

The same goes for the music. The soundtrack is not great and there is nothing outstanding about it, but it supports the fights and the different scenes quite fittingly. However, the two openings were excellent, one of which was sung by the artist LiSA.

The endings for the characters were suitable and at an average level. There were many characters about whom we learned nothing—why they came, why they left, and what they fought for or against. Their endings were just ordinary. This installment is always criticized for giving motivation and a backstory to a character without giving them a worthy role to explain their motives and bring them to a proper conclusion. They vanish in an instant.

In conclusion, I'd say it's worth watching. There were several characters who possessed a high philosophy but were not given a sufficient role to display their potential, such as Amakusa Shirou and Karna.