Anime Reviews (2010-2019): Fate/Stay Night Heaven’s Feel I. Presage Flower (2017)

“Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel I. Presage Flower” is a wonderful, alternative route/storyline to the “Fate/stay night” storyline that many fans know and love.  Featuring a captivating storyline and wonderful animation and an elegant Blu-ray box set, we highly recommend this Blu-ray release!

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TITLE: Fate/Stay Night Heaven’s Feel I. Presage Flower

ANIME RELEASE DATE IN JAPAN: 2017

DURATION: 120 Minutes

BLU-RAY INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition, 16×9, Japanese and English Linear PCM Stereo, Subtitles: English

COMPANY: Aniplex of America, Inc.

RATED: 16 and Up

Release Date: November 20, 2018

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Directed by Sudou Tomonori

Script: Hiyama Akira

Music by Kajiura Yuki

Character Design by Ikariya Atsushi, Tabata Hisayuki, Sudou Tomonori

Original Creator: Nasu Kinoko

Original Character Design: Takeuchi Takashi

Art Director: Eto Koji

Anime Production: ufotable

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Featuring the following voice talent:

Noriko Shitaya/Cristina Vee as Sakura Matō

Ayako Kawasumi/Kari Wahlgren as Saber

Junichi Suwabe/Kaiji Tang as Archer

Kana Ueda/Mela Lee as Rin Tohsaka

Noriaki Sugiyama/Bryce Papenbrook as Shirō Emiya

Atsuko Tanaka/Megan Hollingshead as Caster

Hiroshi Kamiya/Kyle McCarley as Shinji Matō

Jouji Nakata/Crispin Freeman as Kirei Kotomine

Mai Kadowaki/Stephanie Sheh as Illyasviel von Einzbern

Masaki Terasoma/Lex Lang as Sōichirō Kuzuki

Miki Itou/Julie Ann Taylor as Taiga Fujimura

Nobutoshi Canna/Tony Oliver as Lancer

Rikiya Koyama/Matthew Mercer as Kiritsugu Emiya

Shinichiro Miki/Patrick Seitz as True Assassin

Tomokazu Seki/David Earnest as Gilgamesh

Yuu Asakawa/Melissa Fahn as Rider

Fumie Mizusawa/Brina Palencia as  Mitsuzuri Ayako

Brianna Knickerbocker as Leysritt

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Fate/Stay Night Heaven’s Feel I. Presage Flower contains the first of three theatrical features directed by Tomonori Sudo and is based on the record breaking visual novel game “Fate/Stay Night” the final route, a.k.a. Sakura Route.

10 years after the Holy Grail War—a battle waged by Masters and Servants over the wish-granting container, the Holy Grail—another war breaks out in Fuyuki City. Shirou Emiya—the adopted son of Kiritsugu Emiya, a participant of the previous Holy Grail War—is leading a peaceful life with people dear to him. Especially close to him is his underclassman Sakura Matou, who brings kindness into his otherwise lonely life. But once the Holy Grail War starts, Shirou’s peaceful life is sundered.

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When it comes to video games and its characters, I don’t think I’ve seen a title derived from a video game, within the last decade, achieve so much attention than the “Fate” series from TYPE-MOON. This series has captivated people from all over the world, merchandise continues to sell very well (considering its price for importing) and it’s quite impressive to see how the fanbase continues to grow and are dedicated to “Fate”!

My first introduction to the “Fate/stay night” was just hearing about the original anime TV series. But it was the first PSP video game release (“Fate/unlimited codes” on the PlayStation Network that actually got me hyped for this series and made me learn more about the characters.

The more I researched, the more I started to noticed that a lot of people online were excited about this video game and discussing the anime series and while I never really understood the commotion of the series, I figured there were so many fighting games in Japan with characters that people go crazy for.

But then the Sony PSP game came out on the PlayStation Network and the huge number of posts on Danny Choo’s official website in regards to dolls or figures, may they be the release of Nendoroids from Good Smile! or FIGMA figures from Max Factory, suffice to say, I’ve seen the popularity for this “Fate/stay night” achieve critical mass not just in Japan but all over the world.

While “Fate/stay night” and “Fate/zero” were released first and the 2010 film “Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works” was released in 2010, the “Fate” storyline continued with “Fate/Grand Order” (a mobile phone video game released in 2017) and the latest animated effort with “Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel” produced by ufotable.

It’s important to note, in order to prevent any confusion, “Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel” takes a page out of visual novels in which you choose your adventure, this is the same for this anime series and animated films. This is not a sequel, it’s not remake, it’s another route in which the story unfolds.  And this is the third and final route of the visual novel and centers around Matou Sakura.

The storyline continues to focus on Shirou and featurs Rin, Sakura and Illya, but focuses less on the master/servant relationships and more on Shirou wanting to protect Sakura.

While the storyline is similar to the previous “Fate/zero” series in which Shirou has a pact with Saber, the difference with “Fate/Zero: Heaven’s Feel” is that someone is eating the hearts of Servants and a mysterious being known as “True Assassin” is murdering servants but also their masters.

If anything, I actually enjoyed this first animated “Heaven’s Feel” film.  One thing that “Fate” does well is take a storyline with the same characters and take it entirely to a different direction and this is the same with the “Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel I. Presage Flower” animated film.

It’s a bit violent and dark but they managed to give viewers a fresh new storyline, while incorporating scenes that fans may already know about from a previous route/story.

As for the animation, one thing about having a theatrical film versus a series is that you have bigger budget and also more time and in the case of “Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel I. Presage Flower”, the animation is fantastic.  Character designs have more shading, art backgrounds are much more detailed.  And the film looks absolutely awesome on Blu-ray.  We have the same Japanese and English dub actors from the previous serious supplying the voices for this animated film, which is a major plus.  And they did a wonderful job.

While there are no special features, Aniplex makes up in extras.  For one, you get a CD soundtrack for “Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel I. Presage Flower” which comes with 31 tracks and nearly an hour long.  In addition, inside it’s elegant slipcase are two books.  One is a “Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel I. Presage Flower” hardcover artbook which is 36-pages long.  Also, a 36-page “Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel I. Presage Flower” Animation Material booklet.

Overall, “Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel I. Presage Flower” is a wonderful, alternative route/storyline to the “Fate/stay night” storyline that many fans know and love.  Featuring a captivating storyline and wonderful animation and an elegant Blu-ray box set, we highly recommend this Blu-ray release!

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