Fate/strange Fake: Whispers of Dawn

The Fate franchise is well known for being ridiculously confusing for beginners. Fate/stay night originated from a visual novel and later evolved into different mediums with varying stories and characters, as seen in a few manga, fighting games, a gacha, and the tens of anime entries you may find here on MAL. What makes it so confusing is... where to start?

While some can certainly blind pick and still enjoy the Fate franchise, I suggest this order may be better for those looking to get into Fate with minimal spoilers and maximized fun. So, here is a very basic guide I have made if you are planning on starting (and maybe completing) the Fate franchise via the anime. I will not include specials, OVAs, PVs, or recap movies unless they are their own separate series or need to be mentioned for clarification. I will also not include sequels (2nd season, for example), unless needed for further clarification.

Note: After Fate/Zero, the next anime in the Fate franchise is entirely up to you, as every other series can be watched in any order. However, I listed them in an order I have previously seen them in (at least, most of them).

no sequels

who am i kidding fate fans will never agree to anything.

If you are reading this and are new to the Fate series, the biggest advice I can give you is to just pick the one that sounds interesting to you and start it.

I think the thing most people seem to forget is that you don't need to know every single intricate detail of the lore to be able to enjoy this franchise. Just treat each one as its own story set within this expansive world and you can experience them in any order you want.

Yes, one of the most satisfying parts of being a fan is to figure out how they all connect to one another. But that's not really something someone new to the series really needs to worry about, so just pick one, any one, and start. The only thing you will need to do is to watch entries with the same sub title together in order to get the most out of their respective stories, eg Fate/Stay Night (Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Bladeworks etc), Fate/Grand Order (Fate/Grand Order: Babylonia etc),

With that said, the following is my personal suggested order. The one last important thing to note is that Fate is only one of franchises that's set within this fictional world, it's just the most popular and most expanded upon. This shared universe is named the "Nasuverse" after it's creator, Kinoko Nasu. I have included as much of the other series in the Nasuverse in this list as well, as they really help expand upon the world building beyond what we see in just Fates Holy Grail Wars. If you are only interested in Fate itself, then feel free to skip over them, but you'd be missing out on some great stories in their own right.

The only things I haven't included are some of the shorts, specials or recaps as I don't think they are absolutely essential, and this has a limit of 50 entries, so it is what it is.

All manga that fit the "Death Game" criteria. You can also look for the manga version.

i refuse to put every prisma illya entry on this list

Anime by Type-Moon sorted by release order Part 2. (NOT watch order!)
Part 1: (https://myanimelist.net/stacks/19328)

Anime list of works I consider have a great animation.

This is a continuation to the first list with the same premise.

HEY Newcomer to the Fate Universe. Hop in. This will take longer than you expected.

Explanation how the anime connect to each-other etc.

Since Fate as an anime has the biggest debate on how to watch it, the release order is the way to go.

Spoiler free :)

!!This Stack is not Finished Yet!!- I update the description box of the anime after I've watched them.

BONUS : I am going to humbly try in this stack entry to give you a comprehensive timeline watch order. Lets call the Fate parallel timeline numbers 1 to 4 and you can start your watch order from whichever you'd like, personally I recommend this order:

1. Fate/Prototype

2. Start with Mahoutsukai no Yoru (not yet released) and the time line splits into three
A) Tsukihime (links to Carnival Phantasm)
B) The Garden of Sinners -> 2-4-3-1-Extra Chorus-5-6-7-8-Mirai Fukuin.
C) Tsuki no Sango - which happens in the distant future (year 3000) so you can leave it for last.

3. This parallel universe start with Garden of Avalon (watch at 9anime). When the Third Holy Grail occurs we have four possible timelines:
A) Fate/Apocrypha (Alternative to the Fourth Holy Grail War where it never happened in Fuyuki City)
B) 60 Years before the events of Fate/Zero happen, something occurs on Earth thus we have Fate/EXTRA: Last Encore in the future(year 3200).
C) Fate/Zero - prequel to the Fifth Holy Grail War. Then watch Fate/Zero Caffe.
In an alternate universe Fate Ilya: Oath of Snow happens which allows for all the C.0)Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Ilya events to happen.
C.1) Lord El Melloi series happen just 2 months before Fate/Stay Night.
After Lord El Melloi we have the three routes.
D.1) Fate/Stay Night
D.2) Fate/Unlimited Blade Works - D.2.1) Another outcome of this timeline is Fate/ Sunny Days
D.3) Fate/Heaven's Feel
In a parallel universe after the end of the Fifth Holy Grail War, Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family happens.
D.4.1)After them we have Fate/Strange Fake.
Starting from D.1 - D.4 all link to Carnival Phantasm series.
All of this timeline except C.0) links to Fate/Grand Carnival

4. Now there are multiple events from Timeline number 2 and 3 which trigger this timeline that happens in the near future. These events are the First Holy Grail war, The Fifth Holy Grail War and the Garden of Sinners. However the main event that catalysis Fate/ Grand Order is when Marisbury wins the Fifth Holy Grail war.
Then we have Fate/Grand Order. Now this is how you watch this series in Order:
4.1) Fate/ Grand Order Absolute Demonic Font: Babylonia - Initium Iter.
4.2) Fate/Grand Order - First Order
4.3) Fate/Grand Order - Moonlight/Lostroom
4.5) Fate/ Grand Order Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot - Wandering; Agateram
4.6) Fate/ Grand Order Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot - Paladin; Agateram
4.7) Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front - Babylonia TV series.
4.8) Fate/ Grand Order Final Singularity - Grand Temple of Time: Solomon
This timeline links to Fate/Grand Carnival.

Everything here is listed in order of what I believe is the best way to navigate through the Nasuverse. Part 2 primarily covers non-mainline TYPE-MOON works (i.e. spinoffs, alternate continuities, parodies/comedy anime, etc.).

Unlike Part 1 of this interest stack, these are mostly "spinoffs" and not 100% essential to getting into the Nasuverse, so the order will be much more loose. There will, however, still be notes denoting if they're "recommended" or "optional".
Also, this interest stack is slowly running out of free spaces, so when the time comes, I will be removing unimportant entries like the recap episodes to free up spots for unique anime entries.


PLEASE view this stack in the detailed list layout to see my notes with my reasoning for placements, alternate placements, etc.

Part 1 (Main Nasuverse) can be found here: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/23650

(the title also says it's the "wider nasuverse", but everything here is still mostly just fate lol)

This is a collection of my favorite anime to come out in 2023. All of these are worth a watch.

--Not Included--
Recaps:
Fate/stay night TV Reproduction (2 Episodes)
Fate/Zero Remix (2 Episodes)
Fate/Apocrypha Recaps (2 Episodes)
Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front - Babylonia Recaps (3 Episodes)

Commercials/Other:
Fate/strange Fake PV (31 sec.) (Commercial) [Watched]
Logres of Swords and Sorcery: Goddess of Ancient x Fate/Extella (15 sec.) (Commercial) [Watched]
Fate/Grand Order (15 sec.) (Commercials) [Watched Some]
Farewell to 2016 Guda Guda Order (6 min.) (Short Special)
Fate/Grand Order: Fujimaru Ritsuka Doesn't Get It (2 min.) (Short ONA)
Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya: Licht Nameless Girl Mini Anime (3 min.) (Short Special)
Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya Movie: Sekka no Chikai - Kuro Sakura no Heya (6 min.) (Short Special)

Nasuverse:
Lunar Legend Tsukihime (12 Episodes)
The Garden of Sinners Chapter 1: Overlooking View (Movie 1)
The Garden of Sinners Chapter 2: A Study in Murder - Part 1 (Movie 2)
The Garden of Sinners Chapter 3: Remaining Sense of Pain (Movie 3)
The Garden of Sinners Chapter 4: The Hollow Shrine (Movie 4)
The Garden of Sinners Chapter 5: Paradox Spiral (Movie 5)
The Garden of Sinners Chapter 6: Oblivion Recording (Movie 6)
The Garden of Sinners Chapter 7: A Study in Murder - Part 2 (Movie 7)
The Garden of Sinners Chapter 8: Epilogue (Special 1)
The Garden of Sinners: Future Gospel (Movie 8)
The Garden of Sinners: Future Gospel - Extra Chorus (Special 2)
Witch on the Holy Night (Movie) [Upcoming]

I will update the description boxes but I’m just lazy.

MAIN TERMINOLOGY:
1.NASUVERSE: It is a fan nickname referring to the shared setting of a number of TYPE-MOON (game company that produces visual novels also) works. Their works are adapted in manga form, light novels and anime.
2.Holy Grail War: A competition where in the end the Greater Holy Grail is achieved. Basically a wish-granter that uses a relic (a cup) that received the blood of Christ. 7 Masters who use magic to summon 7 servants (one for each) to fight among themselves until one pair gets left.
3.Master: They are a Magus. They do usually come from a long family lineage of magus. They participate in the Holy Grail war by forming a contract with a servant. They have 3.a) Magic Circuits (think of it like veins and arteries but for magic to flow through). A master provides magical energy for their servants.
They use a 3.b) COMMAND SPELL - Masters have three of them. If a magus uses it, the servant is obliged to fulfill any command that comes from their master. It is usually saved to command a servant to commit suicide in order to reach the root via the Greater Holy Grail.
4.Servant a.k.a Heroic Spirit: They are historical, myths or legend figures that have achieved great deeds in their lifetime and are summoned by Masters to fight alongside them in the Holy Grail
They are placed in classed
SABER , LANCER, ARCHER, RIDER, CASTER, ASSASSIN, BERSERKER. - Each of these main seven classes has a GRAND class. A GRAND servant is summoned to prevent mankind extinction.
There are extra classes. E.g.
RULER- oversees the Holy Grail War and does not have any desire for it.
AVENGER - They are founded on vengeance, born from powerful resentment that does not fade even after death.
ALTER EGO - Alter Egos are a phenomenon where one persona of a Heroic Spirit gains independence as a separate entity.
SHIELDER - They utilize shields.
Pseudo-Servants - are Servants that have manifested utilizing humans as their vessels. (The servant controls the human body)
Demi-Servants - are conceptual humans who have taken the Heroic Spirits into their bodies, functioning as Servants. (The human controls their bodies.)
After they die during a Holy Grail War, their souls are stored in the Lesser Grail.
When they die in real life their soul gets transported to the Throne of Heroes that resides outside of the World. From here servants can be summoned in different parallel timelines. When summoned the servants are just copies of their Throne of Heroes body. So if they are summoned again, or in another timeline they are just a copy with no memories of other previous holy grail wars they fought in.
5.Grail Vessel (Lesser Holy Grail): It is designed to intake defeated Servants. Up until the third Grail War, the vessel for the Grail was a literal "cup". However, during the events of the third War it was damaged. Irisvel and Illya were created to be the physical embodiment of the Lesser Grail.
6.Greater Holy Grail: The prize after the completion of the War that grants a wish. It needs mana to be activated (that is why the War usually happens every 60 years). Once the vessel is filled with seven (or six) servants, the Greater Grail opens a hole to Akasha.(see no.16)
7.Noble Phantasm: Trump card for Servants, unique for each.
8.Holy Church: a group of people who target people who insult God, kill, twist laws of nature etc. So they do get involved in the Holy Grail War to keep peace of mankind since they see it as an irregularity.
9.Mage Association: an organization formed, to hide and develop Magecraft.
10.The Root: is a metaphysical location that is the source of all events and phenomenons of the universe. It exists outside of time. It has all information, events, past, present and future. The ultimate ambition for a Magi is to reach this root to obtain all knowledge (one way which they try to reach it is via the Holy Grail).
11.Reality Marbel: A created world that is completely cut off from normal reality. It can only be used for a few minutes because the world will seek to crush it.
It is responsible for the Projection and Reinforcement abilities. Some can be activated inside the body of the user. (E.g. Emiya Shirou in Fate/HF)
12.Chaldeas - Utilized by Chaldea Security Organization in the World of Fate/Grand Order for the purpose of saving humanity. CHALDEAS can be used to look 100 years into the future. It is a form of intelligent machine with characteristics of a black hole. Humans can not go into contact with it. It recreates planet Earth in miniature which is 100 years into the future.
It is located in Chaldea Headquarters in Antarctica.
With this machine singularities can be discovered.
Laplace- Monitors the past.
Sheba- Observes in detail the information in Chaldeas and displays it in a monitor.
Fate- Summons Heroic Spirits
Trismegistus- utilized in reyshiftin (timetravel)
13.Singularities: Important for the Fate/ Grand Order anime. Singularities are unobservable regions that do not exist within Chaldea's recorded history. A Holy Grail is given to a certain individual within a key historical time period, typically someone who will use it to cause major disruption to history. The future is reduced to a mass of arbitrary possibilities. The era in which the Singularity manifests in will be destroyed completely under the strain of the impossible events that the Singularity forces into existence, causing the end of history itself.
The power of the Grails and the circumstances within the Singularities allow for the summoning of Servants and their continued existence in the world, even without a Master. Master-less servants are summoned by the Grail itself as a reaction to its abuse.
*Singularity F - that happens in Fuyuki City 2004 AD (Fate/Grand Order First Order)
First Singularity - France year 1431
Second singularity - Roman Empire Year 60
Third Singularity - Okeanos Year 1573
Fourth Singularity - London Year 1888
Fifth Singularity - North America 1784
*Sixth Singualarity - Fate/Grand Order: Divine Realm of the Round Table - Camelot 1273
*Seventh Singularity - Mesopotamia 2655 BC
*Final Singularity - Fate/Grand Order: Final Singularity - Grand Temple of Time: Solomon 2016
14.Dead Apostles: are humans that became Vampires either by the use of Magecraft or by the actions of another Vampire of similar nature.
15.Magic (Maho): It is different from Magecraft. It represents the actualization of events that are impossible to reproduce in a certain era, whether by humans or the Planet, even if given an infinite amount of time and resources. The acquisition of the capacity to perform Magic is considered the ultimate accomplishment of a Magus, and only within the grasp of those who have accessed the Swirl of the Root. Concepts like time manipulation, teleportation, spatial warping and quarantine, and the Resurrection of the dead are miracles thought to be possible only through the application of Magic.
So Magic is being able to do something that can’t be done by means of science or nature (like teleporting). Magecraft is the opposite (making flames with hands for example which can be done with science or by nature). However with the development of science, if something that can be achieved by magic turns achievable by other means, than this magic turns into magecraft.
There are 5 magics (keep the third magic in mind) :
- First Domain: Details about it are unknown. It is related to the generation of Ether(or void, part of 5 Great elemts- Wind. water, Fire, Earth) Clumps, which have been called "materialized nothing". Witches are involved in the establishment of the First Magic. (A girl magus is not necessarily a witch)
-Second Magic: Operation of Parallel Worlds
- The Third Magic: Materialization of the soul.
- The Fourth Magic: Unknown.
The Fifth Magic: Abilities related to Time Travel.
16.ALYA: The Counter Force is a safety device formed by a World (keep reading for explanation) to defend itself against extinction and is synonymous with the World it represents. They are described as passive spirals of energy that respond to threats of planet destruction or human extinction.
The World, is two types. Gaia is the will of the Earth, the planet's intrinsic wish to survive and prosper. Alaya, on the other hand, is the collective unconscious will of mankind to avoid extinction.
17. Counter Guardian: The Counter Force empowers a "normal person" in life to remove the factor that can trigger destruction. They act with no autonomy of their own and only appear in response to an event.
17.Moon Cell- It is a large computer-like construct created by an unknown civilization one hundred million years before the existence of the Earth or the Moon. It has recorded everything that has happened on the planet since its formation. It faithfully simulates all life on Earth and is capable of providing a definite prediction of the future.
18.SE.RA.PH - A part of the Moon Cell. It is a world where Souls are transformed into information. The SE.RA.PH is responsible for the summoning of the Servants during Fate/EXTRA. The SE.RA.PH restricts the exit until the tournament participants (of Fate/ Extra’s Holy Grail) are reduced to one. It is also responsible for the existence of the NPCs and all areas in the tournament.
The landscapes generated by SE.RA.PH are all independent Reality Marbles

A list of anime commented/analyzed by the youtuber Bayfond. There is a playlist in his channel compiling the videos where he talks about them and the order displayed in that playlist is the one being taken into account here, I'll try to keep this list updated to his future uploads. https://www.youtube.com/@bayfond/featured (link to his channel)
He has also talked about the Scott Pilgrim Takes Off anime twice, but it isn’t in the MAL database as of the last update to this stack.

Updates:
-- started Post-season
-- added Clockwork Dandy Noodles awards
-- added Otaku Spirit best of

Updates:
-- Mid-season update: Otaku Spirit, ViniiTube, Echidnut, AH Brandon Reviews
-- added Chibi Reviews discussion of ZOM 100 production problems

=-=-=

This stack consolidates watch recommendations for Summer 2023 from several YouTube critics/commentators. URLs are frowned upon in stacks so go to YouTube and search if you want to watch the videos. Or you can watch them at this blog post:
https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=900154

Mother's Basement (Geoff Thew) 1.32M subs: "Beat the Summer heat (and smoke) with the best new anime of the season!" MB only mentions his top 10 recommendations but includes a "bargain bin" with what amount to runners-up. In this stack, if MB is not in the description, then the show did not make his list. Returning or continuing shows are not included in his review. If you want to see his tier list for all shows, look for the Basement Life video noted below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YwoExo6hi4

Glass Reflection (Tristan Gallant) 582K subs: GR provides his first reaction to all the new seasonal anime in terms of whether he will be watching them: "Toss" those he is not interested in; "Hold" pending further judgment; "Keep" the ones to watch. GR watches at least the first episode of each show. Returning or continuing shows are not included in his review.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZiu3gHb-eA

Garnt 477K subs: "I Watched EVERY Anime in Summer 2023". Garnt's rating system: "Must watch" for shows he will be watching for sure; "three episodes" for shows that catch his eye but don't yet rate a full season commitment; "one episode" for shows he will give a chance; "skip" for those shows he is not planning to watch. Garnt passes judgment based on the show description and trailer. The review video is a 38 minute edit of a five hour (!) livestream. A few of the shows were cut from the edit, presumably because they were rated Skip without much fanfare.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-95z9B2pY4I

Gigguk 3.52M subs: "Summer Anime 2023 in a Nutshell". Garnt and Gigguk are the same person - I don't know the channels well enough to tell the difference. This video is a rundown of shows this season with often snarky commentary, but unlike the others supporting this stack, there is no systematic evaluation. I do enjoy the snark so I'll try to capture some of it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfrZW6JVWvA

AH Brandon Reviews 59.4K subs: "What Will Brandon Watch Summer of Anime 2023". Brandon makes YouTube videos for shows that he enjoys watching and that pique the interest of his community. He will drop shows that either don't meet expectations or don't generate interest from his community. Brandon's subscriber count is modest compared to the others here, but his tastes and sensibilities are similar to my own so his review is included here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlZW-38sxiI

414Anime 151K subs: "DO NOT MISS These Summer 2023 Anime". 414Anime mostly makes listicle-type videos. Given his subscriber count, I guess people like these lists. His review doesn't include popular returning anime like Jujustu Kaisen. I will simply list 414Anime under the show if they make his list.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI4rpLf1PPk

Animeology 182K subs: "Top 10 Best New Anime For Summer 2023". Animeology also mostly makes listicle-type videos. This review contains 10 shows in rank order: 1 > 10. For each show, I'll just note the rank order (not too sure how a Summer 2023 top 10 list exists without Bleach).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7ZAtaM2HU4

Basement Life (also Geoff Thew) 39.3K subs: "I Ranked EVERY Anime of Summer 2023". This is a side-channel for Mother's Basement. The MB review listed the top 10 in no particular order. This review is a tier list for *all* anime this season. In my opinion, this is a pretty good assessment across the board, but beware, this is a 56 min video. Tiers: Banger > Good > Ok > Mid > Bad > Trash. Thew uses "Trash" to mean a show could be real trash, but also could be "good trash" in that people with specific tastes might enjoy it. A nicely animated harem anime might qualify as "good trash". For each show, I'll simply note the tier level.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teAfAC7U84s

I will interject in a few cases but for the most part, the focus is on the recommendations from the YouTube commentators.

=-=

Just eyeballing the consensus amongst the critics, these are the shows to watch, in alpha order.

Three returning heavy hitters:
* Bleach
* Jujutsu Kaisen
* Mushoku Tensei

Plus five new shows:
* Dark Gathering
* Reborn as a Vending Machine
* Reign of the Seven Spellblades
* Undead Murder Farce
* Zom 100

=-=-=- Mid-season Update -=-=-=

I'll add to this stack as more mid-season and post-season reviews roll in.

Otaku Spirit 14.4K subs: "Does Japan Love Your Favorite Anime? Summer 2023 Anime Ranking!" Contrasting anime popularity in Japan and the West using popular ranking systems and sites such as MAL and Anilist. I added the mid-season rankings for the top 10 on MAL and Anilist to the appropriate shows. I skipped the long-running and carry-over shows on the MAL "Top Airing" list (why is Eminence in Shadow still on the Top Airing list?). The other lists OS cites are: Anikore (Anilist equivalent), Akiba Souken, NicoNico Video (Japanese YouTube equivalent), and Dimora (weekly TV rankings). I don't read Japanese so I am going strictly and only by what OS says about these sites. He doesn't cover every ranking so if he doesn't talk about it, it is "n/a". A show that doesn't have a ranking was not mentioned at all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0eFWSpLRUw&t=201s

ViniiTube 1.06M subs: "Top 10 Best New Anime of Summer 2023". This is a mid-season Top 10 list of the best non-sequel shows. ViniiTube mostly produces listicle-type videos. The anime are described in order from 10 to 1, 1 being best. I've noted the placement in the appropriate description.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrbFBAfVx1s

Echidnut 241K subs: "Ranking the Best Anime in Summer & Spring 2023 (Tier List)". Tier list using TierMaker. Standard tiers: God > S > A > B > C > D. I only noted tiers for the Summer shows.

=-=-=- Post-season Update -=-=-=

Otaku Spirit 17.1K subs: "Best Anime of the Summer 2023 Season!". Top 10. "... unfortunately this season where we've seen a really big gap between the good and the bad."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqJp0ZqHwm0

Clockwork Dandy Noodles 719 subs: "Top 3 Summer Anime 2023! Summer Anime Awards!". More than three awards but I only noted the Top 3.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jchk3BbYXRA

Go to First Stack to fully understand the guide, which is prepared in chronological order.

Part 1 - https://myanimelist.net/stacks/32601

After completing Fate/Strange Fake, the Fate Series is completely Over.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________


After completing Tsuki no Sango (Coral of the Moon), the Nasuverse is Completely Over.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________


After completing Nasuverse, now we are going to Type-Moon.

Canaan is currently only work of Type-Moon which is not included in Nasuverse.