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***This review may contain spoilers and has gone under the assumption you have previously finished Fate/zero.***

Lets start off by stating; Fate/stay night has some big shoes to fill. Its predecessor, Fate/zero, was a smashing hit and was well received by the anime community. Can the sequel to such a monumental anime live up to expectations? No, it couldn't, but it did do a lot right in its own regard.

Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works is an anime adaptation, created by ufotable, of babies first visual novel... Sorry, Fate/stay night. The visual novel has three separate routes: the Fate route, the Unlimited Blade Works route and Heavens ... Feel route. This anime, as the title says, is the Unlimited Blade Works route, adapted into a 25 episode series.

Story - 6/10
The Holy Grail War is an age-old tradition that happens in Fuyuki city where seven Masters summon seven Servants. These Master Servant pairings must fight it out and eliminate one another until there is only one Master Servant pair left. Once there is only one pair left, the omnipotent wish granting device, the Holy Grail, reveals itself and grants one wish. The fifth Holy Grail War is the setting for Fate/stay night, and takes place ten years after the events of Fate/zero.

The premise sounds interesting and unique. The story can be riddled with surprising twists, unexpected alliances, betrayal, tactical warfare, and interesting relations between characters. The fear of knowing one could be killed at any moment sounds exhilarating. However, none of that really comes into play and instead we get a high school setting, with a bland main character, who has his own harem that he has to deal with. They story of Fate/stay night is unrealistic of the situation our characters find themselves in. The characters make stupid decision after stupid decision that can hardly be rationalized. The atmosphere feels far too care free given the circumstances. This is where Fate/stay night falls short compared to Fate/zero. The viewer doesn't get the same sense of urgency that Fate/zero offered, nor does it make the viewer feel as if the characters may die at any moment if they overstep their bounds. The pacing of the show is also incredibly slow and feels as if there is a lot of "filler" in each episode. Most of season one takes place at school, filled with characters have nothing to do with the grail war in the first place. The amount of time something just wasn't explained, or had an awful reasoning for an explanation is ludicrous. I know that Unlimited Blade Works was just one route of a possible three in the visual novel and that a lot of key elements might be distributed throughout all three routes, but come on, make it at least a bit of a better Anime viewing experience.

Overall, the premise of the story is interesting and continued off of what Fate/zero had going, but was executed poorly and riddled with missed opportunities.


Characters - 4/10
The characters of Fate/stay night can be summed up into one word: Unlikable. Forget the comparison to Fate/zero, which, by the way, had an incredible cast of characters; Fate/stay night has almost nothing going for it in terms of characters.
You can put make up on an ugly person, but at the end of the day, even though you made he/she look a little better for the time being, he/she is still ugly. That pretty much sums up three of the four main characters. Shiro, Rin, and Saber are so bad it's laughable. The show has it's brief periods of brilliance with adding depth and development to our main characters, but after the scene/episode, they go back to their same old self. The only character among the main group that doesn't completely suck is Archer, and even then he really wasn't that great. In terms of supporting cast the only characters that got any sort of spot light was Caster and Caster's master. Beyond that maybe Berserker, Ilya, Shinji and lancer... but at that point you're reaching. Everyone else is pretty much a write off with how little screen time they get and how little importance they have on the story itself and that includes the main villain, gilgamesh.
For a show that is so heavily focused on the adventures of Shiro and Rin, they sure dropped the ball. Unlimited Blade Works focused so hard on the main two characters that it cut time from other supporting characters and they couldn't even get the relationship for Shiro and Rin to work, let alone make them stand alone, likable characters.
I don't know if ufotable did an awful job adapting the characters from the visual novel, or if the visual novel itself just sucks, but something went horribly wrong...


Animations - 10/10
Finally, a shining light for this god forsaken anime.
Yes, ufotable does it again, creating a stunning looking anime. The animations quality was that of Fate/zero or even better. This might just be their best work yet. The motions were fluid and clean. Fight scenes, even the minor ones, were beautiful to watch. Everything, from the gorgeous fight scenes, right down to even basic scenes such as Rin and Shrio talking to each other looked great.
Overall fantastic animations quality. So good it should be reason enough to at least pick up and try the show out.


Sound - 8/10
The other shining light, the soundtrack.
The soundtrack, composed and created by Yuki Kajiura, was overall very well done and put together nicely. Each scene had a fitting piece to it and nothing felt out-of-place or awkward. The tracks themselves are also all incredible in their own right. Honestly, this was one of Yuki Kajiura weaker roles... but was still great none the less. The soundtrack did not live up to Fate/zero's soundtrack, but it definitely has more than a passable grade.
Both opening and endings we're great as well. Kalafina, Aimer and Mashiro Ayano all made awe-inspiring songs that set the mood perfectly for the start of the show and as a lasting impression after the episode.

Overall - Watching Fate/stay night as a "sequel" to Fate/zero is a mistake. It is a misleading title that has next to no "sequel" attributes to speak of. Watching Fate/stay night as a stand alone project that is not bogged down by the weight of Fate/zero is an actual good viewing experience. Fate/zero was a monumental, once in a life time Anime that Fate/stay night just could not live up to. Honestly, Fate/stay night is not even that bad of a show as a stand alone project. Just getting past the "sequel" part might be hard to wrap one's head around. If anything, watching Fate/stay night first, then going to Fate/zero would be a better viewing experience instead of the other way around.
The show, overall, was a train wreck, but was thankfully salvaged by the all-star line up of ufotable and Yuki Kajiura. It had its moments of brilliance but squandered the moments the show itself created. Unlimited Blade Works was incredibly hit or miss, it's just too bad it was more miss than hit.

Please note that everything in this review is my own personal opinion and will contain as few spoilers as humanly possible.

This review will also cover all three seasons of Aria.

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Imagine a scenario where there are two people sitting at a table together. One of them gets up and rummages through the freezer. He then finds a large container of vanilla ice cream. He takes said vanilla ice cream and gives it to his friend to eat. He then explains to his friend that this particular vanilla ice cream is one of the best, if not the best vanilla ice cream ever made. One of a ... few things will happen in this scenario. 1.) His friend will say "Yeah, but it's still just vanilla ice cream" and might eat a bite or two and he'll stop eating it. 2.) His friend will say "Villa ice cream is great and all... but where's the chocolate chips? Where's the Smarties" Where's anything besides the vanilla?" His friend will probably eat his fill and then put it away. 3.) His friend does like vanilla ice cream but it’s not his favorite kind to eat. He then tries the vanilla ice cream and is blown away by how much better it is than other vanilla ice cream he has had before. He will likely either eat until he is full and finish the rest later, or will finish the entire container right there. And lastly 4.) His friend likes vanilla ice cream so much he is basically jerking it to how much he likes eating vanilla ice cream while eating said vanilla ice cream.

The above scenario describes the entire Aria series quite well in my opinion. As you can see the friend started off at regular intervals of the "do I like it or do I hate it" line. In each point though he slowly started drifting towards one of the extremes. In points 1 and 2, he hated/disliked the ice cream. In points 3 and 4, he drifted towards liking it or even loving it. I've come to find out that this happens all too often with Aria.

Aria, by nature, is a very simple anime. A simple, calming, soothing, relaxing type of show. Not much happens to be quite honest. It's a straight slice of life anime with little comedy, and little romance; and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Aria, the series as a whole, is literally the closest thing you will EVER find a "perfect" anime. Let me explain.

Story - This is a quote from the synopsis for Aria the Origination... "In Neo Venezia, Akari, Aika, and Alice continue to work diligently toward the day they become full-fledged Prima Undine (a professional tour guide gondolier)." That's it. That's pretty much sums up 50+ episodes of what you're getting yourself into. As I said earlier, the theme of this show would be to say is that is it calming and relaxing. A gentle ride so to say. What is calming and soothing? Slow rowing, gondolier tour guides... of VENICE. You don't get much more relaxing and easy going than that.

Art - The art style is... fitting. It's not necessarily great, and it's not bad either. It’s walking a nice line where it's on par with the other categories such as the characters, and the story, and the soundtrack. It doesn't distract you by being too good and you being able to say "well, if only the 'X' could be as good as the animations". Nor is it bad where you can pick at it and complain about how it takes away from the show. It's not bad, it's not good. It's just where it should be for this type of show. It fits.

Sound - Again, like I said earlier, it's fitting. I'm sure you can probably figure out the rest of this review out at this point but I’ll keep going. What does this anime, Aria, need from its soundtrack? Calm and relaxing music... And boy does it deliver. The soundtrack fits the mood of each scene, and the anime as a whole, extremely well. I cannot think of a single track that was out of place that entire anime, nor can I think of a track that I just didn't like. They even went as far as to have seagull's noises in the background to emphasize the scenario they are in. The soundtrack was, simply put, flawless.

Characters - I'm going to start sounding redundant at this point, but yeah, the characters were quite fitting as well. I won't go into too much detail but the characters did their jobs. They had minimal character development, but honestly, they didn't need it. The thing I liked about Aria's characters, as opposed to many other shows characters, is that you don't think of Aria's characters as individuals, you think of them as a group, a bunch of friends having fun together, sharing memories, laughing, smiling together. THAT is why the characters fit the atmosphere of the show so well.

Overall - This show is wonderful. I true masterpiece in all its glory. The creator of this show really knew what he wanted. He knew exactly, right from the get-go what his over arcing idea and mood of this show was going to be. This entire show, from start to finish, was very clearly well thought-out, in every detail. From the animations, to the characters, all the way to the soundtrack, everything flowed together so very well and worked off of each other to make something beautiful.

However; with all that being said, the show is very straight forward and a simple, like I said earlier. What the show does, it does amazingly well. However; that's why I said "this particular vanilla ice cream is one of the best, if not the best vanilla ice cream ever made". At the end of the day, it's just fucking vanilla ice cream. If you can appreciate this show for what it is, you'll love it. If you can honestly just sit back, and enjoy the ride, you'll love it. If you're looking for more, those extra sprinkles on top, those chocolate chips for extra flavor, you're going to be disappointed.

If you are able to sit back and accept the show for what it is, you'll love it.

Please note that everything in this review is my own personal opinion and will contain and few spoilers as humanly possible.

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Before I start reviewing Gankutsuou, there is something that has to be pointed out. One of the best parts of this show is the many different viewpoints one can have on the show. One could look at the story from The Count's point of view, or rather look at it through Albert's point of view. That’s only the tip of the iceberg though. There are at least 3 or 4 other characters that play a big part in the story and everything can be ... seen through their eyes. The many complexities of this show and the mystery behind it make for a very enjoyable ride throughout.

Story - The story in a nutshell is The Count of Monte Cristo has this large, cleverly crafted revenge scheme that he, and his accomplices, tries to achieve. This is where the beauty of the show takes place; in uncovering the mystery and just what his master plan is, and who it’s targeted at. Bit by bit you are slowly given a bit more of what his plan is, a bit more on uncovering the mysterious aura that surrounds The Count of Monte Cristo. It's this little bit each episode it gives you that really entices the viewer and does an excellent job at making the viewer want more. The pacing with each episode is brilliant, and ultimately captivates the viewer into watching more than he/she probably expected to watch in one sitting.

Art - They art style and animations were... different... to say the least. A friend of mine told me before watching the show that everyone looked like wallpaper. I didn't quite understand what he meant until I started to watch the show. He wasn't kidding. The art was defiantly my least favorite part of the show; however, it wasn't bad enough for me to look down on the show or anything. It's bad... but it's also something you just get used to as the show moves on. Aside from the art style looking very weird, the show was nice to look at. The many things that reside inside the Counts home is interesting to look at and the backgrounds and scenery are nice to look at. While the art style may have not been Gankutsuou's strong suit, it's good enough to get by and not hinder the beauty of this show.

Sound - The soundtrack is actually one of my favorite parts about Gankutsuou. The soundtrack is interesting in the sense that I can't actually pick out a specific song (other than the opening song) that just stands out to me. But on the same token, the soundtrack as a whole is very good. The tracks fit the mood of what’s going on extremely well; everything just fits perfectly. It was very appealing to listen to, and actually helped to strengthen each scene that much more. I want to bring attention to the opening song, which, in my opinion, is a very beautiful track, and sets the mood very nicely throughout the pace of the show. Listen to the lyrics of the opening as you are watching, it's very fitting for the show itself.
Now I want to talk about the voice actors because I did watch this in English dub. The dub for Gankutsuou is incredibly well done and I actually recommend watching the show in dub rather than sub. Jamieson Price plays The Count to a tee and Johnny Yong Bosch is always a good mention to have.

Characters - You may have noticed that I have really only talked about The Count of Monte Cristo so far in this review. Well that's because this show suffers from One Good Character Syndrome. Not to bash the rest of the cast, it's just the Count out shines them in almost every way. Albert is winey rich kid that is basically in love with the Count. Franz, Albert's best friend, is pretty much there just to move the plot along. The rest of the cast past these three characters just exist to fulfill the Counts master plan. It's a bit of a shame, however there really aren’t any BAD characters per say. Overall, I would say the cast is pretty solid, with the Count being a very strong character. The characters get the job done and that's what's important.

Overall - Gankutsuou is a thrill of a ride and is a must watch in my books. The mystery aspect of this show is almost perfectly done and rivals the likes of Higurashi in that regard. The soundtrack is a joy to listen to and must not be overlooked. The art style is different, and takes some time to get used to, but is nothing to take away from the show. As for characters, the Count alone is more than enough to watch this show.
If you're looking for a good mystery type show, you've come to the right place. Gankutsuou is a must watch for almost everyone out there.

Note: Everything in this review is my personal opinion. I will try to see both sides of the fence because when i talk to people about Date A Live, they either think the show is a work of art, or they this its a complete mess. I am on the side where I think it's a work of art but I will try to not be bias.

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Date A Live, or DAL for short, is a show about spirits invading our world and creating spacequakes upon entering our world that kills thousands of people. These spirits are dangerous entities and we do not know much about ... them. It's up to our main man Shidou to stop these invasions by dating them. Yes, dating them. Now, when I first learned of what the show is about, I thought it was kind of interesting... and stupid. It's a unique idea for a show, albeit stupid, it is unique.

Story - The story is about our harem lead, Shidou, dating the many spirits that invade the earth. To save the people of the earth, it is up to him to date these spirit girls and get them to fall in love with him. While this is going on, there is an anti-spirit team (all girls, of course) and there job is to search and destroy the spirits. As absurd and unique this show sounds, some might think this is a recipe for a disaster, but it’s actually incredibly entertaining. The whole plot is mainly for the entertaining fight scenes, between the spirits and the anti-spirit team, and the several comedic scenes between Shidou and the several spirits that accompany him. They tried to establish a plot half way through the show but it's almost like the creators of DAL just threw their papers in the air and was like "fuck this shit; we'll leave it for season 2". No, I'm serious... That’s pretty much what they did.
Summary: If you think too hard on the plot aspect of DAL your brain will melt. But, if you are watching it purely for the entertainment factor, you can look past the enormous amounts of plot holes and look at DAL for what it is... and entertaining show.

Art - The art style and animations are beautiful to look at. If there is one thing DAL does great its the animations. There were no derp faces, the fight scenes looked crisp, the backgrounds were well done, everything about was done to a tee. The character designs were also very well done. You could tell the creators of DAL put a lot of effort into the art and they didn’t skip a beat. Hats off to them they made the show LOOK good.

Sound - Soundtrack is another category DAL excels at. The BGM fit almost every scene and really brought the most out of each scene. The OP is one of my favorite songs to date and the ED isn't half bad itself. The voice actors fit each character really well. Especially Kurumi... her voice was great and fit the character perfectly. All in all, the soundtrack as a whole was really well done and does not disappoint.

Characters - You can look at the characters for DAL one of two ways. One way is that pretty much every character has almost no backstory and isn’t well devolved. They aren’t very unique as each of them are either the token Tsundere character, or the crazy girl etc.. Or, you can look at it as they are cute anime girls that are funny and entertaining in their each own way. Each girl is cute in their own way, each girl has a great voice actor that fits the character well, and each girl is different enough so that everyone has a different favorite. They are fun; enjoyable characters and each have a different view point on each situation. Albeit while they might not be very flushed out, they do the job. Last but not least, we have Shidou, the main lead and (really the only male character that matters) the one who has the duty of saving these spirits. All I can say about him is that he’s not shit. That is apparently a lot to ask for in these harem type animes. Thankfully, he’s not as bad as most harem leads and in fact he’s pretty good himself. Shidou was probably the biggest surprise out of every character in the show as he didn’t suck.

Overall - If you critically look at DAL and try to pick it apart asking yourself "well, does this show have a good plot? Were the characters good and have deep, meaningful backstories? Does the show have a great soundtrack? Are the animations up to snuff?” you're in for a bad time. The plot on a whole is a mess, and the characters really aren’t that great if you look at the big picture. But if you are like me and just watch DAL for what it is, a fun and enjoyable anime, then the show is great.
If you are a critic of every anime you watch, DAL might not be the anime for you. But, if you watch an anime for cute girls, cool fights, entertaining comedy, and just plain don't care about plot holes and such, DAL is a must watch.