As we dig deeper into the plot of Fate/Zero, we find more little things to be frustrated about. More pieces that just don’t quite line up how they should. On this episode, we discuss the structure of Fate/Zero as a whole and the continual misunderstanding of Saber’s character that comes to a head with the climactic feast.
Opening: “oath sign” by LiSA
Ending: “MEMORIA” by Aoi Eir
With Shirou Emiya’s story now in our rear-view mirror, Gen Urobuchi takes us back to the jackasses who helped set the events of Fate/Stay Night in motion. The big question, though, is: did these gaps actually need filling? On this episode we discuss the first of the four light novels, the differences in storytelling style from Nasu, writing quirks, and IDEOLOGY.
Opening: “oath sign” by LiSA
Ending: “MEMORIA” by Aoi Eir
On this episode, we reach the end of the loops, and we brought our friend Kim to help us discuss both the ending and our overall thoughts on this strange fandisc.
Opening: “Hollow (Short Edit)” from Fate/Hollow Ataraxia OST
Ending: “Our Future (Short Edit)” from Fate/Hollow Ataraxia OST
After a long delay caused by a multitude of real-life occurrences, we’re finally back to talk about Bazett and Avenger. There’s a lot of good main story stuff here, but also some of the worst fluff we’ve seen so far.
Opening: “Hollow (Short Edit)” from Fate/Hollow Ataraxia OST
Ending: “Emiya #2” from Fate/Hollow Ataraxia OST
This episode was originally intended to be part 4, but we encountered audio issues during the recording of part 3 that proved to be unfixable in a way I would consider acceptable. I didn’t want to destroy anyone’s ears, so instead we give loops 5 and 6 a bit of a short shrift (though in our defense, there isn’t a whole lot that happens in them). Instead, we mostly focus on loops 7 and 8, where we 1) yell at Shirou to please for the love of god just remember something for once and 2) go wild for Avenger slowly learning just how much of messed-up dumbass Bazett is.
Opening: “Hollow (Short Edit)” from Fate/Hollow Ataraxia OST
Ending: “Mirage” from Fate/Hollow Ataraxia OST
On this episode, we really get into the thick of it, discussing how much we love Bazett (a whole lot), how much we wish Shinji was not here (also a whole lot), and how we can clearly see what Nasu is trying to do despite the structure often actively working against crafting the thematic throughline.
Opening: “Hollow (Short Edit)” from Fate/Hollow Ataraxia OST
Ending: “Karen’s Theme” from Fate/Hollow Ataraxia OST
We might be done with Fate/Stay Night, but we’re not yet done with the characters from Fate/Stay Night. The whole cast returns for Fate/Hollow Ataraxia: a fandisc that also serves as a pseudo-sequel to F/SN. Turns out there are some strange, magical shenanigans going on in Fuyuki that not only has Shirou trapped in a time loop but has also caused the Grail War to restart. As the only person who seems to realize the loop is happening it’s up to Shirou to solve the mystery…except he may not actually want all this to end. On this episode, we discuss the first loop, the structure of the game, and what our hopes are for the story.
Opening: “Hollow (Short Edit)” from Fate/Hollow Ataraxia OST
Ending: “Ataraxia” from Fate/Hollow Ataraxia OST
Before we can truly bid Fate/Stay Night farewell, there are a couple adaptations we need to cover first: the somewhat notorious 2006 anime from Studio Deen, and the three Heaven’s Feel movies from ufotable. We spend plenty of time talking about what works and what doesn’t in both of these pretty disparate adaptations.
Opening music: “Disillusion” from Fate/Stay Night (2006)
Closing music: “Anata ga Ita Mouri” from Fate/Stay Night (2006)
It’s time to finish off Fate/Stay Night. Or, at least, the visual novel version of F/SN. We excitedly talk about how Heaven’s Feel manages to stick the landing, and we revisit the “Last Episode” ending that Realta Nua added to see how we feel about it in the context of the whole VN.
Opening music: “THIS ILLUSION ~Fate Version~” from Fate/Stay Night Original OST
Closing music: “New Dawn” from Fate/Stay Night [Realta Nua] OST
Events come to a head in this section of Heaven’s Feel, with Shinji finally getting killed, Sakura going sicko mode, and Shirou unleashing Hero Emiya’s power. Prepare for a lengthy discussion of what’s actually going on with Sakura’s state of mind and a whole lot of lore.
Content warning for sexual assault
Opening music: “THIS ILLUSION ~Fate Version~” from Fate/Stay Night Original OST
Closing music: “Emiya” from Fate/Stay Night [Realta Nua] OST
With Heaven’s Feel’s thesis now firmly stated, the route really kicks into gear, scattering the pieces across the board, clarifying the stakes, and showing what will be required for Shirou to achieve a victory now that he’s rejected his previous set of ideals. It’s cool, it’s messy, and—most importantly—Nasu finally does right by Illya and turns her into a fully-fledged character.
Content warning for: suicidal ideation
Opening music: “THIS ILLUSION ~Fate Version~” from Fate/Stay Night Original OST
Closing music: “Light And Darkness” from Fate/Stay Night [Realta Nua] OST
We were skeptical about the hype, but on this episode of the podcast, we both have to admit that Heaven’s Feel is delivering on its promises. Day 9, specifically, is arguably the most important day in the entire visual novel, and we spend a whole lot of time talking about why.
Content warnings for: sexual abuse and suicidal ideation
Opening music: “THIS ILLUSION ~Fate Version~” from Fate/Stay Night Original OST
Closing music: “A Demanding Heart” from Fate/Stay Night [Realta Nua] OST
We’ve made it to the last route. The route where, hopefully, everything will come together. The route that F/SN fans have been hyping up for quite a while. Will it live up to the hype? Who knows, but the stuff we’ve seen so far gives us some reason to hope…and also a few reasons to be wary.
Content warning for references to and brief descriptions of physical and psychological abuse
Opening music: “THIS ILLUSION ~Fate Version~” from Fate/Stay Night Original OST
Closing music: “Diver - Diver 2” from Fate/Stay Night [Realta Nua] OST
Content warning for brief mentions of sexual assault
Unlimited Blade Works has limped to the finish line. Did this route justify being completely separate from the Fate route? Is Shirou really going to avoid becoming Hero Emiya? And what’s up with Sunny Day being labeled the “Good” ending and Brilliant Years is the “True” ending? Our answers to these questions are…complicated.
Opening music: “THIS ILLUSION ~Fate Version~” from Fate/Stay Night Original OST
Closing music: “Brilliant Years” from Fate/Stay Night Arrange Album [AVALON]
Hey, Illya finally gets a great scene with character development after what seems like forever! Granted, it involves her dying, but we’ll take what we can get. Also: Archer commits even more betrayal.
Opening music: “THIS ILLUSION ~Fate Version~” from Fate/Stay Night Original OST
Closing music: “Lorelei” from Fate/Stay Night [Realta Nua] OST
Today we bring you this very special episode of Saber/Metrics, recorded entirely within Sierra’s bedroom. Thankfully, the gods of timing smiled upon this face-to-face recording session, because this set of days featured some of our favorite writing in the game so far. Remember that absolutely abysmal date Shirou had with Saber back in the Fate route? Well this time Rin’s coming along, and it goes much better.
As mentioned at the end of the show, if you’ve have money to spare and enjoy the content we’re creating, please donate what you can toward my friend Melissa for her gender-affirming surgical needs. I’ve also saved the link as a pinned tweet on my Twitter profile.
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On this episode, we discuss the mixed bag of events featured in Days 6 - 8. On the one hand, Caster is a pretty cool villain, Archer makes a great foil for Shirou, and Rin and Shirou’s conversation on the roof is one of the most genuinely sweet things in the entire VN so far. On the other hand, Nasu makes Shinji even worse than in the Fate route, seemingly just to give Shirou additional motivation.
CW for sexual assault
Opening music: “THIS ILLUSION ~Fate Version~” from Fate/Stay Night Original OST
Closing music: “Spirits Collide” from Fate/Stay Night [Realta Nua] OST
With the Fate route now behind us, we can finally move onto what is perhaps the most well-known of the F/SN routes: Unlimited Blade Works. This is the first route that Sierra and I ever saw (and the only one we were familiar with from start to finish), and we’re excited to see if the new context of the Fate route will change our previous impressions of UBW. I’m getting a little ahead of myself though. On this episode, we cover days 3 - 5, which establishes how the split occurs and what the new status quo will be. We’re also relieved to find that UBW Shirou is so, so much better Fate Shirou…even if he is still a big dummy.
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We’ve finally reached the end of the first route of the game, which means it’s finally time to talk about the big picture for a bit. We discuss whether or not the Fate route accomplished what it set out to do, how the ending made us feel, and what we hope to see in the future routes.
Content Warning: During a couple parts of the story summary, one character makes threats of sexual assault against another character.
We discuss the sex scene from 1:21:42 - 1:26:44
Opening music: “THIS ILLUSION ~Fate Version~” from Fate/Stay Night Original OST
Closing music: “Sorrow” from Fate/Stay Night [Realta Nua] OST
We have arrived at the first sex scene of Fate/Stay Night. Is it as bad as we feared? Well…yes and no. It’s complicated. On this episode, we learn Saber’s identity, get kidnapped by Illya, fight Berserker, make a sacrifice, and get our final lesson from Rin.
We discuss the sex scene from 43:49 - 1:13:51
Opening music: “THIS ILLUSION ~Fate Version~” from Fate/Stay Night Original OST
Closing music: “The Legend Revived” from Fate/Stay Night [Realta Nua] OST