Summary
TheFatefranchise is a vast universe thatcrosses over between different universesand timelines to tell stories on a grand scale. Mixing mythology, history, and fantasy has created a wonderful chain of anime that does an exceptional job of bringing fantasy to life. The Fate series' revolves around a conflict called The Holy Grail War.
For centuries, human beings gifted with magic have fought in this war as the winner is granted one wish of their choosing by the grail. The magic users, known as mages, summon mighty warriors from the past or future to serve as their comrades and aid them in winning the war. EachFateanime follows a different war, sometimes even a different timeline with nothing to do with the others. However, each season tells an action-packed story with interesting characters. Some of the Fate series rise above the rest when it comes to the overall story and plot, which are the basis of this list. Whether a long-time fan or a newcomer to the franchise, here are some of the bestFateanime in terms of story and plot, ranked.
Fate/Extra: Last Encorewas a side series based on one of the DRPG portable titles,Fate/Extra game. The game featured characters from the video game but placed in a new story setting. Hakuno is the main character of this series and awakens inside a virtual battlefield for the current Holy Grand War along with over a hundred other hopeful ‘masters".
Finding an ally in Saber, who in this series is a reincarnated version of Emperor Nero from history, Hakuno and this new companion traverse the hellscape, hoping to survive the war and make it out in one piece. Both the animation and voice acting are incredible in the series; although there are some ties to the game, even newcomers will enjoy the story.
Fate/Stay Nightis the first series in the longlist ofFatestoriesand is considered the primary start of the franchise. The story focuses on Shirou Emiya, a young high school student dragged into the Holy Grail War when he inadvertently becomes the master of a Saber class hero. This paints a target on his back, which leads him to become allies with Rin Tohsaka, a young master also participating in the war.
The story follows the relationship between Shirou and Saber, diving into each other’s past and how they grow with each experience. Shirou learns about his latent magical abilities, and Saber finds her spark of heroism, which has long been neglected.Fate/Stay Nightis a great place to start and gives a straightforward introduction to the rules and circumstances of theFateuniverse.
Set up as another side story of theFateuniverse, the story focuses on Rin Tohsaka and Edelfelt Luvitagelita, who are bitter rivals in Magical Academy. As the two top students in the school, circumstances bring them together, and they are tasked with the mission of locating multiple class cards that contain the essence of heroic spirits.
The two girls are each given a scepter, which grants them increased magical power and a transformation. Unfortunately, their inability to work together results in the scepters rejecting them and finding two different hosts. Now, the girls must induct random children into their task and try to place aside their differences as the situation grows dire and the lives of all four girls become at stake.
Fate/Grand Orderkicks off an alternate timeline that introduces two new main characters in a drastically different setting than mostFateanime begin with. Set in a not-so-distant dystopian future where the world has been decimated by the heroic spirit King Solomon, a secret organization of Mages known as the Chaldea Organization begins a mission to recover seven singularities and repair the damage that was done.
With all but one singularity recovered, Ritsuka and his servant Mash must now travel to the past and finish their mission. In a time when Gilgamesh is currently King, Mash, and Ritsuka face perilous odds as everything tries to stand in their way of fixing the world.
Taking place in another alternate timeline during the third Holy Grail War,Fate/Apocryphatells a drastically different story set in a world with alternate characters and a different power structure compared to the primary story ofFate/Stay Night. In this series, theHoly Grail Warhas been split down the middle, with two sides producing armies of mages and servants.
While having multiple character-driven plots, the main story focuses on Sieg, a genetically created mage used for summoning material who is cast aside but becomes the linchpin in the entire Holy Grail War. What starts off as a battle for power results in the entire war being hijacked by a mage named Shirou Kotomine, an overseer of the war who seeks to take the Holy Grail for himself and make his own wish. With all of humanity at stake, Sieg must rally all the servants and masters to save the world from oblivion.
Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Worksin the Fate universe in a different route that tells the same story but adds details and different points of view. In this series, the main focus shifts to Rin Tohsaka and her servant, Archer.
It explores the history of the Holy Grail War and adds a feud between Shirou and Archer. It is revealed that Archer is not a hero of the past but, instead, one of the future who wishes to undo his mistake of becoming a Heroic Spirit and having to participate in countless battles. There are a number of added conflicts in this series, as well as a higher overall quality of animation. Fans who have already seen the originalFate/Stay Nightshould watch this series.
Fate/Zerotells the story of the events ten years prior toFate/Stay Nightduring the fourth Holy Grail War. The series introducesa number of servantsthat appeared inFate/Stay Night, such as Saber and Berserker. However, a slew of different masters appear, including Shirou’s father, Kiritsugu Emiya. This Holy Grail War differed fromFate/Stay Nightas much more is happening behind the scenes.
Kiritsugu is hired to eliminate other masters to shift the victory in a particular direction and as a ruthless and calculated killer, he does so even at the cost of his own humanity. Kiritsugu seeks to cut a way for him and his wife to live freely. Unfortunately, his wife is the property of his clients, which pushes him to make drastic decisions.
