Fate/strange Fake

Episodes 1-3

I went in depth into the first episode of the series back when it originally aired over a year ago (and once again for the preview guide). So this time around, I'm going to focus on the two completely new second and third episodes.

Most of these episodes are centered around Jester Karture, the master of Assassin. He's introduced as a “Dead Apostle”—i.e., a literal vampire. While this may seem out of left field for some—namely those who have only partaken in the Fate side of Type-Moon's work—this whole section is a love letter to the predecessor of Fate, Tsukihime.

Tsukihime is set in a world where, due to the proliferation of vampires—their effect on the world and magic—the Holy Grail War can't take place. These episodes of Fate/strange Fake place its timeline in an interesting position where, though mankind is in the dominate position, vampires are still a major threat. Thus, these episodes are (re)introducing us to the concept—showing us what they can and can't do in the world of Fate and telling us what is necessary to defeat them.

Better still, this is done through a series of battles where Jester mocks the police and tells them exactly why they are unable to beat him. While their weapons are powerful, it's faith that is key to defeating a vampire—and they have none. Of course, that's why things change once Cervantes gets involved. He is a priest and an Executor—basically a monster hunter. His faith (and his mechanical prosthetics) are more than enough to handle what the police were unable to.

In the bigger picture, this derails the Holy Grail War formula as we know it. The Church, supposed to act as overseers and provide neutral ground, is now actively hunting one of the Masters. However, that's not the only big revelation.

At the end of the third episode, it's revealed that there are actually two Holy Grail Wars happening in Snowfield—with the first “fake” Holy Grail War acting as a catalyst for the second. This means, just like in Fate/Apocrypha, we have double the servants; however, we have no Ruler to play referee. This makes the already chaotic situation doubly so, as the False and True servants are already clashing.

On the more personal side of the story, much of the continuing focus is put on Ayaka and Saber. Regardless of whether she sees herself as a Master or not, Saber is drawing magical energy from her, which makes her a target for the others. And he, being a noble knight, is duty-bound to protect her.

The two have a great rapport. You can see that while Ayaka wants nothing to do with him or the Holy Grail War, she doesn't dislike him—and even trusts him to a fair degree.

The other Master/Servant pair to get some solid development is Tiné and Gilgamesh. Tiné is a Native American girl thrust into the role of being her people's representative and savior. However, this has made her less of an individual than a mouthpiece. She has had the manners and talking points pounded into her to the point that they are second nature.

This doesn't sit well with Gilgamesh. While he values obedience (he is a King after all), he also values individual thoughts and opinions. Seeing a child with none of her own doesn't sit well with him, so he attempts to shock her into giving her real opinion. He hints that, with a single command seal, she could have him kill every single person in Snowfield in an instant—returning the land to her people in bloody vengeance. He even notes that this is probably what her ancestors would have wanted. And when he points out that her rebuttal to using him this way is not her own but rather that of her clan, she is forced to question what her own personal stance is.

All this makes clear the fact that Gilgamesh doesn't care about what the Native Americans collectively want. All he cares about is what Tiné herself wants. He is her Servant, not theirs, and should her wants and her tribe's no longer coincide, he's made it clear where his loyalty is.

All in all, these three episodes (along with Whispers of Dawn) make for the first act of this story. The players are introduced, a few opening battles are had, and just when we think we've got a handle on things, the entire situation is turned on its head as the cast effectively doubles. Next week? The chaos unfolds.

Episode 1 Rating:

Episode 2 Rating:

Episode 3 Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• This show does a great job of showing Flat as a true eccentric. He's doing what he wants in a naive way, but is also smart enough to know when something is truly dangerous.

• Waver has now realized that Gilgamesh is in the war. I wonder what will happen if/when Rin does as well.

• We now have had two scenes of Saber “talking to himself”—not to mention a few frames of someone (totally recognizable to any player of Fate/grand Order) shooting an arrow at Assassin when she attacks Saber from behind.

• While the timelines are incredibly different, given that the Burial Agency exists in Fate/strange Fake, I wonder if that means Ciel is out there somewhere as well.

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Fate/strange Fake is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

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Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.