Fate Apocrypha: Final Thoughts

My first impression of Fate Apocrypha was that it was a decent action show with fun characters even if the plot was a load of hot nonsense.
After finishing the second season I’m more hesitant to recommend the series to Fate fans.
THE BAD
It seems like the action budget was slashed in half. There are fewer fight scenes and more scenes of characters standing around and having pseudo-sophisticated conversations about morality.
The fight scenes presented are less about intricate swordplay and strategy and more about characters hitting each other with glowing magic.
Fights become predictable–Character A hits Character B with magic spell but fortunately Character B has a counter-spell, causing Character A to retreat until the next episode.
The stakes are inconsistent with characters brushing off pointblank gunfire and massive explosions only to die once their character arc has been fulfilled.
THE GOOD
Honestly, there are few redeeming factors. But I don’t want to turn this blog into a nerd-rage post so here’s a list of my favorite characters.
Shirou Kotomine

Assassin of Black

Saber of Red

Rider of Black

THE VERDICT
The screen-time for bland characters increases and the number of quality action scenes decreases. While there are some stand-out characters, they’re mostly edgy and cool as opposed to deep and nuanced. Fate is a juggernaut franchise with no sign of slowing down, so stay tuned when Fate Extra: Last Encore appears.