Here’s a written post for a change of pace. Take it as an intermission to the comics pouring since yesterday. I wrote this on a whim, but my reason is probably more than that. Even though I enjoy making the comics, part of me as remains unsatisfied. Well, go blame it my style of blogging. Apparently it has dug deep in by now. I can’t rest in my grave unless I state an opinion. (At the least, write about how awesome Lancer was in this route.) No summaries. Summaries are too restraining. I am reminded why I intentionally avoided writing summaries—on top of the fact no one reads summaries. Anyway, on to my opinion-side (as shallow they may be) about Unlimited Blade Work. Like them or not, comics will resume after this.

Story
It is certainly deeper than Fate, but not all that different. Although this is supposed to be Shiro and Rin’s route, the atmosphere is fairly the same. Shiro, Rin, and Saber are all cooperating so it feels like you’re stuck back in Fate. In a way, I deem it as Fate/Stay Night’s harem route. You get to earn points with both Rin and Saber, minus the flag event for the latter.

On the other hand, the endings get more interesting this time. It’s like not in Fate with the “and so life goes on” type of ending. Unlimited Blade Works ends in a… very “fan-fiction friendly” way. There’s more room to imagine what happened after.

Then finally, there is the off-set. A slight one in the story flow. For some reason, they placed this climax in the middle of the story. Shiro and Archer’s battle was placed too early. Yes, I acknowledge there is nothing wrong about surprising people with more story. However, it is a bad choice if it negatively affects the following story. The final fight with Gilgamesh just felt too watered down by the huge event preceding it. In a way, I suppose they had no other choice. From a reviewing point though, I can’t stress enough on how the planning could have been better.

And from all this you can tell I want to lean myself on declaring Heaven’s Feel as the best route. I’m expecting a lot from it at that time. Unlimited Blade Works was good, but I didn’t like the remnants from Fate in it. Is it really necessary to always fight Gilgamesh at the end?

Emiya Shiro

Quick comment here. In reality, Shiro’s mindset is different from that of Fate route. He mixes idealistic and realistic views. Personally, I fail to see the difference between the two. It makes no difference whether you know what you’re getting into. No matter how passionate you are about a goal, viewpoints can change once you get to it the future. Why Archer let Shiro win is beyond clue. Does Archer even know that flying higher will result in a bigger landing impact when you fall?

Note: Shiro is more of a Leeroy Jenkins than in Fate. It’s only lucky that he turned out to be Gilgamesh’s natural enemy. He’s actually still no match for Servants. He will die if Berserker kills him.

Tohsaka Rin
Just pretend I wrote something here. I will die of embarrassment if I do. Well, one comment though. It never occurred to me that Rin can successfully pull off a damsel-in-distress role. Go Shiro! Rescue the princess! You only get one ero-scene though!

Lancer
Okay, guys. Forget the whole business about Garcher. If you’re looking for a character to label as gar, consider Lancer. Stay away from Archer. He’s only interested in wrist-ing himself. Not cool. Now Lancer in contrast… I knew from Fate he had a righteous side, but not as this much. Lancer’s appearance wasn’t long in the story, yet he shined in every moment. None of his roles were wasted. Shiro and Rin couldn’t possibly have lived through the Holy Grail if it wasn’t for Lancer.

I mean, just question all the events that could have led to a bad end. Who kept Archer busy? Lancer. Who prevented Kotomine from using Rin as the Holy Grail’s vessel? Lancer. Who relieved my anxiety when it looked like Shinji was going to rape Rin? Lancer. Who allows Shiro and co. to escape from Gilgamesh, and come back with a strategy? Lancer.

Joke and call him a dog if you wish. I for one heartily approve of Lancer’s dislike for betrayal of any sort. Too bad though. Poor guys gets an E in Luck, and thus bad luck with women. Getting involved with Rin got him killed there. :(

(And in honor, I currently use a Lancer banner. Long live Lancer. You went down with style.)

Etc.
Obviously, I’m commenting about all the useless characters now. To me, Kotomine served zero to no purpose in this route. Even Shinji deserves more credit for being annoying, and coming back later with Gilgamesh. The only character I would give the villain spotlight to is Caster who started all the messed. You got to admit, it was unpredictable as to how she’ll end up dying. It made her feel more threatening than Gilgamesh whose end was far too obvious. As for Shinji, Lancer should have killed him. Enough said.

Continuation of the Funniest Scene…

Poor Issei. That guy will be scarred for life.