Well… This is an interesting one here, and please don’t think badly of me for the suggestion. For the longest time, I was hesitant to watch this show, as it seemed a bit… outside my comfort zone. A friend finally convinced me to give it a watch, however, and though I honestly feel like i’ll go to jail if I say this… I really, really enjoyed the show. So, I figured i’d extend an invitation to you all to give the show a shot. It is, of course, Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya.
Illyasviel von Einzbern is an ordinary elementary school student who becomes a magical girl when the magical Kaleidostick Ruby deems her a more suitable master than the sorceress, Rin Tohsaka. Rin, who had been tasked by the wizard Zelretch to collect the seven Class Cards containing the spirits of Heroic Spirits from legend, finds that she is unable to change Ruby’s mind and must supervise Illya in completing the task of collecting the Class Cards. During Illya’s adventures, she receives a friend and rival in a girl named Miyu, the contracted master of the Kaleidostick Sapphire, which similarly abandoned its original master and Rin’s rival, Luvia Edelfelt.
– MAL
Fate/ Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya is another addition to the Fate franchise, this time following Illyasviel in an alternate timeline where Irisviel and Kiritsugu put a stop to the Holy Grail War in Fuyuki and moved there with their daughter Illya, adopting a young boy named Shirou. She encounters a magical stick named Kaleid Ruby, and thus begin her adventures as a Magical Girl, fighting against familiar faces of servants in a faux grail war.
Studio Silver Link takes control of this project, departing from the usual formula of Holy Grail wars, and giving us a more typical Mahou Shoujo experience with the guise of a Fate show. Fate fans will immediately notice the shift away from the typical artstyle, in favor of a more cartoonish style that might take a little getting used to, but once you do, you are in for an absolute treat.
Fate/Kaleid looks absolutely incredible. Utilizing vivid colors and crisp, smooth animation, it delivers some of the most spectacular action sequences i’ve ever witnessed in Anime, rivaling those of Ufotable in their adaptations of Fate/Zero and Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works. Combined with a cast of very colorful characters, and you have a fantastic recipe right off the bat.
Speaking of the characters, it’s hard to find a show that manages to make you fall in love with the cast as quickly as Fate/Kaleid manages to. I adore the core cast in this show, and the supporting characters are no slouch either, helping to deliver comic relief and little character moments at just the right time, every time.
Fate/Kaleid also takes a note from the darker side of Magical Girl shows. The characters go through some tough times, battles that they may very well not win. Misery and sadness are not uncommon, though they manage to pull through every time, through teamwork, lifting each other in very genuine, and heartfelt ways.
Of course, it’s not all good… If you thought Eromanga Sensei was bad… you may want to give this show a pass. There are some questionable moments, involving Yuri, and the occasional Incest bait. And when you consider the main characters in the show are 10-year-old lolis… Yeah, there sure are some times when you just can’t explain realistically what’s going on if someone walks into the room. On the bright side, though, you do get some amazing moments like this:
Overall though, the soundtrack, visuals, story, and characters are just what you’d expect from a Fate show. The comedic moments are outrageously funny, the dramatic moments pack a punch, and it’s engaging enough that I binged all 3 seasons in the space of about a week.
As this show may be a bit controversial to some who are unsure if they want to watch it or not, I gathered some input from other Anibloggers who’ve seen the show, to let you guys see some opinions besides my own.
Edgy Anime Teen says:
Not fantastic but really enjoyable. The movie was like two notches above the rest of the anime, in my opinion. I would recommend the movie to anyone, while I would recommend the anime exclusively to Fate/ fans
Shokamoka had this to say about the series:
For a fate series, I love the twists it has. Makes full use of everything ‘fate’, has it’s own awesomeness while remaining true as a spin off, meaning that you will never get a full plate until you watch the parent series.
My friend Kitsuke (not currently a blogger but is working on setting up his Photography blog) was the one who encouraged me to give the show a shot (we ended up binging it together), and here’s what he has to say about it:
Art – Silverlink did a good job off it, but I think they made the characters look too, hmm how do i say it? too much moe? no thats not right, looks too loli I suppose, then again we’re comparing it to ufotable so its bound to fall short.Animation – Watch the anime, read the manga for 3rei.Characters – they’re fun and quirky, kuro is amusing as hell, and illya’s switch.seems more friendly than FSN in general.
So, all-in-all, it’s a fun show with a lower entry barrier than a standard Fate show might have. Less technobabble, fun and interesting characters, and many moments that are just hilarious and unforgettable. I’m a huge fan of the series, and I hope it gets a continuation in the near future.
Well, there’s my recommendation! I hope you guys will give the show a chance, because it really deserves to be known and loved a lot more than it is. Let me know what you guys think of the show if you’ve seen it, and if you decide to take my recommendation, please let me know how you liked it! Thanks everyone for reading, and i’ll see you all in the next post!
The Zodiac Room 
I’ve always wanted to watch this show but was worried I’d have to have seen the other Fate series’ before hand. So does this mean I can watch this series and enjoy it and understand without having seen any of the others?
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I think there’s definitely pieces of the series that are much easier to understand if you’ve seen the main series, as well as some inside jokes. but for the most part, it’s pretty separate from standard Fate.
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