Fate/Stay Night

[Zanador]

You are confusing UWB with HF route a bit.

Anyway, i made the mistake of trying to watch this movie with people who didnt read the VN first. Regardless, i didnt like it (wasnt even able to finish it since then..). The animation is great, the fights are cool, but no story, no characters, no dialogues, no motivations, no anything that made the VN so fantastic.
So i came to the conclusion: the right way to watch this movie is to sit down to your computer, start the VN, get to the 3rd day, go for the UBW route and whenever there is an action scene, press alt-tab, and watch that 4-5 mins of the movie, then pause it again, alt-tab back to the VN, and keep reading (dont skip the scene, coz many times i acutally liked the descriptions a lot more than the movie itself).

(i will try to watch it till the end when i get the chance, but really, even tho i remember more than enough of the VN to be able to follow the story line, it is just annoying.)

[thunderfire]

The ending of the movie folows the true ending of the VN if i remember correctly

[azurewrath]

I would like to note that I ate spicy Mapo Tofu today

[imortal12233]

Does anyone know where I can find an English version of the VN?

[azurewrath]

If you happen to have a copy of the Japanese one, then try googling for Realia Nua or something like that. It is a fan patch that translates the game. Can't remember the exact name. Think it was done by Type Moon? Rom might be able to help you more on that.

If you just want to download it.....try Limewire

[WhiteDragon]

I've seen the anime, the movie and the first visual novel (translated to english). The anime is decent, and the movie had a lot of good action scenes, but rushed the story to much. The visual novel is a lot better in comparison.

Unlimited bladeworks was the best story path in my opinion. I found the male characters in fate/stay night to be a lot cooler than the female ones (saber was the most boring servant in the game, although her back story was good). I preferred watching Archer and lancer, who get most of their fighting scenes and character development in that arc. Add to that Tohsaka's/Archers dream sequences, which were even more interesting then those in the Fate route for a complete win (I enjoyed the dream sequences and the action scenes the most.)

All in all I think the visual novel is better than the anime and movie, since the characters get developped more in the VN (for instance it's hard to understand Archers actions when only seeing the movie). The only thing the animated versions are really better at is cencuring the eroge scenes (a rare moment where I approve of cencuring) (if you haven't seen the VN yet, I'd also advise to skip those scenes, although everybody probably has his/her own taste).

[azurewrath]

The VN is of course the only way to go for FS/N. I think I prefer Sakura's route just because Kirea was so badass in it. Totally changed my perception of him and he is the most intriguing character for me. I do agree that Saber is boring though =/.

[Ginnazoh]

Mirror Moon is the translation group that did the FSN english patch. But, to use their patch, you need the japanese version of the game...so good luck getting that however you want.

[Romdeau]

Anyone else going gaga over the new Fate/Zero anime? I know it's been well received by the folks at ANN and it's a great entry point for newcomers to the franchise! Also, it's been noted that the translation speed of Fate/Hollow has gone up SIGNIFICANTLY since Fate/Zero's premiere

[Shirozaki]

I'm watching it on TV every saturday, so far I can just say I love it.
Ufotable's got the money, and it really shows and shines (Which was to be expected after Kara no Kyoukai). Honestly, you can see the budget just flying out during the scenes.
Now I've read the novel a few years ago and I can say the anime is rather faithful to its source, without any useless re-designs/structuring.

One thing I disagree with is it being a good entry point, if everything goes according to novel it'll spoil, or already has (*cough* Sakura), some pretty important stuff that's not touched in the VN until quite late. Its also siginificantly darker than other works in the fate series, which can partially be attributed to Urobuchi re-writing the novel, instead of its original creator KN.
The only downside for me'll be the 3 months gap, since they decided to split it up for heaven knows what reasons.