Title: Fate / kaleid liner Prisma * Illya on Blu-ray
Directors: Shin Onuma, Takashi Sakamoto and Miki Minato
Studio: Sliver Link
U. S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23
U. S. Release Date: September 2nd, 2014
Format: Blu-ray / 11 Episodes / 275 minutes
Genre: Magical Girl, Comedy, Action
Age Rating: TV 14
Overall Personal Rating: C+
Synopsis:
llyasviel von Einzbern’s normal life is suddenly halted by the Kaleidostick Ruby, a magical wand on the run from her former master who instantly decides that little Illya has all the right stuff to become the next great magical girl. However, Ruby’s previous owner Rin Tohsaka isn’t exactly thrilled to be de-wanded, especially since she’s just accepted an assignment to collect the seven legendary Class Cards. It seems the only solution is for Illya to take up the task and learn the ropes under Rin’s supervision.
Meanwhile, a girl named Miyu has been chosen by the Kaleidostick Sapphire as HER new master, much to the irritation of Sapphire’s previous master, Rin’s arch rival Luviagelita Edelfelt! Exactly what kind of plan are the wands conjuring up? Find out as the Fate/stay night universe “kaleids” with a healthy dose of magical girl mayhem!
Commentary:
The Fate franchise is a being fan favorite and most of the fans will be happy to enjoy the fun that comes with Fate / Kaleid Liner. Of course I went straight to the connection with the past and began to see this as a modern day version of Cardcaptor Sakura. With Fate / Kaleid Liner being much shorter and much less diverse leaves it lacking in impact and entertainment. Fate / kaleid liner is fun and funny along with having plenty of action but it ends up leaving me a little flat. The real reason for this lack of impact is clearly linked to the limited development of the main characters. Both Illya and Miyu have great potential and their characters are left on the floor with only limited understanding of who they are. In fact there is so much about these two that is suggested that it is disappointing that we just don’t find out who and what they really are.
If you can set the week character development aside the rest of the story was solid but once again rather single layered. There is a lot that happens and plenty of action along with a solid growth in the girls abilities, but there end up being more questions than answers at the end of it all. I guess that the second season of the series will explain most of these dark secrets.
Anyway, I can say that the series is good looking and I understand why it is released on Blu-ray. The production is slick and everything looks very good. With the action happening at night it is easy to make this look rather dark, but the overall artist style of the series saved it from being too dark. There is also the look of the heroins, they all come off looking great. The silly magical girl look for Illya and Miyu sets a goofy tone and at the same time pokes fun at the entire genre.
Overall Grade: C+
As I am sure that the Fate fans will enjoy this I have a feeling that other might find it lacking depth and context. Without a solid understanding of Rin & Luvia’s background it might be hard to get into the series. Their obvious tension and loathing for each other and yet ability to fight with some very special unity is a little confusion from time to time and most notably in the opening episode. The things that make this series worth watching art the fights and the overall good look and artistic styling to the series.
I am very interested to see how these characters are played out in the next part to this story which just wrapped in Japan on Sept. 10th, 2014.
