Fate/strange Fake - First Impressions

We are so back.

The most crucial element of Fate/strange Fake is that it predates most other spinoffs: it's pre-Grand Order, pre-Apocrypha, pre-Extra. Fate/strange Fake originally hails from the days of 2008, mere months after the original Fate/Zero light novels finished their run. It started as a one-off April Fools' joke, a glimpse of Ryohgo Narita's idea for a Fate spinoff. It detailed a pseudo-sequel featuring a corrupted Holy Grail War, far removed from the context and limitations of the original. Only in 2015 did it start to get a full-on light novel, and only now is it getting an anime adaptation.

If you've read any of my other posts on Fate, then maybe you understand that this gives Fate/strange Fake a specific vibe. It's of the time when my interest in the franchise was at its peak; a time before Type-Moon formally cordoned Fate and Tsukihime into separate boxes, a time before Grand Order fully gacha-fied the Servant concept, a time where one could reasonably have read/watched everything there was to the franchise. A time where it felt like there was infinite possibility.

Combine that with Ryohgo Narita's signature madcap, maximalist storytelling (as seen in Baccano! and Durarara!!) and the result is a total mess. A beautiful, wonderful mess. Fate/strange Fake tackles the idea of "figures from history and legend as summoned Servants" with a rakish audacity, interpreting the Grail War's "rules" even more loosely. Even after the hour-long Whispers of Dawn prologue special and a first episode proper, the show has barely begun to set up all the pieces. Yet it already feels like the bomb is ticking and everything might explode at any moment.

If you're a casual Fate fan, you can appreciate the absurdity of it all. If you're a franchise sicko, you can catch all the bizarre references Narita slips into every layer. If you're a newcomer... I have no idea what you might think, but hopefully you'll at least be entertained. For now, I certainly am.