There are not many limits to customizing Lot when so much of the franchise can be qualified as an alternate universe story, but some are easier to adapt than others. When Signal.MD and Production IG wanted to tell one of them: Fate/Great Order‘s countless stories, they chose one of the most beloved, just next to Babylonia, and tried to prove it with the most ambitious adaptation yet.
Fate/Grand Order: Divine Realm of the Round Table Camelot is set in Jerusalem in 1273, where an altered version of King Arthur who claims to be the Lion King Richard I founded the kingdom of Camelot. Amid this change of history, Fujimaru Ritsuka and Mash Kyrielight have traveled to the era to restore the singularity by finding the Holy Grail and defeating Arthur. Despite coming out in the fall of 2020 after the completion of the Babylonia TV series, this movie duology is set during the Sixth Singularity, just before the events of Babylonia. As with any FGO Arc, it is full of heroic ghosts from all over history and mythology, but the heart and soul of the story can be found in the story of the knight Bedivere, on a quest to kill his former king.
wander; agate ram
Signal.MD, the studio behind Mars Red and Words bubble up like soda, at the head of the first of the two films. The studio’s reputation is modest, but the work on wander; agate ram would be indistinguishable from that of Production IG if the involvement of both studios was not mentioned. That is, the film looks pretty good and sets the stage seductively.
The music of Keita Haga is the greatest band with the Babylonia anime, it is also composed by Haga. However, the sound he composes for these films has an air of so much more importance, and from the very first overture, Bedivere’s journey feels like the beginning of something very special.
Babylonia was an impeccably produced series that spoiled audiences with everything they could have wished for from a 20+ episode action show, but the story wasn’t always captivating. Adjustment between mediums is an art, but in the case of FGOadapting a mobile game can provide interesting opportunities for creative freedoms.
Many fans of the game consider the Camelot adaptation as severely flawed, lack of elements of the game’s story and maybe not the action that Babylonia as long as. While this might be an unpopular opinion, the first is: Camelot film is necessarily and quite methodically focused on building its characters and the stakes of this battle.
A different kind of fate movie
A movie should be a complete story, but it’s important to remember that a movie can also be part of a bigger story, and wander; agate ram‘s charter feels much more focused than Babylonia‘s. The menacing darkness of the opening act makes it clear without a doubt that this arc was written by Kinoko Nasu.
The second act spends a lot of time in the domain of the Sun King, Ozymandias, who has created a refuge he wants to protect from the end of the world. Fujimaru proposes an alliance in vain, and the lives that will be trampled by this crisis are explored as the characters walk among the people.
Many of these elements are also present in the Babylonia story, but not quite in the same way and not without breaking that tension with a new fight of the week. In reality, there isn’t an abundance of combat in the first film, but that shouldn’t be a deal breaker. This is a story about Bedivere and their struggle to find the resolve to complete their mission.
The standout moment of the film, which fans and opponents of the film most agree on, is the ending, where Arash Kamangir takes center stage. Satoshi Tsuruoka’s music, animation, and performance elevate the film in its final moments so intensely and passionately that the scene could very well be the film’s rasion d’être.
What makes Camelot feels so special is how conservatively it approaches such a big story with so many favorite characters. It’s not actionless, and the action that’s there is well-directed, again carried by the score, but the animation’s merits extend to the character’s acting. Moments like a subtle eye movement by Ozymandias did not go unnoticed and appealed to Kei Suezawa’s directing talents.
Paladin; agate ram
Whether it was to split the production process for better results or to make the most of each studio’s respective talents, Production IG took over the entire work for the second film. And within the first few minutes, something immediately feels different, which isn’t surprising given the different studios.
In the end, it’s impressive how neatly the two halves of the story were divided and how well it adds to the dramatic tension. Fans who wanted explosive and over-the-top action had only to look at Paladin; agate ram for the spectacle they longed for, and there is plenty of it. In the 90-minute runtime, more than half is a siege of Camelot and the sum of the story so far.
Paladin uses the foundation laid by the previous story to collide all the pieces on the chessboard. It carries itself as The Return of the King, and therein lies the merit of such a comparison. This film continues the great tradition of Fate adaptations and breaks conventions in animation production.
Sakuga Blog’s kViN wrote a much more thorough summary of the significance of this production than what can be explored here, but in the end, director Kazuto Arai threw out the rulebook. The schedule was tight, the pressure to impress was high and Arai decided it was best to let his team work uninhibited.
“Unlimited” is perhaps the best description of: Paladinas it harks back to Fate/Apocrypha‘s infamous episode 22 with its clashing styles in the name of creating the most heartfelt piece of art to put on screen. If something, Camelot is the next evolution of Fate/Apocrypha‘s short but powerful creative renaissance.
In both films, the studios indulged in really refreshing art styles to amplify the story. In the first film, it was Kou Yoshinari’s dream scene that looked like a moving painting. In the second, Sun Creature – a Danish animation studio – presented a storybook telling the legend of Bedivere.
It’s scenes like this that put Camelot above other Grand Order adaptations. At its core, Destiny is about legends of history and fiction, but Bedivere’s story feels more devoted to presenting his character as a true legend than many other adaptations featuring their characters.
Storytelling adds so much seriousness to Bedivere’s quest, and while at first glance he may not be the strongest or most unique servant, there’s a reason he’s such a beloved character. Between the visuals and Mamoru Miyano’s performance, this could be not only the best FGO adaptation, but also the best Fate movies to date.
Fate/Grand Order: Divine Realm of the Round Table Camelot – Wandering; agate ram & Paladin; agateramare available for purchase and rental through Amazon and YouTube, and are available on Blu-ray through RightStuf Anime.
Source: Sakuga Blog
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