English Dub Review: Fate/Grand Order Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia, “The Mother of Demonic Beasts”

 

 

 

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Tiamat begins her assault, forcing the warriors from Uruk to bring all their forces to bear.

Our Take

The majority of this episode is a big battle, with all of Gilgamesh’s servants going all-out. The animation follows suit and goes all-out as well, resulting in the most spectacular animation this anime has had by far. This battle has three main combatants, each bringing their own style of combat and animation to accompany it. 

Tiamat’s attacks, in accordance with her towering stature, are large, sweeping fonts of destruction. Her snakes are deft and deadly; clearly 3D models but with rendered enough cel-shading and motion blur to occlude the rough edges. They have a quickness that belies their size and accuracy to match. Tiamat also employs a wide volley of laser beams, animated swiftly and fluidly to display their lethality. The way they reflect and bend when they meet with hard obstacles is great as well. 

Ushiwakamaru is undoubtedly the star of this show. Her ultra-fast and deadly swordplay is only outdone by her truly immense movement speed. She effortlessly scales the various environs of the battlefield with incredible ease; buildings, open landscapes, and even Tiamat herself. Each time she moves she flits across the screen, she flickers for a few brief moments to allow our eyes to catch her and track her movement. Her arsenal of sword techniques comes in a wide variety; simpling slashing through the air to create a shockwave, spinning at high speeds, even accelerating so fast to create clones. It all carries the same power as her speed, the impacts of her strikes matching Tiamat’s. Ushiwakamaru is easily the most fun fighter to watch in the anime so far.

And then, there’s Leonidas. The animation of his attacks is far less complex and frenetic than the others, but it also carries a sizable weight as well. His power is purely defensive, so the wonder in watching him is not in how he moves, but in how he does not. He erects a wall of shields mighty enough to withstand Tiamat’s explosive rage. By itself, his power seems rather static; it is when it clashes with Tiamat’s that the might of both combatants is fully witnessed.

There’s one other animation quirk worth pointing out. Occasionally, some blows in this battle will flash from the fully colored animation to a few quick frames of line art. It’s not clearly defined when these flashes happen, but it seems to be whenever a near-fatal blow is delivered. This is a really cool trick that further compounds the tension of this battle.

Unfortunately, this battle does not end well for Ritsuka and the forces of Uruk. Ushiwakamaru and Leonidas’ final attacks are impressive but ultimately pointless. Their deaths will go on to serve as emotional fuel for the other characters. Ritsuka’s actions are a testament to this; instead of grieving, he immediately sets to rebuild and bolster himself as Leonidas taught him.

We’re shown the third of Gilgamesh’s servants, Benkei, a character who was barely present up until now. He got scared in the chaos of the big battle and fled. Afterward, he chides himself for being a coward and leaves the city. He isn’t wrong, but this moment doesn’t resonate at all as we were never introduced to him. I’m not sure why they included this scene. The only reason why would by if they were to bring Benkei back later.

And finally, at long last, the true identity of Enkidu is revealed. He is Kingu, the child of Tiamat, and the prototypical being of those who will replace humans. While his motivations are mostly in line with Tiamat’s, they also diverge enough that we see he is not simply a pawn in his mother’s plan. Also, Kingu still seems to have an emotional attachment to Gilgamesh, like Enkidu supposedly would. There’s probably some Enkidu stuff we’ll still have to work out.

This is easily the best episode by far. It finally moves the overarching plot forward, even if it’s only a little bit. I would hope the paces picks up further, even if it’s not as big and flashy as this was.