FATE/STAY NIGHT [HEAVEN'S FEEL] II. LOST BUTTERFLY

DESCRIPTION

CAST

MOVIE ActionFate/stay night [Heaven's Feel] I. presage flower
MOVIE ActionFate/stay night [Heaven's Feel] III. spring song
MANGA ActionFate/stay night [Heaven's Feel]

REVIEWS

• 

  Chikaraa

  84/100
  This is a very good movie with a dark plot that excels in it's ability to create meaningful moments and characters.

  I will start this review by stating I will avoid major plot spoilers and discuss the events vaguely as to not spoil anything but will discuss character developments;

  Firstly, this movie was one of my favourites in the fate series and I am very glad I had the opportunity to see it in theatres. I am a fan of darker and sad stories and this certainly fits right into that genre. While I believe many will be discussing the more heavy focus on sexuality in this film I would like to focus on other elements and only touch on the sexual elements to say that it was done well and did not take away from the core plot or feeling of the film. The scenes were enjoyable and honestly rather touching when you view them as more than simple fan service, and instead as a way to express the true desires of the characters and the meaning that it holds for each of the protagonists. Sakura has a sad past, so, it is not surprising that she would so dearly and with much desire, seek out someone who cherishes her and seeks to protect her. On another note, one downside of this arc of Fate is that it heavily requires knowledge of the other routes to make sense of the film. This is not necessarily a fault but it is still true nevertheless. Most likely this is due to time restraints.

  Story/Plot: 8
  As mentioned previously I like stories that make you feel for the characters and this movie does that very well. The story of Sakura Matou is a dark one and the way in which they portray her, her experiences, and the effect that it has upon her is honestly amazing and one of the strongest points of the film. Her dream scene, for example, showing an absolute contrast of pure innocence and evil was very well done and while furthering the plot it also further personified Sakura in my eyes.

  The pacing of the events does not feel so fast as to be unnatural but it is also not necessarily slow either. I have not played the VN, however, I am aware that much inner dialogue and 'downtime' was cut to streamline the film. While some may view this as an inherent deficit; I do not view it the same. Perhaps if I had played the VN I would not be of the same opinion but as the film is right now I feel as if the core elements that needed to be there were there. However, that is not to say that this movie is not a little confusing even for someone who has seen all of the other fate adaptations.
  While part 2 answers some of the questions we had in part 1 it still leaves much unanswered and unclear to the viewer. The goals of certain characters and the way in which the grail functions in this war is still rather unclear. However, as this is only part 2 I cannot fault the movie on this as we still have part 3 that may provide clarification to many of these unanswered questions we have.

  One slight complaint I do have with the story is the situations Shirou keeps getting himself into that always involve Rin & Archer having to come to his aid. I do not wish to be more specific than that to avoid spoilers but it was a little bit annoying knowing that probably no matter the situation he would charge into it will be resolved the same way. This is only a minor issue and I could not find any major issues with the plot. The true time for in-depth plot analysis will be when part 3 is released so that we may indefinitely conclude on what is lacking and how it could have been done better in the earlier films as well.

  Characters: 9
  Unlike much of the Fate Series, this route does not focus on servant - servant or servant-master relationships as much as it does the main masters of the series. We learn little of the servant's desires and honestly hardly hear from them at all. While some might characterize the Fate Series for simply the servants in it I believe this approach to further flesh out the masters is a great one that was done very well. Naturally, the most fleshed out character, Sakura, was done extremely well. As previously mentioned her dream scene not only furthered the plot but showed her inner idealized innocence in contrast to the greater outer evil. This was an extremely memorable and impactful scene for me. Her greatest development is likely her own perception of herself that changes over the course of the film with the help of Shirou. From a tainted object to be used and abused she starts seeing herself as someone who can be loved. Truly a touching development; but not one without a catch, such is the intense desire to be loved and belong that follows

  Shirou, our other main protagonist, alongside Sakura can be seen as two broken parts trying to fit together to be one again. It is sad. It is tragic. But, it was done well. The internal conflict within our characters at many points in the film showed their true desires in active conflict with their idealized versions of themselves. Shirou, the hero of justice, and Sakura, the innocent girl. The conflict of these desires and their ideals and wishes to protect one another gave a depth to the characters that I had not expected when compared to the other Fate adaptations which seemed to follow a righteous path in comparison to Heaven's feel which does not mind dirtying its hands to produce a great story.
  Both approaches are fair, however, the dark reality brought upon by the cast and story of Heaven's feel is a great change and delivers a great story with protagonists you can truly feel for.

  Illya! Everyone's favorite loli. In this film, she is mostly seen as comic relief but has her moments as well later into the film as well. I would have liked to see her given a little more time to flesh out her place in this film, but if that would mean less time for the two protagonists then I cannot complain. She is still given some serious parts in addition to her silly and adorable segments too. Tohsaka is given a bit of time as well as I mentioned in the plot section but does not play as significant a role as our other two protagonists. But, don't be sad Tohsaka fans. She is still given quite a bit of screentime.

  Art: 8
  Let me begin with why this score is not higher. I truly would have loved to give this a 9 for the absolutely amazing scenes between Shirou and Sakura that truly enhanced the film overall. The atmosphere, characters, and feelings were all conveyed very well through the art and various absolutely stunning scenes. But, unfortunately, I cannot. While those scenes among many others make this a very strong 8, certain elements of the fight scenes make it hard to justify a 9 or higher. Please do not interpret me as saying the fights were bad as they absolutely were not. However, during some fights, it would simply turn into a show of solid colors flashing across the screen and focused far too much on wide scale destruction as opposed to the fight itself. I had this same complaint with Fate / Apocrypha but it seems to be here to a lesser extent in comparison.

  Perhaps this is simply my opinion but I prefer to see an epic fight than being impressed with a plethora of flashing colors and destruction. I also believe the general choreography of fights was stronger in other Fate Adaptations. But, with that being said this Arc does not seem to focus as much on fights as it does the characters so this is not a major fault. Overall, the art was still VERY GOOD and with scenes being simply superb. I am very impressed and pleased with the art.

  Music: 7
  While the music of this film was good, it was not as good as other routes that I may have given an 8 to. All the scenes went well with the music and I never found fault with any music. However, it did not feel as if it impacted me as much as it had in previous films and not enough to justify a higher rating. The music is by no means bad, I am giving it a 7 after all, but it is not a key feature that stands out in this movie. Especially in comparison to the other elements I have discussed.

  Overall;
  Whether you're a fan of Tohsaka, Shirou, or Sakura, Heaven's Feel is a great addition to the Fate series. Would I recommend this movie? Absolutely yes. If you are a fan of the Fate Series / Nasuverse you will absolutely enjoy this. You will enjoy it even more if you can accept a more heavy/dark plot than the other routes have taken. This is a story that I have been waiting for, and am glad it is being told as well as it is. I, along with probably many of you, eagerly await Part 3!

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• 

  CodeBlazeFate

  80/100
  While not the pinnacle of the Fate franchise, Lost Butterfly is an exciting descent into madness.

  Lost Butterfly is a nightmare. A violent, corrosive nightmare. Gone is the dread that Presage Flower bathed in, as terror strikes in its place. The Holy Grail War is no longer just contaminated, it's corrupted. All that's left to do is watch the fireworks as everything goes to hell.

  Once the first scene of the movie finishes giving Shirou a nightmare reminiscent of the penultimate scene of Presage Flower, we start off on a delicate scene. This scene sets off Sakura and Shirou's tenuous character arcs for this movie, and these arcs allow these two characters to shine brighter than ever before. Shirou's attempts to be with Sakura and be a hero for her in the Holy Grail War without Saber to help him is his most compelling journey across the three Fate timelines. Rarely have we seen him so vulnerable, so determined to keep someone around, so enraged, and so scared. His dreams haunt him, and his enemies test his resolve for Sakura, both physically and emotionally. Sakura's descent of slowly succumbing to her base desires and losing control of her powers and mental state was, at times, even more exciting. 

  No scene encapsulates her journey better than a sequence halfway into the movie where she is seemingly transported to a fantasy land, with adorable woodland creatures playing with her. As she walks along into a castle, we see some of those same creatures along a river, already having drowned. By the end, she is flicking them to death for candy, in a room full of paintings resembling her memories and insecurities, before the film cuts back to reality. 

  The rest of the characters are generally decent. Rin coming to terms with the circumstances Sakura is in considering their origins makes for a compelling element to her character. Her tsundere moments are also few, mild, and amusing. It's also nice to see Ilya coming to terms with issues regarding her dead father. Shinji somehow becomes even more repulsive than his previous incarnations and seeing him get utterly destroyed was priceless. My only real complaint, as well as the last thing I will mention regarding the characters who are ho-hum beyond this point is that Taiga feels almost like an afterthought. She appears for one small scene towards the back-end of the movie to talk to Sakura and inadvertently clear something up for Ilya, and that's it. Given that she also lives in the place Shirou and Sakura are at, you'd think she would at least be in the background for a few of the more lighthearted scenes.

  Yes, those exist in this movie. The film's crazy, not miserable.

  Before praising the audiovisuals, I feel I need to go over a few other praises and problems with this movie. Lost Butterfly is much better paced than Presage Flower since it doesn't have a newcomer-repellant montage at the opening credits of the movie, and it doesn't have multiple false endings. The lore is still convoluted, with weird explanations regarding "non-canonical/non-traditional" servants and the answers to what that shadow from the first movie was. There is also one scene that is rife with gaudy melodrama, that being the second major interaction between our two protagonists early into the movie. Lastly, while I understand that the film has its fair share of sexual content that's meant to be perceived as uncomfortable, it does get a bit gratuitous at times. There are a few minor complaints that would delve into spoiler territory, so I'll leave those at the door.

  Lost Butterfly might honestly be the most gorgeous Fate installment to date. There are a few small moments that look a tad off but they're nothing compared to the overwhelming might of this film's visuals. The CGI is better integrated than the previous film, only being used for a few decent CGI cars in the beginning and for some shots of the environment during the Berserker and Saber Alter fight. Said fight is where the visuals reach their peak, with one of the most lavishly animated fight scenes of the year. No expense was spared on showing every detail of the carnage caused by Berserker and especially Alter's attacks. It honestly rivals the best fights of Mob Psycho 100 II, which came out in the same season as this movie. It’s almost indescribable. Even outside of this fight, the rest of the movie and its fight scenes are still as detailed as you would expect from a high-end Ufotable production. 

  Yuki Kajiura's OST is as good as ever. The one thing I noticed is that there were more chimes in some of these tracks compared to any of her other soundtracks. It continues to suit the Fate franchise perfectly, so there's not much that needs to be said if you've heard her work for the previous film and for Fate/Zero. The film's ending theme, "I beg you" by Aimer, is probably Aimer's best anime song to date. It exemplifies the somber terror the film embodies, fitting Sakura's character arc both with its tone and its lyrics. 

  While not the pinnacle of the Fate franchise, Lost Butterfly is an exciting descent into madness. It is easily the most brutal installment since Zero, and somehow the best-looking entry in the series. This film also provides the most compelling versions of Shirou and Sakura to date. As the terror subsides with the end of this movie, all that's left is hope. I pray that Spring Song caps this trilogy off well.

  Written and Edited by: CodeBlazeFate 
  Proofread by: Peregrine

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• 

  mistythewitch

  80/100
  I think Heavens feel might be my new favorite Fate route.

  I am awestruck at how beautiful this movie is. Taking inspiration from the detailed background art of Makoto Shinkai, the character shading of anime OVA’s from the 80’s and 90’s as well as putting a hefty budget behind studio Ufotable's signature style, has created one of the most ethereal and modern aesthetic anime.

  The highlight of the entire film is how it designs the plant life in the backgrounds. Keep in mind that plants and nature are in no way themes or plot important to the movies story or even setting, it does after all take place in an urban Japanese city, albeit a small one. Whenever trees or bushes appear on the screen I squee at the mastery of color and shading. The greens and spots of oranges complement the dark, dingy, and man made surfaces that fill the rest of the frame. The film's best scene is when Zouken and Emiya are having a serious discussion, not because of the content of the conversation, but because it takes place in a beautiful exotic greenhouse.

  Perhaps I’m getting off topic, but the TL;DR version of this review is watch Lost Butterfly for the plant art if nothing else.

  I have not played the original visual novel, and in fact I have the pleasure of being unspoiled as to how this particular fate route ending goes. Because of this, this review will mostly be based on this movie as a movie and not as an adaptation.

  The sad thing about anime today, as well as most mainstream media like the marvel franchise, is that cinematography is nearly nonexistent. Rarely are big budget productions incompetent in this regard, but it’s rarer for them to excel. Lost Butterfly, like the previous film, Presage Flower, uses the power of camera angles, closeups, wide angle shots, panning cameras, and every tool in the trade to communicate the films tone. Fear, anxiety, even dread; this is what the film communicates through its cinematography, and I applaud Sudou Tomonari for putting in the effort to make the film stand out in a way that is sadly uncommon

  I already mentioned the plants, but the rest of the art is good as well. Ufotable is well known for their use of incorporating cgi and digital art into their work, and they spare no expense here, giving everything from the slick streets in the rain, the rusty metal gates on doors, and the individual bricks in walls a look that is so detailed that it’s better than realism. As I also already mentioned, the shading on the characters is excellent. Not only are multiple levels of shading and reflection shown in some areas, but the shading even has hues of blue to it that give the characters a vaguely impressionistic feel to them. Its not strong but it is there. It’s nice to see that this style of anime character design isn’t completely lost to us in a world where the OVA has essentially gone extinct.

  This is all important because this film, like the rest of the series, has made the very specific, and in my opinion smart, decision to focus on adapting the mood of the story rather than the plot. From what I understand, there's about 40 hours of plot and exposition that these movies are meant to cover. That means that there should be scenes flying by at the speed of light, with paragraphs of lore and backstory being heaped onto you. Lost Butterfly cuts all of that out, reducing the storyline to its barest minimum, and it even adds in a few anime original scenes. What it's staying true to is the tone, and in my opinion this is the best form of loyal adaptation. Plot is irrelevant, what makes you FEEL is still here. This and the original deen adaptation is what I feel is the closest to the original tone of quiet and fearful that Fate/stay night is meant to be. Unlimited blade works, while excellent, never achieved that mood, and you can forget all of the Fate spin offs, they don't even try.

  This is compounded by the fact that this is also probably the most willing adaptation to delve into Fate’s darker themes, except perhaps Fate/Zero. Rape, domestic abuse, victim complexes, and PTSD are all major themes at work here. Not to mention, they FINALLY actually added a sex scene! This must be the fiftieth Fate anime and only now is Emiya actually banging the girl like he does in the original novel. I don’t get why all of the others didn’t do this. I get they don’t want to be pornographic like in the game, but you can at least imply that it happens! You have to respect the film for this addition if nothing else.

  truly hope the anime industry takes note of how Lost Butterfly excels compared to most mainstream anime, and incorporates it into other projects. We need more big budget beauties like this and less dividing the budget into a dozen half baked productions. Please see this movie to send that message.

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