I should start this off by saying I’m semi new to the Fate series. I went through the first season of unlimited blade works and thought it was great. Started the second season and just haven’t finished it, like many things in my life. However, I made a vow to myself that I would go watch more anime movies in the theaters this year and damnit I wasn’t gonna miss this one. Don’t worry, I won’t include any spoilers from the second movie in this write up, however there will be spoilers for presage flower, so be warned.
I did the responsible thing and watched the first movie without really knowing what this story was about. The HEAVEN’S FEEL trilogy doesn’t follow Unlimited Blade Works, but instead is a different path for the Holy Grail War that is from the Fate/stay night visual novel that I never played. Like I said earlier, I’m a newbie when it comes to the series, so if you’re looking for the best-ordered list to watch/experience the Fate series, there are a ton of them online, specifically Reddit. I won’t get too much into Heaven’s Feel I. presage flower but I will say that you MUST watch it before watching lost butterfly. Otherwise, you will be completely lost, believe me. It’s also a good movie.
Lost butterfly picks up right where presage flower left off with Saber being gone and Shirou seemingly out of the Holy Grail War. (This is why you need to watch the first movie). Shirou has to deal with a lot seemingly life-changing decisions in this film, one of them being his continued participation in the Holy Grail War with no Servant. This path of the series focuses more on Shirou and Sakura’s relationship, which is a fucking roller coaster.
The first movie was dark, and lost butterfly doesn’t…lighten up either. (I’m sorry). From the gruesome violence, to the many adult situations these teenagers have to deal with, and even the allusions of sexual violence, lost butterfly handles it better than most. The sex in the movie isn’t a tacked on fan service, it actually serves a purpose and are big turning points in the movie.
Did I mention violence? My god the fight scenes in lost butterfly are AMAZING. I can’t even tell you the participants in these fights cause (spoilers), but believe me when I say they are some of the best-animated fights I’ve seen. I feel like the quality took a jump up from the first movie, which is saying a lot because the first movie had high-quality animation as well.
Lost butterfly is a great follow-up to presage flower and the wait until Spring song will be a long one. If you weren’t able to catch it in the theaters then I’d recommend it when it comes out on Blu-Ray soon.
