FGO: Absolute Demonic Front Babylonia (Anime)

This is a special review of the anime adaptation of Fate/Grand Order's seventh Singularity—Babylonia. I decided to write this after 21 episodes instead of reviewing one episode per week because it would be easier to make comparisons to the in-game version.

I would not provide any plot summary (that would be reserved for my future Babylonia chapter review), this piece will be focusing on 5 elements based on my viewing experience and thoughts about this anime adaptation.

In-game & anime differences

I understand many veteran players voted for this chapter to get animated because of the fantastic plot with thrilling climaxes.

Anime is the medium which has more 'show' element rather than the 'tell' element like in visual novels. When you read a visual novel, they often give you indictors and narration in the dialogue boxes about the character's actions and emotions, which the players are required to imagine in their minds. However, in anime, everything is presented in front of you. For example, the famous Murder Merlin scene where Fou kicks Merlin is not visualized in the game, but through the MC and Mash's dialogue, we knew Fou kicks Merlin from the top of the tree. When it comes to anime, any sort of narration is no longer required because the audience can see Fou coming in full speed and kick Merlin in the face.

(In-game)

(Animated)

Besides that, the characters in anime are more expressive than the game. The game database only showcases a small set of expressions for one character. When it moves to a medium that allows the demonstration of 'show' mode, animators can get creative with how the characters convey a variety of emotions in various situations. You only get one flustered Ereshkigal in the game, now prepare for a collection of Eresh blushing faces.

(Blushing Eresh)

Due to time constraints, the anime cannot show everything that happened in the visual novel. Some scenes must be cut off or shorten. On the other hand, fight scenes are prolonged to intensify the vibe and tension for the anime audience. Rather than summoning other Servants to fight enemies like how players do in-game, every main character in the story is utilized to show their fullest potentials. Mash's sprite animation only shows her fighting with her shield; the anime exhibits different forms of fighting style other than knocking people over with her shield.

(Look how badass she is)

Lucha Libre Points

Despite it is not made by Ufotable (a studio which produced many high-quality Fate anime), Cloverwork managed to create a presentable work with gorgeous landscapes and action scenes. You can just simply screenshot any 85% of the frames and make it into a laptop screensaver or phone wallpaper. As much as this anime has many lighthearted and funny episodes, the production team balanced this adventure theme anime with upgraded and exciting fight scenes and emotional moments. I will provide my Top 3 list for the best fight scenes and the best emotional scenes respectively.

I would give the third place of best fight scene to the Jaguar Man vs Ana and Mash in Episode 4. Jaguar Man is a comic-relief character that I often overlook due to her silly demeanor. Jaguar Man fights like a jaguar (ok, I am following the Fate tradition). She is fast and unpredictable, a skilled warrior who follows her animal instincts. Even for a small-sized and agile Ana could not fight against her, causing Fujimaru to force himself for a retreat.

(Pawsome fight)

The runner-up is the epic showdown between Kingu vs Gilgamesh from Episode 5 In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu is made to be equal as Gilgamesh, which they fight for days and nights and end the battle in a tie. It is an amazement to most FGO fans because the anime has recreated this legendary battle with Kingu in Enkidu's body and the wise king Gilgamesh. For those who are familiar with FZ and FSN, this would be a new perspective on Gil's fighting style as he depends on his ax as his primary weapon rather than spamming from the Gate of Babylon. Note that this scene is an anime original, where in-game their first meeting is brief without fighting each other.

(Not gae if it's clae)

The best fight scene in this anime would be the Leonidas and Ushiwakamaru vs Tiamat-Gorgon in Episode 8. The first thing to notice is the size of Gorgon in the anime, which is 1000x larger and more intimidating than in-game. Look how she just instantly swipes off the Uruk soldiers with her gigantic tail. At Gilgamesh's side, he has two greatest generals in history to fight against this monster. Although they are tiny compared to Gorgon, they give their best to sacrifice themselves to protect the symbol of an ancient civilization. The Ushi fight sequence is marvelous, she dauntlessly runs on the gigantic snakes to the monster down (which she failed, unfortunately).

(Molon Labe)

(Ushi...No...)

The next category is the top three emotional scenes. Third place is given to Kingu's sacrifice in Episode 19. At this point, the audience can see their character development, from the child of Tiamat who lacks their liberty to an individual who acts based on what they believe is right. The release of Enkidu's Noble Phantasm Enuma Elish is the sole proof that they decide to defend humanity's life from Tiamat's destruction.

(Enuma Elish)

The second place would be Ana's farewell. Not once, twice. The first farewell would be the defeat of Gorgon in Episode 15 where she falls with Tiamat-Gorgon. A touching moment when she finally opens herself to Fujimaru and Mash but comes together with a quick farewell. Then again in Episode 19 where she reappears as Gorgon-Ana to delay Tiamat's advance towards Uruk. It was brief but heartbreaking for Fujimaru and the viewers.

(Goodbye, Ana)

Number one would be Siduri's farewell speech from Episode 16, enough said. That's a real tearjerker. In the game, it is already sad enough, but the animation makes it more touching. Despite she has become a Lahmu, she still retains her humanity by refusing to murder and help the injured Kingu from being slain. She gives her blessings and gratitude to Kingu before crumbling into ashes, echoing the fall of Enkidu in Episode 1. I legit had to pause the video to wipe my tears.

(Siduri...Noo...)

Bonus points for the team who successfully animate the Lahmu to become creepier than the in-game version. I did not expect them to grace me with their appearance in Episode 15, right after Ana's farewell. The 3D animation on some of them makes them look out of place and eerie; their violent movement made them seen as a real threat more than Tiamat herself. Their sharp voices and shrill laughter kind of reminded me of the Learning with Manga Gudako's voice. Even the BGM dis-communication already gave me major PTSD.

(Eww)

The producers not only cater this anime to FGO players with iconic scenes, but they also provided some additional context for casual anime viewers or newer Fate fans. Episode 0 is a bonus material for new viewers to understand Mash's condition as a demi-Servant and Dr. Romani's relation and role in Chaldea (I highly recommend watching this because the Mash transformation scene is beautiful). The insert of canonical scenes from the Epic of Gilgamesh featuring the death of Enkidu and Gilgamesh seeking the herb immortality are crucial for the anime which explains the impact of Enkidu in Gil's life and how Gil becomes a wise king. They also include flashbacks of previous journeys that show how far Fujimaru and Mash had come to reach the seventh Singularity. The flashbacks Mash has with Mozart and Drake serve as a plot device to compare the young Mash in Episode 0, who questions her purpose of existence to her current self, who begins to understand the answer to her question.

Useless Goddess Points

There were only several downsides for this anime, which are quite minor and do not affect much of the overall storytelling.

I have issues with the 3D animation on some of the monsters and Tiamat. The animators only made the monsters in CGI when they are further away, which can look a little odd but this is one way to save the animation budget. On the other hand, Tiamat's style transition from 2D to 3D seems pretty bizarre. It feels like she does not blend in with the 2D art style of the other characters.

There are also some episodes in which the pacing can be a little rushed. For example, the first part of Episode 15 on Ana vs. Gorgon fight which only takes around 20% of the screen time while the rest are given to the Lahmu attack. Besides that, Episode 19 has too many scenes crammed into one episode which can be overbearing and eventually remove the distinctiveness of each scene.

Episode 20 is the conclusion for the Tiamat invasion and supposedly where there is a lot of badass moment happened. However, it lacks the hype most players experienced when they play the Boss Fight against Beast II. Everyone's awaited moment for King Hassan and Archer Gilgamesh has been reduced and the scene time is given more to Fujimaru. I think many viewers did not expect Gramps to chomp the Lahmu's head off in one bite (halal-certified, people). Furthermore, the badass Jaguar Man in the Underworld is deleted in the anime, much to many player's dismay.

OP and EDs

The opening song, Phantom Joke by Unison Square Garden, an upbeat song that defies the traditional style of many Fate openings. Unlike most two cour anime that features two distinct openings, the anime employs the song's second verse for the second cour.

The first opening animation is a colorful montage with different characters performing various actions in different situations, resonate the slice-of-life style and light mood of the first part. My favorite sequence is the shift from a quick pace on Merlin's pink and white Avalon scene to the slow shoot on the Ereshkigal scene in a dark background. The second opening animation is a featurette of important characters in a yellowish-brown background, with minimal actions required. The lack of colors and actions indicates the serious mood and climax of the story without revealing too much about the scene.

(OP1)

(OP2)

Hoshi ga Furu Yume by Eir Aoi is the first ending for the first cour. The ending sequence and song resemble Memoria, the second ending theme, from Fate Zero (by the same singer). The ending does not only provide quick flashes on the other Singularities, but it also provides wallpaper quality art of different characters.

(ED1)

Milet's Prover is a powerful ballad to remind us that even we are powerless humans, we still can fight and stand for humanity. The blue and white animation shows a lonely Gilgamesh walking down the route in sadness that portrays the solitude feeling as a ruler and defender of his city. The more allies he gets, the animation becomes more colorful.

(ED2)

Do you notice any Easter eggs in the sequence?

Tell Me is a surprise ending by Milet, a tribute for Siduri's death in Episode 16. It fits the melancholy tone of the episode in which the Lahmu Siduri bids her goodbyes to Kingu. The ending sequence narrates the relationship between Siduri, Enkidu, and Gilgamesh, a bond that is strong enough to refer to each other as family. Even for a game's NPC, she deserves the spotlight for her kindness and hard work.

(ED3)

If you close one of your eyes, notice that the chain pops up in 3D.

My rank for the EDs would be: Tell Me > Prover > Hoshi ga Furu Yume.

What's coming up next?

Another top-voted Singularity is about to release. That's right, the Camelot chapter would be a two-part movie which would release in Japan cinemas around August (hopefully Covid-19 would be gone by then). I am a bit worried about the art difference between PV1 and PV2, but it is not a major problem. The real challenge is whether the producers can bring the story to live in around 2 hours long cinema and stay faithful to the source material.

(PV1)

(PV2)

After the airing of Episode 21, the production team released a statement regarding the adaptation on the Solomon Singularity. The airing date is still not released, but I am sure that old players would be preparing tissues while the new players/casual viewers would go all shocking Pikachu face.

(Solomon PV)

In the 22nd March FGO Livestream, Nobunaga, the voice actor for Dantes and Arjuna, had voiced his opinion that the Lostbelt arc should be adapted as an anime. This could be a possibility, considering that Lostbelt has better writing and thrill than the first arc. At the same time, I wish to have some Epic of Remnant chapters to be animated, like Shinjuku or Shimosa.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10 Saint Quartz

---

Author's note:

I will be uploading Saber Wars review later on.

Next up would be either Shinjuku or Anastasia, depends if I can finish the former before the quarantine ends.