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My thoughts and feelings on Fate/Hollow Ataraxia.
Gonna have a spoiler free section and a spoilery one.
Gonna have a spoiler free section and a spoilery one.
So first of all not many might know what Hollow Ataraxia is, the simplest answer is that it's a sequel to Fate/Stay Night, to explain any more would be too spoilery so I'll refrain.
I did not know what to expect when starting HA, I figured it might be a small-scale spinoff of F/SN that just shared the same setting.
But what I got was a LOT more than that, it was like a mix of several of my favorites; Gintama, Umineko, Monogatari, Re:Zero and even Evangelion
But what I got was a LOT more than that, it was like a mix of several of my favorites; Gintama, Umineko, Monogatari, Re:Zero and even Evangelion
HA is less of a "sequel" to F/SN, and more of a 4th arc to the original 3 arcs/routes, I don't think F/SN's story is complete without it, even though it can stand alone on its own and the endings are all satisfactory, HA is extremely complimentary in several aspects
For one, HA expands on several plot points that were established in F/SN but felt like they just kinda ended before being explored properly.
Secondly, and this is even more important, it expands massively on the cast of F/SN in various ways through backstories and placing them-
Secondly, and this is even more important, it expands massively on the cast of F/SN in various ways through backstories and placing them-
-in slice of life situations that weren't possible in F/SN, so we get to see sides of them that we couldn't have before.
At the same time, HA is also a self contained narrative that doesn't take away anything from F/SN, it's kind of like a Gintama arc-
At the same time, HA is also a self contained narrative that doesn't take away anything from F/SN, it's kind of like a Gintama arc-
-in the sense that it is built on all the foundations of F/SN's setting, plot and characters, but also has a self contained story with its own main characters.
And oh boy what a story that was.
And oh boy what a story that was.
In terms of structure, HA is similar to Gintama, it has many slice of life and comedy scenes, as well as scenes that progress the story, the order of which is fully decided by the reader, you can pretty much read at your own pace and choose to read whichever scenes you feel like
Which adds a sense of personal connection with the story since you experience it in your own unique way, no matter how you play it you will get 100% completion so there is no need to worry about which scenes to do first.
Now when it comes to the slice of life and comedy sections, it is simply amazing, I haven't been this entertained by SoL/comedy in a REALLY long time, all the characters were so fun to interact with and they had their own comedic storylines and recurring jokes.
It was very much fanservice(not in the sexual sense), but it was *earned* fanservice, after all the shit these characters go through in F/SN, it was so satisfying to see them have a normal daily life and interact without being enemies.
And aside from adding more depth to the already established cast of F/SN, HA also gave depth to many minor characters who barely appeared in F/SN or were just mentioned in a passing, this made me fall in love with the whole cast and it also deepened the world beyond the story.
If that was all HA had to offer, it would've been absolutely great, and I would've still recommended it to anyone who has read F/SN, it is an amazing gift to people who loved that story, however, there is a much deeper part of HA beyond that, and that is the main story.
HA's main story is basically a mystery story, it starts out on a very confusing note and there are many "contradictions" to what we know from F/SN's story, but bit by bit things start to clear up as you progress, and pieces of the puzzle start falling into place beautifully.
It is very much similar to Umineko in this aspect, and generally as a mystery fan, I was very satisfied with the way the story was handled, the atmosphere was really great as well.
The ending to the main story was amazing and it really paid off everything.
The ending to the main story was amazing and it really paid off everything.
Overall, Hollow Ataraxia enhanced my love for Fate/Stay Night massively and when put together I rate them a 10/10 and would consider them my 6th favorite fictional work right now.
Beyond here is SPOILERS territory.
Beyond here is SPOILERS territory.
So where to start, I guess first I should talk about the story itself; first off I love the loop structure, it reminded me of Re:Zero a lot, it was so fun trying to piece everything together with every loop.
Being in Angra and Bazett's perspective was really refreshing compared to F/SN where it was mostly Shirou, and it added to both the suspense and the intensity since there were things we knew but the characters didn't, and visa versa, it was a very interesting narrative structure.
The way things started making more and more sense towards the end was both sad and beautiful, and the ending being all about waking up from this endlessly repeating dream in order to live life was so beautiful and felt like a message to the reader as well.
Not much more to say here aside from the fact that the climax made me go full 
especially with how similar it was to Umineko's climax, and in general the ending is the kind of ending that always hits me on a deep level due to being bittersweet and overwhelming.
especially with how similar it was to Umineko's climax, and in general the ending is the kind of ending that always hits me on a deep level due to being bittersweet and overwhelming.
The ending changed my whole perspective of the story, as earlier on I viewed it as "the continuation of the 5th HGW story", but now I view it more as "Bazett and Angra's story" which gives it a more self-contained feeling despite still being mostly complimentary to F/SN.
Now, the story being as amazing as it is, it's not what makes HA special, what made it special for me was the characters and what was added to them and what they added to the Fate storyline as a whole, so I'll dedicate tweets to each character I think is worth mentioning here.
Starting with none other than our protagonist, Bazett!
Bazett is a pretty unique Fate character for me because as amazing as all the other characters were, they were never particularly relatable, their circumstances and problems were to extreme for that, but Bazett was different
Bazett is a pretty unique Fate character for me because as amazing as all the other characters were, they were never particularly relatable, their circumstances and problems were to extreme for that, but Bazett was different
She was insecure, she had weaknesses that I could relate to, and she felt a lot of self loathing because of it all, I ended up really wishing for her to be happy and I loved how her character arc was handled as well as her relationship with Angra.
Despite all of her weaknesses, Bazett was still capable of being both a fun and wholesome character as well as a badass one, she is definitely one of my all time favorite Fate characters.
Now we come to the second biggest character in this whole thing, Angra Mainyu, aka Avenger, aka All the World's Evil, aka best boy.
Based on how much he was built up to be the greatest evil in the world in Heaven's Feel, I was definitely surprised at his character in HA.
Based on how much he was built up to be the greatest evil in the world in Heaven's Feel, I was definitely surprised at his character in HA.
He was super chill, funny and snarky, following his perspective was really cool as well. Of course, this "character" of his was like that because of the whole Shirou stuff, but that's besides the point. Angra was really fun and at the same time, an amazing character.
We already knew his backstory from F/SN, but getting to see it from his perspective here was really something, it was really messed up and made me feel bad for him, but the best thing about him? He isn't really even an "evil" person after all, he hated humanity more than anything
But at the same time he also saw the beauty of them and loved them more than anything, in the end, he saved Bazett and acted as the "hero" of this story, and it was really emotional to see him give up on this daily life that he really wanted deep down for Bazett's sake.
Now, let's talk about Caren, I'm not gonna lie, all it took was one look at her and I basically fell in love lmao, even before knowing anything about her character and backstory, I already liked her quite a bit and learning about those only confirmed my feelings and enhanced them
Mysterious and cute, sadistic and yet kind, she didn't have much screentime but what I got from her was great nonetheless, and I want to see more, she is a very fun character and a favorite.
Now let's talk about the F/SN cast.
First of all, you all already know how much I love Saber/Arturia, and after having her almost absent in HF and badly handled in Zero(imo), it was super healing to see her back in HA as the Saber I know and love.
First of all, you all already know how much I love Saber/Arturia, and after having her almost absent in HF and badly handled in Zero(imo), it was super healing to see her back in HA as the Saber I know and love.
Sakura was really cute and fun here, I always felt like her relationships with Shirou was a bit lacking in comparison to the other 2 in Heaven's Feel, but HA more than made up for it, now they form one of my favorite couples for sure.
I loved how she grew a lot more confident too
I loved how she grew a lot more confident too
Rin was Rin, nothing particularly added to her character but it was nice to see her in more relaxed situations and be used less for exposition in comparison to F/SN.
Illya finally got the happy moments that she deserved which was everything I wanted from Fate.
I already loved Cu a lot, but seeing him living his daily life, doing fun activities like fishing, and having part time jobs, made for some of the most fun content in the game.
Now Medusa, oh boy, she is definitely the character that got the most out of HA, we got to learn so much more about her when she was barley present in F/SN, we learned her hobbies, her likes and dislikes, her extremely dark backstory and the darker parts of her character
As well as developing her personality and relationships with the various characters in F/SN. She went from a character I didn't care about at all in Fate and UBW routes, to one I thought was really cool in HF, and now to one of my all time favorite Fate characters, I love her.
Medea and Kuzuki had some of the best and most consistent content as well, not only was Medea amazingly fun in the SoL stuff and made her a lot more lovable, her and Kuzuki's backstories were amazing and beautiful beyond words, I now really appreciate their relationship and roles
Gilgamesh was a very interesting case here, his child self was cute, wholesome and fun, and although his adult self maintained the same character as in F/SN and Zero, the more comedic setting of HA made it very welcomed and entertaining, his badass scenes hit way harder as well.
Archer and Sasaki didn't have particularly great content but it was still extremely fun seeing them interact with the cast in non-serious situations.
Himuro was a character I didn't even consider that I would care for and yet spending a few hours inside her head in the Love Detective mini arc proved me wrong, she is both fun and an interesting character and I wonder what she would be like if she had a role in the serious story
Shinji, he is an asshole, and he had very little redeeming features in F/SN, and yet, I cannot help but admit that he was one of the most entertaining characters in HA, I choose to interpret him as an alternative universe Shinji who didn't end up doing all the things HF revealed
Issei was very much a background character in F/SN and although he didn't have a major role here, it was cool spending time with him and getting to see how deep his friendship with Shirou was, I really love him now.
Also, the Issei route WILL happen one day, I believe in it.
Also, the Issei route WILL happen one day, I believe in it.
Finally, as a big fan of Taiga's character ever since F/SN, I have to say HA completely delivered on her character, we had all of her fun shenanigans as usual, but we also got some serious and emotional characterization for her, and we learned how much she truly cares for Shirou.
Overall, again, Hollow Ataraxia was amazing, mindblowing and very much rewarding to someone who was invested in this cast, easy 10/10.
As for what's next in store, I'm going to finish "Today's Menu for the Emiya Family" and afterwards I'm gonna take a short break from the Nasuverse to avoid burning out.
