This story started with an argument, and speculation over Illyasviel von Einzbern’s eventual future bust size.
The argument grew out of a discussion over Shiro’s powers, and what their extent might be. I was, and still am, of the opinion that Shiro has considerably more potential than most of the other characters give him credit for, including himself. Archer pessimistically asserts that making swords is the only magic permitted to Shiro Emiya, but I’m not so sure.
With some imagination, and a little judicious retooling, who knows what the Blade Works might be able to produce? Shiro’s tracing ability lets him determine the structure of an item, while his strengthening magic lets him fix or improve it. And then there’s his power of projection that lets him visualize something and create it. Add all of these together and he has some very interesting possibilities.
The discussion of Illya’s bust size grew from, well, other reasons.
Those familiar with the Fate universe will know that in the original game, there were three story routes, one for each of the main heroines Shiro could end up with. The path for Saber was animated in the original Studio Deen release back in 2006, with some details from the other characters mixed in with it. Rin’s route was featured in Unlimited Blade Works, while Sakura’s story is the subject of Heaven’s Feel, a series of movies whose first installment, “Presage Flower”, came out winter of last year.
In between the Deen version and Blade Works, the prequel Fate Zero was released, which told the story of the Fourth Holy Grail war that proceeded this one and set up the background for the events involving Shiro and his friends. Prominently featured in Fate Zero was the character of Irisviel von Einzbern, Illya’s mother, and her prominent bosom.
Iris is HAWT – and that’s putting it mildly. The phrase MILF comes to mind. My initial reaction on seeing her was something along the lines of, “Man, if that’s what Illya is going to grow up to look like, then Shiro’s picking the wrong girl!”
Originally Illya was to have her own, fourth route through the game, but there was concern that adding her sequences would push back the release date, and so it was cut from the development.
Ironically, I didn’t watch Fate/Stay Night back when it was originally released. At the time I thought it looked very slow and boring, and its sketchy origins as an ecchi visual novel did little to boost my confidence.
Instead, I got into it totally backwards. My first real interest started with an AMV for Unlimited Blade Works set to a song by Glitch Mob. I was blown away by how beautiful the art was and the intense choreography of the fight scenes. After watching the video several times I thought, “Well there’s no way this can be all bad”, so I sat down and watched the whole thing over the course of several weeks. Working backwards in time, I then watched Fate Zero, then the original.
Nowadays the series has a special place with me – especially the much maligned Studio Deen version. Though often heavily criticized for what some consider slow pacing and flat character development, the show had wonderful atmosphere. The visuals were full of long shadows and red sunsets, which the musical score ran from hauntingly ominous to delicate to playful.
But more to the point for me was the timing of its release. 2006 was something of a golden age in my life. Some of this has to do with nostalgia, longing for a time when I had more freedom and less responsibility – and as a result more time to spend goofing off doing things like watching anime. It was also a golden age for the industry. This was the same time period that gave us hits like The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Code Geass, Black Lagoon, Host Club, Rozen Maiden and Kanon, while Toonami was up and running in full force with shows like Inuyasha, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Cowboy Bebop that had been around for a while getting exposure to an ever widening American audience.
It seemed like anime might be poised to go mainstream here in the states, and as a fan who grew up watching whatever he could get his hands on at the local Blockbuster Video store, it was a dream come true. I watched anything and everything, and as a result there were very few titles left I had not seen. So to find a series now from back then, that I hadn’t watched, that is still relevant and still producing sequels today, was a rare jewel. A Holy Grail, if you will.
Depending on the success of the movies, maybe Heaven’s Feel will get its own series. And maybe one day we’ll even get to see an animated version of Illya’s route. Until then, we’ll have to be content with fanfics like this one.
With hopes that this story brings you a smile or two, and in some small way does something to contribute to your happiness,
Your Friend,
Amma
Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Boob Works: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12840126/1/FateStay-Night-Unlimited-Boob-Works
Ammaranth 