The Fate / Stay Franchise series tells the epic tale of the Holy Grail War in which a certain group of families fight each other by summoning great warriors from throughout history and mythology to fight by their side. Those who win the Holy Grail will be able to have their wishes granted, but as of yet, no war has reached such a conclusion after multiple wars.
Fate/Stay Watch Order Guide
About The Fate / Stay Franchise Main Branch
The Fate series looks almost deceptively simple if you just stick with the main branch. However, even if you don’t count all the miscellaneous unrelated side series, the main storyline is still debated today as to how new fans should approach watching it.
In the main Fate series, there are four entries:
- Fate/Zero
- Fate/Stay Night
- Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works
- Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel (Movies)
There are only four entries, so what is the big deal? The issue is that the Fate series is based off a visual novel, and in Fate/Zero’s case, a light novel. The issue with this is that the visual novel offered players different routes to take based on who they wanted to woo. So each series, except Fate/Zero, explores each different route.
The Fate visual novels three routes include:
- Saber – The Fate Route
- Rin – The Unlimited Blade Works Route
- Sakura – The Heaven’s Feel Route
With Fate/Zero being a prequel, it almost seems like the order is pretty simple. Just watch Fate/Zero and the rest of the series in any order since they cover the other routes, right?
Well, there are some that insist you can skip Fate/Stay Night because, while adapting the Saber Route with bits of other routes thrown in, it has extremely poor animation compared to the other entries and doesn’t feel like it does the story justice.
Others insist that though Fate/Zero is a prequel, it was written after the series so thus it doesn’t do an effective job at setting the stage so much as it does spoiling it. Furthermore the debate rages on about how the watching order will affect the themes, the Ancient Greek style of tragic irony, and the general feel of the viewing.
How to Watch The Fate / Stay Series in Order
As to how you should approach watching the Fate series as a new fan, we’ll give you all the main answers with the benefits of choosing each watch order. This will give you all the information you need to make a decision.
As for which I personally recommend, either Purist or Hybrid are the best options. Purist if you really want to dive full on in and Hybrid for if you just want to enjoy the main branch of the series.
The Purist Fate / Stay Watch Order (Which is also Broadcast Order):
- Fate / Stay Night
- Fate / Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works
- Fate / Zero
- Fate / Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel (3 Movies)
Benefit of This Watch Order: You’ve watched it all. Even the original Fate / Stay Night, or as many call it, “the ugly one.” You’ll have seen everything there is to see of the main route and get the full story to piece together. By watching Fate / Zero before Heaven’s Feel, you get a ton of back story before Heaven’s Feel which is considered the “true” ending to the visual novel. It also darkens up the series for what will be some very dark movies.
The Chronological Fate / Stay Watch Order:
- Fate / Zero
- Fate / Stay Night
- Fate / Stay Night: Unlimited Bladeworks
- Fate / Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel (3 Movies)
Benefit of This Watch Order: This is really more of a watch order for fans who already have a good idea of what is going on. Is Fate / Zero the best looking Fate anime? Yes. Is it the best paced anime? Also yes. Is it a good introduction to the Fate story? As a prequel, probably no. It is very much an show presenting clarity for people who watched the original Fifth Holy Grail War and shows how the Fourth Holy Grail War went so wrong.
That said, The same reason Fate / Zero is interesting to people who have watched the other Fate series means that instead the other Fate anime will be interesting to you. You will have the information going to to be like “Oh, I know you already from Fate / Zero,” but that also means you can likely guess what will happen.
The “Screw Studio Deen” Fate / Stay Watch Order
- Fate / Stay Night: Unlimited Bladeworks
- Fate / Zero
- Fate / Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel (3 Movies)
Benefits of This Watch Order: The original Fate / Stay Night by Studio DEEN has such poor animation that it is jarring to watch with the other series. By itself it wasn’t bad, in all honesty. However, putting it against the other series is pretty rough for it. Furthermore, some argue that the Saber route ending isn’t particularly strong or even that interesting.
With this watch order, you get the best animation and about 90 percent of the full story, which is quite enough if you aren’t a hardcore Fate fan by the end.
The Hybrid Fate / Stay Watch Order
- Fate / Stay Night: Unlimited Bladeworks
- Fate / Stay Night – Episodes 12 – 24
- Fate / Zero
- Fate / Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel (3 Movies)
Benefit of This Watch Order: The beginnings of Unlimited Bladeworks and the original Fate / Stay Night are honestly almost exactly the same. Unlimited Bladeworks does the much better job with setting the Grail War up, however. So, with this watch order, you get the good animation first, then you can explore the alternative Saber ending from where the events really begin to diverge. Then you get the prequel story to add further clarity in Fate / Zero with the “true” ending in Heaven’s Feel for the end.
You will also want to consider adding in Lord El-Melloi II Case Files: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note at the end of any of these. This anime takes place 10 years after Fate/Zero, but two months before Fate/Stay Night, following Waver Velvet from Fate / Zero. It is not necessary to watch, but interesting.
I also recommend Today’s Menu With The Emiya Family if you get too bummed out.
Fate/Grand Order Watch Order
This was originally just a gacha mobile game, but now is an actual anime entry. it takes place in an alternate universe and timeline from the main entries. As such, you can watch it independently, but knowledge of the series is helpful. However, ti has grown complex enough that it now merits its own watch order. The watch order for Fate/Grand Order is:
- Fate/ Grand Order: First Order – Movie
- Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front – Babylonia Episode 0 Initium Iter – Prequel OVA to Babylonia
- Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front – Babylonia – This can be difficult for anime only fans to fully understand. If you are up to Babylonia, you may want to consider playing the game if you have not.
- Fate/Grand Order: Moonlight/Lostroom – An OVA between the first and second part of the game.
- Fate/Grand Order: Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot – Wandering; Agateram – Movie
- Fate/Grand Order: Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot – Paladin; Agateram – Movie, sequel to Wandering; Agateram
- Fate/Grand Order: Final Singularity – Grand Temple of Time: Solomon – Movie
What About the Other Fate/ Series?
So what of other series that brandish the Fate/ moniker? Well, aside from those main entries, they don’t require you to have watched any of the Fate series to get into. However, there is no doubt that having some knowledge of the Fate series will certainly enhance the watching experience.
Other Fate Side Series Include:
- Carnival Phantasm – a parody series in which it grabs characters from several Type-Moon series, including Fate and places them is weird and slice of life-y situations. You will want to consider reading the Tsukihime visual novel or manga to get the most out of it.
- Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA ILLYA – Takes place in an alternate universe setting of Fate/Stay Night, thus knowledge of that series would be interesting, but not necessary.
- Fate/Apocrypha – Unlike Fate/kaleid, Fate/Apocrypha takes place in a parallel world to Fate/Stay Night in which the Greater Grail was removed from Fuyuki after the Third Holy Grail War. At the same time as the Fifth Holy Grail War would have taken place in the canon timeline, the majority of the plot goes down. This series is one we highly recommend even if you have never watched the main series since it requires very little knowledge, though relative familiarity with the universe as a whole would be helpful at times.
- Fate/Extra Last Encore – This series shares events in common with Fate/Stay Night until it diverges after a particular event. It is not considered part of the core series, but can be an interesting “what if” scenario for fans.
- Lord El-Melloi II Case Files: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note – As mentioned above, it takes place after Fate/Zero but before Fate/Stay Night. It is wholly optional, however.
- Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family – It is a food anime with Fate characters.
- Fate/strange Fake: Whispers of Dawn – Follows a different (and falsified) Holy Grail War in Nevada five years after Fate/Stay. Requires knowledge of the world given through at least Fate/Stay to understand.
How to Watch Everything Fate (In The Most Comprehensive Order I Could Muster)
Since it was requested, here is everything Fate related that has ever been committed to anime. I skip some things in the list proper, but explain why they are skipped at the end. So hold onto your butts and get ready for titles with tons of colons, here we go!
- Fate/Zero – TV
- Fate/Zero: Please! Einzbern Counseling Room – Short, silly specials
- Fate/Zero Cafe – Fate/Zero characters as chibi cafe workers special
- Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note – A Grave Keeper, A Cat, and A Mage – Prequel OVA
- Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note – TV series about Waver Velvet from Fate/Zero.
- Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note – Waver, Reunion, and the Magic Lantern – OVA
- Fate/Stay Night – TV
- Fate/Extra: Last Encore – TV, Alternative setting to Fate/Stay Night
- Fate/Extra: Last Encore – Illustrias Geocentric Theory – TV
- Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works – Prologue – Prequel OVA
- Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works – TV
- Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works – Sunny Day – Alternate ending OVA
- Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel – I. Presage Flower – Movie
- Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel – II. Lost Butterfly – Movie
- Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel – III. Spring Song – Movie
- Fate/strange Fake: Whispers of Dawn – OVA
- Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family – Fate-themed, food-themed slice of life ONA
- Carnival Phantasm – TV. A slice of life series with Fate characters, but not exclusively, they also wedge in other Type-Moon characters.
- Carnival Phantasm EX Season – OVA
- Carnival Phantasm HibiChika Special – OVA
- Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya – TV
- Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya Specials
- Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya: Dance at the Sports Festival! – OVA
- Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya 2Wei! – TV
- Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 2wei! Specials
- Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya 2Wei Herz! – TV
- Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya 2Wei – Magical Girl in the Hot Springs – OVA
- Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya 2Wei Herz! Specials
- Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya: Vow in the Snow – Movie
- Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya: Vow in the Snow – Dark Sakura’s Room – Comedic special
- Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya: Prisma Phantasm – Movie
- Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya: Licht Nameless Girl Mini Anime – Comedy ONA
- Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya – Licht Nameless Girl – Movie
- Fate/Apocrypha – TV
- Fate/Grand Order: First Order – Movie
- Fate/Grand Order x Himuro’s World: Seven Most Powerful Great Figures Chapter – Comical, non-canon OVA for the Fate Grand Order series of movies
- Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front – Babylonia Episode 0 Initium Iter – Prequel Special to Babylonia
- Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front – Babylonia – TV
- Fate/Grand Order: Moonlight/Lostroom – OVA between Babylonia and Camelot movies
- Fate/Grand Order: Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot – Wandering; Agateram – Movie
- Fate/Grand Order: Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot – Paladin; Agateram – Movie
- Fate/Grand Order: Final Singularity – Grand Temple of Time: Solomon – Movie
- Fate/Grand Carnival – What Carnival Phantasm is to Fate/Stay, this is to Fate/Grand Order. Slice of life shenanigans using the characters.
Things I skipped in this master list and why I skipped them:
- Fate/Prototype – Not long enough to be an OVA and more akin to a trailer for a series you wish they would actually make.
- Fate/Zero Remix – Recap Specials (I skipped all recaps, technically. Usually they are polite enough to have “recap” in the title, but not this one)
- Learning Manga With Fate: Grand Order – A silly short they released at an event.
I don’t think I’ve ever left a comment on a site like this before, but I wanted to say, I thought the DEEN Fate/Stay Night was fantastic! I do see a lot of hate online, but I really don’t understand it. I watched UBW first, then Zero and it felt like a natural transition to watch the original next – I was so surprised!
The animation might feel a little bit dated comparatively (Zero did look especially nice) but I actually felt that the animators did more with what they had to work with than UBW at times..
I also liked the soundtrack better, and the story I thought made more sense to me than UBW. I loved both and to be fair UBW’s plot was a bit more complex, but it also felt a little more convoluted and patched together than DEEN’s version. I thought the character representation felt more organic and believable in DEEN, even if slightly shallow.
To each their own, but I still think that it holds a very special place in the series!
I so wanted this list that had every fate series… many places I searched only gave the 4 fate series order…I wanted to know where the grand order or PRISMA ILLYA were in the list…
please add a complete watch order list of fate like you added in dragon ball
Done! Sorry it took so long, I’m not excessively familiar with Fate/Kaleid Liner so I had to look into it more.
I must strongly disagree with watching Fate/Zero before Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel. Fate/Zero relies heavily on dramatic irony, and assumes you have experienced all three routes of Fate/Stay Night, including Heaven’s Feel. As such, is casually spoils a lot of major twists and reveals from Heaven’s Feel. Heaven’s Feel should be watched immediately after Unlimited Bladeworks (as is the order of the routes in the original visual novel), and before the prequel, Fate/Zero.