This season’s most stand out and anticipated anime series is undoubtedly ufotable’s anime adaptation of Fate/stay night. One of the show’s greatest strengths is its visual fidelity and animation quality, but whilst that is the case of the most part there has been some drawbacks on the anime’s broadcast. The official blog for the digital division of ufotable have revealed a few changes that they will be making for the Blu-ray release of Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works. The changes that the digital studio have revealed were were fixes to issues caused by channel regulations.
The changes will be of the brightness and colours of the anime. The TV broadcast for all shows utilises a special device called the Paka-Checker, which is used to check and normalise the saturation and brightness of the show’s visual before it airs. The device will then alter the visuals to fit the guidelines that the TV station has utilised.
ufotable gives the example of one of the scenes for the Opening of Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works. Below is the broadcast version:
Click on the images for their full resolution
And below is the original and master version of the scene:
The difference is considerable. The broadcast version is darker and the colours are very muted and darkened. The original master version, which will be used in the Blu-ray, is full of colour and you can see everything clearly. Two more examples are given for the 8th episode of Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works, which aired last week, featuring Saber’s summoning. The 1st image is the broadcast version and the second version is the original/Blu-ray version.
The following images contain minor spoilers.
Scene 1:
Scene 2:
Once again the difference is clear and without a doubt the Blu-ray version will be the must have, showcasing the full range of colours and beauty of the scenes. It is very unfortunate that the broadcast version looks inferior since the production staff and studio have spent a long time working on the scenes, only to have viewers and fans see a poorer product. It is also fortunate that ufotable has come out to communication the changes and the reason why it was changed, showing that they care about their fans and their works.
Here are the scenes again, side by side:
Click on the images for their full resolution
Fate/stay night is a visual novel released by Type-Moon for the PC in 2004, and is the first in their Fate series. The visual novel was very successful and claimed the title of highest selling visual novel in that year. 2006 saw two adaptations of the game, a manga by Datto Nishiwaki and an anime series by Studio Deen. Additionally in that year, a light novel series titled Fate/Zero was written by Gen Urobuchi. It is a prequel to the visual novels, set 10 years prior. An anime and manga adaptation of Fate/Zero were created, with the manga written by Urobuchi himself in 2011 and the anime being animated by ufotable. A second season of Fate/Zero was also produced.
Here is a synopsis of the series from MAL:
Raised by a mysterious sorcerer after the horrific death of his parents, Shiro Emiya has only just begun to help others using the small tidbits of magic that he’s learned. However, when he’s suddenly caught in a battle between two more powerful Magus, Shiro finds himself performing a spell above his expected ability, summoning the beautiful spirit warrior Saber to protect him! But safety is only momentary as Shiro and Saber now find themselves thrust into in a secret world of dark magic and deadly challenges: a no-holds barred duel to the death known as the Holy Grail War! At stake: a prize of unimaginable power. But can the inexperienced Shiro and Saber survive long enough to even enter the contest? First they’ll have to withstand waves of treachery and assassination, even as Shiro scrambles to learn everything he’ll need to know to stay alive as seven teams of Magus and Spirit Servants face off in mortal combat!
The first Blu-ray release of Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works is the Blu-ray Disc Box 1, which will be out in Japan on March 25, 2015 for a total of ¥39,000 (~ $390.00 USD) without tax. The box set will contain the first 12 episodes of the anime, which is currently airing this season, among other goodies.
You can visit the Fate/stay night website here: http://www.fate-sn.com/
And don’t forget to follow their Twitter: @Fate_SN_Anime
“Fate/stay night”, “Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works,”, images, and all associated brands and titles © 2014 Type-Moon, ufotable and Fate/stay night Production Committee