Fate/Grand Order – Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia

Like the game, the anime traverses the same plotline both overall and on the macro-level.  It’s strange to refer to there being a “macro-“anything when discussing an entry in a Fate series.  The plot of the entry itself, however, is not entirely married or anchored to the overarching plot of the Fate/Grand Order storyline.  That is significantly important since this means it does not require the viewer to have played the game to understand the fundamental basics of the story.

The plot itself is cliché enough; prevent the total eradication of existence.  But in the Absolute Demonic Front entry, we focus exclusively on the “sixth singularity” which happens to take place in the ancient Mesopotamian city of Uruk in Sumer.  It is the most ancient location in the Fate/Grand Order storyline.  Where the plot diverges from traditional tales of heroism in lieu of the threat is the route that it takes to come to its conclusion and the evolving nature of its “beast.”  The allied and enemy lines are blurred very early in the entry and discerning friend-or-foe is complicated.

Nevertheless, the idea of how history is used to its antithesis as a plot device is relatively unique.  Likewise, the use of Uruk is a rather intriguing choice.  Notwithstanding the foresight to understand how this place shapes the characters in the larger story, the macro-entry that is Absolute Demonic Front provides a plot that remains interesting and relatively easy to follow for all the intricacies of its bigger picture.  The rating here reflects the plot of the entry, not necessarily the larger plot of the Fate/Grand Order anthology.

After defeating countless other foes and overcoming six other situations similar (but perhaps not quite as dire), Master Ritsuka Fujimaru from the Space-Time Watchdog Chaldea arrives to an Uruk that is run by a...interesting character to say the least who pretty much knows everything already - because Gilgamesh.  The main baddy is set to be Tiamat, but there's a bit of a catch with it that you might find along the way.  All of this is to say that if a super-charged and instigated Tiamat succeeds, humanity will be destroyed at Sumeria, erasing ~3,600 years of history and everything in between.

There are a few glaring issues that present themselves within both the plot and the story, but these are minor, almost exclusive to the Fate series, and because of the fact they do not impact the enjoyment of the show, I did not grade them down here.

The meat of the story surrounds the ensuring of the survival of Uruk that is under threat from a trio of goddesses.  The selection of players on the field is particularly confusing, especially when you consider the wildcard character of Quetzalcoatl.  However, this specific alliance is fueled by the staging of events by a larger and more ominous enemy – well, two, it really depends how you want to look at this.  But for the sake of simplicity for this review, we’ll simply go with the entities that are directly involved in this installment.

The two priority characters in the series rush to the aid of the mythological king Gilgamesh.  The synopsis from this point largely centers on the methodical integration of the characters into Sumerian life within Uruk and adjacent territories.  Rather than do what one may assume, the story demands that the viewer make ample understanding to the connection between the timespan of the series, the relationship of the characters, and the interconnecting bonds that may grow in that time.  Actually, I would say that the story borders on pressing it in your face so as to not miss it.  As annoying as this usually is, it adds a wealth of character development, story development, and a better understanding for someone who may not have ever picked up the game.

Perhaps the most significant thing of all for viewers who are familiar with the Fate/Grand Order anthology, however, is the foundational work that is established in episodes zero and one.  These provide a wealth of information on one of our main characters who many have started to refer to as the new series mascot.

The story takes place at "the point in time when the Age of Gods ends", so naturally virtually everyone who shows up is a god in some form, because reasons.  We have the Feathered Serpent himself (her in this series.......ugh) Quetzalcoatl, the Akkadian goddess of beauty and fertility Ishtar who seems to be a buy-one-get-one-free with Ereshkigal the goddess of the underworld and lastly, we have Tiamat, the primordial god of creation.  Well, there's also Gorgon (because why the frick not), and Merlin.  I'm honestly at a loss as to why Thor didn't just roll up with that sick hammer of his...I mean we've all seen the hammer - seems like a lot of this could have been avoided if there was a hammer!

There are a few bits and pieces of lore in the story that don't connect right, and some of these are a little glaring.  For example, the story wants to borrow heavily on the Epic of Gilgamesh, but it fails to effectively draw on any of the key messaging within that Epic or any of the related documents.  The story also has issues with giving us a good concept of how we're even in the predicament we're in - notwithstanding the larger arc.  However, these are minor, and they can be looked over in favor of stronger story elements found elsewhere.

One of the things that normally happens in a series that has a macro-installation and volumes is the elaborate storytelling and means of progression it takes.  That, however, is a bit odd in this entry.  In fact, there are certain aspects of the progression of the show that give me the impression that funding was cut at some point within it.  We are to assume that approximately 30~45 days elapses in this “singularity” and coupled with the detail covered in the interactions it would seem as though that should span 30 to 35 episodes.  Unfortunately, the entire sequence of events is compacted into 23 episodes.

The detail that is put into the dialogue and character building more than makes up for the damage in the progression, however it causes some confusion at certain points.  There is only one instance of the classic “character montage” where we see large amounts of events stacked behind a musical medley.  If this was the only case of throttle in the progress of the story, that would be fine.  Unfortunately, while it is the only time a jump in time is done in this manner, other jumps are present which are only covered in ambiguity.  While I can accept that not all days were probably as exciting as others, there are some key points that were left out in the translation.  Since the last BD was one episode shy of the rest, I see no reason this couldn’t have at least been used, even one episode may have helped significantly here.  But when it comes to storytelling dynamics, this is the only place Absolute Demonic Front falls short.

Progression at the end of the entry is strange, especially in conjunction with how it runs in the other 75 percent of the show.  It's not quite Dang-Ol-Dragonball elaborate, but it is elaborate enough that you begin to wonder a little bit as to whether or not cutting corners to get here was entirely necessary.  I will admit that I'm also not sure if some of my concern comes from how long the story took in the game, but nevertheless, it seems to me that there could have been an additional one or two episodes and a bit more effort put on storytelling on the whole.  I think it'd especially be beneficial to look at some of the characters that get a second wind after the fact.

There are also a handful of loose ends that seem to be oversights on the part of the writers.  One of the glaring issues is Ushiwakamaru's exit from the series and a better understanding of Hassan-i-Sabbah's primary role.  These could have been better defined and better explained had the series taken more care to pay attention to all of their characters in the same way.  Actually, the series does that well, but it seems to omit items for arbitrary reasons from the minor characters, and while I can accept characters that have few attachments being ignored, Ushiwakamaru's silent fading is quite jarring and almost demands attention where none is given.

Of all things related to the show itself, this was the section I found myself wanting to write on the most, and that is because it is something that this series did surprisingly well.  Even if we remove my experience with the characters from the game (which I can for reasons of dubbing, more on that later), I am immediately made interested in two characters particularly in the series: Mash Kyrielight and Romani Archaman.

Both these characters are delivered to us in a way that makes them extremely mysterious, with Mash’s character being one that would simply force someone to care.  Mash is the product of cruel and unusual experimentation, to put simply.  Meanwhile, Dr. Romani is that first person for Mash who seems to show her any real amount of emotion or care.  This of course is true until we are thrown into the presence of Ritsuka Fujimaru, dubbed “humanities last master.”  Ritsuka is perhaps a live example of street smarts over book smarts, within reason.

Ritsuka serves a very important purpose for the characters overall, however.  He has super amazing and awesome protagonist powers.  Okay, he’s got more going on than that.  He has something that I’ve come to call the “people like me” syndrome.  In his case it stems from a determination that is frankly rather impressive, an ability to empathize that would make even the most indifferent person feel uncomfortable, and an amazing talent of…recruiting legs.  I’m not sure how pants are not more of a subject.

Two characters that connect rather interestingly with Ritsuka is the Rider Ushiwakamaru and – wait, my sources tell me this would be a spoiler – so “mysterious girl” Ana.  Ana is introduced to us early and is very adamantly anti-human (and extra-anti-Merlin – as is Fou).  However, thankfully character development happens, and she opens up to people towards the end (in quite a big way at that).  Ushiwakamaru, however, is a bit of a special case and, as much as I appreciate Mash in all the Grand Order entries, is the reason I gave extra points to this category.

Ushiwakamaru is the servant-name of Minamoto no Yoshitsune (more on this in the post-conclusion), albeit a gender-swapped incarnation (because that’s just the Fate series in a damn nutshell).  Yoshitsune was a military commander, and one of profound notoriety during the Heian and Kamakura periods in Japan.  The series correctly draws attention to Yoshitsune being one of the most popular figures in Japanese literature.  During one exchange with Ushiwakamaru, Ritsuka informs her (him? Fate’s weird man) that he idolized Yoshitsune.  Hearing this made Ushiwakamaru quite emotional and excited, so much so that she (nope, still weird) pledged aid to Ritsuka.  If you know anything about my diatribes, it is that history has meaning and purpose from an event to an individual.  While fictitious, this is an accurate depiction of this – again more in the post-conclusion.

The comedic relief is brought to us by Merlin, who frankly draws the ire of everyone for relatively obvious reasons.  Jaguar Warrior (based on the Mesoamerican Werejaguar) provides even more of this relief.  And Ishtar is just Rin Tohsaka – she just whines more and has a wicked finger gun.

As previously mentioned, character development is a major factor in this entry.  A major trait that is depicted on the surface is the whole "the enemy of my enemy is my friend", but the story does much to eliminate that from the equation.  The most profound transformation is that of Enkidu, or rather, Kingu.  Kingu's character goes so far as to have a redemption mini-arc albeit a conflicted and troubled one.  The evolution and traumatic experience that leads to this change in events is impactful and hits the viewer with the same amount of force that the rest of the cast expertly delivers.

There are few, if any, character sets that I have seen composed better than in this installment, and that comes from over 20 years of viewership of the genre.

The soundtrack for Absolute Demonic Front is rather nice.  The background music is fitting, and I never really found myself questioning the choices nor the mood in any scene.  The series takes advantage of its commercially acquired music quite well too.  Unlike some of the previous Fate entries, this one did not rely heavily on cryptic messaging in its intros or outros.  Rather, the animators and directors went with a practical approach.  Vivid imagery and invocation.

The weak point for the soundtrack honestly shows itself in the opening.  The OP is Rin Akatsuki’s “Phantom Joke.”  The largest reason for my criticism of this choice is due to its presence in a soundtrack that is surrounded by something vastly (and I can’t even articulate that effectively here) different.  The harder rock execution is backed by adequate action and imagery, that’s not where this opening falls short, it is just that the show does not demand (in soundtrack or otherwise) the “hell yeah!” attitude that the opening seems to be pushing – regardless of lyrics.

There are two ending tracks, one is infinitely more appropriate than the other, but neither are out of place.  The first one is Aoi Eir’s “Dream of Falling Stars”, which has what I’ve perceived as a typical Fate feeling to it.  It seems to run along the lines of Apocrypha’s “Ash.”  However, while it doesn’t fit quite as well, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t fit at all.  Rather this ending disappears entirely by episode 12, and for a very good reason.  The entire disposition of the series shifts to one much more dramatic.

The second ending is my favorite, and its first appearance comes in one of those running-endings that I mentioned at the beginning of this section.  “Prover” is the first I’ve heard of milet (and yes, I thought of birds too).  The first use of this track comes towards the end of and running-into-the-credits of an episode in the later parts of the first episode set.  The series will do this three more times, and each time it is executed flawlessly to invoke the greatest response from the viewer and listener.  It also integrates with ease into the larger Absolute Demonic Front OST – and it single handedly pushed the oddity OP out of the way to land a perfect score here.

DISCOGS LISTING

Player: Oppo UDP-203
Processor: Yamaha CX-A5100
Route 1, HT Bypass: Parasound 200 Pre
Route 2, Stereo Amp: Parasound 2150v2; Parasound 2125v2
Route 3, HT Amp: Parasound 5125
Driver Environment: Klipsch Reference II (Generation 1)
Array Arrangement: 3 Main, 2 Object, 4 Surround, 1 LFE (2-way)
Monitor: LG CX65 Series

Codec: Linear PCM
Amp Return: Stereo (2.0.0)
Amp Override: (7.0.1)
Video Output: 1920x1080p
Output Environment: HDMI 2.0, HDCP 2.2
Sample Rate: 120 Hz (Video), 48 kHz (Audio)

Origin Audio: Linear PCM Stereo (Non-Discrete)
Origin Video: 1920x1080p, 24 bit, 60 Hz
Language: English
Type: Dual Layer Bluray Disc

Signal paths and routes indicate how audio and video is processed. The graph on the right represents the audio playback versus the native audio format. The closer the output is to the input, the better the playback generally speaking.  LP refers to the listening position of the viewer, red icons indicate the native format while orange highlighted icons indicate active channels.  Grayed out icons on the output chart mean that these objects are not used at all.

The data shown here does not necessarily reflect what everyone will experience, and all data in this section is purely experimental.

The Fate series has always excelled in certain areas more than others, but this has been progressively becoming more and more of a standard in the industry as time goes on.  One of these areas is in the realm of visual arts and design, and Absolute Demonic Front carries that over just fine albeit there were a few hiccups that I questioned.  Unlike the last Fate entry that I reviewed, Absolute Demonic Front is a very bright and vivid in coloration - mostly due to its placement in the middle of Mesopotamia.  Even the darker spaces such as the Underworld, the Cedar Forest, and similar areas are full of color and the night scenes translate that color very well.

There's a lot of dynamic range in the series.  HDMI throughput averaged around 20.1 mbps, which is about 2 mbps higher than Apocrypha's - a series that I defined as a standard for graphic meshing and co-mingling.  HDR-Mimicing was something that many anime prior to this did not do well with, but Absolute Demonic Front translated quite well.  No doubt that this was helped by modifications to the setup that was being used, but the fact that the disc was receptive at all to this technology was a big improvement.  When 4K was simulated, there were no noticeable artifacts, nor were any present when TruMotion was used.  However, a word of caution is that like most instances where TruMotion is used, it does not transpose well or doesn't work at all.  The same is true in Absolute Demonic Front, where the maximum differential in refresh rate was 60 Hz.  In addition, the throughput did not bloat when the settings were adjusted by more than perhaps 2 mbps.

As mentioned, the graphics and visuals used in the series are quite vivid and detailed.  Modifications to the character art at various points help to drive certain things home (such as simplified art for more comedic scenes).  However, the series does have a few instances where the art dynamic changes drastically.  So drastically, in fact, that the art no longer matches the show that it is part of.  That creates a situation that can temporarily withdraw a viewer from the scene that is active.  For some reason, this is almost exclusively limited to only Fujimaru's art.  I do not recall seeing any similar distortions or overcomplexities with any other character or any other scene.  They are all also restricted to scenes that should arouse a certain amount of suspense or intensity, but it seems as though that the designers got so wrapped up in conveying intensity that they threw their character out of their own series.  This creates a huge problem for someone who is casually viewing and is borderline comedic for all the wrong reasons.

Another item that Absolute Demonic Front struggled with is seamless integration of CGI and storyboard artwork.  The use of CGI for particle effects and environmental modifications is spot on, and does mesh well, but as far as CGI goes that is where the expertise seems to end.  There are numerous scenes with Gorgon and Tiamat that swap between cell animation and CGI, and this is likely due to the intricate nature of their character design and motion.  However, due to how they are animated in whatever CGI insert that is used it feels blocky and almost ameturish.  In fact, there are instances that harken back to character design models that many Genshin Impact fan-videos are created with, and the general lack of actual weaving into the larger scale of the animation process leaves them entirely out of place and without reason.

While I have no doubts in my mind that there was a lot of work and effort that went into the visual aspects of the entry, it is clear that much of it was hastily put together or had a fair amount of oversight.  The amount of large landscaping scenes and elaborate noble phantasm scenes more than make up for this jarring difference, but it does not make up for the existence and experience of being removed from an otherwise perfect storyboard.

As I've mentioned numerous times before, anime seems to really get the short end of the stick when it comes to audio tracks.  Gone, by and large, are the days where simple 5.1 surround formats were used standard in the DVD era.  For some reason, BluRay Discs have forced us to go back in time for audio formatting in the anime world, and I'm still not sure why that is considering the vastly superior data storage capabilities of the format.  One of the arguments I've been told is that it isn't done in shows versus movies because shows don't require the immersion considering how they're distributed.  That's all well and good, but when the rest of your production value is built around feature length execution, why you skimp on the audio is beyond me.  That's not even taking into account that 5.1 throughput has been standardized in North America and Europe for over ten years now.  Couple this with the fact that even most soundbars and TVs emulate and depend on 5.1 audio tracks in order to reproduce accurate ambient audio artifact placement, there is absolutely no reason to not properly encode your tracks, or at the very least make them able to be properly converted by onboard encoders at the viewer's side.

Absolute Demonic Front utilizes baseline Stereo LPCM 2.0 formatting, below industry standard (*.1), and generally struggles to match the output variables even when they're optimized on the hardware side.  However, apparently learning from the mistakes in Apocrypha, it does seem like some effort was made to implement audio-normalization and scenic sterilization.  But generally speaking, this wouldn't be necessary if the audio engineers would have utilized a dedicated LFE channel.  This is because, once again, Fate is a very technologically dependent show that relies on its visuals and audio to deliver dramatic moments to the viewer.  Virtually every noble phantasm scene demanded high audio output, especially below 200 Hz, pushing as much as 95 dB in some instances.  There were two standard troughs in the spectrum below 200 Hz which dropped off to 55 and 70 dB respectively, the first was located at 160 Hz and the second was at 55 Hz.  There's just one problem with this: the audio soundtrack has a floor at 240 Hz and the soundtrack itself sanitizes the data below 120 Hz.  For all of you audio buffs out there and people who enjoy watching movies at a cinema, 80 Hz is the industry standard for high pass cut off, which means Absolute Demonic Front never even approaches that standard despite all of its impact points occurring between 20 and 200 Hz.

There are a few audio mastery faults in the track as well, where audio bleeds into other channels incorrectly.  I used Dolby Pro Logic II (not Z) for the duration of the viewing, and it has a proven track record of channel separation post-production.  However, there were two instances where dialogue was front-and-center (RC-7) and for no reason at all, dialogue was injected into either the left or right (RB/F Mix) channels.  The scene did not change, and there was no change in the visual, it was simply that the audio track was mismatched for a brief moment.  These are things that should have been discovered on production and are extremely noticeable for anyone who has discrete audio setups and possibly those who even watch on TV.

Outside of these issues the audio mastering was par.  There was nothing exceptional about the audio track, but the most infuriating thing about that is that it had all of the potential to be exceptional.  The only reason it wasn't?  Laziness. And that perhaps is and was the biggest injustice that could have been given to this show above everything else.

There's quite a dynamic in the cast for Absolute Demonic Front, both on the English and Japanese side.  Once again, I am puzzled by some Japanese casting choices versus their hand-picked selections for soundtracks, but that's notwithstanding much here (Why are we continuing to underutilize Maaya Sakamoto, Aoi Yuki, and Rie Takahashi?  Seriously, it's like you cast the Spice Girls and didn't have a single Spice Girls song on your OST).  Meanwhile, the English cast was faced with quite the debacle: Mesopotamian names.  But even outside of that there were plenty of mispronunciations of names across the board, and it was a little puzzling.  I didn't realize that saying the name Kyrielight made you sound like your mouth was full of sour Skittles (too much "yay") or that you had to do your best impression of failing the Buffalo Wild Wings Hot Sauce Challenge when saying Quetzalcoatl's name.  You learn something new every day, I guess.

Four names stand out to me in our English cast, and one caught me for a bit of a loop.  The first one is probably who I'd classify as the English version of Aoi Yuki (in that she's in everything that's ever been made ever (no, not really)), Erica Mendez.  Fate fans will probably recognize her as Jack the Ripper from Apocrypha while others will recognize her from her credit list of over 200 to include Ryuuko Matoi in Kill La Kill and Eleanor Hume from Tales of Berseria.  Mendez's voice while distinct is one I still to this day have difficulties picking out of a crowd sometimes, and that's certainly a credit for a number of different reasons as it displays range.  Mendez portrays Mash Kyrielight in this entry and gets to show quite a dynamic spectrum of challenges throughout.  In the beginning of the series, she has to channel a feral tenacity that is followed up with an empty child.  By the time we get to this sixth singularity, Mash has developed a lot of different emotions, but still seems to struggle with those moments of systemic analysis akin to an android.  On the other end of this spectrum is, well, for lack of a better way to describe it, moments of Super Saiyan Mash where you can just imagine your throat getting sore from exposure.  Mash was a difficult character for me to hear voiced by someone besides Rie Takahashi due to my three years of exposure to her character prior to the anime and I would be lying if I said I wasn't skeptical of Mendez's casting for the part when it was announced.  However, on this side of the page I can say that while I will always prefer Takahashi's performance, Mendez was the natural selection for the part for the English dub.

Next was Leonardo da Vinci who was voiced by Erika Harlacher.  Yes, you read that right.  Have fun playing Genshin Impact and dealing with Venti now that you know that.  Actually, what I enjoyed the most about Harlacher's performance as da Vinci was the fact that it really seemed to combine her talents for comedic delivery and dramatics that she presented from Ann Takamaki in Persona 5 and Venti.  Leonardo is an emotional rollercoaster that delivers emotional whiplash, and that is by story design.  Harlacher delivers that in spades, and I think that takes a very specific kind of voice actor to fill the role.  Her lines are few in relation to the size of the series, but the acting is spot on.

Ray Chase is Mash's personal-connection-character, Leonidas.  I don't have much to say about this other than I am always surprised at the characters that Ray has voiced since Noct in Final Fantasy XV. Also, I'm 99 percent sure that when Leonidas is talking about fixations on muscles, that wasn't acting.  That was clearly just Ray Chase in the booth being Ray Chase.

Robbie Daymond who we have seen as thousands of different roles (exaggeration, but still) to include Prompto Argentum in Final Fantasy XV, Sorey in Tales of Zestiria, and (ugh) Gorou Akechi from Persona 5, appears in this series as Merlin.  I'm a bit scared of how flawless the execution was here considering Merlin's disposition as a shitlord that cares.  Merlin counters Romani constantly and their banter gets to the point where I have flashbacks to old Bart Simpson jokes and younger PTSD of sibling arguments (wedgies, noogies, and plenty of fart-knocker jokes). Merlin's demeanor is calm and earthy and is the composed and "matter-of-fact" disposition that exists in a sea of otherwise exceptionally dynamic and dramatic theatrics.

Last for me to mention here is Laura Stahl who portrays Ushiwakamaru to my surprise.  Stahl also voices Barbara and (one of my mains) Xinyan in Genshin Impact for comparison.  That's all you can really do is compare, because while I'd say her acting here borrows more from her work as Xinyan, I could legitimately not tell who Ushiwakamaru's actor was until I looked it up (I historically avoid credits).  Again, like Mendez, this is a compliment as it displays range.  Stahl's task with Ushiwakamaru was not an easy one either considering the progression of the character and their ultimate fate.  This demanded a child-like demeanor in some scenes while being accompanied with a sense of total understanding of battle prowess later.  In other instances, she had to modify Ushiwakamaru just enough to portray a more sinister connotation, and these are all traits that aren't exactly simple - especially with a character that pulls on the emotional strings quite like Ushiwakamaru.

Across the board, Absolute Demonic Front is extremely dynamic and fluid in its demand for voice acting.  It can change its tone very quickly and this is sometimes jarring.  The actors generally handle this flawlessly, even if they have some significant issues pronouncing names in correct English.  I attribute most of that to Google's poor pronunciation of proper names and translation.

One of the most profound things of this series is something that I think has never really been touched on in the genre and largely forgotten as a whole to people today.  What's more it is relevant to the situation we find ourselves in today when it comes to history.  Likewise, there are a few other lessons that I think many could take with them.  I made the rule of making this scale for this category top out at 4, but I would absolutely push it higher if that didn't mean throwing that scale out the window.  Sit tight for this section.

As previously mentioned, Ushiwakamaru was given a lot of credit for character dais in the series, and there are many different reasons for that, but one stands out more than the rest.  She quickly is drawn to the fact that Fujimaru is aware of her deeds so far into the future, this is something that fascinates her.  In a later scene, she meets with him after everyone has gone to bed as he is unable to sleep and sitting on the roof of their dwelling.  Fujimaru then explains to Ushiwakamaru that virtually everyone in Japan knows about her story, and that he himself idolized her.  Upon hearing this, she is overcome with emotion.  Historically, Minamoto no Yoshitsune is one of the most tragic heroes in Japan having been betrayed by those closest to him.  However, as Ushiwakamaru is depicted in the anime, it was not necessarily the deeds he was responsible for during his life nor was it the tragedy of the tale of the end of his life.  Rather, it was that someone remembered.  If I had to tl;dr anyone about history, it is to remember.  Everyone wants to be remembered in some way.  That establishes meaning.

The whole story is latent with this.  It is most apparent in the example I provided here, but it appears in virtually every other individual in the anime.  To a historian that is constantly having to battle with people questioning legitimacy of profession and relevance, it was a welcome sight to see in something as mainstream as an anime.  We see it plenty of other places, but it is often overlooked by other Hollywood modifications and messaging that it accompanies.  It's the cool buzz-line thing to say: "remember", but it is another thing entirely to practice it.

While cheesy, I think how the delivery of some other messages are particularly significant considering the wealth of values exhibited in the series.  The entirety of Fate/Grand Order could easily be seen as an example of "live as it's the last day."  But Absolute Demonic Front takes that an extra step by adding in the mantra of "nothing can be worth giving up" in terms of fighting for life, what is right, and yourself.  A sense of pride should be enjoyed for accomplishments, but both Fujimaru and Mash are depictions of humility and humble appreciation - a balance that is hard to achieve but also one that is best aligned with being content with oneself.

I will not get too particularly hyped on religion here, because I prefer to keep that off the internet.  However, it's hard not to at least acknowledge one specific scene that happens at the very end of the series that left me with a bit of a lump in my stomach.  The age which the series is described as being set in is the end of the "Age of Gods", where mankind seeks to cease walking with the gods.  Canonically, it is described as the point where mankind's direct interaction with the gods ends, and it begins to stand on its own two feet.  Others refer to an "Age of Miracles" where the confines of divine miracles end.  In the ending credits of the last episode, a child is seen walking on his own where he catches an image of Ishtar from the corner of his eye (we see it as a flash).  When he turns his head to look all that's there is dust.  Religious or not, such imagery is powerful and telling.  I have many opinions and thoughts about it, but I will leave those for people to think about on their own.

For any of the mistakes the show made in goofy mechanics, technicalities, or progression...you can't not be smiling at the end.

Fate is destined to never score perfect for a number of different reasons, and really those two reasons are the only reason for score detraction here.  The series is notorious for problematic history, but that is largely removed here by the use of Gilgamesh since there's nothing substantiated for his presence in the historical annals outside of the epics that recount his existence - it is an obstacle for many early kings.

What is pleasing is that save for two servants, the gender depictions of characters is relatively true to myth or story.  That includes Quetzalcoatl, and while I don't specifically have issues with the voice acting, I am not sure I would necessarily have made a Spanish accent a requirement, especially considering much of that accent is European created which would be totally removed from Quetzalcoatl.  This is minor, but it was noticeable and is worth at least mentioning.  If this contributed to this score, it'd be very little.  Rather, it is the fact that Quetzalcoatl at no point is described as anything other than male in Mesoamerican mythology.  (Also, the Aztec calendar should not at all have been indicative or associated with Quetzalcoatl, if anything it is more associated with the Moon Goddess.)  Jaguar Warrior is based on the Werejaguar, which in theory could have been any man or woman in Mesoamerica and therefore I've left that to the farm, although most depictions of the Werejaguar were on a male-built figure.  Lastly is Ushiwakamaru, who absolutely was not a woman.  The fact that we can paint such a beautiful absolution of the story but throw identity in the face of the historical figure is a bit much.

As some may know, Fate got its start as a series that was beyond questionable.  You almost certainly aren't going to find it at Memaw's Garage Sale, and you sure won't find it in a box store.  It was a series based on exposure and sex.  It has never fully gotten over the exposure part, and Absolute Demonic Front seems to have a bit of regression in that category.  Some shots are odd - just cause.  Some outfits are the way they are - for no reason.  The exception to the outfits is Ishtar, who also is probably the closest depiction to being accurate to its inspiration.

Having played the game for three years, I wanted to like this anime a lot.  Fate has some truly interesting and intricate character designs and generally has stories that are interesting when you look at them from a historical perspective.  Absolute Demonic Front delivered above and beyond my expectations (it's only been a year and some change since I cleared the Babylonia singularity).  However, it came with some very surprising messaging that I don't believe I've seen in many series of late.  There was redemption, personal growth, reflection, selflessness, determination, and then some in this series, and I don't believe I've encountered that in quite some time.

Fate/Grand Order has been quite an experience as a larger series in the Fate universe.  However, I tend to look at the "FGO" series and think of some particular lines from Ram Dass, which I felt particularly stood out in Absolute Demonic Front: