Review of Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front - Babylonia
FGO: Babylonia successfully captures the magic of the game and expands upon it in a magnificent way offering an enjoyable experience for both newcomers and gacha heads. Simply put, it’s one of the best game-anime adaptations I’ve ever seen. This isn’t just my Type-Moon bias talking. The show packs a punch. Unfortunately, due to fears about the complexities of the Fate series, many people did not get to experience this gem. To calm any concerns, Babylonia tells the story of the 7th Fate/Grand Order singularity and is able to be watched and enjoyed without having seen or played the previous ones. The singularities are pretty self-contained anduntil Camelot, the 6th singularity, which will be receiving a series of films this year, the story doesn’t really hold much weight anyway.
You will need to have watched Fate/Grand Order: First Order OVA which will act as a prequel of sorts to the entire game, as well as FGO Babylonia episode 0. Both of these will give much needed context for newcomers and enable you to get the full experience.
For a video game to anime transition one of the most important things is how a studio can bring to life talking heads on a screen while remaining faithful to the game’s story and tone. FGO’s story is told in VN narrative, yet Cloverworks were able to masterfully recreate and expand upon powerful scenes we’ve come to know and love from the game. The pacing throughout feels excellent. There’s never a wasted moment. If there’s not a battle going on, there’s a slice of life moment that really adds to the characters and gives them characterisation. The only negative comment I’ll make on pacing is that episodes 19-20 feel a bit on the rushed side. There were some powerful moments from the game that did not make it into the anime. This could be intentional, could also be a result of having 21 episodes instead of 24.
In addition to superb writing, characterisation and world-building, Cloverworks have put together some of the best animation of the decade. In fact, many battles in the anime rival the popular “unlimited budget works” of Ufotable. There are several contenders for fight of the year within the show and CW can’t be commended enough for their work here.
Other technical notes include amazing sound design, gorgeous background art, consistent character models and an amazing OST.
In conclusion, FGO:Babylonia is a criminally slept on anime that if it had been made by Ufotable, would have seen insane levels of popularity. Due to concerns about the watch order of the fate series and the fact it’s cloverworks, a lot of people slept on this. Do not make the same mistake. Give it a shot, you won’t regret it. FGO Babylonia gets 10 grails out of 10.