Review of Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel - II. Lost Butterfly

Lost Butterfly, the second installment of the trilogy of films adapting the final route of the Fate Stay Night VN, trudges on through the dreary and desolate waters that is Heaven's Feel, as it proves itself to easily be the darkest entry to the Fate Stay Night adaptations, dealing with extremely disturbing topics like rape, murder, torture etc etc. Being the turning point of not just Heaven's Feel, but arguably the entire VN as a whole, one would not be surprised of the rave reviews it has gotten. After all, who can fault them? Shirou's development is very refreshing compared to the cliche hero archetypethat most anime onlys see him as, Sakura's origins are revealed, and oh boy is she messed up to say the least. The tone is much more grim and serious, with our protagonists ideals being tested and broken, and plot twists are aplenty. Coupled with as always breathtaking animation from Ufotable, an absolute banger of a song by Aimer, and one hell of a cliffhanger, it definitely deserves a no brainer score of at least a 9 out of 10.

Yeah, that's what I would think if I hadn't read the VN.

I cannot help but lament at just how much was taken out from the VN, and it wasn't just the less important slice of life scenes that were removed (if that was the case it would be perfectly understandable) but actual important moments for not just character but plot development. The one that annoys me the most are the Ilya scenes that were removed. I admit, I am an Ilya fan, but it's more than just that. Heaven's Feel's plot and themes are built around three centre characters other than Shirou; Sakura, Kirei and Ilya. Ilya isn't some throwaway character featured heavily in the VN just so that she can be a better character, she is very much involved in the plot and the theme of sibling relationships, and self-sacrifice for love. One will not be able to appreciate her role in the final movie without the context of such scenes, and it takes away a lot of emotional impact and importance of the role she plays later on. Actually, not just later on; the scene where she convinces Shirou to protect what's dear to him wouldn't make sense without the scenes removed from the VN. Why wasn't Ilya angry at Shirou all of a sudden, when it was established not just the previous movie but in other routes that she had a rather short temper? You can't expect me to believe one conversation, which barely delved into anything meaningful, and awkwardly cut short by the topic of Kiritsugu, changed Ilya's mind that she could trust and love Shirou all of a sudden?

Also speaking of emotional impact; The pacing is rather frantic and rushed, understandable in a sense that Heaven's Feel is REALLY long, but it makes you wonder if Ufotable shorten the duration of the fights (spectacular as they are sometimes do last for too long) whether there could have been more runtime allocated to well, slowing down the plot and allowing the viewers to fully take in the tragedy that is unfolding onscreen. I feel like the movie goes from event to event at a pace that is not just disorientating to newcomers, but unsatisfying to VN readers like me, since the emotional impact is greatly reduced. I remembered reading the VN for the first time, how much of a mind break it was to (slowly but surely) take in all the information of the messed up scenario that was this route's Holy Grail War, and the implications it has on the characters; I was extremely hooked and gripped by the plot, because the whole story was well paced in my opinion. I sadly cannot say the same for the movie. The multiple climaxes (there really is a lot of climaxes) mostly fail to come close to the sheer power that was the VN, and it's not just me nitpicking; I have watched adaptations of things I've seen before and still be as touched and moved as the first time I read the source material.

However, I don't want to be a douche. If you enjoyed this movie, I can perfectly see why. The story is amazing, the character development is stunning, the mood and atmosphere perfectly captured for the most part by Ufotable with the addition of certain scenes and visual effects. (though I would still prefer more horror vibes like what they did in KnK) I had a good time with HF II, and while speaking as a VN reader, I am disappointed in it in several aspects, it still deserves at least a 7.

So, here are some suggestions
- Shorten the fight scenes
- Add at least some cooking scenes, they're the best way to further develop Shirou and Sakura's relationship
- Ilya scenes, not only because they're crucial to the plot but also to slow down the often rushed pacing of the movie
- More horror, mindfuck changes (Ufotable has done it extremely well with KnK 5 before)