It’s been a while since we saw a new anime, be it a series or a movie, from the Fate franchise. The last entry would be the 2021’s movie called Fate/Kaleid liner PRISMA☆ILLYA: Licht – The Nameless Girl. There’s also Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files – Waver, Reunion and the Magic Lantern that was released in the same year, but it was merely a special episode of the 2019 anime series of the same name.
Fortunately, there’s a new Fate title on the horizon. It’s called Fate/Strange Fake: Whispers of Dawn, and it promises to be the most intriguing one yet. Unfortunately, it won’t be a full-length series like Fate/Stay Night or Fate/Zero. It will only be a special television film. That being said, it is still new content from Fate, and everything from the story to the staff involved are some of the best that this franchise has to offer. So we can expect to see some great things in Fate/Strange Fake: Whispers of Dawn.
The Story
The overarching concept of Fate/Strange Fake: Whispers of Dawn is pretty similar to the previous Fate series. Seven mages summoned seven heroic spirits of the past as their servants, and then they battled it out for the chance to obtain the elusive Holy Grail. Every other detail of the story, however, is entirely different from the other series in this franchise.
For starters, this particular Holy Grail war will be held in the western part of the United States, specifically in a small town called Snowfield. Furthermore, this is also supposed to be the most treacherous Holy Grail war in history, with betrayals and deceptions waiting in every corner. There’s also a rumor going around that this is actually a false war. So all things considered, you can expect Fate/Strange Fake: Whispers of Dawn to have a totally different dynamic than the other previous series.
The Characters
The characters in Fate/Strange Fake: Whispers of Dawn have similar roles as the other Fate series that comes before it. There’s the seven masters, and then there’s the seven servants (Saber, Archer, Berserker, Lancer, Caster, rider, and Assassin). This time around, however, the role of Saber does not fall to the iconic King Arthur, but rather on another British monarch that is known for his exceptional bravery, King Richard I, the Lionheart. The one who summons him is Ayaka, a young woman with a mysterious past.
The only recurring characters in Fate/Strange Fake: Whispers of Dawn are Gilgamesh as Archer, Enkidu as Lancer, and the Goddess Ishtar. Other than those three, every master and servant are new characters with new powers that never graced the Fate franchise before. Some of the most notable ones are Jack the Ripper as Berserker, and Alexandre Dumas as Caster. The masters themselves also come from all walks of life, such as an indigenous person named Tiné Chelc, Snowfield’s Chief of Police called Orlando Reeve, and also a ruthless murderer called Bazdilot Cordelion, among others.
From The Mind of Ryogo Narita
Most people who read this article may have never heard the name Ryogo Narita before, but if you are an avid anime fan, then you surely have watched at least one of his works. You see, Ryogo Narita is a prolific writer who’s written lots of novels, some of which have been turned into iconic and classic anime. Some of his most famous works are Baccano!, Durarara!!, and the manga Dead Mount Death Play that just released its final episode of the anime adaptation in June 2023.
Fate/Strange Fake is not Narita’s first foray into creating stories for other franchises/Intellectual Properties (IP). Before his involvement with the Fate franchise, he has written spin-off novels for one of the Big Three shonen series, Bleach. Bleach has quite a few spin-off light novels, but the ones that are written by Narita are often considered as some of the best that the series has to offer. He has worked on two series for Bleach. The first one is called Bleach: Spirits Are Forever With You, and the second one is called Bleach: Can’t Fear Your Own World.
Staff & Released Date
Fate/Strange Fake: Whispers of Dawn is produced by one of the most well-known anime studios in Japan, A-1 Pictures (Sword Art Online, Fate/Apocrypha). This film is helmed by Shun Enokido and Takahito Sakazume (Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale, Fate/Apocrypha). The music is handled by Hiroyuki Sawano (Attack on Titan, Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway), while the theme song “FAKEit” will be performed by one of his vocal projects called “SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]: Laco”.
Fate/Strange Fake: Whispers of Dawn will have a worldwide premiere at the upcoming Anime Expo that will take place on July 1, at the Los Angeles Convention Center. After that initial screening, you will be able to watch this anime on Crunchyroll as part of their Summer 2023 lineup.