Several anime series, such as the Monogatari and Fate series, have a disjointed watch order. Viewers frequently lose their minds over how to begin watching these perplexing yet lovely anime shows. So, today, I bring you this simple watch order guide to help you make sense of the awesome Fate anime series.
Many studios have adapted the Fate light and visual novels, releasing several anime shows, movies, OVAs, spin-offs, and more. The critically acclaimed Ufotable (the studio behind Demon Slayer) has been adapting the series, which is one of the key reasons it has gained more popularity. As a result, if you’re looking to dive into the Fate world and aren’t sure where to begin, we have you covered. In this guide, we have listed the release order and the chronological watch order.
What Is the Story of the Fate Series?
The Fate series contains several anime, movies, spin-offs, and other media, each with its own tale. Nonetheless, the popular Fate series’ core premise is – “A universe in which Magus (Masters) call Servants and Spirits to fight in a battle-royale-style conflict for the Holy Grail.” So, we shall see many characters battle it out to be successful and obtain the Holy Grail.
As a result, the main anime concentrates on the plotline mentioned above. Apart from that, several movies, OVA, ONA, TV specials, and spin-offs contain Slice of Life, Alternative Universe, humorous spin-offs, and other stories that explore the fun side of characters and alternate endings of the main plot.
Fate Anime Series List (with Release Order)
Note:
Everything in the library of Fate series is considered canon as all the stories exist in their own separate timelines. You can definitely watch everything and enjoy every minute of the Fate franchise.
Now that you know the storyline, it’s time to take a look at the complete library of the Fate Series. We have curated this table with the content released under the Fate series separated by their type. Furthermore, this library is arranged in the order of release date. So, if anyone wants to watch the Fate anime series based on the release order, here you go:
Anime Anime Movies OVA Spin-offs ONA Anime Special Fate/Stay Night (2006) Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (2010) Fate/Stay Night TV Reproduction
(2010)Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya
(2013)Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family
(2018)Fate/Zero: Please! Einzbern Counselling Room (2012) Fate/Zero Season 1&2 (2011-2012) Fate/Zero Cafe (2013) Fate/Prototype (2011)
and
Carnival Phantasm (2011)Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya 2Wei!
(2014)Fate/Grand Order: You’ve Lost Ritsuka Fujimaru
(2023)Fate/Zero Remix (2012) Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works Season 1&2 (2014-2015) Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya: Vow in the Snow
(2017)Fate/Kaleid liner Prisma Illya 2Wei!: Magical Girl in Hot Springs Inn
(2015)Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya: Dance at the Sports Festival! (2014) Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya Shorts
(2013)Fate/Apocrypha (2017) Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel I. Presage Flower (2017) Fate/Stay Night: [Unlimited Blade Works] Season 2: Sunny Day (2015)
Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya 2Wei Herz!
(2015)Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya 2Wei! Shorts/Specials
(2014)Fate/Extra: Last Encore (2018) Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel II. Lost Butterfly (2019) Fate/Grand Carnival (2020-2021) Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 3rei!!
(2016)Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works – Prologue
(2014)Fate/Extra: Last Encore – Illustrious Tendousetsu (2018) Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya: Prisma★Phantasm
(2019)Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 2wei Herz! Shorts/Specials
(2015-2016)
Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note
(2019)Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel III. Spring Song (2020) Fate/Grand Order: First Order (2016) Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front – Babylonia
(2019-2020)Fate/Grand Order: Shinsei Entaku Ryouiki Camelot 1 – Wandering; Agateram (2020) Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya 3rei!! Shorts/Specials
(2016-2017)Fate/Grand Order: Shinsei Entaku Ryouiki Camelot 2 – Paladin; Agateram (2021) Fate/Apocrypha Recaps (2017) Fate/Grand Order: Final Singularity – Grand Temple of Time: Solomon (2021) Fate/Grand Order x Himuro’s World: Seven Most Powerful Great Figures Chapter (2017) Fate/kaleid Liner Prisma Illya: Licht Nameless Girl
(2021)Fate/Grand Order: Moonlight/Lostroom (2017) Learning with Manga! Fate/Grand Order (2018) Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note – A Grave Keeper, a Cat, and a Mage (2018) Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya: Vow in the Snow – Dark Sakura’s Room
(2018)Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front – Babylonia Initium Iter
(2019)Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front – Babylonia Recaps
(2019-2020)Lord El-Melloi II Sei no Jikenbo: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note Special
(2021)Fate/Grand Order: Fujimaru Ritsuka Doesn’t Get It – End of the Year Special
(2023)Fate/strange Fake: Whispers of Dawn
(2023)
What Order to Watch Fate Anime Series?
Another question that might pop up in your mind when it comes to watching order is whether to follow the release order or the chronological order. But it’s simple when the fandom of Fate was questioned with this same question, the fans split into two.
Many preferred that the newcomers watch the Fate series based on the release order. Once they complete that, they can re-watch the series in chronological order. But many also recommended that newbies start in chronological order to understand the story and characters better.
Now that you heard the answers from both sides, it’s totally up to you to watch in any one of the two orders. But, I prefer the release order too since I’ve been following the anime series for a long time. As we’ve already mentioned the release order above, we will focus on the chronological watch order in the section below.
Fate Anime: Chronological Order
Note:
We have listed this chronological order based on the best anime-adaptations recommended by the fans who have watched the show. Thus, old adaptations may not be included here as it is considered worse and people can make use of the best adaptations made by Ufotable. However, if you feel you want to watch the OG anime, you can start with Fate/ Stay Night (2006) and proceed with the Ufotable versions.
For the best viewing experience, the chronological order of the Fate anime series is:
- Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (Seasons 1 and 2) (2014-2015)
- Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel I. Presage Flower (2017)
- Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel II. Lost Butterfly (2019)
- Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel III. Spring Song (2020)
- Fate/Zero (Seasons 1 and 2) (2011-2012)
- Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note (2019)
- Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family (2018-2019)
- Watch all the OVAs
The above order concludes the main plotline with a slice-of-life story to chill at the end. Now, it’s time to look at the alternate universe stories of the Fate/ Grand Order series, which are as follows:
- Fate/Grand Order: First Order (2016)
- Fate/Grand Order: Shinsei Entaku Ryouiki Camelot 1 – Wandering; Agateram (2020)
- Fate/Grand Order: Shinsei Entaku Ryouiki Camelot 2 – Paladin; Agateram (2021)
- Fate/Grand Order: Zettai Majuu Sensen Babylonia (2019) and Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front – Babylonia Initium Iter (2019)
- Fate/Grand Order: Final Singularity – Grand Temple of Time: Solomon (2021)
- Fate/Grand Order: Moonlight/Lostroom (2017)
- Fate/Grand Carnival (2020-2021)
- Fate/Grand Order: You’ve Lost Ritsuka Fujimaru (2023)
This concludes the parallel-universe stories taking place in the Fate series. It’s time to put an end to the watch order with all the other extra spin-offs that you can watch in any order as you like so that you can have a great time with your favorite characters.
- Fate/Apocrypha (2017)
- All the Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya series (2013-2021)
- All the remaining Lord El-Melloi II Case Files (2018 – 2021)
- Fate/Extra: Last Encore (2018)
- Fate/Extra: Last Encore – Illustrious Tendousetsu (2018)
- The Garden of Sinners (Kara no Kyoukai) movies (2007-2013, 8 movies)
- Carnival Phantasm (2011)
- Fate/Prototype (2011)
- Fate/strange Fake: Whispers of Dawn (2023)
Huge credits to Reddit user u/Ownsin who has compiled a simple guide to the Fate series. You can check out his guide here, where the fans have mentioned it to be the best possible guide one should follow if you want to check out all the visual novels, games, anime, manga, etc. So you can make use of that in case you want to see everything related to the Fate series.
We have mentioned both the release order and chronological order above. You can choose one based on what way you like to watch.
Yes! but not all the stories are connected to the main storyline. Only the characters, setups, and locations are shared between the many anime in the series.
Fate/Zero is the prequel to the Fate/Stay Night series, thus everything is connected between these two anime.
