As convention season starts to get underway and with the April convention season feeling like the real kick off to the year, the folks at Sakura-Con have nabbed something good. The convention will be hosting the premiere for the second cour of Fate/stay night Unlimited Blade Works on Friday, April 3rd, about half a day ahead of the Japanese broadcast premiere. More interseting is that the announcement indicates that it will include “select” episodes from the upcoming season, which could mean just a bit more than the first episode.
The official Japanese site updated recently with the onair information for Japan and worldwide revealing that the series will be streaming in the US on Crunchyroll and Hulu beginning Saturday, April 4th, at 1:30pm ET on those services.
Based on the original story by Konoko Nasu and Type-Moon, the series is directed by Takahiro Miuria with character designs by Tomonori Sudo and hisayuki Tabata. The series stars Noriaki Sugiyama as Shirou Emiya, Ayako Kawasumi as Saber, Kana Ueda as Rin Tohsaka, Junichi Suwabe as Archer, Noriko Shitaya as Sakura Matou, Mai Kadowaki as Illyasviel von Einzbern, Nobutoshi Canna as Lancer, Miki Itou as Taiga Fujimura, Jouji Nakata as Kirei Kotomine and Rikiya Koyama as Kiritsugu Emiya.
Plot concept: Fuyuki City—a city surrounded by the ocean and the mountains becomes the setting for an age-old ritual. To realize the mythical Holy Grail, which is said to grant any wish from its possessor, seven masters are given seven heroic spirits chosen by the Grail. These heroic spirits or servants are: “Saber,” “Lancer,” “Archer,” “Rider,” “Caster,” “Assassin,” “Berserker.” Each master will enter into a contract with their assigned servants and battle the other masters and servants to the death until only one pair remains… This is the “Holy Grail War.” The Battle Begins Fall 2014. 『Unlimited Blade Works』 This story focuses primarily on the heroine Rin Tohsaka. After her father’s death, Rin enters the Holy Grail War as the sole heir to the prestigious Tohsaka Household, with her servant Archer. But, she soon finds out that Shirou Emiya, a boy from her high school has gotten himself involved in the battles and unexpectedly saves him when he is fatally injured. Before long, Rin sets out to strike down the conspiracies surrounding the Holy Grail War along with Shirou and his summoned servant Saber. And so, the story begins to explore the truth behind Shirou’s powers and the nature behind his unyielding will to become a “hero.”
