In What Order to Watch the Fate Anime Series

Why settle for myths about ancient heroes when mages can summon these warriors to fight for them? The Fate franchise of Type-Moon combines noble warriors, historical figures, and mythological beings. Furthermore, its premise calls for them to compete in a battle royale that grants the victor one wish. Initially limited to the Fate/stay night visual novel, the Fate franchise expanded its story to include additional VNs, light novels, anime, and films.

As a result, coming in as a newbie with no idea where to start or what order to watch Fate in can be difficult – it can be quite difficult trying to get your head around it all.

So, what are you waiting for? Here’s the best order to watch Fate, including the most recent Fate/Strange Fake release.

Recommended Fate Watch Order – Core Series

If you are new to the series, it is not recommended that you watch Fate in the order in which it was released. Follow this order instead, as it is the best way to stay connected to the story and enjoy the anime without feeling overwhelmed.

The recommended Fate watch order is:

Fate/Stay Night (2006)
Fate/Zero (2011-2012) – 2 Seasons
Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (2010. 2014-2015)
Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel Movie Trilogy (2017-2020)
- 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/Stay Night

While Fate/Zero occurs before Fate/Stay Night, it does spoil some of the show’s plot points and should be watched after the original run. Fate/Zero was the first Fate anime series, premiering five years before Fate/Zero and launching the visual novel adaptation.

Fate/Stay Night premiered in 2006 and is based on the first storyline of Type-Moon’s visual novel of the same name.

It is a solid story with engaging visuals that lays out details about the Fifth Holy Grail War, even if it does not quite reach the heights of Fate/Zero in terms of the story or visuals it’s still the best one to enter the Fate universe.

Fate/Zero

There are benefits to beginning with Fate/Zero and its introduction to the crucial fourth Holy Grail War, but the prequel is best watched after the original Fate/Stay Night.

Despite not being included in the original visual novel, it is one of the more popular Fate anime storylines among viewers, set ten years before the first series.

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works is both a series and a film, telling the same story in two distinct timeframes. Without a doubt, the series is the better option here, and if you want to see as much of the Fate world as possible, this is the way to go.

Because the film is only 105 minutes long, it covers a smaller portion of the content in the original visual novel, which instead appears in the Unlimited Blade Works series, which lasted two seasons.

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works follows the Unlimited Blade Works storyline from the visual novel.

Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel (I – III)

Next on the list is the Heaven’s Feel Movie Trilogy. These were released between 2017 and 2020, adapting the original visual novel’s Heaven’s Feel finale.

The conclusion of the third film in the Heaven’s Feel trilogy concludes the Fate core series, which involves the universe of Shirou, Rin, Sakura, and others.

Fate Spin-offs Watch Order

The Fate spin-off watch order is:

1. Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya Series (2013-2021)
2. Fate/Grand Order (2015-2021)
3. Fate/Apocrypha (2017)
4. Fate/EXTRA Last Encore
5. Fate/Prototype (2011)
6. Fate/Strange Fake (2023)

Among the spin-offs, the Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya Series and the Fate/Grand Order have various sub-series which are as follows:

Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya Series:

Fate/Kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya (2013)
Prisma☆Illya 2wei Herz! (2015)
Fate/Kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 3rei!! (2016)
Prisma☆Illya Movie: Vow in the Snow (2017)
Prisma☆Illya Movie: Licht – Nameless Girl (2021)

Fate/Grand Order:

Fate/Grand Order – Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia – Initial Iter (special, 2019)
Fate/Grand Order Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot – Wandering; Agateram (film, an adaptation of the Sixth Holy Grail War from 2020)
Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot 2 – Paladin; Agateram (film, the sequel to Camelot – Wandering from 2021)
Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia (2019-2020)
Fate/Grand Order: Final Singularity Grand Temple of Time: Solomon (film, 2021)

Where to Watch Fate?

Fate is currently available to stream on Crunchyroll, Netflix, and HIDIVE. Though, Fate/strange fake – Whispers of Dawn episodes are exclusively available on Crunchyroll.

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