The Fate anime series is infamous for its complicated watch order. With series’ produced under the same name with confusing storylines and plot successions, it leaves viewers stuck, but that’s what makes it unique.
Viewers are challenged to take on the series and dedicate their time to watching it in hopes of understanding the sequence of the anime.
If you want a straightforward stream experience without having to think about which series, movie, or special episode is next, then continue reading!
Watch the Fate Anime Series by Chronological Order of Release
The best way to watch the Fate series is by streaming by order of chronological events.
It’s best to start from the main plot, which is the beginning of the war in the main story. Then, you can proceed to the war in the alternate universe.
You might have to drop a few OVAs, spin-offs, and movies that do not really contribute to the storyline of the Holy Grail War.
Because of so many adaptations going on in the franchise, even seasoned anime fans will get confused.
You have to consider the events in each of the series in the Fate franchise.
NOTE: This table will only focus on the series’ in the franchise that are relevant to the main plot/story of the anime.
| Watch Order | Title |
|---|---|
| 1 | Fate/ Zero (2011) |
| 2 | Fate/ Stay Night (2006) |
| 3 | Fate/ Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (2010) |
| 4 | Fate/ Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel Movies 1,2,3 (2017) |
| 5 | Fate/ Kaleid Liner PRISMA ILLYA (2013) |
| 6 | Fate/ Grand Order Movie (2020) |
| 7 | Fate Apocrypha (2017) |
| 8 | Fate/ Extra Last Encore (2018) |
| 9 | Fate/ Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia (2019) |
Complete Summary of the Fate Series
The Fate series is categorized in the “seinin” and dark fantasy genre, so for anime fans who like action, drama, violence, and hardcore “fight or die” battles, then this anime is for you.
| Total # of Fate Anime Series | Fate/Stay Night (2006), Fate/Zero (2011), Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works(2014), Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya (2016), Fate/Apocrypha (2017), Fate/Extra Last Encore (2018), Fate/Grand Order – Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia (2019) |
| Total # of OVA | 10 |
| Total # of Movies | 9 |
| Total # of Spin-offs | 13 |
Where to Watch the Fate Anime Series (October 2022)
| US | Netflix, Hulu, Funimation, Crunchyroll |
| Canada | Netflix, Hulu, Funimation, Crunchyroll |
| UK | Crunchyroll |
| Australia | Crunchyroll |
On Crunchyroll, you can watch Fate/Zero, Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files, Today’s Menu for the Emiya Family, Fate/Grand Order – First Order, and its spinoff Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia, including every season of Prisma Illya.
The entries listed in Crunchyroll can also be found in Funimation. However, only in Funimation can the episodes of Fate/Grand Order – MOONLIGHT/LOSTROM and Unlimited Blade Works series be accessed, except for Prisma Illya, which is only available in Crunchyroll.
Fate/Apocrypha and Fate/Extra Last Encore can be found on Netflix.
Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works is available on Hulu.
NOTE: Not all Fate anime series are available to watch on mainstream sites. Some sites like Netflix might’ve uploaded some of the franchise but may have been removed after a period of time.
Fate Anime Series and Movies Synopsis (Chronological Order of Events)
1. Fate/Zero
| Media | Series |
| Original Release | October 2, 2011 – June 24, 2012 |
| # of Seasons | 2 |
| # of Episodes | 25 |
| Runtime | 24 mins – 28 mins. |
| Manga Canon Episodes | 1-9, 11-17, 20-25 |
| Mixed Canon/Filler Episodes: | 10, 18-19 |
| Movies | 1 |
| IMDb Rating | S1: 8.56 S2: 8.29/10 |
Set in a timeline dating back from 10 years ago, this series is dedicated to the perspective of Emiya Kiritsugu. He is the foster father of Emiya Shirou and the primary protagonist of the franchise.
Kiritsugu competed in the fourth Holy Grail War with his familiar “Saber”, better known as Arturia Pendragon, a female version of the mythical knight King Arthur, on behalf of his wife Irisviel von Einzbern.
2. Fate/ Stay Night
| Media | Series |
| Original Release | January 7, 2006 – June 17, 2006 |
| # of Seasons | 1 |
| # of Episodes | 24 |
| Runtime | 24 mins. |
| Manga Canon Episodes | 1-5, 7-16, 19-24 |
| Filler Episodes | 6, 17-18 |
| Special Episodes (OVA) | 1 |
| Movies | 3 |
| Movies IMDb Rating | 7.3/10 |
This series features the narrative of Emiya Shirou, the adopted son of Emiya Kiritsugu, a retired magician and victor of the fourth Holy Grail War.
Shirou was the sole survivor of the disaster in Fuyuki City when his hometown was engulfed in flames. He survived the ordeal and became a young man dedicated to helping people.
After accidentally summoning her, he joined the fifth Holy Grail War and became the master of “Saber”, his late father’s former servant.
3. Fate/ Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works
| Media | Series |
| Original Release | October 12, 2014 – June 28, 2015 |
| # of Seasons | 2 |
| # of Episodes | 25 |
| Runtime | 24 mins – 28 mins. |
| Manga Canon Episodes | 0-25 |
| Special Episodes (OVA) | 2 |
| Movies | 1 |
| Movies IMDb Rating | S1:8.19 S2:8.32/10 |
Rin Tohsaka decides to walk in her father’s footsteps. She is the daughter of Tokiomi Tohsaka, a former master of Archer in the fourth Holy Grail War.
She finds herself a participant in the Holy Grail War and, just like her father, becomes the new master of Archer.
4a. Fate/ Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel I. Presage Flower
| Media | Movie |
| Original Release | October 12, 2014 |
| Runtime | 2 hours |
| Movies IMDb Rating | 8.19/10 |
The movie follows Emiya Shiro, a survivor of the Fuyuki city fire catastrophe, and his friend and love interest Matou Sakura.
Shiro was forced into the Holy Grail War when he accidentally witnessed a fight between spiritual servants and summoned his own familiar, Saber.
One day a mysterious shadow appeared in his city and began murdering people indiscriminately.
4b. Fate/ Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel: II. Lost Butterfly
| Media | Movie |
| Original Release | January 12, 2019 |
| Runtime | 1 hr, 57 mins. |
| IMDb Rating | 8.52/10 |
The war continues as the fifth Holy Grail War ensues.
Shirou is determined to find out about the mysterious killer shadow and defeat it.
Shirou got entangled with Sakura’s brother, Shinji. Along the way, Shiro discovers the dark secrets being kept by the Matou siblings.
4c. Fate/ Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel: III. Spring Song
| Media | Movie |
| Original Release | August 12, 2020 |
| Runtime | 2 hrs. 2 mins. |
| IMDb Rating | 8.70/10 |
The Holy Grail War is at its peak. Shiro teamed up with Tohsaka Rin and Illyasviel von Einzbern, fellow masters of servants.
Together, they are determined to protect the city from the rampaging shadow and other enemy forces.
5. Fate/ Kaleid Liner PRISMA ILLYA
| Media | Series |
| Original Release | October 12, 2014 – June 28, 2015 |
| # of Seasons | 2 |
| # of Episodes | 25 |
| Runtime | 24 mins – 28 mins. |
| Manga Canon Episodes | 1-7, 9-20, 22, 26-29, 31-43 |
| Mixed Canon/Filler Episodes | 8, 21, 30 |
| Filler Episodes | 23-25 |
| Spin-Off Series | 13 |
| Movie | 1 |
| IMDb Rating | S1:8.19 S2: 8.32/10 |
Illyasviel von Einzbern is in love with her brother Shirou Emiya, who she currently lives with alongside her two maids. She often fantasizes about using magic to make her brother love her back.
Trouble came brewing when Rin Tohsaka and Luviagelita Edelfelt were sent to Japan to collect Class Cards.
6. Fate/ Grand Order (Movie)
| Media | Movie |
| Original Release | December 31, 2016 |
| Runtime | 1 hr. 14 mins. |
| IMDb Rating | 6.74/10 |
Caldea is an organization that monitors the scientific and magical world and helps prevent humanity’s demise.
Set in the year 2015, the world is in a state of disarray and ruins. Moreover, it is predicted to end by the year 2017. It is up to the Chaldea to come up with a plan to rescue humanity from extinction.
7. Fate Apocrypha
| Media | Series |
| Original Release | July 2, 2017 – December 31, 2017 |
| # of Seasons | 1 |
| # of Episodes | 25 |
| Runtime | 23 mins. |
| Manga Canon Episodes | 1-25 |
| Special Episodes (OVA) | 1 |
| IMDb Rating | 7.18/10 |
This series takes place in a parallel universe from the Fate/Stay Night series. It introduces us to Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia, the leader of the Yggdmillenia Clan and Black Faction.
He is the master of Lancer in the Third Holy Grail War and the antagonist of the show in the first half of the episodes.
Darnic took the Greater Grail and brought it with him to Romania and, after 60 years, declared war against the Mage’s Association.
8. Fate/ Extra Last Encore
| Media | Series |
| Original Release | January 28, 2018 – April 1, 2018 |
| # of Seasons | 1 |
| # of Episodes | 10 |
| Runtime | 24 mins. |
| IMDb Rating | 6.28/10 |
Featured in an alternate world, this series follows protagonist Hakuno Kishinami, master of Saber and participant of the Moon Holy Grail War.
Tsukimihara Academy is an artificial school that will serve as the setting of the next Holy Grail War, and students must fight in a battle royale to survive and come out victorious.
9. Fate/ Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia
| Media | Series |
| Original Release | October 5, 2019 – March 21, 2020 |
| # of Seasons | 1 |
| # of Episodes | 21 |
| Runtime | 23 mins |
| Special Episodes (OVA) | 6 |
| Movie | 3 |
| IMDb Rating | 7.94/10 |
Ritsuka Fujimaru, master of many servants, and Mash Kyrielight, a demi-servant human, are victors of the Camelot Singularity. She was sent to the last Singularity to guarantee the existence of humans in B.C. 2655 in Mesopotamia.
When they arrived, they heard of the alliance of the three Goddesses: Tiamat, Quetzalcoatl, and Ereshkigal, who threatened to overpower the King of Uruk, a metropolis governed by a King named Gilgamesh.
Ritsuka and Mash must stop the three Goddesses and prevent the future of humanity from their ill-fate.
Are the Fate Anime Series Connected to Each Other?
The Fate anime franchise exists in a multiverse setting, featuring alternate worlds and timelines. Hence, some share similar elements with each other, either plotwise or with characters.
What remains consistent is the concept of fighting in a Holy Grail War. Moreover, a servant/master relationship must be established in order to participate in this battle royale.
In the 15-year history of the Fate franchise, the entries in the series act as their own independent show featuring their own world. Some of them reference past characters or give minor background information to put more sensibility to the plot.