AnimeRecommendationsVisual Novels

A beginner's guide to watching the Fate franchise (all entries)

7840

The most common question about the Fate franchise always seems to be: where do I begin?

This watch order has been made as simple as possible for those new to the franchise, while also including every anime in the franchise.

Watching the below anime from the very top of the list to the very bottom should provide you with a good order to watch the Fate/ franchise.

Lists that use bullet points as a pose to numbers can be watched in any order, but have been ordered by release date (oldest from top).

Let's begin: Fate/stay night universe

The first part of the Fate franchise was "Fate/stay night", a visual novel game. This game has since received the below anime adaptations and spawned a huge franchise of prequels, spin-offs and more. This is the original and best place to start the anime franchise.
Watch order flowchart:
Watch order list with explanations:

Fate/stay night (2006)
The 1st of 3 routes, "Fate". This is a good introduction to the series but is a low quality adaptation with spoilers for later anime. If you're struggling to watch this please skip it and continue on to "Unlimited Blade Works".
Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works
The 2nd of 3 routes, "Unlimited Blade Works". A great introduction to the series with full explanations of the world and its characters. If you're not enjoying this show then please skip to "Fate/Zero".
Fate/Zero
A prequel that takes place 10 years before the events of "Fate/stay night". Many fans recommend this as an introduction but be warned that it lacks world and character explanations as it assumes you already know the "Fate/stay night" story. This show gives the backstory of one of "Heaven's Feel's" main characters, so if you would like to experience the movies completely blind please watch this after.
Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files
A direct sequel to "Fate/Zero" that takes place 2 months before the events of "Fate/stay night". Not a battle royale anime and not very related to the events of the other anime listed here. Please skip if you want pure battle royale goodness!
Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel
The 3rd of 3 routes, "Heaven's Feel" and the conclusion to the "Fate/stay night" saga. You must watch Fate/Stay Night or Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works before viewing.

Fate/Prototype
A short OVA showing the original concept for the story of "Fate/stay night".
Today's Menu for the Emiya Family
A slice-of-life show about Shirou Emiya cooking tasty food for the characters introduced in "Fate/stay night".

What's next? Spin-offs!

These anime should not be watched without having first seen Fate/stay night or Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works].

Fate/Kaleid Liner: Prisma☆Illya
A magical girl show with Illyasviel von Einzbern as the main character.
Fate/Grand Order
Set 10 years after the events of "Fate/stay night". Mages and servants are tasked with travelling back to different eras in time to save the world.
Fate/Apocrypha
A battle royale show set in the same world as "Fate/stay night" but in a different timeline. This shows what would have happened if the Holy Grail War had taken place in a different location with a different cast of characters.
Fate/EXTRA Last Encore
A battle royale show set a thousand years in the future. This shows the events of a Holy Grail War taking place in a digital world. Some characters are familiar from other entries.
Fate/strange Fake
A battle royale show set 6 years after the events of "Fate/stay night". This show has yet to release.

Craving more? Welcome to The Nasuverse...

The Nasuverse is a collection of works by Kinoko Nasu, the original creator of Fate/stay night. All of these works take place in the same multiverse as the Fate franchise (meaning some things such as the world, magic, and organisations are shared across franchises).

Lunar Legend Tsukihime
A low quality adaptation of the 2000 visual novel game Tsukihime.
Kara no Kyoukai: The Garden of Sinners
An adaptation of The Garden of Sinners 1998 web novel series.
Canaan
An original story by Kinoko Nasu and Type-Moon.
Carnival Phantasm
Inspired by the 2002 TAKE MOON manga which takes characters from various Type-Moon works, mostly Fate/stay night and Tsukihime, and puts them in comedic scenarios.
Mahoutsukai no Yoru: Witch on the Holy Night
An adaptation of the 2012 Mahoutsukai no Yoru visual novel (not yet released).
Girls' Work
An original story by Type-Moon (not yet released).

Confused about anything? Feel free to leave a comment below and I'll respond as soon as I can.

DRVCX 5y
cool, but you didnt added fgo moonlight lostroom, carnival phantasm extras, manga de kawaru or fate/grand carnival doe
- Gaige 5y
  i didn't add moonlight/lostroom as there's no reason at all for anime-only viewers to watch it. it was made for people playing fate/grand order and won't make sense without context from the game.
  
  i also haven't added any of the extras or specials that don't add anything to the story, but they are in the visual chart i linked.
MrHatz4Patz 5y
I think people should at least try to watch the 2004 anime before Unlimited Blade Works, and probably should watch Heaven's Feel before Zero. But otherwise seems like a solid watch order thing.
- DRVCX 5y
  while i do agree it would be better for the sake of cohesion, watching deens adaptation might be a wrong first step in to such big franchise, to the point that giving a bad initial impresion can be very demerital in contraposition to starting the franchise with a more visual appealing one.
  deens one is still a must watch for the people who want to fully stick with the franchise and are not afraid of it, but for newcomers, yeah...
  MrHatz4Patz 5y
  That's why my recommendation would be, "Try it but don't feel bad about skipping it if you don't like it." The issue for 2004 is that it's a lot harder to enjoy when you've already seen it's much better-looking companions, which is speaking from personal experience. So this is just in service of trying give people the fairest shot possible of enjoying all the Fate/ anime.
  Removed 5y
  Seconded. 2004 was the first anime I watched and I'm glad I watched it first because I would not have been able to go back to it afterwards.
LongJohnSteven 5y
i would recommended watching 2004 fate/stay night as the first item, while its true that it contains some spoilers, most of the the "spoilers" in it were glossed over as very minor plot points in UBW, and as such (even though the season is worse) they feel like bigger reveals in stay night. Also, already being invested in the story makes UBW even more enjoyable.

also zero would work better after heavens feel, as it contains spoilers for
sakuras past and her relationship with tohsaka
which were explored in a much deeper and more emotional way in heavens feel
- Gaige 5y
  you make a very good point about both f/sn (2006) and zero.
  
  i've edited my watch order but made notes underneath both f/sn (2006) and heaven's feel.
  
  the only reason i currently recommend zero before heaven's feel is because the third movie isn't yet available to watch and so the full heaven's feel story can't yet be experienced. i know a lot of people who want to wait for all 3 movies to be out before watching them and so watch zero in the meantime.
FrozenOkami 5y
I know im in the minority but I watched Fate Stay night 2005(deen) first and loved it haha
- Gaige 5y
  haha, that's totally fair!
  FrozenOkami 5y
  Anyways, this is a really well made post
  Gaige 5y
  thank you so much! ^^
thatsberryrude 5y
Or just read the visual novel.
- Gaige 5y
  the best advice
- Dexx 5y
  Better yet, don't read/watch/play anything Fate-related because it's absolute madness.
  thatsberryrude 5y
  I'm already too deep, man. There is no salvation for me.
  Dexx 5y
  I'll pray for your soul.
  Gaige 5y
  fate/grand order best game :")
Nevolet 5y
thank you for this, please don't erase this thread..i'm saving it.
- Gaige 5y
  haha, i have no plans on doing so so don't worry!
Removed 5y
[Removed]
- Gaige 5y
  hey! unfortunately i haven't had the chance to watch heaven's feel 3 yet, and up until now had been going off the original visual novel order. once i watch it within the next few days i may change the watch order ^^
  Removed 4y
  Since you already watched Heaven's Feel III, you might want to move HF before Zero.
moody 4y
pp
- Gaige 4y
  pp
  moody 4y
  u a real one
Gaige 4y
Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works]

-> -> ->
Watch order:

Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works]
The first season of Unlimited Blade Works.

Fate/stay night [Unlimited Bladed Works] 2nd Season
The second season of Unlimited Blade Works, picking up directly after the end of the first season.

Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] 2nd Season - sunny day
A special showing an alternate ending to the second season. Season two shows the "true ending" and this special shows the "good ending".

Optional specials, OVAs and more:

Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] Movie
The first adaptation of the Unlimited Blade Works story by Studio Deen. I highly recommend against watching this as it has incredibly poor animation and the entire plot is condensed into one very short movie. It has since been remade by Ufotable into the 2 season anime listed above. If you'd like to check it out, I'd recommend doing so only after having seen the far better remake.
Gaige 4y
Fate/Zero and Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files
Watch order:

Fate/Zero
The first season of Fate/Zero.

Fate/Zero 2nd Season
The second season of Fate/Zero, picking up directly after the end of the first season.

Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files {Rail Zeppelin} Grace note - A Grave Keeper, a Cat, and a Mage
A sequel to Fate/Zero, with a member of the original cast playing the main character. This story is set 2 months before the events of Fate/stay night.

Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files {Rail Zeppelin} Grace note
The first season of Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files.

Optional specials, OVAs and more:

Fate/Zero: Please! Einzbern Counseling Room
Specials explaining parts of the Fate franchise for those who didn't start with Fate/stay night. Can be watched before or after the first season of Fate/Zero.

Fate/Zero Café
A comedy spin-off where the Fate/Zero cast run a café together.

Lord El-Mellois II's Case Files {Rail Zeppelin} Grace note -Special Episode-
A special for the first season of Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files.
- Jonizu 4y
  It's incredible how this line can avoid watching all Fate/Stay Night and focus only in Zero "universe"
  Gaige 4y
  And this isn't even including all the light novels and manga for Zero haha
  
  FateZero
  Heart of Freaks
  Lord ElMelloi IIsei no Jikenbo
  Lord ElMelloi IIsei no Bouken
  
  FateZero
  Lord ElMelloi IIsei no Jikenbo
  Jonizu 4y
  So thats how Toaru fans feel when they watch only Raligun and not Index...
UchihaMadaraaaa 4y
How many total episodes in the entire fate series?
- Gaige 4y
  207 episodes and 12 movies when only including the main entries and important specials <3
  UchihaMadaraaaa 4y
  Thanks!!
  UchihaMadaraaaa 4y
  how many filler movies out of those 12?
  Ackermannnn78790e 4y
  where do i start?
  Gaige 4y
  if you had read the thread and not just commented asking where to start, you'd see i recommend starting with either fate/stay night (2006) or fate/stay night: unlimited blade works ^^
SeasonedGasoline 4y
where does apochryph or whatever go in the order
- Gaige 4y
  fate/apocrypha can be watched any time after you've seen fate/stay night or fate/stay night: unlimited blade works.
  
  if you actually read the list you'll see where i've placed fate/apocrypha.
bentbent05 4y
The way I'm watching is...
1. Fate/Zero
  FateZero
  FateZero Season 2
2. Fate/Stay Night
  Fatestay night
3. Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works
  Fatestay night Unlimited Blade Works
  Fatestay night Unlimited Blade Works 2nd Season
4. Fate/Stay Night [Heaven's Feel] Movies
  Fatestay night Heavens Feel I presage flower
  Fatestay night Heavens Feel II lost butterfly
  Fatestay night Heavens Feel III spring song
I'm not planning to watch Grand Order or Apocrypha at the moment, but I assume they would both go after this order.
- Gaige 4y
  any spin-offs can be watched after you've seen fate/stay night or fate/stay night: unlimited blade works.
  
  i generally try to tell people to avoid watching fate/zero first as you're meant to know the events of fate/stay night before starting it, but if that's the order that makes you feel most motivated to watch it then go ahead ^^
  
  i'd also like to mention that fate/stay night pretty much has the exact same plot as fate/stay night: unlimited blade works, just with far less good animation and some elements of all 3 original routes. i'd probably recommend watching it after fate/stay night in case you don't want to watch 2 very similar shows right after eachother.
Gaige 4y
Fate/stay night [Heaven's Feel]
Watch order:

Fate/stay night [Heaven's Feel] I. presage flower
The first movie.

Fate/stay night [Heaven's Feel] II. lost butterfly
The second movie.

Fate/stay night [Heaven's Feel] III. spring song
The third movie.
- Cultured 4y
  To be honest, I was about to say that you wouldn't need an order for these movies. But there's definitely someone out there who probably watched them in reverse order and claims it's good.
  Gaige 4y
  haha, probably not! but i figured if i'm doing it for all of the entries in my list, i might as well do it for heaven's feel as well.
  Cultured 4y
  That's alright then. At least it'll be a complete guide.
Gaige 4y
Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya
Watch order:

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya
The first season.

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya: Dance at the Sports Festival!
An OVA that links the end of the first season with the start of the second season. Not very important to watch if for some reason it's not available to you.

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 2wei!
First part of the second season.

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 2wei Herz!
Second part of the second season.

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 3rei!!
The third season.

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya: Oath Under Snow
A prequel movie that takes place before the events of the first season.

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya: Prisma☆Phantasm
An optional OVA that doesn't take place in any particular point in time, but contains spoilers and characters from up to the third season.

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya: Licht Nameless Girl
A movie that follows on from the events of the third season and Oath Under Snow.

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya (Provisional Title)
A sequel to Licht Nameless Girl that has not yet been released.

Optional specials, OVAs and more:

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya Specials
Specials for the first season.

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 2wei! Short Anime
Specials for the first part of the second season.

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 2wei! OVA
OVA for the first part of the second season.

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 2wei Herz! Short Anime
Specials for the second part of the second season.

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 3rei!! Specials
Specials for the third season.

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya: Oath Under Snow Special
Special for the Oath Under Snow movie.

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya: Licht Nameless Girl Special Mini Anime
ONA for the Licht Nameless Girl movie.
Gaige 4y
Fate/Grand Order
Watch order:

Fate/Grand Order: First Order
An adaptation of the Fate/Grand Order game's first singularity which serves as an introduction to the show's premise and main characters.

Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Battlefront Babylonia - Initium Iter
A special focusing on the backstory of Mashu.

— Please note that there is now a large timeskip where Ritsuka and Mashu have already resolved five other singularities.

Fate/Grand Order: Camelot - Wandering; Agateram
An adaptation of the game's sixth singularity. The first of 2 movies.

Fate/Grand Order: Camelot - Paladin; Agateram
An adaptation of the game's sixth singularity. The second of 2 movies.

Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Battlefront Babylonia
An adaptation of the game's seventh singularity.

Fate/Grand Order: Final Singularity - Solomon
An adaptation of the game's eighth and final singularity.

Optional specials, OVAs and more:

Fate/Grand Order CMs
A collection of animated commercials for the Fate/Grand Order game.

Fate/Grand Order: Guda Guda Order 2016
A comedy special released for the Fate/Grand Order game.

Fate/Grand Order x Fate/School Life (Himuro no Tenchi)
A comedy special following the school lives of 3 students from the Fate/stay night universe. Technically released under the Fate/Grand Order name but has little to do with the show's storyline.

Fate/Grand Order: Moonlight/Lostroom
A special that serves as a prequel to one of the Fate/Grand Order game's story arcs. Should only be watched at a certain point by those actually playing the game and won't make any sense to anime-only viewers.

Fate/Grand Order: Learning with Manga!
Comedic "eduational" specials mocking the Fate/Grand Order gameplay.

Fate/Grand Carnival
A series of OVAs showing the Fate/Grand Order game characters in comedic scenarios.
Wasurechatta 4y
I actually enjoyed Fate/stay night 2006 enough to give it a 7 overall. I loved most of the female characters, but Saber left the deepest impression. Trying to play the VNs a few time so far but my progress has been terribly slow. I didn't enjoy reading from Rin's POV tbh.
I really want to finish the VN before watching the new animation adaptations...
- Gaige 4y
  there's nothing wrong with starting with or enjoying studio deen's fate/stay night, but i've found the animation style can put some people off. this is why i still have it top of the list so people can make the choice for themselves ^^
Gubby 4y
gonna be honest I started watching fate a few weeks ago and I started with deen's 2006 adaptation and I really didn't think it was that bad. I think maybe people just either haven't seen it and just hop on the hate bandwagon or alternatively they hold it too close to the ufotable adaptations. either way I honestly don't think its that bad of a starting place.
Hyliaforce 4y
Is it ok to watch 2006 stay night after having seen UBW and HF before starting Zero or can i just skip it and save it for later?
- Gaige 4y
  @HyliaForce
  
  @HAAHAHA is right! it doesn't really matter when you watch 2006 fate/stay night. it's a good introduction to the series and does have some spoilers for heaven's feel, but that's all you really need to worry/think about in terms of watch order. feel free to check it out whenever!
  Hyliaforce 4y
  I already started 2006 Fate/stay night a couple of hours ago so forget i asked lol, i have already seen UBW and HF so i dont need to worry about spoilers. But thanks anyways
KittyShipperCaveGirl 4y
just read the visual novel smh
Dams63g 8mo
I swear on what I hold most dear that I’m not pretending to not understand the FATE watch order. Can you confirm that the order below is correct? 🙏🙇‍♂️
- Gaige 8mo
  heyy, no worries! there's no "correct" way to watch it, but there are a few things i'll mention!
  
  4) Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works (Movie)
  to be very honest, there's no point in watching this alongside the tv show. the movie was a very rushed, low budget adaptation of the unlimited blade works arc. everything in the movie is in the tv show adaptation of the same arc, just better scripted, explained, animated and paced.
  
  11) Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files {Rail Zeppelin} Grace note -Special Episode-
  12) Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files {Rail Zeppelin} Grace note
  these two are the wrong way round <3 "Grace note" comes before "Grace note -Special Episode-".
  
  35) Fate/Grand Order: First Order
  36) Fate/Grand Order Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia - Initium Iter
  i'd recommend watching Initium Iter before First Order! ignore the description of it being a prequel to Babylonia - it's basically just a short episode showing the background of the show's main character (Mashu). watching it before First Order just gives you a bit of context about the character that First Order skips!
  
  41) Fate/Grand Order -MOONLIGHT/LOSTROOM-
  you can honestly just skip this one. it's an anime but it's really just a promotional video for a certain section of the video game. it's basically a preview to a story in the video game.
  
  50) Fate/Grand Order CMs
  same with this one, you can just skip it haha. it's (if i remember correctly) literally just hundreds of very short adverts for the video game. most of them are only a few seconds long and just show a quick animation of new characters being released in the video game.
  
  and actually for most of Fate/Grand Order you can really skip anything that advertises itself as a trailer or short videos. you're free to watch them but they don't have any story or relevance to the story. they're basically just quick promotions for the video game that don't mean anything at all if you don't play it or weren't playing during those events or releases.
  
  60) Fate/strange Fake -Whispers of Dawn-
  61) Fate/strange Fake TCVM
  the TCVM is just a short animation to promote the book, but if you do want to watch it you might as well watch it before Whispers of Dawn.
  
  that's just my advice, but generally i'd say this is a good list !!
  
  you may also want to consider watching The Garden of Sinners movies before the Heaven's Feel ones, purely because it helps to explain the last couple minutes of the final Heaven's Feel movie. equally it's pretty easily explained with a quick google search haha
  Dams63g 8mo
  Thank you so much for taking the time to help me 🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️🙇‍♂️, I’m noting the few changes—thanks a lot!❤️ I really feel like I just asked for advice from the ULTIMATE Fate fan 😂🙏

A beginner's guide to watching the Fate franchise (all entries)

The most common question about the Fate franchise always seems to be: where do I begin?

Let's begin: Fate/stay night universe

What's next? Spin-offs!

Craving more? Welcome to The Nasuverse...

Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works]

Fate/Zero and Lord El-Melloi II's Case Files

Fate/stay night [Heaven's Feel]

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya

Fate/Grand Order

FateGrand Carnival