It being a poor adaptation contributes to the watch order arguments.
Summary:
- The DEEN Fate/stay night anime is a very poor adaptation that mixes multiple routes of the VN together.
- That’s partly why the anime has no good starting point.
- It probably won’t get a remake until the VN itself gets remade.
The Fate franchise is somewhat infamous for its confusing watch order. There are a lot of reasons why it ended up this way, but the main one is simple: the original visual novel has two routes that have to be played in the proper order.
However, the first of those doesn’t have a proper adaptation, and the second one, Unlimited Blade Works, spoils the prequel, Fate/Zero, which spoils the rest of the VN.
This whole situation could have been easily avoided if the first route actually had a proper adaptation. However, the only time it was adapted was in 2006, and it was made into a TV anime by Studio Deen — and that adaptation desperately needs a remake.
Why It Is Not a Good Adaptation
At the time of the release, Fate/stay night 2006 was received pretty well. However, over the years, more and more fans seemingly changed their opinions, as the franchise got bigger. More people got into the visual novel too, and that’s where the disappointment with the 2006 adaptation comes from.
The original Fate/stay night anime doesn’t adapt the first route of the visual novel properly. It mixes in some plot elements of the other two, which makes it somewhat weird if you’re already familiar with the source material.
And if you aren’t, it’s just a poor starting point: it spoils other routes for no reason, as the first one worked well enough without those elements.
As if that wasn’t enough, the animation is pretty dated. The action scenes are decent, but they are nothing compared to the ones from Fate/Zero and Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works by ufotable. It’s simply outclassed in every way, and most Fate fans will tell you to skip it.
We Probably Won’t Get a Remake Anytime Soon
With both the second (Unlimited Blade Works) and the third (Heaven’s Feel) routes of the visual novel adapted, it seems that there’s no reason to not re-adapt the first one (Fate), too.
After all, Unlimited Blade Works had an adaptation by Deen too, before it was turned into a series by ufotable. However, it’s not as simple as it looks.
Kinoko Nasu, the author of the original visual novel, has expressed a desire to rewrite the first route entirely multiple times. However, that project is still in the planning stages, if not shelved.
It’s probably the reason why we haven’t got it adapted by ufotable yet, and before that happens, we will likely continue to have arguments about the starting point of the Fate franchise.