Ufotable doesn't animate this, they rebuild it, frame by frame, until every spell cast and sword drawn feels like it matters more than it should. The Holy Grail War is a tournament, sure, but what you're actually watching is Shirou and Rin arguing about the cost of their wishes while the world burns around them. By episode 13 you understand that the real prize was never the Grail. It was watching two people refuse to let each other die alone.

In Fuyuki City, seven mages summon legendary heroic spirits to fight in the Holy Grail War, an ancient ritual where only one master-servant pair can survive. The prize: a relic that grants any wish. Rin Tohsaka enters the competition as the Tohsaka family's heir, her servant Archer at her side. Shirou Emiya, a classmate of hers who knows only a little magecraft, is mortally wounded after seeing two servants clash, and Rin saves his life. He then summons Saber without meaning to and becomes a Master himself. Facing the same enemies, Rin and Shirou agree to a temporary alliance and set out to uncover the schemes surrounding the war, in a supernatural action fantasy built around battles between legendary heroes.