August 6th, 2013 
AstroNerdBoy Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya Episode 04 REVIEW
Fate/kaleid liner プリズマ☆イリヤ
SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:
Rin, Ilya, Luvia, and Miyu meet up at midnight to battle the Caster Class Card, but they are soundly trounced as Caster’s magic is old and powerful. The group reflects back on their battle and narrow escape, concluding that flying above Caster’s countless magic “circles” in the sky, a feat that is quite advanced. Ilya’s love for mahou shoujo anime gives her the mindset to easily hover and fly whereas Miyu’s mindset is that people can’t fly. So an irritated Luvia drags Miyu off for training while Rin says she’ll come up with some strategies for combat, assuring Ilya that they’ll win the fight.
The next day, Ilya is out in a meadow to train, when she discovers that the Archer Class Card does turn Ruby into a bow, but there are no arrows. Nearby, Luvia kicks Miyu out of a helicopter to get her to fly. Miyu crashes near Ilya, who flies down to help. Miyu is not hurt, so Ilya offers to train with her. Miyu accepts, but Ilya’s methods don’t work. Sapphire asks Ilya about these mahou shoujo animes she’s watched, so they head to Ilya’s house. She’s embarrassed by her mahou shoujo love, but as Miyu watches, her literal, logical mind cannot overcome the fantasy elements of the anime, which is what allows Ilya to fly.
That night, Caster is waiting for them when the group returns to the mirror world. Miyu uses a stepping ability to go into the sky, creating solidity under her feet. She and Ilya engage in conflict, but as Miyu is about to activate Lancer, Caster gets the drop on her, sending Miyu crashing to the ground and injuring her. Before Caster can finish Miyu off, Ilya flies in at a rapid speed, jetting Miyu to safety. The two fly above the magic circles in the sky to discover Caster has teleported above them. Ilya acts as a decoy and launches a wide area barrage attack, giving Miyu the opening to hit with a single ranged attack, knocking Caster to the ground. There, Luvia and Rin use their magecraft to hit Caster hard, believing her to be defeated.
The magic circles in the sky gone, it is believed they’ve won. However, it turns out that Caster teleported and is now preparing massive mandalas to destroy the mirror world. Miyu scrambles upward in the air, but even when she appears to be flying, she’s too slow. Ilya sends a massive energy sphere at Miyu, which Miyu uses to propel herself and get the finishing blow on Caster, forcing her into card form. The card captured, Miyu comes to realize the value of having Ilya there as a partner after speaking with Sapphire. Ilya flies up to Miyu while Rin realizes the Mirror World has not collapsed. They are then attacked by Class Card (Dark) Saber as Ilya and Miyu see this from a distance.
Thoughts/Review:
OK, so now we’ve had the episode where the two rival magic girls now become friends as Miyu begins to respect Ilya. Yay! ^_~
I got a good laugh out of Ruby’s insulting praise of Ilya and why airheads make such good magic girls. I couldn’t help but think back to all of the mahou shoujo titles I’ve either seen or read. In Sailor V, Minako is an airhead. In the Sailor Moon sequel, Usagi is an airhead (though Minako is less so). In Cardcaptor Sakura, Sakura is an airhead. In Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha, Nanoha is an airhead. In Pretty Sammy, Sasami is an airhead. In Ultra Maniac, Nina is the airhead. For whatever reason, I’d just never noticed that common trait among the mahou shoujo titles I’ve watched or read.
Regarding the episode itself, things seem to have shifted from the more comedic aspects seen in the first three episodes to a more traditional action aspect as Ilya and Miyu face a powerful opponent, one that injures Miyu. Rin and Luvia’s bickering was pretty much the only other comedy element that stood out to me.
The story, while entertaining, had some elements that bothered me. I had no problems with Ilya’s imagination being the key to allow her to float and fly, but that made Miyu’s inability to do the same due to her logical, reasoned mind raise other issues. If Miyu can’t get passed the laws of physics regarding people flying, then how is she able to get passed the whole notion of being a magic girl and using powerful attacks? The anime may not be properly conveying things because I get the sense that Miyu does things because she can come up with a logical means around it (her “stepping” up into the sky for example). However, since there’s no logic nor reason behind “magic”, one would think she couldn’t do anything magical.
The bigger issue I had was the first, clichéd defeat of Caster. The fact that we never saw Caster turn into a card screamed out to me immediately. Yet there Luvia and Rin were, claiming that Caster was defeated and that they had the card. Clearly, they had nothing, so why say you have something when you have nothing, especially a dangerous opponent like Caster turned out to be?
I was also questioning why the mirror world hadn’t broken down, but at least there, Rin and Luvia did notice it, howbeit too late.
That leads up to the appearance of Dark Saber. I know of Dark Saber from the imagery that exists out there, but I don’t know much beyond that. I am looking forward to seeing Dark Saber in action though.
The other question I have is why the Archer card was apparently not of use to Ilya. I don’t remember Archer having a problem with arrows or other fired projectile. I would have thought the Archer card would be able to do something similar.
Overall, this was a fun, entertaining episode with a couple off story elements that I just didn’t like.
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I got a good laugh out of Ruby’s insulting praise of Ilya and why airheads make such good magic girls.
lol about the “Don’t think. Imagine!” line. That was even more hilarious last week because Silver Link oversaw a typo. Can you imasine that? :p
http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2878/9397588132_0211e59b94_c.jpg
I had no problems with Ilya’s imagination being the key to allow her to float and fly, but that made Miyu’s inability to do the same due to her logical, reasoned mind raise other issues. If Miyu can’t get passed the laws of physics regarding people flying, then how is she able to get passed the whole notion of being a magic girl and using powerful attacks?
You catch up quick regarding details, Astro. :p
Short info from the material books:
Magecraft harnesses mana to interfere with phenomena; it is a shortcut that creates artificial changes in the world. So it utilizes energies that don’t exist in reality, like mana, as elements to make reactions happen.
Zvlh jnf nyernql jryy njner Zntvp rkvfgrq naq ubj vg jbexrq. She cannot visualize flying the way Ilya does, so she at least combines the things she knows and gives mana a physical form on which she can stand and walk.
I guess you can compare it with the way Shirou visualizes a Magic Circuit and how he works with it. It works because of his concrete image of it. And here, Miyu simply cannot do it like Ilya.
But believe me if I tell you there is a reason why Miyu thinks with that logic. You won’t hear it in this season or overall any time soon, though.
The bigger issue I had was the first, clichéd defeat of Caster.
Well… maybe they thought the card will be seen as soon as the dust is gone… or so. Or they were just stupid, doesn’t matter. :p
No, seriously, as far as I can see it in the manga, Luvia ordered Miyu to get the card and then leave, so maybe it was a mistranslation.
That leads up to the appearance of Dark Saber. I know of Dark Saber from the imagery that exists out there, but I don’t know much beyond that.
Yeah, that was Saber Alter. And I can’t and won’t say anything more about her. Just look forward to her. 🙂
Though in the manga, when Saber Alter appeared, her entrance was much bloodier, but hey – her animation is just wonderful, so I don’t care. ^_^
The other question I have is why the Archer card was apparently not of use to Ilya. I don’t remember Archer having a problem with arrows or other fired projectile.
You know… Archer projected all his arrows. It was his own personal ability: Tracing. Archer didn’t possess any famous weapons that are clearly his and define him. Even though his body was made out of swords, Archer is a creator, not a wielder.
“Including” seems to give you the Noble Phantasm of the Heroic Spirit (like when Miyu got Gae Bolg when using Lancer). Archer didn’t possess any Noble Phantasms, I don’t think his bow is even one actually.
Interesting to note, Ruby told Ilya in the manga, that Rin had the same problem. Rin used Black Keys as substitute arrows at that time.
Btw, about the Magecraft/Magic thing again:
It’s also a matter of the translation, which can lead to confusion.
Majutsu is usually translated as magecraft; Mahou will be translated as Magic, True Magic or Sorcery then. mirror moon (who translated the FSN VN) used magic as a translation for majutsu, while mahou was called sorcery.
Majutsushi, like Rin and Luvia, is usually translated as Magus/Magi. Raze from UTW uses Mage. Kiritsugu was called majutsushi goroshi, the Magus Killer. Mahou Tsukai (Zelretch and co.) is usually translated as Magician.
Man, I totally missed the Engrish spelling unless they fixed it by the 2nd airing.
>Zvlh jnf nyernql jryy njner Zntvp rkvfgrq naq ubj vg jbexrq.
I take it this Miyu fact will come out later?
>No, seriously, as far as I can see it in the manga, Luvia ordered Miyu to get the card and then leave, so maybe it was a mistranslation.
Very possible. Of course, I’ve seen way too many anime titles where little things are dropped or changed for whatever reason, which ends up causing problems. ^_^;
>Archer didn’t possess any Noble Phantasms, I don’t think his bow is even one actually.
It has been a LONG time since I saw F/SN, so I’d forgotten about that Archer’s abilities (and who he was in his former life). I kept thinking Gilgamesh because of Fate/Zero. ^_^;
>Interesting to note, Ruby told Ilya in the manga, that Rin had the same problem. Rin used Black Keys as substitute arrows at that time.
Thanks for the info. ^_^
>Btw, about the Magecraft/Magic thing again…
And thanks for this info too!
Man, I totally missed the Engrish spelling unless they fixed it by the 2nd airing.
Nah, you didn’t miss it. As you assume, they fixed it by the 2nd airing. 🙂
I take it this Miyu fact will come out later?
Zhpu yngre, npghnyyl. Abg va guvf frnfba.
Very possible. Of course, I’ve seen way too many anime titles where little things are dropped or changed for whatever reason, which ends up causing problems. ^_^;
You know, I didn’t really notice a problem there until you mentioned it in your review. ^_^ I haven’t rewatched the episode yet, but I found the scene in the manga:
http://mangafox.me/manga/fate_kaleid_liner_prisma_illya/v01/c005/19.html
Maybe there really was a mistranslation in this episode or maybe you are right and it was changed.
Thanks for the info. ^_^
Sure, always a pleasure. ^_^
I might as well mention another thing.
Technically, FSN-Archer did possess a Noble Phantasm. If a Noble Phantasm is the symbol of the Heroic Spirit, then Archer’s Reality Marble is his Noble Phantasm.
However, as far as I can see it, it’s not a physical weapon, as “include” seems to give you one. In a discussion that I had recently, someone asked why Ilya didn’t get Archer’s twin swords Kanshou and Bakuya then. I think it’s because
a) they are not the true Kanshou and Bakuya, but traced versions of them
and b) it might have been awkward (well, that’s the point of FSN-Archer) for an Archer card to get swords, so the author decided to give Ilya Archer’s bow instead.
P.S. Another term for majutsu that I didn’t mention is Thaumaturgy. However, the word is long and not easy to remember and Thaumaturgy in general covers the modern schools of Magecraft.
>Maybe there really was a mistranslation in this episode or maybe you are right and it was changed.
Yeah, I wish I knew for sure. Looking at those pages (and making sure not to go further, lets I spoil the next episode), I’d be willing to be mistranslation, or a correct translation that ends up being wrong in this context.
And continued thanks for the info. I do have another question though. This is obviously an alternate “Fate/stay night” world. How does the Grail War come into play in this series or does it?
>No, seriously, as far as I can see it in the manga, Luvia ordered Miyu to get the card and then leave, so maybe it was a mistranslation.
Yep, it’s a miss. Luvia says, “Miyu, Kaado kaishuSHITE kaeru wa yo”. The “-shite” is used in either present or future tense. As for past tense, “-shita” is used instead. This means that the card retrieval has yet to be completed. So, she hasn’t had the card since the retrieval is still in progress.
There is a Grail War involved, I can tell you that without spoiling much. You will see some clues of it in the next episodes.
Gur Rvamoreaf cynl na vzcbegnag ebyr va vg. Gurer vf n qrrcre fgbel oruvaq vg, juvpu vf shegure rkcynvarq naq rynobengrq va Mjrv.
Wow, thanks for the explanation, ryuutobi. Well, it makes more sense this way. So the fansub oversaw this and the scanlators were correct. That is good to know. 🙂
Damn, I really gotta learn Japanese. >.>
@ryuutobi – Thanks for the clarification. ^_^
>Gur Rvamoreaf cynl na vzcbegnag ebyr va vg. Gurer vf n qrrcre fgbel oruvaq vg, juvpu vf shegure rkcynvarq naq rynobengrq va Mjrv.
V whfg svaq vg vagrerfgvat gung gur riragf sebz Mreb qvqa’g erfhyg va Vev’f qrngu, fvapr fur’f pyrneyl nyvir guvf gvzr. Hayrff Xvevgfhth jba gur jne gura, tbg uvf jvfu, naq guvf jnf gur erfhyg.
>Damn, I really gotta learn Japanese. >.>
Ditto, though my Japanese learning resumes in a couple of weeks after several years away. ^_^
About the Rin-Luvia rivalry:
1. A lesson about Sorcery Traits:
Sorcery Traits are special features of a magi lineage. The Edelfelt family possesses the Sorcery Trait Ore Scales . It allows them to pass on their Magic Crest to two heirs, not one.
The Einzberns possess the Sorcery Trait Wish-Granting . It’s basically how the Holy Grail was supposed to work. You can skip the magical stages and processes to recreate spells. So it’s a shortcut, all you need is enough mana.
2. A note about the feud between Tohsaka and Edelfelt in the main universe of Fate:
For some reason, the Tohsaka family made fast progress, regarding Jewel Magic and European spells, like Gandr, which originates from Scandinavia. The Edelfelt family is very skilled in Jewel Magic and they are one of the best Gandr users in the world.
I’ll post everything in ROT13 code from now on:
Qhevat gur Guveq Ubyl Tenvy Jne, obgu Rqrysryg urvef, gur Rqrysryg gjvaf cnegvpvcngrq va gur Jne.
Gur lbhatre gjva jnf qrsrngrq ol Gbufnxn, juvyr gur byqre bar syrq naq fjber gb arire pbzr onpx. Gung’f jurer gur Rqrysrygf’ cerwhqvpr ntnvafg Wncnarfr crbcyr (rfcrpvnyyl Gbufnxn) pnzr sebz.
Vg vf oryvrirq gung Gbufnxn znqr fhpu snfg cebterff ol npdhvevat gur Rqrysrygf’ Zntvp Perfg. Rvgure gur lbhatre gjva zneevrq Gbufnxn (juvpu jbhyq znxr Eva naq Yhivn oybbq eryngvirf) be gurl fvzcyl fgbyr ure Zntvp Perfg.
Crefbanyyl, V’q fnl gurl zneevrq sbe ybir. Gung’f jung V jnag gb oryvrir. ^_^
Jul? Jryy, orpnhfr grzoref bs gur Gbufnxn snzvyl ner abg rivy (lrf, vapyhqvat Gbxvbzv, ab znggre jung nyy gur ungref ner tbaan fnl). Mryergpu gehfgrq gurz zber guna Rvamorea be Zngbh. Gbufnxn jrera’g nf gnyragrq nf gur bgure gjb snzvyvrf, ohg gurl jrer trahvaryl tbbq-urnegrq.
3. Rin and Luvia:
I guess you can compare them to Ayaka and Asuna?
Thankfully, Luvia is not a petty, prejudiced bitch. She is a very kind and loving person, well aware of her status as an aristocrat and the hatred commoners bear against these people, but still loves them (similar to Saber Extra).
Even though they seem to be like red and blue (haha) complete opposites, Luvia actually likes Rin because of their similarities and sees her as a rival, but is too tsundere to admit it. A bit old, that cliché in my opinion.
(Nyfb, gurer’f gur snpg gung va Cevfzn Vyyln, sbe fbzr ernfba, juvyr Yhivn ivfvgrq Wncna, fur sryy va ybir jvgu Fuvebh ng gur rknpg fnzr gvzr, Eva sryy va ybir jvgu uvz. Pbvapvqraprf…)
I still like Rin more though, just because she treats Ilya better. Yes, Luvia is also worrying about Miyu, like when she yelled at Ilya for shooting a mana blast at Miyu, but she was also the person, who was responsible for me having a good laugh when she dropped Miyu from that helicopter to teach her how to fly. ^_^
Side note:
I also found it very funny when Luvia called Rin stingy for using less jewels than her. ^_^
For your information, one jewel is worth 500,000 Yen. And no way is Rin as wealthy as Luvia to just spam them.
However, compared to a commoner like Shirou, Rin is actually really wealthy. Thanks to royalties from magical patents of older Tohsaka generations, Rin still has an annual income of a number with eight digits. Though she still had money issues in FSN, too…
You know, I saw that Luvia used jewel magic but I didn’t know what to make of that. Thanks for that backstory info. ^_^
>…she was also the person, who was responsible for me having a good laugh when she dropped Miyu from that helicopter to teach her how to fly. ^_^
Yeah, I had meant to say something about that, but it slipped my mind. ^_^; It was funny though. ^_^
>I also found it very funny when Luvia called Rin stingy for using less jewels than her. ^_^
Yeah, that was funny too. ^_^ I’d always seen Rin as “rich”, which she is, but Luvia is “wealthy”, which is a whole other level.
Yeah, that was funny too. ^_^ I’d always seen Rin as “rich”, which she is(…).
Yes, that was a typo. I really wanted to write “rich”. ^_^
Here is btw the full explanation why Rin and Luvia were sent to Fuyuki to retrieve the cards. Their rivalry kinda… escalated. Just a bit. Haha. Ha.
… >.>
http://mangafox.me/manga/fate_kaleid_liner_prisma_illya_2wei/v02/c010.5/1.html
A side note: I forgot to mention that the Edelfelt family comes from Finland.
Another note:
The Zenjou family, while being a lapsed magi lineage, still possessed a Sorcery Trait, that allowed them to maximize the magical potential of their partner’s children. I believe some fans contemptuously called Aoi’s trait “super womb”. /facepalm
That’s why Sakura and Rin are actually born with such great potential, which again gave Tokiomi a major headache, as we all know.
Btw, I don’t think Rin or Sakura possess this trait. However, since the both of them have lots of Magic Circuits, their children would likely be superior, since Magic Circuits are inherited traits.
(It is unknown how some Sorcery Traits are inherited. I once heard of a term called Family Trait, which strictly by definition is the accumulation of generations of knowledge. The Ryougi family from Kara no Kyoukai pass down their special trait through rituals, for instance.)
I think it was mentioned in the Zero material book that Zouken wanted Kariya to marry Aoi because of her ability. That’s how their friendship was initiated, as Zouken tried to set Kariya up with her.
But Kariya pretty much ruined Zouken’s plan by giving up on Aoi and his training as a magus and ultimately leaving the family out of disgust, leaving the family business to his older brother Byakuya, who was inferior to Kariya.
Interesting to note, Shinji’s father Byakuya met and married a woman who also had an inheritor trait. But as we all know, Shinji was born without any Magic Circuits at all.
Sbe guvf snvyher, Fuvawv’f zbgure jnf guebja vagb gur jbezf fgbentr jurer fur yngre qvrq. Ure pbecfr fgvyy frrzf gb or gurer va SFA.
Thanks for the manga link, though reading “Miss Toosaka” in that initial chapter makes me cringe. ^_^;
>Sbe guvf snvyher, Fuvawv’f zbgure jnf guebja vagb gur jbezf fgbentr jurer fur yngre qvrq. Ure pbecfr fgvyy frrzf gb or gurer va SFA.
That is jacked up to the extreme. *_*
One more thing. I again am very impressed that they hired the same old voice actors for the Servants. Just like with Yu Asakawa who voiced Rider in episode 2, Atsuko Tanaka reprised her role as Caster, this time just to mumble a bit. I bet Saber’s voice actress Ayako Kawasumi will be heard, too next episode. Looking forward to it. 🙂
Oh, and again I heard some FSN OST remixes again, this time among other pieces, the famous (and overused) Sword of Promised Victory track. Thankfully, the remix didn’t sound that bad.
I love that they have the same voices as well. Most of the time, it seems that the Japanese do make an effort to keep the same seiyuu, which I appreciate.