Aniplex, one of Japans largest anime and music production companies and the production force behind some of its largest titles such as Fullmetal Alchemist, Black Butler, Angel Beats!, D. Gray-man, and Darker than Black, announced late on Tuesday November 7th that it has reached a deal with Netflix to release English dub versions of the first 12 episodes of Fate/Apocrypha beginning on December 2nd 2017.
Fate/Apocrypha is the 5th full length series of the Fate franchise and began its run on July 1st in Japan with a total of 25 episodes. The initial 12 episode series is available as of November 7th in sub format on Netflix.
The story marks the beginning of the 3rd Holy Grail War where the grail is stolen during the chaos of the 2nd war by the Yggdmillennia family that has defected from the mages association and attempts to use the grail to restore themselves to prominence. The mage’s association responded by sending their own masters and servants and by doing so has changed the war in a manner that is unprecedented. So much so that 14 masters and servants now participate in the brutal contest for the holy grail and ultimate wish granter while the never before seen Ruler class servant has been summoned to oversee the war. Ruler, the pious servant Jeanne d’Arc, discovers that events have been manipulated by the shocking return of a character not seen since the 2nd War, and a surprise second ruler servant.
The war set in an alternative timeline includes 2 factions of 7 heroic class servants each that have been famed throughout human history and have been given a second chance to fulfill their ultimate desires by slaughtering every other contestant. Once there is no one else standing in the way, the victorious master and servant are provided an ultimate wish to change the world, time, or reality itself.
The newest Fate series features new heroic servants and alterations never seen.
Black Faction:
Saber of Black: Siegfried: His heart is transplanted into Sieg after his death. His Noble Phantasm is his sword Balmung, which is capable of releasing a massive energy attack.
Archer of Black: Chiron: His wish is for the gods to return his immortality. He was the teacher of the Rider of Red. His Noble Phantasm is Antares Snipe, which allows him to shoot a magical arrow that will automatically track its target.
Lancer of Black: Vlad III (Dracula) He despises the Dracula myth as he sees it as a corruption of his efforts in life to save his country and people. His Noble Phantasm is Lord of Execution, allowing him to summon thousands of stakes on which he can impale his enemies. He was forced to transform into a vampire-like monster after Darnic uses Vlad’s Noble Phantasm by force via the Command Seal and fuses with him. Vlad is then destroyed by Shirou Kotomine, along with Darnic.
Rider of Black: Astolfo: One of the Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne. He rides a Hippogriff as a Rider servant and he saves Sieg’s life in the beginning. His Noble Phantasm is Trap of Argalia, which can disable any living thing with a touch. He later became Sieg’s Servant after Celenike’s death.
Caster of Black: Avicebron: He is able to manufacture golems and thus given enough time is an army unto himself. His only wish is to see his Noble Phantasm (an actual living Golem) succeed. His Noble Phantasm is Golem Keter Malkuth, which allows him to construct the ultimate golem.
Berserker of Black: Frankenstein’s Monster: Caules Forvedge’s wish is to have the Grail give her a mate. Her Noble Phantasm is Blasted Tree, which allows her to release massive amounts of electrical energy. This, however, will causes her to self-destruct, and she’s destroyed by the usage of her Noble Phantasm as a result of attacking Mordred with it. It is also capable of reviving Sieg’s heart.
Assassin of Black: Jack the Ripper: A young girl originally summoned by Hyouma Sagara but kills him when he tries to sacrifice Reika during the summoning and transfers master status to Reika. Jack was originally born from a collection of tens of thousands of wraiths of the aborted children of prostitutes of Whitechapel, London. Her Noble Phantasm is Maria the Ripper, which allows her to instantly kill any female target as long as certain conditions are met.
Red Faction:
Saber of Red: Mordred: Known as the Knight of Treachery, she is the homunculus daughter of Arturia Pendragon and her sister Morgan Le Fay. She has a good relationship with her Master and wishes to use the grail to challenge her right to be King of Camelot and have her “father’s” recognition as her heir. Her Noble Phantasm is Clarent Blood Arthur, a magic sword that can release a massive energy blast.
Archer of Red: Atalanta: Wishes to use the Grail to protect the children of the world. Her Noble Phantasm is Phoebus Catastrophe, which unleashes a devastating rain of arrows down on the enemy.
Lancer of Red: Karna: Demi-God famous for his indomitable will and archery but here he was summoned as a Lancer. He possesses multiple Noble Phantasms that make him invulnerable and grant him powerful fire attacks.
Rider of Red: Achilies: His Noble Phantasm is Troias Trag?idia, his war chariot that he can summon. He wishes to use the holy grail to give him a second life.
Caster of Red: William Shakespeare: He is very interested in how popular his works are in modern times. His Noble Phantasm is First Folio, which allows him to trap his enemies in powerful illusions that force them to relive their most traumatic experiences.
Berserker of Red: Spartacus: He is known as the Spirit of Rebellion and takes great joy in battle. His Noble Phantasm is Crying Warmonger, which increases his power the more damage he receives.
Assassin of Red: Semiramis: She uses poison as her weapon but also has the ability to summon two Primeval Serpents and is an accomplished sorceress. Her Noble Phantasm is the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, where she can construct a massive flying fortress.
The Fate series was developed by Type-Moon as a visual novel after the soaring popularity of the light novels written by Gen Urobuchi. Ufotable later produced the first anime Fate Zero in 2011 which was met with wild commercial success in domestic and foreign markets.