Line #18 Trivia/FateStayNight


1	* AdaptationFirst: The original visual novel wouldn't come out internationally until 2024, after various adaptations and spin-offs have already made their way outside Japan.
2	* BackportedDevelopment: The original HGame release did not have any voice acting. The characters were first voiced in the Creator/StudioDEEN anime adaptation, and the Japanese voice actors were subsequently hired to voice the characters in the all-ages ''Realta Nua'' UpdatedReRelease. As a consequence, the visual novel's H-scenes remain unvoiced to this day.
3	* PornCreatorGoingMainstream: Needless to say, while the franchise's origins as a game with pornographic elements pop up occasionally in discussion, it's far more well-known these days for its plot and characters than for the sex scenes.
4	* CashCowFranchise: The original visual novel and its various sequels, prequels and spin-offs have become this for the Franchise/{{Nasuverse}}, raking in box-office breaking numbers (or the videogame equivalent), with plenty of adaptations over the years to the point its closest competition in ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}}'' has more or less been left in the dust. The ongoing success of just the most recent addition to the sub-franchise in ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' just emphasizes how popular ''Fate'' really is. It's even [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in ''Anime/CarnivalPhantasm'' when [[VisualNovel/{{Tsukihime}} Kohaku]] describes Saber as Nasu's Cash Cow.
5	* CreatorBacklash: PlayedForLaughs. In a livestream commemorating the VN's 20th anniversary, after thanking his fans and collaborators, Nasu ended with a joke about how he could now relate to Archer's feelings and wanted to give his own younger self a piece of his mind (presumably for how busy the franchise's runaway success has kept him).
6	* CreatorsFavorite:
7	** Takashi Takeuchi, the co-creator and lead artist for [[Franchise/{{Nasuverse}} Type-Moon]], has proudly expressed himself as the largest Saber fan alive, even giving his own AuthorAvatar the Noble Phantasm of being able to summon an infinite amount of Saber clones.
8	** According to ''Fate/side material'', Sakura Matou is Creator/TypeMoon's favorite heroine despite her tragic backstory and small role in the ''Fate'' and ''Unlimited Blade Works'' routes.
9	* ExtremelyLengthyCreation: The visual novel was released in 2004, when Kinoko Nasu was in his early thirties. According to interviews with him and Takeuchi, he initially came up with it, in detail (albeit with some differences, as shown in Anime/FatePrototype), when he was in ''high school.''
10	* FlipFlopOfGod: While the characters' ages aren't stated in ''Fate/stay night'' itself, Nasu has said that Saber is physically one year younger than Shiro, with ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' and ''Literature/GardenOfAvalon'' stating she became TheAgeless when she was 15... which would make Shiro and Rin 16 during the event of the visual novel -- meshing with them being second-year students at a Japanese high-school. However, Rin and Shiro are said to be 19 after the two-year timeskip at the end of the "Unlimited Blade Works" route, meaning they were 17 during the main story, which would make Saber 16. The inconsistent ages is more likely to avoid any potential issues due to being an HGame originally, so in the original version they were older to avoid any potential issues, and in other versions that lack the HGame elements, are made younger.
11	* GodNeverSaidThat: The final Tiger Dojo states that the player has reached the true end of the story. Unfortunately, some people have misconstrued that as to mean the final route, Heaven's Feel, is the canon ending, despite that [[MultiVerse all endings are canon in the Nasuverse]]. Not to mention that ''Realta Nua'' features an additional scenario unlocked after Heaven's Feel; Last Episode, which is an epilogue to the Fate route.
12	* HeAlsoDid: hil, the composer of tracks like "Mighty Wind" and "Tiger Dojo", later revealed himself to be Satoshi Ishikawa, the sound person behind ''VideoGame/DigimonWorld2'', ''VideoGame/DigimonWorld3'', and ''VideoGame/DigimonWorld4''.
13	* KeepCirculatingTheTapes:
14	** The Creator/StudioDeen series until it was rescued from Creator/{{Geneon}} by Creator/SentaiFilmworks. They'd also dub the movie with Creator/BangZoomEntertainment's assistance.
15	** The only "current" version of the game is the Japan-exclusive Android port, which features "Fate" for free and the other routes as paid DLC. Secondhand copies of the ''Realta Nua'' [=PlayStation=] 2 port are relatively affordable, the Vita port can still be purchased new, but these are both outmoded pieces of hardware which may be difficult to procure on their own. Meanwhile, any version for the original platform, PC, is difficult to acquire legally. The original, self-published physical release can cost upwards of $200 for a used copy, and sometimes more than double that if it's the ''[[CompilationRerelease Fate/stay night]] + [[VisualNovel/FateHollowAtaraxia hollow ataraxia]]'' re-release. ''Realta Nua'' for PC is no longer sold on digital storefronts, meaning the ''only'' way to get it is through piracy. The upcoming Switch and Steam versions are set to make it easily available again sometime in 2024.
16	* LateExportForYou: A remastered ''Realta Nua'' on Steam and Switch with English and Chinese languages was announced 20 years after the visual novel originally released in 2004.
17	* MilestoneCelebration: The remaster of the PS Vita version of ''Realta Nua'' for Steam and the Nintendo Switch was announced in commemoration of the visual novel's 20th anniversary, alongside the fact that this would be the first time the visual novel would get an English and Chinese localization.
18	* MultiDiscWork: The original 2004 doujin release of ''Fate/stay night'' was released on 3 CD-[=ROMs=]. Some later reprints packages the game into a single DVD.
19	* NoExportForYou: The original version of ''Fate/stay night'' as an R-18 eroge has never been indicated for release outside Japan.
20	* OrphanedSeries: The English translation of the ''Fate/stay night'' manga only got up to 11 volumes officially released (out of 20) before Creator/{{Tokyopop}} shut down in 2011. English fan translations got up to Chapter 65 (out of 87) before all efforts abruptly ceased in 2013. The only fan translations that are complete are in Chinese and Spanish, and the Spanish one(s) are exceedingly difficult to find.
21	* TheOtherDarrin:
22	** Creator/KateHiggins was the only member of the original cast unable to reprise her role as Saber for the dub of the "Unlimited Blade Works" movie, leading to Creator/MichelleRuff taking the role.
23	** Needless to say, the Aniplex-dubbed anime shows, including the ''UBW'' TV series, feature a cast replacement for virtually everyone in English. Although notably, Illya remains Creator/StephanieSheh throughout all dubs, as does Creator/MelaLee for Rin Tohsaka, Creator/TonyOliver as Lancer and Creator/JulieAnnTaylor as Taiga.
24	*** Funny enough, some of the actors from UBW has voiced someone else from the original series (Creator/LexLang went from being Issei to Soichiro, Creator/MeganHollingshead went from being Bedivere to Caster and Creator/DavidVincent went from being Assassin to being Gilgamesh)
25	** Masaki Terasoma replaced Kazuhiro Nakata as Kuzuki in the 2014 anime series due to the latter taking a hiatus from voice acting due to medical issues.
26	** Bedivere has been impressively Darrined three times, with Creator/MamikoNoto as the first for the original 2006 anime, being replaced by Creator/ShinichiroMiki for the [=PS2=] version of Realta Nua (due to budget constraints), replaced again by Creator/MitsuakiMadono for the PS Vita version of Realta Nua, and currently is Creator/MamoruMiyano for the Garden of Avalon drama CD and ''Fate/Grand Order''.
27	* RealPlaceBackground: Some locations in Fuyuki City are based on real-life places in Kobe and Fujisawa City.
28	** Ryuudou Temple is modeled after the Yugyoji Temple in Fujisawa City.
29	** The iconic Fuyuki Bridge and the building that was the inspiration for Rin's house can be found in Kobe.
30	** Two buildings in the Akashi Castle complex were also used for inspiration: the Oda Nagayamon gate (which is where the outside shot of the Emiya residence is modeled after), and a dojo that served as the model for the archery dojo of Homurahara Academy.
31	* ReferencedBy: Music/TheWeeknd's "Coming Down" samples Shirou and Saber's conversation before they kiss from Episode 21 of the 2006 adaptation.
32	* RefittedForSequel: According to a 2012 interview, Rin chasing Shirou around at their school in ''Unlimited Blade Works'' was actually a reworking of a scene from the original unpublished version of ''VisualNovel/WitchOnTheHolyNight'' where the protagonist Aoko was hunting down Soujuurou for similar reasons before being interrupted by a hostile interloper.
33	* TeasingCreator: Over whether or not the Fate route will receive an anime remake by Ufotable. [[https://twitter.com/KaroshiMyriad/status/1219225919455236096 According to attendees at the Type-Moon Museum]], Ufotable has animated the Realta Nua epilogue, but it remains to be seen if they'll animate the rest of the route.
34	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
35	** [[AllThereInTheManual An artbook known as ''Character Material'']] has revealed that the protagonist was originally a ''girl'' named Sajyou Ayaka and her Servant would have been a guy (named [[{{Engrish}} Saver in the artbook]]). Ayaka was eventually reworked, in parts, into both Shirou ''and'' Rin, but the original idea was animated into a short OVA titled ''Anime/FatePrototype.''
36	** In one of the Tiger Dojos, Illya mentions that it would be nice to see a Route in which Shinji cooperated with Shirou, or one Route when Caster became an ally. Taiga right away smacks Illya in the head and say "Don't talk about the rejected Routes!". Along with the information on the "Illya Route", which was cut and reworked into the "Heaven's Feel" route because Illya is the TokenMiniMoe, this means that there would be a lot of Routes, but thanks to "time and resources not being infinite" (another quote from Taiga) they were rejected. To be more specific, Fate/side material revealed that in the Caster Route, Caster would have reversed her age, turned into a loli, and become the protagonist's partner. Unlike Rider's route which was also scrapped, none of this was incorporated in the end product. Parts of the concept would eventually find their way into the third chapter of ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'', however, including a young "Lily" version of Medea.
37	** ''Fate/Prototype'' shows us that Gilgamesh's original Noble Phantasm instead of Ea was Enki (which is another name for the same god), a bow/double sword combo that allowed him to summon the Surge of Utnapishtim, or as it's better known, ''TheGreatFlood''. He also had a third passive Noble Phantasm that allowed him to survive any battle no matter what, [[UltimateShowdownOfUltimateDestiny which would clash with Berserker's Noble Phantasm, which was to not lose for eleven battles, concluding with Gilgamesh losing but surviving and Berserker winning but dying]]. He was also far more skilled in melee combat, easily trouncing Saber in a fight with only his Enki blades.
38	** It's stated in the [[HaveANiceDeath Tiger Dojos]] that Nasu had been toying with the idea of giving Illya her own route if ''Heaven's Feel'' was short enough, but it wasn't and the details of her route were largely folded into ''Heaven's Feel'' instead. It's also been mentioned that there was originally a BadEnd in the ''Fate'' route where she raped Shirou, but that scene was obviously cut. And then in ''VisualNovel/FateHollowAtaraxia'' it's revealed that even Shinji was more likely to get his own route than her. Illya being bitter over her route getting cut is turned into a running gag in the franchise's meta material, such as ''Anime/CarnivalPhantasm''.
39	** The Stray Servant who was one of the original heroine candidates for the visual novel and would eventually be reworked into [[VideoGame/FateGrandOrder Mash]] was first briefly mooted as a route heroine during initial production (though quickly scrapped as there was no way there'd be time for her). Described as an "abandoned puppy-type heroine", she was going to be a Servant from the Fourth Holy Grail War who killed her Master and survived until the Fifth, like Gilgamesh. As a Shielder, she was also going to be Saber's rival. With the DEEN anime, Nasu has claimed there to be two planned concepts to bring her back into the story.
40	*** In 2005, during initial planning, he had planned for her to replace Assassin as the gatekeeper to Ryuudou Temple. In this scenario, Saber would've had to overcome the mental block of fighting someone she knew in her past life, [[spoiler:a gender-flipped Galahad]].
41	*** In 2006, it was subsequently reworked to have a girl named Tachie who died in the Fuyuki Fire at the end of the Fourth War, but was revived by a necromancer for the Fifth and used as a vessel for [[spoiler:Galahad]] as the necromancer's Servant. She would have held a grudge against Shirou because she felt like he abandoned her while she was calling for help in the fire, but would have ended up coming to terms with her death and his survival, and died again saving Shirou. Her master was also a man named Ernest Gravehill, and [[https://twitter.com/KaroshiMyriad/status/1208136985883230210?s=20 her outfit]] was later retooled for Scathach.
42	** Nasu wanted the ''Heaven's Feel'' route to have a one on one duel between Saber and Rider where they debated about their ideals, but it was pressed for time.
43	** Berserker originally had another Noble Phantasm that made his Master immortal as long as he was alive, meaning the other Masters couldn't kill Illya to get rid of him. This was scrapped as it was too much of a StoryBreakerPower and was somewhat of a stretch of his myth.
44	** In the original concept art, Rider was going to be an IdenticalStranger to Shirou's classmate Ayako Mitsuzuri. This was an echo of the ''original'' Rider from the Ayaka stage of development masquerading as a classmate at Ayaka's school; ultimately, the entire idea would be dropped in favor of making Rider a more mature woman than the teenage human cast.
45	** Caster Medea originally had a Noble Phantasm called Argon Coin: The Golden Fleece, which is the Golden Fleece from her legend that lets her summon the dragon that guarded it, which would significantly up her threat level. In the finished product, Caster briefly mentions while she ''could'' summon the dragon, she has no control over it, so she won't bother trying because she would risk getting killed. Instead, Argon Coin would later show up in ''VideoGame/FateGrandOrder'' as her self-heal skill.
46	** There was a planned battle between Rider and Berserker. Rider would immediately realize Berserker's true identity due to them both being Greek heroes. Rider would ram him with Bellerophon, taking away two lives, before getting killed.
47	** In early drafts, Illya's caretaker was a tuxedo-wearing German man instead of Sella and Leysritt.
48	** [[https://twitter.com/_genki_dama/status/1375155120770535424?s=19 Apparently]], Creator/AoiYuuki auditioned for Illya back when they began casting for the anime adaptation. She would not get to work in a ''Fate'' product until ''[[VideoGame/FateExtra Fate/Extra CCC]]'' as Jinako.
49	* WordOfGay: Actually inverted for Issei. Readers often get the impression that he's gay for Shirou, but Nasu's gone on record denying this. However, that may only hold true for the original VN, since several adaptations/spinoffs have turned the HoYay up to undeniably deliberate levels.

Context Trivia / FateStayNight