Fate/Stay Night: Heaven's Feel II. Lost Butterfly
A dark chapter in the Holy Grail War.
The second film in Ufotable's Heaven's Feel trilogy, directed by Tomonori Sudō, adapts the final route of the Fate/stay night visual novel. Picking up directly after the first film, it follows the Holy Grail War and the bond between Shirou Emiya and Sakura Matou. After losing his status as a Master, Shirou tries to save Sakura and the other combatants.
Quick Facts
- Director
- Tomonori Sudō
- Producer
- Hikaru Kondo
- Atsuhiro Iwakami
- Tomotaka Takeuchi
- Screenplay
- Akira Hiyama
- Story
- Kinoko Nasu
- Based on
- Fate/stay night; by Type-Moon
- Starring
- Noriaki Sugiyama
- Noriko Shitaya
- Yū Asakawa
- Mai Kadowaki
- Kana Ueda
- Ayako Kawasumi
- Music
- Yuki Kajiura
- Studio
- Ufotable
Facts from the source article.
Plot
Shirou Emiya is out of the Holy Grail War after Saber vanishes, but he refuses to quit. He discovers Sakura Matou has been taken by her brother Shinji. When Shirou confronts Shinji, Sakura begs for peace, and Rider reveals she is actually Sakura’s Servant. Shinji throws a potion on Sakura that makes her mana spiral out of control, then runs. Archer and Rin attack Sakura, but Rider shields her and uses her petrifying gaze, showing she is Medusa. Shirou gets hurt and passes out; Sakura’s sorrow makes her injure herself, which stops Rider. Shirou wakes up at Fuyuki Church, where priest Kirei Kotomine is operating on Sakura. Kotomine says Sakura’s body is filled with Zōken Matou’s Crest Worms, which feed on her mana by arousing her. Rin thinks about killing Sakura because of the danger, but Kotomine tells Shirou that Rin and Sakura are blood sisters—Sakura was given to the Matou family as an adopted child. Shirou vows to protect Sakura even if it means abandoning his ideals, and Rin backs down. Sakura returns to the Emiya house with Rider, who slowly starts trusting Shirou. But the Crest Worms make Sakura more aroused and unstable. Shirou and Rin go to Illyasviel von Einzbern to form an alliance, but find her fighting Zōken and a shadow that releases a corrupted Saber to devour Berserker. Archer drives off Zōken’s Assassin, but the shadow wounds him fatally and cuts off Shirou’s left arm. Before dying, Archer removes his own left arm and grafts it onto Shirou. With their Servants gone, Rin and Illya move into the Emiya household to plan and help Shirou adjust to his new arm, which is wrapped in holy cloth because his body can’t handle Archer’s power. As Rin gets closer to Shirou, Sakura grows jealous and asks if he loves her. Shirou says yes, and they sleep together.
Production
The film was first revealed in May 2018. Director Tomonori Sudō found it challenging to develop but expressed joy in fan reactions, aiming to expand Shirou and Sakura's characterization in certain scenes. Another staff member noted the film has an impactful ending and looked forward to the third film. The Japanese voice cast reprised their roles. Noriaki Sugiyama provided a different take on Shirou, aiming for a cool-headed style. Noriko Shitaya enjoyed Sakura's feelings being noticed by Shirou. Ayako Kawasumi had mixed feelings about Saber's darker characterization as Saber Alter but wanted fans to see her in action. Kana Ueda felt emotional while recording, sometimes to the point of crying. Hiroshi Kamiya found Shinji Matou to have evolved in darker ways, calling him the actual antagonist. The theme song "I beg you" was composed by Yuki Kajiura and performed by Aimer, written to explore Sakura and Shirou's relationship and show Sakura's dark personality.
Release
The film debuted in Japan on January 12, 2019. At Anime Expo 2018, Aniplex of America confirmed a U.S. theatrical release, starting with a February 23, 2019 premiere at the Regal LA Live in Los Angeles, followed by a wider rollout with Fathom Events from March 14. Canada also saw the film on March 14. In Australia and New Zealand, Madman Entertainment hosted a premiere at Madman Anime Festival Sydney 2019 on March 16, with a broader release later that year. Malaysia got it on April 18. Promotional tie-ins included a Pizza Hut collaboration in Japan and character additions to Puzzle & Dragons. Japanese DVD and Blu-ray copies hit shelves on August 21, 2019.
Reception
By its 12th day, it surpassed ¥1 billion. By its fifth week, it dropped from the top ten, earning a total of ¥1.5 billion. As of February 19, 2019, it sold over 1 million tickets and grossed over ¥1.5 billion in Japan. Overseas, it grossed $1,056,000 in Hong Kong, and its North American debut earned US$420,595. In China, it debuted with an opening weekend of $3.7 million. As of July 14, 2019, it grossed over $19 million worldwide. The theme song "I beg you" topped Oricon's charts with 31,000 copies sold. Kim Morrissy of Anime News Network gave the film an "A," praising its dark plot and relationships, but noted it would not be accessible to new viewers. Skyler Allen of The Fandom Post gave it an "A-", praising the fight scenes and Shirou and Sakura's development, but noted viewers might feel uncomfortable about Sakura's feelings about sexual relationships. Richard Eisenbeis of Biggest in Japan found Shirou's character arc contradicted his ideals from previous storylines.
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