Watch order / 3 routes
Fate watch order
The Fate series is one of the most confusing anime franchises to get into — this guide sorts out the mainline, prequels, and spin-offs.
The Fate franchise is the single most confusing watch order question in anime — and for good reason. The story started as a visual novel released in 2004 with three branching routes, each told through the same characters in the same Holy Grail War. The anime adaptations then arrived out of order, across different studios, and the franchise exploded into alternate-timeline spin-offs that share names and powers but tell completely separate stories. New viewers searching for a “Fate watch order” are often told to start with the prequel Fate/Zero, which is technically set first but was written to be experienced after the main story.
That is why this guide exists. The recommended path above starts with the modern, newcomer-friendly Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works (TV) by ufotable, and only introduces Fate/Zero once you have context for the world it explains. After that, the Heaven’s Feel movies round out the last of the three original routes. Everything else — Fate/Apocrypha, Fate/Grand Order, Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya, and the Case Files — is a spin-off that you can enjoy on its own terms or skip entirely without missing anything that feeds back into the core story.
The key mental model is this: the “real” Fate is the fifth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City, told across Fate/stay night’s three routes (Fate, Unlimited Blade Works, and Heaven’s Feel). Fate/Zero is the prequel to that war, and almost every other entry labelled “Fate” is a separate universe. Keep that distinction in mind and the franchise stops feeling like a maze.
Recommended order
The recommended order
The clean, modern path through the mainline story that most fans agree on: the ufotable adaptations first, with the prequel saved for when it will land hardest.
- 01
Fate/stay night — Unlimited Blade Works (TV)
Ufotable's slick adaptation of the second visual-novel route. The natural starting point.
- 02
Fate/stay night — Unlimited Blade Works 2nd Season
Completes the Unlimited Blade Works route.
- 03
Fate/stay night Movie — Heaven's Feel II. Lost Butterfly
Part two of the trilogy adapting the third, darkest visual-novel route.
- 04
Fate/stay night Movie — Heaven's Feel III. Spring Song
Concludes the Heaven's Feel route and the core Fate/stay night story.
- 05
Fate/Zero
The prequel. Best watched after the mainline so its revelations land properly.
- 06
- 07
Fate/stay night (2006)
Optional. Studio Deen's dated adaptation of the first visual-novel route, with elements of the other routes mixed in. Only for completionists.
- 08
Fate/stay night Movie — Heaven's Feel I. Presage Flower
Part one of the trilogy. Listed here for completeness after the main arc.
- 09
Fate/Apocrypha
Skippable spin-off set in an alternate timeline with a completely separate Holy Grail War. Fun, but unconnected to the mainline.
- 10
Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya
Skippable. A magical-girl alternate take on the franchise that is only loosely tied to the main story.
- 11
Fate/Grand Order — Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia
Skippable unless you already play the mobile game. Adapts a chapter of Fate/Grand Order, which is its own standalone universe.
- 12
Lord El-Melloi II Case Files — Rail Zeppelin Grace Note
Optional. A mystery spin-off following a grown Waver Velvet from Fate/Zero. Best saved for after you have seen Fate/Zero.
Chronological order
The story timeline, starting with the prequel that takes place ten years before the main series. Newcomers should prefer the recommended order; this one is for rewatches.
- 1
Fate/Zero
Set ten years before Fate/stay night, during the Fourth Holy Grail War.
- 2
Fate/Zero 2nd Season
Concludes the Fourth Holy Grail War.
- 3
Fate/stay night — Unlimited Blade Works (TV)
The Fifth Holy Grail War, unlimited blade works route.
- 4
Fate/stay night — Unlimited Blade Works 2nd Season
Continues the Fifth Holy Grail War.
- 5
Fate/stay night Movie — Heaven's Feel trilogy
The alternative Fate route set in the same war; treats the Fifth Holy Grail War from a different angle.
Release order
How the anime actually aired, from the 2006 adaptation to the present. Historically interesting, but several entries are now fully superseded.
- 1
Fate/stay night (2006)
The first anime adaptation, by Studio Deen.
- 2
Fate/stay night Movie — Unlimited Blade Works
A brief Deen movie adaptations of the route later remade properly by ufotable.
- 3
Fate/Zero
The prequel, by ufotable.
- 4
Fate/Zero 2nd Season
- 5
Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya
The first of the alternate spin-offs.
- 6
Fate/stay night — Unlimited Blade Works (TV)
- 7
Fate/stay night — Unlimited Blade Works 2nd Season
- 8
Fate/Apocrypha
- 9
Fate/stay night Movie — Heaven's Feel I. Presage Flower
- 10
Fate/stay night Movie — Heaven's Feel II. Lost Butterfly
- 11
Lord El-Melloi II Case Files — Rail Zeppelin Grace Note
- 12
Fate/Grand Order — Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia
- 13
Fate/stay night Movie — Heaven's Feel III. Spring Song
FAQ
Fate watch order questions
Quick answers to the questions people actually search.
What is the best Fate watch order?
Most fans recommend starting with Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works (TV, 2014) and its 2nd Season, followed by the Heaven's Feel movie trilogy, and then watching Fate/Zero as the prequel that explains what happened ten years earlier. Alternative entries like Fate/Apocrypha and Fate/Grand Order sit apart from the mainline and are fully skippable for new viewers.
Where should I start Fate?
Start with Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works (TV, 2014). Watch the 12-episode first season, then the 13-episode 2nd Season. It is the most visually impressive and newcomer-friendly adaptation of the core story. Avoid starting with the 2011 Fate/Zero — it was written as a prequel and assumes you already know the Fate/stay night setting.
Do I need to watch Fate/Zero first?
No. Fate/Zero is a prequel set ten years before Fate/stay night, but it was written and adapted after the visual novel and expects you to know the main story. Watching it first heavily spoils Fate/stay night and can color your reading of the characters. It is best watched after the Fate/stay night adaptations.
Is Fate/Zero a prequel or a sequel?
Fate/Zero is a prequel. It depicts the Fourth Holy Grail War, which takes place ten years before the Fifth Holy Grail War of Fate/stay night. It was published as a light novel prequel to the visual novel and later adapted into anime by ufotable in 2011-2012.
Do the Fate spin-offs matter?
The spin-offs — Fate/Apocrypha, Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya, Fate/Grand Order, and Lord El-Melloi II Case Files — are set in alternate timelines or different eras and are not required to understand the mainline Fate/stay night story. Watch them only after finishing the core titles, and treat most of them as optional.