Carnival Phantasm: Episode Summary 1-6 - Fate

Episode 1: The 5th Great Clash of the Magicians: The Holy Grail War

The Carnival Moment has arrived. Neco-Arc Bubbles gets a phone call at Ahnenerbe informing her that the Carnival is about to begin. According to Neco-Arc Chaos, the Carnival only comes to town once every 10 years and is a time when various tales may cross paths. After a brief introduction to Holy Grail War and their Servants, we’re abruptly dropped into the Fuyuki City Public Gymnasium Special Studio where Illyasviel von Einzbern informs us that the rules for The 5th Great Clash of the Magicians: The Holy Grail War are a little different than usual. This time the battle for the Holy Grail will be fought in the manner of a Japanese TV variety game show hosted by Illyasviel and Kirei Kotomine.

Lancer hopes we enjoy the evening, Assassin is mysteriously absent, Caster and Soichiro vow never to let any other hold the Grail, Rider tells a depressed Shinji to not worry, Berserker goes smashy, and Saber complains that a holy battle between Knights shouldn’t be this showy, while Rin privately declares she’ll resort to any kind of underhanded trick to win but turns to the cameras to insist on fair play for all. Noble Phantasms are forbidden on grounds of public safety (and because no one wants to clean that up), so the first game is...karuta! In round two, an unusually cute Caster in a very short skirt prepares to face off against Berserker for a game of tennis, but he is immediately disqualified for breaking the rules and the match called off. Round three sees Lancer shoved into a Pop Up Pirate barrel just like the classic children’s game while Saber and Archer poke their swords into the slots only for Gilgamesh to make a sudden and unexpected appearance and try to cheat by using his Noble Phantasm, “killing” Lancer in the process. Round four is a King’s Game between Saber and Gilgamesh who are both kings anyway, so it’s pointless.

After a bloody battle, Shiro is about to take the Grail but smashing it only summons Neco-Arc Bubbles. Neco Arc Chaos summons some Neco-Arc minions and bundles Shiro into a rocket to launch him into space. Meanwhile, Phantasmoon takes us into the end credits.

Episode 2: Badump! Melty Blood

After Neco-Arc Bubbles destroys Ahnenerbe with a laser beam we head into the next installment of Phantasm Moon, after which Neco-Arc Bubbles turns up on a beach lamenting the tragedy of the magical girl and the transience of youth before our favorite Tsukihime ladies begin pampering Shiki and a lost Shiro tries to figure out what just happened with the whole rocket thing at the end of the previous episode. Soon enough, it’s time for a special summer event - the “Badump Beach Volleyball Competition Hosted by the Tohno Family!”. In addition to the various prizes on offer, the game’s MVP will get the right to spend a night alone with Shiki in a private room. Ciel, Arcueid Brunestud, and Miyako end up on the “White Team”, with Akiha, Sion Eltnam Atlasia, and Hisui on the “Red Team”. Her eyes on getting MVP, Ciel charges straight ahead, taking out Nanako/Seven who was just trying to enjoy some tasty curry.

Meanwhile, Shiro and the Neco-Arc are trying to repair his rocket as the match descends into an internecine conflict that threatens to destroy life as we know it. Akiha and Arcueid Brunestud are the last players standing when it all comes down to one point, leaving Shiki swearing he’s never going to the beach with the girls ever again. Shiro sits down opposite him in a cafe in a dishevelled state, complaining that he hasn’t been able to fix his rocket.

The next segment, Afterschool Alleyway Alliance, features Satsuki, Sion, and Riesbyfe Stridberg complaining about their collective lack of screentime. The end credits kick in, leading to the Tiger Dojo where Taiga appears in rough sketch only as a punishment for abusing the budget in the previous episode.

Episode 3: It's a Daydream Everywhere

Neco-Arc Destiny announces she’s leaving Ahnenerbe because she’s realised that all the Neco-Arcs have the same face and it’s made her lose confidence in herself. Meanwhile, Arcueid Brunestud is waiting for Shiki outside school because he never hangs out with her anymore. Ciel suddenly turns up too and tells Arcueid not to make trouble for Shiki, dragging him inside while he shouts back at Arcueid that he can’t be too hard on Ciel because she saved his life. Arcueid climbs a tree and spies on Shiki in class but school is even more boring from outside so she decides to become a “mysterious transfer student”, even taking the entrance exams like a normal human person. She is, however, disheartened to learn that boys and girls get separated for gym and if you’re late you have to stay after class to clean up, so she eventually decides to quit only to resurface as…the janitor!

The Neco-Arcs reminisce about high school comedies and guys they used to like back in the day before cutting in with a story about Shiro and the ladies. Just as he’s about to put the futons away, he finds Illya and Taiga Fujimura asleep on them. Illya grabs Shiro and tries to convince him to join them for a nap. He soon falls asleep in her arms and is discovered by a confused Saber, who is then followed by Rin Tohsaka who manages to oust Illya and take her place. Illya cast a spell on Shiro so he wouldn’t wake up but the only way she can remove it is to kiss him, which annoys Rin.

Back at Ahnenerbe, the Neco-Arcs are pretty sleepy too which makes it time for another installment of Afterschool Alleyway Alliance with Satsuki still trying to get more airtime while Riesbyfe Stridberg attends to various real life matters on her cell phone. Meanwhile, in Phantasmoon, White Moon Princess takes out an enemy with spicy mapo tofu, and Taiga composes a rap for Shiro in the post-credits dojo.

Episode 4: Badump! Date Super Plan

The guys at Ahnenerbe love their TV even if it sometimes shows them sad things and they don’t have a video recorder to make sure they catch their favorite shows. Luckily Shiro does have one, and as he’s going to be late getting home from work he wants Rin Tohsaka to set it for him. Unfortunately she’s not very technical and didn’t even know that no one has VHS anymore but does her best to try and figure out what a blu-ray recorder is.

Meanwhile, back at Ahnenerbe, they’ve hit a bad end in their video game so it’s time for a love story! Shiro and Shiki meet up in a cafe to lament the woeful state of their love lives seeing as they have too many love interests and their dates are always clashing. Afraid their girlfriends might just kill them, the guys enact the “Badump Date Super Plan” which involves getting up at 4am to fit in as many dates as possible and technically being on more than one date at the same time. What should they do, try to date everyone or just pick one? The choice is yours!

In Afterschool Alleyway Alliance, Riesbyfe Stridberg is preoccupied with friendship and suggests breaking up, is this really the end for the gang? For Taiga and Illya it might be another sort of ending as they contemplate whether to burn or read all their complaint letters in this week’s Tiger Dojo.

Episode 5: Berserker's First Errand

Berserker makes an unexpected appearance at Ahnenerbe to cause destruction even before the action starts! Souichirou Kuzuki has a sit down with Nrvnqsr "Nero" Chaos / Fabro Rowan while the Neco-Arcs try to make repairs, and across town Illyasviel von Einzbern is defeated by a video game. She decides to send Berserker on an errand to buy fresh batteries in the hope of increasing her chances. Berserker has never been out on an errand before, so he’s a bit anxious. Leysritt decides to follow him from a discreet distance just in case he gets into trouble, which is just as well, because “Gilgamesh the Prankster” is also out today! Thankfully, his pranks are quickly defeated, but Leysritt realises Berserker’s gone out without his axe which is probably a good thing seeing as he ends up getting into a fight with Lancer while trying to pet a “dog”, forgetting all about the batteries! Single mindedly racing towards his temporary “holy grail”, Berserker defeats Assassin, Rider, Saber, Caster, Archer, and Lancer, accidentally winning the Holy Grail War and finding his reward in an electric kettle.

Meanwhile, in Phantasm Moon, White Moon Princess has to resort to punching her foes when her Marble Phantasm malfunctions and Taiga and Illya turn on the business charm in Tiger Dojo!

Episode 6: Type-Moon Serial TV Novel Sakura

Ahnenerbe is in the red - they’ll have to think about raising their prices! Neco-Arc Evolution arrives just in time to turn on the TV for his favorite show, Phantasmoon, for its final episode in which White Moon Princess faces off against her arch rivals, Kaleido Ruby, the “magical girl of love and justice from another world”, the “abusive magical girl of celebration and peace” Magical Caren, and “black curtain magical girl of proverbs and medicine” Magical Amber.

Meanwhile, Shinji Matou becomes violent with his sister Sakura while Rider watches from inside a wardrobe. Shinji forces Sakura to shovel snow away from the house, even off the roof, while he surfs the net in the warm inside. Rider tries to encourage her to resist, but Sakura says she’s OK with being bossed around by her brother, both afraid of his violence and worried that he can’t look after himself without her. In an effort to protect her, Rider keeps finding “accidental” ways to punish Shinji every time he tries to use violence against his sister, hoping that Sakura will eventually realise that Shinji is dangerous and she needs to leave.

Rider walks past an excited Caster buying groceries in the supermarket still thinking about Sakura and her lingering feelings for Shinji. Spotting Caster’s Noble Phantasm Rule Breaker casually dropped in the middle of the fresh goods aisle attached to her wallet, she picks it up and gives the knife to Sakura who uses it to save herself from an assault by Shinji, plunging it into his heart which is subsequently cleansed of darkness.

Touched by the story of sibling love, the Neco-Arcs wonder if they’re related too seeing as they all have the same face. Archer sits down with Nanako/Seven who vents about her “dangerous” Master, while the Taiga dojo is cut for “budgetary reasons.”