Fate/kaleid liner Prizma Ilya Episode 1 - Birth of a Magical Girl

A spin-off of the Fate series. When I read about Fate/kaleid liner (F/kl) , I was first excited, but reading the basic plot quickly turned my excitement to a strange, neutral feeling. I enjoyed Fate/stay night (F/sn) and Fate/Zero (F/Z) when I watched them, but this was due to the action-driven plot in the former and the the thought out characters in the latter. In this, however, it is quite evident that the plot will not have a deep storyline like the two series mentioned before. Also, the fact that Ilyasviel von Einzbern, commonly known as Ilya, is the main character was a turn-off, due to the fact I found her quite annoying in F/sn.

Regardless, I started watching the series to find that it definitely wasn't going to be terrible. The art was slightly childish, but that was dismissable, given the theme of the story and the precedent Puella Magi Madoka Magica (PMMM) had set within me, which told me that a good plot can change your entire impression the art gives you about the anime you are watching.

Many of the settings are slightly or greatly bent in comparison to the original ones, including:

• The school Shirou atends, Homurabara Academy, is also attended by Ilya. Ilya attends the primary division.
• Ilya does not live in Einzbern Castle in the forest, but in a regular residence.
• Shirou loves with Ilya from the beginning.
• Ilya's two maids, Sella and Leysritt, have a more family-like relationship with Ilya, acting like a mother and older sister, respectively.
• Rin Tohsaka is in Japan for a mission that she received overseas, as does not live in Japan.

I will refrain from adding more, as the list will be too long. The point is, F/kl should be treated as a completely different series to the others.

The existence of Magical Girls in the series is the most evident way to differentiate F/kl from the other works of TYPE-MOON. Many of their other creations, for example Tsukihime and Mahoutsukai no Yoru, feature magic as a core part of their stories, but none of the female magicians are referred to as 'Magical Girls'.

The first episode shows Rin arriving in Japan, along with another female magician of similar age, Luviagelita Edelfelt, (Luvia), for a 'mission', but they don't get along well and their sticks decide they are not worthy 'master's. Rin's stick chooses Ilya as its new master, and the unwilling Ilya is half-forced to become a magical girl.

The first episode, like many other first episodes, is an introductory one, so the story cannot be judged so far, but I think that the series may be worth keeping an eye out for if the story is serious and not simple fanservice and bad comedy.