PODCAST · leisure
Saber/Metrics
by Sierra and Iris
Ever wondered what's up with all those anime characters that mess up your Google searches for historical figures? Iris (a long-time Fate fan) and Sierra (who mostly just knows "Unlimited Blade Works" is a cool name for a magic spell) are here to help. Each episode, we summarize and analyze the narrative and themes of the franchise, starting with the original visual novel: Fate/Stay Night.
Episodes
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Fate/Zero Volume 2: The Mad Feast of Kings
As we dig deeper into the plot of Fate/Zero, we find more little things to be frustrated about. More pieces that just don’t quite line up how they should. On this episode, we discuss the structure of Fate/Zero as a whole and the continual misunderstanding of Saber’s character that comes to a head...
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Fate/Zero Volume 1: The Untold Story of the 4th Holy Grail War
With Shirou Emiya’s story now in our rear-view mirror, Gen Urobuchi takes us back to the jackasses who helped set the events of Fate/Stay Night in motion. The big question, though, is: did these gaps actually need filling? On this episode we discuss the first of the four light novels, the...
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Fate/Hollow Ataraxia Part 5: Finale
On this episode, we reach the end of the loops, and we brought our friend Kim to help us discuss both the ending and our overall thoughts on this strange fandisc. Opening: “Hollow (Short Edit)” from Fate/Hollow Ataraxia OST Ending: “Our Future (Short Edit)” from Fate/Hollow Ataraxia OST
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Fate/Hollow Ataraxia Part 4: Loops 9 - 12
After a long delay caused by a multitude of real-life occurrences, we’re finally back to talk about Bazett and Avenger. There’s a lot of good main story stuff here, but also some of the worst fluff we’ve seen so far. Opening: “Hollow (Short Edit)” from Fate/Hollow Ataraxia OST Ending: “Emiya #2”...
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Fate/Hollow Ataraxia Part 3: Loops 5 - 8
This episode was originally intended to be part 4, but we encountered audio issues during the recording of part 3 that proved to be unfixable in a way I would consider acceptable. I didn’t want to destroy anyone’s ears, so instead we give loops 5 and 6 a bit of a short shrift (though in our...
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Fate/Hollow Ataraxia Part 2: Loops 2 - 4
On this episode, we really get into the thick of it, discussing how much we love Bazett (a whole lot), how much we wish Shinji was not here (also a whole lot), and how we can clearly see what Nasu is trying to do despite the structure often actively working against crafting the thematic...
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Fate/Hollow Ataraxia Part 1: Loop 1
We might be done with Fate/Stay Night, but we’re not yet done with the characters from Fate/Stay Night. The whole cast returns for Fate/Hollow Ataraxia: a fandisc that also serves as a pseudo-sequel to F/SN. Turns out there are some strange, magical shenanigans going on in Fuyuki that not only…
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Fate/Stay Night Part 16: The Adaptations
Before we can truly bid Fate/Stay Night farewell, there are a couple adaptations we need to cover first: the somewhat notorious 2006 anime from Studio Deen, and the three Heaven’s Feel movies from ufotable. We spend plenty of time talking about what works and what doesn’t in both of these pretty...
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Fate/Stay Night Part 15: Heaven's Feel Day 16 + Last Episode
It’s time to finish off Fate/Stay Night. Or, at least, the visual novel version of F/SN. We excitedly talk about how Heaven’s Feel manages to stick the landing, and we revisit the “Last Episode” ending that Realta Nua added to see how we feel about it in the context of the whole VN. Opening…
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Fate/Stay Night Part 14: Heaven's Feel Days 13 - 15
Events come to a head in this section of Heaven’s Feel, with Shinji finally getting killed, Sakura going sicko mode, and Shirou unleashing Hero Emiya’s power. Prepare for a lengthy discussion of what’s actually going on with Sakura’s state of mind and a whole lot of lore. Content warning for…
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Fate/Stay Night Part 13: Heaven's Feel Days 10 - 12
With Heaven’s Feel’s thesis now firmly stated, the route really kicks into gear, scattering the pieces across the board, clarifying the stakes, and showing what will be required for Shirou to achieve a victory now that he’s rejected his previous set of ideals. It’s cool, it’s messy, and—most...
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Fate/Stay Night Part 12: Heaven's Feel Days 7 - 9
We were skeptical about the hype, but on this episode of the podcast, we both have to admit that Heaven’s Feel is delivering on its promises. Day 9, specifically, is arguably the most important day in the entire visual novel, and we spend a whole lot of time talking about why. Content warnings…
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Fate/Stay Night Part 11: Heaven's Feel Days 1 - 6
We’ve made it to the last route. The route where, hopefully, everything will come together. The route that F/SN fans have been hyping up for quite a while. Will it live up to the hype? Who knows, but the stuff we’ve seen so far gives us some reason to hope…and also a few reasons to be wary.…
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Fate/Stay Night Part 10: UBW Route Finale
Content warning for brief mentions of sexual assault Unlimited Blade Works has limped to the finish line. Did this route justify being completely separate from the Fate route? Is Shirou really going to avoid becoming Hero Emiya? And what’s up with Sunny Day being labeled the “Good” ending and...
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Fate/Stay Night Part 9: UBW Days 12 - 14
Hey, Illya finally gets a great scene with character development after what seems like forever! Granted, it involves her dying, but we’ll take what we can get. Also: Archer commits even more betrayal. Opening music: “THIS ILLUSION ~Fate Version~” from Fate/Stay Night Original OST Closing music:...
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Fate/Stay Night Part 8: UBW Days 9 - 11
Today we bring you this very special episode of Saber/Metrics, recorded entirely within Sierra’s bedroom. Thankfully, the gods of timing smiled upon this face-to-face recording session, because this set of days featured some of our favorite writing in the game so far. Remember that absolutely...
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Fate/Stay Night Part 7: UBW Days 6 - 8
On this episode, we discuss the mixed bag of events featured in Days 6 - 8. On the one hand, Caster is a pretty cool villain, Archer makes a great foil for Shirou, and Rin and Shirou’s conversation on the roof is one of the most genuinely sweet things in the entire VN so far. On the other hand,...
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Fate/Stay Night Part 6: UBW Days 3 - 5
With the Fate route now behind us, we can finally move onto what is perhaps the most well-known of the F/SN routes: Unlimited Blade Works. This is the first route that Sierra and I ever saw (and the only one we were familiar with from start to finish), and we’re excited to see if the new context…
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Fate/Stay Night Part 5: Fate Route Finale
We’ve finally reached the end of the first route of the game, which means it’s finally time to talk about the big picture for a bit. We discuss whether or not the Fate route accomplished what it set out to do, how the ending made us feel, and what we hope to see in the future routes. Content...
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Fate/Stay Night Part 4: Days 10 - 12
We have arrived at the first sex scene of Fate/Stay Night. Is it as bad as we feared? Well…yes and no. It’s complicated. On this episode, we learn Saber’s identity, get kidnapped by Illya, fight Berserker, make a sacrifice, and get our final lesson from Rin. We discuss the sex scene from 43:49 -...
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Fate/Stay Night Part 3: Days 7 - 9
Last time on this podcast, we were kinda going easy on Shirou. Not so any longer. On this episode, we start getting to the section of the game where Shirou says some really whack shit about women, and he just doesn’t stop being bad. Thankfully, Archer and Rin are still here to keep him in check....
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Fate/Stay Night Part 2: Days 4 - 6
The Grail War has begun. The main cast has been introduced. The exposition has been dumped. Now it’s time to really get into the thick of it. On this episode: Shirou gets deep into GENDER, Rin defeats her opponents (except Sakura) with facts and logics, Shinji continues to be a creep, and Saber...
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Fate/Stay Night Part 1: Prologue + Days 1-3
It begins! Welcome to the first episode of “I Got Sucked Off [By Historic King Arthur]”, an actually-pretty-sincere critical analysis of the works of Kinoko Nasu, cofounder of Type-Moon. Although Tsukihime and its sequel were technically Nasu’s first works, we’ll be starting with his seminal (and...
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Episode 19 - Cookie Run & Dragon Ball Legends
Before we officially don our Mystic Codes and descend into the Nasuverse, we have two final tasks that need to be done. As a request from good friend and fellow podcaster Maxie (you can find her in Eidolon Playtest), we talk about our very brief impressions of Cookie Run. And because our episode…
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Episode 18 - Fire Emblem Heroes & Final Fantasy Brave Exvius
A while ago on this podcast, I talked about Final Fantasy Record Keeper, the gacha that burned me the most. Now it’s Sierra’s turn to do the same for Final Fantasy Brave Exvius. We discuss the ways it could have been great and the horrible grinding mechanics that hold it back. We also go back and...
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Episode 17 - Goddess Kiss
Okay, I’m just gonna be honest here: this episode is just shy of an hour and a half and we spend maybe 20 minutes talking about the actual game in the episode title. If you’re online as much as Sierra and I are, you may have come across this Vice article about how to have a “healthier”…
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Episode 16 - Honkai Impact 3rd & Genshin Impact
It’s our first-ever double-feature for Gacha Journalism! Back when we initially recorded this episode, Genshin Impact just happened to come out the same week we decided to cover Honkai Impact 3rd, so we thought, “Hey, why not do both and compare the two?” What we discovered were two pretty solid...
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Episode 15 - Azur Lane
This was inevitable. When Sierra and I started on this journey, we knew we’d eventually have to cover a game where the core premise is “inanimate objects become hot anime girls.” And well, here we are. So, is it just as trashy as we expected, or is it actually good? The answer to that is more...
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Episode 14 - Puzzle and Dragons
We’ve finally arrived at one of the very first gacha games that made it big: Puzzle and Dragons. It was a big deal in the mobile-gaming space back in the day, and it’s still chugging along pretty well in 2020. Considering the last game we covered—Magia Record—is being shut down barely over a year...
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Episode 13 - Magia Record
This episode is technically a review of Magia Record, a mobile game sidestory for Madoka Magica. However, Sierra and Dustin mostly use it as an excuse to shit-talk Gen Urobuchi for a bit. Also, they have an in-depth discussion of their opinions on different styles of “grinds” by contrasting how...
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Episode 12 - Terra Battle
Our two-parter on dying games continues with a game that is straight-up actually dead but still keeps trucking anyway: the puzzle game Terra Battle. Sierra explains the history of the game, why she still plays it, and why it was killed in the first place. Meanwhile, Dustin attempts to wrap his…
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Episode 11 - Mobius Final Fantasy
We’re back once again with another Final Fantasy gacha game. This one, though, is quite a bit weirder than Record Keeper or Dissidia. For one thing, it’s dying, which makes it the very first game we’ve reviewed on this podcast that has been given a definite shutdown date. For another thing, it…
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Episode 10 - Valkyrie Anatomia: The Origin
Hey, remember Valkyrie Profile? That incredibly niche but pretty interesting JRPG with turn-based combat where juggling enemies with combos was an integral part of the gameplay? This gacha game is…almost like that. A faint imitation. Like a charcoal rubbing. Or like if you pressed some Silly…
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Episode 9 - Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia
It’s time for even more Final Fantasy, as Sierra gets to try out a gacha game I’ve been playing since its release date. The results? Shockingly positive! We break down why we love this game and discuss what elements it shares with Granblue that we think make both games friendly for newcomers and...
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Episode 8 - Final Fantasy Record Keeper
Hey, wait, didn’t we say we were gonna talk about Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle next? Well yes, we did. And we did, in fact, record that podcast. Unfortunately, one of my hard drives died completely, and I was only able to recover 2% of the files that were on it. The audio for the Dokkan Battle...
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Episode 7 - Fate/Grand Order
This is it, folks. The highest-grossing gacha game in the world. The archetypal wife-collecting simulator. Perhaps Dustin’s most problematic of faves. Fate/Grand Order. We'll be going pretty in-depth on this episode, dissecting why the Fate franchise is appealing even with all its blatant flaws…
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Episode 6 - Kingdom Hearts Union X
This episode of Gacha Journalism brings crushing disappointment in the form of a game that should be good but extremely is not. Join us as we delve into the story of the Kingdom Hearts mobile game (which rules) as well as its gameplay (which is awful). It truly is a land of contrasts.
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Episode 5 - Langrisser
On this episode, Sierra gets to introduce me to a tactical fantasy RPG series I’ve never heard of before: Langrisser. Turns out this forgotten franchise of consoles past has a mobile game version now and it’s…actually pretty decent? Arguably even better than Fire Emblem? If that sounds bizarre to...
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Episode 4 - BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!
This time on Gacha Journalism, we find a game we actually like again? Yes, we escaped the doldrums that were our last two episodes and landed into gay rhythm game paradise with Bang Dream, which is basically Love Live for band nerds. Are you prepared for positivity and also arguing about which…
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Episode 3 - SMT Liberation Dx2
On this episode, Sierra and I ostensibly talk about the SMT mobile game, but spend most of our runtime bantering about literally anything else. Our issues with Persona and how the Arena games are amazing? Yep. Our hopes for the Granblue fighting game’s roster? Yeah, we cover that too. Welcome to...
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Episode 2 - DanMachi ~Memoria Freese~
For our first randomly-chosen gacha game, the dice roller saw fit to give us DanMachi, a game based on an anime neither of us has seen (but Dustin has seen plenty of tweets and fanart of). Does it elevate its source material? And more importantly, was it at all worth the short amount of time we...
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Episode 1 - Granblue Fantasy
Hello and welcome to the first episode of Gacha Journalism, a podcast about free-to-play “gacha” games. On our introductory episode, Sierra and I give a brief overview of what gacha games are and some of the common terminology we’re going to be throwing around. Then we dive right into Granblue...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Ever wondered what's up with all those anime characters that mess up your Google searches for historical figures? Iris (a long-time Fate fan) and Sierra (who mostly just knows "Unlimited Blade Works" is a cool name for a magic spell) are here to help. Each episode, we summarize and analyze the narrative and themes of the franchise, starting with the original visual novel: Fate/Stay Night.
HOSTED BY
Sierra and Iris
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Saber/Metrics have?
Saber/Metrics currently has 42 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Saber/Metrics about?
Ever wondered what's up with all those anime characters that mess up your Google searches for historical figures? Iris (a long-time Fate fan) and Sierra (who mostly just knows "Unlimited Blade Works" is a cool name for a magic spell) are here to help. Each episode, we summarize and analyze the...
How often does Saber/Metrics release new episodes?
Saber/Metrics has 42 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Saber/Metrics?
You can listen to Saber/Metrics on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Saber/Metrics?
Saber/Metrics is created and hosted by Sierra and Iris.
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