Another season of Illya’s alternate dimension spin-off adventure came to an end. While the second half of season 2, 2wei Herz! left fans somewhat disappointed would the 3rd (technically 4th) one cheer them up again? Let us find out as we take a look at Magical Girl Illya 3.
By now it should be a given that unless readers have already seen past seasons it is best to watch those first before checking out 3rei!! My G-Views of the previous 2 (technically 3) seasons are down below:
- Fate/Kaleid liner Prisma Illya
- Fate/Kaleid liner Prisma Illya 2wei
- Fate/Kaleid liner Prisma Illya 2wei Herz!
Genres: Action, Comedy, Drama, Supernatural, Magic
Themes: Magical Girl, Yuri
Objectionable content: Significant
Number of episodes: 12
G-Rating: 9/10
Plot summary: Illya and friends were relaxing after the events of 2wei! were behind them. However, their free time was short lived for a new threat appeared out of nowhere and captured Miyu but Illya would not stay behind and chased her captors to a familiar yet very different world. Will Illya be able to find out what happened and rescue Miyu?
Honestly I do not have much to add about the series’ presentation that I have not already in previous G-Views. The animation quality is still pretty good and the soundtrack is solid but in 3rei!! they all got a boost for a specific reason that I will get to in a bit. Basically viewers who liked the previous seasons’ presentation will feel right at home with this entry.
Now the main gripe with many fans after seeing 2wei Herz! was that there was too much emphasis on the casual/slice of life segments for the majority of it. Even though the first season and first half of 2wei! showed that there are casual segments they were moderately balanced with the vintage Fate franchise action scenes and dramatic plot developing moments. 2wei Herz! also had them but far less. In 3rei!! on the other hand it had been reversed. There is A LOT MORE emphasis on vintage Fate action and dramatic plot developing moments while the casual segments were considerably lessened. They were still there but nowhere near as plentiful as in 2wei Herz! The result is most likely the best season of Magical Girl Illya by far, especially with the main plot being more compelling now that the card collecting is pretty much done with. This is a more super dee duper serious Illya that once in a while has moments of casual Illya.
This is reflected in the vintage Fate action scenes whose intensity skyrocketed thanks to the more serious tone. Past seasons had bloodshed but this time it is ramped up. Not to gory extremes but enough to barely bypass a PG-13 rating, though some would say the whole series has been Rated R from the start which is a very valid argument. Point is the action is more intense than ever before in 3rei!! Same goes for the character development. Illya especially goes through a bigger transformation than in the past while her friends and allies, most of them to be exact, also bring their A-game. The newcomers (and familiar faces with new roles in this dimension), both good and bad, all made their presences known and are welcome additions to the cast…even Beatrice who I am personally indifferent towards.
Do keep in mind when going into this show that, as of this review’s writing, the manga is still ongoing so while a lot happens there will still be unanswered questions that may get answered in the continuation which I will mention at the end of the review. Still a really good story filled with lots of great moments and surprises.
Now just because the show is more serious now does not mean the lighthearted moments, and more importantly the sweet and naughty loli yuri moments were scrapped. They are still there and still as heartwarming and steamy (depending on the scene) as they have always been, just used sparingly.
Overall Fate/Kaleid liner Prisma Illya is arguably the best season in the spin-off by far. The presentation is still Illya but with a more serious and intense tone and less casual. Viewers should be prepared for moments of discomfort…and I am not talking about the naughty loli moments because if those bother you then why are you still watching this show? Anyway highly recommended to both fans who have been enjoying the show and ones who were hoping 3rei!! would spice things up after the somewhat lackluster 2wei Herz!
I am very excited for more and am eagerly anticipating the upcoming movie which will hopefully continue right where 3rei!! left off.
In memory of Miyu Matsuki, Magical Sapphire’s original seiyu: 1977-2015.
The Yuri Empire 
Rest in piece Miyu-San we shall miss you also i’m surprised they left out the part where Gilgamesh praises Shirou for projecting that sword they used as a ramp regardless the anime was nice to watch and i did wonder how Tanaka managed to throw her arm all the way to where Illya was
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Because she’s Tanaka.
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That is a pretty good reason i still think she’s related to either the True Ancestors or another Phantasmal Race or just the world in general her wanting to destroy the Ainsworth and her arm being “The Worlds truth” just makes me think she’s related
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I joined the Illya-hype for the cute magical girls and at times hilarious fun plus some nice action… So, this season took me by surprise for its seriousness and the plentiful insinuations towards the rest of the nasuverse (which weren’t as prominent or didn’t feel as important in the previous seasons). It was a good surprise, though, as it got me to catch up on the other / prequel Fate series – and that was hardly a disappointing experience, since I have nothing against a well thought out universe and some action with depth and tangible stakes and character development.
I guess, one could still enjoy this season without, but honestly, now I feel with this background education, I should give the whole Illya-story (so far) a rewatch for some some more revelations and light bulb moments…
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Best to watch the whole thing for a more complete experience. Just be careful of “Assface Emiya ass kissing because he’s the franchise protagonist” nonsense while watching the previous seasons.
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Anime of the season for me~
it pulled off everything so amazingly, and kept me entertained from start to finish!
Sucks hardcore that the conclusion of this arc will be in movie format, and take forever to see, but ah well.
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Will be worth the wait hopefully.
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I expect nothing less than a steamy Illya x Miyu extended love scene next season.
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I doubt we’ll get it except in doujins but Miyu and Illya deserve to have a steamy session even if all we get to see is some kissing and then cut to them cuddled up in bed i’ll be pleased
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The only quality anime that aired this season was Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope’s Peak Academy.
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I have oodles of issues with that anime. But I’ll just leave it at, I respectfully disagree.
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Oh yes, this season was memorable specially with all the development that had Illya, is one of this special serie who get far enought to see how the character grown up.
Also my complex for hear the new Sapphire voice dissappear.
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Great stuff this season.
Good. You overcame your pain. Can’t let it consume you for too long.
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well give this illya season quite a different take give this series went beyond 10eps to go 12eps.
yet season itself yet give whole alternate world doing is doing remind feel whole s2 the flash doing of sorts at least they did NOT pull a “flashpoint” twist yet.
(i know can’t resist compare illya s4 to the flash s2 give i’ll be watching flash s3 this fall whole flashpoint along with arrow & whole arrowverse series world connections)
overall this series so far got ask if when s5 is coming?
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It’s cool. I guess both have their similarities as you’ve mentioned several times.
Dunno if we’re getting a 5th season or the story will be resolved in the upcoming movie.
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Ramen shop owner Kirei, Heaven’s Feel Shirou, more excellent action scenes, and lewd Illya X Kuro scenes, what more can I ask? Great season.
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That it was.
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I sort of wonder if the up-coming movie might not be fully a backstory, showing what happened in the Miyuverse before Miyu met Illya or such…I don’t know if they’d go for finishing the story before the manga concludes, though of course that’s a possibility too…and a backstory as a movie version would both let us see some interesting stuff without being too filler. Maybe. Just a thought. Not Lame Shirou’s words at the end just made me wonder, that’s all (“So first, I’d like to tell you our story” and all that, + a backstory movie would be self-contained enough to work well as a movie, if they’re not ending the story yet)
Tanaka is beginning to scare me a little…is there anything (besides remembering stuff) that she’s failed at since Illya met her? Casually doing things that everyone else struggles with, tanking powerful attacks without a scratch (I wonder if even a Noble Phantasm would hurt her?), re-attaching body parts seamlessly as if they had never been removed in the first place…what is she made of, a combination of lava and clay? …I’d hate for her to be my enemy. /shiver
Glad they didn’t go the Ange Vierge route of keeping the prisoner locked up forever, and instead gave her her moments to shine. Those Miyu x Illya moments in the final episodes become instant desktop backgrounds. ❤
I agree on this being the best season of Prisma Illya. All those cliffhangers, plot twists, references and epic moments were amazing to see. They even managed to make me like (this) Shirou a little!
(The only real downside to the season for me is only semi-related, as my luck in the Fate/Grand Order Prisma Illya 3rei event was about as much suffering as Miyu went through this season…)
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3rei was definitely better than Zwei Herz but that’s not really a hard thing to achieve. The battle scenes and Ilya’s interactions with Miyu, Kuro and now Tanaka were good as always.
I didn’t realize that the rest of this story was gonna be told in a movie. Oh well, I just have to bide my time until it gets subbed.
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Lots of great action and yuri interactions.
Looks like it. Worth waiting for though.
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Can’t wait for the movie and yeah…Sapphire really sounds a bit different now 😦 Anyway, somehow I like the serious mood of this season 🙂 Now, I have a feeling that Miyu’s bro is Illya’s bro’s half…since he’s just like Kuro 😛 and if that’s true then I can’t help imagine that whenever badass Shiro needs mana then… -_-
I’m hoping I’m wrong… 😛
Also, I really wish that Irisviel and Caren-sensei would freaking join in the fight too. I mean her kids are facing a problem far worse than before and they could die damn it and I’m not saying that because I really want to see her in action or anything… 😛
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We’ll find out what happens when the movie comes out or a new season after that.
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definitely entertaining season, would’ve like a bit more Illya x Miyu at the end though…
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Miyu was captured for most of it but their love for one another never wavered
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First of all, I want you to congratulate you. This blog is pretty awesome.
Now regarding Illya 3Drei, I completely agree that this was the best season yet, still, the loli kissess in this series is always a big turn off for me, I just can’t help but hate that they’e making 11 years old girls give each other french kisses, if they at least were 16-17 years old, I would love it(I would like to see kissing scenes between Rin and Luvia, it works since rivalry can grow into love too xD), I think I’m one of the few that actually don’t like Kuro and thinks that giving her archer’s powers is a disrespect to his character lol.
I can understand the hate people have for Prisma Shirou and Fate Shirou, but I can’t understand the hate the anime only watchers have toward UBW Shirou…As I thought,just by reading the Visual Novel would anime only guys be able to fully understand his character.
Hyped for the Kaleid Movie, Miyu Shirou’s past is definitely the best part of this series(at least for me) since it’s like a Heaven’s Feel 2, Also Hyped for the Heaven’s Feel movie trilogy, easily my favorite route/arc of any Fate and since Sakura is one of your favorite characters, I think that you’ll like the Shirou from Heaven’s Feel(or at least respect him for his action in this route lol)
Keep the good work dude!
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Thanks for dropping by and sharing your thoughts dood!
One needs a strong will to watch the loli smoochies.
Not stopping anyone from being a Shirou fan. I’m just not one of them.
Yup. Should be a pretty cool movie.
Dunno if I’ll like the guy in the Heaven’s Feel route but we’ll see
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I decided to give up on waiting for the Dub, this season was pretty cool.
I’m excited for the movie, it’s weird that it’s coming out before the Heaven’s Feel films since it’s clearly going to be partly this universes version of that.
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Good choice lad.
We’ll see how it all goes once both the first part of Heaven’s Feel and this movie are subbed.
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I’m really not liking this season. I’m past episode 9 now and I don’t know if I can continue. I’ve had to push myself through all the episodes without enjoying most of them. I watch Illya for the mix between silliness and seriousness. I absolutely hate when a light-hearted series suddenly turns completely serious.
I’ve already learned that I can never agree with the average anime fan, but of all places, I’d think this would be where people might understand my pain of how little of Miyu and Illya’s relationship this season has. That was one of the main focuses of all the earlier seasons, and one of the main things I liked. This season barely has Miyu appear at all, leaving nothing interesting for me to watch.
I really don’t care about the “saving the world” part. I don’t know this world, most of the people in it are complete jerks, and I don’t care if they all die. Darius and Beatrice being jerks means they annoy me as well, leading to more suffering for me when trying to watch these episodes.
Is there anything worth watching here? Does it magically get better in the last three episodes? Why do you like it so much? It definitely doesn’t have any yuri for the first 9 episodes, except for that one kissing scene, which is great as always but not enough to save the season. I don’t like most of the new characters, and the main characters are at their worst because they rarely interact while their interactions were the most interesting part about them.
Sorry about this long rant. Needed to say my feelings somewhere and I thought it might as well be here. Better a place where people might feel the same about some things at least than a place where all anime fans gather and I’d definitely be the minority. Overall, I’d probably give this season 5/10 so far, compared to season 1’s 9/10, 2wei’s 10/10 and 2wei Herz’s 8/10, so definitely a lot lower than anything else.
Anyway, another comment here mentioned Illya x Miyu moments in the final episodes so I’ll probably try to push to the end now that I’ve come this far anyway. If it’s like the rest of the season, I won’t like watching it, but I need to know about the yuri. That was my main motivation to push as far as I have as well, it would be a shame if I failed right before I would reach my goal. I won’t make it through another season like this though.
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Not a fan of Cerebus Syndrome then. Understandable.
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Didn’t know there was a word for it. But yeah, that seems accurate. Stories usually don’t interest me much in general, but characters and their relationships can. With this season removing most of both the comedy and the relationship moments the earlier seasons had, there’s hardly anything left I like. It’s always strange to me how completely different the reasons people like a show can be. And like I said, especially for something called “yurination” I’d expect people to care more about relationships and less about story like I do.
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I think this season was one of the strongest though the villains’ motivations and what happened to them at the end had me going huh? The Illya x Kuro kiss is definitely one of the best yuri kisses in the history of anime cements them as an awesome yuri couple. While I liked the Illya x Miyu moments, Miyu’s behavior this season sometimes had be shaking my head in frustration. Also I’ve noticed a trend where a defeated villain becomes an ally so I expect that to continue if there’s a 5th and 6th season some day.
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