“Glory lies beyond the horizon. Challenge it because it is unreachable. Speak of conquest and demonstrate it.” - Rider
The Holy Grail—an omnipotent wish granting device which grants the owner any one wish of their deepest desire. For generations, the Holy Grail Wars were held every 60 years to decide who would be worthy to yield an item of such immense power; seven Masters coupled with seven Servants duke it out in a battle royale to the death, but only one Master and Servant can be victorious.
Fate/Zero is a thrilling, engaging, intellectual and mature anime with jaw-dropping visuals.
Story: 9.51
Fate/Zero is about the 4th Holy Grail War, which takes place 10 years before the events of the Fifth Holy Grail war, and is set in Fuyuki City. Seven magi are chosen by the Grail as Masters, and by the power of the Grail, they have the ability to summon Heroic Spirits brought forth as familiars to come and fight by their side, which are their Servants. Each Servant that’s summoned is put into one of the following classes, which include: Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Assassin and Berserker; each with their own skills and benefits.
The Story is masterfully done and kept me engaged throughout the entire series. You never know what’s going to happen next or what plot twist is going to take place. Watching it is almost as reading a masterfully crafted literature epic; it's that good.
This anime is heavily focused around dialogue, and for that reason there aren’t many battles, but when a battle arrives it’s just so amazing that it’ll keep you at the edge of your seat. This isn’t to say that the dialogue isn’t entertaining though, as I personally enjoyed every last bit of it, even if it does sometimes drag on for awhile. The dialogue also tells a lot about some of the characters backstories.
Throughout there are some comedic scenes here and there, most of which pertaining to Rider and Waver, though for the most part it mainly stays in a serious and dark atmosphere.
Art/Animation: 9.94
The production quality for this anime is just amazing—it really shows how great Type-Moon's productions are, and when they’re mixed with ufotable, EXPECT GREATNESS! The art and animation in this anime are done SO well it’s just breathtaking, to say the least. Every image is animated so well, there were very few animation errors, and everything was just so smooth. And the art was just beautiful! It was so good that in some scenes my jaw was literally dropped for 1-2 minutes. I also really liked the character designs; all of them were just awesome. The art and animation is just masterfully done, not much more I can say about it. Go check it out for yourself if you don’t take my word for it.
Characters: 9.70
One of my favorite aspects of this show has got to be how it portrayed the characters. I’m not sure if it’s not entirely focusing on one main protagonist and rather showing all the characters and how their stories eventually unfold, or if it’s the masterful way Gen Urubuchi conveyed how each character thought and why they took the actions that they took, but I loved it. Character development is also very good; you mainly notice it with Kiritsugu Emiya, as there are even 2 whole episodes about his back story in season 2. But my favorite character, like many others, is definitely Rider. Some of the feels you get when he gives his speeches. I also love his attitude and how he acts, one of my favorite characters of recent times.
Sound: 9.57
The soundtrack for both seasons was done by Yuki Kaijura, and if you’ve ever heard any of her other awesome soundtracks (most notably SAO and Madoka Magica), you should have a pretty good idea that this one is just as great. Most of the pieces have heavy orchestra and are very powerful; this track also contains some very emotional pieces, like my personal favorite from it, Tragedy and Fate.
I absolutely adored the first opening Oath Sign by LiSa, and I doubted the second one would be better than the first… But oh boy was I wrong about that (for my tastes). “To the Beginning” By Kalafina (Yuki Kaijura’s all-female band) quickly become my favorite OP of ALL time. Strong vocals accompanied by a strong orchestra make this piece a pleasure to the ears. I really liked the EDs. Sora wa Takaku Kaze wa Utau by Luna Haruna really set the mood for the end of each episode, and it also quickly became one of my favorite EDs.
I watched the dubbed version and it was just great--leagues above many other dubs I've heard. I don’t think they could’ve even picked a better voice actor for Kiritsugu Emiya than Matthew Mercer, and Freeman Crispin (also Alucard from Hellsing), as always, did an amazing job. His deep tone really suited Kirei Kotomine.
Enjoyment/Overall: 9.68
What can I say? I absolutely love this anime. It will keep you thrilled, engaged, and satisfied by the ending. It has really high production quality, and a great soundtrack. My highest recommendation for you to watch this truly exceptional anime.
One thing I also admire about it how mature it is—it doesn’t need fan service or overused/unoriginal comedy to be successful (not that that's always a bad thing, though). It is truly an original as well as unique anime, and in my opinion, a must watch for fans of the Fate series.
