Fate/Zero

One of the most impressive achievements a writer could make is to take an existing concept and make you look at it in a completely different light. This is a feat that is often demonstrated in the works of Gen Urobuchi, and perhaps “Fate/Zero” is the work that exemplifies this in the most literal sense, as it is Urobuchi’s way of making his own imprint in the already existing “fate” franchise. It is the prequel story of Nasu Kinoko’s original “Fate/Stay-Night” visual novel, telling all about the events of the Holy Grail war of 10 years ago. With a level of ambition that goes through ... the roof, and the production value to match, “Fate/Zero” becomes nothing short of an epic.

Taking hold of the protagonist’s role is Emiya Kiritsugu. A trained assassin that uses unconventional methods to reach his goals of making the world a better place regardless of what it takes to get there. Who is the antagonist? A priest by the name of Kotomine Kirei. A former executioner of the church whom struggles with an inner conflict that he believes only Kiritsugu has the answer for. They as well as five others which includes a serial killer, a professor, his student, two mages of noble families (one of which had turned his back on magic), are contenders in an internal war that will grant the winner the prize of the Holy Grail which holds the ability to grant its user any wish imaginable.

To their help, they each have a legendary hero of the past that has been summoned into separate classes such as “Saber”, “Archer”, “Lancer”, “Rider”, “Caster”, “Assassin”, and “Berserker”.

Right off the bat, you can tell that this is a show that is setting its bars very high, because pretty much every recognizable aspect of “Fate/Zero” seems to have been enhanced to its fullest potential. If all you know of the “fate” series beforehand is the “Fate/Stay-Night” anime adaptation, then the difference in animation quality is going to be noticeable immediately and I suspect provide quite the shock as well. The difference there is as night and day, and it illustrates perhaps more than anything else the difference in what level of ambition went into these works, as well as further showcasing the talents of studio ufotable.

The music by Yuki Kajiura is every bit as amazing as it gets. The “FSN” anime already had a soundtrack made by the great Kenji Kawai, and although it too was really good, Yuki Kajuira makes it pale in comparison, which is pretty impressive to say the least.

It doesn’t stop there though. The real difference is in the story itself. The character development is a good example. “Fate/Zero” isn’t told through any single character’s perspective. It has the narrative of a third person omniscient’s point of view. The focus shifts from character to character at the story’s own convenience which gives it a good way of establishing the characters of the story without necessarily having them interact with the protagonist or any of the other rival characters. Thus, the characters themselves are not just treated as hurdles for the protagonist to pass, but are treated instead as actual people, representing their own sets of thoughts and ideals. These ideals mainly manifest themselves in answering questions revolving around one of the two central themes of the story. The first question being “what makes a king?”, and the second being “what makes a hero?” They all have different answers to provide, but none of the answers are treated as the correct one. Even Saber’s ideals, although they seem like they are the noblest ones, become subjects of mockery for Kiritsugu and Rider respectively, and yet both of these characters are treated overall as sympathetic. Even Archer whom originally comes across as a typical villain, gradually manages to build an air of dignity around himself. The show itself is different from “Fate/Stay-Night” in that it is the characters that drive the plot forward, and not the other way around.

Though as interesting as the characters are on their own, where “Fate/Zero” really starts to shine is once the characters do interact with each other. Not only does each character have a “master/servant” relationship with at least one other character, they also find dynamic relationships with other characters that are constantly changing as the story progresses. Some characters become enemies, some become allies. Some enemies become friends, and some allies become foes. Pretty much all possible forms of interactions are explored at one point or another. The only character that is seemingly left out would be assassin, which is only fitting because assassins shouldn’t be interacting with anyone in the first place.

The smart thing about the character dynamics is that because there are so many of them, if it is your first time watching (or reading), it becomes pretty hard to predict where each one will lead because a lot of times they conflict with each other. The use of red herrings is all over the place. One example is the setting up of Waver Velvet’s character as someone seeking a way to prove his worth against those who doubted him. You would think that he was being set up to go against Kayneth El-Melloi at some point and yet the only time they interact, Waver is too scared to even move. Kayneth is instead set up against Kiritsugu, as well as to some degree Sola-Ui. Eventually, Waver grows out of his previous mindset completely and recognizes that he is powerless. Something you would probably never see if this had been any other conventional story. A similar example can be seen with the character Tohsaka Tokiomi. One of the most interesting aspects of “Fate/Zero” is to just look at where each character starts out, and compare it to where they eventually end up. There are many surprises throughout.

Now the content of the story is as you would expect from Urobuchi’s reputation, very dark. It doesn’t have the typical crapsack setting that you’d usually see in dark stories, but it is dark in other ways. There is a point where a man almost strangles the love of his life to death because she doesn’t understand that he is killing himself, trying to save her daughter. The darkness of it has a sort of poetry to it that makes it emotionally provocative. At another point, a man and his wife are shot to death in cold blood, even after giving up their only chance at winning the war, believing in the deceptive promise that they would keep their lives for doing so. Much of the story contains moments like these, which provide a taste of cynicism and irony.

There is also an interesting “outside the box” sort of thinking when it comes to some of the ideas used that I want to bring attention too. First off, just the idea of having a main character that uses modern guns when everyone else is using magic, and swords, and whatnot is pretty brilliant. I remember having conversations with a friend when we talked about how easy it would be to kill Voldemort if only you just shot him. Just because magic exists, it may not be the optimal way to go. Then there is the moment when Berserker uses his power to take control of any object and use it as his weapon, which he uses to take hold of a jet, and then its machine guns. You shouldn’t bring a knife to a gun fight, but there is no reason to not bring a gun to a magic fight. Speaking of fighting, if you are only looking to see some great battle animation then you would definitely enjoy the show even for that alone. The Berserker vs Archer fight especially is a sight to behold.

Now of course, one can’t really talk about “Fate/Zero” without drawing comparisons to “Fate/Stay-Night”. The writer of the original visual novel Nasu Kinoko, has a passion for writing exposition and lore. One of the reasons that the setting of the story is as rich as it is can be credited solely on his vivid and detailed explanations that go as far as to tell us for example of the difference between a mage and a sorcerer, what kind of authority a command spell has, what attributes a servant gets from being of a certain class, etc. All of this has created an impressive platform for the story, and it is something you can see consistently throughout his work.

With that said though, Nasu Kinoko is not the best storyteller, and it becomes very apparent when compared to Urobuchi’s writing in “Zero”. The character aspects mentioned above is one example. Another example is the structure. For some reason, “FSN” chooses to tell its story in a day by day fashion. This quickly becomes formulaic and in many ways makes the story illogical; because it gives the story a strict pattern to follow that becomes predictable. The mornings are always spent at goofing off, the middle of the day is spent at doing all the serious talking, and the night is when they head out to fight a single specific enemy. Then they return back to their homes and repeat the same thing the next day. Compare this to “Zero’s” more versatile storytelling, in which the characters are constantly on the move, hardly ever staying at the same place all the time, with some battles taking place immediately after one another, and with varying amounts of participants each time. Any time could be a time to rest as well as a time to be alert, because you never know when the enemy will strike, just like how it would probably play out if this was in real life. Not only does “Zero” contain no filler, but it would be impossible to have filler because there would be nowhere to put it. The story simply doesn’t pause. If one character is taking a break then someone else is up to something in the meanwhile. That is quite the difference from having the luxury of being stuck in a magical battle royale and yet finding the time to casually go to high school like a regular student.

Thematically, “Fate/Zero” is most reminiscent of the “Unlimited Blade Works” route of the “FSN” visual novel. It deconstructs the notions of heroism and challenges the concept of a noble warrior. As the story goes on, the morality of the characters become cloudier, and the focus of their battles shift. For the characters, it becomes not so much a fight against others as much as it becomes a fight against oneself.

“Fate/Zero” is pretty much what you get when you take a concept that exists, figure out how to elevate it to its highest form, and then pour as much ambition and effort as you could possibly muster into it to make it all come to life. Studio ufotable has done a remarkable job, and the end result is something completely out of the ordinary.

This a review of only the first half of Fate/Zero

Fate/Zero is the prequel to the VN Fate/Stay Night. Set during the 4th Holy Grail War, Fate/Zero lived up to what i expected but more. I had watched part of studio Deen's adaptation of Fate/Stay Night and ufotable's Fate/Stay night Unlimited blade works and thought i should give Fate/Zero a try.

Story:

Fate/Zero take place during the 4th Holy Grail War, 10 years before the events of Fate/Stay Night. The grail selects 7 master to take part in the war by assigning each master a servant. The story take itself very seriously and very well written The ... servants all are based on past heroic spirits. The main plot of the story is simple with each master and servant having their own desire for the grail. But the depth of the characters is what really stands out. The story starts out with battle between servants, but slows down toward the end of the first half explaining the motives a bit more.
Characters:

Fate/Zero focuses heavily on the depth of the characters. From learning about the past of the heroic spirits or the desire and planning the Master provides. Fate/Zero does a good job not letting any of the characters feel like they are a side character and make the holy grail war feel more like a free for all. The way the character are described make you feel there is not really a main villain except maybe for caster and his master but I wont go into that much else

Art and Sound:

The style is great for Fate/Zero and very well done. The battle that happen are very intense and the emotion in the characters really show it in the art. It is up to standard of what a 2011 and maybe even better. The sound effects are very realistic and soothing. The OP and ED are great too.

Fate/Zero is a great anime that is not to be taken lightly. The feel of this anime very different from Fate/Stay night (from what I've watched) The show makes sure that the characters stay relevant and that none of them are left out like a support character. The show i feel gets dull during a part where the motives are being explained but there is little to no action. Its a series to watch if you want a strong character development and awesome battles. Ufotable did a great job at this adaptation and can not say much more about that.

After rewatched this anime about 3 times i believe that now i am in a position of writing a proper review about it without any mistakes about my judgement. Fate/Zero is a prequel to the popular anime Fate/Stay Night(Main route) and Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works(Another route). I would like to mention here that if you havent watched any of the Fate/Stay Night then just go to Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works because compared to the other one, this one is just a masterpiece.

Story - 10
Just like the other Fate series the plot is about the same. The fourth Holy Grail War is about ... to begin in which seven masters must spawn seven servants and fight each other to the death until one of them remains and claim the Holy Grail which will grand him one wish. The story at the begining looks pretty simple but thats just wrong. There are a deeper meaning to everything thats happening and if you are distracted while you are watching then you should just stop watching because you are not going to understand anything at the end. The story is really well writen with intense moments and strong dialogues that are part of the most popular Anime Amv in Youtube.

Art - 10
What can i say.. Just outstanding. Ufotable became my favourite after this anime. The movement of the characters are smooth and amazing. There are beautiful colours and effects during the battles and there were moments that i just paused the episode just to admire how perfect were the graphic details and how well designed were everything even the most unimportant stuff. Just amazing.

Sound - 10
I dont know who made the soundtracks of Fate/Zero but he deserves an Oscar or something like that. They are just perfect for the core of this anime. As i said before there were a lot of intense moments, battles and dialogues but what made those scenes trully epic to the point of giving me chills every time i watched them were the soundtracks. They are among my favourites that for sure.

character - 10
That is the most dificult part to judge of this anime because compared to others there is a uniqueness to this sector. First of all every character has a different and unique personality and thats just amazing and finally an anime where the main characters are not children. What i found unique in this anime is the fact that the most of the characters introduced to me as main characters. And that was truly epic. There is not the classic stuff of the good guy and the bad ones but every one of them has his own unique reasons of fighting and you have to dicide which one of them is your main or just worship all of them. I dont know about you but this is the first anime that i could actually had this choise and i enjoyed it a lot.

Enjoyment - 10
I dont believe that there were even a single scene in Fate/Zero that i didnt enjoy. Humor, battles, mind games, dialogues, emotions. There are scenes with all that kind of stuff and i enjoyed every one of them and how i couldnt when everything you see and hear is part of an one of a kind anime? . I dont believe that there could be more.

Overall - 10
Difinetely a must watch anime. Recomended to anyone. A masterpiece.

"Glory lies beyond the horizon. Challenge it because it is unreachable. Speak of conquest and demonstrate it"

Rider (Fate/Zero)

And thus, I shall try conquering the hearts of my readers, as every soul deserves to see the jewel of an anime that is Fate/Zero.

*This review accounts for both season 1 and season 2 of Fate/Zero.

Fate/Zero, prequel to the widely known series Fate/stay night, details the events of the 4th Holy Grail War; 10 years prior to the events as seen in Fate/stay night, which covers the 5th Holy Grail War. The setting is not any different:
- 7 Masters, which are usually magicians, all with the ... goal of obtaining the Holy Grail
- 7 Servants, summoned by these magicians, to fight for them in their quest to obtain this Grail
- 1 Holy Grail, a relic which has the power to grant any wish.

Just like in Fate/stay night, this all takes place in Fuyuki City, in Japan: it is here where you will see some incredibly epic fights between the 7 so called "Masters" and their "Servants”. Now what makes this setting any different from your generic action anime?



Story: 10/10
Yes, from the plot synopsis, the story might seem like your generic action anime: a Battle Royale setting, where several chosen ones fight to their deaths, all for one goal. What makes Fate/Zero different (and also different from its sequel) is the great execution of this story, the perfect pacing that it provides and the amazing atmosphere that you find yourself in. Fate/Zero doesn’t fool around - it is a story with a very serious atmosphere. You will find hardly any comedy or romance, but In this case it did not bother me at all. In fact, I’m glad that Fate/Zero went with a “no bullshit” policy, because it keeps you focused throughout the whole series. Fate/Zero has quite the complex storyline, which might leave you to think it over at times. But it is this complexity in which Fate/Zero excels: they managed to create a perfect plot, in which every event that you see has its own purpose and consequences. Because there is no clear protagonist in Fate/Zero, you will find yourself wondering what’s going to happen next the whole time, which makes this anime a thrilling experience by itself. Moreover, because you get a good view into each and every Master’s personality traits, background, and desires, you are able to develop some kind of feelings for every single one of them. You will most likely find yourself having a clear favourite in this war, and you will most likely detest some of the others. There are no plot holes, and the ending is so well thought through, that it leaves the viewer astonished.


Art: 10/10
Stunning. Fate/Zero features the best animation I have seen in an anime so far. They managed to create an atmosphere that perfectly resembles the story. The character design is amazing as well.


Sound: 9/10
The sound is the only field on which Fate/Zero did not manage to score a 10 for me – but that does not make it any worse. The voice acting (I watched in sub) is nothing to complain about – in fact, I enjoyed listening to every character as they all have great voice acting. The openings are great (I particularly like the first opening), and the BGM is very good, and fitting to the story as well. It is just (barely) not exceptional enough for a perfect score.


Character: 10/10
The characters are another field in which Fate/Zero truly excels. I personally have yet to see any characterization which can compete to the brilliance that is provided in Fate/Zero. Not only every master, but every servant as well, plays a key role to the plot – and every character is complex. Every character is written so well, that you are bound to have some form of feelings for each and every one of them. The easily loved servant Rider, one of the most charismatic characters in existence, Archer, a villain with an unmatchable pride, and of course, Saber, one of the greatest female protagonists, are all written in such a way that you might even have trouble picking your favourite. And these are only 3 characters out of an never-ending list of complex characters. I feel like I could not describe every single character well enough, or at least not well enough to give it the credit it deserves. Fate/Zero just did an amazing job with the characters. Period.


Enjoyment: 10/10
This one is easy; absolutely a 10. There’s not even a handful of anime which I have enjoyed as much as Fate/Zero. It kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the whole series, and left me with a feeling of darkness. It is this feeling that made me feel obliged to write this review, as I cannot let other anime fans miss out on the sheer amount of brilliance that Fate/Zero provides.
If you are seeking a thrilling experience, a story which leaves you questioning, a plot without holes, and amazing characterization, then do not hesitate to watch Fate/Zero, for it is certain that you will enjoy this anime.

The first half of Fate/Zero is a tour de force of character building, technicality and the portrayal of ideologies and conflict, while also serving as a strong foundation for Ufotable’s ever expanding Type-Moon animated universe. In spite of occasionally awkward structure, unclear character motivations and questionable directorial decisions, Fate/Zero succeeds on so many levels that these flaws may almost be forgiven.

The story of Fate/Zero begins with the introduction of the seven masters, who have been selected to fight in the Holy Grail war, and their respective servants. During this time, the focus is given to their motives, beliefs and nature, allowing the characters to (with ... some exceptions) be established firmly. The first few episodes, mainly spent following the scheming and strategizing masters, are relatively slow paced, though there are few redundant or unnecessary scenes. Once the fighting does begin, however, great satisfaction is granted to the viewer as they watch familiar characters, each with their own unique set of skills, battle each other with all their might, wit and passion. However, in the first half of Fate/Zero these fights rarely reach a meaningful resolution, though they do effectively foreshadow more important future conflicts and provide a much-needed break between dense exposition and horrific imagery. As the first half continues, the battles become larger, more threatening and more frequent, as each master gradually learns more about the others. However, though the individual conflicts are engaging and memorable, how and why certain characters are in certain places at specific times doesn’t always make sense. Additionally, though the first two episodes give all the masters abundant screen time, some characters have their time cut down for the sake of others. However, neither of these flaws are too detrimental to the story, as even if the pacing and character focus is uneven, the story always knows who to follow and where to go, even if it isn’t always sure of how to get there. The first half of Zero, consisting heavily of build-up, does not provide much in the way of resolutions, but the intriguing philosophical and psychological themes and consistent, brooding tone allows this weaker half to still feel like a strong series.

The characters of Fate/Zero are perhaps its most outstanding component, with the relationships between the individually interesting masters and servants making for some truly memorable dialogue and action sequences. The masters all have strong desires for the Grail, with their motives varying from the desire to protect family, the attain glory or something even more ambitious. This serves as a brilliant method through which characterisation can be delivered, with subtle details about the masters’ mysterious pasts or hidden agendas being presented through their wishes. The masters contrast and parallel each other in a way that allows them to complement each other, rather than cause the narrative to feel bloated under too many philosophies. This is partially what makes the beginning episodes feel so meaningful and powerful, bubbling with the anticipation of eventually pitting these powerful, resolute personalities against each other. However, though the masters themselves are all unique and complex, the heroic spirits are what really solidify Fate/Zero’s character cast as one of the strongest in recent years.


Many of them are from completely different time periods and places in the world, and each of them have strong beliefs and morals that not only allows them to play off their masters, but the other servants even more so. Towards the end of the first season, a conversation between two of the most relevant servants doesn’t only serve as strong characterisation for both of them, and not only does it contrast two conflicting philosophies in a convincing and believable way, but it also serves as a highly thought provoking discussion that will likely leave many viewers questioning their views about the world and themselves. The conflict between servants, and their respective masters, drives both the story and themes of Fate/Zero forward. From themes like utilitarianism, what defines a true hero and what an individual’s purpose in life is, this anime is rich in compelling and intricate themes which it delivers in a way that feels like human conflict, in spite of the fantastical nature of the setting and characters.

In terms of visual presentation, Fate/Zero shows exactly what Ufotable are capable of, delivering a series with a variety of detailed and tonally appropriate colour choices and shading. Takeuchi Takashi’s character designs fit the story of Fate/Zero brilliantly, with each character reflecting their cultural identity and heroic status without feeling too alien or unfamiliar. Each individual character design manages to stand out, leaving an impression on the audiences so that, even if they disappear for a while, they are may be easily recalled when they return. The backgrounds are also very detailed and fitting to the story, with an abundance of lavishly coloured and designed set pieces giving the viewer and sense of scale and position. The action sequences are quite spectacular, making use the aforementioned strong character designs with effective cinematography, fluid animation and some well-written battle strategies. The weakest point of the series, visually, would have to be Ei Aoki’s occasionally stiff and lifeless style of directing. When characters are not fighting, they are often reduced to talking heads with negligible expression or attitude, which is very problematic, given the dialogue-driven nature of the series. On top of that, there are several still shots that go on for a little too long at the beginning of the series, with the slow editing adding to the slow story pacing to leave the characters to stand completely on their own. On top of that, even though the backgrounds are stunningly and appropriately coloured, they sometimes feel very monochromatic and lacking in character. These problems do lessen as the series progresses, though in the hands of a more experienced director, the artistic potential of this series would possibly have been reached (ironically, each of the aforementioned flaws have been rectified in the sequel, Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works). In spite of Aoki’s weak directing, Zero is still a visually splendid and well-designed series that stands among the best of its respective year.

In the category of sound, LiSa’s opening song, “Oath Sign”, is a fast and energising listen which, combined with the stellar production values, makes for a good opening, though tonally the song and its lyrics don’t quite match Zero’s bleak nature. Eir Aoi’s ending fares slightly better, though contains what some may consider a spoiler, and also feels like it may be more at home in a less grim series. Yuki Kajiura’s OST is a fitting and suitably epic soundtrack that further invigorates the action to make it stand out even more. Even more impressive, however, is how the elegant violins seep into meaningful interactions between characters, giving them a sense of weight in terms of both emotion and plot significance. Though most of the more impressive tracks do not play until the second half of Fate/Zero, the first half is still a strong series in terms of music. Whether you choose to view this series in sub or dub, the acting is strong and the little meaning is lost. Both the original Japanese voice actors and the English dub providers do have some flaws, though in both cases they are few. Jouji Nakata’s performance as Kirei Kotomine doesn’t quite feel natural, contrasting Kirei’s youthful exterior and feeling oddly unusual, in contrast to Crispin Freeman’s much more natural and fitting vocals. Bridget Hoffman does take a little while to get into her character, though by the mid-point is able to deliver lines on par with her Japanese counter-part, which sadly cannot be said for David Vincent, who never quite manages to capture the cocky arrogance tempered with wisdom and experience that Gilgamesh is known for. For both casts, Saber, Kariya and Kiritsugu all manage to stand out, which may be due to their characters having more emotional scenes that most of the others. On the whole, Fate/Zero is a very high quality, though not flawless, production.

Fate/Zero is a powerful and evoking series that has earned its status as being one of the best anime of the decade thus far, presenting many ideas and philosophies, meaningful conflicts and questions, that many lesser series would collapse under the weight of even a fraction of this content. However, it holds together, and this first half presents enough foreshadowing that it is unbelievable that anyone who can make it to the mid-point would desire not to continue.

Fate zero .. one of the best animes i've ever seen. Personally i enjoyed this anime a lot but i will try to be as objective as possible.

This review is for the both seasons.

This anime is a prequel of both routes Fate/stay night and Fate/stay night unlimited blade works .. there are a lot of opinions about the order of the shows .. some say you must start with fate zero, others say you must start with Fate stay night .. well it's up to you. My opinion? It's basically the same. If you like to know the future, to know what is ... going to happen, then watch Fate stay night first. If you like twists and knowing nothing about the story, start with Fate zero.

The only goal of fate zero is to represent the journey behind fate stay night and fate ubw. And then .. well it happens that came out to be even better than it's sequels.. yeah that is kinda fucked up .. especially Fate stay night, it acts like a little brother who is "carried" by fate zero.. regardless all of that, fate zero by it self is not able to make a full show, because it does not have a end so it needs those little brothers.

Story: 9/10. It is nothing HUGE, but for 24 eps it's quite damn good. The pace is outstanding. Each episode they develop the plot, it is not forgotten throughout the entire show like we see in other animes that only focus the characters after presenting the plot. In fact, the plot changes the characters decisions and not the other way around, which is something nice and makes it look more "real". Plus, for the epic motive of the war (i mean it's the fucking sant graal .. it makes every wish come true), this anime does well in terms representing the importance that Sant Graal have for each character (such thing does not happen in Fate stay night which deeply pissed me off). We have pacts, betrayals, honor codes, everything you can imagine which just makes the plot more realistic. Although, there are fucking ultra battles in the middle of the city and it seems that the civilians aren´t there at all... i mean saber can blow up an entire city with her power, but who cares .. they don´t conect quite well the plot with the rest of the world which for me it's the only thing bad with the plot.

Besides being original and creative, there are true facts behind it. Each servant is a real character that once existed. Of course they were changed a litle bit, but to something better xD.

Art: 10/10. Like fate ubw, this one excels in every single frame. This one of those shows that makes us realize how important the animation is for the anime. It just looks everything look nicer. The detail is astonishing at all levels. We have a mixed of colours, between bright colours and darker ones depending on the situation. And the detail in the action just looks incredibly awesome.

Soud: 9/10. Both the openings are beautiful, but they don´t fit with the anime's theme in all of it's content. I mean the openings are nice for the drama on it, but it does not match up quite well with the plot. At least i felt that. Anyway every single episode i watched the openings until the end because they just look great.

About the OST, are pretty enjoyable also. I found them to be quite good, and they even fit with my style so.. it looks like the OST from SAO because the composer is the same... and it is quite repetitive but, i don´t mind if they repeat the same OST if it is good. And yes it is.. it match up with the action and with the drama.

Character: 9/10. 7 servants, 7 masters. This is like a mirror game. Each master is the oposite from his servant. One example, while Saber is a noble character, that follows the honor code, Emiya Kiritsugu does not care about those craps and follows a life of "the ends justify the means", if killing 100 people will save 200, well then he will kill 100 people. It happens the same with the other 6 masters. And this is quite good because when it comes about developing those 14 characters, we never lose the interest of it. Plus the supportive characters are not forgotten and even some of them were able to made some excellent drama.

Every character looks different, but still ... the depth at some characters is vastly weak... but for 24 eps long, well we kinda can forget that problem.

Enjoyment: 9/10. The first 2-3 episodes are boring. Especially the first episode which is 40 min long of speech. But after those episodes this show gets remarkable. If it wasn´t for this episodes, i would give it a 10/10 on this category.

Overall: 9/10. It is a masterpiece of animation and can bring to us a new experience about animes. It excels at every single point and that's why i belive it is a show that everyone should try. It is one of the few animes on my list that has my seal of approval :)

“Justice cannot save the world. It’s useless.” – Kiritsugu Emiya

This review covers both seasons of Fate/Zero.

🏆 10/10
Holy Grail War, a battle of 7 masters and 7 heroic spirits for a holy grail, fight until one winner is left to able to be granted one wish from the holy grail. Fate/Zero is dark, intense, and action-packed, essential for anyone who wishes to get into the Fate franchise.

🎬 Story - 10/10
Surprisingly well-composed and amazing storytelling, being dark, intense, and action-packed, giving off a real serious vibe, no comedic included.

... 🎨 Animation - 9/10
Indeed high-quality art, as you can expect from ufotable. This anime also contains graphic violence, meaning blood, which made the action scenes realistic.

🔈 Sound - 7/10
Fairly good theme songs, I feel pretty neutral towards them. As for soundtracks, I also consider them pretty average, but some of them are made very well, giving a hype feeling for epic moments.

🕶 Characters - 10/10
Seven masters, seven servants, meaning at least 14 characters are in the spotlight. Having this much character is kind of challenging, yet the storytelling nailed them all.

Almost every character worths remembering. Getting audiences to understand several aspects of characters is the key concept to good character building, every character is shown their motive and emotions, even audiences can understand a mad character, some of them are even shown their background, getting audiences to understand the characters even more.

Character design is dope, having both fancy-looking and normal-looking characters. Characters do have their own unique traits, so character confusion can hardly occur. Indicating that character design is a success.

🎉 Enjoyment - 10/10
Such dark, intense, and action-packed anime couldn’t enjoy me more than this. Everything is perfect. The first time I watched Fate/Zero, I was not a Fate fan yet, but I totally enjoyed and became a Fate fan. After completing other Fate anime and a rewatch of Fate/Zero, I could say that Fate/Zero is truly a masterpiece of the Fate franchise.

📌 Recommendations
If you are new and wanting to get into the Fate franchise, Fate/Zero is a good choice. You can also start at Fate/Stay Night (2006), which is the first Fate anime aired, or maybe if you are just looking for intense and serious action anime, then I also recommend this anime. Enjoy!

The Video Review is out, but here is the written review. This Review covers both seasons of Fate/Zero.

Story - 9/10

Set 10 years before the story of Fate/Stay Night, Fate Zero follows the story of 7 masters as they fight in the Fourth Holy Grail War. The concept is still the same as it was with the original, however it is more and explained better in this adaptation. 7 Masters summon a servant to fight for them, in order to obtain the ultimate wish fulfilling device known as the Holy Grail. One thing Fate/Zero has going for itself is its maturity. Unlike the original Fate/Stay Night, ... Fate/Zero has a much darker and more mature theme. The plot follows the story of Kiritsugu Emiya, who was Shirou’s father back in the original Fate/Stay Night.

The only thing that really hinders the story is the pacing and the fact, the Holy Grail war is still a complex system to get your head around. It is better explained and told in Fate/Zero, but because of that explanation, the start is slow. The very first episode is a double episode special on the character study and setup of the Holy Grail War. Because they’re literally trying to explain the whole setup of the Holy Grail war in one episode, and even episode 2 as well, it starts off slow. The ending is also anti-climactic as it is meant to setup for Fate/Stay Night. But everything in between is just excitement after excitement, it really doesn’t slow down drastically, and there is so much tension. And it’s because of the characters in Fate/Zero that really makes the show.

Characters - 10/10

As I mention earlier, Fate/Zero is much more mature than Fate/Stay Night, the characters, the masters are not teens, and they’re all adults. Because all the characters are so unique and interesting in their own way, I can’t mention them all, otherwise we’ll be here all day. So here is only a handful of them.

Kiritsugu Emiya is the main protagonist. He’s not really a your stereotypical protagonist, he kinds of shows more resemblance of an anti-hero. Kiritsugu’s main reason for fighting in the war is to end all conflict, and it doesn’t matter how many sacrifices, it’ll cost, as he is hoping to save more people in the process. Example, he’ll sacrifice 100 people to save 200 people. He fights as an unconventional mage, only using magic if he really needs to, but uses firearms to fight his opponents. He doesn’t care how it’s done, as long as it gets the job done.

Saber returns from Fate/Stay Night with a clearer goal and development. Saber like Kiritsugu is fighting in the Holy Grail war for peace. Unlike Kiritsugu, she has a sense of honour, and would rather be honoured than gain the victory. I like how her character is given much more, she sorts of comes in as novice with a unremarkable talent, however she learns what is it really meant to lead. Saber only follows Kiritsugu, because she has to.

What I love about Fate/Zero is the relationships between Masters and their Servants. Kiritsugu and Saber have the same goal, but because their ideological perspectives are different, they fight differently and always conflict with each other’s ideas. And this is just not for Kiritsugu and Saber, pretty most of the masters and servants have conflicting personalities and ideas, with the exception of Ryuunosuke and his servant, Caster. Walver Velvet is fighting in the war to get recognition, whereas his servant Rider, Iskandar the King of Conquerors is in the war to take over the world. Tokiomi Tohsaka is in the war to gain the root of all knowledge, while his servant, Archer, Gilgamesh King of Heroes, is the self-proclaimed king/god of all things, who finds Tokiomi boring.

Kirei Kotomine is one of the other main characters of the show. He is fighting in the war to find a sense of purpose in the world. Kirei sees himself in Kiritsugu, and wishes to find Kiritsugu to help him give him the answer he wants. And we really see how his character is developed in the character he is in Fate/Stay Night.

What I love all about these characters is their motivations for fighting in the Holy Grail War. The first two episodes quickly tries to get their motivations out of the way so it doesn’t get in the way of too much plot, but their motivations are all so unique and interesting. I especially love the side story of the three kings and what’s it like to be a hero. Do you fighting for Victory, or do you maintain your honour. Saber, Archer and especially Rider really shine on this theme.

The show does rather well of not showing a true protagonist, at points I literally just want everyone win, because they have all have a good and interesting reason for winning. I love all these characters, every time Rider was on screen his charisma steals the scene. When Gilgamesh is on the scene, he’s such an arrogant badass, and Saber is just Saber.

Animation and Sound - 10/10. 9/10

The animation and art is amazing. Being made in 2011, Fate/Zero still has one of the best animation till this day. Every action scene is amazing and is well animated. Every special effect looks gorgeous and suits the character’s style and theme. One thing that was improved from original Fate/Stay Night is Saber’s invisible sword, the wind particles surrounding her sword looks good, and it shows the animators weren’t lazy in not putting anything to show that there is a sword there. Because it’s a battle royal, the action constantly jumps from one action scene to another, to show how amazing each scene and visual effects in it. You’re never really thrown out of the world, because it all looks gorgeous.

I love the soundtrack of Fate/Zero. It really fits the mood and setting of show. It has a very good mixture of fantasy music to urban warfare music. The music gets dark when it needs to be, and gets epic when it needs to be, it really is an amazing soundtrack to listen to. The opening and the ending themes are great as well. I love the openings and ending themes of Fate/Zero, especially the first opening and ending, Oath Sign and Memoria. I love the voice acting, I think every character is suited perfectly, whoever played Rider really deserves a reward, as he is able to make that the character come to life. Only little problem is Kirei’s voice, because they used the same voice actor from Fate/Stay Night, his voice is still really deep as hell, and he is depicted as a much younger version in Fate/Zero compared to the older version in Fate/Stay Night.

Enjoyment - 10/10

I really love Fate/Zero, it’s become one of my favourite anime of all time. I love just about almost every character in Fate/Zero, I was rooting for them to win. There was not one point in the story where I was like I just want this person to win. Almost all the characters deserved to win. The action scenes are amazing to look at, I couldn’t keep my eyes off and the story is really engaging as well. The soundtrack really added to world, I felt like I was really immersed in the world.

You’re probably not going to enjoy Fate/Zero as much if you already know what’s going to happen. If you’ve watch Fate/Stay Night, you’re already know what’s going to happen, and keeping that in mind, you’re probably going to expect what the outcomes are going to be anyway. However the journey is still amazing. Yes, the lore is still confusing, but it is better explained in this adaptation, and once you’re passed that, it’s just an enjoyable ride from there on.

Verdict - 9.5/10

As we draw closer to the final verdict, first I give the story of Fate/Zero a 9. Yes the story starts rather slow, and there is anti-climactic ending. But it’s everything in between is and exciting and interesting well developed story. I especially love the side stories as well, which rarely happens. When you get to the second half, it just non-stop excitement one after another.

The animation and sound of Fate/Zero gets a 10 and 9 from me. Ufotable has pulled off something amazing giving us one the best animated series to date. The action and stunning visual effects look amazing, and everything really fits it’s range of characters perfectly. The soundtrack fits well with the show and the voicing acting was great as well. However there was just still a bit of something missing from it, to make it really memorable.

For the characters of Fate/Zero, I give them 10. I love every character in this series, and thought they were developed well. They all had an interesting and good reasons for fighting in the war, and I couldn’t decide who I wanted to win the most. The servants interactions with each other is good and their interactions with their masters are well thought out.

For my own personal enjoyment, I give it a 10. I was immersed in this world, I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. I loved watching the cast of characters that were on screen, and story that really grips me. The art was amazing to watch, it looked very beautiful. And because I did watch Fate/Zero first, I did not know what to expect.

So for the overall rating after rounding it up, I give Fate/Zero a 9.5/10. It’s one of the best anime’s I’ve ever seen, it looks amazing, the plot and characters really work well. Yes it has a slow start and a predictable end, but the journey in between is amazing. I recommend this anime to any fans of the fantasy genre, especially action. However I would recommend this to any anime fans, just to see how visually appealing it is, and to see a more mature themed story. If you’re trying to get into the Fate series, you don’t have to watch Fate/Stay Night (2006) first, this is good starting point, but if you do watch this first, I wouldn’t recommend watching Fate/Stay Night (2006) after, to see the dip in quality. But regardless, I think this is a must watch.

"The Sun killed a fly on a wall."

There are all kinds of people in this world and everyone is different. We cannot be the same, we should not be the same, that would kill the point, that would kill. Kill! Kill… No one knows what tomorrow brings us. No one, remember that. And no one can understand you better than you. If you still cannot understand yourself, continue. But the only thing that can save this world is understanding. Mutual understanding. And belief. Belief in others, in the unbelievable, in yourself. So, believe this, understand this, make the light shine brighter. And so, let this ... story begin...

In the year 1879 lots of things happened. I do not know all the details, but Albert Einstein was born that year and that person has said something very intelligent once: "You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else." It is important to be the best. The world is fond of the winners, only. Losers can lick a bloody floor. My advice, do not be a loser, it is not worth it. But who is a winner and who is a loser, who decides that? You! Yes. You! Make yourself a winner, a hero, make the world obey your rules. Make the world your own world, where YOU will be happy. The best place to exercise your brain skills is the endless circle of your thoughts. Do not let your circle be mutated. You will regret it and die.

But if you die, how to know who your father is? The general consensus makes us believe that the one who claims to be our father and has some material proof for that is, therefore, our father. But, you can choose your father, too. It does not have to be him who chooses you. You can choose anything nowadays. There are no constants, fluid matter, changeable circumstances, all kinds of customizations, great. This is just a reminder that those things are, indeed, great. Make your own you, your own character, destroy the original you, do whatever you like, it is your game. There is one problem though. No restrictions--no fun. No rules--no fun. Fun is the fuel of our world. If you like to suffer, it is fun to you; if you like to smile, that is then fun to you. The river flows only one direction usually. But does it? Can we be undoubtedly certain that is true? Ask an Aymara person what they think. Probably not the same as you or as most of us do. The only reason we think the way we think is because we were taught to think that way. Our logic is not the only logic in this world. And maybe 'our' logic does not even exist. Individual logic sounds like a plausible thing. I will make that the logic conclusion to the topic of logic.

But if there would be no logic, could a far away galaxy still be close compared to the one that is further away. I do not understand the universe. I do not know what that is, but I know a lot about vitamins. Vitamin C is good for you. Too much of it is bad for you. If you are a human being, that is. Nowadays, robots do not need vitamin C. It makes their iron melt, I heard. If used with a 2k°C ray beam. No one I know would survive that, but that is not what I want to think about today. Superior adhesive products make you stick to anything you wish. Stick to your life. Life is important, you know? So is death, and there is no death without life. Thematically, life is but a mere water droplet. Water is one of those very frequently used and abused elements. I feel sorry for water, but the battle must continue. “The show must go on.”-by a special someone.

A story must be interesting for someone not to find it boring. Stories are based on other stories, on real things, on things perceived by our senses. Many real fragments create something unreal. Put them in a different way, it is a whole different world. Worlds that coexist, that are fundamentally the same, are different. The ones who notice a change between two worlds of the same entity are worth being noticed by that entity. A red faint line on the edge of a world can be a bright black light. What is that? I do not think it matters. Spoil the story, you still cannot spoil the world, let alone the entity. Amongst conclusions of doubt-filled depths of illusion, no one is right. Only the written word is right. There are no other truths. Interpretations of the truth, still can be the truth. Because the truth is inevitably wide, the truth is an endlessly evolving form. It is everywhere. Sense it harder. It is there. Sense it more. It is you.

Fate/Zero is something, everything or nothing at all. This sentence is absolutely true. Everything is more than something. Though, something can be a plenty if that is what you want it to be. Nothing is, however, nothing, null, void. Nothing is at the same time something special, too. A whole new experience, stunning sensation, something one should live for! This unbelievably unbelievable anime made me think about lots of things. Therefore, I think it is a good anime. Characters are the story, the story is the characters. Sound is art. Overall is enjoyment. Enjoyment is fun. If you do not think you will like it my way, you will like it your way. Watch it and become a superior anime fan. Be someone you can be proud of, be your own hero, be an object of admiration. You only live once. Peace brother. Peace father, I will miss you. Peace to my family and friends, I love you all. Thank you for reading this. Peace.

[This review probably contains some generalized spoilers, and it's probably leaning slightly towards fanboyism. It's extremely disorganized, but it's also insightful. ]

Fate/zero is by far, the top show aired this fall season. Now what makes Fate/zero the “best” of the season? Well, numerous reasons do. In comparison to the sequel Fate/stay night (sequel was adapted prior by another animation studio), Fate/zero was animated by Ufotable. Ufotable was the production company between the acclaimed Kara no Kyoukai series. This being said, Fate/zero boasts top-notch production quality along with vivid storytelling.

(I normally don't do blatant summaries, but it's kind of necessary for this review. Fate/zero basically ... revolves around winning the Holy Grail. The Holy Grail basically grants the master any wish, and to win, the master has to eliminate the other masters through the assistance of servants. In other words, it's a survival game between the masters, and last man standing wins.)

Now, the combat in Fate/zero revolves around the use of “mana”, but it's by no means a recycled concept. The magic is Fate/zero is nowhere near the system of “traditional magic”. Traditional magic would revolve around casting the elements of fire, water, air and earth. In comparison with other anime that include “magic”, the magic in Fate/zero doesn't revolve around wizardry and casting spells. It's almost done in a completely different manner, it could hardly be called just magic, there's so many elements in play (I'll leave out the specifics in the review, it's much more fulfilling to actually see it).

The combat in Fate/zero is also something to be noted. Unlike the majority of action anime where action is relatively linear (trading blows, bigger spells do more damage, etc), the combat in Fate/zero is strategic. It's basically a giant chess game between the masters as to what to do next, each master has their strengths, and each has their weaknesses. It's up to them to safeguard their weaknesses, and to exploit their opponent's weaknesses. But this doesn't mean the action scenes are lackluster, they're actually animated extremely well.

However, even though there are numerous action scenes, a vast majority of the first season is dialogue. Unlike the majority of “action” anime, the story isn't told through mindless combat. Brains wins over brawn when it comes to storytelling. The dialogue not only builds and galvanizes the storyline, but it also gives great insight on the “mechanics” of the world, all within a relatively short period of time.

Remarkably, the characters are actually all “good”. Not good as in they're all likable, but good as in they're not generic; they're all somewhat complex. There isn't a black and white behind the motives of the of the characters. They're all distinct, and they all have an aspect of their personality that ultimately separates them from one another. It's difficult to logically blatantly claim which character is “right”, it's a battle of morals. The ethics you uphold will most likely be the decisive catalyst in deciding who should win. Unfortunately, the individual characters aren't as developed as much as I'd like them to be. It's a relatively short season, there just isn't enough time to successfully build each character. It's an inevitable reality to have to homogenize some portions of their personalities and beliefs with logical deductions. However, the second season should develop the characters further, to a greater extent. (From what I know, the second season is airing during the spring season to ensure the top-notch production quality)

Fate/zero also manages to incorporate some philosophical arguments. The philosophy that each character holds, drives and catalyzes their lust for victory. There isn't a clear good, and there isn't a clear bad in Fate/zero. It doesn't have the luxury of using a monochromatic scheme when it comes to deciding on what's good and what's bad. It's mostly decided on whether you agree with the motives of the masters or not. The motives could be argued as just and right, but it could also be argued for as blind and arrogant.

Fate/zero also manages to implement some history into it. Although relatively minor, it's there. The servants are basically derived from some notable figure in history. The actual identity of the servants could be easy, or it could be difficult. It's almost a game of it's own to figure out the actual identities of the servants without searching it up. It's not that significant, but it's still, an awesome inclusion.

To sum it up, Fate/zero is a great show. It's entertaining to watch, and was a pain to keep up with while on-going (was under the paranoia that the show would inevitably end up as a disappointment). It's definitely worth checking out.


Objective Score: 9/10. Although Fate/zero is a great show, it's doesn't match up to my definition of a masterpiece. It has a few setbacks such as character development, and a somewhat rushed storyline, but its benefits far outweigh the deficits.

Subjective Score: 10/10. Now, if you only look on the positives of the show, then it's a masterpiece. It contains everything that the majority of people look for in an anime. It has a great storyline, it has unique characters, amazing action scenes, as well as a level of immersion. It keeps the viewer anticipating the next episode, and continues to enthrall them in the prospects of the second concluding season.

In its three months run, Fate/Zero has managed to amass quite the following. It dazzles the audience with its highly stylized visuals, sports a fanciful narrative and boasts a multidimensional cast of characters. It’s certainly a complete package that any anime fan will enjoy and doesn’t really require comprehensive knowledge of previous Type-Moon works to be appreciated despite what others may tell you. It’s a prequel that can stand and be valued on its own terms.

Fate/Zero is set up as a prequel and takes place 10 years before the events of Fate/Stay Night. Yet despite the continuity between these two works, they share little ... in common besides some characters and themes. The plot details a battle royale between several Magi as they fight each other to death for the Holy Grail. Each Magi comes with their Servant, a heroic spirit drawn to the power of the Grail. Everyone comes with their own motives, strengths and weaknesses and the audience plays the witness as everything comes together in a pulse-pounding an intense manner. The pacing and set-up for everything is expertly fine-tuned and executed so the entire show is very gripping from start to end. Along the way, you’ll end up hating some characters, latching onto others and developing newfound respect for otherwise despicable ones. F/Z’s cast is very well written in the sense that they have a very clear set of traits and a defined character arc that progresses in dynamic ways with respect to the other characters. More importantly though, there isn’t a clearly defined moral landscape. Many characters are very ambiguous in their motives and actions. In fact the difference between the protagonist and the antagonist is almost nonexistent at the beginning. Aside from the context of their backgrounds, Kiritsugu and Kotomine are very similar. Yet the juxtaposition and dichotomy of the two set the tone for the rest of Fate/Zero. Certainly that tone may appear to be outwardly dreary and grim, almost excessively so, but the overall nature of the show is pragmatic. Kinoko Nasu, the writer of Fate/Stay Night, used his characters as springboards for elongated scenes of philosophical contemplation. Yet that’s not present in Fate/Zero. While it is definitely a character study at heart, it’s more about character dynamics and development than introspection. Which basically means Fate/Zero has much more focus with its characters, for better or for worse. This is one of the key facets where Fate/Zero and F/SN differ greatly. I’m not saying that one is objectively better than the other; instead they’re both good but for wildly different reasons. If you’re someone who adored the technobabble elements of Nasu’s works, than you might be put off with how straight-forward everything is in F/Z. With that said, F/Z is still very solid with its narrative and cast, they intrigue and entertain the entire way through.

The structure and pacing of F/Z is a bit of a different story. The basic layout is exposition, followed by buildup and ends with a confrontation. This cycle repeats itself multiple times and follows the same basic structure of the novels, adapting it competently enough. However F/Z does trip its own feet towards the end of its run. Specifically, I’m referring to episodes ten and eleven. My thoughts go along the lines of “Goddammit ufotable, what the fuck were you thinking?”. The main problem here is that episode ten is completely out of place with the rest of the show. No there’s nothing particularly bad about the content of the episode. It’s just that something that should have been a simple side story, is stretched to the length of an entire episode. And as a result, the pacing of the show is thrown off balance. To add to this questionable decision, episode eleven on the other hand is erratically paced. One episode is too slow, not particularly engaging and has far too little development for the main plot, while the other episode is far too quick. It literally rushes through a lot of important material and gives us the short end of the stick in terms of character development and insight. It also doesn’t really give the audience time to fully digest and internalize a lot of the events that occur. To further add insult to injury, episode eleven (the one that’s actually important to the show) gets horrendous production values. And not just you’re typical QUALITY here and there; I mean an entire episode that is a clear step down from the others in terms of overall animation, art and direction. Yeah yeah, it’ll probably get “fixed” in the BD release, but I’m not reviewing the BD release now am I? Unfortunately, this little misstep sticks out like a sore thumb and just grates on my nerves like nobody’s business. This really stops me from loving the show to pieces, but oh well maybe the second season won’t make such grievous mistakes.

One of my favorite parts about Fate/Zero is the direction. It’s definitely one of the more standout shows this year, similar to Penguindrum, Idolmaster and Nichijou in terms of storyboarding and animation prowess. You get a lot of people often saying that ufotable animates their shows really well, but that’s not entirely correct. A storyboard is basically barebones key animation, a rough sketch of the scene with a summary of what the director wants the key animator to do. Back when they first started out, ufotable was a studio that put more focus on key animation than storyboards. However, somewhere down the road they shifted this focus to storyboarding, its particularly noticeable first in Gakuen Utopia Manabi Straight. This change in focus really bore fruit when they started working on Kara no Kyoukai. What this means is, they started to put a lot more detail into their storyboarding. Stuff like expression changes, minute details in character movement, are very apparent in this style of storyboarding (which if I had to define, is probably slow, weighty and very precise). It’s the same style they use for Fate/Zero and the results are very good. The general composition for a shot is superb and meticulously detailed. A lot of the off-center shots it has are great for the atmosphere; it shows the audience multiple subjects within a single frame and builds immersion. What you get is a show that manages to not only hold your attention for its 23-minute duration, but really draws you into its world. The animation on the other hand, ends up playing second fiddle to storyboarding and composition work. Outside of fight scenes, the animation is rather stiff and lacking in detail. However it’s not too noticeable mainly because the framework is excellent. You’ll come across very little badly animated scenes in Fate/Zero which is certainly a complement, since most TV anime these days have a hard time keeping the quality up for just one episode. This is in part due the fact that ufotable is keeping F/Z as a complete in-house production which is very rare in the industry. The only other mainline anime studios that do this are Kyoani and Gainax (their original anime projects). An in-house production benefits from having a uniformly singular, cohesive vision that many anime don’t have the luxury of getting. The end product is very well put together and consistent in quality. The only real weak link in the overall bundle is probably the music in my opinion. I know everyone loves Kajiura and drones on and on about how great her work is, but it’s rather forgettable here. Aside from the sweeping scores that accompany fight or tense scenes, there really aren’t many standout tunes. Kara no Kyoukai benefitted from her work, but for some reason F/Z is missing strong melodic or ambient sounds, which could have greatly helped with atmosphere building. It’s wasted potential in this otherwise tight package. The voice work is top notch; stand out performances includes the entire fucking cast. I can’t think of a single character whose lines aren’t delivered with panache and emotion. It’s some of the best and most enjoyable voice work I’ve heard in quite a long time and if I really had to choose just one performance, it’d be Jouji Nakata. Behold everyone; THIS is how you breathe life into a villain.

Fate/Zero is definitely of the better shows to come out this year. It’s not necessary to be a Type-Moon buff to enjoy it; in fact it’s probably one of more accessible works out of the Nasuverse. People might say that watching Fate/Zero before F/SN will ruin the whole thing but honestly, it doesn’t really matter. Both can function as a starting point in the series, Fate/Zero is written to be a sufficient gateway as well. Many people seem to forget that Nasu and Butch wrote the novels with this in mind. So go for it, you really can’t go wrong with an anime like this. The best part about this show is that it doesn’t even cover the best parts of the novel, so we have quite the second season ahead of us.

Let me say it straight: I'm reviewing only the first part of the show, since it is a split cour. Everything written here applies only to S1. Also, I'm a huge fan of the original VN and Nasuverse as a whole. I guess, the review definitely has some bias.

Sometimes, a show needs exposition, because otherwise it is impossible to tell a complete and logical story. The exposition is needed to set up the characters, the stage and the events leading to the main part of the series. The first cour of Fate/Zero is such a case: it is just an infodump containing everything necessary to ... understand the plot of the second half.

The problem with such shows is that you need to make them interesting to watch. And Fate/Zero spectacularly fails in this regard, offering pointless, long and dragged dialogues (for people who have read the visual novel Fate/stay night, like me), atrocious pacing, fillers in a 1-cour series and somewhat unique, but shallow and one-dimensional characters.

The main premise of the story is simple: 7 mages and their 7 servants are battling for an ephemeral prize: The Holy Grail, an omnipotent device which can grant a wish for the winner. The premise itself is definitely interesting; the main problem is its execution. Let me say it straight: it's awful. There is very and very little plot progression over the course of the series. It tries to intrigue the viewer in the first couple of episodes (if you manage to bear that 40-minutes infodump in the first episode), but after that we are left with 11 episodes of pure, unspoiled, forgive me, Lord, Glasslip. I'm exaggerating a bit, but that's what it is: NOTHING happens-. Occasional dialogues about the eternal don't count.

I have a small chart, which can show you the structure of the show:

Episode - what happens
1 - infodump
2-9 - talking and a couple of fights
10 - A GODDAMN FILLER
11-12 - talking.

This pretty much summarizes everything what happened in the first cour in terms of story. Don't get me wrong: I adore dialogue driven shows like Monogatari and Tatami Galaxy. Hell, I even enjoyed Heaven's Feel route of novel af. Fate/Zero tries to pull the same trick with its pacing and dialogue-driveness, but it falls short. The dialogues are plain and generic. Not to mention that sometimes they suffer from bad writing and induce cringe.

However we are starting to forget what was the purpose of the first cour. Introducing the characters. I must say that Fate/Zero doesn't perform well in this regard, too. The characters, while having their unique traits, are simply shallow and not interesting. New characters lack in depth, old characters became worse. Saber is a highlight of the show, however her character is more of a whiny 14-year-old. Yes, she is stoic, but her ideals are completely idiotic. She is much more well-written in FSN, but here she, again, lacks in depth. Gilgamesh is an arrogant prick, as always, but he is even more unlikable in Zero than in FSN. Kiritsugu is your average edgy protagonist, no more, no less. Other masters and servants are either generic and plain (Kayneth, Tokiomi), or are severely underdeveloped (Kirei, Kariya, Waver). Looking forward to the S2.

But I must say that the production level of the show is simply amazing. The graphics are stunning, and the art is faithful to original Takeuchi designs. Music by Kajiura is amazing, too. No complaints on this part, however it is not enough to cover the faults of other aspects of the show.

Overall, Fate/Zero S1 wasted its potential to become a great exposition for truly glorious events and actually is a series of pointless and boring dialogues with some occasional fights. The heaviest disappointment I've had yet.

+Production quality
+Sound and music
+Nasuverse is always welcome
-Atrocious pacing
-Shallow characters
-Dragged dialogues
-Fillers, goddammit

3.5/10

I've just reviewed the Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya. Like I said there, talking about the Fate series is like talking about Mercedes-Benz: it has the quality, prowess, elegance, and legacy.

So to reiterate, if Fate/Stay Night (2006) is like the Mercedes-Benz 300SL [to those who haven't read my Prisma Illya review, the 300SL is the car that Irisviel has], and Fate/Zero is the Mercedes-Benz SLS-AMG, and then the Prisma Illya is the Mercedes-AMG-GT.
I've discussed the analogy matter of Prisma-Illya and Mercedes AMG-GT, so now we're going for the Mercedes-Benz SLS-AMG: the true Mercedes-Benz.

True to the intention of Fate/Stay Night of showing what and how the Holy ... Grail War should be. Yes, I've played the original Visual Novel of Fate/Stay Night, the only VN I've ever played and finished, so I'm as oriented as any self-sustaining FATE-otaku a little too much that I actually know one.
From what I can say, this is truly the Fate series' intention. Type-Moon made no mistake of handling Urobuchi the rights to create Fate/Stay Night's prequel.
If Type-Moon is Mercedes-Benz, then it's like them commanding AMG in truly assembling their finest Engineers to create the SLS-AMG.


STORY: 10
The story in a nutshell, takes the event of the 4th Holy Grail War, which is 10 years prior to Fate/Stay Night's 5th Holy Grail War. Einzbern and Tohsaka family, and Makiri, and other Magi who are fit to be contenders come face to face with each other as Masters with Servants to battle for the ultimate Holy Grail. The pace of the action on Fate/Zero is as brutal as how the SLS-AMG accelerates.


CHARACTER: 10
This really makes what Fate/Zero the SLS-AMG of the metaphor/analogy. Urobuchi certainly didn't write this light novel overnight, he thought this over and over, creating phantasms for the dynamics and voids for the complexities, flawed characters to the plot, and distorted plot to the characters. From Kiritsugu Emiya to Kotomine Kirei, each and every character is well-thought of, it's like each Mercedes-AMG engineer is tasked solely for the SLS-AMG's chassis, for the body, for the engine, roof, and every component.
Literally, this is how a novel intertwines with the plot and character needs to be made.


ART: 10
Fate series have nailed this since 2004, better yet--as far as Tsukihime is concerned. There's just no denying that.


SOUND: 10
In Prisma-Illya, we're missing Yuki Kajiura. It's because for the Fate/Zero to sound like the SLS-AMG having the precise sound of of the 6.0liter M159 V8 AMG engine, it needs to have Yuki Kajiura; as well as the renowned, entirely recognized seiyuus: Ayako Kawasumi voicing Saber; Rikiya Koyama voicing Kiritsugu, the bad-ass voiced Nakata Jouji as Kotomiya Kirei, Seki Tomokazu voicing Gilgamesh, Midorikawa Hikaru voicing Lancer, Ohara Sayaka voicing Irisviel, Daisuke Namikawa voicing Waver; and a couple of supporting cameos by Kana Ueda and Mai Kadowaki.
The feeling upon hearing all this will grumble on your heart and manifest on your soul.


ENJOYMENT: 10
Better than Fate/Stay Night, no doubt. Mercedes-Benz should have nicknamed their SLS-AMG as "Saber" to commemorate Fate/Zero. After all, Gen Urobuchi made a cameo-feature for the Mercedes-Benz 300SL as Irisviel's sports coupe. But that's okay, because the SLS-AMG has undoubtedly been Mercedes-AMG's Holy Grail.


OVERALL: 10
One of the finest anime there is to be watched, and this review will extend towards season 2, because reviewing Fate/Zero's season 2 is just like reviewing the SLS-AMG BLACK. The season 2 is just as auspicious as that.
I won't say anything further, because trying to describe more of the overall quality of Fate/Zero is like defining what "outstanding" is, what "Magnum-opus" means, and what is it like to see a masterpiece.
Truly, Fate/Zero (and its season 2) is a class of its own.

Verdict: Certainly, Fate/Zero is the SLS-AMG of the anime realm, equivalent to the charm of Saber, the beauty of Irisviel, and the legacy of the Holy Grail War.

Fate/Zero is a fantastic anime with an epic art style and characters. The narrative is engaging from start to finish although some dialogue can become boring. The action scenes never disappoint and are always beautifully animated. Fate/Zero's setting is a little underwhelming, and does not hurt the show nor add to it. The music and sound design in the show are fittingly epic and energetic. The theme song took a little while to grow on me, but is worthy of praise for its thrilling chorus. All of the characters in the show have something interesting to offer to the ... plot and are gorgeously animated. Fate/Zero was immediately intriguing and held my attention to the bitter end. Some dialogue feels unnecessary, but all the other amazing aspects of the show more than make up for it.

Stop! Who would cross the Bridge of Death must answer me these questions three, ere the other side ye see.

What... is your name?

-My name is sir Xpwn3ntial of MAL!

What... is your quest?

-To seek the Holy Grail!

... What... do you think of Fate/Zero?

-Fate/Zero is definitely one of the best works of 2011 and a pleasant offering to the anime industry by Ufotable. I'm going to try and keep this simple, so I'll start with givens that don't need too much elaboration.

The animation is fantastic. The staff knew exactly where to take their shortcuts and their implementation of CGI is seamlessly integrated into the 2D to give it an "otherworldly" feel that I thought was impossible. The backgrounds are gorgeous, and add to the scenes they are in. This is the kind of animation expected from movies, not television series.

The soundtrack, while not Yuki Kajiura's best work (I still think of Garden of Sinners to hold that title, which incidentally, is another Ufotable title), still lives up to her reputation. While some of the tracks are interchangeable with her other soundtracks like Garden of Sinners or Puella Magi Madoka Magica, they still fit the scenes and situations in Fate/Zero sufficiently, adding more tone than their utility takes away.

The tone and fight choreography are very well done. The pacing for fight scenes never dragged on, and only one fight in the series feels like it ended too quickly. The fights themselves offer fluid movements at almost all times and dialogue exchange when necessary so that viewers can understand the situation at hand.

Now that I've gone through the simple, given qualities of the work, I'll move on to more elaborate reviewing.

The Holy Grail War is basically an elaborate MacGuffin to bring all of the characters together and have them fight to the death. There's nothing wrong with having a MacGuffin, and Fate/Zero uses it to its advantage as well as a MacGuffin can be used. The problem with this is that someone can give a synopsis in one sentence, "All these people throughout history are fighting over the Holy Grail." A MacGuffin can only be so interesting, but luckily there is something I can only call a major sub-plot to make things more interesting. The major sub-plot of the series about Caster makes things more interesting, causing alliances that require the mentality "the enemy of my enemy is my temporary ally, and only temporary." It creates intrigue greater than "they want this but so do I so we must fight." The major sub-plot could only work in Fate/Zero's advantage, and it did.

The characters of Fate/Zero don't fit into any stereotypes so prevalent in anime today, and most of them have complex or honorable motivations for fighting the war and choosing which one the viewer should support comes down to personal worldview as opposed to good vs. evil. When I say most, I mean most. It would have been nice one of the motivations didn't boil down to "It's shiny so I want it." Another one of them has naivete that cannot be taken seriously, making proposals expected out of someone who is unaware of the situation he is in. On the whole, the characters of Fate/Zero are great, but not amazing.

This show goes through the entire emotional spectrum, and each of those emotions can reach even the most stoic of individuals at least once. It's depressing, it's fun, it's intriguing, it's complex, it's subtle, it's over the top, it's got something for everyone. The downside to this is that this series is trying to juggle too many things and even genres at once within twelve episodes of a series and one that just feels like filler right now but will most likely become important in the next season where it belonged in the first place. It doesn't know whether to be a psychological thriller, a low fantasy character drama, a lighthearted shonen romp, a cerebral battle of minds, or a Lovecraftian horror story. It implements each aspect well enough to enjoy, but it really needed more time to let the moods and tones flow from one to the next.

Which brings me to my next point. The main problem with this anime is that it is incomplete. It ends on a massive cliffhanger and while the next season Fate/Zero 2 is bound to be one of the best parts of 2012, it still requires a prequel season called Fate/Zero. That's actually why I gave this show an eight instead of a nine. An incomplete production can't get a 10, and if it was self-contained, it would have gotten a nine out of this review.

Bottom line: Definitely worth watching. No matter who you are, there simply has to be something for you in this show and when you reach the end you're only left wanting more.

-

That took too long for you to say so I won't let you cross.

-Why didn't you tell me I had a time limit?

I don't kno- AAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!

Fate/Zero had some big shoes to fill. Based on a series of light novels that serve as a prequel to one of the most beloved visual novels of all time, animated by Studio ufotable – which has proven itself deft at adapting Type-Moon material with their fine work on Kara no Kyoukai – and with a soundtrack composed by none other than Yuki Kajiura; it's no surprise that fans were ecstatic in their anticipation. Hype is of course a dangerous thing, known to backlash horribly when it spins out of control.

Which makes it a relief that Fate/Zero is quite good. Great, even.

For the uninitiated: Fate/Zero ... is an urban fantasy action series set in the fictional Japanese city of Fuyuki. A modern day setting where magecraft exists and is acknowledged. The story chronicles the first half of an event called the 4th Holy Grail War: a contest of elimination where seven mages (dubbed 'Masters') each summon an ancient spirit (dubbed 'Servants') into the physical realm with the objective of fighting other contestants until only one remains. The winner is allowed access to the Holy Grail: an artifact of incredible power said to be capable of granting any wish.

It is within the Holy Grail War that we follow a wide range of characters: seven Masters, seven Servants as well as a number of supporting characters, most of whom with a connection to the Masters, be it spouse, mentor or assistant. The show handles its large cast of characters remarkably well: there's a lot of diversity and complexity in the personalities, motivations, designs and abilities showcased. Furthermore, the characters feel human: meaning that they can sometimes do terrible or stupid things, but there's always an idea of where they're coming from. This is because of solid world building in the earlier episodes where it's shown that the mage culture is highly elitist and traditional. Especially emphasized is the treatment of women: they're seen as little more than tools to produce heirs, and arranged marriages are very common. Some might view this as misogynistic, but the show does not glorify or endorse these practices in the slightest, though some women are happier in the circumstances than others.

The great characters inhabit an equally stellar narrative. Magic battles and Highlander-esque contests of elimination are certainly nothing new, but the plot twists tired conventions in clever and often brutal ways. Noteworthy is how Fate/Zero handles the action. Battles are not won by believing in your friends or having willpower, instead victory is snatched from the jaws of defeat through planning, cunning and intelligent use of one's abilities and resources. Kiritsugu Emiya, protagonist and anti-hero to the core, embodies this; and his stunningly vicious pragmatism – which masks a sadness of a man who wishes to better the world by any means necessary - is just one of Fate/Zero's many deviations on the usual clichés. The storyline and characters work in tandem to create a truly gripping action series. One that drives home a very important point: action scenes get better when characters you care about are in the fight, and you can understand why they're fighting.*

Not everything about the storytelling is wonderful, though. The show ends on a massive cliffhanger and has no continuation at the time of writing though it is in production. A bigger problem is that there's a lot of exposition in the story's calmer periods. While helpful, it's often delivered in a clunky way. The show is often guilty of something that's referred to as ''As You Know''-dialogue, where one characters reiterates information to another that both of them already know. Moreover, the composition of these scenes is awkward at times. Absolute low point is the first episode in which a Master in training is receiving instructions from 2 people who, while doing so, are walking in circles. One could make a case for how it's supposed to symbolize the fact that they're trying to indoctrinate him, but the whole thing just looks incredibly silly. The saving grace is that the dialogue itself is consistently interesting, be it a discussion about how society defines one's ethics, a character expressing his self-doubt or a Servant's thunderous proclamation of superiority before annihilating an opponent.

Those familiar with ufotable's work on Kara no Kyoukai were confident that they would turn in good work for Fate/Zero, and these hopes weren't in vain. The visuals are of excellent quality across the board. The atmospheric environments and stunning action sequences in particular are a sight to behold. Though there are some visual blemishes in the form of conspicuous CGI here and there, including an entire character rendered in it. This last bit was supposedly an artistic choice on ufotable's part seeing as the character in question is described as feeling fundamentally alien, and while the actual CGI isn't bad but it's definitely not as fluidly animated as the hand-drawn visuals. The soundtrack isn't so extraordinary. Yuki Kajiura isn't quite as diverse as other acclaimed Japanese composers and it doesn't help that she didn't seem to bring her A-game for Fate/Zero. It's not a bad, but nothing that will have people itching to download it. The opening and ending themes, however, are both stellar.

Fate/Zero has a lot to like in spite of a few downsides, and it comes together so marvelously that liking it is all the easier. The fascinating characters, gripping plot, wonderful animation and stunning battles make this an easy sell not just to action-junkies or Type-Moon fans, but to anyone craving an intense thrill-ride with a bit of extra bite to it.



* (It's almost sad that it bears mentioning that caring about characters and having a feel for what's at stake for them makes fights better. But hey, 'Gurren Lagann' and 'Baccano!' got away with lacking them so there you have it.)

I will start off by saying, that I went straight into writing this review after finishing the first season. Having not watched the second season, this is a unbiased point of view of solely the first thirteen episodes of Fate/Zero. I would have liked to review the whole two seasons together, but the sudden division has left me with no choice. Not having the substitution of a visual novel, in a sense, I feel that the first season was overrated. There was no comparison to the seemingly "superior" VN of Fate/Stay Night. Thus much of the ratings must have been based on a a first ... person view not tarnished by any previous media other than the light novel that closely followed the anime.

Now with the formalities out of the way, Fate/Zero has done many things right and wrong compared to Fate/Stay Night, and probably like many others, I seek to compare them in this review. While I believe that the superficiality, notably sound and art, have contributed mostly to the high ratings, I seek to go beyond that.

Story - One of the best additions to Fate/Zero compared to its predecessor is its much deeper story. The anime has done a great job of setting up an atmosphere that emphasizes the large scale epicness that is the Holy Grail War. While in Fate/Stay Night that feeling stayed rather confined into a seemingly small city, Fate/Zero masterfully expands it and demonstrates an overwhelming significance of the war. In addition, Zero establishes ambiguity in a good sense: in that you can't anticipate what happens next. While Stay Night had many twists and turns in it, Zero does it to a better degree, leaving you in the dark and creating a stronger sense of excitement and apprehension. In addition, Zero has more lucidly explained the phenomenon of the Holy War, something that SN lacked in. However, story progression is agonizingly slow, and each episode feels rather standalone and in turn, I feel little addiction to it. Conversations are intellectual, but take up a bit too much time. Hopefully, the second season resolves this issue, and proves the suspense and conversations were actually worthwhile.

Art - Compared to Fate in 2006, Zero has done an incrementally better job of perfecting the artwork. However, comparing a 2012 anime to a 2006 in terms of art is hardly fair, but Zero has fixed a few flaws in SN. Fight scenes demonstrate a greater diversity in fighting styles, camera angles, and no longer displays repetition, as each slash, each movement, each bullet has a different animation to it. The use of cinematic scenes adds to what I have mentioned, leading to more captivating scenes, reminiscent of the spectacular fight scenes in Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood.

Sound - In terms of music, SN takes the cake for a soundtrack that has variety, clarity, and just plainly gets stuck in your head. Zero focused on a more cinematic, movie-like soundtrack that may be more pleasurable to others, but to me, is simply not memorable. I enjoyed the opening and ending thoroughly better, but I feel like they do not capture the essence of the anime like the ones in SN did.

Characters - My main problem with Zero is that there is no real main character, as Saber and Kiritsugu just don't feel like them. In a sense, it draws comparisons to the unique character setup of Baccano, but in all sincerity, is inferior. While this type of narration does increase suspense, in that it is difficult to detect their intentions, it vitally destroys connection towards them. Anything negative that happens to any character, even the Saber that was developed in SN, all seems to part of the grand scheme of things. The characters are inflexible and all show only one side of themselves, and that leads to little possible development. Like I said before, I hope that the second season changes my perception of that, illuminating the personalities and decisions of the characters instead of keeping them rigid.

If it was a standalone series, Fate/Zero would not have impressed me enough. Luckily, at the conclusion of it, it is obvious that there is a second season. Compared to the first thirteen episodes of SN, Zero wins without a doubt, heavily in terms of narration, story line and art. However, SN rose to a new level in the next half of the show, and I await the second season to follow that legacy.

Note: this is a review of both seasons of Fate/Zero, seeing as it's a singular story that was split into two seasons for reasons not related to the plot.


Since the dawn of mankind, humans have been creating stories. Many of these stories centred around lives and adventures of special individuals or groups of people, legendary larger-than-life heroes who performed superhuman feats on a regular basis, defied the Gods and odds and boldly looked Death itself right in the eye. Both Gods and Fate toyed cruelly with many of these heroes, either for the sake of their own amusement or because these legendary individuals dared to ... oppose or challenge their divine will. Their heroic deeds, whether real or fictional, made them famous for all eternity.
Thousands of years ago, it was the brave Achilies, a warrior who brought down the armies of the famous city of Troy. It was the cunning Odysseus, who managed to outwit the capricious Gods of Olympus and overcome their ploys to keep him away from home. Later it was King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, whose fame and glory are probably unparalleled in the realm of legends. Today we have numerous comic-book superheroes, from the demigod Superman to the rich self-righteous vigilante Bruce Wayne, as well as the more “traditional“ heroes like Aragorn from Lord of the Rings. Each era has its own heroes.
However, much like in the world of Miguel de Cervantes' literary classic, “Don Quixote“, the modern world is no longer a place for heroes of old. Concepts of honour and chivalry have yielded to the growing cynicism and opportunism, and the ends justify the means for most people today. I wouldn't say it's a bad thing per se, but it ( unfortunately ) results in people largely dismissing or even ridiculing any attempts at display of heroism or nobleness. However, while there might not be a place for them in the real world, heroes are still very much alive and kicking in the realm of fiction. Fate/Zero is a work that connects both those worlds.

An adaptation of the novel of the same name, Fate/Zero is a prequel to the widely popular visual novel Fate/ Stay Night which spawned an anime adaptation of its own back in 2006. Studio DEEN's take on the original game was... not that well received by the fans, and the series didn't do much to bring more fans to the Fate franchise. It's been described as “juvenile“, “mediocre”, “overhyped“ etc. The fans were eager to see their beloved game come to life as an anime series, but were largely let down by it, and the hype they created prior to the series' release considerably raised the expectations of the uninitiated, which in turn caused many of them to be just as disappointed. Seeing how dissatisfied the fans were with the Fate/Stay Night anime by DEEN, Type-Moon, the developer of the game, decided to collaborate with a different studio for the adaptation of the Fate/Zero novel – Ufotable, who already had an established relationship with the company and a good record of adapting their works into anime with their series of Kara no Kyoukai movies. Comparing this series to its sequel, I can safely say that, from the technical aspect at least, the decision by Type-Moon to bring Ufotable on board for this project was an act of Providence.

Made with a budget that can buy a small country, Fate/Zero boasts visuals of near-cinematic quality that greatly enhance the feeling set by the story that this series is something else, and not just your typical run-of-the-mill supernatural action shonen show. From character designs and backgrounds to spectacular fight scenes, Fate/Zero is a feast for the eyes. Whether hand-drawn or CGI-rendered, the backgrounds are all highly detailed and blend in with the character models perfectly. Breathtaking backdrops range from a majestic castle of the Einzbern family in the German Alps to the futuristic cityscape of Fuyuki City, the battleground of the Fourth Holy Grail War. Lavishly decorated halls and drawing rooms, cellars corroded by moist, neon-lit city avenues and thick forests shrouded in mist serve as arenas for the spectacular battles between the greatest heroes of History.
The colour palette is as diverse as the set pieces, but leans more towards the darker tones and colder colours, seeing as most of the battles take place at night ( which is perfectly logical as the whole tournament is supposed to be highly secret ). Black, blue and gold are the most dominant ones, but no colour gets neglected and almost each character is colour-coded for your convenience. Gold as the symbol of royalty and power; blue for calmness and coldness; black as the colour of mystery, sadness, death and evil; white, the colour of purity, simplicity and innocence, red for energy, passion and war – the use of colours goes beyond mere aesthetics as each is assigned to a character in accordance to their personality.
The character designs themselves might seem typically “anime“ at first glance ( large eyes, bright hair colours etc. ), but a second look reveals a plethora of rich designs with a lot of attention payed to detail and harmony. Heroic Spirits are naturally very distinctive, particularly Archer, Rider and Saber, featuring a range of impressive outfits and weaponry. For the fans of the franchise: there is a marked improvement in the designs of recurring characters from Fate/Stay Night, most notably Saber, who leaves a much more regal and knightly impression in this incarnation, and these improvements aren't just budget-related – Ufotable simply has better artists. Their Masters, as well as other human characters, are right behind them, sporting some nice and distinctive outfits, and there really isn't a single character whose design could be considered dull or boring.

As gorgeous and eye-catching as the artwork is, though, the real testament to Ufotable's dedication to this project, and a shameless display of their gargantuan budget for the series is the animation. Not only are all the fight scenes beautifully choreographed and a joy to watch, they are complemented by animation of cinematic quality with absolutely no shortcuts taken. Forget about speed lines or sword-flashes on a black background - Fate/Zero features battles that could give most Hollywood blockbusters a run for their money. Be it one-on-one duels or massive free-for-all brawls, the action in Fate/Zero is a thrilling spectacle that will not disappoint those who're in just for some awesome fight scenes. CG animation is widely used and, thankfully, blends extremely well with the 2D artwork for the most time, allowing for some excellent gimmicks, effects and set pieces that would otherwise be extremely difficult to pull off.
However, while undoubtedly great and high-end, the animation isn't 100% perfect. The CG models are painfully obvious on a few occasions, but it's really only just a few. Also, while the action scenes can make your jaw drop and the studio makes sure you see that they saved no expenses on them, outside the fight-scenes and a few chases, it is clear that this is still a TV series, no matter how high the budget is. There is plenty of dialogue and exposition in the series, and these scenes play out with minimal changes of camera angles and the person talking is often either off-screen or far away, so as to eliminate lip-flaps where possible.
In the end, while a few corners had to be cut, the cuts were placed wisely and where they felt natural, and all these issues with the visuals are really minor, bordering on nit-picking.

But as always, what is a visually impressive show worth without an equally impressive soundtrack? Well, a lot, but a great score raises the viewing experience to a whole new level. The composer brought on board for this tour-de-force of a story is Yuki Kajiura, one of the greatest composers in contemporary anime industry whose vast opus includes the soundtracks for .hack franchise, Kara no Kyoukai movies, Tsubasa Chronicles, Sword Art Online and Madoka Magica. While I wouldn't say it's her best, the score for Fate/Zero is certainly one of the most powerful works she composed.
Music is probably the most subjective thing in the world, almost completely subject to personal preferences. However, I think there are two criteria by which you can easily assert whether a soundtrack is good or not – if it makes you cry and/or gives you goosebumps. There are only a few tracks that could bring tears to your eyes, but the number of times the music will give you shivers more than makes up for this. To complement the nature of the story and the grand size of some of the battles, Kajiura brings us a score full of epic choirs that make your heart race and give the entire series an epic feel during the high points, and make the already intense and dynamic action scenes even more engaging. Haunting female choruses are accompanied either by an orchestra or electronic instruments or both, and this blend of modern and “classical“ music does wonders for setting the tone and pace for each scene. There aren't really any stand-out pieces, but they are all excellent and don't lose any of the quality or impact if you listen to them on their own.
When it comes to opening and ending tunes, Fate/Zero is quite diverse. Since the series is split into two seasons, there are two pairs of opening and ending themes, both of which are pretty good, especially the Season 1 ending theme song, “Memoria“, and Season 2 opening theme “To the Beginning“ by Kalafina. Season 2 has another track by Kalafina, named “Maten“ and featured in ep 18 & 19, which is... well... sung by Kalafina! Listen to it, it's great, even if it's sad.

On the subject of voice-acting, the series hasn't received an English dub as of yet, but if it does this review will be updated. However, the Japanese dub is so good and distinctive that it most definitely warrants a comment. Koyama Rikiya delivers a powerful and impressive delivery as Emiya Kiritsugu, keeping a cool and emotionless voice for the most part, while still successfully portraying many different emotions that occasionally slip through his cold exterior. His main opponent, Kotomine Kirei, is voiced by Nakata Jouji, probably best known for his role as the vampire Alucard from Hellsing. His deep and mighty voice is a joy to listen to; at the same time both fitting for the character's personality and in contrast to his more youthful exterior. But while both these two, as well as Kawasumi Ayako as Saber, do a brilliant job at portraying their respective characters, it is Ootsuka Akio ( Batou from GITS franchise ) as Rider that delivers the most powerful and striking performance, intensifying the qualities of his character several times. The sheer impact of his performance is hard to describe – simply put, without Ootsuka, there is no Rider. Honorable mention goes to Satoshi Tsuruoka as Caster; you can tell in every line he utters that the man is having an incredible amount of fun, and has no qualms about going way over the top with his insane overacting. He's a lot of fun to listen to and when the series is dubbed they should cast Jeremy Irons for this role.


With the technical aspects of the series out of the way, let's have a look at the story.
The word “epic“ has lost a lot of its former weight in the modern Internet generation. Today, anything more entertaining than a dog using a laptop or a cat stuck in a jar can be dubbed “epic“, which results in people largely forgetting what the word originally stood for. It is therefore quite refreshing to see something that really earns the title of an epic. If the inclusion of heroes and legends of old in a tournament for the Holy Grail, and the mentioning of grand and spectacular battles didn't tip you off already, then the themes and ideas presented and debated over the course of the series should illustrate why Fate/Zero is an epic.
Possibly inspired by the ( annoying ) personality and actions of Emiya Shirou, the protagonist of Fate/ Stay Night, the basic idea and main underpinning theme of Fate/Zero is the concept of chivalry and honour and the question of what it really means to be a hero. Selfless heroes are no strangers to movies and books, and they are very much a hallmark of shonen action anime. Noble individuals who never hesitate to sacrifice themselves for the cause; determinators who rarely, if ever, doubt their ideals; goody two-shoes who always endeavour to do the right thing and so on and so on... Perhaps it's needless to say that most of these heroes are rewarded for their goodness in the end and they manage to achieve their goals fully.
But this series was written by Gen Urobuchi.
As the question it poses suggests, Fate/Zero is a deconstruction of sorts of the shonen anime, but it also goes way beyond that in many questions it asks. There are very, very few examples in anime industry ( and I dare say, Hollywood as well! ) of writers that ask the tough questions as cuttingly as Urobuchi does. What makes a hero a hero? What would it take to be a hero of justice? What does it mean and take to stay true to one's own ideals? Are they even worth it? The maturity of the writing and the genius of Urobuchi's storytelling is that the show never pretends to hold any definite and universal answers to these questions. True, he’s better at asking the questions than answering them, but there’s a very good reason for that – I don’t think Urobuchi believes there *are* any answers to be had, seeing as he is more or less a Nihilist with a healthy twist of despair. Various viewpoints and ideas are presented by a number of different characters, and each of their beliefs holds both something true and misguided at the same time, and the ratio differs from character to character and is also largely open to perspectives and judgements of both the characters and viewers. Urobuchi doesn't treat any of the views as inherently right or wrong, or one morally superior to the others, which provides for some great food for thought for those who wish to entertain themselves with some brain work, while not offending or alienating anyone with his personal views and opinions.

The plot itself is tight and very well written, full of twist and turns. Granted, they aren't really on the same level as Death Note, the King of Twists, but it does stand apart from almost every other action show barring maybe Code Geass. Rather than simply throwing the characters into as many fights as possible and resorting to cheap power-up cop-outs when the situation becomes too thick, Fate/Zero dedicates a lot of time to careful planning and strategy, especially in the first half of the story. A battle royale to end all battle royales, it features some quite diabolic schemes, clever stratagems and a lot of conspiracies. Temporary alliances are often created, but more out of necessity or common threat rather than goodwill or nobility. To tell the truth, compared to the elaborate planning of each next move and a hefty amount of character interaction, the fight scenes are very much not at the forefront of the story. Sure, the battles are mesmerizing, but are spread thinly throughout the series, with the natural exception of the grand conclusion. This sets the show apart from its shonen brethren and makes it a much more “intellectual“ story than a strictly action-packed thrill-ride.

However, as rich in substance and breathtaking in scope as it is, Fate/Zero's story does suffer from some flaws in presentation; the storytelling itself.
The pacing is very uneven, and reminded me a bit of Mamoru Oshii's directional style – there's a ( relatively ) small number of intense action scenes separated by long periods with very little action or plot twists, mostly dominated by long and in-depth dialogue. The amount of dialogue is enormous and can take a strain on the viewer, so it's extremely fortunate that the dialogue itself is engaging and interesting in its own right, otherwise the show would have lost its audience. There are a few occasions when an interaction between characters seems forced or tedious, but it's really rare and doesn't detract from the overall quality of the writing. I doesn't bother me if there's endless talking as long as the dialogue is meaningful and relevant to the story and character development, which is all true for Fate/Zero.
Apart from the somewhat awkward pacing and a hefty amount of talking, there is one other problem with the writing. Well, one and a half to be precise. Although it's a prequel to the already popular Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Zero attempts to bring in more fans and thus appeal to the newbies of the franchise. For this purpose, most of the double-length first episode is one big and not very subtle exposition dump on the backstory of the Holy Grail War and the workings of the story's universe. While it can unnerve many an older fan of the Fate series, as someone who was completely ignorant about the franchise I found it to be pretty useful and didn't have any major issues with it ( and I usually abhor force-fed exposition! ). All things considering, the exposition dump was handled rather well, and the decision by the writers to include it in the anime adaptation was a good one.
Less excusable is the episode 10, which revolves around a certain side character that plays a major role in Fate/Stay Night. This episode baffled many a fan, for it doesn't really follow any of the main plot threads and has almost no bearing to the overall plot progression. It seems to be a rather forced attempt at giving some characters much needed screen time and tying things up for the series' sequel. Yes, it's practically filler.


To tell a good story, you need an interesting plot. To tell a great story, you also need a great cast of characters, and this is where Fate/Zero shines the brightest.
I'm not trying to demote the show's other strengths, but I found the characters and their interactions to be the most interesting aspect of the series, partly because this is an intensely character-driven story. Each of the main characters could warrant a lecture and an essay on their own, but since the review is already long as it is and since it would inevitably include some spoilers, I'll try to keep it general and speak in broad strokes.
The seven Mages, called the Masters, are all quite interesting and memorable characters in their own right. The seven Servants are maybe even more interesting – who wouldn't want to meet a legendary hero and see what they were really like? Watching the Masters and their Servants interact with each other and seeing how their ( differing ) approaches to winning the war affect their relationships is incredibly enjoyable and engaging. Some of them are kindred spirits that immediately create a strong bond between them while others get to know and connect with each other more gradually. Some downright despise each other while others develop more one-sided love or hate relationships. Then there's the interactions between members of opposing teams and all the rivalry and confrontation that the Holy Grail War brings with it, all of them displaying Urobuchi's more than formidable qualities as a writer.
Both the Masters and their Servants are primarily defined by their ideals and motivations, which dictate their actions over the course of the story and drive it forward, sometimes in ways you could never have predicted at the outset. They can range from chivalric knights, willing to die for their honour, to the troubled and cynical pragmatists, to incredibly pompous and conceited arrogant douchebags.
Some characters develop and change more over the course of the story than the others, and some inevitably get more screentime and development than the rest, but no one is left unchanged by the War in which they participate, cementing the feeling that this is an event of proportion and importance.
The pinnacle of the interactions between the members of the cast has to be the “Banquet of Kings“ in ep 11, a brazen and unapologetic philosophical debate that, through a more specific theme of kingship, set in its sights the entire world and mankind’s role in it. It is not often that you get to see such a brilliant take on philosophy that manages to overcome elitism or pretentiousness usually fettering such discussions, because it was incredibly direct, natural, pointed and free of BS. Seriously, they should show that episode in university courses for years to come.

Another aspect of character development for which I have to praise the writers has to be just how well researched the backstories of the Heroic Spirits are. Archer's, Lancer's, Rider's and Caster's stories stand out in particular, tying a lot of elements from their legends into their character development during the story, including some very inconspicuous details that can just fly over your head if you're not familiar with their stories. Wikipedia is your friend if you don't want to miss them.
Certainly, the writer took many liberties with the original legends ( Saber being a prime example ), but the effort put into researching the originals, as well as all those details and little things that can go unnoticed, show that these liberties don't stem from ignorance. Rather, one should view the changes made as Artistic License or intentional disregard.

However, while Fate/Zero fields a stellar cast of almost Shakespearean characters that only a few other shows ( like Baccano! ) could match, not all the characters are perfectly shaped or used.
The sheer size of the cast makes it clear that not everyone can get the same amount of development, and that some take more spotlight than others, but there are still some characters that I feel are underused and even squandered, not achieving the potential they had. Namely, it's Matou Kariya and his servant, Berserker. That doesn't mean that they are plain or ineffectual, far from it, but I would have preferred had they played a larger role in the story.

Which brings me to probably the most important part of the story, and the one that ultimately sealed Fate/Zero's fate and final score – the ending. This part might contain some minor, minor spoilers, but I think it might be better for you if you watch the series emotionally prepared.

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No matter how brilliant Gen Urobuchi is as a writer, no matter how amazing the story he created is, and no matter how great of an addition it is to the franchise, there is one giant flaw that cannot be overlooked, and it's the one that prevented it from being a masterpiece it could have been. That flaw is the unfortunate shackle to the Fate series itself. In the end I think Fate/Zero couldn’t escape the prison of Fate/Stay Night. . Whatever else Urobuchi wanted to do with this story and these characters, he had to point them all at a very specific place and deliver them as advertised.
The ending itself is handled very well, tying up some of the plot threads and leaving some loose ones for the preexisting sequel to tie up. As a prequel, Fate/Zero does the job perfectly and even improves some aspects of Fate/Stay Night, so I have no complaints about that. As a stand-alone work, though, it fails to achieve perfection it strives for, and not due to any fault of its writer or the production crew.
Urobuchi had a misfortune of having his hands tied by an obligation to tie his story to a preexisting one. This severely limited the boundaries of his artistic expression, and it was very obvious during the final episode that his hand was forced and that he wouldn't have ended the story quite that way if it was completely up to him. It's still very much a Urobuchi ending, but no the one I think he really would have wanted to create.

To look for conventional character arcs with conventional satisfactions in an Urobuchi series is asking for disappointment. Heroes aren’t rewarded and villains punished because the universe doesn’t recognize heroes and villains – only those with power and conviction and those without it. That’s why his series don’t tend to emotionally satisfy in the end so much as leave you dazed and bleeding by the side of the road. Existence is suffering – that’s Urobuchi’s fundamental truth. However, a quick glance at the series’ ending and a comparison with his other great work, Madoka Magica, in which he was free to do as he pleases, shows that Urobuchi knows that a good tragedy needs purpose. A good tragedy must be inspiring, not depressing. He won’t give you anything more than simple final hope, but it is that hope that gives meaning to all the darkness and suffering prior to it. He gives a bit of it at the ending of Fate/Zero too, but it’s not really the same fulfilling kind of hope from Madoka, and the series thus strikes me as incomplete and imperfect.

By the fall of the curtain in final episode, almost all of the character arcs have been concluded. The dead are...well, dead, and the survivors have gone through a defining change, especially the two main human characters, Kiritsugu and Kirei. While Kirei’s story continues in Fate/Stay Night, his character arc and gradual transformation in Fate/Zero is definitely concluded. Kiritsugu’s story also reaches a final conclusion, and a satisfying one at that. Gilgamesh, another character from Fate/ Stay Night, remains more or less unchanged over the course of the series, quite naturally seeing as he is the Eldest Hero and an individual who affects and changes others. His adventures shall continue, but his part in this story has also effectively concluded.

But there is one major character whose arc is left unfinished, the only one who is yet to see the conclusion of their story. I am talking about Saber, the heroine of both series and one of the most iconic female characters in anime. She and her Master, Kiritsugu, are the Tragic Heroes of the story, the ones who get to see their ideals and hopes shattered before their very eyes. Both are driven to the point of despair because of their ideals and how their ideals betray them in the end. However, only Kiritsugu gets a conclusion to his story. His character is redeemed and his path completed, whereas Saber’s is not. Her character development takes the route of “Breaking the Heroine“, but she is left only halfway through, in the depths of her despair, and without either a positive or negative resolution. This incompleteness of her character arc is the proof of a shackle that tied Urobuchi's hands. A writer like him wouldn't have left a character's arc unfinished, but was in this case forced to do so, since Saber's arc spans Fate/ Stay Night as well, and is only concluded at the end of that series.
Being a Hero of Justice is never a good thing in a story by Urobuchi, but even though he broke Saber completely in his novel, even though he uncompromisingly smashed her ideals, he never spits on them or finds them morally inferior to either Kiritsugu's or Kirei's. Even though he stated that Kirei and Gilgamesh were his favourite characters in the story, I think that he is much more like Kiritsugu then Kirei, and I cannot but see his sadistic handling of her character development as anything other than a defence mechanism of a man who cannot help himself but adore and hate such idealistic heroes at the same time. I believe he, too, wanted to be a Hero of Justice.
While Urobichi is a bit too cynical and depressed to do so, the writers of the anime did slightly redeem her character at the end of the series although only slightly. Even though he would never say it himself, I believe that Urobuchi wanted to give Saber the same words as a certain character in episode 25. His redemption of Saber’s spiritual successor, Miki Sayaka, at the end of Madoka Magica makes me think so.

In the end most of the satisfaction you’ll get comes from Rider and his master, Waver, who were the leading lights of hope in a hopeless universe. People can change – and not in the way Kirei changes, or because of limitless suffering (caused and felt) as in Kiritsugu’s case. They changed because of their relationship with each other, and for the better at that. And it’s no coincidence, I think, that as characters they didn’t carry the heavy burden of having to confirm to their Fate/ SN archetypes. They could simply *be*, and exist fully as Urobuchi imagined them. And in doing so, perhaps they reveal that Urobuchi hasn’t completely given himself over to hopelessness and despair.

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Finally, time for me to conclude the review. Both the fans of Fate/Stay Night and those not familiar with the franchise can enjoy Fate/Zero, each in a different way. If you saw F/SN and found it underwhelming, the vast difference in scope and quality between the two series will be very refreshing for you, and seeing how F/Z puts pieces into places left empty by its sequel will be a rewarding experience. The uninitiated, on the other hand, can enjoy the uncertainty and suspense of the series that is largely lost to those who have seen F/SN ( since they already know who lives to fight another day ).
Despite its flaws, Fate/Zero is an excellent series. Minor problems like the pacing could have easily been forgiven, but the unfulfilling and anti-climactic ending stripped it of a perfect score, which is a great shame, as it's a series of exceptional scope and potential - the unfortunate shackle imposed by its preexisting sequel prevented it from becoming a masterpiece that it could have been.
Nothing Gen Urobuchi does is ever less than fascinating, and Fate/Zero is no exception.- its story, characters, animation, soundtrack and sheer scope and enjoyability give it such a wide appeal I can recommend it to almost anyone. A series of such impact and quality only comes about once in a while and really should not be missed.
I can say with much certainty that it is one of the greatest series I’ve ever seen.
8,8/10.

"A king must live a grander life than any other’s, and stoke his people’s feelings of admiration! He who is worthy of all heroes’ envy, and he who leads their way, is king! Therefore, the king is not alone. For his will equals that of all his followers together!" - Rider (Fate/Zero)

Honestly I was very apprehensive when starting Fate/Zero. I didn't know what to expect from it but what I got was a great surprise.

Story: The story of Fate/Zero is this, several big families pick a representative to fight for them in the 4th grail war so they can get a wish. The ... main protagonist, Kiritsugu Emiya, is a hardened assassin who was chosen by the Einzbern family to represent them. He is paired with the servant Saber (the strongest class.) I don't want to say much more for I fear I'll spoil the story which is something you have to experience. It has a very grim atmosphere and it doesn't pull any punches, which you'll see with the Caster character when he's introduced. The ending is one of my favorites in recent history because of how dark it is. It's extremely well adapted from the light novels.

Art: I think this is one of the strongest points of the series, the gorgeous animation and art. Sure some frames don't look amazing but that goes for practically all anime. I enjoy the rather pale and dark colors used for the scenery and the characters, it represents the tone of the story quite well. The animation is absolutely gorgeous, even the 3D parts which was something I was rather skeptical about. Berserker's jet fight with Gilgamesh illustrates how great the animation really is. Ufotable really went all out with this one.

Sound: The soundtrack for all the Fate series is amazing. Zero really stands out because it probably has one of my favorite ending songs in anime history, Manten. It's a really powerful song that plays at the end of episode 18, keep an eye out for it. The orchestrated tracks bring a lot of tension into the larger fights and make them even more entertaining to watch. Trust me, you'll be listening to this OST after you finish the anime. It's THAT good.

Character: Quite possibly my favorite part of the series is the characters. Oh god do I love 90% of them. Rider, Kiritsugu and Kirei are probably the ones that stuck out the most to me. Rider's powerful and charismatic personality matches perfectly up against his master, Waver's, geeky and angsty personality. Rider is also extremely lovable and goofy at times so he's a treat to watch. But he really isn't just a generic meathead, he says some extremely powerful things as well. Kiritsugu's backstory, which they dedicate 2 episodes to portraying, is gripping and sad. His actions are questionable as well which makes him entertaining to watch because you don't know if you're rooting for him or not. He has good intentions but poor execution. Kirei is similar, Kirei doesn't exactly know what he wants when the anime starts but once he meets Gilgamesh, things change immensely for him. Kirei and Kiritsugu take similar paths and are similar people with different motivations, that's what makes them so interesting. Saber would probably be the only character I wasn't quite into, she's pretty bland.

Enjoyment: This was an absolute blast to watch, the fights are great, the dialogue is great and the animation is STUNNING. Watch it then move on to the ufotable version of Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works. You should definitely give the visual novels a try too because you'll miss out on a lot of wacky Kirei antics.

Fate/Zero is exciting. The amount of substance in the writing is beyond belief, and the unconventionality of the morals and characters make it inherently interesting.

The show focuses heavily on Kiritsugu Emiya and Kirei Kotomine, though no protagonists are entirely selected and all sides get screentime. Even though they both appear to be uninteresting and unlikeable, both of their struggles and their relationships toward other characters and servants are captivating. Kiritsugu wants to “save the world” and be a “hero of justice” and rid it of evil and war, yet he commits a slew of horrible murders and deceptions to reach his goal. Kirei is an ... empty and confused priest that doesn’t feel much emotion, so he wishes to know what exactly gives him pleasure. Kirei’s plight is explored more in the second season, but from early on Kiritsugu makes the audience question the definition of “hero.” There’s a bunch of internal politics going on, since it involves mage families that have been established and quarreling for hundreds of years. Game of Thrones is an appropriate comparison.

Don’t come into Fate/Zero with the expectation of constant fights and action. Though there are a slew of nicely choreographed and beautifully animated fights, the backbone of the show is honestly the politics and themes; only one servant is defeated by the end of the season and most of episode eleven is literally servants talking about what it means to be a king. If these topics are unappealing, Fate/Zero is not for you.

But that’s not to say that the show has no fights and lighthearted moments in the first season. Waver and his relationship with Rider is often used for comic relief, and though it is blatant, it is enjoyable and their bond ends up being a highlight of the show. The fights are intense and beautiful; the two involving Saber and Lancer stand out especially due to Lancer’s mesmerising spearmanship, Saber’s everything, and the palpable sexual tension between the two.

Ufotable went above and beyond the call of duty with the animation. The character designs are harmonious and appropriate to each character. And though the show’s style features rather amorphous faces, emotion is conveyed scarily well. The music is composed by Yuki Kajiura of Madoka Magica fame, and is equally epic.

Watch the show subbed. Most of the performances in the english dub are uninspired, though it is not the worst dub ever made. It’s strange, because all of the english voices are actually matched rather well. I can only imagine how amazing the dub could have been in the hands of the right ADR director. In contrast, the Japanese cast yielded sound performances with appropriate amounts of emotion. Lancer definitely caught my attention; his voice has a warrior’s strength but is tinged with sadness. Seems like that would be a hard balance to maintain, but he is absolutely perfect and heartbreaking from the start.

The first season of Fate/Zero primarily provides setup for the second. However, the ideals, politics and moral ambiguity displayed make it just as entertaining. The first episode is long and exposition heavy and some may find the show confusing at first, but stick with it, as it gets less so through the course of the show (and consequent rewatches).