Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho

I'm kind of mad because I had my review started and than I accidentally closed the browser. I guess I'll be writing it again. Luckily, I wasn't that far.

Grimoire of Zero certainly has brought out mixed feelings among the viewers. Many people really like or even love the show, while many others, like myself, just like it. There are also the people who just don't care for it that much. It's good either way, but it does have its ups and downs.

The story is simple. Zero and Mercenary meet unexpectedly after Mercenary falls from a hill top above where ... Zero was camping out when he was being chased by witches, I believe (I actually forget the details concerning his fall from weeks ago). She forms a contract with him than and promises to turn him into a human, as long as he helps her find the Grimoire of Zero, which is a book she created that is filled with tons of magic spells and has spread far throughout the land. The book was stolen from her and she want sit back before it falls into the wrong hands. The two also meet Albus,a young witch in the group, the sorcerers of Zero. The three of them start their adventure and ht some of their initial walls. The first half of the show is a lot more character driven, which was a little dull at times because the anime seemed to be concentrating on simple stuff like that instead of on finding the grimoire of Zero and advancing the story. Luckily, the second half shows more of the conflict surrounding the war that is close to breaking out between humans and witches, and has many plot twists throughout the scenes. It could be a better story, but at least it was satisfying and ended on a really good note. The best part about it is that it feels like an old time fantasy adventure due to how the spells are cast and the backgrounds shown. The beastfallen designs make a nice touch though. I'd give a story a 7 since the quality rounds out nicely despite the ups and downs in the story.

The art is kind of like the story. It really makes the show feel like an older style fantasy adventure. The character designs, backgrounds, and other art pieces are not always the greatest out there, but the category as whole is good. A few of the background are done really well, especially some that I noticed in the final episode, while some others are just ok. The clothing is definitely of some typical fantasy designing, but it helps show the character's personalities really well and it is still designed nicely. The animation is pretty fluid too. Overall, a 7/10 in deserved.

The sound is my favorite part of the show. I expect a fantasy to have some really good music and Grimoire of Zero doesn't disappoint much in this department. The opening them is quite good, while sounding silly at the same time; it fits very nicely though with a few of the overall simple themes of the show, and it does have nice visuals. The background music is more fierce during the battle scenes and the more conflict based scenes. Other times, it is just some good music that compliments the mood in a good way. I'll give the category a 7/10.

The characters are kind of a difficult area to talk about. They are not the most special, but they leave an impact. Thirteen is kind of a basic antagonist and trouble is always around him, but he does a good job at being part of each side of the war he basically started, which is not something many antagonists can pull off. Zero is a young magician who might easily be the most powerful magician in the world of the show, seeing as how she made the spell book and that action lead to many people throughout the land learning how to use magic. She doesn't try to control people with force and enormous strength though and she is more kind hearted and it doesn't take a whole lot to please her. She is kind of cunning though and she interacts very well with Mercenary. Mercenary is more a tough and rather stern individual until he grows more acquainted with his master, Zero, and breaks out of his shell. He is different from other beastfallen since he doesn't use his look and or position as a soldier to get what he wants. He has a simple dream of wanting to open his tavern. Albus is an ok character, but she doesn't have as much of an impact as the three I mentioned above, and she just kind of seemed to be present at many times without there being a need for her. I don't think she needed to be incorporated into the main traveling crew as often the way she is, but would fit better if there was more of a use for her early in the story. The other characters are not really main people so I'll leave out. Overall, the characters are rather fun to watch and stand out in their own way, despite not being the best out there, so 7/10 it is.

My enjoyment earns a 7/10. I didn't always like every episode as much as another, but overall, I had a fun time watching the anime and some of the scenes were really good. It has a very satisfying ending too, even though the show has a short run time. There is more to be discovered in the world, but every main conflict brought about is solved before it ends.

What starts out as a typical quest to right her own wrongs turns into a more complicated anime after she loses her soup, we are introduced to the initial characters and are shown different parts of the world's state and history. With themes that are similar to Junketsu no Maria, the anime as it is right now is slowly expanding our knowledge of the state of the world. Whilst the story is not unique in any way it is not by any means bad (I'm sure some of the other reviews will beg to differ), meaning it will be more than enough to keep you ... interested. The recent few episodes have started to show a bit of the characters changing as people which is nice (I have qualms with how slow durarara/baccano was despite being a huge fan)

As for the art, pretty standard, it looks good but compared to most other Japanese anime it doesn't stand out, expect fluid animations and effects. The one bit that I do think they did well for art is probably the characters which are relatively detailed.

Music is great, I love the opening. The ending is calm and relaxing (though not exactly my sort of thing) and the bgm is more than capable of sending the mood. That being said due to the lack of action/emotional scenes so far it hasn't had a really good chance to stand out.

Characters are your typical op + knowledgeable MC (or heroine depending on how you look at it), your character that isn't happy with the world as it is and is seeking the ability to change himself. You have the loyal little magician who may or may not become an antagonist further down the road, which will be interesting to see how it plays out. As I mentioned the characters are drawn in great detail and the MC seems to have some sort of backstory we haven't fully explored yet so I am looking forward to it.

All in all its a 9 for me, this anime doesn't seem to have made a lot of mistakes but at the same time isn't taking enough risks to really stand out and get a 10 (masterpiece), that being said its more than enjoyable and doesn't let the recent few seasons (which have been great mind you) down.

This is obviously not related to Re:Zero in any way. You probably already know that but i'm just gonna throw it out there. Zero Kara Hajimeru Mahou No Sho is an anime that has been on my "plan to watch" list for a long time. In fact, it didn't even have a synopsis at that time if I recall.

Story 6/10: Story's honestly not that great. The beast, Youhei, meets a witch, Zero, and despite his so-called hate for witches, he decides to embark on a quest with her. For a price of course, that being he could finally be turned into a human.

As of ... now, the pacing is slow. At the end of episode 4, it gets more interesting but the first 3 episodes are basically the building blocks of character development. There is also a bit of action here and there but it doesn't last very long.

Character 8/10: A unique MC because of him being a beast. You don't see those too often. I liked him though. He can be tsundere-ish at times and he seems like someone who is good but chooses to be distant and cold towards others due to the fact that he is aware beasts like him aren't treated so well do to their bad history (which is explained throughout the series). Overall, he seems like someone who isn't annoying. Thank god.

But there is one character who could be annoying at times. And it comes to no surprise that the culprit is the yellow haired kid. Honestly, I would prefer him to not be around but he's part of the reason of the MC's character development and he isn't bad all the time.

Moving on to another important character, Zero. She doesn't seem unique at all. Naive about the world and somewhat overpowered in combat. But still knows whats up when things go tough. I also find it confusing when some people act perverted at her (something you'll find obvious) because she honestly looks like a kid at first glance. Anyways, despite her lack of uniqueness, I didn't dislike her at all. But that could change when we get to see more episodes but I hope it doesn't. This applies to the rest of the characters too.

I also like to mention the relationship between Youhei (beast) and Zero. It isn't forced and it just grows smoothly. That is what I like. Romance done right. Rather interesting too.

Animation 7/10: Good for 2017. Nothing that felt out of place. Average. Normal. No flaws. No complaints here.

Sound 8/10: OP with an adventure tune that we see in alot of action anime and an ED with a calm and relaxing atmosphere that reflects on the relationship between the MC and heroine. I love it.

Overall 7/10: I hope this anime keeps sticking with what it is now with maybe a few minor improvements. Overall, I enjoyed watching it and I'll definitely not drop this.

So, the first (wrong) thing this show did was to overestimate the capacity of people to make the difference between Mahō(魔法) - Magic and Majutsu(魔術) - Sorcery. While they are kind of synonyms they have the same difference as normal Alchemy and Alchemy with a Philosopher's Stone. The top review of this series makes this (retarded in my opinion) mistake and makes a lot of comments on the fact that the series is stupid because "how could witches exist before magic if magic was invented by a witch only recently" (Jaden Smith anyone? No?). Well, it is stated, SEVERAL TIMES, that they used sorcery, not ... magic. Damn, the white tiger (I'm bad with names) even says: "This magic is very convenient because until now you had to draw circles and make sacrifices". Also,(this is not a spoiler) regarding Zero's ability to negate magic, (now this is a spoiler) SHE GODDAMN SAYS she made mistakes in the Grimoire on purpose in order to be able to be stronger than any other magic user.

Anyway, I felt the need to clear that up. Now the review:

Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho (Grimoire of Zero) is a fantasy anime. It's set in a world where a civil war between witches and normal humans has created countless victims and it's currently destroying the nation. The series is centered on Zero, a young witch that revolutionized witchcraft by giving birth to magic and Mercenary, a beastfallen (humans with the appearance and strength of animals), and it follows their adventures to find (the stolen) Zero's Grimoire that holds the secrets to magic.

The series is sweet, short, and the only complaint I have is that they seemed to go out of their way to produce a loli-ish character (must find a way to appeal to those otakus, amiright?) when the girl needs to be over 15 for the story to make sense. The art isn't amazing but I'm more of a story guy so it didn't impact my enjoyment too much. The sound though, it's lacking. A good soundtrack would've made this anime A LOT better.

All in all, Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho is in no way an innovative, never-seen-before anime. The whole fantasy setting has been done so many times it's almost impossible to come up with something new. But who cares? Do you never eat the same food twice? I like binge watching fantasy anime with an accent on magic and I feel like this hit the right spot. It doesn't even need a second season, it's fine as it is! If you like magic and fantasy, this anime is a nice thing to watch.

These days, witches are regarded as practitioners of magic and act as the female equivalent of wizards in what would be considered as the pop culture norm for magic. While their original existence no longer has any place in society today, the history of evil witches, people who have made deals with the devil and practice witchcraft still lingers in the ugly recesses of history. With that said, what would happen if you put both of them together? To create a world where in a sense, both the meaning of witches in history and pop culture come together?

Story: The Grimoire of Zero ... story starts us off in the land of Wenias, a place plagued by those who practice magic known as witches and men who born as animal known as Beastfallen. It is here where we meet a certain beastfallen simply known as ‘Mercenary’ for the entire series (and for the sake of simplification), a self-explanatory character that does the mercenary work of killing witches for hire. On one trip through the woods, he comes in contact with a little witch by the name of ‘Zero’, who tells him that she is on a journey to find what has been stolen, her book of spells, the Grimoire of Zero.

Taking up all twelve episodes of the series to cover just the first book of the original LN series, the adaptation becomes an intriguing story with many facets to its characters, as its main duo of large tiger man and tiny witch protagonists act as a faction-less duo that do practically whatever they want so long as it benefits them and their goals. We’re given a realistic depiction of the reaction to witches in our own history put into a fantasy setting, which to me is a good way to shape up the main conflict. As a result, the show allows the audience to view both sides of the main conflict, testing many of the other characters’ morals and actions while providing a good blend of action and humorous character interactions to aid in filling out holes that the main plot leaves behind.

Adding to that is characterization. Personally I feel as though the show does have some imbalance with how it chose to develop its characters. Due to the nature of the show having two ostracized groups of characters in its society (Beastfallen and Witches), the show primarily focused on the witch characters and the witches’ struggles in society rather than the Beastfallen. Our main protagonist doesn’t really get the time of day aside from a couple choice moments in order to be ‘developed’. Aside from that, the rest of the series is devoted to the problems that the witches in Wenias face and their on-going war for freedom from oppression.

Despite that problem, the show is one of the most well paced series that I’ve seen in a long while. Taking account as many details as they could, White Fox managed to create a series that neither felt boring nor too rushed to watch, letting things continue as they went along at an even pace so that every moment felt engaging. Many times, I felt as though the episodes were too short because I was so engrossed in watching it.

While less eventful than the climax and many other sections of the story, the ending manages to cap off the first main arc of the series that acts both as an ending to the entire series while being open-ended enough to welcome a second season if White Fox so chooses to do so. Not really a big fan of how many things were thrown into exposition, but I guess to develop the whole scope of the story’s events, they had to make a couple things via time skip to make things a lot easier.

Overall, despite its imbalance with who and what it chooses to characterize, Grimoire of Zero was a show that was gripping from start to finish. Having a simple plot that was explored to almost its full extent, the show managed to be both engaging and entertaining to the end while providing good world building that mixed in the central conflict of the series. Every episode felt too short for me to fully appreciate, and it left me wanting more. My only complaint really is that there is no second season. Please White Fox. Do it.

Overview:
+ Well-paced story
+ Simple, yet effective plot
- Who they characterized was imbalance
- Ending is a bit…uneventful comparatively

Characters: As mentioned before, the show’s plethora of characters act as members of one side or one motive while our main characters act as a ‘third’ or ‘faction-less’ group that gets involved with their own sets of goals in mind.

The first is Mercenary; the giant fluffy tiger man that despite having a giant FFVII-esque sword, is actually quite soft and fluffy on the inside with a pension for cooking. Being a Beastfallen, Mercenary is a character that despises witches and dreams of one day curing him of his beast curse and opening up a pub once he’s human. As a character, Mercenary is very much a character that sits in his own morals but doesn’t act outside of what he isn’t involved in. As such, he’s less of a by the numbers fantasy protagonist, and more of a ‘does whatever he wants’ kind of guy, which fits into the story perfectly. He acts as the more grounded character of the duo and gets some significant change once the series starts picking up and his more ‘lone wolf’ demeanor softens up.

Then there’s Zero, the tiny white-haired witch who enjoys the simple things in life: food. Comparatively, Zero is the freer, more airheaded member of the main duo, as she had spent her life in a cave up until her book was stolen, and lacks any kind of basic knowledge of the outside world. Rather than being a ditzy klutz (mostly), Zero is a calm airhead simply because she doesn’t know anything aside from the intricacies of magic, leading to a majority of the show’s comedic and enjoyable moments due to her hilariously blunt nature and lack of what would widely be considered as ‘common sense’. As such, she has something of a unique identity that when mixed with her mercenary, creates fun character interactions between two quite likeable characters.

For the supporting cast, we’re treated to a myriad of characters who act as players to the bigger stage of the kingdom of Wenias, as most if not all of them have some kind of affiliation to one faction or another in the war for magic. As such, characters like Albus and the Sorcerers of Zero are clearly defined to think one way while the royal kingdom and its citizens think the other in order to give clear definition on their opinion of the matter and thus easily explain the overall conflict of the scenario. While less interesting than our main protagonists, the majority of them play their part as the background scenario well, which is the most you could ask for in a series featuring two clearly defined sides. The only one of the supporting cast that differs from this rule is ‘Thirteen’; a character similar to our main protagonists as he only does what he believes is right/based in his own goals and a compatriot of Zero.

Overview:
+ Very intriguing main protagonists
+ Fitting and clearly defined side cast

Art: Produced by White Fox, Grimoire of Zero has the clear fantasy look that the studio has used for previous projects in the past (such as Re:Zero, for example) More or less standard fare in terms of the quality of this day and age, the animation and art quality for the show is good, but not overly amazing or budget breaking.

I do however want to bring attention to the various forms of magic used in the show, as the intricate circles and various effects of the spells enhance the art quality to truly feel like a fantasy/magic show. Additionally, and this is more personal than anything, the character design for Zero is amazing. It’s the right amount of complexity and really fits with the overall aesthetic of the show.

Overview:
+ Nice touch on the magic usage
+/- Standard art

Sound: “Hakkensha wa Watashi”, the OP for Grimoire of Zero is a whimsical rock song that helps provide an adventurous tone to the travels of our main characters and contrasts the more serious tone of the magic war in the series. Personally, I feel like the song itself isn’t all that memorable, but it is a good track that’s been on a few of my own song loops.

To contrast, the ED, "Hajimari no Shirushi” is a laid back piece that relies more on strings and light piano to elevate a sense of wonder in our characters’ journey. Accompanied by a children’s book graphic, the ED feels a lot better than its OP counterpart, as it has a nice style to it that gives us a nice contrast everything that the show has given us up until this point.

Overview:
+ Good tracks
+ Memorable ED

Personal Enjoyment: At the start of the season, I always handpick about a dozen shows to watch/review for the season. Some are ‘obligatory’ as I watched and reviewed a previous season of it so it’s only natural that I do the same for subsequent seasons, and others are those that I personally find intriguing. As a fan of fantasy, I found Grimoire of Zero to be interesting at first glance. Before I knew it, it had become my most anticipated show of the season. The overall plot had more to offer than just a simple magic-based story and had a lot of aspects that meshed well with each other to culminate into what we have. I was so sucked into it that I was left wanting more, and I really, really want a second season of this because I really want to see more of Mercenary and Zero’s travels throughout the world plagued by magic.

Did I enjoy this series?

I think I may have enjoyed it a bit too much, but you can’t really blame a guy for having a preference, right? Personally I found Zero to be the highlight of the series. Her character was always such a joy to have on-screen, and I always appreciate a unique character to help tell the story.

What didn’t I like about his series?

Albus was really the big stickler for me. They admittedly do play a big part in the series, but I just kinda found them annoying with their constant, constant preaching for their look on everything while I just sat there wanting to see something else involving Zero.

Would I recommend this series?

If you’re a fan of fantasy of magic, I would highly recommend watching this. It has a unique enough identity large enough to completely separate itself from a majority of the cookie-cutter magic-based shows, showing that original ideas really can be successful. The main characters are interesting, the entire plot is fleshed out, and it has such nice pacing that it feels almost like magic that this kind of even pacing can even exist in this era of rushed adaptations.

Once again this is an anime that gave the vibe of a light novel adaptation. Light novel adaptations give a much slower pace in terms of character development, plot, and amusement. Because of such attributes, such anime fails to quickly grab the viewer's amusement when it starts off. However, I do not regret watching this anime, because by about episode 7 or so it becomes interesting.

The story is considerably well-planned. I can see that the author tried hard to give plot twists, foreshadowing, and such. After having watched 11 episodes, with only the final one to watch, it was certainly worth watching and adding to ... my anime list.
Story: 10

The art was great. I don't remember seeing any lazy parts of the animation, but the style of the drawings in generally was one of those commonly drawn styles. Because of the commonly drawn style of drawing, one would not particularly watch this anime solely for the art style. For some reason, this art style feels so redundant.
Art: 8

The voice actresses fit with all of the characters. The tiger sounds like a heavy man, Zero (the girl) sounds like how it should be and such. The OP, ED and OSTs all sound like they are on the good side. Perhaps the voice actors could have put more emotion to their acting, because that is the impression that this anime seems to lack, much like that of other average-looking anime.
Sound: 9

None of the characters really stuck with me in the first few episodes, but I can see how the author tried to make them feel like relatable characters by the conversations between Zero and the tiger and such. The character development feels slow, so only after a while, the characters started to stick with me. Also, the relationship between the Zero and the mercenary was quite relatable. Towards the end of the anime, all of the characters will be relatable, because they all have some kind of impact towards the entertainment of the anime.
Character: 10

Overall, this anime was enjoyable because it was worth watching. The theme anime seem to focus on the hierarchy of society and the oppressed. The moral and such is something to watch out for because I guess that is what makes the plot of this anime worth watching and interesting.
Enjoyment: 9

There were relatable characters, good story, nice voice actors, good art. Thus I give this anime a 9. If the voice acting and the art gave more of a deeper impression, I would give this anime a 10.

Just writing because loads of people did a bad review.
This anime is not a masterpiece or something that will mark or change your view of the world. However, it is still enjoyable. I'm guessing the people who reviewed it badly had high expectations of this anime.
The whole setting its normal. Not a flawless universe, not characters doing the most intelligent action, it actually shows how real people would react because they don't have the capacity to be wise.

So, to who I don't think they will like it:
Anyone who wants stimulation.
Please who like skipping to the important parts instead of watching everything.
People who everyone needs to ... act or do or whatever like this or that because that's what they support to do mindset aka overanalyzing
People who want a perfect anime
People who want to escape in fantasy

People who will enjoy it:
Anyone who just want to see a fantasy anime without expectations.

So this series is nice and it is kinda great to see a new anime series with races like beauty and the beast

My complain is just this anime is too pushed and eventhough it takes 1 novel in 1 anime which is freakin slow, they should have been more detailed

I mean like when that wolf and 13 turned into super ally and kind after doing horrible things like mass killing & slaving(btw I still hate that wolf for slaving womens)
Also what is the reason for albus to like mercenary? Why she kiss mercenary?

Ah btw for me mercenary x Alb... *cough* I mean MERCENARY X ... ZERO FTW!! XD
We do really need some more romance if there any season 2 :3

In short note:
Beauty and the Beast, Fantasy anime version

Story: 8
It seems like a typical fantasy world adventure at first, but the plot thickens in the middle with several twists behind another twist. Although it feels a bit off in the end, this may or may not be the best point of the show.

Art: 7
Standard LN adaptation art style, and Character Design. But the city in medieval age portrayal , Beastmen model and landscapes was looks nice too. The battle scenes and the spellworks were decent even without that spectacular movement. This is a show about mage after all and mage doesn't move that much. The ... spinning bottle scene was hilariously real.

Sound: 6
Standard BGM during fights, nice ED. Nothing much to say in here.

Character: 6
Aside from MC and Main Heroine, all other Character are so plain. The villain was especially have a bad writing that it doesn't even qualify as a villain. The only person that notable was that one dead character that keeps getting mentioned every time along the show, without even met the MC. If only this show has better writings, this show could be much better.

Enjoyment:7
I got hooked for a while in the middle part, but may put off some people in the last bit. If you can bare the lame part with the curiosity alone, you might as well enjoy this to the end.

Overall:7
Fantasy world full of mages, with some nice city and background art. Have a decent story with good pacing, with the most lame villain ever. Have some potential in the middle, but falls of in the last part.

To start off i enjoyed my time with Grimoire of Zero, while it is not an anime of the year let alone season it is a good use of time to watch.

Story:The story was fine, it starts with our protagonist the catlike "Mercenary" fighting a witch and stumbling upon another witch(Zero).

He joins with the lather witch do to necessity; and forms a contracts by blood. And the former(Albus) because of his contract with the Zero.

Like many high fantasy style animes/stories the plot follows resolve around the fate of the world. In this case the story follows the conflict between those who have magic and ... those who do not.

Story:The art is reminiscent of older works in the medium. Which while normally jarring fits with the simplistic plot commonly found in shows of the past.

Sound: The sound was neither terribly good nor bad, The sfx fit the actions of the characters but the sound track did little to affect the mood of the scenes. To subdivide my sound score of 7 i would give it an 8 for sfx and a 6 for the sound track.

Character: The three and later four protagonists of the series all have interesting stories as well as unique but relatable characteristics. The jive together well but the underlying relationship between the two primary protagonists can be heavy handed at times. The main issue i have with the characters of the series is the villain the the end of the conflict with him. It feels out of the blue and unsatisfactory.

Enjoyment: The series regardless of its faults and short comings is enjoyable. It is fun to watch and each episode leaves you wanting to continue on.

Overall: Grimoire of Zero is a great anime to watch, especially between seasons or while waiting for your primary show to release a new episode.
It is a great watch if you are not looking for an avante garde piece of a detailed convoluted plot.
if you enjoy a simple show with relatable characters, and a simplistic but good story and art then your time is well worth investing in this show.

(Note: Since I'm currently looking into the anime, I thought I could revise my original review from 2022 and upload it here in English.)

Tija is great. I watched this anime slightly overtired and had endless fun, because tigers are great.

"Grimoire of Zero" is about the mercenary Mercenary - yes, we don't know his name yet - and Zero. In a world full of magic, in a world of witches and witch burnings, an organization suddenly appears that promises to free the witches from the oppression of humans and avenge the death of a well-known and popular witch. But at the very end of the land, ... the tiger man and witch hunter encounters the witch Zero - an incredibly powerful witch in search of her book, which is said to have the power to destroy the world.

"Grimoire of Zero" has charm, without a doubt. But some teething troubles can never be completely avoided and so this anime isn't perfect either.
And yet it starts very strongly, so strongly in fact that I have nothing to criticize about the first half. But unfortunately this doesn't last and the closer the series gets to the finale, the worse it gets. Although it was really only a matter of minor things here.
For one thing, I found the series completely predictable. With every story, I try to predict where it's going to go and here it really wasn't difficult to solve 90% of all the mysteries. Who founded the Wizards of Zero? Who stole the book? Where is Zero's missing friend? All important questions that were foreseeable within the first few episodes. Even though I didn't feel like the anime really tried to hide the answers, I really missed the big reveal, the bang at the end of the season.
Secondly, I found many characters too lax, too lukewarm in their convictions. Here, true villains can simply be convinced with a few words, victims may have difficulties accepting them at first, but they always get along very quickly with their sworn enemies. The fact that the entire kingdom simply tolerates witches after decades of witch hunts, suffering and war - in what utopia would that be possible? Apparently in "Grimoire of Zero".
I also found it a shame that very little is explained about the world and especially the magic system. We have a genius here who has revolutionized magic, but magic is never really explained. By guessing from a few scenes, you can make some sense of it, but I would have liked a bit more depth. Where does magic come from? What distinguishes witches from humans? What kind of organization is Zero from? How did the kingdom come into being? These are other questions that could have been included at one point or another.
I would also have liked to have seen a proper happy ending for Mercenary and Zero, even if I still have to see the sequel.

Conclusion: I really had a lot of fun with this series. It's obviously not perfect, but what is? At least I don't know anything.

Story: 7/10
Characters: 8/10
Animation: 7/10
Music: 6/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Overall: 7/10

I enjoyed this anime a lot. The depth and lore this anime has at first is something you would want in every fantasy anime. It takes place in the medieval time place where it's basically about witches being hunted. The premise of this kind of story is already sounds interesting and starts of great until we get the ending. I would have given the story an 8 if it wasn't because of the ending. To be honest if 13 stayed a villain until the very end I would have like things better. Characters were very big for me. I ... think the reason I was enjoying this anime so much was because of its characters. Zero personality was just something I want one female character in every anime to have. Mercenary was also someone I enjoyed with his tsun attitude. Overall I kind just love the anime but I won't say it was the best.

*** Spoilers ahead****

Story:
This show started out very promising when Zero and Mercenary first met.
They are both very likeable and they have great chemistry together.
Their goal was clear: Mercenary helps her to find the Grimoire of Zero and she turns him back into a human.
Now if this show would've just been these two going on a journey to find the Grimoire of Zero, if this would've been an adventure anime, then I would've loved this.

However, this was not the case.

... The first warning I got was when Albus joined the crew.
I didn't like him from the very beginning because he was just the typical brat and he really got in the way of Mercenary and Zero's adventure.

But over time he grew on me and I learned to accept him and I really liked this show, besides AoT S2 it was my favourite show this season.

But then the villain, 13, was introduced into the story.
And that's where this show went downhill for me.
They split up Mercenary and Zero for a couple of episodes and shifted the focus to 13 and Zero's relationship.

Mercenary and Zero are great together but mediocre when alone.
13 is just your typical villain who claims he does it all for his live for the girl.
Nothing special about him at all. (Besides him being voiced by Dio's VA)

This really brought down this anime for me. Zero needed to be rescued and we also had the typical misunderstanding between the main characters that you get in so, so many stories and that is just annoying because you know how this is going to end.

Art:

It was done by White Fox and it looks just like Re: Zero, nothing special, nothing fancy but decent.
Though it's missing some highlights which Re: zero had.

Sound:

Opening is decent but forgettable, same with the OST.


Characters:

As mentioned before Zero and Mercenary are great together but mediocre when alone.
Albus started as the typical brat in anime but he got better over time.
13 is just bad and ruined this anime for me.


Enjoyment:

While I was rather harsh on this anime, I still enjoyed it in the beginning.
The main reason for my harshness is that I was so disappointed after the villain was introduced after liking it so much in the beginning.

6.5/10

Spoiler free!!
This anime is kind of well what should i say (kind a cute!!) has lots of kawii!! moments ...well has a decent plot so...if your looking for a fantasy anime it fits the bill...and might get a bit plain in the middle and in the end so dont expect too much from it the chemistry between MC(the tiger ) and zero is nice some thing very similar to beauty and the beast .....but with different bonds. So if your having a hard time finding a decent anime you should watch it...dont expect to much...has fine not too good action ...and sometimes things go ... way to positive..

Hey. I'd like to leave a review here. My ranking system is explained on my profile.

Story -
7/10

The story was a typical conflict between different groups. The story had nothing very special to it. The main twist was decent but was predictable due to certain shots from earlier in the anime. The story was slightly better than most anime with the premise due to the involvement of Beastfallen, a certain race which is treated as inferior to humans (Revealing more about them would spoil the plot.). There was decent character development.

Originality -
5/10

... Not Original. Plus points for the Beastfallen though

Animation Quality -
7/10

It had a decent animation quality. Nothing too special.

Sound effects/Music -
6/10

Same for the sound. Standard

Profound message -
6/10

There was a standard moral of equality, justice and so on. I went in expecting for at least a bit more.

Overall Enjoyment -
8/10

Did I enjoy the anime? Yes. Even after all the shortcomings, this anime is still quite enjoyable. From technical aspects, it's just a standard anime but, watching the anime still fills you with happiness. :)

Final score -
7/10

I really wanted to give this show a better review because I was loving it...for the first 3/4. I think it suffers from the same things a lot of the 12 episode series out there do. Basically, the world was fairly well developed, the characters seemed interesting and had room to fill out their history. The plot was intriguing, with mysteries to solve. Then you get to the last couple episodes, and the whole thing kind of vomits up all of the answers and exposition you never wanted, combined with a rushed ending that magically ties up all of the loose ends but really leaves ... a lot of holes in logic. It even feels like the writing takes a hit in those last couple episodes, like they either didn't have time to polish the script, or they were too rushed to cram in exposition and it hurt the dialogue. Ah well, it's still an enjoyable watch, it's just too bad it didn't have more time to flesh out the story and let it wrap up at a natural pace.

I think many reviews didn't do justice to this piece of work. Hence I created an account to write for this review.

My first thought after I finished the show was : It makes me remember Spice and Wolf.

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There is a reason why this show has a rating 7.2 or above 7 while the reviews has mixed feelings about it.

1) The plot and characters are standard and nothing special. (Rating : 7 standard)
----- True , but it doesn't mean is has no depth. The whole story has a simple and VERY BASIC background settings.....
but the depth is there hence you don't see shitty rating of ... 6.9 and below.

*** Trust me , you will find similarities between this show and other big names simply because it has good basics. Just like how all good romance genres has certain similarities with each other.


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2) Depth (Rating : 8 Good)
----- This is NOT a show that tells you "For some and no reason people can use magic and conflict arises from it and blah blah blah".

It(magic) has a profound reason behind it to exist and took years of effort and studies to took hold yet despite what it seems , conflict still arise regardless.

Throughout the series , the settings explanation is done in a well eloquent manners and THE BEST OF ALL : It tells the tale in a very very heartwarming tone like a mother's love.


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3) Plot Progression (Rating : 8 Good)
----- At every turning point , the decision making is being made clear. There is no ambiguous decisions that was made half-hearted , every turning point has a good reason.

** Well , except the way some or if not most characters' introduction scene that is.... but otherwise the story flows well.


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4) Character (Rating : 7 Standard)
----- There is no stupid and spoiled brats throughout. Although some characters changing heart might have been paced too fast , but it can't be helped.


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5) Art and sound (Rating : 7.5 Standard+)
----- Personally I have nothing to complain over it. Medieval time Bgm setting is usually soothing to my ear in a natural way without flashy sound effects, like birds chirping in a garden just the way it is.

As for why I gave it extra 0.5 instead of 7........
because the heartwarming scenes are nicely done even though its nothing flashy/extravagant...... its just.... warm....

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Overall : 7.5 ( Good+ )
Its a well done show , it wraps up nicely without any huge plot hole.

By well done , I mean it has the very basic and standard aspect of Magical Fantasy genre just the same as any other higher rating Magical Fantasy anime like Shakugan no Shana or The Irregular at Magic High School.

All 3 of them shares similar characteristic of giving its magical power a good background explanation and progresses without over relying on overpowered strength alone.

Except it is presented it in a simple yet profound setting.

A standard heartwarming masterpiece for casual viewing indeed.

the Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho is quite interestin for me, at first i thougt it your tipical anime fantasy were the protagonist find someone and that one is the chosen one to save the world or kingdom from the force of evil, that was i thougt at first but then i see the story of the series and it pretty interesting. it feel like i watchin a origin story or a sidequest story because it doesnt feel like a big quest to save the world type like i usually see in anime but it doesn't bug me at all. it ... ok and it a original story instead of something generic. overall, i want a second season of this anime and it was a original idea. see you on a another reiew.

The story was great and had the potential to be a really good anime but it lacked the punch and the thrill of adventure and the suspense and mystery of the man behind the walls. I would have loved to see a little more adventure along the way and it would have been great if the mystery remained a secret till the end.
Art was good and the characters were good too but in the end, it left me feeling dissatisfied.
But it was quite enjoyable. So I will suggest you give this series a watch and see it for yourself.
Loved the character of Zero.

The story was very decent I might say. There was some plot twist there and there, but it was mostly predictable anyway. I have nothing much to say about the story. The animation was done by White Fox, Re: Zero's studio so I expected it to be good. I was a fan of the art style. The heroine, Zero's art was done by Shimakaze's (Kancolle) artist and I'm a big fan of Shimakaze. So naturally I liked the design. I'm not a furry, but Mercenary was well designed. I love the opening. Period. The voice actors did a great job. Although most of the characters ... were well-written. Their interactions were mostly cliches. But I gotta say that I love any interactions between Mercenary and Zero. I really enjoyed this series. The Loli and the Beast was a decent series.