Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho

*** 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

My first thoughts were: "Oh, seems like someone is short of ideas how to name shows".

The story takes us to a magic world filled with witches... and beastfallen. Okay, from the very beginning it doesn't proclaims itself as something totally new. The setting is meh. The show manages to convey world's history in a poor way. How many times did you see a world with witches (magicians, special ability users, ninjas, gamers, hamsters) and those who hunt them? One way or another... I've encountered it myself dozens times. Overused troops are present here in quite a number. I had a vague sensation of secondariness ... in everything.
It begins with an union of the beast and the girl. I have to admit this part is quite cute and pleasant to observe. The anime should have concentrate on a relationship of Mercenary and Zero more on my opinion. I think everything else was unwanted. Every time the anime would turn to some action part or to some other storylines, I'd found myself rather bored. It would turn out even more interesting if it were a slice of life anime within a fantasy world. Unfortunately, it's not. Honestly, sometimes I had to endure watching it. Reaching the end, it becomes more and more dull.

Visual part is just okay... But again, fight scenes are just not good. It wasn't properly explained in the show how they use magic. I often questioned myself what are those circles and stripes around them when they cast powerful spells, for example. Why they change colors etc.
I don't like they way they were drawn. It's unsystematic.
On the other hand ordinary scenes are quite decent.

I liked the op and the ed. I can't say anything more about OST-s probably because they were quite ordinary to remember them.
Voices of Zero and Mercenary make a good match to their characters. Dialogue parts between them were truly good.

Personally, I'm prone to like characters which interact with each other like the beast and the witch did. That's cocky and nice.
However... there were another useless characters to my greatest pity. Albus is way too commonplace type of character. Furthermore, it's the type which annoys me.
The antagonist here made me even more irritated. I can't even find proper words to express my "facepalmness' of him. It's not like I had some hopes for him. But I didn't expect him to turn out "a villain because of circumstances with good intentions" type. Stupid.

Don't you dare to complain it to Spice and Wolf. I'm a bit surprised there are people who compare them. It's on completely different levels.
As a conclusion, I can say Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho sure had some potential. But it decided to choose a path of mediocre anime which is to be watched and to be forgotten.

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.

1st thing you need to know about any Anime. It ends properly. There's no second season so having an ending is important.

Unfortunately the most important thing doesn't matter because it's GARBAGE and it's not just garbage it's jumbled nonsensical garbage.

From start to finish the show makes zero sense. It's not that there are underlying mechanisms to magic in the world that are slowly revealed, or there are hidden motivations to the characters, it's just that everything in the show is either outright stupid , self contradictory or both. Toss in a really good helping of "STFU IT'S BECAUSE I SAY SO", logic, and you have ... a story line that makes you want to hit your head into a wall until your brain stops working.

OK the world makes no sense, been there done that, hows the story line ? It's putrid garbage. Plot elements drop out of nowhere and fall into the protagonists hands. The big mystery i(LOL) s something you solve the moment it's revealed, by the time you get to the end you are wondering how the heck are these people so stupid.

The above wouldn't be unforgivable. It works perfectly well in screwball comedies, romcoms, porn etc. This isn't any of those things. It's an adventure with a mystery/plot, and an element of romance and it's pure fail.

Well maybe it's saved by the characters ?? NOPE !!! not a chance. The characters have traits that get flipped on and off like light switches. I hate you, I love you, I hate you like a blinky fricking light. Oh sorry, I just repeatedly attempted to kill you, so I could cut you up for your parts, no hard feelings ? Lets be besties !!!! Smile cute cute. Youhei, was the arguably the most believable/realatable character there but even he falls flat.

Last chances for this anime ? Art/Music/Sound. I caught the dub so bear that in mind, the voice acting for the most part was below average. Just didn't hit emotional notes well at all. The music and art were OK nothing special, and certainly not enough to save the anime.


Do yourself a favor with this one and just give it a pass.

(This review has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!)

I hope to one day write my own novel.

While writing reviews, analyses, and essays is my forte, I have always had a keen interest in fiction. Whether completely imaginary like the Harry Potter series or closer to realism like 1984, the approach involves a different mindset that is fun to indulge. Creating witty dialogue. Describing scenery. Forming logical plotlines. It’s much different than articulating how an anime accomplished its goals or basing events off a personal set of ideas.

Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho features a novel of sorts – the Grimoire of Zero – ... written by one of its characters. In some sense, it contains the purely fictional (to us at any rate). Sadly, it doesn’t contain the solution for the show’s lagging performance.

STORY

Zero kara opens with witches at the stake and a huge white tiger-man fending off a few bounty hunters. After escaping the city, he, by chance, encounters a powerful female sorcerer just trying to enjoy some soup. She offers him the miracle he has always dreamed of: to turn back into a human. He must only act as her bodyguard while they search for her all-important book that, in the wrong hands, could destroy the world. After a finger-blood oath between the two, the witch-hating Mercenary and the “wagahai”-saying Zero begin their adventure in earnest.

Said adventure certainly contains the right elements to achieve narrative strength. The fantasy setting. The writing chops. The noticeable themes. Unfortunately for Zero kara, it takes these elements, attempts to form some magic with them, and ultimately summons a lackluster tale despite its many possibilities.

Lacking begins when it tackles the fantasy that drives the setting. The anime takes place in a world that resembles Medieval times with an extra helping of magic and beast men (known as “beastfallen”). To the show’s credit, it does try to build its world at times. For instance, as the characters investigate the carnage following the sacking of the village of Latette, Zero describes some of the spells used and what they can do. The anime also highlights the tensions between the different political and warring factions, including beastfallen, sorcerers, and regular humans.

Yet the show’s delivery of this information isn’t always sound. For the first three episodes (and never again afterwards), a narrator spews out relevant details to get the audience up to speed rather than letting them learn of it through more natural means. Then, in episode six, the characters do almost nothing but talk with and at each other about the current situation. Again, this info is necessary to create a believable, connected world, but the method behind its creation doesn’t go for anything enticing.

Furthermore, Zero kara doesn’t deliver enough. Despite everything going on, the anime never really goes out of its way to build a finer, more nuanced world for its characters to run around in. The knights hardly interact with the sorcerers, losing out on potential quarrels and insight. Minimal exploration of different areas keeps the kingdom itself either too isolated or too disparate as well.

Beyond the fantasy setting, Zero kara also has some clout with its writing chops. Quite regularly, the anime demonstrates a clear grasp of creating plot points and following through on them in a logical, fair manner.

Take the magic potion that Thirteen gives to Mercenary to nullify his beastfallen self. It not only symbolizes his conviction to stay true to the quest that got him here but also it becomes the item that frees Zero from her magical prison later on.

Or how about those blood contracts near the very beginning of the season. They form the basis for Thirteen’s scheme when he reveals that his death as “Him” will kill every Sorcerer of Zero and rogue witch out there presently.

Zero’s tattered robe that she trades for a better set of stylish clothes counts, too. It gets used as part of a tracking spell that was in turn introduced back in the second episode of the season with Mercenary’s fur and the undercover witch.

Can’t forget about the “curse” placed upon Mercenary by Zero either, for it pops up in quadruple fashion. Once when Mercenary is shot with an arrow. Once when Thirteen stops the guards from attacking him. Once when the giant dude bites Mercenary’s arm. Once when Mercenary blocks Zero’s mega attack to stop her from accidentally killing Thirteen and subsequently herself.

Not to mention the cool idea of Zero purposefully writing the spells in the Grimoire of Zero incorrectly, a detail that the audience can potentially catch onto when noticing her chants during her duel with Thirteen.

Truth be told, none of these examples stand out as exceptional in terms of impact or intrigue. But they no doubt stand as evidence for the anime’s respectable writing choices.

However, it must be noted that several of Zero kara’s story beats belittle the progression made instead. Biggest among them? The entire plot predicated by the fact that Thirteen essentially didn’t talk with and ask Zero about what she really wants. Plus, the tension involved throughout the last conflict lacks weight. Thirteen already used his rat familiar to coerce his followers to fight, yet he apparently cannot undo his decree despite their devoutness.

Smaller writing oddities affect the show as well. The convenient forced-teleportation spell after triggering a specific word seems too easy to push things where they need to go. A strange decision to cut the dramatic scene following Zero’s near death has no place. The group managing to traverse the entire kingdom in a strangely timely manner when placing the five mega-magic circles raises an eyebrow. With all the respect the writing deserves, it still foregoes some of it of its own accord when it commits to these weirder, weaker choices.

After the setting and the writing, the themes also try their hand. They dabble in morality through perspectives on racism and mindsets. One of the best scenes from the season follows these throughputs well. In episode seven, a young lady humors Mercenary, tricking him to have him help drive away other beastfallen at their establishment (or, as she and he put it, “It is what it is”).

These moments are few and far between, though. Indeed, Zero kara often misses out on a more balanced view of these topics, portraying each group involved as mostly negative rather than reaching for a middle ground. Serena was a kind sorcerer as was that old man who let Holdem walk free. Yet the constant misbehavior of the beastfallen. The current sorcerers almost never using their powers for good. The on-the-nose lines yelled by various villagers about the witches and their evil ways. Everything adds up to misbalance the anime’s thematic presence.

Altogether, the setting, writing, and themes are all there for the show to capitalize on. Unfortunately, that doesn’t exactly happen even with its best efforts, leaving the narrative without an option to summon further refinement.

ART & ANIMATION

For the most part, Zero kara gets the job done with its visuals. On an artistic level, the locations do little else besides fit where the characters are and what they are doing. E.g., traveling through a forest, visiting a busy city. They aren’t explored to any large degree, and the details present do not invite anything of interest to look at. Most likely a byproduct of the anime’s lack of world-building drive.

Nevertheless, the show displays at a semi-infrequent rate key shots that argue a lot more in its favor. A faraway view of the kingdom’s capital with a mountainous backdrop. The crew’s bonfire illuminates their lonely spot during the forest’s dark night; it eventually gives way to them overlooking a section of the forest as a rainbow arcs overhead. A somewhat top-down shot of Zero’s cavernous “home” as ominous red lighting fills the air. Again, these shots are by no means around all the time let alone to a noticeable extent. But, when they do appear, one has to at least appreciate their detail.

For the rest of the anime’s production and animation, it goes back to that serviceable state. It rarely tries for anything fancy in its scene composition or techniques in general. The most adventurous it gets is in episode six. Thirteen and Mercenary hold a private conversation, and a neat rotating-camera trick simulates the former’s hypnosis of the latter. All the while, the centralized glass vial housing the magic potion he desires reflects their faces.

Otherwise, a couple of rotated frames here and a few magic uses there counteract the weird charging close-ups of Holdem in his duel with Mercenary and the disregard for any interesting imagery overall.

The character designs likewise follow suit. Albus is designed to look like a teenage boy, so her looks do conceal her true nature, but the tradeoff is extreme plainness. Thirteen’s black cloak, dark purple eyes, unkempt hair, and angled face translate well into an evil aura, but his demeanor and slowness strip away any intimidation. Mercenary and Zero do fair a bit better, though. Mercenary’s large build, rogue outfit, and white fur both mirror and complement Zero’s small build, sorcery attire, and white hair, making their designs a fun, dichotomous duo.

In all, the visuals remain consistent in their meager delivery. Not that that hurts the anime, but it doesn’t help it out either.

CHARACTERS

Mercenary, Zero, Albus, and Thirteen. As the four main characters of Zero kara, they contribute to this anime in various ways. They also vary in their efficacy, too, putting their group in a questionable spot right alongside most of the other parts to this anime.

Mercenary stands the tallest among the group both within the show and in an analytical sense. With fangs, fur, and ferocity, he embodies the beastfallen moniker. His white coat coats his fervent dislike for witches, and his big build and even bigger sword makes him a force during any fight. Yet beneath his rough exterior, a softness of heart guides his path.

For, while he may frown upon Zero and Albus for their sorcery and their actions, he looks out for their well-being. He makes them soup. He finds them lodgings. He protects them to the best of his ability. He’s no saint, but he clearly strives for what is at least morally good. A statement reinforced by his honesty when dealing with Zero’s priceless gems in episode three.

Although, his kindness towards them is somewhat out of a desire of his own: to be a full-fledged human. This conflict arises out of a few interspersed scenes. In a flashback, he attacks and kills a gang of bandits who were terrorizing his village to obtain his head. Another occurs in his arrested freefall where he remembers how he and other beastfallen were mainly expendable losses in war, and his prowess and violence earned him the nickname “The Black Beast of Death” as well as jeers for his demise.

So, when Zero crosses that path of his, and her sincere words match those of his mother’s from when he was a kid, he accepts her offer with his own style of oath. What follows, then, is his journey alongside that which (and witch) he hates, experiencing troubles of a physical and mental nature as he fends off baddies and learns more about the magical world (and people) around him.

Come the end of episode six, however, it is clear that the seeds of doubt still stir in his soul. He (unwillingly) raises his blade against Zero, forcing their separation and his contemplation. Nevertheless, she keeps him alive thanks to her powers and keeps him sane thanks to her reaffirmation of the softness within him. The latter especially, for he nearly succumbs to the beastfallen desire of eating flesh that the show alludes to a few times throughout the season. Thankfully, his memories (albeit neither extensive nor moving) of their time together stay his fangs.

Now with a clearer mind, he knows what he must do. He works with Holdem to save Albus from her untimely fate. He scales the side of a cliff and climbs the outside of a castle to reach Zero and to tell her that what little brains he has were enough to convince himself that he had to be there for her despite his doubts. He even takes part in the final magic ritual (but not before a playful prod), indicating that, by this point, he has overcome his disdain for those arts to at least some miniscule extent.

Zero kara gives Mercenary a rather appreciable arc to his character – except it flubs his finale. With his journey complete, he doesn’t receive his desire to become a human. He doesn’t get to settle down as an inn proprietor like he wanted to either. The audience doesn’t even get to learn his real name, missing out on a neat full-circle writing chance right at the end.

Rather, the anime doubles down thrice. One, the beast part of soul is fused even tighter to him after the ritual. Two, he continues traveling with Zero. And three, he actively refuses to give his true name or learn Zero’s, saying, “Well, maybe it won’t be so bad if I’m a beastfallen a little while longer,” a statement that contradicts his base motivations. In short, this open-endedness to his arc stops him from being a solid character and closer to barely a competent one.

Arguably, his line there follows a theme on being comfortable in one’s skin (or, in this case, fur). But that was never really a talking point of the show. Instead, what it focused on most was that of indirect loneliness. The audience sees it handily with Mercenary. As a beastfallen, he’s ostracized to some extent, he is belittled, and he cannot get along with humans or witches.

Zero experiences such indirect loneliness as well. In fact, almost her entire character stems from this idea. It’s obvious from her interactions in the city and with Mercenary that, despite her skills, she doesn’t have a grasp on how regular life and normal society works. Seemingly because she has been kept in a cave for most of her life, knowing only faded pages for friends and an occasional peeking sun to keep her company. She explains as such periodically, too.

As such, her connection to Mercenary means a lot to her since he’s one of the only people – beastfallen or otherwise – that she has ever bonded with. Unfortunately, Zero kara does not go too out of its way to build their relationship.

That’s partly because of Albus, a necessary evil in this show. She basically represents the “other side,” the counterpoint to much of the plot’s discussion about the warring factions. She either introduces or says a line of thinking that relates to the sorcerers’ camp, and the anime proceeds to highlight why her naïve worldview isn’t as black-and-white as she may believe. Furthermore, without Serena around anymore, and realizing that her newfound friends do not necessarily agree with her stances, she as well goes through that same indirect loneliness.

However, with her inclusion, she severely detracts from that key component of Zero kara: Zero and Mercenary’s relationship. With this third wheel constantly around and spinning, the two main characters of the anime hardly have any scenes just together to make their connection worthwhile.

Not to mention that Zero is simply not a compelling character on her own, and the anime itself sidelines her for a sizable chunk of the last half of the season. This sidelining mirrors her time in the caves and coincides with that indirect loneliness, so it does make sense on a writing level. However, the anime spends very little time addressing her thoughts and her actions while in captivity to make it worth the time. So, when her climactic scene with Mercenary in the castle tower arrives, it’s nice in concept, but the foundation for it doesn’t exist or at the minimum doesn’t have the support required to elevate it to a strong level.

Then there’s Thirteen, the weakest of the four. He appears roughly halfway through the season as a quasi-evil dude. Simultaneously, he acts as Zero’s caretaker and teacher (or to her, “brother”) during her cave times and, after his leave, a zealot to the cause of granting her the world that (he thought) she desires. Where she viewed magic as a tool that would benefit everyone, Thirteen saw that it would be nothing else besides a weapon for the common simpleton.

His thinking somewhat comes true when his secret ploy upholds the inevitable abuse and misuse of this magic. As for his actual character, it does not uphold as well. Because of the mystery that surrounds him on a plot level, he never receives enough attention. There’s no tangible context to his rise as “Him.” His admiration of Serena has little to no basis. His feuds with Albus and Holdem do not have the necessary room to grow. He doesn’t relate to that indirect loneliness as well as the others. Just a weak character all in all.

Overall, on the total execution scale, Mercenary rises above Zero, Albus, and Thirteen. But when Mercenary does not attain anything higher than competency, the cast here do not deserve much praise whatsoever.

MUSIC & SOUND

Although last in order, the ending track wins first. Titled “Hajimari no Shirushi,” delicate piano keys and light acoustic strings calm the audience in their simple, gentle flow. Soft vocals accompany the instrumentals, upping the calmness of the piece that much more. The melodic pace moves the song along in a nice way, and the rise in tone changes its structure without taking anything away from that calming feel.

Opposite the ED, the opening track heads for the back of the pact. Immediately, the sound of this piece is entirely unfitting. It would be appropriate for a story aimed at something slightly whimsical rather than serious like Zero kara. The vocals aren’t shabby, and the beat has a catchiness to it, but the punk-rock body of the song simply detracts from the established direction of the content itself.

Tsuyoshi Koyama as Mercenary likewise hurts the show’s chances. To start, his voice for the white-furred beastfallen does not go deep enough to match his build. The delivery of his lines lacks emotion, too. And roars sound less like a ferocious tiger and more like a guy frustrated from stubbing his toe on a nearby table. Not that his performance is a total failure – it just didn’t embody the main character in full.

Less frustrating is the rest of the original soundtrack. While it has lively songs like the one that plays when the group enter Formicum, the OST mostly sticks with mystery vibes and everyday tunes instead. Deliberate piano keys. Calm trumpets. Reminiscent wind instruments. Wild yet reserved violin strings. These tracks are all rather simple in design, but they support the anime well enough throughout the season.

With the ED and the OST on one side, and the OP and the VA performances on the other side, “split” just about sums up Zero kara’s audio outing.

ENJOYMENT

My initial impression of this anime was not favorable. I hardly liked anything that it set out to do: the bland characters, the plot direction, the different details at each turn. Just a whole lot of me shaking my head at its repeated, failed attempts to pull me in.

Lo and behold, revisiting the show anew with fresh eyes and a fresh mind did not change my thoughts.

Those characters? Mercenary is not funny or cool or interesting or nuanced. The best he can do is take up a lot of space on-screen as he complains out loud. Zero says “Wagahai” a lot, but her formality cannot distract from the fact that the pebbles on the sidewalk have more intrigue about them than she does. Thirteen is thirteen times too boring. And don’t even get me started on Albus, for I only need one simple word to describe her: annoying.

That plot? Let’s just let Thirteen live as an innocent among us despite him literally prolonging a war that killed hundreds if not thousands of beastfallen, witches, and humans. Holdem kept a bunch of women as slaves, but we’ll forget about that whole aside I suppose. I couldn’t care less about the twist that Albus is Sorena’s granddaughter because I couldn’t care less about her.

These extra details? Magic battles and usage were not entertaining. Mercenary and Holdem run through a crowd of people that somehow grows in size the longer they sprint. That one guy who got attacked at the secret hideout for the Sorcerers of Zero needlessly died because they stood around and did not bother to heal him.

Admittedly, I’m being rather harsh right now on the anime. To its credit, it never really gets worse as each episode rolls along. Nothing that it presents is outright horrible or ill-conceived, and I can tell effort exists within this project. Yet because it remains consistent in a mired, mediocre state for nearly its entire run, the small grievances I have just pile up to the point that I cannot personally perceive it in a positive position.

Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho does have something to show for itself, but so many of its decisions drag it down. The story and characters include a lot of that pushback, but the serviceable and questionable audiovisual elements don’t do a whole lot in return. Fiction or no, it writes out a lagging novel all the same.

SUMMARY

Story: Fine, the setting, the writing, and the themes have definite clout, but they each have a bunch of problems regarding exploration, nuance, and balance that ultimately affect the narrative’s execution

Art & Animation: Fine, the visuals involved get the job done, nothing more and nothing less

Characters: Bad, Mercenary’s open-ended arc leaves him as competent rather than solid, Zero is neither compelling nor connected, Albus is a necessary evil, Thirteen misses the mark, but at least a theme on indirect loneliness can be found among them

Music & Sound: Fine, an unfitting OP counteracts a nice ED, not all the VA performances pass, and the OST works, albeit in a very simple fashion

Enjoyment: Terrible, boring characters, lame plot, and uninteresting details

Final Score: 3/10

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.

This is a quick review of the whole series and should be spoiler free.

Upon finishing this anime I felt underwhelmed I had been watching this anime every week for 12 weeks when each episode was released and have felt a significant slump in it's quality.

The first three or so episodes were great, an interesting premise was established, there was some surprisingly good humour and the characters felt somewhat unique. However these 3 episodes of quality were ruined by a few things.

1) The lack of anymore character development.
2) A somewhat predictable plot. (Some "twists" were so obvious I became unsure if it was even supposed to ... be a plot twist).
3) A plot that feels flawed. (Time continuity issues)
4) Stupid, cringe worthy dialogue. (Especially towards the end between the 2 "beast fallen" with the manure thing.)
5) Characters acting idiotically

Ultimately I just feel disappointed as I felt that this anime had a lot of potential that it failed to deliver. Despite all this however the anime itself was very watchable, so if you have nothing better to watch and you feel like a quick brainless anime to plough through, this is it.

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.

This is just based on my likes, and since I've not watched many other fantasy anime shows, that'll influct in this review.

(Also, I'm not and expert on English-language, sorry).

In the therms of story, this is not such unique, since souds like a story that any fantasy-themed story would have, but that doesn't have to be bad, actually I liked it, since it makes this show feels like some kind of Midaged Novel, the story about witches against humans, with beastfallens added is something that anyone who wrote a midaged fantasy would make, but that doesn't make the story bad.

The artstyle is something I really enjoyed, ... character desings and the scenarios are very well done for my taste, maybe some anime I've never watched has better art, but I really like this artstyle, specially the main cast desings, which are very pretty, and I feel they feet very well with them.

Music is good, and kinda reminds me an RPG game, maybe not Final Fantasy, but Fire Emblem or Dragon Quest (haven't played so much games of thouse franchies anyway), but it fits the stage.

Characters are very likeable, specially the main characters, Zero and Youhei make a very funny and cute pair (have to admit I ship them, they'd make a very strange-yet-cutie couple), but have to say that character development on some of the main cast as Holdem and 13 is rushed, in that way, the anime should've had more chapters to develop them (and I feel should be overall longer).

Enjoyment is very well done, since when we see jokes, they're very funny and well done, a very good example are the first three chapters, that play with the Zero's rough and a little bit prissy personality, as well as her ignorance of the world's common rules, also taking Youhei in a very fun way (if you haven't noticed it, I really like them as characters, they're amazing), also, fights are overall well done, and the series doesn't fear to show blood, not a gore-level, but it's the fair amount of it.

Overall, I enjoyed this series at all, but mostly because I like mideged fantasies and kemono-like characters, also, Zero and Youhei's relationship is one of the most spectal-keeping part of the show, I recomend, but know that many people will feel this as a generic fantasy anime, which I don't care, I just enjoyed it and that's all.

Alright, so this is fresh just finished the last episode. With the way it ended, I won't be surprised if there's more, although I don't know how long the manga is either so I could be wrong, but even then I wouldn't be surprised if the manga has more coming. Anyway, this anime had a pretty good story, I did feel due to the shortness it was a little underwhelming, but I'm counting on another season coming. This anime was pretty funny throughout and had some good references in it. The story overall was a little bit confusing, but that's alright anime does that sometimes ... and it doesn't always make it bad where you have to watch it again to fully grasp everything, other parts were kinda cute too. The one negative thing I'd say about this anime is there simply wasn't much action in it, I was hoping this would be a more action filled adult anime. Surprisingly the dialogue was somewhat mature, but there was pretty much no blood, conflicts were minimal. A bit too much story centric for my liking. I was kind of tempted to give it a 6, but I'm conflicted. I'd probably give this anime a 6.5 in total. That said keep an eye out for the possibility for a season 2.

Judging by Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho's low rating and reviews, it is easy to assume that it's an irredeemable show. While it is not good, it did have a few things in it that at least made it enjoyable (bearable for others) at times to watch.

Story: 5

The sorest disappointment of this show is its story. As a huge fantasy fan, I was drawn in by the witch versus humans plot; but alas, the writers failed to pull it off. Their two biggest sins being a lack of focus and plenty of plot holes. Such as how long the war has been going ... on, the nature of witches as a species, why did the story move in that direction, minimal effort was put into world building, etc. A lot of this could be forgiven as long as it didn't inhibit how the audience felt towards the show - which it did. The story distorted which side to root for without achieving an effective grey area. It's like the writers were trying to make the story morally ambiguous at times but they did it in such a sloppy way that they just confused the audience about how they should feel. Luckily, the story didn't do anything that made me livid (such as constant misunderstandings)- mainly wasted potential due to mediocre ideas and slopping execution of good ones. However, the traveling and subdued parts of the story were enjoyable. These moments felt a lot like Spice and Wolf at times and provided the most entertainment in the show.

Art: 7

The art was pleasant enough. Nothing fantastic or distracting, but the character designs were nice to look at. Thankfully, there were no still shots. My chief complaint though would be the lack of magical action scenes. I'm fine if the anime is not meant to be a fighting anime. But when the story dictates that the characters will have to fight at times and the world has magic, then how come I can count on one hand how many fight scenes involved the protagonists using magic? A magic show without magic fight scenes is wasted potential. However, when they do have these scenes, the magic looks really nice.

Sound: 7

The OP and ED were not obnoxious and they fit the show well. The OST was not stand-alone fantastic but it served its purpose well. Other than Zero, the seiyuu were average but fit their characters. Zero's seiyuu I thought did an above average job.

Character: 6

Zero was the best character out of the cast so it was enjoyable to watch her interact with her Mercenary. Her teasing nature and noble air stood out to me. But like the other characters, the writers don't develop her much. As for the rest, they weren't terrible but not memorable characters. They had to potential to be memorable, but the writers just got lazy and didn't develop them much. I would have scored it higher if they didn't use the "introduced as a corrupt villain but is actually a good guy at heart" cliche.

Enjoyment: 8

Since I'm a Spice and Wolf fan, I enjoyed some of the banter and fantasy-feel in this show. This is chiefly because I liked Zero's character though. I was disappointed by the lack of follow through, but nothing made me hate the show. It was short and story-driven enough to avoid boredom (even though the storytelling made it hard for me to care about what was happening) so I found fulfillment in watching it.

Overall: 6

I would have given it a higher score, but the story really hurt my impression of this show (especially in the second half.) It just kinda feels average. There's nothing in this show that another anime has done better. But if you just have some time to kill or don't want to think while you watch, you might enjoy this show.

A fantasy story with the worst kind of storytelling cliches, that is made only just bearable thanks to decent main characters.


Animation / Art / General Visuals - 7/10
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Pretty standard anime fare.


Sound / Music / Voice Acting - 7/10
... ------------------------------------------

It's okay. Nothing noteworthy.


Story - 5/10
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Frustrating and annoying is the way I'd put it. The story showed a lot of promise, but half-way through we're greeted with the most cliche of all cliche story twists that made me want to stop watching right there.

We get a terribly cliche villain story, de-powerment of the main character to allow the otherwise inferior villain to continue their nonsense, followed by the most disgusting of tropes to resolve the crisis - power of friendship and "talk no jutsu".


Characters - 6/10
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The main characters are quite fun. We have a sassy witch who is insanely powerful and confident, but also sheltered and socially unaware. A beast man who feels out of his element being around people he'd consider friends. And a third person with a hidden backstory that just happens to get involved.

Alas, these characters are not used to their potential. Too many cliches and tropes plague the developments, weakening the cast as a whole.

The villain is frustrating. What initially seemed like an interesting development, quickly turned into a mess of ridiculous motivations and executions.


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Total - 6/10

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It looks fine and the story is interesting enough as a whole, and the characters reasonably fun. But the way it all played out past the halfway point was extremely frustrating. A show of cliches and tropes, with a conclusion that satisfies nobody.

Grimoire Of Zero is a an pretty interesting anime to watch.

Story 8: The story is pretty good, though it's does leave out some of the important details that are explained in the light novels.

The animation is produced by White Fox, for which I am a fan of because they do very good animation on shows like Re Zero Starting Life In Another World & Steins Gate.

The Soundtrack is pretty good but the opening soundtrack was different than I was expecting. That's not to say the opening is bad but I feel that a heroic fantasy theme would have suited the opening a lot better, though ... ending song is really nice.

One of my favourite character design are Mercenary & Zero. Though some some characters had bland design like Holdem. In the earliest trailer back in late 2016, his outfit was originally green but got changed to red so I think green would have suited him better because it goes well with his nobility background.

I like how the characters interact with each other & what they learn from each other.

I recommend this anime to those who likes to watch an anime that has a nice fantasy & with a more mature background & characters like Mercenary that are bit realistic instead being all fan service. Also you can read the light novels on zeromahouthetranslation website. Although not all of the light novels has been translated on that site but it is a good site to read & hopefully in the future it will get an official release & a 2nd season.

Overall, it was a super mediocre fantasy about a op witch (Doesnt really feel op, but now that I think about it I dont think anyone else can contend with her poower) with some companions that travel to find a book.

The Positives-

The main draw to me, is the setting. I really appreciated that they went with a more classical fantasy (and classical whitches) and even though it didnt feel particularly well done, or interesting it was a nice breeze of fresh air with all the by the numbers isekai and game-like settings.

Another big plus to me, was the super cute sequence at the very end ... right before the end credits. The music, and visuals were super nice and it really made me regret breezing through this show as fast as I did.

Cons-

The character designs were ok nothing special and the characters themselves were pretty boring and standard. The biggest problem byfar is that alot of these characters have pretty standard troupes except for the fact that maybe they wanted them to feel more realistic so its insanely watered down meaning one of the few character traits they have is barely shown and insanely underplayed making them feel super boring.


Art, sound, and such werent very interesting and just like the character designs were passable and fine nothing particularly good though.

Story- Kinda bad, it felt super lackluster at times and if they had more humor or entertaining characters that coulda fixed that by filling up time and made each episode feel more eventful or entertaining.

Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho felt like a show that was going somewhere with it's uniquely different main characters of Zero voiced by Yumiri Hanamori and Mercenary voiced by Tsuyoshi Koyama as well as it's themes of "fantastic racism" permeating through it's characters...however somewhere down the line it just was forgotten.

Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho was something of an early dark horse of the Spring 2017, with it having the aforementioned unique main characters of Mercenary who is a beastfallen (as in half-human, half-animal..in this case a white tiger) at birth and hates witches because witches created beastfallen and society's stigma towards beastfallen ... is extremely apparent and Zero, a recluse witch in which Mercenary stumbles upon to begin their journey to find the titular "Grimoire of Zero". The opening premise in itself as well as it's main duo was what grabbed LA's attention for the anime and even then Zero and Mercenary's relationship (not-so romantic more like master and bodyguard) does develop ALOT in this anime be it through their trials and tribulations in their journey or their relationship being hindered by third parties. The other characters that have focus are Holdem voiced by Masayuki Katou who has beef with Mercenary and Albus voiced by You Taichi (a female seiyuu...HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM) who tags along with Mercenary and Zero who too wants to find the Grimoire of Zero. If anything the more interesting of the two is Holdem from his evolution from jerk who won't leave Mercenary alone to a quite noble person by the end of it, Albus on the other hand does become an important piece in the plot but quite early on, he's nothing but an annoyance in Zero and Mercenary's travels. Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho also has the added benefit of giving us world-building from all the subjects of fantastic racism as well as how the magic works given us through Zero and you know that LA loves when an anime does go into it's lore and how some spells work...however like it's edge on it's racism issues, the lore of magics in Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho also gets forgotten over time.

So as much as LA is praising (kinda?) Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho, there are some obvious flaws LA purposely left out and some becomes vastly apparent. For one, you'd think the anime would take a more action-orientated approach however for the first half it's more mystery and slice of life of all things that mixes in into this anime and to it's defence, the slice of life elements helps grow Zero and Mercenary (as well as Albus) both individually and their master and bodyguard relationship and explores a bit of world-building here and there, but aside from a few key points within those times...it just "almost" feels like filler until the major arc kicks it into high gear. Next is the more apparent one of plot holes and some plot twist within Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho not making sense in a ways (this revolves around Albus for one and our boring major villain) to the point it feels like the anime is making it up on the spot and covering it's tracks just for surprise value. Lastly is our boring major villain 13 voiced by Takehito Koyasu who is pretty much at the centre of the problems in this anime. From his quite confusing motivations (especially towards Zero) to his grand plan being utterly foiled by Zero by the end of it in a such an anti-climactic way, on that note, because of Zero's importance, she is essentially an extremely OP main character facading as a weak witch. 13 is probably the reason also for shifting focus from it's fantastic racism (from both fronts of the witches and beastfallen) to the more typical good vs. bad routine we've seen time and again and again LA will mention that 13's "defeat" is anticlimactic to say the least.

In terms of animation by White Fox, the animation is quite decent all things considered with some animation derps or dips in quality (though rare or blink before you miss it type), LA did like the character designs but was more favourable to Zero's attire by her end costume of the anime. The backgrounding was typical fair for a fantasy anime, but overall decent enough animation but not much praiseworthy.

However in the voice acting department, LA will honestly say that LA was NOT expecting Yumiri Hanamori to sound like she did as Zero, for those who don't know, LA first noticed Yumiri Hanamori as the ditzy moe main lead Tsumujikaze Koyori from Shakunetsu no Takkyuu Musume to another ditzy moe main lead An Hanakoizumi from Anne Happy to have vocals like this as Zero!, seriously LA was surprised it was Yumiri Hanamori. To that the minor voice cast (however minimal) was decent but quite obviously...Yumiri Hanamori was a definite highlight in terms of voice acting in Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho.

Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho is one of those shows where yes it does have some major flaws at hand especially concerning it's tone and plot but does outweighing it's strengths of character interactions, unique main characters and it's edge on it's take on fantastic racism balance things out?.......for LA. No, ok trust LA this is an "ok" anime but it's flaws just outweigh strengths for LA to say it's a show to invest in, if only the first quarter. Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho is ok, but collapsed in on itself when it was trying to get serious and anticlimaxes and plot holes arose as a result. Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho is the dark horse of the Spring 2017 that pretty much fell and tripped even by it's halfway point and it pains LA to even say that...

Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho is located in the Fantasy / Magic / Witches genre and the plot is about a conflict between humans and witches.

Not the most creative stuff I have seen but lets give it a shot.

At the beginning I was quite positive.

The hero party seemed to be the biggest positive of the show. All three characters are pretty likeable and especially in the first 3-4 episodes they show some good chemistry and its enjoyable see them traveling through the world.

But this is where the positive aspects almost end.

The story is the biggest weakness. At the moment ... when the plot starts to get going the quality of the show goes downhill.
Every reveal is so blatantly obvious that it's almost surprising that they really went for it. The plot isn't creative but it's far worse that it's presented in such an uninspired way.

Character development is not really existent. Our protagonists stay the same throughout the whole season with no notable changes.
The writing isn't consistent. Character traits are only shown when the plot need them. Otherwise they are forgotten pretty quickly. The show tries to introduce some questions about morality but because the plot is so predictable you already know how the authors will resolve these conflicts.

Visuals are ok, I guess.

Don't get me wrong. The show isn't complete garbage and it won't hurt your eyes but if you are hoping for innovative story twists, character development or even tension then this show is going to disappoint you. If you love the genre and you can deal with a generic and uninspired story, you can give it a try.