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I decided to check out the Fate series because I read so many good things about it, however I came away highly disappointed.

I read up on which series to start with and Fate/Zero was a general consensus for where to start. So I started watching and found myself very confused. I had some sort of idea of the broad story but couldn't put the pieces of the puzzle together. I stuck it out though and I made it to episode 17 and couldn't take anymore. It was just too painful to watch.

My takeaway is this:
1) I felt that the story ... had the framework of what could be a great show but that's about all it had, and it seemed unfinished at that. As a result I had to give the story a 1, it was too fragmented.

2) I couldn't keep track of some of the characters and actually had to look up who was who even after 17 episodes. This is inexcusable and pathetic.

3) The production quality was excellent, so at least it had that going for it.

Summary:

Unless I'm missing something, and perhaps I need guidance from a true fan, this was very confusing and I had no clue what was going on half the time. Some of the battles were great but there were many instances that didn't make sense and a true masterpiece shouldn't need to be explained. The content that existed seemed polished but show seemed unfinished. Having questions while watching can be a good thing but questions and confusion are two different things.

Rider and Saber are the only redeeming qualities in this, and Lancer to a lesser extent.

Gunslinger Girl is not your typical anime. This is a story of the sad reality of what can happen to someone who is mentally (and physically in this case) manipulated for one specific goal, regardless of the well being of that individual. The best way I can describe this is that it's basically the government program Treadstone or Operation Blackbriar from the Jason Bourne Trilogy but for 7 or 8 year old girls. It's not for everyone because although it has it's share of action, it's also very drama intensive with only moderate dialogue. There is very little, if any comedy ... so don't expect to laugh. I gave it a 5 overall, but don't let that keep you from watching it. It was just a little slow for my taste even though I stuck it out through the end. If you choose to watch it, give it 3 episodes before you decide to keep going or to drop it.