Story - 9/10
Set 10 years before the story of Fate/Stay Night, Fate Zero follows the story of 7 masters as they fight in the Fourth Holy Grail War. The concept is still the same as it was with the original, however it is more and explained better in this adaptation. 7 Masters summon a servant to fight for them, in order to obtain the ultimate wish fulfilling device known as the Holy Grail. One thing Fate/Zero has going for itself is its maturity. Unlike the original Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Zero has a much darker and more mature theme. The plot follows the story of Kiritsugu Emiya, who was Shirou’s father back in the original Fate/Stay Night.
The only thing that really hinders the story is the pacing and the fact, the Holy Grail war is still a complex system to get your head around. It is better explained and told in Fate/Zero, but because of that explanation, the start is slow. The very first episode is a double episode special on the character study and setup of the Holy Grail War. Because they’re literally trying to explain the whole setup of the Holy Grail war in one episode, and even episode 2 as well, it starts off slow. The ending is also anti-climactic as it is meant to setup for Fate/Stay Night. But everything in between is just excitement after excitement, it really doesn’t slow down drastically, and there is so much tension. And it’s because of the characters in Fate/Zero that really makes the show.
Characters - 10/10
As I mention earlier, Fate/Zero is much more mature than Fate/Stay Night, the characters, the masters are not teens, and they’re all adults. Because all the characters are so unique and interesting in their own way, I can’t mention them all, otherwise we’ll be here all day. So here is only a handful of them.
Kiritsugu Emiya is the main protagonist. He’s not really a your stereotypical protagonist, he kinds of shows more resemblance of an anti-hero. Kiritsugu’s main reason for fighting in the war is to end all conflict, and it doesn’t matter how many sacrifices, it’ll cost, as he is hoping to save more people in the process. Example, he’ll sacrifice 100 people to save 200 people. He fights as an unconventional mage, only using magic if he really needs to, but uses firearms to fight his opponents. He doesn’t care how it’s done, as long as it gets the job done.
Saber returns from Fate/Stay Night with a clearer goal and development. Saber like Kiritsugu is fighting in the Holy Grail war for peace. Unlike Kiritsugu, she has a sense of honour, and would rather be honoured than gain the victory. I like how her character is given much more, she sorts of comes in as novice with a unremarkable talent, however she learns what is it really meant to lead. Saber only follows Kiritsugu, because she has to.
What I love about Fate/Zero is the relationships between Masters and their Servants. Kiritsugu and Saber have the same goal, but because their ideological perspectives are different, they fight differently and always conflict with each other’s ideas. And this is just not for Kiritsugu and Saber, pretty most of the masters and servants have conflicting personalities and ideas, with the exception of Ryuunosuke and his servant, Caster. Walver Velvet is fighting in the war to get recognition, whereas his servant Rider, Iskandar the King of Conquerors is in the war to take over the world. Tokiomi Tohsaka is in the war to gain the root of all knowledge, while his servant, Archer, Gilgamesh King of Heroes, is the self-proclaimed king/god of all things, who finds Tokiomi boring.
Kirei Kotomine is one of the other main characters of the show. He is fighting in the war to find a sense of purpose in the world. Kirei sees himself in Kiritsugu, and wishes to find Kiritsugu to help him give him the answer he wants. And we really see how his character is developed in the character he is in Fate/Stay Night.
What I love all about these characters is their motivations for fighting in the Holy Grail War. The first two episodes quickly tries to get their motivations out of the way so it doesn’t get in the way of too much plot, but their motivations are all so unique and interesting. I especially love the side story of the three kings and what’s it like to be a hero. Do you fighting for Victory, or do you maintain your honour. Saber, Archer and especially Rider really shine on this theme.
The show does rather well of not showing a true protagonist, at points I literally just want everyone win, because they have all have a good and interesting reason for winning. I love all these characters, every time Rider was on screen his charisma steals the scene. When Gilgamesh is on the scene, he’s such an arrogant badass, and Saber is just Saber.
Animation and Sound - 10/10. 9/10
The animation and art is amazing. Being made in 2011, Fate/Zero still has one of the best animation till this day. Every action scene is amazing and is well animated. Every special effect looks gorgeous and suits the character’s style and theme. One thing that was improved from original Fate/Stay Night is Saber’s invisible sword, the wind particles surrounding her sword looks good, and it shows the animators weren’t lazy in not putting anything to show that there is a sword there. Because it’s a battle royal, the action constantly jumps from one action scene to another, to show how amazing each scene and visual effects in it. You’re never really thrown out of the world, because it all looks gorgeous.
I love the soundtrack of Fate/Zero. It really fits the mood and setting of show. It has a very good mixture of fantasy music to urban warfare music. The music gets dark when it needs to be, and gets epic when it needs to be, it really is an amazing soundtrack to listen to. The opening and the ending themes are great as well. I love the openings and ending themes of Fate/Zero, especially the first opening and ending, Oath Sign and Memoria. I love the voice acting, I think every character is suited perfectly, whoever played Rider really deserves a reward, as he is able to make that the character come to life. Only little problem is Kirei’s voice, because they used the same voice actor from Fate/Stay Night, his voice is still really deep as hell, and he is depicted as a much younger version in Fate/Zero compared to the older version in Fate/Stay Night.
Enjoyment - 10/10
I really love Fate/Zero, it’s become one of my favourite anime of all time. I love just about almost every character in Fate/Zero, I was rooting for them to win. There was not one point in the story where I was like I just want this person to win. Almost all the characters deserved to win. The action scenes are amazing to look at, I couldn’t keep my eyes off and the story is really engaging as well. The soundtrack really added to world, I felt like I was really immersed in the world.
You’re probably not going to enjoy Fate/Zero as much if you already know what’s going to happen. If you’ve watch Fate/Stay Night, you’re already know what’s going to happen, and keeping that in mind, you’re probably going to expect what the outcomes are going to be anyway. However the journey is still amazing. Yes, the lore is still confusing, but it is better explained in this adaptation, and once you’re passed that, it’s just an enjoyable ride from there on.
Verdict - 9.5/10
As we draw closer to the final verdict, first I give the story of Fate/Zero a 9. Yes the story starts rather slow, and there is anti-climactic ending. But it’s everything in between is and exciting and interesting well developed story. I especially love the side stories as well, which rarely happens. When you get to the second half, it just non-stop excitement one after another.
The animation and sound of Fate/Zero gets a 10 and 9 from me. Ufotable has pulled off something amazing giving us one the best animated series to date. The action and stunning visual effects look amazing, and everything really fits it’s range of characters perfectly. The soundtrack fits well with the show and the voicing acting was great as well. However there was just still a bit of something missing from it, to make it really memorable.
For the characters of Fate/Zero, I give them 10. I love every character in this series, and thought they were developed well. They all had an interesting and good reasons for fighting in the war, and I couldn’t decide who I wanted to win the most. The servants interactions with each other is good and their interactions with their masters are well thought out.
For my own personal enjoyment, I give it a 10. I was immersed in this world, I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. I loved watching the cast of characters that were on screen, and story that really grips me. The art was amazing to watch, it looked very beautiful. And because I did watch Fate/Zero first, I did not know what to expect.
So for the overall rating after rounding it up, I give Fate/Zero a 9.5/10. It’s one of the best anime’s I’ve ever seen, it looks amazing, the plot and characters really work well. Yes it has a slow start and a predictable end, but the journey in between is amazing. I recommend this anime to any fans of the fantasy genre, especially action. However I would recommend this to any anime fans, just to see how visually appealing it is, and to see a more mature themed story. If you’re trying to get into the Fate series, you don’t have to watch Fate/Stay Night (2006) first, this is good starting point, but if you do watch this first, I wouldn’t recommend watching Fate/Stay Night (2006) after, to see the dip in quality. But regardless, I think this is a must watch.
