The most memorable impression left by Fate/Zero is probably the powerful interaction between Waver and his servant, Rider. Their bond evokes one of the most touching scenes throughout both season, and it extends here on how Rider brought an impact to him with Rider’s ideals to an extent that he’s never imagined before. With the words “ live on ”, Waver embarked on many adventures and became more mature with greater magical abilities, embracing the spotlight as one of the professors in modern magecraft and became the Lord El-Melloi II.
As certain events unfold, he is reluctantly brought into the world of crimes and mysteries unbeknown to anyone. Surprisingly, each case has a typical detective-style vibe with little clues such as presence of alibi and motives of different suspects from various background being presented. It doesn’t bend the process and managed to retain basic detective method such as deduction skills through analysis and observation with limited resources. Then, it step up the game with the blend of modern magecraft in the story world to enhance the techniques in solving and conducting crimes. The lead detective however, is not omnipotent, which brings in the cute and powerful Gray to deal with physical threats as one of his trusted apprentices. One by one, his apprentices join him as they tackle crimes and mysteries with their unique skillsets. With that, their adventure begins.
The animation is done by TROYCA. It’s a studio I’ve never heard of before, but they have done a splendid job in depicting the city of London that capture the reflecting gold-ish street light in night and the old-style English mansion with classic Victorian-like character designs. This presented a city seemingly enveloped in mysterious mist, so inviting and thrilling, yet so dangerous with unknown threats lurking in the shadows.
The ending theme song, ‘Hibari’ is freaking amazing. The tune has a chilly feeling that eases the heart, with Gray holding the lantern as the seasons around her changes, as if she’s waiting for someone. The setting is so calm and so relaxing, that it’s just that pleasant to watch till the end. The opening, on the other hand is only accompanied by the Sherlock-like instrumental opening, which is much fitting to the theme of the story. Adding the scores of both animation and song, the set up of ambience are done elegantly with more moments to look forward to.
Overall, the story is quite interesting so far.
