With the promise of granting any wish, the omnipotent Holy Grail triggered three wars in the past,
each too cruel and fierce to leave a victor. In spite of that, the wealthy Einzbern family is
confident that the Fourth Holy Grail War will be different; namely, with a vessel of the Holy Grail
now in their grasp. Solely for this reason, the much hated "Magus Killer" Kiritsugu Emiya is hired by
the Einzberns, with marriage to their only daughter Irisviel as binding contract.
Kiritsugu now stands at the center of a cutthroat game of survival, facing off against six other
participants, each armed with an ancient familiar, and fueled by unique desires and ideals.
Accompanied by his own familiar, Saber, the notorious mercenary soon finds his greatest opponent in
Kirei Kotomine, a priest who seeks salvation from the emptiness within himself in pursuit of
Kiritsugu.
Based on the light novel written by Gen Urobuchi, Fate/Zero depicts the events of the Fourth
Holy Grail War—10 years prior to Fate/stay night. Witness a battle royale in which no one is
guaranteed to survive.
(Source: MAL Rewrite)
Note: The first episode aired with a runtime of ~48 minutes as opposed to the standard 24 minute
long episode.
Here's a quick review of Fate/Zero! (Season 1) __First Impressions__: Hmm, I've had this Anime on my computer for a few years now, and due to the dearth of Anime I've watched recently, I thought that (after watching F/SN the week before) I'd continue with the fate series and treat myself to some fine action. __Story__ ————- 22/25 ————- I really thought the story in Fate/Zero was pretty interesting, and while you get somewhat spoiled in terms of what happens by watching F/SN first, the small interactions between all characters in this anime are just wonderful to watch. For me, anything that has elimination/competition and the fact that your favorite (and least favorite) characters have a high possibility of dying, is just a wonderful idea, and the way this is set up - well, it allows for some insane action scenes to unfold! __Animation & Art__ ————- 15/15 ————- The art in Fate/Zero is nearly flawless, capturing every detail inside AND outside of battle. All characters are designed beautifully, with their emotions displayed very realistically (in an Anime sense) and in a way, scarily! (Some deaths...) Either way, I wouldn't blame you if you fell for this show just because of the flawless animation - ufotable did a great job __Sound__ ————- 18/20 ————- The opening is alright, I believe, and the ending is also pretty good - so both musicians did a pretty good job with that, but more onto the OST now. The pieces heard throughout the first season of Fate/Zero are pretty solid, especially the chorus music heard during fight scenes! I felt that the music overall was really good, and found myself listening to the OST after finishing the Anime. __Characters__ ————- 23/25 ————- This part is one part where Fate/Zero shines - the characters are almost all likable, and because the art and animation is so good, it just becomes hard to not adore some of the characters in this show. The only small bit that may have prevented this from getting a higher score would be that some characters received less development than they should have - or got less time in the action (which I feel they could've been in, at least more). Either way, the characters in Fate/Zero are almost all awesome! __Enjoyment__ ————- 15/15 ————- Watching the development of the characters, then seeing them fight each other in this war to the death is just one of the redeeming qualities you get from watching Fate/Zero. The first season plays off well, and gives you an introduction to all the servants and masters of the show. Just go watch this! Now! __Verdict__: Want some serious action and awesome characters? Like some really seriously good action and some cool and well animated characters? Yeah - this anime is for you. My recommendation would be to watch this BEFORE F/SN. Even if the quality is higher in this one, you get some serious spoilers from F/SN (about this show). __Overall: 93/100__ A
This is a quick review of Fate/Zero, an amazing anime that quickly became a classic of the battle anime genre. ___What is Fate/Zero about ?___ In a few words, Fate/Zero is about seven Historical Figures (whether fictional or not) fighting for the Grail, a relic which has the ability to fulfill any wish. Therefore, their Masters (their summoners) will use anything that are in their power, to obtain it. Violence, fight scenes, blood everywhere, this is definitely not your _battle shōnen/nekketsu_ where the teenage boy beats everyone gradually, where his enemies becomes his allies and where he doesn't even think before acting. Here, characters are adults, that have to think about every move they do, otherwise they get killed. Enemies can't become allies, as it has to be. Trailer : youtube(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-7PFiut1HI) ___Where does Fate/Zero take place in the Fate Timeline ?___ Fate/Zero is the prequel of Fate/stay night. To sum up, Fate/stay night takes place in 2004, but Fate/Zero happens 10 years before the events of the original serie. You get to know some characters that will appear again in Fate/stay night, as well as an awesome backstory of what did happen before. ___Is Fate/Zero a good entry point to the Fate universe ?___ About the Fate/series watch order, this serie is the entry point that gives the more spoilers for the Fate/stay night animes. Considering that the others Fate animes aren't from the same timeline (not including _Today's Menu for Emiya Family_ and _Carnival Phantasm_), they aren't good entry points as they don't really explain the origin of the "Original" Holy Grail War. Fate/stay night is the main material and the origin of the entire Fate franchise. Therefore the best entry point to the Fate universe is the original material : the Visual Novel. Right now, the three animes aren't the best way to get into it, as each one of them do spoil the others. If you want to watch the series chronologically and you don't mind some major spoilers from the three routes of Fate/stay night, then start with Fate/Zero. To be honest, I was in that case and it didn't ruin my Fate experience at all. At the time I'm writing this review, only 2 _Heaven's feel_ movies out of 3 are available. So, starting with watching all the three routes before Fate/Zero is quite complicated. If you aim to watch every Fate anime, including _Fate/stay night (2006)_, then start with the latter. You'll get some spoilers from the other routes, but knowing this one is the worst animated Fate anime, your experience can only get better and better. Then continue and watch Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works (2014) (not the movie), then the Heaven's feel movie trilogy. You can watch Fate/Zero after the second movie if the third one isn't available yet, as the third movie wouldn't give spoilers for it. __Notation Time__ Here is my personal notation of the anime, using the advanced system of Anilist. As I became a big fan of the Fate franchise, I might have given too high notes. I gave 99/100 for the main reason that I enjoyed every part of the anime. For a 2011 anime, the animation still surpasses most younger shows, Ufotable showed that they were ahead of everyone at that time. Usually I'm not a huge fan of tragic stories, but this one did a really good job to keep me interested as well as making me feel contrasted emotions, such as hype, anxiety, happiness, disgust... The Original Soundtrack was amazing and added another dimension to every scene of the anime. Each character has a distinct personality, especially the Servants. As it was my first Fate anime, I loved their original concept. It gives them an awesome historical-inspired backstory, and you can quickly have historical figures that don't even are from the same era fighting each other. And give Gilgamesh an Oscar (wait, he should already have one in his vault) __Conclusion__ This was my first review on Anilist, I'm considering preparing other reviews of the animes I watched, so that people can either watch them or not. In these reviews, I don't want to only give my opinion on a serie, but I also want people to build their own opinion about it. Thanks for reading, and have a good time watching Fate/Zero if you're starting after the review !
Fate/Zero will likely go down as one of anime’s best, or at least most famous prequels. Split into two seasons with 3 months between the airing of each, each half essentially becomes one of the highlights of their respective years. Season 1 is the more difficult of the two to tackle, as it’s primarily setting the stage for the tragedy that unfolds later on as it begins planting some of the seeds that would lead into the 3 well-known routes of Fate/Stay Night. It’s easy to praise the cinematic approach the show’s director, Ei Aoki, takes here. Both seasons are more strikingly directed than even the Heaven’s Feel movies, and surely more than the UBW movie that came out a year prior to this. Sadly, that doesn’t mean this first season is perfectly elegant due to factors that many have criticized this installment for, as well as a few aspects of it that have aged. In the battle between 7 masters and the servants they summon, intrigue is not only inevitable but rife with virtues and vices. In terms of presentation, Fate/Zero remains notable almost a decade later. Ei Aoki and studio Ufotable take a grand approach to this production. There are tons of wide shots and moments where the camera lingers on an object or character while someone else is talking. Some of it feels jarring, as if to save on time and animation, but a lot of it contributes to the striking direction the show takes. Episode 1 alone contains several noteworthy moments, like when two characters slowly circle around the main subject of the scene, Kirei Kotomine, and the scene employs several long overhead shots showing the two rope him into a task he finds himself questioning. There are several interesting masking shots and other moments that highlight Ei Aoki’s skill as a director such as towards the end of the first season when a giant monster is summoned and several characters are at the bottom of the frame as this behemoth looms over them. The visual atmosphere the show oozes with, contributes to this feeling as the night sky is often overwhelmed with green or purple mist, and the majority of the battles take place in the darkened sky. The studio’s well-known digital effects add a texture to the moody lighting and ambient colors, adding to the stark, often oppressive atmosphere that the darker, more nerve-racking moments of the show bathe in. The show’s fight scenes are lovingly animated, with a sense of flashiness and fluidity that still adheres to the show’s usage of tactics, as opposed to the explosive, god mode skirmishes the likes of Unlimited Blade Works and Fate/Apocrypha employ on a regular basis. Powerful attacks are given extreme impact, not just with the flashy moves that the more powerful servants employ, but also physical blows characters land on one another. While the show’s new character designs aren’t as iconic as those of Fate/Stay Night (including the characters that make a return for Zero), they’re still great. Of the new servants, Iskandar is the best as his gargantuan stature and glorious red cape give off an imposing yet admirable vibe. In terms of the non-servant characters, we get tons of lovely outfits with identifiable and contrasting colors, like how Kiritsugu and franchise mainstay, Saber often wear black leather jackets and suits respectively, as opposed to Illyasvei’s regal, all-white outfit. The artwork, while not without its off-model moments, is more attractive and interesting than even what this same studio would do for subsequent installments in the franchise despite them all being based on the now well-known Type Moon art style. Not everything about the show has aged well. There are several moments of genuinely poor CGI found in the show, including the room that Kirei and the two characters circling around him are in when they discuss matters during the first episode. Nothing ever looks quite as bad as that PS2 hellscape of a location, but it’s safe to say Ufotable’s usage of CGI environments weren’t as “refined” (read: acceptable) as they are now with the likes of Kimetsu no Yaiba and the Heaven’s Feel movies. There’s quite the liberal usage of CG in the show, and there are only two cases where it works well. The first is whenever Berserker appears on screen, as the aura he emanates gives this wrong, off-kilter vibe that his shrouded CGI armor supports as he corrupts anything he touches and moves in a turbulent manner that his armor is forced to restrain. The second comes during the final episode where Caster summons the aforementioned behemoth cloaked in purple mist. Unfortunately, the problems don’t stop there, as there are plenty of moments where the frame rate slows down to a crawl. For a show rife with exposition scenes and moments of characters standing around and talking (we’ll get to that), it’s disturbing how often the frame rate dies whenever CG environments are employed half the time. As mentioned before, there are also several moments where the camera lingers for up to 20 seconds. Like with the infamous Evangelion, its usage can be hit or miss. Speaking of hit or miss and characters talking, that’s more of a pain than it has any right to be. There are several interesting dialogue-driven exchanges, such as in episode 12 where Kirei Kotomine is being psycho-analyzed by the iconic bastard Gilgamesh. As long as they are, they never feel overly redundant or wasteful. It’s easy to find some of them rather laborious, though. Then we get moments where the characters, especially Kiritsugu, just stand around instead of shooting their damn guns at unsuspecting foes or actually finishing off weak or incapacitated opponents for no reason. This makes it hard to believe that characters like Kiritsugu and Kirei are actually skilled killers when they waste every opportunity they have. At least with some of the servants, they have their own codes of conduct preventing them from just finishing off or ganging up on their opponents, unless the target is Caster since he is one of the most vile characters in the franchise. It’s a problem that persists throughout every major encounter, and as a result, not only are almost all of the deaths saved for the next season, but only three encounters have any lasting consequences. The pacing of certain seems can feel awkward with how certain scenes go from difficult and grim to lighthearted to action-oriented and then back again without any breathing room. Other scenes can feel rushed and unprompted, like when Kiritsugu starts bemoaning his circumstances to Irisviel and saying that they could opt out of this in episode 4, apropos of nothing. On top of that, even some of the action scenes can drag on as characters excessively spout their ideals or other idle chit chat. While these are often battles of ideals where the combatants get to understand each other in fights to the death, they certainly know how to drag their feet. With the runtime of episodes generally being around 27-28 minutes this season as opposed to the standard 24-25 (if you include the credits sequences), it does leave a laborious, almost draining feel to the show at times. There are minor holes and seemingly inexplicable, out of nowhere scenes (can someone explain what the beginning of episode 7 was all about cuz it doesn’t seem to connect to anything) as well, but they aren’t the main issues I have with the show. Luckily, the characters are less of a hit and miss case than everything mentioned prior. White Kiritsugu isn’t very interesting this season and we do have a few characters like Kayneth who are only barely any more layered and interesting than “prickbag”, some of the characters, dynamics, and personalities present here are the best in the franchise. Saber herself isn’t an especially compelling character on her own, but the way the show juxtaposes her views on kinghood to the views of the Kings of Conquerers and Heroes (Iskandar and Gilgamesh) respectively in the banquet episode they share is astounding. Said characters are the most boisterous and charismatic characters in Fate, with Gilgamesh being a glorious pompous wretch of a person, and Iskandar being the embodiment of the phrase “larger than life”. His dynamic with his puny, inexperienced, bitchy, and in over his head master, Waver, is perhaps the most entertaining and endearing aspect of the series. The only dynamic that comes close is that of Caster and his master, Ryunosuke, who are as eccentric and fascinating in their philosophies on life and God as they are vile. Make no mistake, these are the two sickest people in any Fate title, but the show still manages to make them fairly interesting, with a friendship that’s far more authentic and endearing than it has any right to be. Some characters do get less personality and screen time than others --Kariya is as screwed over by the show’s events as he is by the show itself with how borderline nonexistent his screentime is past the first episode-- but there are a lot of interesting dynamics and conflicting ideologies at play here. It’s crazy how many characters manage to remain compelling and properly fleshed out with even this first season. That just leaves the show’s music. Yuki Kajiura’s soundtrack, while featuring a few somewhat overplayed tracks, is still rocking several outstanding songs. “In the Battlefield” and “This Battle Goes to the Strong” are some of the more notably grandiose battle tracks, and “If You Leave Me” makes for a powerful, emotional piece. The first track is one of the series’ best, though a lot of Fate/Zero’s most incredible pieces are saved for the second season. The OP, “Oath Sign” is one of LiSA’s better anime songs before SAO made the band widely recognizable to everyone, while the ED isn’t that interesting. Still, it’s no significant mark against the music of the show overall. The first season of Fate/Zero is an engaging bit of set-up. While it may feel laborious at times with characters acting stupid or dragging things out, the more engaging bits of intrigue and glorious character dynamics make this a worthwhile series to watch regardless. The visuals may feel a bit dated in places, but are still better and filled with more interesting direction than most. With a powerful soundtrack gracing all of this, it’s hard not to say that the show doesn’t have anything to hold you over even if you do find yourself bored by it. Still, it’s the second season that carries most of the highlights, though this first endeavor was still a necessary and worthwhile investment to get there.
Fate/Zero is great. A light novel written by Gen Urobuchi; host to charming characters with designs by Takashi Takeuchi. Adapted as a TV anime by Ufotable, with some of the most jaw dropping animation I've seen from the studio aside from the Kara No Kyoukai films, as well as the very same studio's later adaptations of the Unlimited Blade Works and Heaven's Feel arcs of Fate/Stay Night. Despite a few missteps here and there, there's a lot to like about this TV series. However, at the centre of this work, there lies one fatal flaw; As much as I enjoy Fate/Zero, as well as the other Gen Urobuchi work that I've experienced thus far, Fate/Zero is a tragedy of something that I feel that I may have gleamed from reading more into Urobuchi and some of the... *interesting* statements that he's given over the years; Gen Urobuchi loves spoilers, and this is something that became apparently clear when I watched Fate/Zero. I will say with certainty that Fate/Zero has the prestige of being the first well made adaptation of a Fate work, however it also greatly suffers from the fact that it *also* happens to significantly ruin some of the best parts of Fate/Stay Night: the work that it serves as a prequel to. For that alone I cannot endorse Fate/Zero as a standalone experience nor as a first-timer's entry point. While Fate/Zero's fresh characters and new stories are for the most part written quite well, a vast majority of the work leans greatly on Fate/Stay Night's original scenario by the merit of it's very existence, and in a way this comes as a downfall to Fate/Zero's own merits. As someone who greatly enjoyed the whole of reading Fate/Stay Night this amounts to blasphemy in my mind; while this incoming analogy isn't perfect as Fate has very much evolved from a simple Visual Novel into a massive multimedia project, the act of experiencing Fate/Zero before Fate/Stay Night in its entirety is tantamount to watching the Star Wars prequels, or sequels, before first experiencing the original trilogy in it's purest form. and it is for that reason alone that I cannot advise anyone to read, nor watch Fate/Zero have they not yet first read Fate/Stay Night to its completion. Despite my warnings however, the decision for every person interested in Fate to start with Fate/Zero or the original Visual Novel of Fate/Stay Night is not mine to make. There are quite a few hurdles to doing so, such as the lack of widespread availability outside of Japan that Type-Moon doesn't seem incredibly keen on acting on (despite the growing interest surrounding Fate, as well as Type-Moon's other work outside of japan, *as well* as the explosive success of their mobile game Fate/Grand Order). Furthermore, through my own observations and interactions with many of whom also watch anime I have discerned a rather horrifying possibility. The possibility that a great number of people secretly hold a strong distaste for the act of reading. (despite that they read subtitles on anime all the time). And to those of whom are steadfast to acquiring their media legally and don't wish to jump through the numerous hoops necessary to read the original visual novel in their native tongue, as well as those adverse to the concept of reading a digital book with audiovisual accompaniment I say, hey, don't worry about it. While it isn't a perfect solution by any sense of the word as these works do come with several compromises to what made their source material so great in order to fit their respective formats, the Ufotable adaptations of [Unlimited Blade Works](https://anilist.co/anime/19603/Fatestay-night-Unlimited-Blade-Works/) and [Heaven's Feel](https://anilist.co/anime/20791/Fatestay-night-Heavens-Feel-I-presage-flower/) serve as an adequate alternative to the latter two arcs, the only issue of this approach being that the first arc, aptly titled Fate, has no faithful adaptation to it's name; but nonetheless for one to walk a path of compromises they must needs accept those very same compromises for themselves. In short, Fate/Zero is a great piece of supplementary work to the original Fate/Stay Night. I would highly recommend it to any who are already familiar with the original, however for newcomers that value a pure experience there exists many pitfalls that could sour their experience down the line. And for them I would advice they stay away..... for now....
Fate: Zéro. Depuis le temps qu'on m'en vante les nombreuses qualités, il fallait bien que ce jour arrive, celui où je me décidais de me lancer dans un univers au lore bien trop vaste pour moi. De prime abord, soyons honnête: J'ai failli lâcher Fate au bout de 5 épisodes. Je trouvais le rythme lent, trop avare en combat qu'on m'avait tant promis même si de très bonne qualité. Le chara design ne me faisais rien, l'histoire mettait bien trop de temps à se lancer. Finalement, j'ai quand même continué, et passé l'épisode 7, j'étais lancé, prêt à réellement me faire emporter par des discussions au sens profond, des personnages très bien travaillés, des combats très bien animés, et des musiques incroyables. Car, après visionnage de l'épisode 5,et via un message où deux d'un ami, j'ai réalisé une chose importante, et pourtant si évidente. L'univers de Fate est immense, desincarné sous de multiples noms : Apocrypha, Grand Order, Zéro, Stay Night etc... Un univers aussi vaste et riche méritait t'il vraiment d'être jugé sur la base de seulement 5 épisodes ? Ne dit on pas de ne jamais juger un livre à sa couverture ? (Cela me fait repenser à ma lecture de Neverwhere de Neil Gaiman, meilleur livre prit au pif de ma vie) J'envoie donc ce message à ceux qui, comme moi, se sentiront peut être un peu ennuyé par l'introduction: Laissez lui sa chance, car elle la mérite amplement, faite un petit effort et vous sera hapés. Je suis bien content de ne pas avoir fais cette erreur, sinon je n'aurai jamais découvert l'univers de la Guerre du Graal, quête à la fois spirituelle et combative pour l'obtention de son vœu le plus cher ! Chaque Mage, choisi au hasard, soit se trouver un Servant, un guerrier qui aura pour mission de gagner face aux autres pour récupérer le Saint Objet. Chaque Servant est affilié à une classe qui lui est propre, reflet de la personnalité de son maître, il doit lui obéir et tout faire pour le protéger. Alors, en tant que néophyte, on s'attend à des combats en permanence, à de l'action, me direz vous ? Et bien, pas tout à fait. En vérité, après visionnage de la série je trouve que les combats sont finalement un élément secondaire de l'intrigue. L'élément clé de l'intrigue réside surtout dans les personnages, chacun ayant un souhait à exaucer avec plus ou moins volonté pour y parvenir. Voyez un personnage, dans n'importe quel support, sous la forme d'un diamant brut. Car derrière chaque création de personnage se cache un potentiel énorme, comme un diamant brut, mais c'est votre talent d'écriture qui décidera de comment il sera poli. C'est votre façon de faire interagir votre personnage avec son environnement et les autres qui déterminera la beauté de votre diamant. Maintenant que l'allégorie est acquise, dites vous que les personnages de Fate: Zéro sont les plus beaux diamants que j'ai pu voir pour l'instant. Un véritable travail d'orfèvre semble avoir été accordé aux personnages, autant aux Servant qu'aux Maîtres. Chaque personnage possède une façon de cohabiter avec son milieu très particulière, le Servant sera donc autant le reflet qu'il pourra être par moment son strict opposé. Il faut bien prendre compte de cette alchimie pour apprécier au mieux la saveur des combats comme des discussions. Un travail de composition de l'image a aussi été soigné: dans une scène notamment censé montrer l'éloignement entre les idéaux du Maître et ceux du Servant, la composition laisse un hiatus (fossé infranchissable) se former entre les protagonistes. Sans avoir besoin d'exposition, la scène, l'image, l'art parle pour nous, spectateurs. Les thèmes abordés dans Fate sont légion, la question même de ce qui définit un leader, qu'est ce qui compte entre sauver ce qui nous est cher ou sauver le plus grand nombre, qu'est ce qui définit l'humanité elle même etc.. Je ne fais que survoler les thèmes car l'anime les traitera forcément avec bien plus de justesse que moi. (Cf un épisode 11 très bien écrit, confrontant 3 écoles de pensée sur la façon d'agir en tant que roi) Je ne peux que vous recommander de regarder Fate:Zéro et de vous laisser emporter par la valse du Graal, objet aux mille convoitise, faisant tourner le cœur des hommes. Laissez-vous embarquer dans un excellent cocktail de 3D et de 2D, d'effets de brumes, de particules et d'explosion absolument jouissif. Laissez vous embarquer par des musiques épiques, desservant des combats extrêmement bien chorégraphiés. En bref, laissez vous séduire par la maestria de Fate. Ci joint le morceau de musique que m'en a inspiré cette œuvre : https://youtu.be/9Ta-8SilgVs
(This review covers both seasons of F/Z) Fate/Zero was (unfortunately) my and many others' introduction to the behemoth that is the Fate franchise, after the successful but often hated (for good reason) 2006 anime adaption of the original visual novel by studio DEEN (and the somewhat forgotten 2010 UBW movie), Ufotable finally stepped in to save the day and give Fate the adaptation it deserves, and how did they do that? By adapting the prequel light novel Fate/Zero. Now how is this history lesson relevant? That's because Zero's success and legacy can be largely owed to the timing and circumstances of its time of release, with it being a critical darling, and many people's introduction to the franchise to the point of almost overshadowing the other adaptations and spawning a breed of fans into the already volatile community that can easily erupt into civil war, how does Zero fare as both a standalone work and a prequel to Fate/Stay Night? As a standalone work it's solid, however as a prequel it falls in line with the usual kind of underwhelming prequel. Why you may ask? That's what I'm going to try and explain. Fate/Zero takes place during the fourth holy grail war, where seven masters summon their servants and fight to the death and blah blah blah, you know the drill by now. The story follows Emiya Kiritsugu, Shirou's adoptive father and idol, as he fights the other masters with his servant to win the grail. Of course with there being six other main characters and six other servants, and good characters being generally the biggest strength of Nasu Kinoko's works then it's gonna be good right? Well here's the catch, they're not, and it can easily be traced to the fact that it was written by none other than the Urobucher himself instead. Now my issues with the way Gen Urobuchi writes characters to be simply tools to drive the plot can be forgiven sometimes (like in Madoka Magica), however this simply isn't going to work in Fate, where the characters all had their own personalities, charm and ideals. And I was correct, so now I will try to summarize each master and servant quickly: Kayneth and Lancer: the ultimate forgettable duo, their only real purpose is to show how "brewtal" and "horrifying" the war is, but without any reason to care about them that kind of falls flat on its face. Kariya and Berserker: I actually like Kariya, the problem with him though is that he's the "fallen from grace" archetype that's found in a lot of Urobuchi's works, only it was arguably done better in Madoka Magica, yeah and Berserker's there I guess. Ryuunosuke and Caster: they cuhrazy, other than that they suffer from a severe lack of anything interesting other than murdering children, because that's a good way to shock the viewers without coming up with something that takes effort. Tokiomi and Archer: I'm pretty disappointed in the little screentime Tokiomi got even if it was just for fanservice it would've been at least nice, Gilgamesh is slightly more interesting than his Stay Night version where he was more of an obstacle than an actual villain. Waver and Rider: your typical coming of age story, probably the best original characters in Zero, but again that was done better in other series. The big boy himself Kirei and Assassin: Assassin was never the best servant in stay night, true Assassin even less so, and this Assassin is no different, Kirei is probably my favourite character in Zero (probably because he's also my favourite in the vn too) and watching him turn into the cruel but intriguing character that we all know and love was fun to watch. Kiritsugu and Saber: Kiritsugu's character was doomed from the start, knowing that he gives up on his ideals right away from the start of the original, his character arc is left unsatisfying, with it being more of a look at how he became the way he is through some sad backstory, Saber on the other hand was absolutely butchered with her just being a punching bag throughout the entire story and never resembling her original character, like the part when she gets verbally attacked by two egotistical tyrants spewing pseudo-philosophical bs, and she doesn't even try to do anything, Fate route Saber was a strong but flawed person, Zero Saber is spineless, only reduced to talking about honor and chivalry and garbage like that. Before we get to the end I'd like to state the obvious and say that the production quality is high and it's well made and etc etc, it's Ufotable what do you expect? Now I don't want to appear as overtly negative or a hater or something like that, I enjoyed Fate/Zero overall and as its own thing it's a good story, however it is not it's own story, it's a prequel to a pre-existing work, and that's its biggest downfall. The reason for that is that it's simply a less interesting and half-baked version of the third Stay Night route Heaven's Feel, without really grasping what made it good to begin with. [Very minor Heaven's Feel spoilers for this part] the themes of betraying ones ideals, and the subversion of the narrative structure and tone of the previous routes made HF stand out in the first place and it being the explosive finale to a great trilogy, it took the characters that we've all grown to love and pushed them to the absolute limit, of course all of this are things that Zero can't do, because of it being a short light novel prequel it can't replicate any of that, so what does it do? It tries to emulate it only on a surface level and falls into the same trap as most Urobuchi's works, the trap of superficiality, replacing interesting characters with suffering, misery and bloodshed won't improve the story, being more "mature" isn't by making all the characters adults and cranking up all the violence and tragedy so it only "appears" to be more mature, in reality it's just a shallower version of a better story, and that's why it's not different from your typical underwhelming prequel.
img220(https://images.saymedia-content.com/.image/c_limit%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cq_auto:eco%2Cw_700/MTc0MzkwMDk3OTM5MDE1MDE2/fate-zero-top-seven-servants.jpg) __A show like this for the average anime viewer would be extremely difficult to watch, mostly because you have to memorize the names of all the characters as well as some aspects of the show if you're not paying attention, but it gets a lot easier and a lot more enjoyable as you progress down the line. __ Fate/Zero is a relatively simple show when you hear what it's about: In this world, there are some people with magic in their blood who are called mages. Every 60 years, an omnipotent wish granting device known as the Holy Grail chooses 7 mages across the entire globe to participate in the Holy Grail War. These mages are known as Masters. In this war, each Master gets a historical figure known as a Servant to fight for them in the war. The Masters, along with their Servants, then compete with each other to the death, with the winner obtaining the rights to have their wish granted by the Holy Grail. Fate/Zero has, in essence, all of the tools it requires to succeed as a standalone show rather than a prequel to the Fate series; so that is exactly how I am going to review this show. Out of every show I have seen so far, Fate/Zero was the pinnacle of perfection when it came to exactly what needed to be done; in terms of execution and closure. This show was full of war and bloodshed, along with psychological deception and strategy. The show also depicts greatly that, out of all the Holy Grail Wars, both future and past, this war had the most powerful Servants across every class, which made this show even more entertaining to watch, as we are under the perception that because the greatest Servants of past and future are participating, we are witnessing the greatest war of all Holy Grail Wars unfold. An even greater point is that each Master is fighting for their own wish, and because of that, you get to see the events surrounding every individual in this show and the different paths they all take in an attempt to win the war. This makes the show feel even more rewarding, as although every Master is fighting to have their wish granted, they all have different motivations for wanting the Holy Grail, whether it be a good wish or an evil wish. img220(https://c4.wallpaperflare.com/wallpaper/811/515/726/fate-zero-fate-series-kiritsugu-emiya-wallpaper-preview.jpg) __The Anti Hero: Kiritsugu Emiya__ Kiritsugu Emiya is the masterpiece of this entire show, and not only because he is the main character. Kiritsugu is the pinnacle of tragedy as you continue to watch the show. In the beginning, his attitude is unclear, as he only states that with his wish, he wants to save the world and end world conflict. The viewers feel a sense of irony, since Kiritsugu is a mage assassin and has dedicated his whole life to killing. As the show unfolds, he begins to realize that the meaning of victory becomes meaningless as more bodies pile up and more people die, which is why he wants his wish granted in the first place. Spoilers Ahead: ~!Kiritsugu wins the Holy Grail War and attempts to have his wish granted. However, the Holy Grail presents Kiritsugu with the boat dilemma. As the Grail continues the questioning, it becomes more and more clear that Kiritsugu would end up killing more people than he intends to save, which throws him into a state of despair because he realizes that to save one, you must kill another. The Grail then presents Kiritsugu with a choice: live out the rest of his life with Irisviel and his daughter, but at the cost of killing off the rest of the population of the world. This is where Kiritsugu's flaw is somewhat "beautiful": he rejects the wish of the Holy Grail in order to save the world, because he impulsively wishes to kill less to save more. As a result, the Grail is destroyed and curses Kiritsugu, and the city is engulfed in flames. Kiritsugu then finds a boy in the rubble and adopts him as his own son. Since Kiritsugu did not return the Holy Grail back to the family of his wife and daughter, he is no longer allowed to see his daughter, so he spends the rest of his life with the boy he saved, and dies 5 years later as a result of the curse bestowed upon him by the Holy Grail.!~ img220(https://www.themoviedb.org/t/p/w780/ij86kCAHM0B6EP75so3UscZVWIo.jpg) Fate/Zero will have you constantly itching to watch the next episode, constantly aching to know what's going to happen next. This feeling alone is why it is impossible to rewatch this show, regardless of how much you enjoyed it. A psychological thriller is only entertaining when you cannot expect or know what will happen. I personally tried to rewatch this by showing it to my friends while I watched with them, and I did not get the same spark of enjoyment I got when I first watched this show. This is a masterpiece, a beautiful one at that. This is a show that is only meant to be watched once, and to enjoy every moment that you can.
Magia e heróis históricos. Não há nada melhor para definir Fate Stay Night e Fate Zero do que essas duas expressões. Sim, os dois animes são um combo: um é a continuação do outro. O primeiro a ser lançado foi Fate Stay Night, mas, na linha cronológica da história, Fate Zero se passa X anos antes. Mesmo com essas diferenças, a trama segue os mesmos acontecimentos: uma guerra entre os Mestres Magos e os Espíritos Sagrados pelo Santo Graal. Para ficar mais fácil de entender, o melhor é tratar a história de acordo com a linha cronológica. Em Fate Zero, somos apresentados a um mundo de pessoas que utilizam a magia para invocar Espíritos Heróicos que vão lutar entre si pelo elemento sagrado chamado de Santo Graal. Ninguém tem certeza da aparência ou de que exatamente ele consiste, mas os Sete Mestres controlam seus Espíritos para vencer a guerra. As classes são Saber, Rider, Caster, Lancer, Berserker, Assassin e Archer e cada uma delas tem um representante, que consiste em um Herói Histórico e famoso, que se adéqua às habilidades de cada classe. Entre os espíritos, está o Rei Arthur, ou Arthuria, a Saber. Sim, no anime, a verdade é que o famoso herói é uma mulher, que é invocada por Emiya Kiritsugu, um mestre um tanto quanto diferente, que é um habilidoso sniper e possui balas especiais em seu revólver e possui como sócia Irisviel von Einzbern, que é sua esposa. Além dela, há Gilgamesh, famoso em vários games, que representa o Archer e possui milhares de espadas, invocado por Tohsaka Tokiyomi, um dos homens mais influentes do lugar. Outro personagem-chave é Kotomine Kirei, o maior inimigo de Kiritsugu, que invoca os Assassin para espionarem e, logo depois, mata seu próprio espírito, o que o tira do jogo, mas o transforma em um manipulador perigoso (se eu falar mais, vocês me matam). Entre os outros espíritos, está Lancer, um charmoso lutador, que se chama Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, invocado por Kayneth; Rider, que é a figura de Iskandar, o Conquistador e consiste em um homem forte, alto, musculoso e muitíssimo divertido, que foi invocado por um mago iniciante, que roubou segredos de seu professor Kayneth; o Caster, um espírito invocador estranho e nojento, chamado Bluebeard (Barba Azul), que foi invocado por um mago sanguinário e inconsequente, chamado Ryunosuke Uryu e o Berseker, incontrolável e descontrolado, invocado por Kariya Matou, de outra família importante. O final do anime mostra-se bem emocionante, com um Santo Graal bem impressionante e algumas mudanças de perspectiva na vida de algumas pessoas. Em Fate Stay Night, alguns dos personagens abordados na primeira parte da história aparecem, ou como os principais, Mestres ou Espíritos, ou como coadjuvantes. Kiritsugu é um deles, mas quem toma a frente como Mestre não é ele, mas seu filho, Shirou, que acaba invocando a Saber novamente. Outro personagem é Gilgamesh, o Archer, que decide permanecer no mundo, mesmo sem lutar, e Kirei, que tenta mais uma vez tomar as rédeas da história. A filha de Tohsaka, Rin, é outra Mestre, que invoca o Lancer; a filha de Irisviel e Kiritsugu, Ilyasvel, que invoca o Berseker, que é Hércules, um dos magos invoca Caster, que por sua vez invoca Rider e o Archer, que é um samurai. Fate Stay Night toma rumos diferentes, apesar de o objetivo da luta ainda ser o Santo Graal. Os dois animes são muito bons e, para quem gosta de magia e de história, é um marco na história dessas duas linhas. Vale a pena!!
I'm not exactly great at writing coherent reviews, since I just end up rambling a lot, but I really
want to give my thoughts on [**Fate/Zero**](https://anilist.co/anime/10087/FateZero/), since I just
finished watching it for the first time. I will talk spoilers in this, but try to mark them as much as
possible. It will contain information about Fate/Zero as a whole, meaning it also includes [the second
season](https://anilist.co/anime/11741/FateZero-Season-2/).
This show absolutely shattered my expectations about pretty much everything. I intend to watch all of
the Fate series in release order (except for Prisma Illya, which I have already finished), so the only
other series I have watched before this, was the original [Fate/stay
night](https://anilist.co/anime/356/Fatestay-night/) from 2006. So maybe saying I know "nothing" about
the series is a bit of an overstatement. It was not a bad series and I definitely enjoyed it. But I
didn't think of it as anything groundbreaking, other than being a good introduction to the series.
That is probably why I didn't expect much going into the prequel entry that aired five years later,
Fate/Zero.
**Characters**
The characters are probably the anime's biggest strength. A prequel is kind of tricky to do, when
everybody already knows how it ends. Fate/Zero excels at being able to retain interest in the series
through the exceptional cast of characters that star in it. In no particular order, here are some of
my favorites:
- [**Arturia/Saber**](https://anilist.co/character/497/Artoria-Pendragon) is the Servant of Kiritsugu
Emiya. She is as much of a stoic swordswoman as she was in Fate/stay night. However in this series,
she gets more of a chance to shine on her own. We get to see Saber trying to reach for the Holy Grail
for the first time and wanting to correct the mistakes of her past life. On her journey she is going
to learn a lot about what exactly that entails.
- [**Kiritsugu Emiya**](https://anilist.co/character/10010/Kiritsugu-Emiya) is Saber's master and the
adoptive father of Shirou Emiya, the protagonist of Fate/stay night. In this series, we get to find
out more about him, something I have been looking forward to for a long time. He has not had much of a
presence in all the series I have watched thus far, so I was looking forward to seeing for myself what
he was like. However, he ended up being much different from what I expected.
- [**Irisviel von Einzbern**](https://anilist.co/character/15164/Irisviel-von-Einzbern) is the wife of
Kiritsugu and the mother of Illyasviel von Einzbern. Irisviel has a great involvement in this Holy
Grail War and we also get to see more of her personality. She is a very loving and kind person and
wishes to support Kiritsugu in his quest for the Holy Grail.
- [**Kirei Kotomine**](https://anilist.co/character/506/Kirei-Kotomine) is a priest and the moderator
of the Holy Grail War in Fate/stay night. In this prequel, he himself is a master with his servant
Assassin. *Spoiler for Fate/stay night:*~!In Fate/stay night, Kirei is revealed to be the main
antagonist and survivor of the previous Holy Grail War. He took Rin in after the death of her father
and in Fate/Zero we get to see how he went from his very calm and obedient manner, to becoming the
death-loving monster that was defeated by Shirou in Fate/stay night.!~
- [**Gilgamesh/Archer**](https://anilist.co/character/2514/Gilgamesh) is the Servant of Tokiomi
Tohsaka, although at times it is debatable who serves whom in that relationship. Gilgamesh is mostly
concerned with his own interests, instead of those of his master and he can be seen constantly
manipulating those around him, which is going to have dire consequences for everyone involved.
*Spoilers for Fate/stay night and minor spoilers for Fate/Zero:* ~!In Fate/stay night, Gilgamesh is
revealed to have survived the Holy Grail War of Fate/Zero and participates in the next Holy Grail War
as the 8th Servant. He displayed a great interest in Saber, wanting to make her his trophy and wife.
In Fate/stay night, he is also revealed to have been the Servant of Kirei Kotomine, meaning that we
get to see how he was able to change Masters from Tohsaka to Kotomine.!~
- [**Waver Velvet**](https://anilist.co/character/16023/Waver-Velvet) is a character I was not yet
familiar with. He is a young student, who is dissatisfied with not being recognized for his talents by
his peers and lecturers and manages to steal the artifact one of his teachers uses to summon his
Servant and enter the Holy Grail War. He summons the Servant Rider.
- [**Iskandar/Rider**](https://anilist.co/character/16021/Iskandar) is the Servant of Waver and
represents a great contrast to his master. Waver is a very small boy, while Iskandar is a giant
conqueror with an intimidating appearance. However, one quickly realizes that he has a very big heart
and often serves as the comedic-relief character. The relationship he builds with Waver over time is
one of my favorite parts of the anime.
- [**Ryuunosuke Uryuu**](https://anilist.co/character/16019/Ryuunosuke-Uryuu) is probably the biggest
anomaly under all of the masters of Fate/Zero. Ryuunosuke is a serial killer who mostly prefers
killing young women and children. He is first introduced during a scene where he murdered a family and
using their blood to summon his Servant, Caster. He is not a magus, nor any person of significance,
outside of his position as a Master in the Holy Grail War. As such, he has no interest in the Grail or
the war surrounding it and merely enjoys watching Caster kill people to relieve his boredom.
- [**Bluebeard/Caster**](https://anilist.co/character/16024/Gilles-de-Rais) is Ryuunosuke's Servant.
He is probably my most hated character of the series (in a good way). Caster is a madman who derives
pleasure from giving his victims a moment of relief and hope, before killing them in very horrific and
brutal manners. He is the source of a lot of very gruesome scenes of the anime, mostly involving
children. He made for a very hateable villain.
- [**Kariya Matou**](https://anilist.co/character/16026/Kariya-Matou) is a member of the Matou family,
who has cut all ties with them ten years before the start of Fate/Zero. He is initially not interested
in anything relating to the Holy Grail War, but makes a deal with the partiarch of the Matou family to
free Sakura from them. He learns that the young girl, who he as grown very fond of in the past, is
subjugated to daily physical and mental abuse in the Matou family. He joins the Holy Grail War for the
Matou family to free Sakura from them. *It is fairly hard explaining his motivations without some
spoilers for Fate/stay night, so I will have to leave it at that.* Of all the Masters, he is probably
the one I was rooting for the most. His Servant is Berserker.
These are certainly not all of the characters, but some of my favorites out of the main cast. They are
all very intersting in their own right and, in my opinion, could even serve as the protagonists of
their own series. I believe this is a sign that your show is doing something right.
**Story**
As you are expected to have watched Fate/stay night before this, you probably already know how it is
going to end. With this being a prequel, the journey is much more interesting than the conclusion.
Fate/Zero details the events of the fourth Holy Grail War, taking place ten years prior to Fate/stay
night. The story mostly focuses on Kiritsugu Emiya, who is hired by the Einzberns to win the Holy
Grail for them. Kiritsugu is married to their only daughter, Irisviel, which serves as a binding
contract. Kiritsugu's intentions and attitude remain shrouded in mystery. He states that his wish is
salvation for humanity through world peace. This proves to be ironic, as he himself is a mage assassin
and has killed many people throughout his life.
Kirei displays a vast contrast to Kiritsugu. He is an empty and broken man with no purpose or goal in
life. He follows orders and fails to find pleasure or entertainment in anything. He serves Tokiomi
Tohsaka and plots with him to be able to win the Holy Grail War. Throughout the show, he also becomes
closer with Tohsaka's Servant, Gilgamesh, who ends up not being a very good influence on Kirei.
Gilgamesh shows him the ways of pleasure and entertainment, leading Kirei to a much darker side of
himself. Even though it takes quite a while for the two to actually meet, the rivalry between Kirei
and Kiritsugu ends up being one of the most interesting plot points of the show.
The story of a battle royale has been done a lot of times by now throughout many different anime.
However, I have not seen any single one of them nail it as much as Fate/Zero. The entire tone of the
show is very dark and mature. When watching Fate/stay night, the Holy Grail War felt more like a
squabble between a bunch of teenagers (no offense, Shirou). In Fate/Zero you can tell this is a
**war**. The stakes are raised immediately, as you realize that all of these Servants are immensely
powerful. Fate/stay night felt fairly lighthearted with its focus on characters in their teens and
scenes taking place in schools etc. There is none of that here, and while I enjoyed those parts in
Fate/stay night, I believe it works better without them.
Something I really want to put a focus on in this review is some of the more gruesome scenes. I
touched upon this topic before with Ryuunosuke and Caster. Fate/Zero displays another vast contrast
with its very graphic scenes, a lot of them involving children. It is probably good to know what this
entails, if that is something you don't think you can handle. I would like to give some examples about
what I mean with these scenes.
In episode two, ~!Ryuunosuke and Caster are introduced. I explained the murder scene before, but what
really made it for me was the way it ended. Ryuunosuke let a little boy live and offered to let Caster
eat him. What Caster does instead is to let the boy flee through a door and upon looking to the exit
of the home, he is grabbed by tentacles from behind and we hear the boy being murdered with gut
wrenching screams. This entire scene was honestly sickening and just remembering it makes me angry.
But this is exactly what Fate/Zero needed. I loved this scene, but I definitely didn't enjoy it or
ever want to watch it again. It made me hate Ryuunosuke and Caster immediately which is why I think
they made for great villains. It is this level of maturity and horror, that sets Fate/Zero's tone to
something that really fits the whole story perfectly.!~
Another scene that I really can't let go, even though it was probably not one of the most memorable
ones for most people, was in Season 2 Episode 11, when ~!Kiritsugu is having a vision of the Grail and
rejects it. In this vision he is at the the Einzbern castle in Germany with Irisviel and Illya. As he
realizes the situation and rejects the Grail's offer, he puts a gun to Illya's chin and kills her.
Immediately afterwards, Irisviel jumps up from the bed and screams in horror of her daughter being
murdered by her husband. I recognize that this was not real (then again, none of this is, lol), but it
was really hard to listen to it. The voice acting throughout the entire show was absolutely amazing
and hearing [Sayaka Oohara](https://anilist.co/staff/95092/Sayaka-Oohara) as Irisviel in this scene
was very convincing. It really shocked me and even now, writing this about two hours after I watched
it, I still have to process it.!~
Having scenes like this is really something that can turn an anime, video game or whatever else into
one of my favorites. And no offense to English voice actors, but it is also why I will always prefer
Japanese voice acting. The screams of horror you would hear in these scenes always felt so real, that
it made me feel sick. This is peak acting and Fate/Zero excels at it.
Overall, the story of Fate/Zero is one of tragedy. Even once the War is over, nobody here is really a
winner. Once all is said and done, the viewer is merely left with the sights of the survivors being
broken, having achieved nothing. It is an amazingly told story of a war that claims its victims, one
way or another.
**Animation**
I honestly couldn't believe how good this anime looks. It was originally aired in 2011 and 2012 and
honestly looks better than anything released in 2022. The animation is smooth and fight scenes are
very satisfying to watch. Coming from Fate/stay night in 2006, it is a massive jump, despite being
only a five year difference.
To be fair, some CGI is used and there are times where it is noticeable. However, I tend to be very
forgiving with CGI and it seems to be used very sparingly throughout both seasons. Most of it that I
noticed was in the beginning of season two.
**Music**
Absolutely amazing. The OST of Fate/Zero was filled with great music, especially during battle scenes.
It never failed to hype me up for a great moment.
Likewise, the OPs and EDs of Fate/Zero are great. The first OP especially ("oath sign" by
[LiSA](https://anilist.co/staff/105561/LiSA)) was amazing. I knew this song already, but wasn't aware
it was the first OP to Fate/Zero. Visually, I also really enjoyed the OPs and EDs of Fate/Zero,
especially those of the first season.
**Final thoughts**
When I finished watching the second season of Fate/Zero, the first thing I did was to add it to my
list of favorite anime. Unfortunately, I don't think I will ever be able to rewatch it. [As another
reviewer on AniList put it](https://anilist.co/review/14300): "Fate/Zero will have you constantly
itching to watch the next episode, constantly aching to know what's going to happen next." When you
already know the story, most of the excitement will probably have vanished on your second run. If you
plan to watch this show and feel like you will enjoy it, make sure to set it up in a way you enjoy
watching anime the most. For me, it's a sleepless night, watching all the way until morning, focusing
on nothing else in the world. It is a beautiful masterpiece and you will only get one chance to enjoy
it.
Background- 7 mages are chosen to summon 7 magical servants to fight for them. They fought in a battle royale setting where the winner gets the Holy Grail which can grant any wish. Narrative Structure - A story following many characters with their own ideals and no ones' ideals is made better nor worst than the other. Characters- Kiritsugu Emiya - People name him the Magus Killer because he is a assassin that kill magicians. The Einzbern family adopted Kiritsugu as their Master in the Grail War in a desperate attempt to overcome their family's lack of battle-oriented magic. Master of Saber Irisviel von Einzbern - . A homunculus prototype created by the Einzbern family with the idea to give birth to an ultimate homunculus, Irisviel was designed to absorb the energies released by the Servants upon their deaths in order to summon forth the Holy Grail. Also mother of Illyasviel von Einzbern and Kiritsugu's wife as the agreement of the protection of Kiritsugu, Kirei Kotomine - Kotomine studied magic under Tokiomi and initially does everything he is asked to do to further Tokiomi's goals in the war. Kotomine lacks fulfillment, which he sees mirrored in Kiritsugu, for whom he feels a compulsive hatred. Master of Assassin Tokiomi Tohsaka - Father of Rin Tohsaka and Sakura Matou. Tohsaka Tokiomi is the Master of Archer, who shares his penchant for being arrogant and manipulative. Tokiomi arranges for Kotomine Kirei to be his "pupil" in order to further his own ambitions within the war. Master of Archer Waver Velvet - Waver steals his teacher's artifact and uses it to summon Rider in a plan to use the Grail to force the Magus Association to recognize his genius. Despite his difficulties with Rider's overbearing nature, Waver and his Servant form a strong and sincere relationship. Master of Rider Maiya Hisau - Loyal assistant to Kiritsugu Emiya, although Hisau Maiya is not her real name. She is cold and professional, though she does harbor a soft spot for Kiritsugu. Kariya Matou - Uncle of Shinji Matou, Master of Berserker, Kariya makes a deal with his father Zouken Matou that he will win the Grail War in exchange for Sakura Matou's freedom. He originally refused to learn the Matou magic as the oldest son, which meant becoming a Master in the war would be life-threatening in the best case. He is the only member of Matou family who truly loves Sakura, and is upset that Tokiomi allowed his younger daughter to be adopted by Zouken. Aoi Tohsaka - Mother of Rin Tohsaka and Sakura Matou, Aoi is the childhood friend of the Matou Master, Kariya Matou. Though she is devastated by Tokiomi's decision to adopt away Sakura, she quietly accepts the decision as the wife of a mage. Ryuunosuke Uryuu - Ryuunosuke is a psychotic killer who summons Caster after murdering a family and using their blood as a component in the summoning ritual. He does not seek the Holy Grail, but follows Caster in order to find new thrilling ways to murder people and relieve his boredom. Master of Caster Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald - fifth-generation nobleman from the Magus Association. His artifact is stolen by Waver Velvet, but he manages to summon Lancer using a second catalyst. He is a genius in the art of convocation, which allows him to alter his contract with Lancer to have two Masters. Because of this, he holds the command spells for Lancer, while the energy to materialize the Servant is maintained by his fiancee Sola-Ui.Master of Lancer Risei Kotomine- Kirei Kotomine's 80 year old father, a priest in the Church, and the regulator of the 4th Holy Grail War. He is a friend of Tohsaka Tokiomi and actively supports him, to the extent of offering his son Kirei as Tokiomi's pupil and puppet in the war Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri- The daughter of the head of the spiritual evocation division, Sola-Ui is engaged to Kayneth as a result of a strategic marriage arrangement and the decision of her family to entrust their crest to her brother instead. Servents - Saber (Artoria Pendragon)- Though she and Kiritsugu are Servant and Master seeking the same ultimate goal of peace, their differing ideological perspectives result in a strained relationship where Kiritsugu does not directly acknowledge Saber. Kiritsugu allows Saber to accompany Irisviel as a decoy to allow him stealth tactics within the war, and she becomes good friends with Iris as a result. Lancer (Diarmuid Ua Duibhne) - He and Saber develop a mutual respect for one another, which is not mirrored by their Masters. As when he was alive, a cursed beauty mark bewitches Sola-Ui, creating a fissure between her and Lancer's Master. Archer (Gilgamesh) - A arragant jester like character who doesn't care about the Holy Grail. He views himself as a King and find the whole War entertaining. He joined the war to solidify his statues as a god Rider (Iskander) or (Alexander the Great) - the King of Conquerors, His eccentric and overbearing personality along with his incredible abilities creates difficulties for his Master and their opponents. Caster (Bluebeard) or (Gilles de Rais) - a Servant who derives pleasure from first providing his victims a moment of relief before terrorizing them and then killing them. Bluebeard expresses an interest in Saber because he has mistaken her for Jeanne d'Arc, with whom Bluebeard has an infatuation. He bonds with his Master Ryuunosuke through over-extravagant and unorthodox methods of murder. Berserker (Lancelot du Lac) - previously known as the Black Knight. To make up for Matou Kariya's inexperience as a magus, he was intentionally given Mad Enhancement to enhance his battle parameters. His madness has reduced him to a mindless, though dangerously skilled, fighter. Assassin - Assassin is actually composed of different personalities of one Heroic Spirit manifested into different bodies. They act as reconnaissance agents for Tokiomi and Kirei after Gilgamesh "kills" one of them, operating while the other Masters believe Assassin to have been completely removed from the war. Story: Episode 1 Illya has been born which makes Kirutsugu upset. His command seal is what going to kill Irisviel which makes him a Master of this Holy Grail War which she cannot survive. Tokiomi Tohsaka identifies that Kirei Kotomine as a Master of the Holy Grail War which he has no interest in. The Tohsakas and the Kotomines are working together in order to kill the other masters / servants duo to secure the Holy Grail for themselves. Kariya Matou visits Rin and Sakura but found that Sakura was adopted away to become a mage and Aoi her mother had sadly accepts this decision due to her marrying a mage. He couldn't accept this and went to his father Zouken to make a trade deal, he will become a master in this war in return of Sakura. He do whatever it takes to take back Sakura even it cost him but it too late. They went to the dungeon like pit where Sakura was there lifeless covered by bugs they agreed to let Kariya go as a substitution for Sakura. In London Clocktower Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald is lecturing about how generational lineage is everything but roasted Waver's papers which objects Kayneths' lecture calling it "juvenile fantasies." Waver storms off the lecture room due to Kayneth shitting on his family generation and making him look like a fool. He lied into delivery man which want him to deliver a package to Kayneth. Instead of giving it to Kayneth Waver decides to keep it and do research. He realized that the package was a relic used as a catalyst to summon a servant he then flies home. Tokiomi tells Kirei to watch out for Emiya Kiritsugu and a background of how the Einzburn Family hired Kiritsugu as a hitman in order to win the Holy Grail. He tells Kirei how dangerous Kiritsugu is and his motive. Kiritsugu who indentified 5 out of the 7 masters.Tokiomo Tosaka, Matou Kariya, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, himself and Kirei Kotomine which is the same as him a hired killer. Kariya which looks different due to his father worm technique already in him and agreed to a month worth of training. Waver brainwashed an old couple to thinking he is their grandson and is studying abroad. Kiritsugu and Irisviel visits a church where a scabbard a type of Conceptual Weapon lies which was gotten by Irisviels' great-grand father Archt. Legends said that it will heal the owners' wounds and stop aging only with the original owners mana. Kiritsugus' relic is connected to the Weapon it will summon the legendary Knight Arthur Pendragon (Saber).which is the strongest Saber-class servant. Kiritsugu however doesn't know how to use that power and is better of with assassin or Caster like servants. Now to the Tohsaka household where Rin is leaving home with her suitcase but was caught by Kirei where she want Kirei to protect her father due to him hiring him as a hitman. He said it can't be done for how difficult this war is. And after drama with 7 year old kid and a non-emotional adult Rins' mother enters the room which ended the drama. Kirei was called to Tokiomis' room where he got a snake like fossil which is used as a relic which is used to summon Archer (Gilgamesh) if lucky. Kariya who visits Sakura and told her that he has a important job to do and promises after that she, Aoi, and Rin can hang out together again. They masters summon their servants. Kiritsugu got Saber, Tokiomi got Archer (Gilgamesh), Waver got Rider, Kariya got Berserker, Kirei already has assassin. Episode 2 Rider stole a book about maps to prepare for war. Waver confronts him that he is his master but due to Riders' big statues he got scared and backed offed. He laughs about how he spent ages conquering the land and yet it so small. They discuss on what they're wish be if they win the Holy Grail. Rider want to conquer the lands while Waver just wants to be accepted as a genius, this made Rider disappointed. Waver is frustrated and want to use his command seal on him but calms down. Rider shows Waver his power and that he is reliable as a servant therefore he summon his chariot. Illya is mad at Kiritsugu for cheating in a game of where's Waldo (which makes him a person to whatever it takes to win even if the opponent is his child). Saber conclude that Kiritsugu is upset due to her being summoned as a women but told by irisviel that due to Saber being force upon the role of King and that he has no right to speak to Saber's decisions due to a difference in time therefore remains quite. Kiritsugu and Illya have a little chat while walking in the snow. He told her that he be away and that her mother isn't going be back in a while (foreshadowing that she is going to die soon) then promises her to wait for him. After killing a family Ryuunosuke use their blood try to summon a demon to toy with a kidnapped kid, but Bluebeard was accidently summoned. He let the poor kid go (giving him false hope of escaping) then killing him. After he murder the kid Bluebeard and Ryuunosuke starts sharing their hobbies with each other and got along. Kerei going against Tokiomi's trust made assassin to attack Tohsaka Manor to steal a ruby like gem. Gilgamesh caught him and "kills" him quickly. Episode 3 Tokiomi thanks Gilgamesh for his actions and wants him to stay with a little longer. Which Gilgamesh was entertain for this era of this world. If nothing in this era interest him then he'll leave and punish Tokiomi as a way of summoning him, Gilgamesh will play with Tokiomi for now. Waver tells Rider that Assassin was killed which he didn't care due to him knowing that Assassin wasn't a threat to him. Rider beating up Waver who doesn't know who killed Assassin. Waver not wanting another beating, changed the topic to Noble Phantasm. Rider explained that a Noble Phantasm is a (special move) physical manifestation of a hero's legend or tale. After that Rider got bored and wants to go outside to find entertainment. To beat his enemies Rider beats them when they encounter them and his speed is the fastest of all the servants. Kerei asks for protection at a Church where he was granted by Risei Kotomone (his father) where the Church classified as a neutral grounds. Assassin(s) show up and created a plan where they sneak up behind the other servants while they're too busy dealing with other families. Irisveil and Saber landed in Japan where Saber wasn't impressed due to servants have knowledge of the modern world. (She could pilot anything accept Phantasm / Divine Beasts.) Since this is Irisviel first time traveling she wants to explore but sticking with Kiritsugu's plan she can't. She always stuck in the castle and being a puppet in the Holy Grail War but due to Kiritsugu bringing her pictures about the outside world she is excited. Kiritsugu and Maiya are in a hotel room where weapons had arrived They expected that Tokiomi was expecting an intruder and wonder the reason behind this motive. Maiya found out that Kirei took refuge at a Church where it neutral grounds for all masters therefore Maiya needs to set a familiar far away where it can't be found. Kiritsugu worries about Illya but was refocused on the mission. Irisviel walking on the beach having fun exploring a new place therefore ask Saber if she likes it too. Due to Saber's past the beach was used as a battleground therefore has no affection for it. They sense an enemy which broke the moment. Waver now scared was on top of a arch of a bridge with Rider where was a advantage point to spot enemies where they waited. Saber and Irisviel encounter Lancer at the Docks where Cargo was stored they started to fight. Episode 4 Saber sense a Charm Spell where Lancer explain that he was born with it. Lancer wants a fair fight with Saber so they fought. Kiritsugu and Maiya figure out a way to monitor the battle and the crane. (where it is a good monitoring spot where they could trap the enemy.) Saber is fighting defensively due to Lancer having 2 spears (1 for long and the other for short ranges) while Lancer is keeping his range away (due to him doesn't know Saber's sword length) Kiritsugu spotted Lancer's Master Kayneth on to roof of a warehouse, he also spotted Assassin on top the crane. Through Assassins' eyes Kirei spotted the other masters and Irisviel an important role in the Grail. Lancer honored Saber's skills as a swords women. Keyneth ordered Lancer to kill Saber and is allowed to use his Noble Phantasm. They fight again. Saber tried and predict his next move but was slashed therefore Irisviel healed her. Saber getting rid of her armor in order to have a advantage against Lancer. He lured her into a trap trying to end the battle quickly. At the arch Rider sat back and watch until he sees a couple more masters His plan was to watch the others weaken each other then he will claim the victory and wanted another servant to accept Lancer's challenge. Rider doesn't want neither Lancer or Saber to die due to him wanting him to duel them. He fights with honor and summons his ox chariot to fly towards the fight. Irisviel can't heal Saber's wounds due to Lancer's (Awakened Noble Phantasm) spear which can pernitrate any armor and whose wounds can never heal. Due to Saber's observation skills she figured out Lancers real name and can duel honorably. When they're about to fight Rider showed up as he declared them to put their weapons away. Episode 5 Iskander showed himself as a Rider class while Waver is whining in the background. He wish to make a proposition to Saber and Lancer. If they let him win the Grail then you be treated as an ally and will share the joy of conquest together. They both decline having their own reasons so Rider willing to discuss compensation but was rejected. Rider's plan fails while Waver is still whining. While Waver whining, Keyneth's voice can be heard by everyone. He interrogates Waver for stealing his relic which makes him shitless. He told him that he was surprised that he entered the War and starts scaring him how mages to kill each other to win the Grail. Rider gets that Keyneth was suppose to be his master however starts roasting Keyneth by saying that only those brave enough to fight by his side is worthy of becoming his master and by not showing himself he is a coward and is no where close of being worthy of being his master. Then he called out the other servants for hiding, he praise Saber and Lancer for their duel. He tells them that their sound of their blades clashing will call the other servants here. He then demands them to show themselves or else will they will get the wraith of him. Gilgamesh shows up from outa nowhere and stands on a lamp pole. He starts talking shit to them daring to call themselves kings in his presence. Rider doesn't get it due to his title (Iskandar *King* of Conquerors.) Gilgamesh tells him that he is the only King and those others are pretenders. Rider confronts him by telling him his name since no king should be troubled of giving his name. This pisses Gilgamesh off since even with his presence known Rider couldn't recognize him. He threaten Rider by telling him that his blindness will be his doom as he summon a wall of swords (his Noble Phantasm) aiming at him. Berserker was summoned from nowhere. Rider ask Waver how strong is he but he doesn't know. He can't read his statues or anything else. Kiritsugu is looking for Berserkers' Master while Maiya is still on the Assassin. Gilgamesh didn't gave Berserker to look at him and pointed his swords at him instead of Rider. He wants his death to provide him entertainment as the swords was shot at him. He deflected it therefore Gilgamesh wants to know how long can he survive as he shot more swords. He deflected 2 swords back destroying the lamp post Gilgamesh was standing on making him come down on the ground. This angers him due to him belonging in heaven but was force to touch the ground. (Making him equal to the rest of the people. Instead of making people look up at him as a god he was force to go on the ground on equal footing as humans.) He guaranteed Berserkers' death as he summoned more swords. Kirei now communicating with Tokiomi which is back at the mansion sitting in his room. He says that Gilgamesh is planning on opening the Gates of Babylon further. Which was rash of him exposing more of his Noble Phantasm to the other servants. Tokiomi's decision was to use a Command Seal to make Gilgamesh withdraw from battle. This angered Gilgamesh more but complied as he vanished his Noble Phantasm and said that in their next meeting only a true hero is worthy of looking at him then fates away. Kiritsugu now scoping on Berserker which went mad and took a pole and attacks Saber while Mai Saber almost got hit by the pole but Lancer slices it and tells him that Saber is his business. Keyneth's voice tells him that now is his chance to kill Saber. Lancer swore on his honor that he will defeat Saber but first has to defeat Berseker. Keyneth wasn't having it and use his Command Seal to force Lancer to help Berserker kill Saber. As they both began the attack on Saber, Kiritsugu begins to kill Lancer's master (Keyneth) while Maiya kills Assassin. As soon as he was about to shoot Rider summons his ox chariot which summons lighting therefore distracting him. Rider ram his chariot into Berserker knocking him down. He then tells Keyneth to withdraw Lancer. If he wants to humiliate Lancer further then he will join Saber and together will defeat Lancer. With no other choice he withdrew Lancer, Lancer thanks Rider before leaving. Rider wants Saber to defeat Lancer and whoever the victory shall face him then leaves on his chariot. Saber and Irisviel thanks each other with this is only the beginning. ya doesn't have visual on Berserker's Master so he switches back and forth between Assassin and Berserker. Somewhere near the warehouse Kariya laughs as the other servants ran away from Berserker, he then cough up blood and worms due to Berserker broke away from his control and his father's worm technique but doesn't give up for Sakura's sakes. An Assassin found a familiar which was outside the Church which was planned to monitor the place. in the sewers Bluebeard found his love as he was watching the battle from his crystal ball and soon Saber will be his. While Ryuunosuke was erratic done killing a bunch of kids. Episode 6 At night Irisviel is now tokyo drifting with a car that Kiritsugu gifted her with Saber as passenger. They stop the car since Bluebeard was blocking the road. He come for Saber but she doesn't know him and told him that he mistaken her for someone else. He then freaks out and spend all his life looking for her but mistaken Saber as Jeanne. Saber then tells him her name and class. He thinks she lost her memory and went mad punching the ground and blaming god for inflicting upon his "beauty maiden". He then rants that the Grail has chosen him and wants the resurrections of Jeanne. Saber gave him a warning by striking the ground nearly cutting him. Before he vanishes he swore that he will free her from god's curse. An Assassin watched the situation from afar finding Caster and following him. When Bluebeard returns to the sewers and destroyed Ryuunosuke's art project (nailing kids to the walls) out of anger. He wants his love back and to do this he decides he needs more human sacrifices. After watching the news about what happened at the warehouse, Keyneth now in a hotel room is asking Lancer (now kneeling down as punishment) on why he didn't kill Saber and had to waste a Command Seal. But due to Lance fighting with honor he wouldn't do it. Sola-Ui (his fiancé) enters and praised Lancer on what he did. She recommends that Keyneth go after the master if he this concerned. She then insults him by telling him that he made a special alteration to his master-servant contract but was stopped by Lancer. Keyneth picks up the phone while a alarm sounded. Someone had began a fire in the lower levels and plans on emptying the building. He then sent Lancer to check it out. Keyneth isn't worried due to barriers, traps, magic etc. are all over the building. (His cockiness got the better of him, a simple fire can't scare him and decided to stay in his room while others are evacuating.) Outside the Hotel an Hotel Staff doing attendance is looking for Keyneth as present. Kiritsugu said that Keyneth and his fiancé have already evacuated and not have worry. He then set the bomb off and walks away and is reinsured from Maiya that Keyneth hasn't left the hotel and tells her to withdraw but heard gunshots. Kerei had ambushed Maiya and they start fighting. Maiya got injured and escaped using a gas grenade as a distraction. Risei Kotomine appears to tell Kerei that Caster and his Master has been killing children. Using magic they using commination to talk with Tokiomi and said that Caster and his Master should be killed (Which they uses magic without hesitation and not covering their tracks. Which could think they not in the Holy War, but is against the rule to ignore them.) But the problem was to kill a servant, you need a servant however cant sent out Assassin so they want all the servants against Caster.