Fate/Zero – 22

Episode 22 –

Fate/Zero’s second half has had some great episodes, but it’s more recent episodes have been more lackluster. Much of it would probably be due to how the show has begun focusing in on Kotomine Kirei and Emiya Kiritsugu, two characters that are difficult to fully understand. Their motivations and ideals are still quite the enigma, and their lack of any strong personality has somewhat detracted from what Fate/Zero has been acclaimed for.

On the other hand, this felt like the first episode in a while that had the strengths of the earlier episodes of this series. There was a level of emotional poignancy and accuracy that was easy to understand and relate to, and unsurprisingly, was a superb buildup episode that beautifully brought in a sense of impending doom in the upcoming weeks. This Holy Grail war will obviously be ending really soon, and all hell will break loose before that happens.

The most noticeable aspect to this episode was undoubtedly the character interactions between Waver, Rider, and Waver’s “grandpa”. The Rider-Waver duo is perhaps the only servant-master pairing that gained goodwill from me over the course of the series, where they grew close together through countless battles and arguments, along with plenty of goofy and odd moments. Waver has definitely matured over the course of this series, with his “I can change the world” attitude transitioning into a more humble attitude after seeing the powers at work in this Holy grail war, a battle with forces far beyond what his imagination had probably expected. He seems to have realized he was foolish to get in on this Holy grail war, and feels a need to learn more. The chat with the grandpa was also rather poignant, especially when you realize that this may be the last time Waver may ever see the old couple that have been taking care of him. This chat between Waver and Rider has a finality of sorts to it, where it’s obvious that from this point forward, one of them may not come back.

As for the rest of the characters, there’s the impending Berserker-Saber confrontation on the horizon, as well as a strange change in Irisviel’s situation after her death. I’m guessing that her being alive or dead has no impact on her ability to be a vessel for the Holy Grail, but something seems off about the grail’s effect on her. For a omnipotent, all powerful object, the Grail seems to be quite dark and dreary. Perhaps this is an indicator that the grail is also not all that it seems, and perhaps is a indicator that one should tread carefully when the grail makes its appearance. The Berserker-Saber relationship will also probably come to a close really soon, though this relationship is arguably the least developed out of every single relationship in the series.

And finally, there’s the Kirei-Kiritsugu conflict, and quite honestly, it feels a bit fake. It kind of feels as if Kirei is targeting Kiritsugu for the heck of it, and Kiritsugu’s fear seems a bit irrational. But it is certain that the stakes have been upped with this recent episode of Fate/Zero, and I suspect that there will be several deaths by the time this is all over and done with. With only a few more episodes left to this series, I’m expecting quite the bang of a finale. Whether the series will be able to wrap up every single plot line and character relationship is much more debatable, though I do hope the writers have something in mind with regards to this pacing issue.

Overall Enjoyment: 4.1/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Fate/Zero – 21

Episode 21 –

This may just be my imagination playing tricks on me, but it’s starting to feel like Fate/Zero is rushing things with regards to its characters. Waver and Rider, in particular, stick out like a sore thumb. Up until this point, Waver was usually a stubborn young guy whom always had some sort of qualm about his overtly rambunctious servant. And while I do sense that he has grown to respect Rider more, the transition to this more level-headed Waver was skimped out on. I feel that it applies even more to Kariya, a man whom has had barely any screentime aside from scenes where he undergoes torturous moments. Let’s not forget Kirei and Kiritsugu, both whom still need ample time for more development.

The issue here seems to be that with only 3-4 episodes left in the series, the creators suddenly realized they still had a sizeable chunk of the main cast left to develop and elaborate upon. Even with a rather flashy motorcycle chase scene and consequential confrontation (which in itself had a few glaring flaws), Fate/Zero is starting to show some weaknesses with regards to its characters. There is a growing sense of uneasiness building up towards the finale here, yet there are still character backstories and issues to go through. For instance, we still have no idea as to why Berserker is so obsessed with Saber (though I do have my suspicions as to his true identity). There’s also Gilgamesh’s strange fascination with Saber, a potential confrontation between Gilgamesh and Rider, the Kirei vs Kiritsugu dynamic, and the Saber-Kiritsugu tensions. There’s just so much left for this series to cover, all in the span of 3 or so more episodes? The very quick coverage of Kariya’s confrontation with Aoi, as emotionally intense as it was, is already a sign of the lack of time. Things could get really messy if not paced well, a rare statement to make about this otherwise fantastic series.

In the end, it seems that the entire situation is slowly growing out of control, especially for Kiritsugu. He may have been meticulously prepared for this Holy Grail War, but even he probably didn’t expect Maiya’s death, Irisviel’s kidnapping, and an uncooperative servant. The losses are quite high considering how much there is still left to do in this Holy Grail War, and there’s still the ominous presence of Kotomine Kirei. Kiritsugu was caught with some rather unexpectedly surprised facial expressions, and I anticipate we will be seeing more of such before the end to this series.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.6/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Fate/Zero – 20

Episode 20 –

It seems that Fate/Zero is starting to show some cracks in its otherwise impeccable track record. It’s been obvious since the start of the second half of this series that we would be seeing a lot more focus on character development, as exemplified in the OP and ED theme animations. This has generally been the case for everybody except for Kiritsugu and Kirei, which is ironic since they are the two most important characters out of the series. It almost feels as if the character development is being rushed for our main characters, which is alarming. We see little to none of the thoughts that go through each of the main characters heads, in particular Kirei and Kiritsugu. The end result are moments that are obviously meant to be poignant and touching (such as the conversations with Irisviel and Maiya) yet they don’t hold quite the punch that they should. Perhaps this is another “Light Novel to Anime” caveat, where in text form we could get an indepth description of exactly what and why certain moments were emotionally gripping.

The strengths to Fate/Zero as a series has been the high levels of tension between the masters and servants of this Holy grail war, resulting in plenty of cutthroat and thrilling battles that were spectacular to watch. To be fair, the character development was actually rather good for many of the other members of the cast. The obvious ones to point out would be the Rider-Waver relationship, where you could tell they’ve grown to respect each other in their own little ways. As for other characters like Caster and Tokiomi, we saw glimpses into their dreams and ambitions and saw exactly what led to their downfall and demise.

As much as I disliked Caster, the writers to this series did a good job with portraying how he, too, once was a good man with a dream but was torn astray from his path by some cruel twist of fate. You could similarly find a story behind Tokiomi, a strict traditional magus who tried to balance his magus duties with his responsibility to his family. He showed this through guiding Rin’s magic training, as sending Sakura off to the Matou family. Now, it’s debatable as to whether his decision regarding Sakura was a good one, but it does make some sense if you know the reasoning behind his decision. Sakura, like Rin, was born with a strong magical circuit (and thus, was suitable for magic). Since Tokiomi could only teach his firstborn child magic, he knew his secondborn would be targeted in the future for her untapped abilities. So how do you teach her magic so that she can defend herself? By having her become the successor to an otherwise dying magical family, of course. It’s a very controversial decision, sure, but it is a perfect example of how he tried to balance his magus obligations with his family duties. He may have been a “boring” character, but when he told Kariya that he send Sakura to the Matou family to “protect her”, it was a very true statement from the perspective of a magus family head.

The fact that Fate/Zero could tie in these backstories for nearly all the members of the cast is actually rather impressive, but this makes the lack of clear development for the main protagonist and antagonist even more noticeable. We still know very little about Kiritsugu and Kotomine’s ideals, let alone their reasons for disliking each other. Heck, we even got some good (but brief) insights into Maiya, as seen in some of her final words in this episode; “I am empty, and have only been going through the motions of being human” says volumes about her life, and how she saw the world before her death. This problem with the main characters has been noticeable in recent episodes, something that might be difficult to correct. I guess we’ll see with time.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.5/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Fate/Zero – 19

Episode 19 –

Up until this arc, Emiya Kiritsugu had been lacking any sort of real indepth focus and development, which is surprising considering he is supposedly the main character to Fate/Zero. Heck, the other servants and masters have dominated the screentime of this series, so it feels almost unnatural that the show would begin to treat Kiritsugu as a main protagonist. With that being said, there have been hints at Kiritsugu’s cold yet conflicted personality time and time again, with his bold bombing of Archibald’s hotel (coupled with an evacuation) being one of the many ruthless tactics that he has utilized. With that being said, while we’ve understood he was a cold-hearted man, this series never really tried to explain as to why he was so cold-hearted in the first place, something that this arc about his younger years tries to rectify.

Unfortunately, though, this arc suffers from some major flaws, two of which in particular stuck out like a sore thumb. I would first like to mention a disclaimer, and state how I have not touched upon the original light novels at all whatsoever. Thus, my interpretation of this arc is based purely on my experiences with other Nasuverse franchises, mainly Tsukihime, Fate Stay Night, and Kara no Kyoukai.

The biggest flaw to this arc is how, while it set out to give Kiritsugu more depth as a character, it failed to reveal much about how he came about to support his current motivations and goals. It was already known at this point that Kiritsugu was a man whom believed that “the ends justify the means”, which was the source of his ruthless fighting style in this Holy Grail War. The same motivation pops up numerous times in this flashback of Kiritsugu’s past, yet the arc fails to describe exactly what thoughts pushed him towards this philosophy of his. We do not see his thought processes as he comes to terms with the harsh realities of the world. We do not see why he thought that killing his father was justified. We don’t see any insights into his actual way of thinking, and thus, we never precisely see exactly what triggered the forlorn hopelessness we now see in Kiritsugu. It was almost as if he had his philosophy straight up from the beginning, and we don’t ever see him transition into the Kiritsugu we currently know. I feel that this flaw is due to the transition from light novel to anime, where the light novel probably could detail the inner monologues and thoughts of Kiritsugu (something much more difficult to perform well in anime form).

The other major issue here is how this backstory arc would have been much more fitting earlier on in the series; that way, we could see how his past directly affected his course of action during the series. Instead, we’re left as an audience to retrospect back onto the past, and try to understand his actions based on the flashback we just saw. Seeing the flashback beforehand would’ve helped with the flow of the story immensely, especially considering how this arc has blatantly interrupted the main story with what could be considered a side story.

There was one particular aspect to this episode that I did appreciate immensely, and that would be the dialogue between Natalia and Kiritsugu near the end of the episode. Their dialogue almost seemed like silly banter, but there was a huge significance to the words that Natalia and Kiritsugu were exchanging in those final moments. They acknowledged each other’s significance in their own lives, mentioned each other’s flaws and quirks, and shared some sad but powerful words before Kiritsugu destroyed the infected airplane. This was perhaps the only moment where we really got a good glimpse of what makes Emiya Kiritsugu tick. In his blinding rage you can see how he acts in the most rational way he could, yet understands that it will be a painful, arduous path to follow. This will undoubtedly shape the future confrontations between Kiritsugu and Kirei, which I anticipate to be a terrifyingly brutal confrontation.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.4/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Fate/Zero – 18

Episode 18 –

After all the rather high-stake Holy Grail battles of the past 17 episodes, this flashback episode was a huge changeup. For one, it had a noticeably brighter color scheme, with aqua blues and pristine beaches providing a blindingly bright contrast to the darker tones of the series up until this point. There’s almost a sense of normality that pervades this episode, with simple little things like swimming at a beach, having a crush on a girl, and chatting over dinner, dominating much of the episode. This was a rather fascinating way to see the decay of Emiya Kiritsugu as a character, chronicling his decline from the innocent boy he was, to the cold-hearted man that he currently is.

What made this episode particularly jarring is how normal it felt (at first, at least). Up until this point in time, this series has followed the tales of epic heroes and ambitious mages out to further their own goals. It felt very cutthroat and ruthless, with devious scheming and fierce battles dominating the series. Considering how dominant the dark atmosphere has been in the series, this “normalcy” almost feels fake, which in my opinion is a fascinating detail worth noting. Perhaps you could say that this sense of “normalcy” is completely foreign to the now adult Emiya Kiritsugu, and the setting serves as a nice foil to his current bleak outlook on humanity.

This very bright, peaceful setting was obviously meant to emphasize that even Kiritsugu was once a child, and like many others, he too had a childish innocence during his youth. The setting’s decay into a living hell, on the other hand, was so sudden and disastrous that it was almost shocking. What was more shocking here was how quickly Kiritsugu became a pessimist. I can’t be sure as to how all this pushed him to kill off his own father, but the very fact that his personality changed so suddenly does have some implications. The implication here is that, even as a child, Kiritsugu had some dark uncertainties that he had hidden away, and that this maelstrom of shock and terror was the catalyst that pushed him over the edge. Shirley obviously played a big role in pushing him onto the path of destruction, but it almost seems as if he’s always had something brewing in his personality that exploded this episode. This is all mere speculation on my part, but I can’t quite justify Kiritsugu’s sudden change without some sort of reason.

It seems that this arc will continue to cover Kiritsugu’s past, and it’s quite obvious that the arc is set out to chronicle the decline of Kiritsugu Emiya into the cold but motivated man that he currently is. What could have pushed him so far as to pursue his ruthless “the ends justify the means” tactics in the Holy Grail war? This arc is bringing some critical, much needed backstory on Kiritsugu, and will probably have a huge impact on the remainder of the series. Now if only Kotomine Kirei had an episode like this too, it would certainly help clarify exactly what his problems are.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.8/5

P.S. Didn’t expect to see Alba, from Kara no Kyoukai, to make an appearance here. Neither did I expect the term “dead apostles”, from Tsukihime, to pop up. So yea, it seems this episode had factors that ties together the entire Nasuverse. I doubt they are canon though, considering how these three stories are supposedly in alternate worlds.

Screenshots are later in the post.

Fate/Zero – 17

Episode 17 –

Well, this episode certainly didn’t come as a surprise considering all of the blatant foreshadowing between Kirei and Gilgamesh. They’ve both heavily hinted at disliking Tokiomi on numerous occasions, so it was only natural that he would eventually be backstabbed by his supposed allies. What made this twist rather interesting is how, before Tokiomi’s death, the series does try to show him being more of a parent (as seen in the scene with his daughter, Rin). In the end though, he was all about business and magic through and through, especially if you consider how he ended up talking purely about magic with his little girl. I guess if Tokiomi realized that was the last time he would meet her, he would have said some more personal words, but it seems that opportunity has come and gone.

The inherent appeal to this episode is definitely not the fact that Tokiomi himself was killed, but rather, that he was killed by his own apprentice. Kotomine Kirei has been a rather puzzling character in this series, mainly because it’s not exactly clear what his motivations and goals are. However, his motivations obviously seem strong enough to warrant betraying and murdering his master, something that the normally subservient Kirei would have never agreed to. Internally, I’m actually not exactly sure as to what is going on in Kirei’s mind, but it certainly seems to be frightening enough to get Kiritsugu and Irisviel on guard.

I think the main reasons behind not fully understanding the enigmatic Kirei may be due to the original light novel source material to this show. Knowing that Kirei rarely has any emotional facial expressions, we can only figure out his personality based on his speech and occasional bits of internal dialogue. I suspect that the light novel was far more thorough in fleshing out this question-mark-of-a-man, something that couldn’t be done in animated form without a lot of exposition. If this is really the case, it would explain why it’s difficult to comprehend Kirei’s fascination with Emiya Kiritsugu, as well as his fascination with the allure of rebellion (something that Gilgamesh certainly made worse). Kotomine Kirei, as a character, is a fascinating but puzzling man because we really don’t have a solid idea as to what he intends to do. And this uncertainty is what makes him a highly dangerous, lethal foe.

I did mention last week how all the events in this show are interconnected somehow, and how a single event can act as a catalyst to a much larger chain reaction. At this point, it’s quite obvious that Caster’s death was that catalyst that started this domino-effect of master-servant killings. Caster’s death resulted in the death of Kirei’s father, Kirei’s subsequent retrieval of new command seals, Maiya and Kiritsugu obtaining a hostage and blackmailing Kayneth, Lancer’s death, and everything else since Saber’s usage of Excalibur. There’s a clear chain of events happening as a consequence of Caster’s demise, and if you logically follow through, the next master-servant subject to scrutiny will without a doubt be Matou Kariya.  Kariya’s goal was to kill off Tokiomi in revenge for Sakura, as well as win the grail war. Tokiomi’s sudden death this week brings up the question as to what Kariya will do now? Considering he was driven borderline insane from the bugs, right now he is an extremely unstable character; taking away his sole goal (and target of his hatred) will make him an unstable man who will probably meet an untimely demise. Berserker is also equally unstable, which points to a confrontation between Saber and Berserker.

In the end, while you could say that this episode was eventful, you can also say that it was a mere buildup episode. While the episode did a good job with portraying Tokiomi’s demise, the episode also set the foundation for future conflicts with the likes of Kariya and Berserker, as well as the increasingly uneasy feelings between Kirei and Kiritsugu. In the meantime, we’re also seeing the slow deterioration of Irisviel, Kiritsugu’s ideological differences with Saber, and Gilgamesh’s fascination with the other two kings of this grail war. There seems to be much brooding on the horizon to this series, and the show promises to get even more frantic and intense than these recent episodes.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.6/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Fate/Zero – 16

Episode 16 –

Well, this was arguably one of the best episodes of Fate/Zero so far. I mentioned last week how it’s ironic that Saber’s Excalibur, a stunningly beautiful and overwhelming attack, was the ominous trigger that would resume this battle royale to the death. The first half of this series had been all about building character relationships, as well as sowing the seeds of discontent and anger amongst these said relationships. Caster was pretty much a plot device that forced the other masters to cooperate and not kill each other off, but with Excalibur’s magnificently destructive introduction, there’s no longer a need for such reservations. The result is an exceedingly brutal and ruthless battle with multiple casualties, mixed in with a bit of strong idealogical confrontation and intense dialogue.

The highlight to this episode was, without a doubt, the meticulous and ruthless way in which Kiritsugu completely decimated Lancer and his master, Kayneth. However, there is one other little story being told outside of Kiritsugu’s ruthless battle campaign that is worth metioning. Mainly, while Kayneth himself was quite vain and arrogant, this episode does make you realize that he has a more humane side to him that tells a more tragic story. To put this idea into context, think about Kayneth’s magus title; Lord El-Melloi, a title bestowed onto prestigious mages from the Mage Association. Of course, for any high-status mage, there would be a proportionate amount of pride, honor, and arrogance that is born from the title. Kayneth certainly didn’t forget this while he was furiously debating over whether to save Sola-Ui from Kiritsugu’s blackmail.

The significant detail to note here is how Kayneth, the prideful mage that he is, chose to save his wife, Sola-Ui, over continuing the Holy Grail war, something that would obviously destroy the man’s reputation in the magical world. On top of that, he also sealed away any chance he had of restoring his magical circuit through the Holy Grail when he killed Lancer with his command seal, which would have made him forever a crippled mage. For a prideful mage who could have coldly continued the Holy Grail War in hopes of reviving his wife with the magical Holy Grail, this small but significant action seems to show that Kayneth did indeed hold a genuine affection for his wife. What makes this situation rather tragic is how Sola-Ui does not seem to love him back at all, and heck, she doesn’t even show him respect whenever they’re seen interacting. What we have here is a one-sided love which was never honestly requited, even up until the couple’s very deaths.

While I didn’t particularly like Kayneth, Fate/Zero continues to amaze me with the level of depth it has for it’s entire main cast. Heck, while I didn’t like Caster at all, even he gets a tragic backstory and some rather intriguing bits of dialogue. The characters are all exceedingly complex creatures with their own motivations and ideals driving them forward, creating an ever-changing landscape of emotions that shape the flow of the story. This is present in Kotomine Kirei’s defiance of Tokiomi, where he is slowly becoming addicted to the thrill of defiance, and is also present in the superbly written dialogue between Saber and Kiritsugu. The Saber-Kiritsugu tensions are deeply rooted in each of the respective character’s personas and experiences, and I suspect it will be a central tension prevalent for the remainder of this series.

Fate/Zero has started to really up the ante with the death of Caster, where we are starting to see some truly devastating tactics being used in the quest for the Holy Grail war. At the same time, the series is slowly providing little hints at the direction to which conflicts will break out, all while exploring each of the character’s motivations and personalities; there’s the obvious tension developing between Kotomine Kirei and the ever-so-vulnerable Tohsaka Tokiomi, as well as a brooding issue between Saber and her master that will be even further exacerbated with Irisviel starting to seem rather sick. The writing to this series has been absolutely amazing, and I can only imagine what this series has in store for us in the future.

Overall Enjoyment: 4.3/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Fate/Zero – 15

Episode 15 –

While I personally loved this episode, I can’t help but notice a big flaw to this arc now that it is finally over. The flaw in question would be how the monstrocity that Caster was controlling didn’t feel terribly threatening at all. The whole point of this arc was to prevent Caster from ravaging the entire world, but the monster in question felt weak, or at least, didn’t feel dangerous. It didn’t really do much damage for something that was supposedly extremely dangerous, and was eventually contained by the other servants. This lack of a “threatening” aura is something I do wish the arc improved upon, because a non-threatening main antagonist isn’t good for building a climax.

Part of the blame for this flaw would probably be from how much of this arc was actually focused on characters other than Caster. We saw a face-off between Tokiomi and Kariya, a suspicious Kirei lurking in the shadows, as well as a high-energy dogfight in the air between Archer and Berserker. Between all that and this week’s focus on Saber and her Excalibur, there was little actual focus on Caster’s own schemes and plotting. The little destruction that Caster’s monster created didn’t really help either.

On the plus side, this focus on others did open up a new level of depth, complexity, and uncertainty to certain characters. There’s Kotomine Kirei, a seemingly detached man who is slowly falling under the influence of Gilgamesh, with the results being that we don’t know what he is trying to accomplish. He seems to be developing some strongly personal motivations in participating in the Grail war, and his enigmatic personality makes it difficult to ascertain what the significance of his actions are. Then there’s Gilgamesh, a man who also seems to be developing some strong motivations towards goals other than the Holy Grail. His relationships with the other Kings have become central to his actions, and his overpowering presence makes him a wildcard in this war. And then there’s Emiya Kiritsugu, whom seems to be dead set on taking advantage of the Caster situation to further his own goal; obtaining the Holy Grail. He will without a doubt continue to interfere in the “chivalrous” rivalry between Saber and Lancer, with potentially disastrous results in the future.

In the end, it seems that Caster was actually a plot device of sorts, where his presence in this series forced a ceasefire that allowed the main cast to interact with each other. The result is a complex web of character relationships and tensions, which undoubtedly laid the foundation for the climactic battles that are to come. This episode was definitely an ominous bit of foreshadowing with regards to future battles, where Saber’s use of her magnificent Holy Sword, Excalibur, signaled the end of the ceasefire and the resumption of the Holy Grail War. It’s a bit ironic that such a stunningly beautiful, overwhelming attack ended up as the flag that resumed this battle royale to the death, and future episodes promise to be even more overwhelming than what we saw here.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.8/5

P.S. I should also mention how I really appreciate how the storywriters attempted to add a sense of complexity to Caster’s persona. While we knew him to be a twisted murderer who tortured other people, this episode also showed that he too had dreams and goals in the past, embodied by the brief flashback to Joan of Arc. The brief flashback implies that Caster at one time had been a good man, but somewhere along his path he went astray, ending up as the twisted man he currently is.

And finally, The Sword of Promised Victory Yuki Kajiura version?!? I already can’t wait for the 2nd season’s OST 😀

Screenshots are later in the post.

Fate/Zero – 14

Episode 14 –

And here we have it, the return of what was arguably the most well produced anime of 2011, Fate/Zero. The writing was impeccable, the animation was superb, and the music was bone-chillingly fitting; the first season was praised for good reason, and this continuation does well in maintaining the high quality expectations of the 1st half. Interestingly enough, though, it seems that this episode was much more about reintroducing the main cast briefly before we get into the real meat of the conflict; that is, the battle against the gargantuan beast under the command of Caster. We got some surprisingly quiet moments of character exploration, where we see the ideals that fuel Tohsaka Tokiomi, the anger of Matou Kariya, hints at the thoughts of Kotomine Kirei, as well as the shady ongoings of Kiritsugu. Of course, there is also the notable absence of Lancer’s master, which leaves you to wonder whatever happened to Kayneth and his wife. Nevertheless, I guess all the adrenaline that may have been built up in the first half weeks ago has cooled down, so ufotable seems to have given us a buildup episode as a transition, right before hitting us with the big battle next week.

But for buildup, this sure as heck was a rather flashy episode. The ferocious battle in the sky between Gilgamesh and Berserker was something I had never quite imagined, but was pretty awesome for how quick paced and intense it was. Gilgamesh’s ancient flying machine (apparently called the Vimana) was one thing, but Berserker using an F-15 as a Noble Phantasm was an unexpectedly cool plot twist. The dog fight in the sky did well in highlighting the differences in capabilities between Berserker and Gilgamesh, where the conflict between the two is actually a rather fitting reflection of the battle between Kariya and Tokiomi. Gilgamesh considers himself to be an elite, an extraordinary existence that Tokiomi can somewhat relate with as a magus. In comparison, Berserker is a beast that uses whatever is at his disposal to survive, a very human limitation that run’s parallel with Kariya’s firmly normal non-magus life. Seeing the battle between these two play out, where both sides believe they are doing what is right for the Tohsaka children, could only turn out tragic for both sides. The foreshadowing here is tremendous, and sorrow almost certainly lies in the future between these two families. On a side note, you could actually argue that Tokiomi’s decision was “correct” in the sense that he was trying to protect his two prodigiously gifted children by making them both magi, but he may not have been aware of the treatment the Matou’s give to their heirs. It’s a question that I don’t see being answered anytime soon, but it could very well be a crucial detail in realizing how the Matou-Tohsaka relationship will unfold.

Amidst the Tohsaka-Matou confrontation, there’s quite a few more key tensions to note that will probably become central tenets to the series in the future. There’s the involvement of the priest Kotomine Kirei, assassin’s former master. Kirei looked as if he was going to attack either Tokiomi or Kariya, but he opted to put away his blades. Who was his true target? Why did he decide to stop? Did Gilgamesh’s claim that Tokiomi was too “boring” influence Kirei? The situation is even more complicated once you take into account that Kirei may have intentions of harming Tokiomi, while Tokiomi himself is handling Kariya and has no sway over his servant. Then there’s the tensions from before betweem Kirei and Kiritsugu, as well as Kiritsugu’s conflicting opinions with regards to Saber’s Chivalrous mindset. The web of relationships in this series is surprisingly complex, and this episode serves well in reinforcing how these relationships will eventually explode into something big. At least Caster’s master is out of the picture, though even in death he seemed rather freaky.

In the end, rather than continuing Fate/Zero with a bang, instead ufotable devoted a lot of time to point out all the character relationships. The episode explored how the relationships intertwined and meshed together, as well as the tensions that threaten to weave these character relationships into a complicated mess. Alongside this character-centric setup, there was quite a bit of eye-candy via some visibly impressive dogfighting in the sky, as well as some tensions on the ground between the rest of the main cast. I’d say that as of now, Fate/Zero is off to a good start, and with hints at a confrontation between Saber and Lancer soon, I suspect tensions will escalate rather fast.

Overall Enjoyment: 4.0/5

P.S. There was a noticeable lack of BGM music in this episode, which was kind of disappointing. Also, it feels as if the battle with Caster didn’t take center stage just yet, which was a surprise considering the cliffhanger from the previous season.

Screenshots are later in the post.

Series Review – Fate/Zero (Part 1)

Fate/Zero (フェイト/ゼロ)

The Fate/Stay Night franchise is fairly well known in the anime community, so the high levels of interest in Fate/Zero (FSN’s prequel) wasn’t unexpected. The icing on the cake was probably how the writer of Fate/Zero was also the writer for Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, the surprise hit series of the Winter 2011 season. That being said, Fate/Zero is a series that is much more mature in tone than it’s Visual Novel predecessor, and if anything, surpasses the original in virtually every aspect. The character dialogue, the visuals, the choreographed battle scenes, and the character relationships all weave together to create a compelling, multi-layered tale that is really engrossing as a series.

For those that are unfamiliar with the Fate Franchise, Fate/Zero’s overarching premise actually seems rather simple. There is a omnipotent wishgranting object called the Holy Grail, which reveals itself every 60 years. A war to claim this grail unravels amongst seven magi and the servants they summon, with each servant being a figure of legends and myth (such as King Arthur, etc).

Ufotable, the animation studio for this series, obviously set a high standard for actual production quality. Each and every episode has borderline movie quality animation, with fantastic, highly detailed visuals. Music is also solid, with the famous Yuki Kajiura scoring the at times bone-chilling soundtrack.

The studio also made sure to ensure high quality action sequences, where each action sequence was clearly designed with a lot of thought. You could easily see how the warriors had a sense of heft and weight to their attacks, where each attack was planned out while weighing the pros and cons of their actions. The level of thought put into each and every attack made the battles exhilarating, mainly because it felt as if even one wrong move could prove to be the fatal mistake that gets you killed.

However, while the action was great, Fate/Zero is fundamentally a series about it’s characters. Fate/Zero is a series that is extremely dialogue heavy, yet each line of dialogue is intellectually intriguing. This dialogue-heavy setup allows for in depth exploration of a lot of the main cast’s aspirations, character flaws, and life philosophies. And this development isn’t limited to just the main characters; each and every member of the cast gets a compelling level of development, where you gain some unique insights into their motivations and goals. Considering how all these people are fighting over a wish-granting artifact, seeing their motivations and desires makes watching the main cast a very engrossing ordeal.

The only real issue here that is noteworthy is how the entire series so far (1st half of the show) is purely about developing the characters. The first half is obviously trying to set a solid foundation for all the conflicts that are brewing, where every underlying issue between the members of the cast will explode onto the scene in the second half of the series. I personally think that this is a great setup, but this is also a setup for those very much invested in seeing the fate of each character to this series.

Fate/Zero is very dialogue heavy, which means it may not have much appeal for those that want the mindless brawling of your typical shounen series. But aside from that, a blogger I know wrote that Fate Zero is a series that “makes me marvel at how it makes 20 minute episodes seem like 5”, and I feel that his comment is spot on. Fate/Zero is an engrossing, intelligent and thought provoking series that displays a level of detail not seen in most anime nowadays.

Animation/Art: 9.5/10

Music: 9.0/10

Setting: 8.0/10

Characters: 8.5/10

Story: 8.5/10

Overall Enjoyment: 8.7/10