Familiar of Zero F

The harem, romantic, dramatic, & comedic hit anime series has finally concluded with an excellent conclusion to the Zero no Tsukaima series that every fan was dying to watch. Sadly the previous seasons were not licensed for digital release in North America which makes connecting the story & plot difficult for fans to follow.
Despite that this anime series was well worth the anticipated wait & can't wait for the digital release of Zero no Tsukaima F. I would recommend this anime series to anyone looking for a romantic comedy.

Final Rating: 3.5/5.0

After 6 years of Zero no Tsukaima, it finally ends in quite a satisfying note. Zero no Tsukaima has always been one of my guilty pleasures as I usually have a disdain for this type of anime but for some or many reasons, I really love this series. Is Zero no Tsukaima F the best season out of the lot? No. Futatsuki no Kishi is still the best season but it is better than the lackluster Princess no Rondo. I'd say F is pretty much like the first season and most of its plot concentrates back onto Louise and Saito's relationship. It still the same Zero no Tsukaima I know and love but it is kind of underwhelming in comparison with the previous three seasons.

F follows Louise and Saito as they are summoned by the Pope in the intent of gathering all the void magic users to save the world. In their way is the King of Gallia, Joseph who was the villain of the previous season and a group of mercenaries as the new villains of this new season. The plot is more concerned with Louise and Saito's relationship and taking it up a notch by buying a house and settling down. It is good to see the plot focus on the main characters again instead of the other characters. Louise and Saito are pretty much steady even though there are still other girls trying to interrupt this relationship. Louise is more forgiving in this season, which is a sign that her insecurities have diminished though she's still a tsundere. Saito is the same as always but it's rare to see a male protagonist in a romantic comedy anime make a commitment.

The main problem that I have with this season is that it is too rushed and that results in an underwhelming experience. The new villains only appear maybe 4 episodes and then turn tail at the end which is never explained and Joseph, who was established as the main bad guy of the whole series, only appears in 2 episodes. The slapstick between Saito and Louise is dumbed down considerably and the supporting characters are just there because they are. I did say this season is better than Princess no Rondo. Princess no Rondo had a rushed story line but it was also irritating to follow but F's wasn't. Siesta is still annoying but it's downplayed and it's actually refreshing to see the proper romantic side of Saito and Louise's relationship other than just the violent beatings but on the other hand, sacrifices the comedy. Since it is the final season, I would've thought they would capture the emotional height that Futatsuki no Kishi reached but they barely did. There is a plot point where if Saito acquires a new power but if he uses it too much, he dies. They never really took advantage of this but if they did, it would've made this season better.

The action scenes are as numerous as the first season and the stakes of saving the world are not as high as Futatsuki no Kishi's. The opening music is of course done by the same artist and she just sounds burnt out of melodies and ideas because it sounds exactly the same. If you want my opinion on the art style and animation, go to my other Zero no Tsukaima reviews. I mean this season is four years after Princess no Rondo, they could've raised the production value at that period of time.

Overall: A satisfying end to one of my guilty pleasures even if its underwhelming.
Storyline: It is much like the first season which concentrates on Saito and Louise but it suffers from imbalance and a far too rushed story.
Music: Exactly the same as the previous season. 'Nuff said
Characters: Saito and Louise shows a proper romantic relationship which is fun to watch but the villains are rarely seen, ambiguous or just out of nowhere. The side characters don't do much.
Animation: Go see my previous Zero no Tsukaima reviews

Overall, every aspect of the series seems to have been improved. Although it still doesn't seem to be as good as the second season so far, I hope that later episodes would. The producers are doing very well at implementing the opinions of the viewers into the series, a lot of the problems (character personalities, holes in story, cliche shortcuts, etc) that were present in this anime are always fixed to the viewers liking. I hope to see this series become very successful, keep up the good work!

Can anyone really say what the aim of it was? It's not really a sequel, nothing has been followed up so this season seems to only be for nostalgia. I like harem anime but this is ridiculous. It's always "Saito I love you", "Saito get out!" Then next thing I, "I need you, help me!" In every episode with the same lame type of comedy. Do they not learn? Is Louise like Princess Peach? Always getting in trouble and relying on Mario to save her all the time?

It seems to send out the wrong message to couples as well. That it's okay to cheat on your girlfriend/fiancée with every female available because you aren't married (yet). Louise said it herself; 'you can even cheat on me' albeit, she took it back but still. How many seasons does it take for Saito to understand that he loves Louise and so he should not keep misbehaving? He seems to have forgotten he fought an entire army for her and yet can't simply say no to a kiss from another girl. Yes I know it's harem, but in other anime of this type, the main character typically isn't in a relationship, which makes mishaps with other females better. They could have instead, focused deeply on character development, rather than every character wanting nothing more but to sleep and be touched by Saito. A lot could have been done. Showing the previous void users; how the dragon originally manifested; A background story on Saito's life showing if he had friends and family that want him back; a deeper background on the elves..

You have Louise that punishes Saito all the time when he's most of the time innocent, Siesta the temptress who tries to sleep with Saito even knowing that he's taken. Princess Henrietta that also wants some Saito action even though Louise and her are childhood friends and Tiffania, the airhead cry baby that doesn't mind her melons being touched by Saito because they're "friends" (if only life were so easy).

A lot of things make very little sense too. Saito, the saviour of the world was always shown being particularly weak and helpless. Joseph the big bad boss, was defeated early on with no problems. Saito shot his familiar and managed to get backup from Louise and Tabitha and what was Joseph's familiar doing while all that was happening? Saito suggested they get a military plane from Japan to defeat the Ancient Dragon. Can a teenage boy really so easily gain access to military weapons? It seems so. Do Saito's parents even care where this boy has been all this time? Would have even been nice to know how much time had transpired in his own world.

Also, didn't Louise's sister exclaim that she could not allow her and Saito to live together and so, she'd be back to check if he becomes a proper respectable man? What happened to that? The anime seems to be full of half-baked ideas that are never followed through.

The anime series would be so much better if it didn't always force a happy ending. When Saito died in the previous series' when he fought an army alone, it was tear-jerking and amazing. You then realise you were a fool for caring as nobody really dies. After the epic fight he was revived. Colbert also escaped deaths clutches and as for the Pope.. after he was eaten by the dragon he was very easily forgotten. No burial, no moments silence, no mention of his heroic action.. life goes on I suppose.

Anyway, if you watched the series from the beginning you might as well finish. There isn't any story, just random activities that need to be done. If you're a person that doesn't mind the overused heroine with a flat chest surrounded by well rounded women bouncing around all the time with no dignity or self-respect then look no further. Just do not try groping every girl you see in real life... they will not say 'No it's fine, I don't mind if you touch me because we're friends'.

After three series of progress and notably introducing a female member to the core cast who, for once, didn't want to get into the main's pants, the fourth and final season takes a significant turn for the worse.

I've been a fan of this series from the beginning, but the third and now fourth season have just been terrible. Unlike other harems, the main couple is established very early on and their feelings for each other are made clear -- but now we have to deal with homewrecking hussies who seem determined to break up a couple of people who are, for all intents and purposes, married. Saito has made it clear that his feelings are only for Louise, yet he frequently indulges and in many cases encourages their advances. "Can I sleep in the same bed as you?" Sure, no problem! "A kiss?" A-OK! "Feel me up?" Don't mind if I do! In this case, I have to say the only character who acts even remotely logically in this series is, surprisingly, Louise. Every time she blasts his cheating kiester, I cheer. (No, looking isn't cheating -- but out-and-out oogling is, especially when it's right in front of your girlfriend.) How that girl keeps slogging on with that loser is beyond me at this point.

Frankly, the only reason I'm not dropping this here and now is, first, because I'm such a fan of the first and second seasons, and second, because I've already slogged through the sludge to get this far-- why stop 3/4 of the way in? At least the animation is consistently high quality.