Fate Zero

One thing i love about this anime is the fight scens they completely blew me away and the high definition! truely amazing loving this anime and cannot wait for more to come!

One of the best animes i have watched in a long time and in my opinion even matches the scale of many of the other popular animes such as naruto, bleach, fairytail and any other you think should be in the list!

5/5 no doubt

If you watched Fate Stay Night and did not like it, DO NOT let that keep you from watching Fate Zero. Fate Zero is 100000 x better. You don't need to watch Fate Stay Night to watch Fate Zero. Just pay attention to the rules of the Magi war and it's a good idea to do quick research of the characters playing historical characters when their identities are revealed to get a better background of the characters. Lots of talking at first to explain rules of the game and such but after a couple episodes things will get going and this anime turns out to be surprisingly mature. It does not bother with fan service. It just gives you an intense, badass story. Enjoy

I'm such a huge fan of the Fate series and Fate/Zero did not disappoint. It's bit darker than Fate/Stay Night in terms of it's content, especially where Caster/Ryuunosuke are concerned, but that's not why it's my favorite. No, Fate/Zero is my favorite in the Fate series because of the relationships and character developments. Kiritsugu's past, the tragic Maiya, Saber and Irisviel's relationship... and perhaps most surprisingly, the relationship between Waver Velvet and Rider. These two brought me almost to tears so many times, their's truly is a story that makes my heart dance and has shamelessly led me to ship them always.

This series is well done. Despite being a prequel, I enjoyed this more than the main series. The action is well done and the story is compelling to watch. I cried for multiple characters in the series without regret and enjoyed all of them. The war that takes place is unique and follows a set of rules that makes sense. This helps prevent Machina from occuring. Overall, I would definitely recommend this series. It can be watched as a stand alone and perfectly understood.

First for those worried about jumping into this prequel without having seen Fate/Stay Night, be assured that it stands well as its own story (with one caveat I'll come to later) and requires no prior knowledge of the franchise.

Fate/Zero is a rarity among TV anime in a few ways. First, the production values are outstanding. It's never less than visually accomplished, and many of the action scenes are movie quality, seamlessly blending hand drawn and CG elements to spectacular effect. It's normal to see a TV anime straining at the limits of a tight budget, hoarding every individual cel like a bony-knuckled miser. By comparison, Fate/Zero often indulges in shots that toss around hundreds of animation frames like so much confetti.

Equally impressive is the pacing. In a 24-26 episode run, it's become the industry standard to slot a few lazy filler episodes and a clip show in the middle. Not so here. The show has a solid 25 episodes of plot that advances at a steady pace. The war for the Holy Grail gathers a varied and well defined cast of characters split into two categories. The Heroic Spirits summoned from across history are the kinds of figures you would expect for a legendary quest, and are depicted in varied and interesting ways. Controlling these Servants are seven Masters, mages summoned by the Grail to fight for possession of it, with the winner being granted a miracle. It's these characters who drive the story. The most benign of them are merely self-interested, the rest range from manipulative to outright psychotic. The endless plotting, double-dealing, back-stabbing and manoeuvring is fascinating to watch.

Fate/Zero's final distinctive element is also the one most likely to determine whether you'll watch to the end or give up in disgust. This show is brutal, bloody, and utterly ruthless. These acts aren't just gratuitous window dressing; they punctuate every twisting ploy, every betrayal, every shattered dream. Due to being a TV series the most violent acts are concealed mere inches out of frame, and leaving them to the viewer's imagination often makes them more disturbing than outright gore would have been.

The show only falters in two regards. First, it betrays its videogame roots, especially in the early episodes that set up the mechanics of the magic at work. The Heroic Spirits refer to each other by RPG-style character classes. There is talk of people's 'stats'. You can almost see a Magic Points bar draining as characters unleash their special attacks. In such a well written story, these feel like awkward vestigial elements that snap the viewer out of its world.

The other flaw is the ending. Without giving anything away, it somehow manages to be both thrilling and anti-climactic. It's the one point where it's obvious that you're watching a prequel rather than a fully formed and independent story. Despite not having seen Fate Stay/Night, it's clear that the final episode is just frantically connecting dots to the original series.

What we're left with are 24 superb episodes culminating in a decent, but slightly unfulfilling denoument. However, don't let that note of caution deter you. If you can tolerate the bloody violence that veers this action drama into horror territory many times, you'll find one of the most accomplished anime in years.

Fate/Zero is about as close to a masterpiece as you can get in terms of quality.

This anime is, put simply, freaking amazing. I had heard about the fate series since before I even got into anime. I gave stay/night a try, and wasn't able to get into it. So I saw fate/zero, and at the time, I had been in the middle of the stay/night visual novel, so I was reluctant to watch it for fear of spoilers. But, after it was recommended to me by a friend, I chose to watch it, and thank god I did.

Art/Animation 10/10

I was instantly drawn into this series. The animation was near flawless, and the art was beautiful. It makes use of CG at times, but they do it very well, this is made clear with Berserker and another creature who, for now, I will call tentapus. The CG just feels natural with the series instead of sticking out like a certain dragon from a certain series bearing a similar name...

The animation is nearly flawless, I sat there trying to find a problem with it, and while it isn't smooth as what you might expect after eating some really spicy Vietnamese food, it is still some of the best animation you will find with modern anime. I guarantee you will not be disappointed by the animation, or the art shown in the series.


Sound 10/10

Another marvelous work by the wonderful Yuki Kaijura. Some, such as myself, may even consider it some of her best work. If you are unsure who Yuki Kaijura is, some of her works include Elemental Gelade, Pandora Hearts, Sword Art Online, and Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica. The soundtrack features many beautiful orchestral pieces as well as some very nice choirs. The soundtrack sets the mood perfectly, it makes use of epic choirs during the fight scenes, and slow orchestral pieces in the slower, or more darker parts. Overall, the Fate/Zero soundtrack is one of the best soundtracks I have ever heard, and easily takes the place as one of my favorite soundtracks of all time.

Character 9/10

Another area where this anime shines is in it's characters. There are around 14+ "Main" characters that you should be aware of. And that would be the 7 servants, the 7 masters, and a few others that you will see when you watch the series. Instead of using common archetypes such as "dere" or unbeatable badass that I like to call the "Kirito-Complex", Fate/Zero has a set of characters that are all very unique, and very interesting.Every character acts according to his or her moral compass and ideology.It's always interesting to see different characters interact, in fact, there is one episode dedicated to a few of the servants discussing their beliefs and ideology. If there is one thing I would like to complain about is that some of the characters, I feel, don't get very much focus. Some examples are Berserker, his master, and Assassin. But I don't feel this is too much of a problem, seeing as it did very well with the characters it did focus on in it's 25 episodes.

Story 9/10

Before I begin, let me mention my one other complaint with the series, the first episode. I don't feel like it drew me in enough, it was around 50 minutes long, and it was basically an explanation on what the Holy Grail war is, how it originated, and what it is now. Now, this is great, but the episode was kind of slow, and some may even find it boring. Now, assuming you have already read the synopsis, you should have a general idea on what the story is, a battle royale between 7 different teams, each consisting of a legend or historical figure, and a mage. The story is full of twists and turns, and it manages to keep you interested and wanting to keep watching. There were close to no flaws in the overall way the story was executed, except for the first episode. Overall, I loved the story, and I think it was executed very well.

Enjoyment 10/10

This was the first series I had seen in awhile where I had been up at 12 in the morning continuing episode upon episode in the couple of days I spent watching it. Still to this day, I think I enjoyed Fate/Zero more then I enjoyed most anime I have seen to this day.

Overall 10/10

As a whole, Fate/Zero is about as close to a masterpiece as you're going to get when it comes to overall quality. I feel that with this series, you could hate the overall story, but you could still admit that it was pretty damn good. This anime is amazing, and I recommend it to everyone. So if you find the time, go check it out, because you might have the same feelings about it as I do, in which case you would love it!

To be clear from the start: I'm not one of those people who just gives 5 stars to every show they like. I will only award a perfect score to things that I think are either perfect or very close to it, and I'm pretty selective about what I classify as being truly great.

Fate/Zero is a brilliantly executed show that outdoes the anime adaptation of Fate/Stay Night in every conceivable way. The pacing starts off fairly slow, but a long exposition is unavoidable due to the complex nature of the conflict that unfolds over the remainder of the show. The resulting exploration of the characters' convictions and struggles and the ethical/philosophical dilemmas that this leads to are well worth it. Thought-provoking themes that range from the role and nature of leadership, to personal struggles with coping with justice (or lack thereof), to questions of the value of life itself will bombard any attentive viewer, particularly during the second season.

In the realm of character development, the show takes a slightly unusual approach; while there are a few key characters who change significantly, most of the characters are instead just explored and made more detailed in their current state. This approach works well and makes sense given the nature of the "servant" characters. The conflict itself is conducted in a far more strategic manner than in most shows; almost every fight is preceded by intelligent planning which itself reveals insight into the nature of the characters and makes the fights themselves far more interesting.

As far as aesthetics go, the visuals are some of the best you'll ever encounter in anime, and the fight scenes are wonderfully done. With the possible exception of just one scene, they avoid the usual anime pitfall of inserting too much dialogue in the middle of the action, instead keeping things exciting and distributing any necessary supporting dialogue elsewhere around the scene. The incidental music is pretty effective; the only complaint I have with the soundtrack as a whole is that the opening/ending themes could do with a little less of the j-rock sound that has become far too standard in anime, though the opening of the second season and the ending for episodes 18 and 19 still manage to be a fantastic fit for the show.

Altogether, this should be a highly rewarding show for anyone willing to invest in it.