Post — Aaron Ngo

I finished the first season (13 episodes) of Fate/Zero and it was an incredible experience. I had this anime on the back burner for years and tried last year to start it, but the first episode was an intense struggle. But after thinking about it and investing in a mobile app game called Fate Grand Order, I decided it was time to rewatch this anime to understand the game better.

Short recap: this anime is set 10 years before the events of Fate/stay night and tells of the Fourth Holy Grail War. It is a magical tournament set in Fuyuki City, Japan where mages known as Masters summon Servants, reincarnations of Heroic Spirits like King Arthur, Alexander The Great, etc., to fight in the tournament in order to the win the Holy Grail, a chalice capable of granting wishes.

There are seven Servant classes: Saber, Archer, Caster, Berserker, Rider, Assassin, and Lancer.

I have not watched Fate/stay night yet, but I was told I could watch either one first, and the experience would be roughly the same more or less.

The main issue of the series is the very first episode and its structure.

The first episode is undeniably 100% info-dump/exposition to establish all the characters, their individual motives, the world, and the plot itself. The episode gets an added twenty minutes (roughly 40 mins in total) to cover all the ground before propelling us into the actual action. I wasn't a fan of the episode and had to watch it twice to absorb all the information.

Taking it all in almost fried my brain. The show shoves so much information into your head, but it is necessary for the anime to make sense. As I started episode 2, the action starts immediately, the relationships are established, new servants are summoned, and an unexpected darkness made my eyes pop!

The main character is a man named Kirtsugu Emiya, a mage killer who is in this tournament for his wife's family. His servant is the reincarnation of King Arthur, who is known as Saber to hide her identity. Yes, King Arthur's true identity is Arturia Pendragon and a woman. The two of them effectively serve as foils to each other throughout the first season and rarely share screentime despite being Master and Servant.

Kirtisugu's cynical views and ideologies contrast directly with Saber's honor. Irisviel, Emiya's wife, is put in the middle of the two and creates a profound bond with Saber as she serves as the proxy master in her husband's place. She is literally the replacement as Saber and Kiritsugu would not work well as a team based on their different views of the war.

The anime explores Master - Servant relationships heavily in the first season and even Servant - Servant relationships are seen.

Kirei Kotomine, another participant in the Grail War, almost has no bond with his Assassin Servant and uses him purely for data gathering for his ally Tokiomi Tohsaka. Assassin is also not given much of a personality and literally treated as a spy.

These two, Kirei and Tohsaka, have an interesting partnership, but it is the one Kirei shares with his ally's Servant Archer that caught my eye.

Archer, also known as Gilgamesh or the King of Heroes, is Tohsaka's Servant, but this Servant has also gone out of his way to have private conversations with Kirei. These two will most likely team up or something as by the end of the season, Kirei was eliminated but was also allowed to return into the Holy Grail War.

Waver, a student of another participant Kayneth, becomes a Master in the Holy Grail War to prove himself to the Mage Association. He even steals an artifact from Kayneth in order to acquire the Rider Servant, Iskander. These two have a fun dynamic and provide the comedic relief. So far, they are fun, and I'm sure their bond will continue onward as pure foils.

Rider is an interesting Servant as he treats Waver like the Servant rather than his Master. He is big on his title as King and develops bonds with both Saber and Archer because of their titles as kings. Saber and Archer have also developed a sort-of trust with Rider as well.

Kariya, the Master of Berserker, has the most emotional drive to acquire the Grail. He wants to win it on behalf of his estranged family in order to save his childhood friend's daughter Sakura. He is secretly in love with Aoi, Tohsaka's wife, and views Sakura and Aoi's other daughter Rin like his own children. His role was not big this first season, but I'm sure the second season will expand on him as he learns how to control his Berserker Servant.

There is one more main character we must discuss: Waver's teacher at the Mage Association. Kayneth is the Master of Lancer and is the most talented Mage. He is a traditional man and hates Kirtsugu for his nontraditional methods, which cost him his ability to perform magic in their Master to Master duel.

The best fight scene in the entire season was done between Kirtsugu and Kayneth. Seeing Master versus Master was arguably better than Servant versus Servant. While the Saber and Lancer duel was honorable and fought well, the other one was the complete opposite. It was fought with tricks and ended in complete chaos. I enjoyed every minute of it.

The main antagonists of the first season are Ryūnosuke Uryū and his Servant Caster. Uryu is a serial killer who has no interest in the Grail War, but he is willing to follow his Servant to continue his murder sprees. He specializes in killing children and the first kill is what made this anime an incredibly dark one - dead children are everywhere.

Caster, Gilles de Rais, is an insane Servant who believes Saber is his lost love Jeanne and believes the Holy Grail has brought her back without her memory. He and Uryu arguably work together the best when it comes to killing and bonding over their religious views.

Based on my review alone, there is a lot going on in this series' first season.

There are so many characters and storylines to follow, but they are all linked to one thing: winning the Holy Grail War. By the end of the first season, the war is put on hold because Caster has gone rogue and all the Servants are summoned to stop him from hurting any more children.

An amazing cliffhanger that propelled me into the second season. My love for anime has resurfaced and this one is so articulate... it may not be for everyone. Especially if you can't get past the much-needed but overstuffed first episode.

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