Review of Fate/Zero

The first half of Fate/Zero is a tour de force of character building, technicality and the portrayal of ideologies and conflict, while also serving as a strong foundation for Ufotable’s ever expanding Type-Moon animated universe. In spite of occasionally awkward structure, unclear character motivations and questionable directorial decisions, Fate/Zero succeeds on so many levels that these flaws may almost be forgiven. The story of Fate/Zero begins with the introduction of the seven masters, who have been selected to fight in the Holy Grail war, and their respective servants. During this time, the focus is given to their motives, beliefs and nature, allowing the characters to (withsome exceptions) be established firmly. The first few episodes, mainly spent following the scheming and strategizing masters, are relatively slow paced, though there are few redundant or unnecessary scenes. Once the fighting does begin, however, great satisfaction is granted to the viewer as they watch familiar characters, each with their own unique set of skills, battle each other with all their might, wit and passion. However, in the first half of Fate/Zero these fights rarely reach a meaningful resolution, though they do effectively foreshadow more important future conflicts and provide a much-needed break between dense exposition and horrific imagery. As the first half continues, the battles become larger, more threatening and more frequent, as each master gradually learns more about the others. However, though the individual conflicts are engaging and memorable, how and why certain characters are in certain places at specific times doesn’t always make sense. Additionally, though the first two episodes give all the masters abundant screen time, some characters have their time cut down for the sake of others. However, neither of these flaws are too detrimental to the story, as even if the pacing and character focus is uneven, the story always knows who to follow and where to go, even if it isn’t always sure of how to get there. The first half of Zero, consisting heavily of build-up, does not provide much in the way of resolutions, but the intriguing philosophical and psychological themes and consistent, brooding tone allows this weaker half to still feel like a strong series.

The characters of Fate/Zero are perhaps its most outstanding component, with the relationships between the individually interesting masters and servants making for some truly memorable dialogue and action sequences. The masters all have strong desires for the Grail, with their motives varying from the desire to protect family, the attain glory or something even more ambitious. This serves as a brilliant method through which characterisation can be delivered, with subtle details about the masters’ mysterious pasts or hidden agendas being presented through their wishes. The masters contrast and parallel each other in a way that allows them to complement each other, rather than cause the narrative to feel bloated under too many philosophies. This is partially what makes the beginning episodes feel so meaningful and powerful, bubbling with the anticipation of eventually pitting these powerful, resolute personalities against each other. However, though the masters themselves are all unique and complex, the heroic spirits are what really solidify Fate/Zero’s character cast as one of the strongest in recent years.

Many of them are from completely different time periods and places in the world, and each of them have strong beliefs and morals that not only allows them to play off their masters, but the other servants even more so. Towards the end of the first season, a conversation between two of the most relevant servants doesn’t only serve as strong characterisation for both of them, and not only does it contrast two conflicting philosophies in a convincing and believable way, but it also serves as a highly thought provoking discussion that will likely leave many viewers questioning their views about the world and themselves. The conflict between servants, and their respective masters, drives both the story and themes of Fate/Zero forward. From themes like utilitarianism, what defines a true hero and what an individual’s purpose in life is, this anime is rich in compelling and intricate themes which it delivers in a way that feels like human conflict, in spite of the fantastical nature of the setting and characters.

In terms of visual presentation, Fate/Zero shows exactly what Ufotable are capable of, delivering a series with a variety of detailed and tonally appropriate colour choices and shading. Takeuchi Takashi’s character designs fit the story of Fate/Zero brilliantly, with each character reflecting their cultural identity and heroic status without feeling too alien or unfamiliar. Each individual character design manages to stand out, leaving an impression on the audiences so that, even if they disappear for a while, they are may be easily recalled when they return. The backgrounds are also very detailed and fitting to the story, with an abundance of lavishly coloured and designed set pieces giving the viewer and sense of scale and position. The action sequences are quite spectacular, making use the aforementioned strong character designs with effective cinematography, fluid animation and some well-written battle strategies. The weakest point of the series, visually, would have to be Ei Aoki’s occasionally stiff and lifeless style of directing. When characters are not fighting, they are often reduced to talking heads with negligible expression or attitude, which is very problematic, given the dialogue-driven nature of the series. On top of that, there are several still shots that go on for a little too long at the beginning of the series, with the slow editing adding to the slow story pacing to leave the characters to stand completely on their own. On top of that, even though the backgrounds are stunningly and appropriately coloured, they sometimes feel very monochromatic and lacking in character. These problems do lessen as the series progresses, though in the hands of a more experienced director, the artistic potential of this series would possibly have been reached (ironically, each of the aforementioned flaws have been rectified in the sequel, Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works). In spite of Aoki’s weak directing, Zero is still a visually splendid and well-designed series that stands among the best of its respective year.

In the category of sound, LiSa’s opening song, “Oath Sign”, is a fast and energising listen which, combined with the stellar production values, makes for a good opening, though tonally the song and its lyrics don’t quite match Zero’s bleak nature. Eir Aoi’s ending fares slightly better, though contains what some may consider a spoiler, and also feels like it may be more at home in a less grim series. Yuki Kajiura’s OST is a fitting and suitably epic soundtrack that further invigorates the action to make it stand out even more. Even more impressive, however, is how the elegant violins seep into meaningful interactions between characters, giving them a sense of weight in terms of both emotion and plot significance. Though most of the more impressive tracks do not play until the second half of Fate/Zero, the first half is still a strong series in terms of music. Whether you choose to view this series in sub or dub, the acting is strong and the little meaning is lost. Both the original Japanese voice actors and the English dub providers do have some flaws, though in both cases they are few. Jouji Nakata’s performance as Kirei Kotomine doesn’t quite feel natural, contrasting Kirei’s youthful exterior and feeling oddly unusual, in contrast to Crispin Freeman’s much more natural and fitting vocals. Bridget Hoffman does take a little while to get into her character, though by the mid-point is able to deliver lines on par with her Japanese counter-part, which sadly cannot be said for David Vincent, who never quite manages to capture the cocky arrogance tempered with wisdom and experience that Gilgamesh is known for. For both casts, Saber, Kariya and Kiritsugu all manage to stand out, which may be due to their characters having more emotional scenes that most of the others. On the whole, Fate/Zero is a very high quality, though not flawless, production.

Fate/Zero is a powerful and evoking series that has earned its status as being one of the best anime of the decade thus far, presenting many ideas and philosophies, meaningful conflicts and questions, that many lesser series would collapse under the weight of even a fraction of this content. However, it holds together, and this first half presents enough foreshadowing that it is unbelievable that anyone who can make it to the mid-point would desire not to continue.