Review of Fate/Zero

SPOILER FREE REVIEW: I'm going to first start by saying, I'll mentally be comparing this heavily to the Fate/stay night series because of the differences. The original series has set my mental standard for this, and does live up to it. Sadly due to this being a prequel though, I already know the outcomes of some of these events which sucks but the show still manages to peakmy interest. Though the first 3 episodes are a terrible hook in my opinion.

Main story: Same as fate/stay night. Battle royale between 7 masters & the servants they summon. They're participating in a secret war called the Holy Grail War which grants a wish for the winning pair. There's a secret mage society in it and a church that oversees the war. This is the 4th holy grail war which makes Fate/stay night the 5th. The 7 servants have a class based off their historical tale which go:
Saber-Lancer-Rider-Caster-Assassin-Archer-Beserker. The reason for every servant's class is self explanatory. The main character summons Saber.

With the premise being the same as Fate/stay night, you can know what to expect but they've handled it way better. The story isn't really strong I'd say since the main goal isn't really that interesting, we're here for the end result. The backstories of some of the characters are just forced stretched out drama that no one really cares about.
The "main protagonist" Kiritsugu Emiya or Shirou's (from fate/stay night) adopted father has little significance in the events that unfold and has very little screen time, and his little backstory is pretty stale like I said. The anime tries hard to make us like Kiritsugu and though it was a good attempt; He's still lacking in the magic that makes him a "protagonist" but that's subjective. His cool accomplishments in the anime weren't really enough to make him likable, at least to me.

The biggest difference being that the story isn't really driven by a main crew but rather more of us as the viewers seeing every servant and their master from their unique perspectives. So essentially I mean that this was handled differently from Fate/Stay night and the story shifts from one pair to which ever pair is most relevant to the story's progression. So they don't take as long in Fate/Zero to reveal all main 14 characters as they do in Fate/Stay Night. But I'm still keeping them hidden for the sake of being a spoiler free review. Kinda makes it hard to root for the main crew sometimes. Each pair of the seven masters and servants have their own interesting dynamic.

Like rider and his master being the most different as the master is just following Rider's flow the whole time with absolutely no authority as his master. One master and his servant are just straight up deranged psychopaths that bring entertainment to some of the occurring events.

Though I have to admit it's really obvious who'll be the winner of every fight, the fights are still very very interesting despite them having boring results sometimes. Colorful animation, you never lose focus of what's happening and just straight up amazing choreography. There's always the reveal of the enemies' weapons and special attacks and their identities in the real word history or folklore. And the last minute characters joining and turning the tables. Also servants sometimes being forced to do what their masters say due to the command seals. (Like turn on your ally or withdraw from the fight).

Here are some weak points viewers may find but is really just opinion based are:

Too much dialogue during the fights.
Constant turning the tables on each other. (lots of bs)
Heavy and obvious plot armor.
Fights frequently lead to nowhere. (unsatisfying results)
One episode went to waste and is really really pointless. (young Rin episode for some reason)
Fate/Zero kinda drops spoilers of Fate/stay night but it also goes the other way around.

Okay so ratings for every element of the anime:

Characters: 10/10
The characters really carry the lacking story. So many likable servants (especially rider and lancer) but the masters not so much. Also fun to see a good hearted character turn mad because of this war. As well as some not even being interested in winning the Holy Grail War. One is literally just after Saber's virginity lol (kind of). Everybody's stand point and morals are very different. Some enemies even like each other but have to fight due to the rules of the war. Some are honorable and others not so much, it's pretty diverse and I can appreciate that.

Story: 5/10
Again, the main plot is something I've seen already and I'm just here for the result. Drama is meh and lots of the fights/scenes are ruined by bullshit reasons. Some backstories were alright but overall underwhelming. Kiritsugu's backstory was the strongest but only in the second half. I didn't really find myself invested in the plot much. Just so lackluster in addition to the fact that Kiristugu didn't feel like a main character to me; which threw an important hook of the story out the window.

Art: 9.9/10
Why not 10 you ask, well it's amazing. Very amazing actually. Everything from the highly detailed backgrounds to the colorful fight scenes and even the cgi (to me at least) is really good like beserker and the weapons being thrown by Archer. But I deducted the 0.1 because of the impact of the hits. You don't really feel like the hits have as much impact as the characters say. Like look at beserker. Probably 400kg of weight right there and his strikes barely phase saber's blocks or at least her main body. Just her arms react and not anything else. It's better than Fate/stay night UBW's 9.5 animation but they're the same just a slight upgrade (and an obviously bigger budget). So many small details that only people with a good eye can catch. Basically the animation goes hard other than the slightly unrealistic physics.

Sound: 8/10
Take this rating with a grain of salt because I'm watching this on netlflix and skipped the Op and Ed multiple times (im very sorry). Op is pretty catchy, Ed is nice and both have good visuals. The ED specifically has visuals that give clues to every servant's identity and past. Soundtracks are hype and made with effort.
The voice acting is superb, Saber's VA is good at making her sound cold but at the same time showing her emotions when the climax calls for it. Rider's VA is perfect (yes i like him that much). Archer's VA is a bit corny with his "I'm so much more superior" lines but is good at making him sound angry. No one else is as note worthy as them but none are bad VAs. I also like the way Saber shouts English words like "Bah za keh "(beserker) or "EXA CALI BAHH" (Excalibur).

Enjoyment: 7/10
I really didn't like Kiritsugu Emiya being the protagonist since he's pretty boring until like s2. The other characters carry to be honest. The fight scenes were incredible despite the impacts being stiff. Some events were way too overly predictable which ruins the moment. And some scenes were brutal and gruesome. (That scene with Kiritsugu and Ilya god damn). Though most of it was pretty hype and a good fight scene goes a long way.

Overall: 8/10 (did the math)
If I somehow discouraged you from watching it, don't be. It's by no means perfect, but a very high quality, top tier anime. The first 3 episodes are a bad hook and don't be discouraged if you haven't watched Fate/Stay Night before this or any Fate series anime. If you want to get into the Fate series and don't know the watch order, just start anywhere.
Or watch it release order, that's my advice. Thanks for reading.