Review of Fate/Zero

Fate/Zero will likely go down as one of anime’s best, or at least most famous prequels. Split into two seasons with 3 months between the airing of each, each half essentially becomes one of the highlights of their respective years. Season 1 is the more difficult of the two to tackle, as it’s primarily setting the stage for the tragedy that unfolds later on as it begins planting some of the seeds that would lead into the 3 well-known routes of Fate/Stay Night. It’s easy to praise the cinematic approach the show’s director, Ei Aoki, takes here. Both seasons are more strikingly directed than eventhe Heaven’s Feel movies, and surely more than the UBW movie that came out a year prior to this. Sadly, that doesn’t mean this first season is perfectly elegant due to factors that many have criticized this installment for, as well as a few aspects of it that have aged. In the battle between 7 masters and the servants they summon, intrigue is not only inevitable but rife with virtues and vices.

In terms of presentation, Fate/Zero remains notable almost a decade later. Ei Aoki and studio Ufotable take a grand approach to this production. There are tons of wide shots and moments where the camera lingers on an object or character while someone else is talking. Some of it feels jarring, as if to save on time and animation, but a lot of it contributes to the striking direction the show takes. Episode 1 alone contains several noteworthy moments, like when two characters slowly circle around the main subject of the scene, Kirei Kotomine, and the scene employs several long overhead shots showing the two rope him into a task he finds himself questioning. There are several interesting masking shots and other moments that highlight Ei Aoki’s skill as a director such as towards the end of the first season when a giant monster is summoned and several characters are at the bottom of the frame as this behemoth looms over them. The visual atmosphere the show oozes with, contributes to this feeling as the night sky is often overwhelmed with green or purple mist, and the majority of the battles take place in the darkened sky. The studio’s well-known digital effects add a texture to the moody lighting and ambient colors, adding to the stark, often oppressive atmosphere that the darker, more nerve-racking moments of the show bathe in.

The show’s fight scenes are lovingly animated, with a sense of flashiness and fluidity that still adheres to the show’s usage of tactics, as opposed to the explosive, god mode skirmishes the likes of Unlimited Blade Works and Fate/Apocrypha employ on a regular basis. Powerful attacks are given extreme impact, not just with the flashy moves that the more powerful servants employ, but also physical blows characters land on one another. While the show’s new character designs aren’t as iconic as those of Fate/Stay Night (including the characters that make a return for Zero), they’re still great. Of the new servants, Iskandar is the best as his gargantuan stature and glorious red cape give off an imposing yet admirable vibe. In terms of the non-servant characters, we get tons of lovely outfits with identifiable and contrasting colors, like how Kiritsugu and franchise mainstay, Saber often wear black leather jackets and suits respectively, as opposed to Illyasvei’s regal, all-white outfit. The artwork, while not without its off-model moments, is more attractive and interesting than even what this same studio would do for subsequent installments in the franchise despite them all being based on the now well-known Type Moon art style.

Not everything about the show has aged well. There are several moments of genuinely poor CGI found in the show, including the room that Kirei and the two characters circling around him are in when they discuss matters during the first episode. Nothing ever looks quite as bad as that PS2 hellscape of a location, but it’s safe to say Ufotable’s usage of CGI environments weren’t as “refined” (read: acceptable) as they are now with the likes of Kimetsu no Yaiba and the Heaven’s Feel movies. There’s quite the liberal usage of CG in the show, and there are only two cases where it works well. The first is whenever Berserker appears on screen, as the aura he emanates gives this wrong, off-kilter vibe that his shrouded CGI armor supports as he corrupts anything he touches and moves in a turbulent manner that his armor is forced to restrain. The second comes during the final episode where Caster summons the aforementioned behemoth cloaked in purple mist. Unfortunately, the problems don’t stop there, as there are plenty of moments where the frame rate slows down to a crawl. For a show rife with exposition scenes and moments of characters standing around and talking (we’ll get to that), it’s disturbing how often the frame rate dies whenever CG environments are employed half the time. As mentioned before, there are also several moments where the camera lingers for up to 20 seconds. Like with the infamous Evangelion, its usage can be hit or miss.

Speaking of hit or miss and characters talking, that’s more of a pain than it has any right to be. There are several interesting dialogue-driven exchanges, such as in episode 12 where Kirei Kotomine is being psycho-analyzed by the iconic bastard Gilgamesh. As long as they are, they never feel overly redundant or wasteful. It’s easy to find some of them rather laborious, though. Then we get moments where the characters, especially Kiritsugu, just stand around instead of shooting their damn guns at unsuspecting foes or actually finishing off weak or incapacitated opponents for no reason. This makes it hard to believe that characters like Kiritsugu and Kirei are actually skilled killers when they waste every opportunity they have. At least with some of the servants, they have their own codes of conduct preventing them from just finishing off or ganging up on their opponents, unless the target is Caster since he is one of the most vile characters in the franchise. It’s a problem that persists throughout every major encounter, and as a result, not only are almost all of the deaths saved for the next season, but only three encounters have any lasting consequences. The pacing of certain seems can feel awkward with how certain scenes go from difficult and grim to lighthearted to action-oriented and then back again without any breathing room. Other scenes can feel rushed and unprompted, like when Kiritsugu starts bemoaning his circumstances to Irisviel and saying that they could opt out of this in episode 4, apropos of nothing. On top of that, even some of the action scenes can drag on as characters excessively spout their ideals or other idle chit chat. While these are often battles of ideals where the combatants get to understand each other in fights to the death, they certainly know how to drag their feet. With the runtime of episodes generally being around 27-28 minutes this season as opposed to the standard 24-25 (if you include the credits sequences), it does leave a laborious, almost draining feel to the show at times. There are minor holes and seemingly inexplicable, out of nowhere scenes (can someone explain what the beginning of episode 7 was all about cuz it doesn’t seem to connect to anything) as well, but they aren’t the main issues I have with the show.

Luckily, the characters are less of a hit and miss case than everything mentioned prior. White Kiritsugu isn’t very interesting this season and we do have a few characters like Kayneth who are only barely any more layered and interesting than “prickbag”, some of the characters, dynamics, and personalities present here are the best in the franchise. Saber herself isn’t an especially compelling character on her own, but the way the show juxtaposes her views on kinghood to the views of the Kings of Conquerers and Heroes (Iskandar and Gilgamesh) respectively in the banquet episode they share is astounding. Said characters are the most boisterous and charismatic characters in Fate, with Gilgamesh being a glorious pompous wretch of a person, and Iskandar being the embodiment of the phrase “larger than life”. His dynamic with his puny, inexperienced, bitchy, and in over his head master, Waver, is perhaps the most entertaining and endearing aspect of the series. The only dynamic that comes close is that of Caster and his master, Ryunosuke, who are as eccentric and fascinating in their philosophies on life and God as they are vile. Make no mistake, these are the two sickest people in any Fate title, but the show still manages to make them fairly interesting, with a friendship that’s far more authentic and endearing than it has any right to be. Some characters do get less personality and screen time than others --Kariya is as screwed over by the show’s events as he is by the show itself with how borderline nonexistent his screentime is past the first episode-- but there are a lot of interesting dynamics and conflicting ideologies at play here. It’s crazy how many characters manage to remain compelling and properly fleshed out with even this first season.

That just leaves the show’s music. Yuki Kajiura’s soundtrack, while featuring a few somewhat overplayed tracks, is still rocking several outstanding songs. “In the Battlefield” and “This Battle Goes to the Strong” are some of the more notably grandiose battle tracks, and “If You Leave Me” makes for a powerful, emotional piece. The first track is one of the series’ best, though a lot of Fate/Zero’s most incredible pieces are saved for the second season. The OP, “Oath Sign” is one of LiSA’s better anime songs before SAO made the band widely recognizable to everyone, while the ED isn’t that interesting. Still, it’s no significant mark against the music of the show overall.

The first season of Fate/Zero is an engaging bit of set-up. While it may feel laborious at times with characters acting stupid or dragging things out, the more engaging bits of intrigue and glorious character dynamics make this a worthwhile series to watch regardless. The visuals may feel a bit dated in places, but are still better and filled with more interesting direction than most. With a powerful soundtrack gracing all of this, it’s hard not to say that the show doesn’t have anything to hold you over even if you do find yourself bored by it. Still, it’s the second season that carries most of the highlights, though this first endeavor was still a necessary and worthwhile investment to get there.