Review of Fate/Zero

** Story ** Season 1 is completely unnecessary. There were no real conflicts. Each story arc leads to a hero battle, however, the fights inevitably end with a third party interruption, with absolutely no resolution. This implies the conflicts weren't necessary at all to the overarching story. Strong premise, dilly-dallying execution. Story rating: 3/10 ** Art/Aesthetics ** As a Tsukihime fan, I absolutely love the character aesthetics.Art: 8/10

** Animation **
Animation is completely different from aesthetics. The fluidly and detail in each sequence was lacking. The fight scenes had cinematic shots (3 point perspective wide angle launches, landscape shots, extreme close ups, slow motion, etc) which would awe an inexperienced viewer. Seeing through all that, all that's left are lazily choreographed fights.

Let's take Saber for instance. Saber is suppose to be the strongest hero, specializing in god tier sword fighting. Yet her swordplay is restricted to 2 moves: swipe and jab. She performs no meaningful parry/counters, feints, etc. Why is her repertoire less interesting than an 8-bit NES sprite? Because it's so much easier to animate, and make up the deficiency with cinematic details (i.e. wind rushing during attacks, ground cracking after taking blows, electrical discharge, etc). Those are all cheap tricks in the literal sense: they're cheap to animate and take little imagination.

Animation: 4/10

** Sound **
I'm a big fan of Yuki Kajiura. With that said, the soundtrack was bland and unmemorable. Nothing compared to Noir or Madoka Magica.

Sound: 3/10

** Character **
Initially, characters showed strong potential for realistic development and depth. The first episode did an excellent job of establishing clear and real motivations. However, they all devolve into one-dimensional dark tropes.

Let's take Saber for instance. She's suppose to be a strong female lead, with experience leading an entire nation as a King. As the series progresses, it turns out she's an emotionally distraught insecure 15 yo girl. The authors devolve her into the vulnerable female trope for ecchi reasons (i.e. helpless girl needs a real man for emotional support), and it just blasphemous to her character.

Character: 3/10

** Enjoyment **
Despite all the flaws, I enjoyed the show enough to finish it. I'm fond of strong female characters, and I kept on watching for Saber's shining moment - unfortunately that never comes.

Enjoyment: 6/10

** Overall **
This is not a series I would recommend to an adult - it's just not worth the time. With that said, I can see why it appeals to teens and newcomers of the genre.

Overall: 4/10