Review of Fate/Zero

Fate/Zero is one of few anime that I feel pushes the boundaries of anime without feeling like it isn't anime. What I mean by this is that if most of your entertainment comes from anime this will feel very at home to you but if you say watch some other shows that generally have differing structures to most anime this will be a perfect medium. I see this show very often be described as similar to Game of Thrones and while I see where they're coming from with that comparison I prefer to designate this as anime's (more specifically ufotable's) answer to Gameof Thrones. What I mean by this is while similar to Game of Thrones it has a general lack of plot armor and a more mature storyline (not nearly as dark as Game of Thrones) it still is similar to anime with its setting in Japan and of course the fact that it is animated by a Japanese production studio. With that out of the way I like to talk more about the show itself instead of its general structure and reception and I'll try my best to avoid spoilers but there will be a general plot summary coming up in the next sentence. So every few years a Holy Grail War is held in Fuyuki City where in 7 mages of very backgrounds and magical disciplines and their summoned servants who are all famous historical figures which the show brilliantly incorporates, compete to see who will be grant their eternal wish by the grail. Even though this is a pretty unoriginal and overrall standard basis for a plot the execution of the characters is what elevates this above the some of its part (by which I mean Fate/stay night which I have also watch and mildly recommend). Without going into spoilers each master and servant have different dynamics between each other, the other servants, and the other masters this raises the show above just a battle royale to a debate of ideals. For two examples just in the first season two of the stand out characters of the first season in my eyes are caster and his master Rynnosuke who are basically best buds the minute they meet. But while that was just a master and servant pairing the sheer verbal spouts between competing teams are at a wealth while not being too wordy (if you generally read subs slow I recommend watching this dubbed because its good and is easier to follow). My favorite example is early on when Saber, Archer, and Rider just sitting down and having a drink to discuss ideals instead of fighting. This is not to say that the actions aren't good they're fantastic while not quite up to par with say Kara no Kyuokai a movie series by the same company it is above almost all its contemporaries as a 26 episode anime. If you look at how I rated the categories I gave only two categories below a 10 story and sound this is because the story is great it not everyone can sit through tons of text or people just talking at you and as far as sound it was bad just nothing really stood out to me but that might just be my taste in music and soundtracks. So overall watch this if you want to be wowed in more ways than one and if you already seen this I suggest Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex because of its similar focus on talking about a lot of broad concepts though I will it admit after watching a few episodes of the action didn't wow me so it comes as a recommendation for people who like the story of Fate/Zero. Now if you liked the action honestly just watch more ufotable while I never watched any of them in their entirety the animation in the Kara no Kyuokai franchise is incredible and Fate/stay night unlimited blade works has animation better than Zero in a lot of places.