Review of Fate/Zero

We all know how Fate is infamous for being confusing on which anime to watch first. With the core series being Fate/Stay Night and Type-Moon suddenly throwing in a great anime made by ufotable, Fate/Zero I'm sure many new to the Nasuverse will be even more confused prior to its release. Fret not as I will be answering all your doubts in this review. Fate/Zero is the prequel to the big mess that is Fate/Stay Night, but don't worry. Once the mess is sorted out, it's going to be perfect. I watched Fate/Zero first, back in 2014 when I first got into the series. Afterwards watching Unlimited Blade Works andseeing all the characters I saw in Zero grow up to teenagers.

Fate/Zero took place in Fuyuki City, the main setting for the Fate/Stay Night series where 7 Masters and their servants fight for the Fourth Holy Grail War.

With the promise of granting any wish, the omnipotent Holy Grail triggered three wars in the past, each too cruel and fierce to leave a victor. In spite of that, the wealthy Einzbern family is confident that the Fourth Holy Grail War will be different; namely, with a vessel of the Holy Grail now in their grasp. Solely for this reason, the much hated "Magus Killer" Kiritsugu Emiya is hired by the Einzberns, with marriage to their only daughter Irisviel as binding contract.

Kiritsugu now stands at the center of a cutthroat game of survival, facing off against six other participants, each armed with an ancient familiar, and fueled by unique desires and ideals. Accompanied by his own familiar, Saber, the notorious mercenary soon finds his greatest opponent in Kirei Kotomine, a priest who seeks salvation from the emptiness within himself in pursuit of Kiritsugu.

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In this greatly animated prequel of Fate/Stay Night we see a Mage Killer, Kiritsugu Emiya a notorious mercenary with an idealistic nature.

His ideals being flawed in the eyes of many,

He believed in sacrificing one to save ten

And didn't care who that one person is or at least, he believed in his ideals way more strongly than his love for any other individual.

Kiritsugu would murder even his own loved if he could save many others doing so.

He didn't care what underhanded tactics it was as long as it'd guarantee him victory.

A man like this was also proficient in assassination.

His underhanded tactics of assassination made him the Fate Badass.

In a war, there is no bad or good person. Everyone is fighting for themselves or their ideals.

There are several other masters, 6 to be exact also competing against Kiritsugu.

With those 7 masters, there are 7 servants each one strong by nature.

Some weaker than the others but its a game of strategy after all.

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Each master has their own backstory that brought forth their ideals. Some fight for their house name, some for the Grail, some for their ideals and some for themselves.

With that, the masters summoned their servants, historical figures to fight for them in the Holy Grail War.

Bonded by an 'unbreakable' contract and for the same reason to fight for the Holy Grail, these masters and servants wreak havoc in the city

Finally, after all hell was over, a certain magus won the Holy Grail but did something undesirable.

That led to massive destruction of the city and deep regrets by a certain magus.

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Two particular individuals piqued my interest. The magus killer Kiritsugu and the servant Gilgamesh.

Gilgamesh was a very powerful servant. The most powerful in the series in fact.

Such a powerful servant would definitely have won the grail right?

That's what I thought but that didn't seem to be the case though.

Such a powerful servant was difficult to control and that led to much conflict between his master, Tokiomi and himself.

That conflict involved another individual, Tokiomi's apprentice Kirei Kotomine whom fought for something else.

Kirei Kotomine was confused as to why he was chosen by the Holy Grail as a Master, he who lacked sense of purpose, ideals, or aspiration. There should have been many other capable people to support Tokiomi, so he believed that explanation to be false. It chose him, which was a worrying inconsistency in that someone such as him had no reason to need an "almighty wish machine."

After acquainting himself with Gilgamesh, he fully accepts the fact that he feels joy from the suffering of others

Kirei betrayed his tutelage Tokiomi and teamed up with Gilgamesh to attempt for the grail.

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This major war brought forth many stories as such with every master and their individual backstories. Each character crafted with perfection.

And after the aftermath of the Fourth Holy Grail, we await the Fifth in Fate/Stay Night.

This review was written on 03-31-19 and may be outdated. I may have changed my rating due to various reasons.