Fate/Zero 2nd Season

As the Fourth Holy Grail War rages on with no clear victor in sight, the remaining Servants and their Masters are called upon by Church supervisor Risei Kotomine, in order to band together and confront an impending threat that could unravel the Grail War and bring about the destruction of Fuyuki City. The uneasy truce soon collapses as Masters demonstrate that they will do anything in their power, no matter how despicable, to win.

Seeds of doubt are sown between Kiritsugu Emiya and Saber, his Servant, as their conflicting ideologies on heroism and chivalry clash. Meanwhile, an ominous bond forms between Kirei Kotomine, who still seeks to find his purpose in life, and one of the remaining Servants. As the countdown to the end of the war reaches zero, the cost of winning begins to blur the line between victory and defeat.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Saber Main

Kawasumi, Ayako Japanese

Emiya, Kiritsugu Main

Irino, Miyu Japanese

Gilgamesh Main

Seki, Tomokazu Japanese

Kotomine, Kirei Main

Nakata, Jouji Japanese

von Einzbern, Irisviel Main

Ohara, Sayaka Japanese

Toosaka, Rin Supporting

Ueda, Kana Japanese

Rider Supporting

Ootsuka, Akio Japanese

Emiya, Shirou Supporting

Noda, Junko Japanese

von Einzbern, Illyasviel Supporting

Kadowaki, Mai Japanese

Matou, Sakura Supporting

Shitaya, Noriko Japanese

Takeuchi, Takashi Producer, Original Character Design

Iwakami, Atsuhiro Producer

Kondou, Hikaru Producer

Mori, Yasunori Producer

Reviews

Oct 16, 2024

Pursueth

Recommended

[Review for the entirety of Fate/Zero]

"And then… So fervently that, even on the brink of death, I was jealous. He said, 'Thank you.' That he was glad he’d found someone. That by saving one person, he had saved himself."

Idealism stripped down to its infantile dispositions—a utilitarian mindset of sacrificing the few for the greater good of many—collides with the reality of its emotionally stunted practitioner. A man embarks on a hopeless quest for a miracle that can validate his exhaustive efforts to reconcile with his grief—a child thrust into a world hostile to his empathy. A priest's bubbling psychopathy bursts forth as unchecked hedonism stains ... the land. Parental negligence ignites unseen repercussions, while nameless children become mere instruments in a ploy. The inorganic object meshes with the organic soul. A wildcard of psychotic murderers, a bond of pure brotherhood—linkages spanning time and dimensions.

In a soliloquy between kings and their subjects, all end with the death of their unattainable ambitions. There is no glory to be found beyond the horizon. A world of invariable hope crumbles and nihilism rises from its ashes. A gloryless reality of tragedy abounds. Die by your principles, or be consumed by the reality of your zealous ideals.

Urobuchi, I was not familiar with your game.

If the first season was a séance between the undead myths and the mages of the present—an essential, season-long establishment of motives, methods and mutuality—then season two erupts into an outburst of controlled chaos that sheds any pretence of valour and goes straight to the heart of the matter.

The battles between Saber and Berserker, as well as Kiritsugu and Kirei, can be juxtaposed to highlight stark contrasts in their presentation, showcasing the show's innate understanding of the stakes involved in different scenarios. Saber's conflict reflects a journey from curiosity to impending dread and ultimately to acceptance. This realization is veiled as a clash of swords, with her dialogue providing keen insight for both the characters and the audience, justifying the need for constant dialogue during the fight. In contrast, Kiritsugu and Kirei, while also uncovering uncomfortable truths, represent two sides of the same coin—nature triumphing over nurture and nurture triumphing over nature. A battle to the death between cold blooded killers. This fight's acclaim comes from two things: its immense production value and, in my opinion, the use of diegetic monologues. In a typical anime, a fight like this would be bashful, loud and completely audible to the opponent, which makes it both unbelievable for the audience and feels like a pointless venture. Zero circumvents this by eliminating the need for verbal exchanges between the two during their fight. Any dialogue uttered is entirely diegetic, intended solely for the audience itself, shifting the focus from their monologues to their physical movements.

In Unlimited Blade Works, visual splendour and dialogical intersections are vehicles used to paint its world and eccentric ideologies. In Fate/Zero, a spin-off prequel to UBW, Urobuchi uses dialectics not only to reveal the various truths and lies about the characters’ dispositions but also to weave a larger narrative in the background. Pleasure and sin mesh with blasphemy and worship as kings enter a dialogue about the nature of their existence. There's always a battle of semiotics and ideologies that takes precedence over the loud clashes of swords and spears in Fate/Zero. While this may seem laborious to some, Urobuchi's narrative manages to offset that aspect by being consistently engaging throughout, which is entirely due to the meticulous construction of personal convictions and ideals.

Take, for instance, the episode dedicated to the exploits of a young Rin Tohsaka. While it may be disingenuous to claim that her UBW counterpart is less realised, it's undeniable that there's a palpable maturity to her portrayal in this single episode that is rare elsewhere. UBW and F/Z are both shows that employ similar storytelling modes, i.e., long bouts of exposition. However, Miura's UBW fails to deftly employ this device, as his direction merely utilises this for stuffy jargon with zero emotional tangibility and nothing else. Fate/Zero is remarkable because the same ideologies are framed not as verbal vomits but as extremely competent dialogues between emotionally well-realised and charismatically distinct figures. The thematic groundwork laid here about the nature of larger purposes, both regarding the Holy Grail War and the summoned heroes from the past, is passionately realised through the heartfelt outpourings from Rider, an immediate favourite amongst an already stacked, memorable, and intelligently written cast, and echoed in the interactions between other heroes.

While Fate/Zero's cinematics may seem "inferior" to its more bombastic visual effects sister, this doesn't mean that F/Z's action plotting isn't intelligent to the point of Machiavellian. There's a sense of free-flowing expression and depth to the actions here that simply aren’t present in UBW. This is largely thanks to the excellent direction by Ei Aoki, who previously directed the brilliantly atmospheric 'The Garden of Sinners Chapter 1: Overlooking View'. Aoki’s brilliance is evident in Fate/Zero, where there's a lot more emphasis on oppressive atmospheres and creative cinematography. The battles are tactically engaging and are reflective of the characters' psychological states'. Character countenances are highlights in these battles and incite a sense of awe that cannot be mimicked by mere visual effects galore.

This series stands as a compendium of profound ideological follies and nigh-machiavellian battles of dialectics. Insurmountable woes and cataclysmic tragedies spanning from ancient mythos to contemporary assassins. Fuck me for ever doubting you, Urobuchi.

Realistically I could yap for 3000 more words about every single character in here and how poetically they all tie in together when it comes to constructing the larger thesis of Fate/Zero a la an unfair world kind to those who deserve it least, but I don't have the energy to continue + this show has been discussed at length by far smarter people than I. All in all this far, no clue about the VN, but this outshines its original anime. It's not even close, except maybe when it comes to sound design. They're both equally good in that regard.

9/10

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Pursueth (11)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Nov 3, 2024

Manthors

Mixed Feelings

I gave it a 6 for the second season because the art style is gorgeous, the animation is top-tier, and the soundtrack is amazing; otherwise, it would be a 4 or a 3. I gave it a 9 for the first season, so what went wrong?
Simple: 0 levels of satisfaction regarding all storytelling decisions. I will not give any spoilers, but I will make some analogies for you to understand what I meant. And YES, I KNOW Fate/Zero is a prequel to many of the Fate series branches (Such as all the Stay Night what-if stories). But every anime has to provide you with ... some level of satisfaction without the need to start a new anime (The story of Fate Zero is actually finished in the Fate Stay Night series). This one left me with bad taste.

Story: They messed up. Everything detailed, built, and explained will explode into something you will think: "Really? I watched 2 seasons for this?". My level of satisfaction went as low as it could. Uninspiring, hopeless, no glory, loveless, lame. The conclusion will make many of you feel the entire anime was just a filler arc. Some of you will enjoy it, but if you like to pay attention to the storytelling aspects of this anime, you will feel the same as I do. Considering that this anime WANTS to have an intricate and complex story, I can't ignore it. They built one and decided to finish in the most. "Yeah, cool, we don't care about all we tailored so far; let us just shock people with the ending!"
Imagine you are watching Lord of the Rings, with all that character building for Frodo and how he goes through Hell by bearing the One Ring. However, in the end, when Frodo is in Mordor, an orc comes behind a rock and stabs him. He dies, and the orc laughs and leaves. That's how the climax storytelling aspect of Fate/Zero felt for me.
Now, how did I perceive the ending?
Imagine the same scenario I pictured above, but now imagine that Aragorn dies in his final charge, Sauron corrupts Gandalf, Sam gets depressed and develops agoraphobia, Legolas betrays the elves and turns into an Orc, Galadriel becomes an alcoholic, and Gimli just goes into some tavern and drinks beer. Yeah, I am not kidding; that's the feeling I got. The sense of "I watched all of this for this conclusion."

Characters: Rider is the best, with the best, and probably only, development among the Heroes. Saber is boring, stays boring, learns nothing. Archer starts as a prick and ends as one, and nothing changes (but he is well-written). The humans? It's the same thing, static development, except for the Rider's master. Word of advice: Do not expect anything interesting about humans.
Note about Saber: I have no idea why, among all the cool personalities they came up with for the heroes, they chose the one they gave Saber to be the protagonist's personality—the most cliche, dull, lifeless, and annoying of all (aside from Archer). Saber's personality prevents you from developing any emotions; you do not like her, hate her, and feel close to her in any way. It is the definition of a default-neutral-frozen personality. She will only glimpse a potential development for 1 minute at the end. By far, Archer is one of Fate's most disgusting characters, but at least he makes you feel something (as is expected from a nicely written-character).

That's it. You will see the second season because we need to know the ending. Some of you will think, "WOW, this is so awesome," and that is OK; it is your taste. But many of you will feel the same way I do; for those, keep your expectations really low.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by Manthors (32)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Jan 24, 2025

keemoksa

Not Recommended

Funny

This is a spoiler-free review covering both Season 1 and Season 2.

The anime's story beginning (first episode/narrative introduction) is poorly executed, filled with terrible pacing and an overwhelming amount of information, paired with a pretentious philosophical tone that’s entirely unfit for any opening. This issue is evident throughout the entire anime but becomes glaringly obvious in the beginning and culminates in an ending that’s a "crown of crap," perfectly matching the low standards set by what preceded it.

The dialogues are weak. Their superficial complexity shouldn’t deceive anyone—they’re shallow at their core.
Most characters’ motivations and beliefs are idiotic and unstable. A single basic conversation with another ... character leaves them stunned and persuaded.
Add to this the endless filler, explanations, and descriptions—a clear sign of the anime’s weak storytelling and its inability to convey information without resorting to rambling, whether about past, present, or future events. It feels like watching a poorly written novel.

Character interactions feel artificial and irritating because every character (without exception) is a generic pre-built characterization piece. Most are poorly written, except for two or three average ones. The absolute worst are Saber, Emiya Kiritsugu, and Irisviel (especially Saber, Emiya Kiritsugu, and Irisviel).

The action is mediocre, sometimes outright bad, with unclear rules. The pacing is jarring, and the animation doesn’t salvage it. The animation quality is lazily average throughout the anime, except in a few fights where CGI temporarily improves it—though these instances are rare. Background art is generally subpar. Character designs are terrible, owing to the uninspired, repetitive art style…

…And the character designs themselves lack any distinguishing features.

I apologize for my poor English as it is not my native language.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by keemoksa (5)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Fâtê Seríes

by Raiza_Amoi

48 Entries · 1 Restacks

Left an Indelible Mark

by ManicPixieTerror

39 Entries · 198 Restacks

Complete Anime Adaptations (part 9)

by Yuriko_Sakai

50 Entries · 54 Restacks

North American Anime & Manga Releases for October

Here are the North American anime & manga releases for October Week 1: October 1 - 7 Anime Releases Beyblade Burst Complete Collection DVD Beyblade Burst God Com...read more

Sep 30, 2019 1:23 PM by Sakana-san | Discuss (0 comments)

New 'Fate/stay night' TV Anime Announced For Fall 2014

According to the upcoming issue of Newtype Ace, the previously announced anime adaptation of visual novel Fate/stay night will be a TV series broadcast in Fall 2014....read more

Jan 28, 2014 7:50 AM by tsubasalover | Discuss (993 comments)

	Poll: Fate/Zero 2nd Season Episode 12 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Jun 23, 2012	1,328 replies	by methnerium »» Jan 24, 8:16 AM
	Poll: Fate/Zero 2nd Season Episode 6 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) tsubasalover - May 12, 2012	593 replies	by KiotoWave »» Dec 25, 2024 1:37 PM
	Poll: Fate/Zero 2nd Season Episode 5 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) tsubasalover - May 5, 2012	486 replies	by KiotoWave »» Dec 25, 2024 1:12 PM
	Poll: Fate/Zero 2nd Season Episode 4 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) belatkuro - Apr 28, 2012	587 replies	by KiotoWave »» Dec 25, 2024 12:51 PM
	Poll: Fate/Zero 2nd Season Episode 3 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Yumekichi11 - Apr 21, 2012	644 replies	by KiotoWave »» Dec 25, 2024 12:28 PM

In Numbers: The Best Anime of the Decade

What's the #1 anime of the 2010s? Which year was the best? What studio had the most hits? We have the answers to all these questions and more!

by Shymander

652,238 views

Can the Ends Justify the Means? The Opening of Fate/Zero

Fate/Zero is a brilliantly constructed anime that deals with the complex themes of morality and the justifications of violent actions. Each episode reveals deep insights through its intense character development and storyline, but the opening is also a statement in and of itself!

by mkane

20,706 views

Spoiler

AnalysisMusic