Fate/Zero is (in my opinion at least) a prequel which has far surpassed the main series.
Story: I'll try to avoid spoilers.... There is an incredible amount of character development and background reselling, whether it's in the flashback of season 2 or the gradual development of a rather (at the start anyway) pathetic master or even in the unabashed tearing down of the honor of the "King of Knights" the series develops subtly most aspects of the characters motivations and backgrounds. Oh and then there is Kirei Kotomine, I love Kirei Kotomine. Basically a plot filled with development, intrigue, betrayal and crushed ideals, a great mix.
Dialogue: was the one thorn in my side about Fate/Zero, don't get me wrong, I like dialogue and it gave great insight to the story but some episodes simply contained too much, I think it was episode 9 the we got 10~minutes of (don't get me wrong engrossing) dialogue. It was interesting dialogue but lack of movement and vigor meant the episode dragged a bit (don't worry the last 5 minutes were epic enough to do a season of most animes).
Animation: was in a word jaw dropping. The animation highlights for the season were for me in S1 ep 9 and S2 ep 2, I won't tell you what happened but bear them in mind and see if you agree with me, trust me you can't miss it. This is an anime that I wold definately advise watching in HD, the stunningly beautiful lights of the Saber, Rider and Archer contrast so well with the darkness of Lancer and Assassin and the shocking imagery of Caster (and well berserker is berserker....). I actually found that the best cinematography was to be found with Caster, because obviously some things cannot be uncensored on TV (unless you are Mirai Nikki) the ability to imply becomes so much more important.
Entertainment: the series is gripping in the extreme, with huge build up between the episodes and even a moe block episode (if you can call it that) to build huge tension for the climatic moments. One thing that might annoy you is the climax for season one happening in season two... But I didn't care as the was too epic. There are occasional funny moments but if you are looking for comedy this isn't your anime. I think that the greatest entertainment factor for this anime is the pure epicness of it, interspaced with the aforementioned buildup, I rewatched one scene five times in one day because of its pure amazingness (I'm going to stop breaking the English language now and use normal adjectives. Basically this anime has epicness more artistic than Bleach, more grounded then Tengen Tonpa Guerren Lagann and more controlled than Naruto. Oh and did I mention Kirei Kotomine, I LOVE Kirei Kotomine (as a character please).
Basically unless you are in a Triple Bypass surgery you have no reason not to have watched/ be watching/ be downloading this anime. And of course sleep is no constraint. Jarl (show less)

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13 eps is all you get from this, the supposed 110th ep is a Fairy Tail one somebody didn't check twice before uploading. D:

Review: This story is highly different from its predecessor Fate/Stay Night, and although IMO it can be more memorable if you have watched FSN before, it manages to stand alone well.
A mixture of action, fantasy, adventure, drama, horror, romance and comedy, Fate/Zero still succeeds in stepping aside from generic. The storyline is detailed with excellent flow, unfolding events and character development while still keeping its mysteries. There’s no cheap scenes in this; everything shown is important. Still, it’s not completed yet, so I’m crossing my fingers that the second season will prove to be just as good.

In relation to “Fate/Stay Night”, “Fate/Zero” manages to close a few plot holes, and those who watched FSN before will recognize the heroic spirits and a few of the events taking place, even though the spirits may seem a bit different – Saber for example seems more manly than in FSN. (Not sure if I should recommend watching FSN though; personally, I’m not all too keen on it ^^")

The characters are vibrant, interesting, and their dynamics and development are well thought-out so far. I appreciate there’s no wimpy main character this time (don’t think a second Shirou would have held out over the run of the whole anime! XD) The reasons behind each master’s quests for the grail are interesting to uncover, and it’s funny how much each servant either compliments or contrasts their master. If anyone wants to research on heroes, that can get quite funny too (just saying: Diarmuid of the Love Spot O.O). Dialogue is plentiful, but not over the top, and even a tad philosophical at times, which I greatly appreciate.

The animation’s 2011 quality, with detailed but not too exaggerated action. Each servant has a different fighting style so it doesn’t get tiring.

A great watch for Fate/Stay Night lovers, or action/fantasy lovers in general. Having watched FSN before, I found this to be more mature, better thought out and generally a more satisfying watch than FSN, though not everyone might agree with me there.


Last unrelated note @ the admins - please take note of the recent spamming of the site and do something against it. Dudes like those spammers are those who make all anime watchers look bad, and it's pissing me off. (show less)

Perhaps I'm biased since I am also a fan of the original series, but I was excited to learn a new series based on FSN was coming out. I intentionally waited until the whole first season was available before watching since I didn't think I could stand the anticipation of having to wait for each episode to become available!

My wife and I watched this one together and we both thought it was very well done... you can tell a lot of thought and effort went into producing this series. The artwork, animation, music and most importantly dialog and storyline are all top-notch.

Some reviews complain about the seemingly overuse of dialog. I felt that their negative view of this was unfounded and that especially for a first season the dialog not only helped fill in the back story but also gave you insight into the various mages and their historical/fantasy grail warriors. The series was also somewhat 'educational' in that I'd never heard of some of these fantasy heroes so doing some research on them was entertaining as well - like the story of Bluebeard or Diarmuid of the Love Spot! ha.

Action in this first season was present and accounted for but not over the top or the focus in any way. I also really enjoyed seeing tie-ins to the original FSN series and learning more about the history of the Grail War...

For a first season, the stage was definitely set for what hopefully will turn out to be an all-out battle for possession of the Holy Grail! I can't wait to see how this one will end! (show less)