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REVIEW: Fate/Zero


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Juno016



Joined: 09 Jan 2012
Posts: 2436
PostPosted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 11:45 pm Reply with quote
Read the novel and bought/listened to the Sound Dramas alongside watching this. Not to mention, I finally got around to playing and beating "Heaven's Feel" in "Fate/Stay Night's" visual novel. Made everything perfect for me. I really recommend that people confused about a few parts of this anime REALLY read the source novel and/or the "Fate/Stay Night" visual novel (including every route--they are all sequentially important). =P

Anyway, I love Sakamichi, Tsuritama, Eureka, Kyoudai, and all the other generally-high-rated series this past season, but Fate/Zero was my personal favorite by far. It was exciting and I have only become a recent fan of Type-Moon, so everything was fresh and exciting. Not to mention, I study Urobuchi in depth now, so this was another big dive into his mind and world that left me satisfied and intrigued beyond my own expectations by the end. I am happy to be a fan and I hope this gets a lot of respect in the anime community in the West. =3
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 05, 2012 11:58 pm Reply with quote
I believe that Season 1 was better than Season 2, which was paced too fast for its own good. The entirety of the battle against Caster needed to be moved to the end of Season 1, which would have made both seasons better. Season 1 would have ended on an epic fight and Season 2 would have had more room to breathe and flesh out the remaining characters (spoiler[*coughLancelotcough*]).

[EDIT: Spoiler tag added. Really, you know better. - Key]
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mckg1



Joined: 24 Dec 2009
Posts: 287
Location: From Puerto Rico living in Japan
PostPosted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 12:09 am Reply with quote
i will def buy fate/zero when it goes down in price, 350$ is a little much for a 24 episode series. I can wait, when the price is down, who ever releases the series with a common price like 60$ has my money(hopefully released on blu ray, and funimation is the most likely candidate to grab this great gem, aniplex usually goes to them for a release in the US, or a price drop from them would be nice too Smile
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Errinundra
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Joined: 14 Jun 2008
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 12:17 am Reply with quote
Thanks for the review, Key.

Question. Some of the points in your review you canvassed in the discussion thread and some were brought up in that thread by other contributors. How much do the views of the forum members help you formulate your ideas and assist in your subsequent reviews?
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Juno016



Joined: 09 Jan 2012
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 12:23 am Reply with quote
dtm42 wrote:
I believe that Season 1 was better than Season 2, which was paced too fast for its own good. The entirety of the battle against Caster needed to be moved to the end of Season 1, which would have made both seasons better. Season 1 would have ended on an epic fight and Season 2 would have had more room to breathe and flesh out the remaining characters.


(Spoiler tag that last part I didn't quote!)

At least they ARE giving us a release with more on the scene with spoiler[Lancelot]. Not that it helps those who only see the TV broadcast... but at least they aren't just leaving it as it is. They had planned to do this from the beginning on many episodes, anyway. Dunno whether or not to call it a flaw... or just something that had to be done.

Though I kinda agree that the spoiler[Caster fight] could have been moved to the end of the first season... 1) It was already pushing the boundaries of where the second novel ended as it was... and 2) They couldn't get 14 episodes like they wanted for the season, so they would have even less time to fit it in.
That said, the episode with spoiler[Rin going to save her friend] surprised me in that it was an anime-only event. For something trying to be accurate to the original source, I have to wonder who made the decision to put that episode in, and why. I didn't dislike it, and I even thought it was great for that character's development, but... it could have made some room for something a little more important.

errinundra wrote:
Question. Some of the points in your review you canvassed in the discussion thread and some were brought up in that thread by other contributors. How much do the views of the forum members help you formulate your ideas and assist in your subsequent reviews?


I'm curious, too. I think it's important to keep up with the reaction and even some of the explanation by fans who know what they are talking about, but the double-edged sword comes in with how it affects your own personal perception. Regardless, I thought the review was generally similar to my own thoughts, so it's not like it really hurt. And it helps give others some background info that could make or break their experience during some scenes.
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RyanSaotome



Joined: 29 Mar 2011
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 12:26 am Reply with quote
Juno016 wrote:
That said, the episode with spoiler[Rin going to save her friend] surprised me in that it was an anime-only event. For something trying to be accurate to the original source, I have to wonder who made the decision to put that episode in, and why. I didn't dislike it, and I even thought it was great for that character's development, but... it could have made some room for something a little more important.


That was added to appeal to the Rin fanbase, which is a quite large part of the Fate fanbase. They likely would have complained about her lack of screen time if she didn't get an episode dedicated to her.
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Dessa



Joined: 14 Jul 2004
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 12:37 am Reply with quote
According to my friend who has the novels, the Rin story is included as a tiny side-story at the end of one of them (she was also more than a bit annoyed/upset that they included it in F/Z's anime, since she couldn't stand it in the novel, and they expanded it in the anime).


Two comments on the review:

1) It's a 60 year cycle, not a 50 year cycle.

2) Fate/Zero (anime) is not a prequel to the Fate/stay night anime. F/Z is an adaptation of the light novels, which are a prequel to the F/sn visual novel. The F/sn anime added scenes that do not exist in the VN, which create direct inconsistencies, such as spoiler[Gilgamesh and Saber fighting each other], which spoiler[is the cause of the fire] in the F/sn anime, and doesn't exist in either the VN or F/Z.
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Juno016



Joined: 09 Jan 2012
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 12:39 am Reply with quote
RyanSaotome wrote:
Juno016 wrote:
That said, the episode with spoiler[Rin going to save her friend] surprised me in that it was an anime-only event. For something trying to be accurate to the original source, I have to wonder who made the decision to put that episode in, and why. I didn't dislike it, and I even thought it was great for that character's development, but... it could have made some room for something a little more important.


That was added to appeal to the Rin fanbase, which is a quite large part of the Fate fanbase. They likely would have complained about her lack of screen time if she didn't get an episode dedicated to her.


Are you sure? That doesn't seem like something they would do unless pressured into it by someone with the power to do so. I liked the episode, possibly a little better than how the situation ended up in the novel, but it still didn't really do much for the story as a whole...

Dessa wrote:
According to my friend who has the novels, the Rin story is included as a tiny side-story at the end of one of them (she was also more than a bit annoyed/upset that they included it in F/Z's anime, since she couldn't stand it in the novel, and they expanded it in the anime).


Having read the novels myself, in Japanese, the episode covers a small portion of the novels that deals with spoiler[Rin going to find her friend and save her from Caster and Ryuunosuke]. However, in the novels, spoiler[she is knocked unconscious BEFORE she can do anything]. If I remember correctly from the anime, spoiler[she isn't knocked unconscious until after she saves her friend and the other children]. It's a small change in detail, but they take more time in the anime to make that change a reality.
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Key
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Joined: 03 Nov 2003
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 1:02 am Reply with quote
Juno016 wrote:
errinundra wrote:
Question. Some of the points in your review you canvassed in the discussion thread and some were brought up in that thread by other contributors. How much do the views of the forum members help you formulate your ideas and assist in your subsequent reviews?


I'm curious, too. I think it's important to keep up with the reaction and even some of the explanation by fans who know what they are talking about, but the double-edged sword comes in with how it affects your own personal perception. Regardless, I thought the review was generally similar to my own thoughts, so it's not like it really hurt. And it helps give others some background info that could make or break their experience during some scenes.

Oh, it definitely factors into the review process - at least for me, anyway. While my opinions on a series aren't usually influenced much by the discussion threads (unless there's something that I'm missing or just not understanding), I do make an effort to address points that are talked about extensively in the discussion threads.
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Fencedude5609



Joined: 09 Nov 2006
Posts: 5088
PostPosted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 1:09 am Reply with quote
Juno016 wrote:

That said, the episode with spoiler[Rin going to save her friend] surprised me in that it was an anime-only event. For something trying to be accurate to the original source, I have to wonder who made the decision to put that episode in, and why. I didn't dislike it, and I even thought it was great for that character's development, but... it could have made some room for something a little more important.


Well, Urobuchi Gen wrote the original novels, and he wrote the screenplay and everything for the anime, so I'm assuming if he really hated it it wouldn't have gotten in.

Personally, I think that Madokami smiles on bold little girls.
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Juno016



Joined: 09 Jan 2012
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 1:13 am Reply with quote
Fencedude5609 wrote:
Juno016 wrote:

That said, the episode with spoiler[Rin going to save her friend] surprised me in that it was an anime-only event. For something trying to be accurate to the original source, I have to wonder who made the decision to put that episode in, and why. I didn't dislike it, and I even thought it was great for that character's development, but... it could have made some room for something a little more important.


Well, Urobuchi Gen wrote the original novels, and he wrote the screenplay and everything for the anime, so I'm assuming if he really hated it it wouldn't have gotten in.

Personally, I think that Madokami smiles on bold little girls.


I could be wrong, but I thought he only supervised the script and screenplay... It was in an interview I saw posted on ANN, too. I would need to find it to double-check, though...
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dtm42



Joined: 05 Feb 2008
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Location: currently stalking my waifu
PostPosted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 1:23 am Reply with quote
While I liked the Rin episode, it shouldn't have been in there. Just because Rin is a fan-favourite doesn't mean she should star in a series in which she doesn't belong. Heck, even George Lucas refrained from putting Han Solo or Han Solo Snr in the prequels. Back to Rin, I have no problem with her being there and waving goodbye to daddy, but giving her an entire precious episode's worth of screentime is crazy. If people really want to see her then they should play the Visual Novels or watch the Fate/Stay Night Anime. Or even read Doujins.
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The American Average



Joined: 17 Sep 2010
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 2:22 am Reply with quote
I loved every minute of F/Z, makes me hopeful that Tsukihime will get some of this caliber of animation
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Stark700



Joined: 30 Jan 2012
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Location: Earth
PostPosted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 2:53 am Reply with quote
Great series and review. I enjoyed this series as one of my favorites from the Spring Season that began all the way back last October.

Now, might be thinking about getting the BD version soon to check any extras and info on the series. Also, considering re-watching again in 1080p on CR.
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kpk



Joined: 05 Apr 2009
Posts: 484
PostPosted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 3:30 am Reply with quote
"B+"?!

Oh, come on!

It deserve at least an A.



It's one of the best anime shows ever made.
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