A while back, when I had first found out about this series, I had some doubts. I was worried that this would just be some cheap replica of Fate/Stay Night, the sequel that was released in 2006. The original concept/story done by Gen Urobuchi in collaboration with Kirino Nasu, the original story designer of Fate/Stay Night, is being handled by a new team of producers and a new director and I do have to say that it flows very nicely. In conjunction with the nice flow of the story, all the valuable information, or lore if you will, you wish you had during Fate/Stay Night is abundant in what is only the first episode. Now before you have to ask, Fate/Zero can be watched as a stand-alone series, and even then it still delivers, but in my opinion it is best to watch the sequel first. I say this simply because recognizing some of the names and the lore behind the Holy Grail war really makes it all the more exciting.
There is an amazing amount of information in just the first episode alone, more than enough to allow you to easily understand the plot without having watched the sequel. It also serves as a helpful reminder for any information you may have forgotten since the first series. Not only is the main story uncovered for you but the development of the characters and the background information provided for them really sets the mood for the upcoming action. They really wanted you to be able to understand the characters’ backgrounds and through that their goals and struggles. Rivalries are defined and family ties are being created and thrown away all in preparation for a once every 60 year holy war, but what did you expect after all this is the battle for the Holy Grail.
I think that for an anime to truly be great it needs a good concept to get the ball rolling, good story and character development, as well as something to keep us excited for more. Fate/Zero does not fail to deliver in any of these three categories in the first episode alone. This will be a great new series to pick up if you haven’t watched Fate/Stay Night and if you have this is a definite must follow. This is the first series, in a while, that has peaked my interest so much and I am definitely looking forward to the development of this series after that garbage summer season.
