Fate/Zero season 2 review

I watched Fate/Zero without having seen Fate/Stay Night, which perhaps makes my impression of it somewhat unique. All that I said in my review of the first season still applies to season 2 as far as the diverse cast of characters, engrossing fantasy plot, and noticeably good animation. So I’m gonna try not to focus on those elements as much as review specifically what happens in season 2…

Season 2 begins right where the previous one left off, with Saber, Lancer, and Rider trying to take down Caster’s demon. If anything, the first few episodes of Fate/Zero 2 reminded me that quality animation of action scenes such as Saber using her Noble Phantasm and Archer and Berserker’s battle in the sky, can draw viewers in on their own even if a lot of the complicated fantasy elements go over their heads. In these early episodes we also see the demise of arguably the most wicked of the Masters and Servants, Uruyuu and Caster. I find it interesting that the series almost wants us to feel a bit of sympathy for the two serial killers at the point of their deaths, which is hard to do after what they had done in season 1. Also, the subplot of Archer wanting to make Saber his wife at this point seemed kind of pointless as the two hardly interacted except for a very brief confrontation towards the series finale – unless it’s something that’s more focused on in Fate/Stay Night.

Probably my favorite episode is 16, where we learn about Kiritsugu’s true motive behind the Holy Grail War. He wasn’t much of a starring character in season 1, but when I saw him emphasized in both the opening and ending of season 2, I knew he was going to play an important role. Lancer was one of the most appealing servants in my opinion, so to see him have such a tragic end, while Saber is forced to confront the ruthless ideals of her Master, made for quite a dramatic episode. I also very much enjoyed the two flashback episodes about Kiritsugu’s past, despite the fact that they were oddly placed within the series’ chronology. If knowledge of how Kiritsugu acquired the ideals he has wasn’t important to the series, these two episodes would have been great as a separate OVA. Regardless, it was a nice break from the relentless Holy Grail War tactics to take a step back and see the background story of one of the main characters. The real suspenseful clincher was in episode 19, where Kiritsugu’s utilitarian ideal of killing a few, even loved ones, in order to save many, really shines. It’s too bad we couldn’t have seen this kind of background for the other characters besides him.

While Kiritsugu becomes more of the series protagonist in season 2, Kirei becomes more of the villain. I sensed he was going to be bad news back in season 1 when he brutally assaulted Iri and Maiya, but the things he does in this season are even more despicable. Not that Tokiomi was the nicest guy either, but literally stabbing him in the back like that, then framing the already pitiable Kariya, forcing him into (almost) killing Tokiomi’s wife, then acting completely innocent in front of Rin in the final episode, not to mention the callous way he killed Iri, really makes him out to be wicked in a different way than characters like Uruyuu and Caster, who are upfront about their wickedness. But being evil doesn’t necessarily make a character uninteresting, and I thought Kirei’s rather stiff, stoic demeanor masking an inner yearning to find something to be passionate about, was pretty interesting (even if what he desired ended up being more tragedy).

Probably the death most fans will remember is that of Rider, since he and Waver seemed to be the most popular Master+Servant duo in the series. While they weren’t my favorites, it’s easy to see why people like them; in such a serious and violent series like this, they’re the only source of levity and light buddy comedy. It was sad to see their duo come to an end, even for someone like me who wasn’t that attached to them. And out of all the other deaths, I actually found Maiya’s pretty sad, too. Even though she was a minor character, maybe that was the reason her death was so sad – she wasn’t a player in the Holy Grail War but we got to know enough about her motive of loyalty to Kiritsugu to feel sympathy for her.

The series conclusion of Kiritsugu rejecting the Grail, and in doing so, causing another wave of death and destruction, but relief that he managed to save one life, was a decent one in my opinion. The only thing I felt was off in the final few episodes is the subplot of Saber and Lancelot. We hardly know anything about the latter yet the series makes it seem like it’s such an emotionally gripping event that the two have to battle. It just seemed out of place at that point in the story (again, maybe it’s something important in Fate/Stay Night). But besides that, the series leaves us with a bleak but satisfying ending that Kiritsugu’s wish to save the world cannot be accomplished unless, according to the Grail, humanity is wiped out, which leaves him lamenting his hopeless desire to become a hero. When the boy he rescued, Shirou, decides to make Kiritsugu’s ideal a reality, along with the fact that Kirei still needs to get his just desserts, the series is left nicely open for its sequel, Fate/Stay Night.

And that about wraps it up for my thoughts on Fate/Zero season 2. Like I said in my last review, it’s a high-budget series with engaging, fantastical action that’s both suspensefully violent and tragically dramatic. While I don’t think it’s a must-see – not worthy to be ranked #8 on MAL at least – I think it’s a very well made series and a top tier one if you love the action/fantasy genre.

No Comments… read them or add your own.

  1. Myna says:

    If you ever decide to watch Fate/Stay night, you’re going to be really underwhelmed after this.

    I think Kiritsugu’s backstory would’ve been better as an OVA, too. It felt a little out of place.

    I was totally indifferent to Maiya as she was a minor character that didn’t have a personality.

    • Yumeka says:

      Yeah, I heard Fate/Zero was a lot better than Stay Night. But it’ll still be fun continuing the story even if it’s not as good.

      Heh, maybe it’s because Maiya started to show some kind of personality (at least to me) when she was explaining about her loyalty to Kiritsugu before she was abruptly killed. Her acceptance of it was kind of touching too.

  2. Nice review, and though I agree with many of your points, I think you sell the series just a bit short. Then again, I love this type of show, and would much rather watch this than any of the seven series ranked ahead of it on that MAL list.

    >“The only thing I felt was off in the final few episodes is the subplot of Saber and Lancelot.”
    I do agree with this criticism. Based on the reactions of people who’ve read the novel, I take it some dialog between them was left out, which might make a difference. Maybe ufotable will add that for the blu-ray edition?

    >“Also, the subplot of Archer wanting to make Saber his wife at this point seemed kind of pointless as the two hardly interacted except for a very brief confrontation towards the series finale”
    If this were a romantic proposal, you’d be right, but in fact this is just a logical progression – every treasure in the world belongs to Gilgamesh. Saber, beautiful and noble, is a great treasure. Therefore, she belongs to Gilgamesh.

    Everyone who’s not Gilgamesh would disagree with that syllogism, but his demand that she marry him is, at least, perfectly in-character.

    >“I also very much enjoyed the two flashback episodes about Kiritsugu’s past, despite the fact that they were oddly placed within the series’ chronology.”
    I’m torn about those two episodes. They are important in understanding why Kiritsugu rejects the Grail, but on the other hand they’re so different from the rest of the show, and bring the main plot to a halt right in the middle of things, that I can’t help but wonder if there might’ve been a better way to handle them.

    • Narcogen says:

      There’s another way to look at Gilgamesh’s proposal to Saber: they form a sadomasochistic pair. Gilgamesh derives pleasure (or, as he might say, “entertainment”) from causing pain and suffering. He’s a sadist.

      Saber views a leader as someone who bears the pain and suffering of her people; as a messianic figure, to the point of equating suffering with nobility. She’s a masochist.

    • Yumeka says:

      Oh, I totally understand Gilgamesh believing that everything he desires should belong to him, including Saber, I just think his obsession with her would have been more interesting if the two interacted more rather than just an abrupt fight at the end.

      Maybe the two flashback episodes would have worked better if they came right after Caster’s defeat? Wouldn’t have felt as interrupting perhaps. Or maybe right at the beginning of the second season?

      Heh, I understand that you feel Fate/Zero deserves its high ranking. I certainly think it’s a must-see for its genre and a very good show overall. It’s just not my absolute favorite type of anime, but I can see why people like it.

  3. Kal says:

    I liked Waver and Rider, they showed the most “humanity” out of all the other characters. Kirei made a great villain (cold, and ruthless), and Kiritsugu an interesting “hero” (hum… cold and ruthless?), but rider just wanted to have fun, and Waver just wanted to do something with this life. Their end was tragic, but I think they had accomplished their goals :)

    As Myna said above, if you watch fate/stay-night, you may find it quite underwhelming. The animation is old, and the story is slow. It has some interesting plots, but nothing close to what fate/zero delivers. The Lancelot part is not explained in fate/stay night. The only thing it carries over are the villains, saber, archer, a few other characters, and the “betrayal” by Kiritsugu ordering saber to destroy the grail. Other than that, the story is quite different, and much slower, and older fashion. Interesting if you have the chance, but not as exiting as Zero.

    I still liked it though, the masters were varied, the heroic spirits were interesting, there was enough back story for the masters to add to the whole plot, so it was good. Maybe not the best, but good enough to watch again in a few years :)

    • Yumeka says:

      Yeah, Rider and Waver were the most easy-to-relate-to characters because of that “buddy comedy” vibe they had, while all the other characters were extremely serious.

      I won’t expect too much with Fate/Stay Night when I watch. I’ll just look forward to seeing more of the story and nothing amazing ;)

  4. Adziu says:

    I’m still at the start of the first season, lol. Will get round to it sometime, as it does look fantastic and I quite liked the original and the movie.

    I just wanted to swing by to say that the MAL top 30 list is very obviously skewed towards properties that come late in the life of a franchise – follow-up seasons, movies, spin-offs. This is because the people who don’t like the original parts don’t stick around for the follow-ups, so the only ones left to rate them tend to be the fans.

    • Yumeka says:

      Oh, I know the MAL rankings are skewered and aren’t particularly telling. I just wanted an example to support my point of how much praise Fate/Zero has gotten among the fandom.

      I hope you continue to like the series~

  5. Cytrus says:

    Poor Kirei, I can’t help tearing up when I think of his fortitude in the face of his endless struggle. And then there are meanies like you wishing him his ‘just desserts’, too…

  6. Nopy says:

    My favourite part of the series was definitely Kiritsugu’s backstory, it gave someone who seemed so much like a machine a human heart. I thought the ending was a bit sloppy compared to the rest of the story though. I can see why they did it, it was to keep the continuity with Fate/Stay Night.

    • Yumeka says:

      For some reason his backstory episodes made me reminiscent of Fullmetal Alchemist (the human experimentation, the way his father was portrayed). Not that that’s a bad thing =)

      Yeah, it did seem like they were setting up a lot of subplots in the last episode to keep in line with Fate/Stay Night, which I plan to watch soon.

  7. takashid says:

    If you want to really enjoy the sequel to Fate/Zero i do not recommend you watch the Fate/Stay Night anime, rather you should play The F/SN Visual Novel. Many people will tell you that Fate/Stay Night is not as good as fate/Zero, but actually that’s not really true. They are in fact about equal in terms of storytelling, but the problem is that FSN was adapted badly. Very, very badly.

    With FZ, you can see how much effort ufotable has gone to adapt the novel as perfectly as possible. However FSN was adapted by Sudio DEEN, who cut almost all character building and depth from the story in favor of rushing to get to the fight scenes. The story suffered badly as a result. When youve got a bunch of viewers hating the main character, you know theyve dropped the ball somewhere. The Visual Novel on the other hand, is fantastic, and a perfect sequel to Fate/Zero.

    Tldr: Fate/Stay Night’s anime adaptation was shitty and terribly done and has fooled many people into hating FSN. If you want an epic story that continues from Fate/Zero with the same amount of depth and writing as this anime did, please play the FSN Visual Novel.

    • Yumeka says:

      I see…is there somewhere I can download the visual novel fansubbed in English? (or watch a video of it). Although I understand some Japanese, not enough to follow a VN such as that. If not, then I’ll just settle for the anime while keeping in mind what you said.

      • takashid says:

        There is indeed an English version of the Visual novel. i believe the good folks at this site called Mirror Moon worked hard to create a translated version. Here is the link:

        http://mirrormoon.org/projects/fate_stay_night

        If you have any trouble with it, i believe you can check their site for help or any questions you may have. Enjoy! i have played the entire Visual Novel, all three routes and its fantastic. Even more so if you know Fate/Zero.

        P.S. about the anime, its not actually completely terrible, its just not amazing. Comes off as just average in the end. It certainly is nowhere near the level of ufotables FZ adaptation, but its not all horrible. Still, after playing the VN, i will always recommend that amazing epic over a bad adaptation.

  8. Cirris says:

    Eh, I grew bored of the show by the end and started skimming it. I didn’t feel anything for any of the masters. I knew from the start Kiritsugu would turned out to be F`ed in the head himself.

    Once Lancer got boned it really started to go downhill for me. Not because he died, but because the way he died and the fallout of realizing Saber would end up screwed by Kiritsugu. Near the end, I almost felt like rooting for Waver and Rider. But I know he was doomed too.

  9. I loved the series but wont dothe visual novel. I mean not everyone that liked the harry potter movies must read the giant books. I do wish id watched fate stay night thoughalthough everyone online says to stay away.

    Was a tad depressing makes me want to watch something light like fruits basket.

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