Fate/Zero

Part of the Fate Franchise – Prequel to Fate/Stay Night [Unlimited Blade Works] (or Fate/Stay Night)

Genre(s): Action, Magic, Modern Fantasy, Psychological

Age-Appropriateness: 16+ (Violence, Blood, Profanity)

Platforms: Netflix, Crunchyroll, Hulu

Episodes: 25

TheAwersome Rating: 8.6 / 10 (Good solid anime right here)

Premise: With the promise of granting any wish, the omnipotent Holy Grail has triggered three private wars in the past, each too cruel and fierce to leave a victor.  Despite that, mages clamor to participate in its fourth war, summoning ancient heroes with their own desires and ideals, to fight in a cutthroat battle to the death where only the victor can claim the Grail’s wish granting power. 

TheAwersome’s Thoughts: This is a good solid anime.  Something I really liked about Fate/Zero was the wide range of characters that we get to explore. Each mage has a different relationship/dynamic with the hero they summon, which leads to interesting dialogue, motivations, and character development. Despite having a large cast of characters, I feel like there was good depth to them, letting you get a good connection. The personalities given to the historical figures summoned are very interesting, so be sure to do a small bit of homework if you don’t recognize some of the names.

I will say this though: you may need to watch the first episode twice, because it pretty much fire-hoses you with the pretty complicated premise and character introductions. There is a lot of information in the double-length pilot episode, so be sure to pay attention. On that subject, there’s a good amount of “show don’t tell” with this show so you’ll want to pay attention and actually watch this show, rather than have it be one you have on in the background. Unless you’re totally cool being that person that prefers to spend more time asking questions about the show rather than watching it.

TLDR: Gripping, gritty modern fantasy with fascinating psychological elements.

No, the comment about hounding with questions was not in reference to anyone in particular, it’s just one of those shows that if you passively watch you’ll miss a lot and get confused.