Fate/Zero / First Impressions

「凶獣咆哮」 (Kyoujuu Houkou)
“Howl of a Mad Beast”

They’re really pulling out all the stops now, as what looked like four Servants standing off against one another suddenly became six. I don’t recall that ever happening in Fate/stay night. With the way they were assessing the situation and feeling one another out, it could’ve easily turned into a free-for-all battle royal. All it probably would’ve taken is a gunshot from the shadows, which is probably why Kiritsugu was wise enough to not set off all the Servants off and cause all hell to break loose. He could’ve easily put a hole through Waver’s head and taken both him and Rider out in one fell swoop, but the only ones who would’ve benefited from that are the Masters who didn’t have a Servant standing on the battlefield. Kiritsugu clearly isn’t stupid enough to act before he has to, and I dare say that if he had a choice, he wouldn’t have let Saber take part in the actual first battle to mark the start of the war and instead, let the competition thin itself out as much as possible. Saber of course wasn’t going to cower and hide in the face of an enemy, leading us to where we are now. I’m not going to lie; Part of me wishes Saber and Lancer accepted Rider’s offer to team up — or at the very least, proposed that they be treated as equals — simply because they would’ve been a force to be reckoned with. (What a waste indeed.)

Now is it just me or does Berserker (Okiayu Ryoutarou) look pretty amazing? Ufotable’s really outdone themselves animating him (with what I imagine is CG), especially the black fog that helps mask his true identity. For the inquisitive minds out there, his fog is known as “For Someone’s Glory”, presumably one of his Noble Phantasms, the other of which allows him to create a makeshift Noble Phantasm out of other objects like he demonstrated here. Interestingly enough, the offensive ability is known as “Knight of Honor” or in its literal translation, “A Knight Does Not Die Empty-handed” 「騎士は徒手にて死せず」, in reference to how he doesn’t seem to carry a weapon. In any case, Berserker sure made an impact with his sudden arrival, shrouded in mystery and fending off Archer’s “Gate of Babylon” Noble Phantasm like it was nothing. While his true identity may have been inadvertently spoiled for a lot of readers (no, not by me), there have been enough hints from the show itself to make viewers suspect as much. We have the ending sequence shot, plus Berserker losing control once he set his eyes on Saber. It does however raise questions about what effect Berserker and Saber’s repeated encounters are going to have on Kariya. From the look of things, it’s taking quite a toll on him to keep Berserker under his control, as Zouken’s bugs eat through his body even faster.

For those unfamiliar with Fate/stay night, it’s nice to see Fate/Zero “formally” introduce the use of Command Seals so that everyone’s on the same page as to exactly what they entail and the different scenarios that can prompt a Master to expend one of their three uses. I was pretty surprised to see two uses burned in a single episode, but it did help showcase the Servants’ personalities and more importantly, how they don’t always see eye-to-eye with their Masters. Archer is easily provoked by Rider because of his arrogance, forcing Tokiomi to use up one of his Seals for a tactical retreat, whereas Lancer’s honor wouldn’t allow him to double-team Saber, prompting Kayneth to do the same. Incidentally, all this Command Seal stuff did leave me wondering why Irisviel isn’t wearing gloves, because her lack of a seal easily casts a shadow of doubt over whether she’s Saber’s Master. I was under the impression that Kiritsugu was hoping to confuse the competition by having Iri pose as a proxy Master for him, but now I’m starting to think he’s only doing so because his ideals clash with Saber’s and he deems it counterproductive to be around her. After all, he perceives her as nothing more than a tool in this war, so in all likelihood, he’s leveraging her abilities as much as possible within the confines of her personality. Suffice to say, it’s a pretty stark contrast from Waver’s partnership with Rider, who was utterly awesome yet again with the way he supported his Master when he was intimidated by Kayneth. He also wouldn’t stand for Kayneth’s cowardly two-on-one crap and was “considerate” enough to tell Saber to settle things with Lancer first, primarily because he doesn’t want to fight her in her handicapped state from the wound Lancer inflicted.

Pacing-wise, I would normally be concerned about how we’re five episodes in and very little has happened from a broader perspective. This is only the first real battle between Servants after all. The beauty of it is that I’m not the least bit worried, as everything’s been masterfully scripted so far. If it means that the quality of encounters will all be like this, I’ll gladly take that over simply increasing the quantity to fill up time. I find it’s more believable to see things settled after only an encounter or two, rather than dragging things out with constant clashes and retreats. It also gives the plot a more movie-like feel — befitting of the production values — where it looks like character can be killed off at any moment. What’s more, it places more emphasis on the character interactions, such as the level of respect between Saber, Lancer, and Rider, providing an interesting perspective on the Holy Grail War. In a sinister game where the Masters are cunning, cutthroat, or simply insane, it’s nice to know that there are Servants who would much rather prefer to see it structured as an honorable tournament. At the same time, we’re not exactly devoid of progression, as it looks like the gig is up on Kiritsugu monitoring the church and Kirei/Tokiomi know that someone’s suspicious of their secret alliance. Ryuunosuke and Caster were watching the battle too, which helps solidify that everyone’s aware of who they’re up against now. The series has done well in establishing that all the participants have some redeeming qualities — albeit some only in the Servant’s case (i.e. Kayneth & Lancer) — which is what I find makes the portrayal of the Fourth War much more interesting than the Fifth. The only exceptions at the moment are Ryuunosuke and Caster, whom I wouldn’t mind seeing killed off at the very first opportunity.

I gather I don’t have to say too much about Caster’s excitement over Saber, seeing as I got a lot of flack about mentioning that he would mistake her as Joan of Arc, but I still question exactly what I ruined for readers from an enjoyment standpoint. I provided no context because I didn’t know of any, and as someone who learned here that he was overjoyed to the point of tears (i.e. in the same situation as those I “spoiled”), I got more excited because I had some anticipation toward it. Rather than a spoiler, I intended for it to be a teaser — no different than the ones you might see in an opening sequence — and I still feel it worked well as one.

Random thoughts:

  • I probably don’t say it enough, but Seki Tomokazu is one of my favorite male seiyuu. He can play a variety of roles from goofy to badass, with the most recent examples being Daru in Steins;Gate and Gilgamesh here.
  • The soundtrack is utterly awesome in bringing out the various scenes, though I dare say that should be a given when Kajiura Yuki composing the music.
  • Saber, I don’t think that’s the type of negotiation Rider had in mind, but I wouldn’t put it pass him since he does talk about sleeping with as many women as possible.
  • Tokiomi: “This is bad.”
    Kirei: “Yes, quite bad indeed.”
    Tokiomi & Kirei: “He just called us f**ken scrubs!”
  • Waver, you have a little bit of drool on you there.
  • lol.

    •  

    Preview

    344 Comments

        1. This would be the second time I saw Gilgamesh looking so vulnerable, though he looked more vulnerable on the first time. Show Spoiler ▼

          bobon721
          Reply

        2. he is also a knight-but ya he is one of only 3 people who can match the gate of babylon. Saber is just that strong she can win plus Hes dumb when he fights her. Shiro and archer’s unlimited blade works because he can match him and exceed him since he can make more copies -plus fighting him is what gave him his arsenal in the first place and Zero’s berserker because he can wield them -if any other servent tried that it wouldn’t have worked -a noble phantom can’t normally be used by any one but the owner -shiro’s and archer’s are made by them so they own theirs and Gilgamesh owns his so you see why he is the one exception. Actuall Fate stay night and Fate Zero have made me think of a new trope- The rules only exist to be broken- Any stated set of rules is only stated to show just how powerful the characters are. Have multiple noble phantoms -every one in fate has several i don’t think anyone has only one, is an example of this.

          Chaos
          Reply

        1. I’m willing to bet that if this story were an original one and not a prequel, we’ll be arguing fiercely at each other about who will and should win the war…Now only newcomers of Fate series can do that, and others can only be slightly amused by them at best.

          pss
          Reply

    5. I’m pretty disappointed at the CG Berserker, on general principle. Still, very well done.

      Anyway, really good episode overall, the show gets stronger and stronger.

      I still can’t get over that they cast Yamazaki Takumi as Kayneth. Seriously, what are the chances that in the course of a year he’d play two evil British aristocrats named “Archibald”?

      Fencedude
      Reply

      1. Well, the original LN does describe Berserker as looking somewhat like a hallucination, so I think the CG was an appropriate way of making him appear otherworldly.

        Also, Bro-serker or Berser-GAR?

        Whatisusername
        Reply

        2. I’m edging toward GAR instead of Bro, since Berserker doesn’t seem to be a helpful to anyone, but it’s too early to tell for now.

          I think the title for BRO belongs to Rider for helping out Saber and Lancer in their confrontation, so BroRIDER and BerserGAR!

          Kelfistan
          Reply

        2. 1.He didn’t even half of his GoB yet.
          2.Berserker’s NP counter GoB very well, and being not a God race like F/SN berserker also helps. (GoB contain some anti-god weapons)
          3. Berserker is the strongest class (in raw power) in Holy Grail War, afterall.

          zeroyuki92
          Reply

    9. That was hands down one of the most engaging episodes of anime that I have ever watched. I was practically drooling over the awesomeness that was this whole episode. ufotable I love you!

      Xin
      Reply

    10. the countdown is probably when this holy grail war will end
      damn this berserker is way cooler than that huge black monster in the fifth =-=
      but why does the knight of lake seems to have more control of himself than hercules probably my only complaint

      Sapphirearcz
      Reply

      1. That’s because FZ Berserker’s Mad Enhancement skill is rank C: “Rank up for all parameters except Luck and Mana, but in exchange one can no longer think and speak properly.”
        and FSN Berserker’s Mad Enhancement skill is rank B: “Rank up for all parameters, but takes away most of sanity.”

        Jamc
        Reply

        1. Also, without spoiling too much, FZ Berserker’s true identity has a special ability where he gets to keep all of his combat skills regardless of his mental state; basically, even if his mind was reduced to that of a retarded 2 year old’s, he would still be an incredibly skilled warrior capable of beating you to death with a spoon. After turning it into his Noble Phantasm, of course.

          Whatisusername
          Reply

      2. Also @Whatisusername, it’s rather ironic that you would take care about spoilers when Sapphirearcz has already spoiled it and anyone could look up the abilities posted in the description and get themselves spoiled (Although for the latter it’s more their fault for being too curious).

        Okay, I give it 30 out of 100 chance that someone will get spoiled about his identity by the title Sapphire posted, because I don’t think too many people read his legends.

        Ryouichi
        Reply

        1. Oh, I believe you are wrong on that part…I don’t think it is that too many people haven’t read his legend. It is just people are more prone to recognize Berserker with his other name.

          Bakanekokun
          Reply

    11. It was this episode that completely cemented my resolve to survive the three month break before the second half. If it lets ufotable keep up this level of purely awe-inspiring quality, I don’t care about waiting!

      Kosmos
      Reply

    12. I would explain this doubt
      ‘Incidentally, all this Command Seal stuff did leave me wondering why Irisviel isn’t wearing gloves’
      This is not true at all, not all masters have seals on their hands. Rin for example has the seals on her arms.

      Random
      Reply

      1. Rin’s seal was pretty much the same as the one Tokiomi has. Ilya, on the other hand, had the command seal that covered her entire body, so, indeed, it doesn’t have to be limited to the wrist area.

        Dakkar
        Reply

    14. I really don’t understand how anyone could be spoiled about Berserker’s identity just from what’s been shown in the anime and ending. It’s not something that would immediately come to mind unless one had a lot of interest in that subject of learning.

      I know that if I hadn’t read the light novels, I still would have no idea who Berserker is because I actually don’t know his identity’s legends, just his name (Isn’t that true of most people?).

      Ryouichi
      Reply

        8. I wanted to say that you (C2710) were right the first time w/o spoiling too much for people reading the blog – simply because, we take for grant that we know so much about the Arthurian legend and assume others would know it too -> i.e. thinking everyone in the world have seen the great comical parody of the legend called Monty Python and the Holy Grail or understand the joke made in reference to it. Or at least understand sarcasm. It doesn’t help as much that Fate/Zero has take two different segments from the legend and mold it into one character. STILL I am glad someone mention Monty Python and that you have clear up the confusion.

          Bakanekokun
          Reply

      4. I would like to state that I have not read the novels and after the end of episode 2 I had figured out who Berzerker was with no spoiling needed. I had Divine and one other confirm this just to make sure.

        KoroshiyaKi
        Reply

        1. I’m going a bit off topic here but… This comment surprises me. Maybe I see you as some omni-viewing beast or maybe it’s my region but, every anime viewer I know has seen FruBa.

          mist666999
          Reply

        1. Agreed that he’s got a very recognisable shouting voice but if you guys didn’t point out the seiyuu I would never had guessed that Gilgamesh was voiced by the same VA as Sagara.

          Man oh man. His awesomeness just went up by a large factor.

          Hrmmmm
          Reply

    19. This wraps up volume 1 of the LN.

      Next episode based on the previews would be caster and kayneth’s part which is incidentally 2 of my least favorite characters.
      Hope they could finish that part in 1 episode only…

      Rakkyo
      Reply

      1. Telling us who’ll be in the spotlight is also a spoiler, so I’d appreciate it if refraim from doing it in the future, thx. I really don’t want to know ANYTHING about happens next.

        boingman
        Reply

      2. I don’t think that’s a spoiler, since their voices are clearly heard from the preview for the next episode. Unless you consider a preview to be a spoiler… Anyway, an unfamiliar voice was heard in it. Could it belong to the girl next to Kayneth?

        pss
        Reply

    21. Unbelievable but this is the best episode so far in what appears to be the best series of the season (even topping Guilty Gears so far!).

      Berserker looks fantastic and the battles are top-notch!

      dimasok
      Reply

    22. Oooh, they messed up. I counted 15 Noble Phantasms during the action scene when he actually summoned 16.

      Tsk tsk.

      Seriously though, the fact that they matched the number and shapes of every single one of the weapons Gilgamesh summoned shows how much attention to detail they are actually paying.

      Kaus
      Reply

    24. It is always a joy to see two Slam Dunk veterans Okiayu Ryuutarou (Berserker) and Midorikawa Hikaru (Lancer) appear together, having seen them both together in Clannad was enjoyable to say the least. Though as a Berserker, Okiayu would only be responsible for screaming incoherently until later on when his true identity is revealed.

      Kinny Riddle
      Reply

    25. I was a little worried on how Berserker’s action scenes were gonna turn out(not a big cg fan) but this episode just blew that worry away. Seriously ufotable did an awesome job during Gilgamesh and Berserker’s action scene just seeing berserker grabing the noble phantasms and deflecting GoB was just awesome. Its really cool to see someone not get skewered by Gate of Babylon-as most servant in FS/N that sees GoB gets owned fast.

      rasone0104
      Reply

      1. I was literally shivering from the amount of AWESOME Beserker was releasing. Shivering. It was an awesome fight against Gilgamesh. I can’t wait for their 2nd clash. It’ll be even better iirc.

        Also, lol on Rider doing a Hit and Run on Beserker.

        Jared Drake
        Reply

      2. Ufotable is responsible for a really beautiful animation in Kara no Kyoukai, it´s good to see that they dedicated as much effort in Fate/Zero and you´re right, Gilgamesh was so angry that it was a metter of time before he unleashed Ea and wipe off have of the port.

        haseo0408
        Reply

    26. I love the interaction between Ishkander and Waver, they are both almost completely insane but at the same time very smart in everey action they take. Kiritsugu shouldn´t understimate The King of Conquerors, he might act as lunatic but he´s not a fool at all.

      In the regard of Berserker all I can say is that was one of the best battle scenes in the TYPE-MOON universe, the only thing that is better than this will be Kara no Kyoukai. Berseker own the battlefield since the moment he appear, I´ve never such intense fight between Servants, he might be a lot more dengerous than Hercules from the Fith Holy Grail War!!!.

      haseo0408
      Reply

        1. Circumstantial. Gil has an anti God weapon which is why he can take down F/SN Berserker so easily seeing as Berserker was half-God. F/Z Berserker has an anti-Gate of Babylon skill like Shirou and Archer/EMIYA which makes him perfect to fight Gil. Personally, F/SN Berserker would most probably destroy F/Z Berserker.

          blakraven66
          Reply

        4. Actually no. FSN Berserker would steamroll all F/0 servants with the exception of Gilgamesh(due to Chains of Enkidu).

          And Even the chains Show Spoiler ▼

          so yes, FSN-Berserker is a lot more dangerous. And he would be EVEN more friggin dangerous if he was summoned as Archer, due to the nature of his phantasm.

          unknownvoice
          Reply

        5. You sound like someone who only watched the fate stay night anime and movie. First of all Gil used much much more of his GoB on FSN berserker, second of all he used Enkidu. Berserker from Fsn is also really Divine so enkidu is really strong against him. Also berserker even broke out of Gils chains.

          Gilgamesh92
          Reply

    28. Hell yes, I was waiting for Berserker’s combat debut. He was my favorite servant in Fate/Zero. I always loved the scene in the LN where he hands Gilgamesh a big cup of STFU. Its too bad his Master sucks.

      Iskandar is still so obnoxious and fun to watch. Too bad Lancer didn;t get to do much and Saber is bleh.

      fragb85
      Reply

    30. is caster a frenchman or merlin? if not y he’d go crazy over saber bein ressurected?

      plus i must say that despite being a straight guy, lancer’s damn hot and he’s very gentlemanly… guess if not for the war…. lancer x saber might be possible???

      c2710
      Reply

    31. One thing I noticed about the Fate series is that Gilgamesh’s ‘Gate of Babylown’ has some major weaknesses. It seems to be only effective against Saber. Even Shiro can take Gilgamesh down, lol.

      suff
      Reply

      1. its not “even shiro”.

        Gilgamesh Bate of Babylon is seriously HAX thing, considering the things he keeps there.

        The reason Shirou managed to win is because Shirou’s own ability is pretty much a DIRECT COUNTER to Gate of Babylon. Having one of strongest shield phatasms also helped a lot.

        Shirou’s powers are pretty much made to fight against stronger opponents as he is capable of using them to match their strength.

        The thing with Shirou vs Gilgamesh fight is that if Gilgamesh used Ea from the start, Shirou would have been fucked – you do not defend yourself from a sword that warps time and space and is capable of splitting the earth into two halves.

        So yes, While shirou can match general gate of babylon stuff, if Gilgamesh was not as prideful he would have owned Shirou, considering the stuff he has there.

        Also let’s note that while Gate of Babylon summons the swords from his endless vault of treasures, Shirou’s UBW actually warps reality around it providing a door to an alternate dimension of empty space with all the weapons shirou has ever seen and comprehended. And that Shirou’s latent abilities allow him to replicate the strenth and mastery of original owner of every weapon he wields. Hence why in HF route Show Spoiler ▼

        unknownvoice
        Reply

    33. I think it’s pretty clear what is going to happen now (I think).

      Tokiomi is going to run out of command spells and lose control of Gilgamesh to Kirei. Lancer is going to get killed by his master as according to the legend associated with him (probably due to that girl who is shown with his master).

      suff
      Reply

      1. In Brazil, the A-ok sign is basically the equivalent of giving someone the middle finger in Canada/America. In other countries such as Germany, an upside-down A-ok sign suggests an orifice, which is what my joke was alluding to. I guess it’s not very funny if I have to explain it. I’ll try harder next time. :\

        Divine
        Reply

        4. Sorry Divine, but i’m from Brazil and A-ok sign don’t mean the same middle finger, here we use most ofter the same way americans, but can also may means a reference to anus, most often in jokes where there someone is so scared that… you know…

          seapher
          Reply

        6. That’s right, i never saw someone using the A-ok sign that way, we use here as equivalent to middle finger the bras d’honner that we call “banana” thanks to the italian influence we have here… So, i think this is the case that our moms says “never trust what you read in internet” 😛

          seapher
          Reply

      2. Haha… I thought it was funny since it was what I thought about when I saw Rider with his suggestive finger gestures.
        Those who say the media is dominated by violence and sex can suck it because it looks like parental censorship is working quite well ;P

        Seishun Otoko
        Reply

    35. I went wtf and lol-ed a little when Berserker easily pawned Gilgamesh’s gate of babylon. Does berserker class always have to be this badass? He is so badass it becomes pretty scary.
      Gilgamesh’s arrogance seems too big even for him though :/ I even start feeling bad for Tokiyomi. I guess this will be one of the factors that will drag him down… Or maybe not.
      Rider and Lancer are just so honorable. and what’s with all the best lines in the series come from Rider! Loving the scene where he stood up for Waver. I went a little bit d’aaaaaawww (yes, I am a girl). And even Lancer gets more and more handsome in every episode, thanks to his gentleman manner. Not much can be said about Saber, but I loved it when she also honorably revealed whom she was to Rider.
      5 episodes and I can proudly declare Fate/Zero as my favorite anime of the season. No, make it of the year. On production quality it is definitely on par with Guilty Crown, but I love how fate/zero manages to use the amazing quality as a tool to back up the impressive story telling, instead of solely depending on it.

      KGFJ
      Reply

      2. Like I said before, I think in the Fate series all the servants have some weaknesses… making it kind of like rock-paper-scissors (very weird, considering most of did not arise from a fighting game or anything similar).

        For example in FSN we see that Gilagmesh pwns Saber easily in the Fate scenario, because he has the REAL Excalibur as well as many other swords. In UBW however Gilagmesh got pwnt by Shiro, who is a lot weaker than Saber.

        suff
        Reply

        3. I beg to differ, but I don’t think Gilgamesh has the real Excalibur. He does though have the real Caliburn, called Gram. Saber lost to Gilgamesh because she does not have the means to counter his Noble Phantasms save for one, revealed in the Fate rout of FSN.

          pss
          Reply

      3. Actually, Fate is about who can summoned the most OP hero, aka the most OP noble phantasm/s.

        What make Gil so OP is his noble phantasm GOB and Ea.

        But in Fate/Stay Night Gil’s lost was caused by Saber/Shirou’s *you-know-what* because it was more OP.

        Heck, He lost in UBW because he didn’t used his Ea against Shirou.

        Vermillion
        Reply

      4. Well look at it this way… if Gil wasn’t soooooo arrogant he wouldn’t really be losing to anyone. The plot needs him to be super arrogant for him to lose else he would be steamrolling everyone.

        MartianMage
        Reply

    36. The pacing of this anime is almost perfect. That alone made me love it, given the amount of badly paced anime recently. Not to mention the comedy, the action, the story and plot. I’d say so far, this anime has some of my favorite episodes this year. I hope they will be able to continue with the quality production.

      x
      Reply

    37. Having not played any of the games, I think I know what Berserker’s true identity is. What I don’t understand is why he qualifies for berserker class. Maybe I’m just not familiar enough with the many variants of his legend. Can anyone explain?

      Blue
      Reply

      2. Look…if you know what the identity is, then wiki or google it. The reading will be short compare to all the variants of his legend put together. Then piece what fragb just told you and what I commented in “classically casted” -> I’m sure it will help explain it.

        Bakanekokun
        Reply

    41. hit and run! hit and run! Rider’s really lucky that there wasn’t any traffic officers nearby or he will get fined or possibly arrested for a hit and run!!!! On a side note, will Rider ever fight Caster? Cause I want to see him doing a hit and run on Caster!!!

      Hakarum
      Reply

    43. I love this episode! Rider and Waver were awesome good thing Kiritsugu didn’t snipe him. Fight scene with Berserker was amazing! but I pity Kariya how much longer can he last?

      mistress_kisara
      Reply

    45. It’s funny because Waver and Rider seem more like the conventional leads in modern anime that is dominated by sub 18 year olds. I’m glad Fate/Zero is anything but anime cliches and Kiritsugu is turning out to be a very interesting lead with his well thought out strategies and seemingly stone cold demeanor.
      Looks like Kariya’s Berserker is much stronger than Ilya’s who was taken out by Gilgamesh in 5 seconds. It’s not just the masters who are more cunning in Fate/Zero, the servants over here would probably put those in FSN in shame too.
      It bothers me as well that Irisviel doesn’t wear gloves to conceal the lack of command seals on her hand. It’s a dead giveaway.

      Seishun Otoko
      Reply

      1. The 5th War Berserker was uniquely vulnerable to Gilgamesh, in a way that most other servants are not. As someone mentioned upthread, the 5th War’s Berserker would probably tear the 4th War’s limb from limb.

        Fencedude
        Reply

        2. ^THIS.

          And look how badass FSN Berserker was in one route DESPITE his weakness…

          FSN Berserker would own anyone. And he would own pretty much everything and everyone if he was summoned as Archer(considering the nature of his phantasm and the nine bullet revolver)

          unknownvoice
          Reply

        3. Yeah, F/SN Berserker is insanely powerful. He needs exceptional circumstances to beat, like fighting an even more powerful servant in the UBW route, or being killed by a poorly executed asspull in the Fate route.

          Still F/Z Berserker is still more awesome than him though. He has more style than F/SN Berserker’s grunting and swinging.

          fragb85
          Reply

        5. For one, Show Spoiler ▼

          For second, Show Spoiler ▼

          Shirou Emiya is pretty much THE man whose abilities are pretty much made to fight against stronger opponents since he can turn their strength against them and get up to their level by his innate abilities.

          unknownvoice
          Reply

        3. I beg to differ as a tactician pss, wearing gloves (or concealing her hand in anyway) can only raise a flag that they’re hiding something (and if they are, it’s already obvious to what it is). Not hiding that hand, however, will only raise questions and arguments that may cause confusion and irrelevant thinking to the opponent. So it’s not exactly a dead give-away.
          This is a case where it doesn’t matter what the enemy thinks.. as long as you make them think.

          MrRei
          Reply

    46. Seriously, I don’t know if I should complain or what: at the rate of how great and addicting this series is going – I will be having a severe withdrawal while waiting for the conclusion and beyond.

      Bakanekokun
      Reply

    47. God, at first i am quite disappointed with the anime this season, but fate zero make up for all of them.
      This not only meet the expectation from the light novel, but far surpass it in many ways. Geez, can’t wait for next eps.
      I bet Alexander will be the most popular Servant, and 2nd Berserker and/or Caster. Saber and Archer are already well-known that they wouldn’t make it, as for Lancer, he doesn’t show much thing different from a common knight, and his end is a bit … stupid ? Assassin doesn’t have much scene, and doesn’t show great power too.

      chikvn
      Reply

    49. like most people, this is one of the best CG used ive seen in anime. berserker is badass and awesome. way to take care of beating archer’s GoB with KoH.
      makes me wonder how a fight between him and the other archer(F/S night) would work?

      and man, even if I know how it would end thanks to the anime F/S night, im still rooting for kariya. I also like kiritsugu, tokiomi and kirei but kariya has the more sad and heartwarming reason for doing it. I wished he won…

      amado
      Reply

    50. Best episode to date. While the last few episodes have been satisfying, they really kicked it up a notch with this one. I just loved every interaction between the servants. I wish Saber and Lancer went along with Ishkander’s proposal. It’d be nice to see them battle it out together. But it’s already nice to see how much they respect one another to duel it out fairly. While I’m not really an avid hater of cg in the first place the action scene between Gilgamesh and Broserker was superb.

      I hope to god Ishkander lasts through at least the first half of the game. He is too awesome to die early. I just want to hug him! Floppy Waver is seriously lol. It’s taken me longer than others but I’m much more excited for the series now. Might even start go reading the LNs…or at least right after exams finish.

      Saya
      Reply

    51. Iskander and Waver are still the most fun duo in the series. The part where Gilgamesh was repeatedly taken down verbally (scaredity cat king afraid to reveal his name) and physically by Rider and Berserker was amusing. Hopefully Caster’s mistake of Saber for Joan of Arc will cause more laughs

      Zaku Fan
      Reply

    53. You know, not to undermine the current Caster – it does give some plot…but I am wondering how the story of Fate/Zero would play out even more so if Caster was Morgan le Fay.

      Bakanekokun
      Reply

    54. Please tell me Berserker is going to kick Gilgamesh’s golden ass. I don’t know why some of you are disappointed with the CG Berserker but he looked hella awesome to me. Especially that throw that put golden boy down the streets. ufotable just became my favorite animation studio.

      Hireyuki
      Reply

    55. II knew knew rider and waver would be a lot of peoples favorites as they were mine in the novel as well, they are just so fun and are very relateable, also make any serious situation lighthearted

      It would be a very different series without them.

      Also kiritsugi isn’t relying on people thinking iri is sabers master, if they do that’s fine by him, its just his style to remain in the shadows and pick off people from behind.

      acesoldia
      Reply

      1. Your point regarding Kiritsugu contradicts with a segment in Episode 3 where Maiya mentioned that other Masters would expect Irisviel as the master of Saber. Moreover, it’ll not be okay for other Masters to realize the truth because they would be suspicious of his whereabouts, making his intention to hide behind the shadows even harder.

        pss
        Reply

    56. As much as I love Gil (I’m using that shiny screenshot as my wallpaper <3), I must admit that Rider stole the show again. He's such a lovable dork and I really like how he cares about Waver. Berseker was awesome too, it's too bad he doesn't seem too interested in defeating Gil, much to Kariya's dismay. I really want him to win T_T. Anyway, easily the best episode so far. I was a little bummed at first with this series because the first episode was so slow but having watched F/SN last week, I think F/Z is better, at least in terms of the anime adaptation. Maybe is the lack of Shiro. Now, I need to rewatch UBW…

      haitechan
      Reply

        2. Yes it was a FE reference, but it is supported by Baccano!’s LN(Maria’s fight).
          In the last episode, notice that saber had to carefully plan her moves and fought most of the battle in a defensive stance.
          One of the noble Phantasm that was thrown at Berserker was an axe,and FSN’s Berserker’s weapon looks like an axe to me.

          Kob264
          Reply

      2. I think it’s more of a plot device than anything. Saber is confirmed to be the Servant with the strongest stats, as well has having a very OP NP that can OHKO most Servants. By giving her a handicap early on, it allows for more interesting developments, as well as telling the audience why Saber doesn’t pubstomp everyone from the get-go.

        Kentaiyoshimi
        Reply

        3. Saber’s identity is still exposed in the end anyway. But thanks to your comment, I think that there may be other reasons of her reluctance to use her NP. Either she might need her Master’s consent first to do so, or she will only do that as the last resort, seeing that she has this chivalrous thinking, which compels her to melee rather than blast from a range…

          pss
          Reply

    58. Fate/Zero was great so far, but the pace was a bit slow. With such pace, I would rather had episode’s content length be 31-34 minutes. But with the current pace and episode’s length (21-22 minutes), I felt a bit unfulfilled for episodes 2, 3 and 4. Maybe it’s because I didn’t watch Fate/Stay Night, thus not used to the pace.

      Except for that, it was great. The build up between certain characters (especially the Kirigitsu camp) was quite interesting, and they (Kirigistsu camp) related to me a lot. Though, I don’t have an easy feeling about animes that set a condition for having only one winner, as it’s a preset that most of the others will simply die, or you will have much tragedy in the least.

      vladrin
      Reply

      1. Regarding the pacing, it’s the quality of plot that counts, not the quantity of time that passed. Regarding the “only one winner” situation, it’s only natural. Even in reality, we won our first race at the cost of how many millions of sperms…

        pss
        Reply

        1. The quality of the plot is a subjective term. One can argue that it’s consistency that counts, another is passion, third is value. While FZ has the first two, it seriously lacks the third. For instance, I see most comments praise how cool this move and that move (kind of reminds me of pokemon fights). Nope, couldn’t compare it to the value of plots like Madoka, Ghost in the Shell, or even in terms of maturity of the topics like in Bakemonogatari. So please don’t just tell me that the quality is great, thus I should be happy with the pace, even though it’s slow.

          As for the reality has one winner only. Reality is not like this (don’t just go picking a single example and try to explain the world through it), and even in anime world, in most animes there is rarely a single winner (you would have mentioned a bunch of such).

          vladrin
          Reply

      2. Concerning the value of plot, I think it’s unfair to judge it since by the end of this episode it’s only a quarter of the story, unlike the examples that you’ve used, which you have known the entire plot already.

        As for the reality, I’m sorry but it is like this. There can only be one number one. One champion in every competition, one richest guy in the world, one most famous place/people in the world… Others, however can be content with not being number one, or pretend that this fact doesn’t exist. I only came out with this idea after observing the examples of the world, and not vice versa.

        It is very common is anime, especially those that involve a tournament (Yakitate Japan, Shaman King, Mirai Nikki?, The Law of Ueki…). There can only be one winner in the end, though people can have a truce with each other until time comes. That happens also in the anime adaptation of dating sim games (True Tears, Amagami, To Heart, Love Hina…). There are many exceptions as well, used by the production company to appeal to all the fans of the series through Tenchi Solution (check TV tropes for its definition), like To Heart 2, Negima… Of course if that occurs in reality, a NICE BOAT ending is easily expected…

        In the end, there can only be one. One individual, one pair, one team, one side, one country, one world, one universe…

        pss
        Reply

        1. I think the term one winner is very generalized in your comment, and it’s a little different from what I meant. Every anime has a winner, and I don’t mind seeing the To Aru Majutsu Index team win. In True Tears I had a one loosing side (by my standards), and still was dissatisfied. But I’m talking when almost all main characters loosing, which is an extreme (like in Fate/Zero), like the case the one who is going to die by the end of the battle to save a girl (a good ending for him would be to save her and die, but even that is not guaranteed). Now coming to Fate/Zero I didn’t come for drama, not with that (1-on-1, 2-on-2 fighting) theme.

          As for plot value. Some plots/concepts are blessed to having established authors or mature directors writing them. In Madoka for example, the value was evident since episode 2, like in discussions with Mami and Kyubei. Eden of the East, had it since episode one or two. All in all, I don’t like plots created by teams like in case of Fate Zero and Guilty Crown, though both are my favorite shows this season, especially GC.

          Anyway, my previous point was the pace. And I think it’s a valid one compared to what I saw. I don’t say that it’s bad, all I’m saying that if they are that patient, then they might have better considered making the content 31-34 minutes.

          Now thinking about it,I think it was no coincidence that first episode was 40 minutes long. It just might have been evident to the producers that at such slow pace they risk loosing viewers unless they could have them fulfilled. Wasn’t the pace slow, they could have made first episode only 22-23 minutes and be fine with it. For instance, Guilty Crown’s content length is about 19 minutes, and it’s pretty much conclusive (though inconsistent as it’s difficult to make consistent plots at its plot’s crazy speed), thus they didn’t need to make first episode longer. Again, it’s only my opinion.

          vladrin
          Reply

        2. Well, I think you have the Shiro Emiya mentality when you don’t want all but one important characters to lose (“I just want everyone to be happy!”). Your dissatisfaction would prove the success of this type of drama, so it’s actually good that you’ll still be dissatisfied. In fact, that is the plot value of this story: Regardless of how or who everyone is, there can only be one winning the war, by hook or by crook. This plot value is implied since the beginning, and will be made much obvious in time to come, I think.

          As for the plot, I think it’s slow as it must be, since the story will last for two cours. In exchange, we have new characters introduced to us every week (until this episode) to keep the plot fresh (Lancer in ep 3, another Assassin in ep 4,Berserker in ep 5). Squeezing it into one cour would repeat the mistake done in Angel Beats (good plot wasted by compaction).

          pss
          Reply

        3. @ “Regardless of how or who everyone is, there can only be one winning the war, by hook or by crook.”

          If this is the only value you can come up for this plot. Then the value aspect of the plot is pretty weak as I mentioned.

          As for drama, it’s obvious that FZ is not about drama. Take a look at the type of majority of comments. It’s mostly about passion and action. Now, compare them to the kind of comments you read in a drama anime (like True Tears), and you will get the difference. Action anime rarely should have have a dramatic ending, that’s the way they sell.

          One thing I would like to highlight is that you seem to idealize the show you like. There are people who don’t like an anime, thus everything it has/represents is utter rubbish, and they like another, and everything in it is great regardless (take the intelligent rants of Guilty Crown critiques as an example). You come and say the plot is great in every aspect, I mentioned weak points. You still disagree. Now, one question, who did write the story? A board, that’s it. Thus you have 80-90% of it fights and cool words. It seems we just have different ways of judging things.

          vladrin
          Reply

        4. Hopefully you’d find more values to the plot in the upcoming episodes. I wouldn’t spell them due to them being spoilers. Who knows, FZ could be that rare action anime for you.

          Wouldn’t it only be natural to idealize something that you like? Wouldn’t you do the same with something you like? But we’re all open-minded enough to share our thoughts and politely disagree with one another, backing our stances with facts and opinions. That’s the beauty of having a comment section.

          By liking something, I’ve come to a realization that there will be someone disliking it, and I’m compelled to stand for what I like, so that others would know the reasons behind such passion, even though in the end they may disagree.

          pss
          Reply

        5. I see your point. It’s just that we have a little different approach regarding this. Even if I’m so into an anime, I take a more critical approach. But both approaches are fine, and most important that we shared our thoughts respectfully to each other. Regards.

          vladrin
          Reply

        6. Umm, you do realise the original Fate/Zero is written by Gen Urobuchi, the same person who writes Madoka? And every week’s script written by ufotable are sent to Urobuchi for approval before they proceed with the storyboard? So actually Fate/Zero has drama in it, but they don’t focused on it now, only on introducing the servants first. The masters after episode 1 doesn’t have much focus for now, where the drama lies IMHO.

          Passing Gal
          Reply

        7. It’s a blessing to have a mature person such as you to argue things about, vladrin. WIthout being offended, I gain further insight on how differently others can think, which is also logical and therefore acceptable. And thanks for passing gal also for enlightening me with the Gen Urobuchi facts. I shouldn’t have neglected it in my argument. You surely did your homework fine.

          pss
          Reply

        8. @Passing Gal

          I’m aware that Gen Urobuchi wrote the original concept of Fate Stay Night. Though, Fate/Zero was written by a storyboard and he took only a supervising role. Even if we put Fate Stay Night into account. One can’t compare an author’s very early work to his later. Between Fate Night and Madoka he had Phantom. Phantom’s plot was exciting, but very inconsistent to a disturbing level. Madoka was quite consistent that I was surprised of how better his work has become (as I tend to believe that authors who produce inconsistent material will continue to do so as this is a trait). In addition, Madoka’s plot was very engaging, exciting and quite mature. Again fate stay night is quite early work, Madoka is quite late, so I can’t consider them the same author, though we are talking about FZ, which is a different case as it was written by a story board.

          @pss

          It was my pleasure discussing with you my viewpoint and hearing yours.

          vladrin
          Reply

        9. Oh no you got it wrong, Kinoko Nasu is the original creator of Fate/Stay Night. Nasu then approached Urobuchi to write the prequel of Fate/Stay Night, which becomes Fate/Zero. The light novels actually released from 2006-2007.In 2008, he was approached to make Madoka, so actually one can say Madoka is written after he finished Fate/Zero. He even admits in Fate/Zero’s last novel he wants to write a happy ending story for once, so that’s what inspired him to make Madoka’s story. So Fate/Zero anime is an adaptation of the light novels, not an original storyboard.

          Passing Gal
          Reply

        13. Well, Wikipedia (English) surely doesn’t have much info on Urobuchi Gen, even less so about the inspiration to create Madoka after FZ. Google might have.

          That standard is high, but I think that is the knowledge level of an avid anime watcher/LN reader. Still, I give my credits to Passing Girl not only just for her patience.

          Anyway, it’s an honour to have a reply from the author.

          pss
          Reply

    61. random thoughts:
      Maybe not a 30 xanatos pileup, but counting servants as separate entities this war has 14 different sides…
      Waver might be wimpiest character in the series, but he had guts enough to follow his Servant into battle, something no other Master did.
      Negotiations were short, diplomacy is not Iskander’s forte. Though he deserves kudos for even trying…
      Berserker is utterly awesome, stopping progressively stronger Gates of Babylon, putting hard pressure on Saber and surviving hit-and-run by Iskander’s chariot 😛
      Kirei and Tokiomi evidently were thinking Rider managed to spot hidden Asssassin (which might be true…)
      While Caster and his Master are on top of my hate list for obvious reasons, Kayneth and Gilgamesh are ot far behind, for being so narcistically haughty. Iskander by comparison is a King-of-bros, and Saber is all noblesse oblige. I was quite expecting Kiritsugu to shoot Kayneth and get the first real kill (discounting Gilgamesh vs Assassin fight-for-show)

      ewok40k
      Reply

      1. Actually, from my understanding, Tokiomi and Kirei were worried that Gilgamesh was going to be easily provoked by Rider, which he ultimately was by both revealing himself and joining in on the fight. I joked about how they took offense to being called cowards, hiding in the shadows, but in reality it was just Gilgamesh who took offense.

        Divine
        Reply

    62. I believe they have to disadvantage saber with injuries because of who she is….she could just “excalibur!” Half the cast and be done with it otherwise….she has magic resistance, which makes her great against caster…probably a better swordsman than rider….

      acesoldia
      Reply

      1. From what we’ve seen Caster seems to summons creatures of myth to do his biddings and I’m going to assume that no amount of spell resistance is going to save you from an XXX tonne Cthulhu Monster.

        From the novel: Show Spoiler ▼

        I haven’t read the novels so take what I said with a pinch of salt.

        Hrmmmm
        Reply

      1. If they took 5 eps for 1 book (6 if you want to divide the first episode in 2), I don’t see any problem in the phase of this season.
        The problem could be in the 2nd because the novels are considerably longer.

        Kob264
        Reply

    64. Berserker is AWESOME!!!! The action scene is epic as always, I like especially the moment when rider charge at Berserker and stump on him. I feel sorry for Kariya, due to his condition he will likely be out of the war 1st.

      Lancer’s master, Kayneth, is such a cower, it is good Waver is Rider’s master.

      Also, why could Caster confuse Saber as his “holy maiden”? I am know saber said in the battle she is “the king of knight”, didn’t Caster catch that part? or was his “holy maiden” also a king of knight? (I doubt on this part)

      Zleihsh
      Reply

        1. I know about Jeanne d’ Arc, but I do not think she is a king like Saber here, and in the battle Saber clearly said she herself is “king of knight” so if Bluebeard heard this from his crystal ball, he should realize Saber is not his Jeanne d’ Arc. So my question is how is he mistake her as Jeanne?

          Also, did Maiya fire at Assassin? I saw Kiritsugu did not fire a single shot (because Rider) but he did not told Maiya to hold her fire. So was Assassin been shot or not?

          I do not mind spoiler tags……

          Zleihsh
          Reply

        3. @Zleihsh The reason why Caster thinks Saber is Jeanne d’Arc is Show Spoiler ▼

          The scene in the LN where this comes up will probably be in the next two episodes.

          Kosmos
          Reply

    66. Again I feel the need to say it. BEST ANIME OF THE SEASON.

      Man every episode seems to somehow just outdo the previous. Animation quality is topnotch, that CG sequence with Berserker was just amazing and fluid.

      And speaking of Berserker, man. We were so busy drooling over Saber/Lancer/Rider/Archer and their OP’ness that totally didnt think of Berserker much, but he just showed out of nowhere and made Gilgamesh’s Gate of Babylon looks like childplay, and for those who read/watched F/SN, we all know how hax Gilgamesh’s power level is compared to any other servant. This easily means that Berserker is among the top 2 servants in power level right now. And man is he badass.

      As for the Alliance thing Divine was hoping, while I feel the same sentiment, it just wouldnt work because the masters has to agree as well. While I’m sure Waver is easy to get along with and has no dark schemes, I cant see Kayneth (lol) working with Waver or even Kiritsugu at that. In the end its just a dream team that is never meant to be =/

      PS: Rider/Waver bromance is at its peak its level. I love how Rider just told Kayneth off on how he’d never be a worth master of the great ISKANDER due to his cowardice. Right now after this episode, Berserker and Rider are among my 2 favorite servants thus far.

      YanDaMan263
      Reply

      2. If the servants wanted to join Ishkandar, there are still some ways. They can get themselves discharged from their Masters through the use of three command seals, and get themselves bound to Waver (I’m sure he’ll gladly accept them). Of course the Masters could first make them commit suicide before that happened…

        pss
        Reply

        1. Right its just not going to work. The masters arent foolish enough to waste all 3 command spells and lose their servant. And I doubt Waver has the mana to upkeep 3 servants when hes not a major magus, lol. It’d Shirou all over again. 3 handicapped servants.

          YanDaMan263
          Reply

        2. Well, Waver could do it the Pokemon style. Keep one Servant in the fight while keeping the others in stock (spirit form) and change them if needed. As for the mana upkeep, consider it a challenge for him who says bloodline is not the only way to be better in magics.

          But alas, that will never happen, with all the honor the Masters and Servants have…

          pss
          Reply

    67. Gotta say, as much as I liked this episode, there was a lot of back and forth between servants, and it messed with the pacing. But overall a good ep. I gotta ask, can Gilgamesh do anything besides using his Noble Phantasm? Because that’s basically all he’s done so far, in both wars. :/ Probably because it’s so GAR overpowered.

      Unfortunately, the battle between Berserker and Archer, which was fookin awesome btw, was extremely dark. Berseker practically blended in with the smoke, so it was hard to make out what he was doing at times.

      Also, there’s probably a reason as to why Berserker attacked only Saber (I have no doubt that will be explained in the near future), but what I don’t understand is why he stopped to team up with Lancer. I mean, after Lancer deflected his blow, I would expect him to immediately retaliate in some way, instead of letting Lancer talk with Saber, then have a convo with his master. He is Berserker after all, and he’s proven to be completely uncontrollably, so why stop? That pause was a little weird, IMO that scene should of stayed in motion. A little inconsistent, but not that big a problem.

      On a different note, I hope Waver steps a bit in the future. Love the relationship between the two, but it’ll be kinda pointless if he continues to be controlled by his servant. Waver’s whole reason for joining the war was to prove that one’s skill isn’t dependent on heritage or bloodline, so hopefully we’ll get to see him do something in future episodes.

      Erif
      Reply

      1. Heroic Spirit that can be summoned as Archer class usually prefer range attack AND excel in possessing powerful Noble Phantasms.

        Other than that, they are pretty bad in other aspect (Gilgamesh got EX rank for noble phantasm, but he got a lot of B and C for other status, except A in luck and mana.)

        Vermillion
        Reply

      2. Well due to the Berserker class’s Mad Enhancement ability, Berserker cant speak or think. Im guessing he can detect malice or killing intent, and since Lancer didnt possess anymore killing intent towards him after Kayneth used the command spell, he sorta just ignores him and refocuses on Saber.

        As to why he attacks Saber, well it would be a spoiler but it’ll be revealed in due time. Of course if you really wanna know you can always go read up on Berserker on the wiki. Though I dont suggest doing so.

        YanDaMan263
        Reply

      3. The reason why Berserker stopped is because he knew what was going on.
        His Mad Enhancement is of a lower rank than F/SN’s Berserker which means that will he can’t speak or really think clearly, he isn’t a uncontrollable crazy beast.

        mild spoiler:
        Show Spoiler ▼

        JHN
        Reply

    68. This is a well done episode, the last scene of the last episode gave me that much anticipation for this episode and thankfully the episode delivers.

      It seems that there are some people above who are disappointed with the use of CG in Berserker, the first time I saw it what I saw was quality.

      So far the sake of it, I’ll give my rankings on the series I’m watching this FALL lineup

      1. Fate ZERO
      2. Chihayafuru
      3. Boku Ha Tomodachi ga Sukunai
      4. Shakugan no Shana III
      5. Mobile Suit Gundam AGE
      6. Last Exile: Ginyoku no Fam
      7. Shinryaku!? Ika Musume
      8. Guilty Crown
      9. Mirai Nikki
      10. C3
      11. Mashiroiro Symphony
      12. Ben-to

      Ghostalker
      Reply

        1. I think this weeks episode of Guilty Crown will be a make or break for the series. If it can get things right this episode it could be the changing point of the series. So far Guilty Crown hasn’t been overly amazing or anything of the sort but it’s definitely not bad either. It still has potential with 19 episodes left but starting in episode 4 it’s going to have to make use of that potential to come out on top of the competition.

          kivos
          Reply

        1. Yea, should’ve put Guilty Crown at #12 with its redone-to-death plot and using fanservice to cover up the fact that the females have no personalities.

          No need to insult people man…

          Why no one comment on Kayneth’s ‘private lessons’? ;D

          momogoldfish
          Reply

        3. Rankings changes overtime, it’s just been a month since fall season started, anything could still happen. I base it on how I prioritize a particular series over the other.

          My final ratings would be based on 5 categories: Story, Animation, Sound, Character, and Enjoyment — each categories will be scored 1-10, obviously this would only be the case once I’ve completed all the shows I ranked above.

          For now its based on prioritization

          Ghostalker
          Reply

    69. I’m sorry guys. Did i miss another series of Fate Zero? Is there a first series on this one? Berserker is crazy man. I mean Gilgamesh is having a hard time trying to hit him and Gilgamesh is kinda cocky. Caster is just a sick guy. lol. But I wonder what’s up with him and Saber.

      sixfeetunder
      Reply

      1. No. I’m sure your being confused on this. Fate/Zero is just being split into two segments. Approximately 12 episodes will be aired in the following months THEN, they will take a 3 month break (like for example Gundam 00) to show the rest of the Fate/Zero series thus making a 2-cour series(24 episode or so long series).

        You can technically say this is Season 1, so your not missing anything man :).

        Yeah, Berserker is pretty badass, and I don’t like caster.

        Kelfistan
        Reply

      2. If what you mean is a show that is directly related with F/Z…

        F/Z is a prequel of Fate/stay night, but it’s supposed to be watchable even if you didn’t watch or play Fate/stay night. But I would recommend to play the VN instead of watching the anime :p

        zeroyuki92
        Reply

    70. Anyone else soil themselves when Berserker made the Gate of Babylon look like a Children’s Toy?? ._. … *meep*.

      This series continues to impress heavily. The tension Diarmud struggled with as he was ordered to strike Saber. mmn, wow. Also, Typo?: “Archer is easily provoked by Rider because of his arrogance” Don’t you mean Berserker, not Rider?

      Image 31:Worn Out Waver. Lol Indeed. Maybe he will be a little more manly by the end of all this, probably not. He’s still gonna be hilarious next to the Uber-Manly King of Conquerors.

      This season has me spoiled, Can’t wait to watch more of it >D!.

      Kumakaori
      Reply

      1. This Berserker’s scene is my favourite segment of the 1st novel. Anime just make it even more epic.

        It’s not a typo. Archer came out because Rider taunted those who hide themselves. Archer, being an arrogant asshat, entered the scene beause of that. In the novel, the writer described how Kirei and Tokiomi know one servant that would get agitate from hearing Rider’s speech (that’s why they both said “How unfortunate”.)

        Vermillion
        Reply

      3. No he meant Rider as Rider called all servants that were hiding cowards prompting Gilgamesh to show himself. Then later he got pissed off at Berzerker for looking at him and partially opened his Gate of Babylon three times.

        KoroshiyaKi
        Reply

    71. I know Gilgamesh is arrogant, but I didn’t feel like he was so easily taunted in the game. More like, he feels like a character that like to show off but didn’t care enough of what lowly peasant thinks and annihilate whatever he deems unworthy.

      This is a new take on Gilgamesh for me. He’s much more childish than originally expected.

      thenewhorde
      Reply

      1. Well no it could still be like that but Gilgamesh could have just decided to reveal himself not because of the prompting/taunting but more likely because those two dared to call themselves Kings in his presence and he wished to correct their impudence.

        KoroshiyaKi
        Reply

      3. To be fair, it’s hard not to feel too arrogant when you have all the treasures of the world at your disposal, deadly skills in using them, and a golden armor beyond your time of living.

        pss
        Reply

    72. Fate/Zero is damn good at universe building, and is great at using the rules which are set for the series, unlike Fate/Stay Night which made all rules look like trivial mumbo-jumbo. Oh, and the bgm is sick.

      Click
      Reply

      1. This! Totally true. Fate/zero is very engaging, after watching just 5 episodes, I feel completely drawn to the world of fate series. While after watching fate stay night, I didn’t feel the same thing. It was decent at best, I even felt a little bit pissed because I never played the VN nor read the LN, and I felt some of the “rules” and “natures” are forced, such as shiro’s power etc. Maybe it’s also because I didn’t regularly follow the series.
        Besides that, I really prefer berserker here. The fsn’s berserker is so Godly overpowered it becomes annoying to watch

        kgfj
        Reply

    73. I think that F/SN Berserker would destroy FZ Berserker. For one, F/SN Berserker has 13 lives and can only be killed by A rank attacks and then negates any damage done by the same A rank attack. Also, while FZ Berserker seems to still have skill, F/SN Berserker is so fast, strong and durable that he has no need for skill.

      Magixiii
      Reply

        1. HAHA. NO. FSN Berserker would beat FZ Berserker and any other servant besides Gil and maybe full powered archer. If Gil wasnt so arrogant, he would crush all servants in the war in a day

          dantheman
          Reply

        4. LOLNO.

          FSN Berserker is one of the fastest, strongest, most broken, most HAX characters ever with a noble phantasm that would own 99% of servants except gilgamesh(sadly he can’t use it as Berserker and would own as Archer)

          Gilgamesh had huge advantage with Enkidu and FSN berserker(for few minutes) BROKE the chains and walked through ubw spam like a boss till the inevitable happened.

          FSN Berserker would steamroll all the servants in 4th heavens feel, minus Gilgamesh.

          unknownvoice
          Reply

        5. Mr.13 lives lost 5 to Archer, one to Rin, then lost 7 lives from ONE Excalibur attack in Fate route by a handicapped Saber.

          Mr.DemiGod was nothing but target practice for Gilgamesh in UBW route.

          Mr.Godly Parameter Hax servant got killed by SHIROU of all people when he was in EVEN MORE HAX BLACK BERSERKER mode in Heaven’s Feel route. All 13 lives at once at that.

          Stop overrating him. If he couldn’t even survive a weakened Saber’s Excalibur what makes you think he can beat a full powered Saber here? Steamroll all F/Z servants my ass.

          As Gilgamesh has proven. Having the best parameters doesn’t make you the strongest.

          YanDaMan263
          Reply

        6. More HAX Berserker? Did you even read HF? Dark Berserker was WEAKER. For one thing he was blind and already lost some lives. And Shirou kills him with a noble phantasm that came from Berserker himself.

          FSN Berserker is not overrated at all. He is the one of the most powerful servants ever period. And it shows, because the plot hax is required to beat him. He was defeated in Fate because Archer softened him up, and then Saber performed a dumb plot hax asspull. He died in UBW because Gilgamesh was much stronger than him, and he had Enkidu which is suited for fighting him.

          Incidentally, the only reason F/Z Berserker can stand up to Gil is because of circumstances. His abilites just happens to be suited in countering GoB, much like UBW is.

          fragb85
          Reply

        7. @YanDaMan263

          A correction for you. In Fate, Berserker lost his remaining lives to one Caliburn attack. It’s a different sword than Excalibur in this case.

          Come to think of it, could it be that Berserker lost to Caliburn because the latter is a sword in the stone, and the former has a body like a stone? Caliburn might be a perfect stone killer with all the times it have spent in a stone…

          pss
          Reply

        8. @PSS

          Well either way, my point was, Berserker lost literally half of his lives with ONE attack. What the hell is the point of having extra lives when you can lose a bunch of them in one attack? That defeats the whole purpose of it, which is why I’m calling him overated, especially when people keep bringing it up as their argument of how “hax” he is.

          Ok fine, Black Berserker was weaker, wahtever. Its been half a decade since I read it. All I know is that he was getting pwnd by Black Saber so he had to run, yeah RUN. Then after falling to the Dark Side he lost 13 lives at once to one attack from Shirou. Again, his “13 lives” is one of the most pointless NB’s ever made. Whats to stop any F/Z servants from taking X lives in 1 attack when even SHIROU of all people can do it? Give me a break.

          YanDaMan263
          Reply

        9. Pointless? Apparently you don’t even know how Berserker’s God Hand works. First he needs an A rank or higher attack to even be sucessfully killed. Second he develops IMMUNITY to anything that killed him before, so a single attack can only be effective if it can kill him multiple times before he develops his immunity. That’s quite a useful ability to have.

          Shirou was only lucky, he was able to use a NP, that can specifically hit Berserker Nine times at the exact moment. He also nearly failed, if Ilya wasn’t there to distract Berserker he would have died.

          Now with all that, name me ANY attack that F/Z Servants(apart from Gil) has that can deal A rank damage and can take his 13 lives at a short amount of time. And stop trying to argue using faulty information.

          fragb85
          Reply

        11. “Faulty Information” is irrevelant. All that matters if results. It doesnt matter how good God Hand is written on paper. We’ve seen it fail three times in some obscure ways.

          Yeah, Shiro got “lucky” when he killed Berserker. Your argument is just as good there, mate. It doesn’t change the fact that he was still killed in 1 attack. Hell, even Archer killed him 5 times before getting killed himself. But go ahead, keep overhyping him. He’s just a servant that sounds good on paper but only yields the opposite results.

          And that Carnival or wahtever OVA isnt even Canon, that show has the least relevance here.

          YanDaMan263
          Reply

        12. @YanDaMan263

          At the risk of spoiling the fun, let’s just say that the God Hand basically allowed FSN Berserker to not “die when he is killed” in SOME cases.

          You might know this, but I think Rakkyo used the example in Carnival Phantasm just for amusement, not for argument. Lancer’s the one with God Hand, seeing that he’s killed so many times in different ways.

          pss
          Reply

      2. “Reality” check: No too many Masters can handle the FSN Berserker extraordinarily high mana upkeep. Therefore, he might have been owned by himself before he starts owning others.

        pss
        Reply

    75. See the similarities between FZ and FSN?
      1. Saber’s first match is against Lancer.
      2. Saber’s almost pwned by Lancer and later Berserker.
      3. Saber’s targeted to be omochikaeri’d by Caster.
      4. Caster’s master is a non-magus who loves to murder people.
      5. Lancer’s master prefer to be unknown.
      6. Rider’s master is a wuss on the battlefield.

      There may be more… wonder if there’s any significance to the plot?
      Wonder if Saber’s feeling “deja vu” when she met the similar circumstances ten years after?

      pss
      Reply

      1. lol i never noticed that. Pretty sure those are just coincidences (or a Nasu conspiracy lol)

        no.3 happens in a diff. route than the others though, and no. 6 is inaccurate if you played the VN.

        Rakkyo
        Reply

    76. After repeatedly rewatching this episode’s awesomeness, it’s seriously bothering me now:\ how do you romanize(is that the right term?) “King of Conquerors”? I keep hearing “seifuku”…which means “school uniform” right? or does seifuku actually mean both? An image of Iskander in a school uniform keep popping up in my head:|

      The17thNoah
      Reply

      1. Unfortunately, you heard correctly. The romanization of the conquers and uniforms is the same (Maybe the intonation is different?). So, “Seifuku ou” can be the king of conquers, as well as the king of uniforms… Well, if he happens to wear a girl’s school uniform, he’ll be at the same tier with Lunapapako-san from Seto no Hanayome…LOL

        pss
        Reply

        1. Thanks for the confirmation^^ but I’m not sure if I should be thanking you for the fact that instead of seeing rider in male school uniform, I’m now imagining him in a girl’s :[ you just had to remind me of that schoolgirl terminator XD

          The17thNoah
          Reply

      2. The pronunciation is the same, but the kanji are different.

        制服 = uniform
        征服 = conquest

        This is pretty typical in any language, including English. e.g. “read”, “reed”, “faze”, “phase”, etc.

        Divine
        Reply

    79. @dimasok

      Yes a while ago, and I just finished re-reading them last night. Awesome stuff. I still got a very big grin from reading Berserkers’ antics later on. I almost felt the urge to go tvtropes and put an entry on the Fate Zero page for Show Spoiler ▼

      . Almost.

      There was also one very notable difference from DEEN’s FSN (from the begining, not the later filler/story changing stuff), that I realized when every thing was said and done in the novels. I want to see the discussion pertaining to it (if any), after the FZ is over.

      shineyshiney
      Reply

    80. berserker does looks amazing :O…. that said… i dunno much about the series… other than that saber is the main char… i watched stay night like few years ago when i only just got into anime… and i must admit.. i had no clue what happened back then XD…might go rewatch…so im not even certain that saber will win this war (as unlikely for the protagonist to lose)… it does give me a glimpse of hope that kariya would win… i feel bad for him 🙁

      n0216332
      Reply

      1. @Divine

        also at ep.1 didn’t Kiritsugu thought of a way to maximize the use of the King of the Knights before he even summon Saber, and i think, Saber going along w/ Irisviel, posting as his master is the plan, because he expertise in underhanded methods he wouldn’t want to face the enemies upfront w/c what exactly Saber would do. But the thing is, he didn’t expect the King of the Knights to be a SHE.

        Zwei
        Reply

    88. Show Spoiler ▼

      * Edited with spoiler tags. Please don’t be so careless in the future.

      The Moondoggie
      Reply

    89. Kotomine Kirei might be the one who won this Holy Grail War since he is the only one alive until the fifth Holy Grail War….but I heard Waver Velvet is alive too in Fate/Stay Night…any theory??

      fishell
      Reply

    91. Now that I think of it, Irisviel is not mentioned at all by Saber in FSN even though she’s important to her as her acting Master. Saber’s just complaining how disagreeable her Master Kiritsugu is. A plot hole?

      pss
      Reply

        2. The weird part is, Iri was actually already made as a character in F/SN. She appeared near the end of the Heaven’s Feel route in the Visual Novel. Only to say some things to Kirei in some vision or something, I cant even remember.

          Point is, Iri already existed in F/SN. I guess they didnt chose to make her the acting master till Fate/Zero was actually in the work.

          YanDaMan263
          Reply

        3. I don’t know about VN, but in F/SN anime, Ilya told Shirou that she has taken her looks from her mother. I don’t remember ep. number but it was when Ilya and Shirou met in the park and spent some time together.

          PerlaNemesis
          Reply

        4. @YanDaMan263
          @PerlaNemesis

          Thanks for pointing out that Irisviel is in the original series. It was my mistake to conclude the story being a plot hole. Still, her being mentioned very slightly in the original is very strange, considering that she had a very large role in the 4th Holy Grail War.

          pss
          Reply

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