Fate/Zero 11-13

Because of the holidays i've havent had the time to post 11-12. i didnt realize i missed the post until i started watching 13. Since there is little point in writing what i know, im just going to add it to this review. This might also be a fitting end as i think the series will take a hiatus and resume next year.

episode 11 summary:
The aftermath of the fight with caster has left the Einzbern castle in ruins. The quiet is soon disturbed by Rider carrying a barrel of wine. At first Saber assumes he is here to fight, but Rider assures him that we only wishes to talk over drinks. Rider asks to have a talk about what it means to be a king over the wine and they go to the courtyard to begin drinking. They are soon joined by archer, who is a king as well and was invited by Rider, and he rejects the wine Rider could find in town. He instead retrieves wine from the gate of Babylon, His personal stash. during their talk, Rider reveals his wish from the grail is to be able to live again, and to enjoy the journey and excitement of conquering. Interestingly, Archer has no specific wish from the grail and only seems to want to retrieve what he sees as his. In his time, he believes he owns all the worlds treasures, those he knows and doesn't know about. Therefore he sees anything that could be of value as something he already owns. Saber tells them about her goal to undo her selection as king of Britain and so a more suitable ruler can be found. Both archer and rider are disgusted by her views as both a leader and a king. Rider is in the mindset that you must take pride in your actions. that rise and even fall are both eventual. To wish to undo that would be insulting to those who stood and supported you throughout. They both view kingship as a privilege and something to be enjoyed and coveted, unlike Saber who views kingship as a duty and a burden. Rider truly hits home when he tells saber that she saved her subjects, but never lead and ruled them. This hits saber as she had heard rumors during her life that she was an unapproachable king. Their meeting is interrupted by Assassins. Rider uses his noble phantasm, which revives all his former followers, each a heroic spirit and the thousands of soldiers rush the 12 assassins and easily finish them.

Episode 12 summary:
A rather short and uneventful episode. Kiritsugu is once again worried about what kind of man Kirei is. Meanwhile Archer is just giving a total mind rape to Kirei and undermining everything he has been believing to now. Its pretty obvious by this point archer is pulling all the strings, and setting up the events of Fate/Stay Night, and not Kirei. Meanwhile Iri and saber move into a new building, and we find out that Iri is losing her strength.

Episode 13 summary:
We start with Waver and Rider heading into town after Waver sees Rider's dream. He at first tries to find out more about Rider, and starts to show his insecurity as he feels Rider is strong enough to win the war on his own, and he isn't contributing anything towards that.
Meanwhile Caster and Ryuunosuke return to find their base in shambles. We learn Caster doesn't believe in god's power as his blasphemies have always gone unpunished, and it was only humans looking for personal gain in his death that finally got to him. Ryuunosuke on the other hand believes god does exist, but is as sick and twisted as they are and enjoys pain and misery. Together they decide to continue on with their "show". Caster summons his biggest monster in the river, and Rider, Lancer and Saber make a pact to stop him. the plan is for Rider and saber to open the monster where lancer can strike it with his spear and finish him before he reaches the shore where he can feed off the people and will remain indefinitely. Interestingly we find out that Saber has the blessing of the lady of the lake and therefore can walk on water. Rider and Saber rush the monster and that ends the season.

Reaction:

there wasnt much in episode 12, so i'll go through that first. We know Iri is getting weaker, maybe because of her being a vessel for the grail and having a servant die weakens her. We also just see what a manipulative bastard Archer is, just playing with Kirei and setting up the betrayal that will take place at the end of this season.

Episode 11:
We finally get a lot of insight into Rider and Archer and Saber regarding their views. Rider and Archer hold what i would call to be the older view of a king. Someone who rules and has supreme power. a position to be coveted, one where everyone respects you if not fears you. Saber holds a much more, modern-ish view of kingship. She feels it as a duty to protect her people and to lead them. To serve as if a position of government. only if such a king succeed do they get praised. Its funny how we see both types in literature, and neither is better or worse that the other and either can be portrayed as a good king. The former when evil, is a tyrant. one who hold complete control and only seeks his own self enjoyment. When good, they are seen as the supreme authority. they have the power to make or break people's lives and dreams, but are fair and just. The second view when evil, is usually a manipulative king. One who puts on an act to keep his power. a weaker type of king who can be overthrown at any time. When good, its the typical king Arthur, a ordinary man powered and in return protects their people. We also see Archer's unique interpretation of the grail as he feels he owns the world and all the treasure it contains. Therefore anything of value, weather he has seen it or not, is his.

Episode 13:
We get to see that Waver is actually quite insecure about his position and ability compared to both rider, and other masters. He views himself as a burden and that Rider will be successful with or without him. This means his whole goal of proving his worth is meaningless if Rider is the one doing all the work, as well that Rider shouldnt have to put up with him. We see the twisted mind of Ryuunosuke and Caster, but they arent very interesting characters. Now that he's whipped out his biggest monster, i expect him to fall in the first or second episode of the next season.

Overall for Fate/Zero season 1:

This was a hell of a ride they took us on. The story was great, the action was great, and the art was great, the characters were great. This is what Fate Stay Night should have been if everyone wasnt a whiny idiot.

But is it perfect? no. The beginning of this year was busy for me and i just hit a string of interesting show ideas that panned out to be much more boring than i expected. So the beginning of Fate Zero really made it look like a diamond in the rough. A perfect show without flaws. However as the show went on, it really started to feel dragged. And i don't mean that every episode is bad or that the show overall is bad, but its far from perfect. Without the action scenes or the very well done exposition scenes, i really didn't feel for some of these characters or care to see what happens to them. For instance, ya it was nice to see Kirei get mind raped by Archer, but the episode wasn't memorable compared to the courtyard drinking episode. Both were simply talking exposition, but one felt well done and the other a forgettable bore. Another instance is the Rin episode. while i don't hate her, I'm not a big fan of her and to see her running around at 6 years old didn't make me a fan. It felt like it was either a waste of time for padding, or pandering to the Rin fans, or some mix of both that simply didn't work out.

Overall this was a good show. It gets a little help riding a year of mediocre releases, but its still overall going to be at the top of a few of my lists.
Read more!

Fate/Zero 9-10

So with the end of exams comes more anime. I decided i will pick up phi brain. not sure if im picking up anything else new as of now. The next on the list would be guilty crown. also, the let's play will have to wait until i can figure out how to capture my screen, as well as get a decent mic.

Anyways onto Fate/Zero

Episode 9 recap:

We get conformation that Lancer's master is alive and stable. however hes severely wounded and cannot continue on in the battle. Sola-Ui wishes to take his place as lancers master, due to her falling in love with Lancer because of his love spot. Lancer's master reveals that Lancer has told him Lancer had no reason to seek the grail, and as such the grail should not have summoned him. Also he doesn't trust Sola-Ui correctly because he fears she's fallen in love with him. Sola-Ui however starts breaking his fingers and threatens to cut his arm off if he refuses to hand over the command seals any more. we see that Sola-Ui now has the seals and convinces Lancer to keep fighting with her to honor his master's wishes. Lancer agrees, but is distressed over how much this resembled his old life.

Meanwhile while all of this is going on, Kiritsugu tells Iri to look after Miya while she recovers, while he goes to finish Lancer's master. Iri and Saber both want to stop Caster first, but Kiritsugu is more worred about who is the bigger threat and that the trade off for a few kid's lives is not worth waiting. Iri asks him if he is mad at saber for not stopping Lancer, but he doesn't respond, merely saying Saber doesnt need to know where he is going.

And meanwhile while all of that is going on (yup this was a packed ep), Rider and Waver find that Caster is operating out of a old storm pipe and go to kill him. They find that is isnt there, but the revelation of seeing the horrors hes been committing hits Waver hard. However they have no time to worry about that as the assassins have shown up. Rider holds them off, but the dark tunnels favor the assassins so he destroys the base and they leave. With their trump card revealed, Tokiyomi and Kirei plan another strategy.

Episode 10 recap:
Episode 10 was BORING. If your a big fan of Rin, you'll love this ep. it goes into her past, with her learning magic and how she feels isolated due to her path set for her. The story ends with her saving her friend, and a few other kids, from Caster's master. Overall nothing exciting and more importantly takes time away from the plot.

Review:
Episode 9 was packed, but it honestly didn't feel like it. The story was smooth and parts (like kiritsugu) while having a large impact and showing a great deal about their characters, happened in minutes. things are moving now after the last big engagement with Lancer getting his new master and the rifts between Kiritsugu and Saber showing up. We also start to see the distrust and scheming of Kirei and how he is not loving his position as Tokiyomi's lackey.
Overall a lot of plot and dialog, no action.

episode 10 was PAINFUL. It's boring, its distracting, and it drags on. with all the plot and talking last episode it wasnt like we needed a filler breather episode, and given the pacing i'd rather them show off more of the great art and wonderful action sequences. It simply felt like fanservice for Rin fans who were promised she would appear as a little kid, but never had anything substantial for her to do. Anyways episode 11 looks to jump right back into the action so we shall see where it goes from here.
Read more!

fate zero ep 7-8

Hey guys, exams and all so im falling behind on the blogging. Im up to date in the viewing, so by the time you see this review, i have already watched 9. Im still only going to blog 7 and 8 for now, because i want to elaborate on the show, but dont want to clog up individual post with too many episodes. Epsiode 9 and 10 will be blogged together after i finish 10.

Summary 7:

Episode 7 reveals lancer's master managed to survive but more importantly the overseer of the war has declared a temporary ceasefire for the other servants and orders them to take out caster first, as he is killing innocent people indiscriminately, with the offer of an extra command seal as a prize. the overseer and Tokiomi know every master will be tempted by the offer, and they play to have Archer finish him off and get the seal. Meanwhile caster is gathering and killing more children to try and get Jeanne (actually saber) to see his evil ways. Saber engages, but without the use of one hand, she is unable to hold against Caster's monsters. Lancer joins to help and they fight Caster together. Meanwhile Lancer's master is going after Kiritsugu and we see some of Kiritsugu's magic abilities.


Summary 8:

Lancer's master and Kiritsugu continue to fight. Lancer's master is using mercury to scout attack and defend all at once. He renders all of Kirisugu's conventional weapons useless at once. Kiritsugu then uses his contender to punch through the shield by using a rifle size caliber bullet. Lancer's master continues chase, but is now injured. He catches up with Kiritsugu and when Kiritsugu tries the same trick, he uses even more magic to stop the attack. However this is exactly what Kiritsugu wanted, as his bullet this time is made from a part of his ribs. This contains his "origin" and essentially acts like a overload for magic circuits. The more magic they use, the more strength the shot has. By using the rifle shot first, it makes them more defensive and draws out more power on his second shot with the "origin bullet" Lancer's master is nearly killed and severely weakened.

Meanwhile, Saber and lancer combine to blow past the monsters of caster and land a damaging blow, forcing Caster to retreat. Lancer senses his master is in trouble and saber allows him to go. Lancer goes and saves his master, and warns Kiritsugu that only because of Saber's chivalry is he alive. (However it should be noted Lancer's master was the first to pick a fight, and had Saber not been chivalrous and blocked him from going, they would have both died. This point really irks me)

Meanwhile Maiya and Iri try to hold off Kotomine, but he is easily able to beat the both of them. it is only the a arrival of saber. He retreats, but it reveals that Iri has Avalon and is nearly invincible if she stays around Saber. Saber is unaware Iri has it.


Review:
Its interesting to see how Kiritsugu is actually really scared of Kotomine. He doesnt know much about him, but to be honest, at this point he hasnt really shown an evil side. Besides that we see that Lancer's master has some impressive skills, but his arrogance will be the end of him. We know he survives, but he doesnt seem to be holding up too well. Another point is just how well caster is holding. From what i read, its always just "caster shows up, caster is defeated" to see him actually prove to be a challenge for TWO servants at once. Speaking of Servants, we can see a real respect between lancer and Saber. and to be honest, Lancer is getting damn proud when he could have easily been defeated. He tries to but Kiritsugu in his place, but is saber was slightly more selfish lancer would have died right then and there. Also, Lancer's master was the one to attack first so i dont see why hes chastising Kiritsugu at all. Kirisugu's origin bullet looks damn impressive and it will be interesting to see how he proceeds from here. it looks like he will use saber and Iri to distract, while he goes for the masters. We see more scheming from the overseer and Tokiomi. I really wanna see this all end badly for him because hes taking advantage of the church.

Saber's attitude is so very different between this and FSN. Here she views Kiritsugu as immoral for trying to take out Lancer's master, yet it was Lancer's master who attacks first, as well in FSN SHE attacks rin head on and its only because Shirou calls her back she didnt kill Rin then. In the more relaxed and imprefect war, she seems more cold, calculated, and determined. Here she seems unsure of herself. Interesting was to balance things out as if she took every advantage like she did in FSN, the war would be over very soon. shes the main thing holding her back, and knowing what that will lead to, maybe thats why she abandons it in FSN.
Read more!

Fate/zero ep 4-6

Holy shit, Fate zero is good. Have i said that yet? because holy shit it is. I haven't been following a series, like full out get first release watch it first day kinda following for a long time. Fate zero is just that. I know this season is suppose to be the season of awesome, and to be honest i might be holding off my year end awards, simply because at this point fate zero would probably win every single one. Knowing how great this season is suppose to be, i might hold off until i watch a few different titles. Anyways, onto Fate Zero

Episode 4

So we get the fight between lancer and saber finally, and saber is heavy on the defensive. With lancers two spears she cant let her guard down and attack, but at the same time lancer cant judge saber's sword because of invisible air. Meanwhile, an assassin is watching the entire fight, and Kiritsugu catches sight of him. Lancer's master wants to end this quick and tells him to use his noble phantasm to finish things. Lancer drops his small spear and starts chipping at the invisible air, determining its shape. He later manages to pierce through saber's magic air. Saber realizes that his long spear negates magic. She releases her armor and decides to go full out, knowing she cant be defensive anymore. However this is a trap as lancer uses his second spear to inflict a wound on saber that Irelsveil cant heal, before saber can use Excalibur. Due to this, they both have revealed their identities. Saber returns her armor as only the long spear can pierce it and not the short one, but the damage is done.

Episode 5

Rider joins the scene, revealing his full name and all, and asks if they would rather join him and share in the glory of concurring together. Waver is annoyed at riders indiscretion, but that reveals lancer's master. Rider comforts Waver by saying only a man brave enough to ride with him can be his master, also calling out other servants who may be watching. Archer appears ans starts to berate them. However Berserker also joins the fight. When archer launches his swords at him, he is easily able to catch them and block all the attacks. This enrages archer who uses even more weapons, but still cannot hit him. Beserker even manages to use two of the weapons to break the lamp pole archer was standing on, making them stand on even levels. Archer prepares to go full out, but Tokiomi calls him back with a command seal to prevent giving away too much information. Beserker attacks saber when he sees him and Lancer's master orders him to do the same, but he refuses as it would not be fair. Lancer's master uses a command seal to force him to attack, but rider intervenes knocking away Beserker. Rider forces lancer's master to withdraw, or he will help saber to defeat him. with no other choice, they leave and the fighting ends for the night.

Episode 6

Caster, watching all of the previous nights action goes to saber thinking she is Joan of arc. Saber tells him she is not and forces him away. Caster despondent decides to keep killing children to show her that god is not worth following, thinking her forgetting her identity and all is part of gods work. Meanwhile Lancer, his master, and sola, the master's fiance, are discussing the last night. the master is upset with lancer, but sola steps up for him saying the master was too cowardly for hiding in the shadows, and since she is supplying extra mana, they still have an advantage. Meanwhile he take pleasure in the fact his hotel is strongly reinforced, as any attempt to attack them here would be useless. However Kiritsugu ignores that and blows the entire damn thing up after making sure to evacuate the innocent. we get a bit more of kotomine talking with archer, who is upset at how passive Tokiomi is being. Its clear by now archer is the one to steer kotomine to the path of evil.

Reaction:

The action and fighting in the 4th and 5th episode are amazing and a treat for the eyes. Just to put it in perspective, the average episode size is 300MB or so for the high quality releases, these two episodes pushed to 500MB, thats half a gig each. Lancer showed to be a much stronger servant than i expected, even able to cripple saber. Not too much of a surprise given how, like i said before, fate/zero is suppose to be when everyone is competent and at their best. Rider is just always good for laughs, and Waver too. i really just want to see more of them for the lawls. Baserker is amazing to watch in action, like an intricate dance. this is surprising given his class being... you know, Beserker. Still, its nice to see the conflict. Matou only wants to destroy Tokiomi, and Beserker only cares for saber. Nothing special in episode 6. very much a breather episode. even the whole blowing up a building stuff isnt too exciting given what has been happening. i dont expect caster to stay around too long, which is not a bad thing cuse hes probably the most boring of all the servants.

p.s. if your wondering why i keep calling lancer's master, lancer's master or the master, instead of his real name, its because i dont care to learn or to remember how to spell such a long name.
Read more!

fate zero and other updates

so, im still around, but work and other important things are piling up. My surprise is nearly finished, but on infinite hiatus until i find spare time. Im not watching very much anime for the same reason hence my lack of post. I will give a quick update on last seasons. Blood C was cool, but no hook to keep me watching. i'll still finish, but its not a priority. HanaIro didnt seem to stay as strong an as well written as the beginning. Its not bad, just nothing special. Kamisama no memo-cho is a surprising winner. Very fun and the mysteries are a good hook. but im a sucker for mysteries like detective Conan so maybe it just happens to seem better. in the mean while, Fate Zero!!!

Fate zero is a prequel to Fate stay night, a personal favorite of mine, and when that ended, a few of my friends told me fate zero was even better. So when i heard that it was to be adapted into an anime, i was hyped to say the least. I kinda was expecting disappointment because very few things with that kind of hype really live up to it.

Quick summary for ep 1-3

So we basically get introduced to the characters and all the servants being summoned. Caster is batshit crazy controlled by a killer. berserker is controlled by a matou, infused with worms. Kiritsugu is controlling saber, Tohsaka is controlling archer, with Kierei controlling assassin helping him. and waver is comedicially partnered with alexander the great. whos in control, your guess is as good as mine, id say alexander. and lancer just showed up.

If i were to think of Fate Stay knight as an imperfect fight, Fate zero is definitely the more perfect, trained version. All except one are train mages, there are no false heros, like assassin, all the masters know their abilities and all the servants are in their top shape, unlike rider, saber, and assassin in the FSN, and archer who pretends to be incompetent.

The biggest impact of the show comes from the drama. i wont say too much, but in my year end reviews, Fate Zero is already winning a special award Read more!