Fate/Zero

Anime 2011 · 2 seasons · Action & Adventure
8.8 Popular

Series finished

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Action & Adventure Animation Sci-Fi & Fantasy Battle Royale Magic Mythology Ensemble Cast Anti-Hero Death Game

The Fourth Holy Grail War has begun, and seven mages must summon heroes from history to battle each other to the death. Only one mage-and-hero pair will remain to claim the Grail and have their wishes granted! Kiritsugu Emiya was once an assassin but now fights in this war to save the world from those who would destroy it with the Grail’s power.

Country of origin
🇯🇵 Japan
Year
2011
Studio
ufotable
Source material
Light novel
Created by
虚淵玄
Channel
Gunma TV · Tokyo MX
Studio
ufotable · Aniplex · Seikaisha · TYPE-MOON

Trivia & behind the scenes

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Origins

The original story concept for Fate/stay night was written by scenario writer Kinoko Nasu in a notebook during his junior high school years, imitating the novel 'Makai Tensho'; he later called it his 'true chuunibyou (middle-school syndrome) work'. Production only began years later when college friends encouraged him to turn it into an actual game.

Origins

The visual novel was originally planned to have far more branching routes, including an Illya route, a Shinji route, a Rider route and a Caster route, but due to time constraints during development most of these were cut, with elements of the abandoned Illya route being folded into the Sakura (Heaven's Feel) route.

Origins

The 'Fate' (Saber) route was originally planned to branch partway through into a 'Shinji Matou route' where the protagonist would ally with Shinji, but this was abandoned due to lack of development time.

Effects

In the first TV anime adaptation, Archer's dual swords Kanshou and Bakuya were shown transforming into a giant wing-like blade called 'Kanshou and Bakuya Over Edge' for a slashing attack; this was not depicted in the original visual novel and was created after Nasu told director Yamaguchi 'this sword can get bigger'.

Casting

Saber's throne, which appears in the first TV anime adaptation, was never actually designed in the original visual novel; character designer Kei Fukuyama (Ishihara Megumi) created it from scratch using a dragon motif.

References

An online copypasta declaring 'Fate is literature' became a popular internet meme in Japan following the game's release.

Reception

Combined sales of Fate/stay night and its later fan disc reached about 400,000 copies, making it the best-selling adult game by actual sales figures as of 2011, and it became so influential that it formed its own 'genre island' at Comic Market doujin fairs.

Casting

In the first TV anime adaptation, an original episode was created in which Sakura is kidnapped by Caster to be used as a vessel for the Holy Grail; for this scene, Nasu proposed a bondage-style outfit for Sakura 'befitting someone who can't read the room,' which character designer Takeuchi drew and which later became a subject of fan controversy, with Nasu joking that he himself was the one who 'couldn't read the room'.

Reception

In TYPE-MOON's 10th anniversary all-character popularity poll, Saber ranked 1st overall, Archer ranked 3rd overall (1st among male characters), and Sakura placed 8th, with Nasu commenting on Sakura's rise in popularity that 'the times have finally caught up with Sakura'.

Memorable quotes

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"Look, Emiya-kun. People normally die when they are killed."

Tohsaka Rin stating the obvious about death

"come at me mongrel"

Gilgamesh taunting an enemy to fight

"FAKER"

Gilgamesh mocking Emiya Shirou's copied swords

"Farewell. Drown in your ideals and die."

Archer parting words to Shirou

Just because you're correct doesn't mean you're right.

Emiya Shirou reflecting on morality

I don't mind losing to anyone, but I will not lose to myself!!

Emiya Shirou vowing not to lose to himself

Here I come, King of Heroes. Do you have enough weapons in stock?

Emiya Shirou facing Gilgamesh in battle

"I ask of you, are you my master ?"

Saber first meeting her master

"Rejoice, Emiya Shirou. Your wish will finally come true."

Kotomine Kirei granting Shirou's wish

Saving someone means not saving someone else

Emiya Kiritsugu explaining the nature of heroism

"In short, a king is someone that kills everyone to protect everyone." in an interlude/intermission.

Fate/Stay Night defining what a king must do

"If you walk down the path that you believe is right, you cannot be wrong."

Emiya Shirou believing in his own path

"...Yes, the desire to protect something... is, at the same time, none other than the wish for something to violate it."

Emiya Shirou musing on the paradox of protection

This world is one of equal exchanges. Wishing for some special event means feeding on something to make it possible. Wishes will not come true if you worry about harmony.

Kotomine Kirei explaining the cost of wishes

"Your most noble aspirations and your most despicable desires all flow from the same source."

Kotomine Kirei speaking of noble and despicable desires

"Yes, the seats are limited. There are always fewer seats called happiness than there are people to fill them"

Archer reflecting on limited happiness

"You are a hateful woman. You oppose me to the very end. But I shall forgive you. Some things are beautiful because they cannot be obtained."

Gilgamesh addressing a woman who defies him

"You're an eyesore, you get in my way, you annoy me, and I hate the way you look. You're like some backwoods hag with that purple robe of yours."

Tohsaka Rin insulting an enemy

"Those who aim further for other's sake. Those who think of others before themselves. And those who hate themselves more than anyone. These are the qualities of a Magus. This is a contradiction you can only have if you are born broken."

Tohsaka Rin describing the nature of a magus

"The world is just another word for the things you value around you, right? That's something I've had since I was born. If you tell me to rule such a world, I already rule it."

Tohsaka Rin defining her worldview

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