fate/zero 16
Categories: episodic review, fate/zero
Tagged: fate/zero
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“I don’t know what betrayed you and caused you to fall into such despair in the past.”
(Obviously, Kyubey.)
Animation this episode was splendid. Really enjoyed the kinetic feel of Saber’s fight against Lancer, and Ufotable continues doing a good job… until I watch Hyouka. Kyoto. My gosh. Between these shows and Lupin, Shining Hearts, and Fishing Anime, studios, keep one upping each other.
Irisviel’s “You’re not getting any sex” tonight face is fantastic. This is what vintage Belldandy looked like when she was pissed (mostly at Urd). Though I wonder how much better this series would have been if Gen Urobuchi didn’t have to fit into the story established by Fate/Stay Night. The not talking to Saber thing is getting old. It’s like watching two five year olds… or two Senators… it’s that bad. And these two are supposed to be grown up and adult about it?
(Of course, Kiritsugu has a “I don’t care– I’m getting a blow job from Maiya tonight anyway” face. And the whole justice and paragon thing… think about how the paragon choice in Mass Effect 3 is to combine with the Reapers. Okay, bad choice, but sometimes sacrifices need to be made for the greater good. Fake heroes like Karen and Saber think they can win at cost. Koyomi and Kiri know they can’t. Big difference. In other words, this episode sums up Nisemonogatari but skips the most important part: teeth hygiene.)
“Kill me… please kill me.”
So predictable. Never trust contracts made by anyone whose name starts with a “K.” Will only lead to grief and despair. The best part of this scene wasn’t how Kiritsugu so deftly conned Archibald… nor was it how Maiya sniped them… nor was it Saber’s reaction to all this… it was how Archibald begs Kiritsugu to finish him, and Kiri just replies, “Sorry, can’t, contract.” like a boss. Now this is the kind of moment Fate/Zero needs to deliver more of.
Another awesome scene. Maiya and Kiri are ruthless, which is what I want from people competing in such a war. Best part is how quickly Sola-Ui goes from fangirl crushing on Lancer to realizing, “OH SHI-“. Maiya should have fed the severed hand to wild dogs instead of just boringly shooting at it. That would be the cherry on top.
To be fair, Archibald had bad karma for killing a man of the cloth earlier. And weaseled his way to a command symbol that he does not deserve.
“Is this excitement that I feel?”
I think at this point, we have more than enough material to cut and paste Kirei’s dialogue so it resembles he’s starring in a gay porno. It’s almost like instead of just saving Matou, he had sex with Matou’s dying body… he didn’t regret it… he enjoyed it! I think this also means that Iskandar is next to die to setup the betrayal which sets up the final Kiri vs. Kirei showdown.
The use of light as symbolism. Mmm. Lancer gets treated pretty much the worst of all the servants. I like how Archibald is stressing out that he only has a single command spell which puts him at a disadvantage… and instead of trying to curry Lancer’s favor or boost up his spirits, he barks at Lancer and disparages him. This immediately qualifies Archibald to run for Congress.
Kiritsugu’s poker face is excellent. His rationality, ruthlessness, and lack of hindering emotions makes him the ultimate Game of Thrones character. He doesn’t have Snow’s compassion, Ned’s lawfulness, Robb’s inexperience, Joffery’s Jofferiness, Tyrion’s self-preservation, Littlefinger’s demons, Daenerys’ emotions, or Cersei’s craziness and incestphilia. I have no clue what “love of incest” would be, so I just made up “incestphilia” because I rather not google this one. Just like how I shouldn’t have looked up “2 goats, 1 hay.” He does have weaknesses, and he has people who he cares about… but he’s not going to be pushover to take down.
(Yes, Kiritsugu… KING IN THE EAST!)
“All of you monsters who’d disregard a knight’s honor for personal gain…”
Poor Lancer. Someone tell him all about the people who human traffic and rip kids from their homes to have them work in mines or as prostitutes. That’s so less monstrous than people who would use a mercenary knight as pawn. And, Lancer, least you forgot… you are a pawn. Sorry. That’s just the way it is. Nevertheless, it would have been a perfect match if he came back in the fifth Holy Grail War as Berserker… but… nope. This is why I hate prequels. Too much story limitations… I wonder how much both Zero and Stay Night if Type Moon had Stay Night as a proper sequel.
I was kidding about Shining Hearts… the animation for that is quite poor. Also, I feel gypped every time we see Saber driving and not Irisviel. It’s like running out to your natural to discover that you’re being cannon rushed. It’s like going to a Tiger’s game expecting Justin Verlander but getting Duane Below instead. It’s like becoming a magical girl to find out there’s a huge catch to it. It’s like thinking you got a puppy for a birthday present just to find out it’s a stuffed animal puppy. Dammit.
Three MVPs…
1. Kiritsugu. KING IN THE EAST!
2. Sola-Ui. Would have loved to see her Lancer-themed Pinterest page.
3. Hodor. Just because.
7 Responses to “fate/zero 16”
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not much to say
Lancer in FSN/Z franchise has the luck of the Irish.
The clear point of the episode was for Lancer to yell out angrily, but I kind of feel that the whole Sola-Ui/Lancer thing was basically irrelevant, since it’s not like Lancer was of any use during the whole Caster thing anyway. I thought we’d get a little more out what seemed to be a non-trivial plot point, but nope, just gotta get your arm cut off and magically bandaged.
Also, I feel like Berserker is next to go rather than Rider, since this lets the next ep be all about Tokiomi going “didn’t I kill him?”
The whole Sola-Ui/Lancer thing was about destroying Lancers concept of honor. Lancer didn´t join the war to grab the Grail exactly but to be a proper knight unlike how he ended up in life.
He´d been fine with honorable duels with heroes even if he´d have ultimately lost. But the other particiapants (other than Saber, but she needs to learn a similar lesson later on) made a mockery out of that.
Lancer’s inevitable demise was a constant riff in the Carnival Phantasm OVAs. In some ways, those episodes were more interesting / inventive than these Fate/Zero ones. Meido Cafe Saber is a gift that keeps on giving!
Because being Lancer is suffering.
btw Jason, where is our slicing this season?
“Poor Lancer. Someone tell him all about the people who human traffic and rip kids from their homes to have them work in mines or as prostitutes.”
I found that interesting since those are some of the people Kiritsugu snipes. Seeing all the young Kiritsugu shots in the OP, I’m willing to bet we’ll get more on that later.
Oh and, ME3 was b*llsh*t. It’s as bad as Angra Maniyu being unleashed upon the world and finding out everything you fought for- Ohwait…