fate/zero 25 (end)
Categories: episodic review, fate/zero
Tagged: fate/zero
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But she cry, cry, cries in her lonely heart, thinking /
If there’s nothing missing in my life /
Then why do these tears come at night?
If there is anything to this episode, it’s the waterworks. My gosh, the correct way to end any supernatural thriller slash action series has to be with humanly tears, right? I am conflicted on how I feel about Kiritsugu breaking down as the weight of the world (almost literally) crushes him. On one hand, it’s sad that he loses everything that matters to him (Einzberns not letting him see Ilya as an ultimate dick move). On the other hand, it’s self-inflicted. He could have grasped the all mighty Dungeon Master Grail (since the Holy Grail seems to have the same fickle whims of a Dungeon Master hopped up on Mountain Dew and Cheetos) and wished for a lifetime orgasm brought about by 15,532 meido, but, no, he tried to destroy the Dungeon Master Grail.
(What happens when the Dungeon Master Grail is destroyed? Your guess is as good as mine. I kinda view it as the black substance in Prometheus… it does whatever the fuck the writer wants it to do at that point in the story to advance the story to suit the writer’s whims. Rather than make logical sense. So if you’re keeping track at home, it’s a tier higher than Guilty Crown… but not two tiers higher.)
Nakkid Gilgy saved the episode for me. I just find it hilarious he’s saved by the Dungeon Master Grail, but at the cost of his clothes. I also like how he’s sitting cross-legged like a girl and wears the cloth Kirei hands him like a girl. What guy drapes a small cloth over their shoulders rather around their waist? Just too funny. I just hope someone cosplays as Episode 25 Gilgy at AX.
The second best part of the episode. Most of Fate/Zero felt like it was shoehorned into Fate/Stay Night, which is a mistake since it limited a lot of the storytelling capabilities, but Waver and Iskandar were basically free of any constraint… as such, they were two of the most developed characters who actually grew with the series. I felt Fate/Zero is a good series, but if it rebooted the franchise rather than try to be a tacked-on prologue to FSN, it could have been much better.
The fact that they trot out all the major players for FSN in this episode just makes this series feel kinda weird. We go from this Dungeon Master Grail War where everyone is a well-trained mage or assassin with plots involving bombings and sniping to teenagers duking it out and sexing it up. It’s like going from a Downton Abbey-esque series and then having a second season that’s more like Skins. Too different. If they wanted to go full prologue with Fate/Zero, there needed to be at least a nod to all the steamier aspects of FSN. I felt like they missed two big opportunities with Irisviel x Saber (would have made sense a few places along the plot, like after they get attacked in the castle by Kirei). Also, when Kirei betrayed Rin’s dad, he should have fucked Gilgy right there on Tousaka’s dead body… it would have immortalized Fate/Zero. It would have made sense for the plot, and it would have been so jarring that it would make Fate/Zero a long talked about series much like how Shinji’s masturbation scene is still discussed today. But, no, instead we have a franchise that feels like two separate writers in two separate worlds forcibly connected by 4 kids.
(Rin is pretty good at fighting back tears after realizing, “Yep, this dude killed my dad.”)
“What am I?”
So our bad guy for this series kills because it makes him happy? Wasn’t this Caster’s master’s MO? Couldn’t we find something more interesting for Kirei? Like he got ripped off at an used car dealership, and now he wants revenge?
(And, yeah, Dungeon Master Grail just decided Kirei would come back to life. The Grail didn’t choose him yet decided to give him life again? Not hand wavy at all.)
Well, at least they got this part of Sakura right.
This reminds me of the scene in Kenshin Reflections when Kenshin is about to die and looks absolutely pitiful yet not really pitiful when you consider his life as a murderer. That’s basically Kiritsugu here, with Shirou being both in the Kenji and Yahiko role. And Kenshin did end up killing Kaoru… so, yeah, a lot of parallels.
(Okay, Kenshin kills Kaoru with an STD. Which would make sense in Fate/Zero universe… mmm…)
The whole Lancelot thing with Saber felt tacked on and rushed at the end. Lancelot turning into Berserker because Saber didn’t punish him for banging Guinevere seems kinda weak. One, Lancelot is basically placing all the blame (unjustly) on Saber. Two, we were never told about Saber’s past. If we are to believe she is just a genderbent King Arthur, the typical legend has Arthur punishing both Guinevere and Lancelot (burning by fire usually) for their adultery. That’s what bothers me. Oh, Saber didn’t punish Lancelot, which is an important distinction against typical Arthurian lore. And now he’s a crazy killer because of that. And, dude, don’t be mad, but we won’t tell you until there’s only four minutes left in the 600 minute series.
(Even King Arthur and the Knights of Justice got this right. They flat out told us, “And then from the field of the future, a new king will come to save the world of the past!” If you’re going to tweak the legend, at least tell us how.)
In the end, I did enjoy Fate/Zero. Ufotable did an excellent job with production, but the series lacked something special (which I believe is mainly caused by having to follow FSN‘s outcome… it is anticlimactic since we all know Kiritsugu can’t destroy the Grail since it’s back again in ten years). The show is like a methodical paint by numbers Hollywood movie (i.e. Spiderman) that does well (and does well financially) but never really emotionally connects. It’s not meant to. It’s meant to make more money and extend the Fate franchise, which it does brilliantly.
(Kirei’s terrible Engrish was delightful. I felt like a puppy enjoying the beach for the first time.)
Three MVPs…
1. Production quality from Ufotable.
2. Iskandar and Waver being bros.
3. Fits nicely as $600 prologue to a $60 video game.
8 Responses to “fate/zero 25 (end)”
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Looks like someone is obsessed with Gilgamesh’s sword.
Also, the Rin&Sakura shot is missing? I am disappointed. At least assassin mage died badly, even if Kirei came back.
Really really really expected that FABULOUS picture of the King of Heroes in all his glory (Bone of Gilgamesh’s sword???) as the main image, I AM DISAPPOINT.
Also which would you rather have grant you wishes, the DM “You can be a HERO if you kill a million people” Grail or Kyubey?
Read the novel translations over at baka tsuki if you want the Lancelot stuff to make more sense. Actually, it also makes a lot of the other stuff make more sense too.
Also, did anyone else think “Oho! Ii Otoko” when the Golgy shots with him seated like that?
Wikipedia, article Lancelot, Later years and death :
“Ultimately, Lancelot’s affair with Guinevere is a destructive force, resulting in the death of Gawain’s brothers and his two sons, the estrangement of Lancelot and Gawain, and Mordred’s betrayal of King Arthur. Upon hearing the news of Arthur’s death, Lancelot finds that Guinevere has become a nun. She blames all the destruction of the Round Table upon her and Lancelot’s love, which, indeed, according to Le Morte D’Arthur, is the seed of all the dismay that followed. She refuses to kiss Lancelot one last time, tells him to return to his lands, and that he will never see her face again. […] he never saw her face again in life. She had prayed that she might die before he arrived, and so she did, half-an-hour before his arrival.â€
So, depending on which Arthurian legend compilation you follow, there could be room for Lancelot feeling guilty and losing his sanity without much tweaking.
Pretty sure Rin doesn’t realize Kirei killed Tosaka papa, even in Fate stay night she was in the dark. Also gotta love the little orgasm on Kirei’s face when he gave her the sword. Priceless.
“If you’re going to tweak the legend, at least tell us how.”
This opens the door for a 3rd series where she gets the grail and trans forms her past into the legend we know now. including swapping to male (sick of dudes hitting on her) and punishment for all. I imagine if she had a grail wish those two things would be included.
I have not read the source material.
” he should have fucked Gilgy right there on Tousaka’s dead body…”
Who says he didn’t. The novel scene was suggestive and it faded to black/cut to another scene.