Fate/Zero Light Novel

For those of you who know me, you might have noticed how I've been raving about the awesomeness that is the Fate/Zero anime recently. You'll probably have also noticed that I cosplay as a character from Fate/Zero, while I've been looking into commissioning things for another. For those who don't know me, spoiler alert: I like Fate/Zero.

With the anime recently ended, and Anime Expo being filled with F/Z events and cosplayers (the only reason I regret missing AX, really), I thought now would be a good time to read and review the light novels that the anime was based off of. Since they haven't been officially translated and released, you can read the Baka-Tsuki translations that I read here: http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Fate/Zero

Now, Fate/Zero is the prequel to Fate/Stay Night, a visual novel produced by Type-Moon. It was later adapted into an anime, while the "Unlimited Blade Works" route was also adapted into an OVA. And to be honest... I didn't like Fate/Stay Night all that much. I enjoyed it, sure, but I didn't really like the characters or the story as much as I could have.

It was more the idea of the Holy Grail War that intrigued me - summoning the heroic spirits of heroes across time and space to go into epic battles. (That's also why I tried starting up an online text RPG for it, but that... didn't work out so well. Drama ensued, but I still quite like the characters that I made; Robin Hood was Archer and Icarus was Lancer. But that's in the past and not worth talking about.) That's probably why there are so many spinoffs, such as games and alternate stories with all sorts of other Servants.

And that brings us to Fate/Zero.

Fate/Zero is the story of the Holy Grail War, Heaven's Feel, prior to the one in Fate/Stay Night. There were only mentions of it in the F/SN anime and game, such as Saber seeing a large ship that was destroyed in a battle she was in, and her telling Shiro about his father, Kiritsugu, her former Master. Oh, and there was Gilgamesh. This time, we get the full story of all the characters involved.

Now, as a prequel, Fate/Zero suffers the same problem as most prequels tend to: we know how it's going to end. The characters we know are dead will die, and the ending has already been spoiled for us. However, what matters most is the journey, rather than the destination, and Type-Moon knows how to throw a few twists our way.

What I found the most intriguing about Fate/Zero was the characters. Some of them were a given: Kiritsugu, Saber, Gilgamesh, and Kotomine mostly. But then there are the new characters who really make this interesting. I'm going to list all the Servant teams, and there will be spoilers, but they'll be in a similar font to the background, so highlight them to see:

Waver Velvet, the brash young mage out to prove himself, and his Servant, Rider, who proudly proclaims himself to be Alexander the Great, King of Conquerers. (This is not a spoiler, he seriously shouts it to everyone when he arrives.) Waver stole his master's artifact and ran off to enter the war to prove that a mage's strength is not fully dependent on their bloodlines. Rider aims to be truly revived to the modern world so he can once again aim to unify the world under his rule. These two make my absolute favorite team; Waver starts out cocky and haughty, but soon learns and grows thanks to Rider's influence. Meanwhile, Rider is the epitome of badass, but is the sort of person anyone would want to go drinking with. It's truly tragic when Rider falls in battle, but he makes even Gilgamesh acknowledge him, and Waver is a much stronger person for the experience.

Kariya Matou, who abandoned the path of a mage only to be drawn back into it to save the daughter of the woman he loved from his own family. Kariya is one of the most sympathetic characters in the series, in spite of being a member of the Matou family, which tends to breed the most despicable characters. His Servant is Berserker, an armored knight shrouded in darkness who bears a grudge against Saber. His identity is masked until his final fight, but many fans managed to figure out, well, I'll put it in the words of Monty Python: "His name is Lancelot, he visits France-a-lot, he likes to dance-a-lot, you know you do!" (Seriously, someone has to make an AMV of him to that song.) The two are a thematically perfect combination, but Berserker's rage and insanity makes him nearly impossible to control, and Kariya himself has thrown away his life in the hopes of saving Sakura from being adopted by his family. It's tragic, but inevitably futile.

Uryuu Ryunosuke, the serial killer and his equally crazy Servant, Caster, Gilles de Rais. Ryunosuke is basically a Master by accident; the Grail picked him to fill the spot of the last needed Master, but he and Caster cause most of the conflict of the first half. It's their killing spree that causes Masters to band together to stop him, and his obsession with Saber, who he believes is Joan of Arc, that drives Caster further.

Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi and Sola-Ui, an engaged team who command Lancer, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne. Kayneth is Waver's teacher at the academy, an arrogant prodigy who believes he is entitled to victory and the grail, and won't let anyone get in his way. While Kayneth and Sola-Ui aren't the most likable of characters, with their overconfidence and occasional backstabbing, Lancer is one of my favorite Servants, with his nobility and chivalry, making him one of Saber's greatest and most respected rivals. He even inflicts a wound on Saber that handicaps her for a good portion of the story, until he lifts the curse as they work together to defeat Caster. His end, in which Kayneth forces him to stab himself, is a true shame, especially as he was engaged in an honorable duel with Saber, but seeing Kayneth and Sola-Ui gunned down afterwards was significantly less tragic. Speaking of, I am looking to commission Lancer's outfit, if anyone is up for it...

Tokiomi Tohsaka, father of Rin and Sakura from Fate/Stay Night, and master of Archer, Gilgamesh. He is a man of nobility and elegance, but also so wrapped up in his own plans that he fails to recognize the true nature of his Servant or apprentice. While he tries to be a good father to his children, it's only as good as mages go, rather than as people go, resulting in him giving his younger daughter, Sakura, to the Matou family. It's this callous disregard for feelings that drives Kariya to hate Tokiomi, but to Tokiomi, the grail war is something that can be won with simple strategy, regardless of the desires of his Servant.

Then we have the main protagonist, as revealed in Fate/Stay Night: Kotomine Kirei. His servant is Assassin - by which I mean the True Assassin, or at least everyone who has born the name. That is to say, one Servant in a hundred bodies, allowing him to monitor all the opposing mages with his advantage in numbers. Of course, those familiar with Fate/Stay Night know he ends up with Gilgamesh as his partner, but seeing him develop from a cold killer for the Church who doesn't know his own desires into someone who wishes to see the world burn is quite a trip.

Then we have the protagonist, Kiritsugu Emiya, and his Servant, Saber, who is King Arthur... or rather, Arturia. Yes, King Arthur is a woman, and she is incredibly tough, but has also condemned herself to the life of a king, living rigidly by the laws and standards she has set for herself. The two are at a sharp contrast - Kiritsugu is a magus killer who will do whatever it takes to kill his target, but only in order to save more lives; he wants to be a hero, but all he can do is kill those who need killing. Meanwhile, Saber is a true knight, who believes there is honor in battle. The tension between the two creates a rift in the team, and internal conflict that drives the characters.

That's not even touching on the other characters, such as Kiritsugu's wife (and the vessel for the grail), Irisviel von Einzbern, or Kiritsugu's assistant, Maiya. Every character gets fleshed out personalities, often their own story arcs, and a lot of development. For many of them, it ends in death, but not always. Seeing how each story ends is a treat and a tug on the heartstrings.

Then we have the story itself. The idea is simple: the Masters summon Servants and fight for the Holy Grail. It's what each of them does that really drives the story: whether it's Saber and Lancer engaged in an honorable battle to the death in one scene, then fighting side-by-side against Caster the next, Rider and Waver causing a fuss as Rider explores the new world he was brought into, or Kirei and Archer having discussions about what it means to be satisfied and have desires, each story arc is intriguing and well-paced. In spite of all the characters, we have a chance to learn about each of them - their histories, desires, and motives. The story flows smoothly, and really gets one invested in their favorites.

However, it's far from a perfect story. There are many elements that can be confusing to readers unfamiliar with the "Nasuverse," such as the mechanics of magecraft, the Church and its executioners, and other elements introduced and explained in works such as Tsukihime and Fate/Stay Night. This makes it hard for new readers to jump in, and even those coming to it after F/SN might find a few things confusing to them.

While it may just be an issue with the translations I read, the descriptions and dialogue are very poetic, but also occasionally too much so. It takes so much time using metaphors and flowing descriptions that they run on for a bit and get muddled. For example, in the middle of what should be an epic chase scene, we get paragraphs spent describing a motorcycle with every simile imaginable, instead of the action itself.

Yet other times there aren't enough descriptions, leaving you unsure of what happened until it's put into simpler terms. As such, the paragraphs are often sparse, leaving just a few sentences or lines before jumping to the next, and making it feel like you're just getting pieces of the story.

Still, the issues I have with the style are more than made up for with the story, the characters, and the many twists and turns it throws our way. It's not the sort of prequel that tries to cram in everything and get ahead to what we all know is coming, it takes its time and invests itself in each development and plot point, starting with the characters far back enough that the development to where we know they'll reach is clear and interesting. It crafts characters that we get to know and like before concluding their stories, rather than throwing out people who we don't see again.

How should I put this... if these guys wrote the Star Wars prequels, Mace Windu would not have been unceremoniously thrown out the window. That seems the best way to explain what I'm talking about.

In the end, the Fate/Zero light novels are not necessarily for everyone. They're mostly for those who know more about the Nasuverse and Fate/Stay Night, but for those people, it's great to read. For everyone else, you'll probably still enjoy it, but many parts will leave you behind. The anime, on the other hand, is a work of art, and worth watching even if you haven't seen F/SN.

Seriously, it's awesome. Until next time, this has been whatever I read.

Now who wants to join me in cosplaying from this? I've got a Kariya cosplay already, and as I said, I'm looking to commission Lancer.