Fate/Zero 1

Fate/Zero (Manga) #1

by Gen Urobuchi, Shinjiro, 真じろう

願いを叶える「聖杯」を求め、７人の魔術師とその使い魔たちのバトルロイヤル――セイバーのクラスを冠する少女と、「魔術師殺し」衛宮切嗣の運命は!?「Ｆａｔｅ／Ｚｅｒｏ」衝撃のコミック化！

Genres: Manga, Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Action, Comics, Young Adult, Urban Fantasy

177 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 3, 2011

About the author

Name in kanji: 虚淵玄

(虚淵玄 Urobuchi Gen) is a Japanese writer for visual novels, light novels, and anime. He is known for his dark style, nihilistic themes, and tragic plot twists, earning him the fan nickname "Urobutcher." Some of his more popular works include the 2003 visual novel Saya no Uta, the 2011 anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica, the 2012 anime Psycho-Pass, the light novel and anime Fate/Zero, and the 2013–2014 Kamen Rider Series Kamen Rider Gaim. He currently works at Nitroplus.

Reviews

[Ceres · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quel régal!!! Après avoir regardé Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works qui se passe à notre époque, j'étais hyper curieuse de découvrir cette guerre du Saint Graal bien des années plus tôt. Ainsi les personnages ne me sont pas inconnus... mieux encore, les pièces du puzzle s'emboitent et j'arrive à encore mieux cerner les choses. La plus révélation fut celle de Saber et de son identité. Bien que je savais qui elle était, qu'on en sache autant des le 1er tome me ravit! Hâte d'avoir la suite!!!

[Ruthsic · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fourth Holy Grail War has begun, and seven magi must summon heroes from history to battle each other to the death. Only one magi 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.

Prequel to the Fate/Stay Night series, Fate/Zero explores the events of the fourth Holy Grail War, the one which resulted in the events that lead to FSN. The main character is Kiritsugu Emiya, a man who lives for his ideals and is tormented by them. He sees injustice in the world and seeks to bring happiness to all; a foolish ideal he then passes on to his foster son, as you would know in FSN. But here in this volume, we see the starting events of the Holy Grail War, with introduction of the servants Saber (Arthuria Pendragon), Rider, Archer and Assassin; along with introduction of Emiya's family, and Kotomine Kirei. It is going to be a battle of desire and wills, of ambition and power and honestly I am so excited to read further, especially for the characters. The artwork is not as good as the one for FSN, but passably adequate. I haven't read the light novel nor seen the anime, so this is going to be wholly a big surprise for me. Or maybe I might just cave and start watching the anime; who knows? It is an interesting series, that's for sure, with Emiya bring guns to a mage fight.

[Rolaka Pisarka · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nie wiem, czy sama light novelka została przetłumaczona na tak toporny i sztuczny język, czy po prostu sama w sobie jest słaba. Nie wymagam od LN cudów. Jestem świadoma, że są to średniej klasy twory, które mają mi przynieść rozrywkę. To tylko wersja light, ale mimo wszystko Fate/Zero wydawało mi się czymś lepszym. A dostałam topornie napisaną opowiastkę, która zawodzi pod każdym względem. Kurcze, jakie to jest cieniusieńkie i ile kosztuje! Serio, porównać sobie do takiego Overlorda, w którego trzeba włożyć 3-krotnie więcej pracy, a cena niemal taka sama. Zawiodłam się. Naprawdę zawiodłam. I nie polecam!

[Lai Hoi Ching Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really interesting story with an unique background setting. I like how the story is written revolving about the desire of the servants and masters. The use of historic heros and stories encourages people to learn more about the story behind the characters in the history. I appreciate the plot and the establishment of characters , which presents the moral and the theme of the story vaguely. Overall, this is a good story I would recommend to the others.

[Lucas.G.Chueri · Rating 3 out of 5]

The prequel of Fate/Stay Night is as amazing as the flashbacks and references to the events "Ten Years Ago" make it seem. A holy grail war with 7 unique servants fighting to make their one wish come true with 3 legendary warriors known as "The King of Kings Gilgamesh", "King of Conquerors Alexander the great", and "The King of Knights "King" Arturia Pendragon". It might've been an inconclusive Grail War but the build-up to it is amazing and exciting.

[Joshua · Rating 3 out of 5]

I watched the anime and loved it. The manga leaves some scenes out so far, particularly scenes I didn't enjoy (Waver getting smacked by Kayneth was a good scene to ignore), but also felt a little bit stretched out. I'll see how other volumes go!

[Arthur · Rating 3 out of 5]

barely 3 stars, this has been one of the hardest series i've tried getting into in a long time

[Sassa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aaaaah!
Love Saber's face, and the quote on the cover!
It's more like the LN, even if the anime was excellent.

[Darcie · Rating 4 out of 5]

,

[Milie_Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

J'aime beaucoup le principe du manga, je ne connais pas du tout l'anime. L'intrigue est intéressante et je vais vite me procurer la suite.

[Mela · Rating 4 out of 5]

idealism nd alchemy

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Historical or legendary figures like King Arthur, Alexander the Great, and Lancelot summoned by mages in modern Japan to fight in an all-our war for the Holy Grail? Sign me up!

[Megu Togashi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really need to find the rest of this to read...

[Cavak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Out of all the Fate (whatevers), this is the only serious one that I've even liked. But man, does it start rough. I can see why the TV series would be more popular than the book adaptations.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a manga adaption of Fate/Zero, which was originally a light novel series and was also made into an anime. This review is specifically for the Dark Horse publication of the first volume of the manga - it seems to have been combined with reviews for the original light novel, which does not have an official English translation at this point in time and is a completely different piece of media.

Also, Fate/Zero is a prequel to Fate/Stay Night. There are a number of fans who think you should consume some version of that story first, as it was made first. Whichever one you start with is going to spoil the other - I watched Fate/Zero first, and I ended up liking it better than Fate/Stay Night, so I was happy with my decision. Fate/Zero has more adult characters and is focused on martial conflict, whereas Fate/Stay Night’s cast is mostly teenagers and has more romance. I would start with whichever type of story you tend to like the most.

The first volume of the manga covers the start of the story up until Lancer first confronts Saber, which is slower pace than I would have liked. The result is a first volume that’s almost entirely set-up and minimal action or forward momentum. However, the writing is a fairly direct adaptation of the other versions of the story, and so the real selling point of the manga is the art.

The art is enjoyable, although I prefer the designs from the anime, which are slightly less moe. The artist is definitely best at drawing women and young men - the faces have a tendency to get weird when it comes to the adult male characters. By far the best parts of the manga are the spreads of Saber and Iri with their costumes swirling out around them, and I think in the end the art does do a good job of justifying the manga’s existence.

Dark Horse’s presentation is on the cheap side - there are color pages but they’re printed on the same cheaper paper stock as the black and white pages, and the cover is on the flimsy side. There are white creases where the ink has flaked off around the glue line of the binding after only a single reading. Still, the printing looks clean and the layout of the text.

It’s a solid purchase if you’re already a fan of the series and would like more art of your favorite series, but if you’re new, it’s probably best to skip the manga for now and start with the anime.

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

Fate/Zero stays true to the light novels, providing depth and nuances to the characters with solid illustration work. Although a bit 'talky', the characters aren't dumbed down and the plot of the source material remains intact. Fate/Zero takes place 10 years prior to the events of Fate/stay night, following a group of seven Servants under seven classes (assassin, beserker, archer, lancer, saber, caster, rider).

The story begins with Irisviel, whose family is determined to win this war despite losing the previous three. Although her thoughts are always with Magus Killer, Kiritsugu Emiya, she is determined to do her best. Meanwhile, priest Risei Kotomine plots in the church sanctuary with his son, Kirei Kotomine, who is also a master in the war. They will contend with four others in the battle for the grail.

The illustrations do the series justice as we follow the six formidable powers - each with their own motivations to win the war. Each character is unique and distinct and acts in very interesting ways.

In all, very well done and respectful of the light novel source. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

[Doc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fate/Zero is a manga based on the anime and light novel and according to the back cover it is a faithful manga adaptation that also also offers extended scenes and never before scene content. It is also a Dark Horse Manga so I don't see an age rating but if I were to guess this series is rated Teen due to the nature of gladiatorial combat between spirits made flesh until only one is left and the winner gets to claim the Holy Grail.

Okay...I have alway been a fan of the Fate/Stay Night series so I was excited to pick up this book as soon as I saw it on the shelf. However the book seemed a little slow to me which makes sense considering the book is basically a retelling of characters I have seen in the anime already so the first volume did not have a lot for me save for the artwork which I really enjoyed. Of course the book ended on a cliffhanger (although once again I know what is coming up because I have already seen the anime) so I hope you all enjoy this book and hopefully can feel the suspense as we wait for the next volume. I know I am looking forward to it. Maybe there will be some new stuff coming out in it. :)

Given a choice of favorite parts of the manga I have always had a soft spot for Rider who is bigger than life and the first thing he asks for is books. Those poor librarians are in for a shock as soon as they show up. :)

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is awesome! I'm not an anime watcher (only a manga reader) and this is is a prequel of the light novels and/or a retelling? of the popular anime. Because of this, I did find the beginning a little confusing to get into as I guess you are supposed to already know what is going on from being an anime fan, but once I got it sorted out and understood what the story was about I was hooked. The premise is really cool! I loved the pairing up of people with warriors from history and the plot of the Fourth Holy Grail War. This first volume is all set-up. There is no battle though the book ends with two warriors meeting each other so perhaps vol. 2 will start with a battle. Anyway, I got really excited to see King Arthur, Gilgamesh and Alexander the Great show up in this volume. A fourth warrior is introduced but I'd never heard of him even though he's from the Irish Finn MacCool legend which I have heard of/read. And even though all these famous guys are men historically, they are not in this manga! I really enjoyed the art as well. Books with characters from history and literature are really fun for me and this series shows a lot of promise from just this first volume. Can't wait for the battles!

[Filia Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This review is for the manga. IDK why so many other reviews are for the novel, as this was the isbn for the manga. I want to read the novel, but atm, I haven't, so here we are.
Fate/Zero is one of my favorite anime titles, ever. So I came into this with high expectations. Was it disappointing? Is it worth it? Yes to being worth it, and kind of for being disappointing.
The manga closely follows the anime, but seems to skip some things. Not much, but some. The anime shows Waver summoning Rider, and goes into the event that makes Waver want to bother with the Grail War in the first place. We also get to see Kayneth being a jerk. But this is skipped over. All we see is Rider being summoned. They also only mention Caster is summoned, and didn't show it. They also skipped out on the whole creepy worm thing, but that might just come later. But they skipped the other two things for sure. I have no idea where the extra content verses the anime comes in, but so far, it's basically the anime with less scenes. Still a great book, but not as good. Maybe we'll see improvements soon.
The art is also not my thing stylistically (I love the usual Fate anime style.. but this, not as much), but it isn't bad.

[Holly Letson · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

This was my first journey into the *Fate* world. I must say that I was less than amazed. But, it did make me curious about whether the anime would be better. On that note, this is only the first volume of the F/Z series, so the next might be better.

I feel like this would be aimed better at someone who had read *Fate* mangas before or watched one (or more) of the *Fate* anime(s). It really didn't keep my attention as much as I would have liked. It felt like I was thrown into something that had been going awhile, and had tons of information thrown at me at once.

I did - however - love the art. I would like to read another volume of this series later on.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read a terribly translated version of this book so that is the only reason why I cannot give it a 4/5. I like the concepts and the ideas of it, but the book lacked detail of how the characters looked for me so in my mind everyone ended up looking like each other apart from some minute hair detail changes. As well, there was virtually no character development and when there was it was rushed and generally felt inauthentic. Other than that, it was an entertaining read, but I feel that it has been over-hyped by the die-hard fans out there. Maybe the second book in the serious will be better.

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting start / set-up to the story. I'm not sure how I feel about Kiritsugu wielding Saber (or as a character, for that matter). Irisviel seems like a character with a lot more going on to her than it seems at first. I'm looking forward to her story unfolding. As for Rider's Mage... I hope he develops into a more erstwhile character ~ if he's just comedic relief, I'll definitely not care for him.

[Jorge Reyes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Con un interesante guión e historia, esta precuela reune personajes interesantes, aunque con poca profundidad y detalles insuficientes para "conectar". La historia, al ser creativa impacta de manera exterior, pero no lo suficiente para trascender, obviamente es una obra de gran éxito, en un ambiente superficial en el que se vive.
Una obra, "promedio" para mi gusto.

[Joe Santoro · Rating 2 out of 5]

In Theory, I manga about 7 magicians that summon heroes of the past to battle it out for the Holy Grail sounds amazing... the execution was sorely lacking, though. I'm not sure if the author doesn't get it, or is just trying to hard to be cool and edgy, the 'heroes' are too out there, and the main characters too trope-y for this to be too exciting of a story.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the idea of what the author was trying to do, but the overall execution was not the best. I love the idea that there are mages who summon different types of heroes to fight for the holy grail. There were so many elements and things to remember, and the overall story felt a little jumbled and difficult to follow at times. Not a bad read, but not my favorite.

[Mathieu Mazza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ma chronique : http://enjoybooksaddict.blogspot.fr/2...

[Libro Brothers · Rating 2 out of 5]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUcVt...

[~Cyanide Latte~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

[REVIEW TO COME LATER UPON RE-READ.]