In Fate/stay night, Saber explains she had brief interactions with Kiritsugu Emiya which lead to the creation of the character of Irisviel. Urobuchi explained that 90% of the proposals were accepted by Nasu. The idea of Fate/Zero was proposed by Urobuchi. When starting the project for Fate/Zero, Nasu decided to give Urobuchi complete freedom for Kiritsugu's characterization. Ideas like Saber being lectured by Gilgamesh and Alexander the Great gave him a bigger impact. Nasu was amazed by Urobuchi and had predicted in 2002 while unable to work on Fate/stay night due to illness that Urobuchi would write an interesting story.
Urobuchi planned the series to end by its fourth volume. Despite the tragedy of the ending, the good ending in Fate/stay Night would not be affected because Kiritsugu's life was a prequel. Writer Gen Urobuchi was pitched a prequel of Fate/stay night by Takashi Takeuchi. And, to make things worse, the last war fought over the Grail has left it corrupted, causing any wish granted by the Grail to be a Monkey's Paw. Towards the conclusion, the limitations of the "Holy Grail" are found to be in the fact that, while omnipotent in its wish-granting abilities, it is not omniscient, and therefore depends on the victor's knowledge and methods to determine the way by which the wish is carried out. He sets his sights on Kiritsugu as a kindred spirit and possible answer to the emptiness he feels.
Meanwhile, Kiritsugu's greatest opponent appears in the form of Kirei Kotomine, a priest who is trying to discover his true nature in his quest to find the Holy Grail, which is revealed to be monstrous and full of hate. However, Kiritsugu finds himself deeply torn between the love he has found for his new family – his wife Irisviel and their daughter Illya – and what he must do to obtain the Holy Grail. For the sake of humanity, he resolves to ruthlessly destroy anything and anyone who threatens the peace of others. Thus, this is the source of conflict, which he once sought to eliminate, due to finite resources/abilities. Though Kiritsugu had once wanted to become a hero who could save everyone, he has long since abandoned this ideal upon realizing that saving one person often comes at the cost of another's life. As a result, they have elected to bring the notorious "mage killer", Kiritsugu Emiya, into their ranks, despite his methods and reputation as a skilled mercenary and a hitman who employs whatever he can use to accomplish his goals. The Einzbern family is determined to achieve victory in the Fourth War after three consecutive failures, no matter the cost. After three inconclusive wars for the elusive Holy Grail, the Fourth War commences. The Holy Grail War is a contest, founded by the Einzbern, Matou, and Tohsaka families centuries ago, in which seven mages summon seven Heroic Spirits to compete to obtain the power of the "Holy Grail", which grants a wish to each member of the winning duo. The story of Fate/Zero takes place ten years prior to the events of Fate/stay night, detailing the events of the Fourth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City. Main article: List of Fate/Zero characters
The series has also been a commercial success, selling over 40,000 BD box-set and won several awards at the Newtype anime awards including "Title of the Year".
įate/Zero was praised for its animation, themes, characters, soundtrack and story. Dark Horse Comics licensed the manga and released it in English in North America. A manga adaptation was published by Kadokawa Shoten between 20. The main protagonist, Kiritsugu Emiya, the foster father of Fate/stay night's protagonist, Shirou Emiya, is known as a merciless mage killer who joins the tournament on behalf of his wife's family, the Einzberns.Īn anime adaptation has been produced by Ufotable, the first season of which aired from October 1 to Decemand the second season of which aired from April 7 to June 23, 2012. Fate/Zero is set ten years before the events of Fate/stay night, and tells the story of the Fourth Holy Grail War, a secret magical tournament held in Fuyuki City, Japan where seven mages known as Masters summon Servants, reincarnations of legendary souls and heroes from all across time, where they fight in a deadly battle royale where the winner obtains the Holy Grail, a magical legendary chalice capable of granting wishes.
Tokyo MX, GYT, GTV, TV Saitama, TV Aichi, MBS, CTC, tvk, TVh, TVQ, BS11, Kids Stationįate/Zero is a Japanese light novel written by Gen Urobuchi, illustrated by Takashi Takeuchi, and is a prequel to all routes in Type-Moon's visual novel, Fate/stay night.