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louis6578
Joined: 31 Jul 2013
Posts: 1862
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Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2015 8:11 pm
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I will be very surprised if you still think Waver is annoying by the end.
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OldCharlieStoletheHandle
Joined: 12 Dec 2009
Posts: 1288
Location: Mastic Beach, NY
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Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2015 1:11 am
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Anime Marathon Challenge
SEASON 2 EPISODES 14-25
I watched season 2 today and the show definitely improves, which only makes sense as more things happen. Through the first 13 episodes only one servant was eliminated, so there was plenty to be done to (finally) move the story forward.
On the other hand, that does not mean the info-dumping stops. Oh, no. There's still plenty of yakking going on here. While the overall tone lightens slightly (primarily due to the elimination of Caster and his serial killer master) it's still pretty dark with plenty of treachery and double-crossing going on.
The ending was not really surprising, not only due to being a prequel to Fate/Stay Night and thus having to match up. Having the Grail turn out not to be what it was cracked up to be is actually a fairly common trope in quest stories (to be fair, it is foreshadowed by Archer questioning it's very existence); I was also disappointed not to have a final all-out battle between Saber and Archer.
On the plus side, we get some positive character development for Waver, who grows up quite a bit and actually ceases to be an annoyance, and his servant Rider was entertaining. Kiritsugu also goes through a bit of a change from cold-blooded killer to almost a sympathetic character. It's kind of hard to root for anyone here, however; obviously Saber is supposed to be everyone's favorite character, but her incessant self-loathing got a bit much for me, and the rest of the main characters are pretty much evil pricks.
Overall, I did enjoy watching this show. It is definitely better than F/SN, and not just because it looks better. F/SN fell into a predictable pattern of fight scent, strategy meeting (info dump), fight scene, meeting, lather rinse repeat. F/Z does a better job of spreading the info dumping around. I rated both seasons as "very good". I'm not sure it's worth the money I had to spend to own it but it is certainly worth watching.
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louis6578
Joined: 31 Jul 2013
Posts: 1862
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Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2015 5:47 pm
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I'm surprised you didn't think it was as good as I did, having rated the first season as "Very Good" and the second as a "Masterpiece," but I guess I can't expect everyone to get what I did out of it. I thought the first half, while slow on the plot progression, was great on the character side. Every conversation between Kirei and Gilgamesh was gold. I also liked Waver from the beginning, though not as much as some friends I watched it with, who found him easy to relate to.
I also knew that Kiritsugu was more than a cold-blooded killer from the start (he's Shirou Emiya's dad after all, plus the first scene has him dwelling over Irisviel's predicted death). I'm surprised you thought of him as little more than a badass with guns for the first half.
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Redbeard 101
Oscar the Grouch
Forums Superstar
Joined: 14 Aug 2006
Posts: 16935
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Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2015 11:03 pm
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Please make sure you use spoiler tags when applicable louis.
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louis6578
Joined: 31 Jul 2013
Posts: 1862
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Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2015 11:08 pm
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Is the fact that Kiritsugu is Shirou's dad a spoiler? It's the premise of Fate/Stay Night. I dunno. It's like telling me that I should spoiler tag Goku being a saiyan from the Dragonball entry, or that Goku has a child named Gohan. It feels like public domain, Mr. Moderator.
But I will be more mindful. This is a difficult show to talk about without going into spoiler territory, as most of its discussion-worthy topics cover the second half, or how things from Fate/Zero have lasting consequences in Fate/Stay Night.
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NearEasternerJ1
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Posted: Mon Sep 05, 2016 4:01 pm
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Fate/Zero seems to be one of those universally praised dubs, but I never really realised just how much people loved it. It's been praised for its near 1/1 translation of the Japanese dialogue, its strong casting, particularly from Rider, Kirei, Kiritsugu and Waver and the fact that it showed that dubs can be truly amazing when given some TLC.
The same was true for Bebop back then, but has the F/Z dub surpassed that of Cowboy Bebop?
Of course, both dubs had their issues. Some would say that the F/Z dub is full of awkward pauses, though that's actually IN the Japanese version. Bebop has too many instances of talking when there wasn't any talking. Like DBZ, but to a much smaller extent.
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louis6578
Joined: 31 Jul 2013
Posts: 1862
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Posted: Tue Sep 06, 2016 7:59 am
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NearEasternerJ1 wrote: | Fate/Zero seems to be one of those universally praised dubs, but I never really realised just how much people loved it. It's been praised for its near 1/1 translation of the Japanese dialogue, its strong casting, particularly from Rider, Kirei, Kiritsugu and Waver and the fact that it showed that dubs can be truly amazing when given some TLC.
The same was true for Bebop back then, but has the F/Z dub surpassed that of Cowboy Bebop?
Of course, both dubs had their issues. Some would say that the F/Z dub is full of awkward pauses, though that's actually IN the Japanese version. Bebop has too many instances of talking when there wasn't any talking. Like DBZ, but to a much smaller extent. |
First off, I've never heard anyone praise the dub THAT highly (except myself, but I'm an Urobuchi Fanboy). Second, even some of the best dubs have an awkward pause or two. I distinctly remember Yoki in FMA Brotherhood "We can't afford... to be hasty!" It happens, but Fate/Zero mostly does it toward the beginning (lets face it, most dubs start off average and only get better as the actors settle in to their roles). For example, I found Bridget Hoffman's Irisviel to be flat during the first episode, but it definitely improved by the second disc (I own the Blu-rays). However, there are a few roles that were perfect from day one. Crispin Freeman's Kirei Kotomine may not outshine Joji Nakata, but it's a pretty damn good substitute. Same for Jamieson Price's Rider. The two roles that impressed me most, though, were Lucien Dodge's Waver and Matthew Mercer's Kiritsugu, since I hadn't really heard them in anime before this.
On that note, while it's off topic, I still think that Kiritsugu's flashback episodes are my personal favorite things in anime. SO GOOD!
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