I. world system universe [INTRO]

Hello, and welcome to hate blows a bubble of despair into, a very small shrine to the light novel series Fate/Zero. Fate/Zero is the official prequel series to Fate/Stay Night, one of the most popular visual novels ever made. Like Fate/Stay Night, Fate/Zero is the chronicle of the War for the Holy Grail, a ceremony to summon the Holy Grail. The Holy Grail is not the one of legend, but instead it is a magical artifact that has the power to grant any wish. In this battle royale competition, seven magi are chosen to summon a heroic spirit as their Servant. These heroic spirits' identities range from King Arthur to a future version of one of the main characters of Fate/Stay Night.

Fate/Zero, as the prequel series, takes place ten years before the events of Fate/Stay Night. The two stories are linked by certain characters with cameos, or even main roles in both stories. However, what sets Fate/Zero apart, in my opinion, is its characters. The stories are generally the same, but the colorful cast of characters endears me much more to the prequel series than the original.

II. fear buries a tomorrow [CAST]


  1. Kariya Matou: Master of Berserker, Kariya makes a deal with Zoken Matou to win the Grail in exchange for Aoi's daughter Sakura's release from the Matou family
  2. Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi: Master of Lancer, Kayneth is one of Waver's former teacher at the Magus Association, and is engaged to Sola to preserve a magical lineage
  3. Kirei Kotomine: Master of Assassin and working under Tokiomi, Kirei is an unexpected Master in the War with little desire for the Grail, but an immense hatred for Kiritsugu
  4. Kiritsugu Emiya: Master of Saber and the hero of the story, Kiritsugu is entered into the Grail War with the Einzbern family and specializes in assassinating magicians
  5. Ryuunosuke Uryuu: Master of Caster, Uryuu is a serial killer in Fuyuki City who summons his Servant by accident and has little knowledge of the Grail
  6. Tokiomi Tohsaka: Master of Archer, Tokiomi is an cold-blooded magus who takes Kirei as his pupil as well as giving his daughter Sakura to the Matou family
  7. Waver Velvet: Master of Rider and a brilliant young magus, Waver steals Kayneth's artifact to summon Rider, and only wishes to have the Grail to prove his worth to the Magus Association

  1. Berserker: Servant of Kariya Matou, Berserker's true identity is [highlight to read] Lancelot of the Lake. Berserker's signature ability (called a Noble Phantasm) is the ability to use almost any object, from a jet to a machine gun, as a Noble Phantasm.
  2. Lancer: Servant of Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi, Lancer's true identity is [highlight to read] Diarmuid Ua Duibhne. Lancer's Noble Phantasms are two spears, and Lancer is also cursed by a beauty spot that causes any woman without high magical resistance to fall in love with him.
  3. Assassin: Servant of Kirei Kotomine, Lancer's true identity is [highlight to read] Hassan-i-Sabah. Assassin is not a single person, but instead several entities who spy on the other Masters and Servants.
  4. Saber: Servant of Kiritsugu Emiya, Saber's true identity is [highlight to read] Arturia Pendragon, King Arthur.. Saber appears as a main character in both Fate/Zero and Fate/Stay Night and is a serious and focused woman who is a close friend to Irisviel.
  5. Caster: Servant of Ryuunosuke Uryuu, Caster's true identity is [highlight to read] Gilles de Rais, Bluebeard. Caster has no interest in the Grail, and like his Master, merely wants to kill and torture people. He possesses a spellbook made of human flesh (Prelati's Spellbook) which is also his Noble Phantasm.
  6. Archer: Servant of Tokiomi Tohsaka, Archer's true identity is [highlight to read] Gilgamesh. Archer's Noble Phantasm is composed of thousands of Noble Phantasms which he fires. None of these weapons represent his true identity, which causes the other Masters and Servants much confusion.
  7. Rider: Servant of Waver Velvet, Rider's true identity is [highlight to read] Alexander the Great, and unlike other Servants, has no qualms with proclaiming his true name. Rider possesses a chariot and his army as Noble Phantasms, and is usually at odds against his Master because of his loud, boisterous personality.

  1. Aoi Tohsaka: Wife to Tokiomi and mother of Sakura Matou and Rin Tohsaka, Aoi is a quiet, faithful woman. She and Kariya were childhood friends.
  2. Irisviel von Einzbern: A homunculus destined to be the vessel for the Holy Grail, Irisviel was confined to the Einzbern castle until the 4th War started. She is Kiritsugu's wife, an accomplished magus, and a close friend to Saber.
  3. Maiya Hisau:Kiritsugu's assistant with no magical ability, but proficient training in firearms. Maiya is sometimes told by Kiritsugu to protect Irisviel.
  4. Risei Kotomine: Kirei's father, Risei is a priest in the church and regulates the 4th War. Risei is proud of his son, but does not understand him or his ambitions.
  5. Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri: Engaged to Kayneth, Sola is a spirited woman who seems to dislike Kayneth. She provides the energy needed to materialize Lancer, but she eventually falls in love with him because of his curse.
  6. Zoken Matou: Head of the Matou family for many years, Zoken wishes to restore the magical prowess that the Matou family once had. He made a deal with Tokiomi and recieved Tokiomi's daughter Sakura to try and create a "perfect" magus, which requires Sakura to be both physically and mentally tortured.

III. up comes yesterday [STORY]

Fate/Zero is split into four light novels written by Gen Urobuchi and illustrated by Takashi Takeuchi, and is a collaboration between two popular visual novel developers: TYPE-MOON and Nitro+. Two of these novels are completely translated by Baka-Tsuki, and the Fate/Zero translation project is linked at the top of the page, if you'd like to read it. As such, this summary only really goes up to volume two, but will be updated as more is actually released! Fate/Zero has a plot that, despite it's overall simplicity, is hard to properly explain in a paragraph or two because of the large amount of subplots that go with it. The easiest way to put it is 'stuff happens'. But yes, I know, that's not good enough.

While the plot itself is simple, what complicates the story are the subplots and relationships between the characters. Each Master and Servant has their own ambitions and morals, and they quite often clash against each other. Fate/Zero is the only series that I know of where you can get such scenes as a battle on motorcycle against an armorclad, machine-gun weilding maniac to a drinking contest between three famous Kings.

The story is most focused on the story of Kiritsugu and Saber, who are both major characters in the Fate/Stay Night as well. Fate/Zero, as a prequel series, fills in many questions or gaps left by Fate/Stay Night, but is a stand-alone series, since little knowledge is needed to enjoy it. The first volume serves as an introduction to the series and its characters. In this volume, the Servants are summoned, and for the most important pairs, you get an introduction to how they interact with each other. For example, there is Saber, who dislikes her Master because of how cold he is, but enjoys Irisviel's company. There is also Waver, who is a serious young man, but summons an impulsive and loud Servant whose personality clashes against his own. The motivations of certain characters are also revealed, but most remain a mystery.

The War truly begins with the first confrontation between Servants. Saber and Lancer fight each other, but are soon interrupted by Rider, and eventually followed by nearly every other Servant participating, as Masters try and learn about the other Masters and Servants who are their enemies. Instead, the battle ends as Rider helps Saber, who has been engaged in battle by both Lancer and Berserker at the same time, which the honorable Rider considers unfair.

The next volume, and those following it, are the ones that really advance the plot with grand battles and subplots about the relationships between characters. There is Sola, who falls in love with her fiancée's Servant or Caster, who mistakes Saber for Joan of Arc and fights her with Lovecraftian monsters to try and help her "remember". Fate/Zero brings a unique cast of characters with some of the most engaging interactions I've seen, and combines that drama with a strong dose of action, history/mythology, and magic, which makes it one of my favorite series. It's not a series that a summary can really do justice, so I encourage everyone that likes those elements to give it a try.

I also hope that it gets an anime or manga one day, but this is likely in vain. I will continue hoping, though, and get excited every time a rumor pops up.

IV. pleasure and pain [MEDIA]

Fate/Zero, being a light novel series, does not actually have a lot of media, so that makes it perfect for a mini-shrine. There's nothing wrong with a mini-media section. I take no credit for the scanning of any of these images, so no credit is needed if you would like to use them in anything.


As I've mentioned, Fate/Zero is a four volume series. If you would like to purchase the books, you can find all four volumes at HimeyaShop, as well as the Image Soundtrack, and two sound dramas.

In addition, Fate/Zero has two official books to go with it. There is the Fate/Zero Complete Material, which is actually more like a pamphlet with character designs and sketches, while Fate/Material Zero is a more complete book of character sketches. There are a few samples of images below, but if you'd like the complete books, then I encourage you to buy them!

 
 


 
 


 
 
 


Aoi Tohsaka Archer
Assassin Berserker
Caster Irisviel von Einzbern
Kariya Matou Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi
Kirei Kotomine Kiritsugu Emiya
Lancer Maiya Hisau
Rider Rin & Sakura
Risei Kotomine Ryuunosuke Uryuu
Saber Sola Ui
Tokiomi Tohsaka Waver Velvet


Fate/Zero is a unique light novel series in that it actually has a soundtrack! Well, sort of. The "OST"/Image soundtrack is called Return to Zero. You can sample it below, courtesy of imeem.



V. one itself showing [SITE]

This site was created specifically for amassment's one page shrine marathon. I have always wanted to do some kind of tribute to the Fate franchise. By the time the marathon came around, I had really fallen in love with the Fate/Zero light novel series, and decided that for a little known, and not completely translated series, a one page shrine would be absolutely perfect for Fate/Zero. I'd always loved the Fate/Stay Night series, but Fate/Zero was the stronger of the stories, because I loved the characters much more than the original series'.

This mini-shrine was created on July 14th, 2009, layout, content and all. The title of this shrine, and the content header's all come from a poem by e.e. cummings titled "hate blows a bubble of despair into". You can read the entire poem here, but the first stanza is the most representative of Fate/Zero:
hate blows a bubble of despair into
hugeness world system universe and bang
-fear buries a tomorrow under woe
and up comes yesterday most green and young

You can find image credits at the very bottom of this page, and I hope that you enjoyed reading about one of my favorite series. If you'd like to link back to this page, you can find a few buttons below, and if you would like to affiliate with hate blows a bubble of despair into, feel free to contact me! Thanks to Amassment for the challenge!

  
  

Credits

Resources: Fudge Graphics & DaFont
Images from: Fate/Zero Material