A simple dialogue reveals so much when Servants sit down to drink and come to some understandings.
What They Say:
Ten years prior to the events of FATE/STAY NIGHT, the War of the Holy Grail is a contest in which seven magi summon seven Heroic Spirits to compete to obtain the power of the “Holy Grail,” which grants a miracle. After three inconclusive wars for the elusive Holy Grail, the Fourth War commences.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
After a darkly fun episode focusing on Rin and showing what a tough as nails kid she was, Fate/Zero moves back to the adults and major players of the Grail War. And in big fashion, it has Rider with Waver strolling into Saber’s residence with Irisviel with him on his chariot with horses leading the way. It’s big and hilarious watching him in his tight t-shirt, wielding a massive keg with the intent to drink and be merry with her. Rider continues to be a real favorite among the Servants of mine for his personality alone and this kind of face to face meeting between the two is the kind of thing that speaks well of his character, but also of Saber since she will sit with him, drink and talk about things. Well, as best as she can. She takes challenges in all sorts of ways, including that of drinking.
Interestingly, Rider also invited Archer when he came across him and having the three of them together just adds a whole lot of tension. While Saber will engage in dialogue, it takes more for Archer to really make it a comfortable setting because of his personality and nature. But he does bring something different toth e discussions, sitting their with his full golden armor on. The dialogue about the Grail War, the origins of the Grail and their relationship with it is a lot of fun to watch unfold. Understanding a bit more of their motivations in a clearer form, particularly that of Saber, works well to solidify who they are and their own intentions with the Grail and the power it offers to the one that is very crucial to what she wants the most.
What really sells a lot of this though in the dialogue session is how Rider and Saber view their differences in being rulers, where she wants to change what happened to her land when it lost and he thinks that’s disrespectful and arrogance that should not be done. While he has his own desires, he refuses to look back and change what has happened before and that’s something she can’t grasp, viewing herself more as a King than just the warrior-ruler that she sees Rider as being. It’s thoroughly engaging dialogue, dialogue that Archer is even smart enough to just soak up and listen to without hardly a comment.
In Summary:
While the vast majority of the episode is dialogue driven, it does go big towards the end when Assassin shows up and creates quite the visual for them to deal with, but it’s something that just inspires Rider to really roll with it and shows just what kind of king he was back in the day. It’s brief, but brutal and powerful and thoroughly engaging as a spectacle piece. Between the visuals that are used with Rider and the voice actor, it’s a powerful presence that commands screen time and essentially demands a series of his own to be had with him in a commanding form. Even just an alternate reality series where he does come back and starts his conquest of the modern world. While Saber often has the most fans or some of the others, he’s the one that’s really captivated me here on many levels and this episode only cements him more as a real treasure for the show.
Grade: A-
Readers Rating: [ratings]
Streamed By: Nico Nico
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.
