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Questions tagged [fate-zero]

Fate/zero is a light novel by Gen Urobuchi, adapted into manga and anime. It is a prequel to visual novel "Fate/stay night", covering the events of the fourth Holy Grail War. For the parent series, see [fate-stay-night].

Fate/Zero (フェイト/ゼロ) is a light novel and a prequel to visual novel Fate/stay night It has four volume released between 2006 and 2007. It has an anime adaptation by ufotable. The first season aired in 2011, and the second season aired in 2012.

Set 10 year prior to the events of Fate/Stay Night, Emiya Kiritsugu is one of 7 people chosen by the Holy Grail in Fuyuki to become participates known as Masters in a ritual known as the Holy Grail War. Kiritsugu acts as the representative Master for the Einzbern Family and with their aid is given the catalyst to summon the King of Knights as his Servant, Saber. assisting them are his loyal assistant Maiya Hisau and his wife Irisviel von Einzbern.

the other Master and Kiritsugu's group are

  • Kirei Kotomine, Master of Assassin and son of the War's Supervisor Risei Kotomine
  • Tokiomi Tohsaka, Master of Archer and head of the Tohsaka Family
  • Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, Master of Lancer and fifth-generation nobleman from the Magus Association
  • Waver Velvet, Master of Rider and former student of Kayneth's who stole his catalyst to participate in the war
  • Kariya Matou, Master of Berserker and uncle to Sakura Matou
  • Ryuunosuke Uryuu, Master of Caster and psychotic killer who has very little knowledge of Magic or the Grail War

As each of the other Masters have their own desire for winning the Holy Grail, Kiritsugu, while acting in the interests of the Einzbern Family to win, has his own desire for the omnipotent wish granting artifact.

For the parent series, see .

For more information, see the

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What is the viewing order of Fate-related works?

I've watched just the 2006 Fate/Stay Night anime series. I know there are other series in the franchise (Fate/Zero, Fate/kaleid Liner Prisma Ilya), as well as the Unlimited Blade Works movie, and the manga. I don't intend to read the visual novel…
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Why is King Arthur female? Why is Iskander tall?

I've watched both the Fate/Zero and Fate/Stay Night anime (including the Unlimited Blade Works movie), but none of the visual novels, so no spoilers from that unless they are light spoilers. One thing that bothered me was that despite the fact that…
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How does Gilgamesh have a futuristic fighter plane?

In the dogfight between Gilgamesh and Berserker, Gilgamesh rides a golden fighter plane that is capable of hovering and flying at great speeds, supposedly by harnessing some "strange green power" (see the opening wings and glow when Gilgamesh…
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What is a Grail vessel?

In Fate/Zero, Irisviel was created to be the Grail vessel. In Fate UBW, I think Illya was one as well. (I think it's also the case in Fate/stay night in general, but I'm not sure). What is a Grail vessel? Is it required to summon the Holy Grail?…
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Why do the summoned Servants all belong to different classes?

In the Fate universe, is there a reason why the Servants summoned in each Holy Grail War belong to different classes? Using relics and additional incantations during the summoning ritual, Masters have some degree of control over the Class (e.g.…
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Just who knew Arturia was female when she was King?

Originally, I thought Merlin, Lancelot, Guinevere, Morgan le Fay and Mordred were the only people who knew Arturia was female when she was king. While reading up on Kay's profile on the Wikia, I read that he knew she was a female and vowed to keep…
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Did Saber recognize Illyasviel in Fate/Stay Night?

In Fate Zero, Saber doesn't exactly meet Illyasviel, but she does see her, which is hard to forget because she looks pretty much exactly as her mother Irisviel, who was a good friend of Saber's. In Fate Stay Night, Saber runs into Illyasviel…
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How old is Illya?

I don't believe her actual age is given in either series and since she is a modified homunculus, she ages much slower than an average person. Based on evidence given in the Fate series, approximately how old is Illyasviel von Einzbern in Fate/Stay…
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Were the Heroic Spirits that powerful in their lives?

Were the Heroic Spirits that powerful in their lives? Consider: Some heroes had "reasonable" powers: Fate Zero's Caster has a spellbook that granted him massive amounts of mana. Fate Zero's Lancer had two magical lances. Stay Night's Caster has a…
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What's a "black key"?

I was watching Fate Zero, the fight between Kiritsugu and Kotomine. At some point, both are thinking about the resources at their disposal: Kiritsugu has a grenade, a knife, etc. Kotomine has a handful of Reijus and something I'm not sure how is…
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Is there a single member of the Einzbern family who is a human being?

From the information I could find, nearly all known members of the Einzbern family are (female) homunculi (Justeaze, Irisviel, Illyasviel and all the maids), the only exception being Jubstacheit, who is supposed to be an A.I. controlling an array of…
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Is it possible for one Master to have multiple Servants?

I'm reading the Fate/Stay Night visual novel. Early on, in the Kotomine Church, you can reach a bad ending by choosing to have Shirou give up his Command Spells and withdraw from the Holy Grail War as a Master. He goes outside to sever his contract…
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Why is Rider called "Iskander" instead of "Alexander"?

The true identity of Rider in Fate/Zero is Alexander the Great, the famed conqueror and King of Macedonia. Since Alexander conquered so many countries, his name has been adapted to many different languages, including Arabic, Persian, and Turkish, in…
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What did the past winners of the Holy Grail Wars wish for?

It is implied that there were five wars in total, and it's likely that their winners would each have wished for something epic, like immortality or godlike powers, but throughout Fate/Zero and Fate/stay night the world doesn't appear to have been…
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Are all of the Holy Grail War servants based on real heroes?

Saber's character in Fate/stay night and Fate/zero is based on the real-life hero King Arthur. Are the other Holy Grail War servants also based on real-life heroes? And if they are, who are those heroes?
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