Fate/Zero Collection One contains all thirteen episodes of the first season of this modern times fantasy war series. This show is about a great war that is about to begin where a very small group of people get chosen to attend it. Chosen to attend a war you say? How silly you say? Well maybe I should mention that there is a prize for the last man (or woman) standing... So it is more like a battle royale contest rather than your traditional war. The prize is none other than the Holy Grail and the winner of this prize will win it and get a wish from it. The people that are chosen don't have to fight alone as they all have a partner with them but not just any partner but a partner that's also a hero that has a huge reputation (and that's under stating it). You see heroes like King Arthur and Alexandra the Great just to name a few.  This show isn't as simple as that as all the contestants have some heavy things going on around their lives outside of this contest. Some have mafia-esk family drama issues and others have some problems that are completely different like a guy that likes to sacrifice children for fun. They all have one thing in common though and that is that they all want the Grail even if they realize it or not. I'm getting so excited that I'm going to go grab a coconut just like in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975). (Click "Read More" to read the full review).

I really enjoyed the story in this show as not only does it build-up to be a great action show but there is also some great drama going on as well. You'll become drawn into the show very quickly due to the great storytelling. The story was also very suspenseful and it gave me some extra excitement and when an episode ends it'll leave you wanting more and more (and so on) and before you know it you'll be done with the season before you know it. Another note that I should state is that the first episode is longer than the rest running at about an hour and it never drag on one little bit being all killer and no filler and I can say this about most of the episodes in this season. I did find some episodes during the final half to be a bit fillerish and while they weren't bad episodes I did wish that they kept the main story rolling on.

This show is also related to the show "Fate/Stay Night (2006)" but one great thing about this show is that you don't need to watch that show to enjoy this one.  Those who are familiar with even the most basic knowledge of the characters will get some extra enjoyment out of this show.  By basic knowledge of the characters I mean "very" basic as the only reason why I knew some of these characters and their purpose to the series was actually though the video game "Fate/Unlimited Codes (2008)" for the Sony Playstation Portable funnily enough. I'm sure that there are some things in this show that hardcore fans of "Fate/Stay Night (2006)" would get but sadly I am yet to have seen that show so I can't fully speak for them (you can post your hate and/or surprised comments at the end of the review). 

Characters in this show are really great and one thing I do like is that they all have completely different personalities from one another and it adds a very unique factor to them. The relationships between master and servant in this show was very well done and they all bring something different to the table where you get a perfect blend of serious, comedic relief, and just plan scary vibes from each of the teams without the personalities clashing making you think that you're watching a different show each episode. This show can also get quite dark on a multitude of levels with some scenes ranging from dark thriller to just simply disturbing. The action in this show was great and also very unpredictable and suspenseful leaving you guessing on what is going to happen and who will just be in the area to interfere to join the battle or to just get a sneaky kill.

Artwork in this show is very gorgeous looking with a lot of hard work and effort put into the detailing of the backgrounds. The characters in this show are also very well designed that are quite memorable and classic plus I really loved the characters sense of fashion in this show as it is very charming and impressive. They do use three-dimensional computer designs for some characters and vehicles and it looks really great in this show with some very basic designs and simplicity worked well and it also looked very clean. Animation (both 2D and 3D) is really smooth and I am surprised with how consistent it is with all the action that goes on in this show.

English dub in this show is one of the better English dubs that I have heard in anime of more recent years. The voices worked with the characters well and the voice actors did do a good job at putting effort into them as I can't tell you how many modern anime have rushed sounding dubs.  There were some voices that I thought that could've been a little bit more better though.  The soundtrack was pretty good in this show but sadly that is all I have to say about that.

In the special features section of this volume you get text-less opening and closing credit sequences. The music in the opening credits was pretty good and there were some nice visuals that went with it. A problem I did have with the intro is that some of the animation is choppy and it can give you the impression that this show is going to have some cheap looking animation during some scenes. Music in the closing credits was also good and also had some nice visuals that went with the song and unlike the opening there weren't any spots with bad animation.
Overall this was a very kick-ass show and I highly recommend checking this show out.  Another thing I want to say as a bonus post-review note is that I'm glad that there is a release of this show on Blu-ray for an affordable price.  I can not tell you how frustrated I was with the US release due to it costing $250 - $500 per volume (no joke).  With that little rant/mumble out of the way you should go out and watch this show right now and you won't regret it.Title: Fate/Zero Collection One
Animation Studio: Ufotable.
Genre: Animation/Anime, Action, Drama, Modern Fantasy
Running Time: 350 minutes (13 Episodes)
Distributor: Madman Entertainment (www.madman.com.au)
Rating: MA15+ (Strong themes, animated violence)
Price: $64.95
Recommended: Yes