History Literature / FateZero

* TalkingIsAFreeAction: Played straight.

* {{Talking Is A Free Action}}: Played straight, which is rather jarring for a story that's supposed to be a "Realistic" (at least for this type of setting) representation of war.

* TheOtherDarrin - Completely averted so far. All the cast members from the drama CDs have come back to reprise their roles for the anime series.

[[MeaningfulName Emiya Kiritsugu]] grew up wanting to be a hero who can save everyone - but quickly realized that for every person he saves, another will die. The only way to be a hero is to act for the good of all humanity; to destroy the factor that will, in turn, destroy humans if left unchecked. And if that factor is humans themselves, then [[NecessarilyEvil he will kill every single one who threatens the peace of others]]. Hated, feared, branded as a murderer, a contract killer, a hitman - still he goes on, [[IDidWhatIHadToDo believing that this is the best way to serve humanity]].

''Fate/Zero'' is a collaboration, a series of four illustrated novels written by [[VisualNovel/SayaNoUta Gen]] [[PhantomOfInferno Ur]][[{{Blassreiter}} obu]][[PuellaMagiMadokaMagica chi]] (of [[{{Nitroplus}} Nitro+]] fame) and Takashi Takeuchi of [[TypeMoon TYPE-MOON]], under the direction of Kinoko Nasu. Based in the {{Nasuverse}}, it refers to [[FunctionalMagic concepts and ideas]] of other Nasu works, mainly ''Fate/stay night''. The first volume was released in December, 2006, while the last was released in December, 2007. It was first adapted into a Drama CD, with music by ZIZZ Studio (composers for the majority of [[{{Nitroplus}} Nitro+]] works). A manga adaptation has begun serialization, and a TV series (by {{ufotable}} of ''Anime/KaraNoKyoukai'' fame, with music by YukiKajiura, and starring the Drama CD cast) started to air in [[Fall2011Anime Fall 2011]].

* YouAreTooLate - [[spoiler: [[BiggerBad Zouken]] [[CompleteMonster Matou]]: ''"There were terrible cries for the first three days, but by the fourth day, she was silent. Today, she was thrown at dawn in the worm storage to test how well she would last, but, ho ho, she endured it for half a day and is still breathing. What do you know, the Tohsaka material isn't defectuous."'']] Poor [[spoiler:Sakura]].

* ConspicuousCG - Various examples of architecture and attack effects and Berserker as a whole in the anime.

* ExactWords - [[spoiler: "It is already impossible to kill you... for ''me'', that is." Cue [[{{Sidekick}} Maiya]] gunning down Kayneth and Sola with a Steyr [=AUG=].]]

* TooDumbToLive - If a giant, seemingly alive ball of liquid silver appears out of nowhere and one of your coworkers compares to a ball of mercury, you probably shouldn't shove your hand into it.

* CurbStompBattle - Tokiomi vs Kariya is ''very'' one-sided. One is a man who has spent a lifetime learning to master his craft. The other is a runaway relying on ad-hoc sorcery implanted in him by his sadistic ancestor who is too berserk with pain and rage to even use that properly. Guess which one wins without having to hardly lift a finger.
** Before that there was Alexander vs. Assassin. [[spoiler:All the Assassins, counting in the tens, at least.]] Cue [[spoiler:Ionian Hetaroi: Army of the King]], and the fight becomes such a ridiculously one-sided slaughter that the author doesn't even ''bother telling you about it''.

** To wit: [[spoiler:Alexander fails to save Arturia from her ideals, Kiritsugu fails to completely destroy the Grail, Kariya loses the war and therefore cannot stop Zouken from torturing Sakura and Gilgamesh sticks around until the next war after being doused in the mud of the tainted Grail. All the Servants die except Gilgamesh and Saber as well as all the Masters except Waver Velvet and Kotomine because Kiritsugu is badly cursed.]]

* AdaptationDecay: Averted like the plague with the anime. All the episodes so far, including the hour-long premiere have been spectacular pieces that are almost 100% loyal to the source material, with animation well above that of the adaptation of ''[[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Fate/stay night]]''.
* AllMythsAreTrue - All Epic Spirits are elligible for summoning, as long as they are remembered in legends. Armaments and abilities which are symbolic of the legend (for example, KingArthur and Excalibur) become the Noble Phantasms of the Servant.

* BadassArmy - Rider's EX ranked Noble Phantasm.

* AdaptationDecay: Averted like the plague with the anime. All the episodes so far, including the hour-long premiere have been spectacular pieces that are almost 100% loyal to the source material, with animation well above that of the adaptation of FateStayNight (and on par or better with the absolute best of animation's greats).

* OurVampiresAreDifferent - Kiritsugu's past, featuring [[{{Tsukihime}} Dead Apostles]].

* AdaptationDecay: Averted like the plague with the anime. All the episodes so far, including the hour-long premiere have been spectacular pieces that are almost 100% loyal to the source material, with animation well above that of the adaptation of FateStayNight.

* DownerEnding - Kiritsugu sacrifices [[spoiler:his wife and trusted partner]] to achieve his goal (World Peace), only to find that the Grail is corrupted and, thus, that he has to destroy it ([[spoiler:in the process, losing access to his daughter and leaving her to be raised by her mother's evil family]]), and even this does not prevent the Grail War from repeating itself ten years later. Further, his arch-nemesis is still alive, and outlives him to threaten his son (and daughter) in the next war. Meanwhile, Sakura is still stuck with Zouken, and the only person still alive who cares about her is a six-year-old child who has had the idea that they have to keep away from each other forced on her by their father and Rin herself is now an orphan. Kariya dies having failed to save Sakura, and actually makes her situation ''worse'' by acting as a reminder to her of what happens to people who oppose her grandfather or try to run away. All of the major villains (except Caster and his master) are still alive, and essentially no-one else survives, except Kiritsugu, who dies as a result of the corruption caused when he destroyed the Grail. Whilst, if one takes ''FateStayNight'' into account, his adoptive son fixes some of these things, [[spoiler:Sakura isn't guaranteed to be saved and nor is Ilya, and none of the dead people (Aoi, Kariya, Kiritsugu, Iri) can be brought back]].

* AdaptationDecay: Averted like the plague with the anime. All the episodes so far, including the hour-long premiere have been spectacular pieces that are almost 100% loyal to the source material, with animation well above that of the adaptation of FateStayNight and the work done in the Unlimited Blade Works movie.

* ChekhovsGun - The magic circle Irisviel and Saber drew in the shed of the operations base Kiritsugu provided them (for the purpose of aiding Iri in sustaining herself) [[spoiler: will end up saving Shirou's skin from Lancer [[FateStayNight ten years later]] by serving as the summoning circle for Saber]].
* ConspicuousCG - Berserker in the anime adaptation.

* AdaptationDecay: Averted like the plague with the anime. All the episodes so far, including the hour-long premiere have been spectacular pieces that are almost 100% loyal to the source material, with animation well above that of the adaptation of FateStayNight and equal to the work done in the Unlimited Blade Works movie.