From the perspective of the battle, the most grand battles in FZ include the Battle of Warehouse Street and the Battle of Miyuan River. The former was a frontal battle that broke out just after the introduction of all the Servants' summoning process. In the fierce conflict between life and death, the five Servants who participated in the battle showed their unique skills, and many heavyweight Noble Phantasms also appeared one after another. The battle situation changed repeatedly due to the continuous addition of Servants, and finally it was so complicated that all Masters could no longer control it. Such a turbulent scene could not be seen in FSN. The latter is the battle between the five Servants (Saber, Lancer and Rider as the main force) in the middle of the plot to fight against Caster and the sea monster. Due to the abnormal self-healing ability of sea monsters, relying on a single Servant can no longer destroy the sea monsters, so everyone will fight side by side regardless of previous suspicions, and the excellent tactical cooperation allows readers to feel the powerful power of the combination of more than three Servants, which is what FSN lacks. of. Lao Xu's ability to control complex combat situations is truly admirable.
Judging from the development of the plot, the Battle of Warehouse Street appeared so quickly (but not abruptly) as the first small climax, which is enough to show how compact the storyline of FZ is. In the first battle, the character characteristics and abilities of almost all Servants were fully revealed, and the character characteristics and author's thoughts were fully reflected in the high-speed narrative rhythm. In the popular words of the moment, it is "can't stop at all". The only thing that frustrates me is that FZ continues to use the background settings of FSN and will not explain it separately. If you start directly from FZ, you may not understand it due to lack of background knowledge; but if you start with FSN, it will be because of FSN. A series of historical facts contained in it makes FZ lose some suspense (such as the outcome of the Fourth Holy Grail War and the surviving personnel). This is determined by the prequel nature of FZ. It is quite difficult for Lao Xu to have such a superb performance in the existing background framework and plot settings.
In terms of characterization, FSN is more like a work for students: the classic campus style, clear character relationships, idealized personality of coyotes, and pure love and admiration all reveal the fact that the protagonists are middle school students. The alliance between the masters in the play is almost unbreakable, and it is reasonable under the mental conditions of middle school students. And FZ is more inclined to the adult world, in which intrigue and intrigue are far from FSN can compare. The characters portrayed by FZ are also fuller and more distinct: Kariya, who was swallowed up by the flames of obsession and revenge, Archibald, who was arrogant and arrogant, Kiritsugu, who was obsessed with his own will and unscrupulous, and advocated the aesthetics of violence without fear Caster, who was condemned by God, Kirei who was born to explore his inner interests... Each character has its own unique personality symbol and rich emotional changes. It has formed a magnificent picture, and it has also become a major attraction of FZ.
From a ideological point of view, the core conflict in the FSN drama is whether Saber should use the power of the Holy Grail to deny his previous efforts and rewrite history only because the results are unacceptable. The coyote finally made Saber realize that "you should not deny the past or dwell on past failures, but strive to create a better future based on the status quo", liberating Saber's endless cycle of obsessions. In FZ, the chapters that best reflect the characteristics of Lao Xu's thinking should be the "Holy Grail Question and Answer" between the Three Kings and Kiritsugu's final "Holy Grail Question and Answer". The former expounds the temperament and philosophy that a king should have—not to save the people, but to guide them; not to serve the people, but to make the people submit to him and fight for their ideals with him. The latter directly confronts the more ultimate question: each of us has to fight for our beliefs and ideals, but are these beliefs and ideals themselves worth fighting for? Is it justice to sacrifice the interests of the minority to safeguard the interests of the majority? A war for justice is still essentially a killing, so should the means be considered alongside the ends? And what if that's the only way to go? Is it reasonable to use seemingly unjust means to achieve seemingly just ends? The answers to all questions are not given in the FZ drama, but they are thought-provoking enough. Lao Xu threw out all the questions in a very direct face-to-face question-and-answer format, allowing the audience to face these questions and feel the impact of them, which is also the way I like and appreciate.
In short, the imaginative yet meticulous and rigorous world view proposed by FSN has laid a solid foundation for all stories, while FZ stands on the shoulders of giants and has a higher level of play. I hope that the next remake of FSN will have a more surprising performance and return the fans' love for this series of animations.
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