The novel-based promotion campaign for 'Fate/Zero' was an enormous success.
Before the anime had even aired, seven character side-story novels totaling over two million words had already paved the way for it.
The anime PVs and the Type-Moon worldbuilding revealed through the novels created a fantasy world unlike any other.
How could heroes from different eras and different worlds possibly intersect?
How would they fight each other?
What kinds of ideological conflicts would arise between them?
On its own premises, 'Fate/Zero' represented an innovative genre within the anime industry.
Moreover, both the novels and the anime carried Kamiyā Yuu's name.
Building upon the tremendous popularity of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica,' this further amplified the momentum behind 'Fate/Zero.'
People often said that the calm before a storm was the most frustrating part.
The main anime itself spent its first episode explaining the story's background.
Ordinarily, that would have been a relatively dull opening.
However, thanks to the seven side-story novels and the information revealed through the promotional videos, even this exposition became fascinating.
It was as though Kamiyā Yuu had revealed the powerful currents hidden beneath the calm surface of the sea.
Especially during the final moments of the first episode, when five Heroic Spirits were summoned.
That scene alone caused countless light novel readers to scream in excitement.
According to the July anime anticipation rankings on NICENICE, 'Fate/Zero' dominated the chart with a terrifying popularity score exceeding 200,000.
Its score surpassed the combined anticipation ratings of every other anime in the Top Ten.
The result sparked widespread discussion online.
On the anime section of the NICENICE forums, discussions about 'Fate/Zero' completely took over shortly after the first episode aired.
New topics flooded the boards page after page.
...
"After magical girls comes magi. It seems Director Kamiyā is incredibly obsessed with magic-related themes. Looking through all of his anime works, almost every single one contains some kind of magical element. — Anpei Ruruka"
"It's magecraft, not magic! The main element of the Type-Moon world is magecraft. According to the setting materials, true magic exists on a higher level than magecraft. — Amano Chigusa"
"That isn't necessarily true. This story feels completely different from 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica.' The atmosphere of 'Fate/Zero' feels much more serious, and the story should be even more interesting. — Yagyū Kirito"
"Is this some kind of twisted late-night anime? Is that scene with the little girl being devoured by bugs in Episode 1 really okay? Director Kamiyā is secretly a pretty twisted person, isn't he? That poor girl. I hope she gets a happy ending later. — Miyazato Kiko"
"It's here! It's finally here! The long-awaited 'Fate/Zero' anime! Alexander the Great has revived in the modern age! The King of Conquerors is invincible! Crush them! Destroy them! Conquer them! Wherever Alexander's army marches becomes his territory! — Wings of Darkness"
"Go die, disgusting chūnibyō nerd! Only Gilgamesh, the Ancient King of Heroes, is truly invincible. He's definitely the strongest one. — The Power in My Right Hand Cannot Be Suppressed"
"The guy above means that flashy golden guy in the armor, right? I'm still betting on Zhao Yun! His title already proves the outcome. Holy Grail War > Zhao Yun > Ever-Victorious General > Holy Grail War. Perfect counter relationship. Get! (lol) — Itō Kai"
"That old man is disgusting! What exactly is going on with those bugs in the dungeon? After taking screenshots and zooming in, they look suspiciously similar to a certain part of the male body! — Hatta Yasuta"
"The sixth Heroic Spirit who hasn't appeared yet should be Zhao Yun, the Tiger Might General. The seventh should be Bluebeard, right? That psycho slaughtered more than three hundred children in his side-story novel. How many people is he going to kill after appearing? Japan sure has terrible luck. (laughing-crying emoji) — Hasegawa Junichi"
"Read the novel! I strongly recommend reading the novel after watching the anime! It explains so many things the anime doesn't mention. Not only is Director Kamiyā incredible at making anime, but he's also an excellent novelist. Honestly, his writing feels better than that of most famous light novel authors. And he even has the nickname 'Human Printer.' That's cheating. — Ōba Kōgan"
"AAAAAAAH!? Who am I supposed to support!? No matter how you look at it, Matō Kariya can't be allowed to lose! Little girls are forever innocent! They're pure! The one at fault is Tokiomi! But I also love King Arthur's character. In the novel, her body is still lying on the Hill of Swords. If she doesn't obtain the Holy Grail, she'll never fulfill her final wish as king! — Twelve Knights of the Round Table"
"When is Zhao Yun, the Tiger Might General, finally going to appear!? I absolutely love this Three Kingdoms hero! The novel illustrations are so cool! — Anonymous"
"Doesn't anyone think Irisviel looks a little similar to Queen Guinevere from 'Twilight of the Knight'? Especially that mature, elegant, yet slightly childlike feeling. I love it so much. — Kisa-san"
...
The first episode of 'Fate/Zero' achieved an 8% rating and a 15% audience share in the late-night broadcast slot.
Compared to the phenomenon-level success of 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica,' those numbers appeared ordinary.
In reality, however, its popularity was already comparable to 'Adventure King,' the mainstream shōnen action anime that had been airing continuously since January.
This success was largely thanks to the combined influence of Kamiyā Yuu's name and the popularity of the novels.
'Adventure King' had become somewhat tragic.
Although its production company had heavily promoted it and held great expectations for it, ever since its popularity had been surpassed by 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica,' it had occupied an awkward position.
ACG media outlets would rather report small trivia about characters from 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' than discuss the fact that 'Adventure King' was currently reaching the climax of its story.
Now that Kamiyā Yuu's new work, 'Fate/Zero,' had officially begun airing, it achieved in a single night what 'Adventure King' needed over a month to accumulate.
If subsequent episodes maintained stable performance, then barring surprises, 'Fate/Zero' might completely surpass 'Adventure King' in popularity within six episodes.
Meanwhile, 'Mobile Suit 007,' directed by Kitagawa Shūichi of Sunrise Company, was also a twenty-four-episode series like 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica.'
It had concluded shortly after 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' ended.
It was also worth mentioning that among the January anime season, 'Mobile Suit 007' had been second only to 'Puella Magi Madoka Magica' in popularity.
After the conclusion of 'Mobile Suit 007,' Sunrise Company appeared to have no plans to release a new anime during the July season.
Not every animation studio possessed the capabilities of 'Yosuganosora' Animation Studio, nor did they possess Kamiyā Yuu's confidence.
For ordinary animation studios, producing several unsuccessful anime in a row could easily lead to bankruptcy.
Although 'Mobile Suit 007' had been reasonably popular, its large production budget meant Sunrise Company still needed time to recover from the financial pressure it had created.