Finally Here! Fate/ZERO BD Boxset 1 (March 2012 DVD/BD Import Loot Part 2)

You know how there are things that you can’t wait for it to arrive because you have such high anticipation and excitement? Well I suppose this is one of it for the BD collecting otakus. At 39,900 yen RRP from Animate, the first blu-ray boxset of Fate/ZERO is one of which you expect high quality packaging and bonus materials to live up to its expensive price tag and I’m sure most TYPE-MOON fans who have ordered this set will be not be disappointed.

Had it not been for a public holiday here in Australia, I would’ve received this set a little bit earlier but I guess that only added to my anticipation. Anyway, my particular order from Animate contains some store exclusive bonuses that would be considered pretty cool. Check out the pics after the cut.

Pictures can be enlarged by right-clicking “View Image”

The one thing struck me when I went to pick it up from the post office was the large size of the cardboard box used to ship the item. It actually weighed in just a little over 2kg with all the contents inside, which made for some very expensive shipping cost from Tenso after fees were added on (around $65AUD altogether via EMS).

I was even more surprised by how Animate had packed all the items when I started unboxing the package. Two big folded boxes taped together! The bottom held the BD boxset and showbag while the top one contained Animate’s store exclusive bonus wallscroll and A3 clear poster as well as the manufacturer’s bonus set of 14 posters.

All the items taken in one shot. Took up quite a large space with that wallscroll added in lol.

The blu-ray boxset containing the first 13 episodes of the series spread across 5 discs plus the bonus CD soundtrack, production material booklet and drama CD (which I’ll talk about later in the post).

Photos of Animate’s store exclusive bonus wallscroll and A3 clear poster.

The manufacturer’s bonus set of 14 posters of each master and servant, only given out to those who pre-ordered the set very early on with the cut off date for those orders made by mid-January. Originally it was just going to be 7 posters but they decided to change it to 14. You can find the original design and colour scheme for the 7 posters here. Personally, I would’ve preferred if they kept the original design as I liked the glowing colours against the black background compared to the final ones below which looks rather cheaply made, not helped by the added text on the posters.

Also took a selection of pics from the set’s bonus production materials booklet.

After taking all those pics, Animate’s bonus showbag was put to use holding the boxset and its A3 clear poster. The wallscroll and manufacturer’s bonus poster set were obviously too big to fit.

I haven’t actually started watching the uncut versions of Fate/ZERO from the BD set yet but will eventually get around to it over the next few days. The bonus drama CD, for those who are curious or want to know about the story since the translation script for it was not included on the bonus translation booklet for those who ordered the set from Rightstuf/Aniplex USA, was pretty laughable in my opinion. I’m not sure if my description below contains spoilers so for those who are unsure and don’t want to be spoiled then I advise you to skip the next paragraph or stop reading right here.

Basically, it contains about 40 minutes of dialogue mostly between Kiritsugu and Irisviel across 6 tracks. The first 5 contains A LOT of emoing and angsting from Kiritsugu about his relationship with Irisviel and her declining health, not wanting her to get involved in the battle for the holy grail or something, wanting to save lives blah blah blah (I wasn’t paying much attention while listening) but behind that, he’s scared since he eventually realises he’s in love with her and wants to save her life (even though it’s looking hopeless). Irisviel pretty much realises that and comforts and re-assures him by being optimistic and returning her affections. It’s pretty much here that it starts getting all sappy and romantic with Irisviel saying “let’s make a baby!” and seducing Kiritsugu (well not exactly like that lol but she says to him that they shall create a new mortal life filled with hope and all from their love for each other before the holy grail fighting begins). Kiritsugu finally accepts his feelings for her and grants her “wish” as well as allowing her to aid him in the battle.

This is pretty much the pre-cursor to the first episode of the series which started off with the birth of Illya. I really didn’t find anything interesting about this story other than it provides a bit of  character background/development for Kiritsugu and Irisviel. Also, there seems to be MANY metaphorical emotives and abstract descriptions whenever either one is trying to express their love that I felt like barfing.

So anyway, getting back to the topic of this boxset, I am pretty impressed with the packaging and extras (thank you store exclusive bonuses! :P) and highly anticipate the series resuming its airing in Japan in April and the eventual release of the second boxset. Just hope that Animate will also get the same store exclusive items for it or something equally awesome! 😀

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