Familiar Of Zero...
Yesterday, I took the time to see Familiar Of Zero...
We discover during the course of Familiar Of Zero, that Saito does have some unique skills that come into play during the second story arc which involves the Staff Of Destruction and in the third story arc involving the Wings Of The Dragon. Louise, not to be outdone, does reveal her powers in a climactic battle along side her familiar, Saito. The Staff Of Destruction and Wings Of The Dragon story arcs add an extra layer to the series that lifts this series briefly out of the realm of mediocrity.
Familiar Of Zero has some fan service including a mild fascination with panties, undressing scenes and some cleavage fixation, but, thanks to the strategic arrangement of scenes, while there is some bare skin to be seen, there are no bare breasts or bare bottoms. Of course, there are no naughty bits. Although, Familiar Of Zero, might not seem so at first glance, the series is in fact, classic harem genre with Saito squarely at its center. While there is some violence in the series, Familiar of Zero, is refreshingly bloodless. Generally speaking, the fan service in Familiar Of Zero is quite tame.
Overall, Familiar Of Zero was somewhat mediocre, but, was still reasonably entertaining in the first season. I lost interest in Familiar Of Zero with the second season as some of the aspects of the first season that I liked were abandoned and the series seemed to take a more comedic and fan service heavy approach in its story. I never bothered to continue on to the third season. I would give Familiar Of Zero a 2 out of 5. By the way, be advised that while the first season received an English dub, the second and third seasons are subtitled only.
Familiar Of Zero is set in another world where magic use is common and at a time before the industrial age -- where horses are still the primary mode of transportation. Louise is referred to as Zero because she has not mastered any of the four types of magic. As part of her studies, Louise must summon a familiar, a companion animal to serve the wishes of its master. Of course, Louise's attempt goes horribly wrong and she ends up with a human boy from our own world. So, the first handful of episodes involve Saito and Louise getting to know one another and usually end with Louise berating her familiar as a dog and beating some sense into Saito with her trusty riding crop.Season 1
Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere's name is so long and her spell-casting skills are so poor that everyone at the Tristain Academy of Magic just calls her Louise the Zero. Louise's humiliation only increases during an important second-year test, where the other students summon up dragons and other mythological creatures as their familiars, and she inexplicably summons Hiraga Saito, a totally normal teenager from Tokyo. Now she's stuck with him and Saito's stuck with the lousy life of being a familiar. Except, maybe there's more going on than meets the eye, because Saito's not prepared to accept the social inequities that Louise and other aristocrats consider the status quo, and he may not be quite as normal as everyone thinks. And the reason Louise is so bad at magic might just be that she hasn't figured out what she's good at yet. In fact, they might even have the makings of a great team... if they can learn to stand each other first, that is!
Season 2
Knight Of The Two Moons
Hiraga Saito was just a typical Japanese teenager when he was accidentally summoned to become the familiar of Louise Francoise Le Blanc de La Valliere, whose magical skills were so poor that she was called Louise the Zero. Now, however, Saito's distinguished himself as a hero, while Louise has started to get a handle on her ability to use Void magic. And, more importantly, Saito is now Louise's familiar of his own free will. So has that made any difference in their professional relationship? Well, let's just say that it's still so full of ups and downs that it ought to be a thrill ride attraction - a really rickety thrill ride attraction filled with dangerous objects like riding crops and things that explode messily. That doesn't mean that they're not ready to spring into action the minute the newly crowned Queen Henrietta has been kidnapped, but with a new war brewing will they be able to find a way to work together that doesn't end with Saito getting the wrong end of Louise's stick? Or will Louise still end up hurting the one she... has a professional relationship with in FAMILIAR OF ZERO: KNIGHT OF THE TWIN MOONS!
Season 3
Rondo Of Princesses
Getting married and then dying would put a damper on most honeymoons, but Saito is made of stouter stuff than most would-be stiffs, and having been miraculously restored to life is a definite improvement over being dead. Unfortunately, as a result of his recent resurrectional activities, the runes which bound Saito to his master, Louise the Zero, appear to have faded away. But will the fact that he is no longer contractually obligated to be Louise's Familiar lead to the two of them getting more familiar now that they've tied a different kind of knot?
If Louise can't learn to control her problems with premature explosions, the answer is probably not. Things only get more complicated when Siesta gets appointed to be Saito's personal maid and everything goes completely out of control when the overly endowed Tiffania, who'd previously nursed Saito back from the dead, implants herself into the story as well! Will this full frontal assault on twin fronts be too much to handle? Will Saito and Louise's relationship get runed yet again?
We discover during the course of Familiar Of Zero, that Saito does have some unique skills that come into play during the second story arc which involves the Staff Of Destruction and in the third story arc involving the Wings Of The Dragon. Louise, not to be outdone, does reveal her powers in a climactic battle along side her familiar, Saito. The Staff Of Destruction and Wings Of The Dragon story arcs add an extra layer to the series that lifts this series briefly out of the realm of mediocrity.
Familiar Of Zero has some fan service including a mild fascination with panties, undressing scenes and some cleavage fixation, but, thanks to the strategic arrangement of scenes, while there is some bare skin to be seen, there are no bare breasts or bare bottoms. Of course, there are no naughty bits. Although, Familiar Of Zero, might not seem so at first glance, the series is in fact, classic harem genre with Saito squarely at its center. While there is some violence in the series, Familiar of Zero, is refreshingly bloodless. Generally speaking, the fan service in Familiar Of Zero is quite tame.
Overall, Familiar Of Zero was somewhat mediocre, but, was still reasonably entertaining in the first season. I lost interest in Familiar Of Zero with the second season as some of the aspects of the first season that I liked were abandoned and the series seemed to take a more comedic and fan service heavy approach in its story. I never bothered to continue on to the third season. I would give Familiar Of Zero a 2 out of 5. By the way, be advised that while the first season received an English dub, the second and third seasons are subtitled only.
