Hello there. This is review number twenty seven and I’ll be reviewing an anime that represented my college life a bit. There were three anime that I enjoyed watching when I was in college and they have a pretty neat backstory with them. They are Ghost Hunt, Welcome to the NHK and Zero no Tsuikama. Zero was an anime I asked a girl to watch because she was a comic book fan and keeps dissing anime. I told her to try it and tell me later if she hates it. She didn’t, she lighted up like a light bulb asking me for more anime. I had a crush on this girl so if she becomes Otaku, we can be closer and I can ask her out.
Life isn’t as rose colored as anime said it would be. She joined the college anime club and completely forgot about me. She’s now a cosplayer and a pretty popular one too. Ugh. F*cking story of my life. So yeah, Zero no Tsukaima was an anime close to me that taught me that you can’t pick up girls with anime. -__-
This is the final season of Zero no Tsukaima. The last time we’ll see Saito and Louise and all great people of this Harry Potter-esque anime. It is twelve episodes long. Let’s read on.
Story
This is the fourth and final season of The Familiar of Zero. Saito and Louise feel their bond deepening as the days go on, and they feel it might be time to take the next step in their relationship… But before that, the Queen has a mission for them. She sends them to the pope, who has both Louise and Tiffania become holy maidens. And with all the interruptions around, by both friends and foes, Louise and Saito’s love will be tested to the limit.
Taking the Pants Off
The fourth season of Zero no Tsukaima was a bit hot and cold for me. While it was nostalgia that made me pick up the anime, I had a hard time enjoying it. I’m not saying that the season is bad. No, it’s actually a nice addition to the series and a wonderful way to end it. The problem is that the plot was a bit rushed. The anime is twelve episodes long and it had four separate arcs in it. Four episodes were dedicated to mindless flirting and romantic scenes. Can you imagine how many episode the actual arcs was given? They were too short. It felt like the anime just crammed as much as possible in the story to make the series work. Some arcs were just too fast for anything to happen. I wandered off at some of the episodes because they weren’t really interesting. The arcs are predictable and when you try to enjoy it, it’s already over. Ultimately, the arcs are just a set up for the ending which is really what people wanted to see.
The first three arcs was about introducing some characters and developing some characters a bit more so they’ll be familiar when the final arc approaches. Every character from the old ones to the new ones was present at the final arc. It was the best part of the series and the only thing I actually enjoyed. The first three arcs were a bit hollow. It’s alright because the ending was satisfying.
There is no more character development in the old characters. They were already familiar faces and their personality was still present in the anime. The new characters aren’t really that memorable. Some are just the same archetype we’ve seen in a lot of anime and they weren’t given much importance because of the fast pacing. They were important for their individual stories but not really that interesting. I didn’t really expect the anime to introduce new characters. I was hoping they present one important story and they build it up until the end. They kind of fumbled hard on that one. It made me realize that the series had nothing more to offer and it just needed to end.
The romantic scenes between Saito and Louise were nice to see. The interaction between the two is something I really missed and their kissing scenes were really the best. The anime had a gag of having Saito and Louise in a private room and when they start getting more intimate; someone barges in and interrupts them. It was funny the first time because Louise would go tsundere and try to kill Saito. They used it atleast five times and it just wasn’t that funny after the third time. I do love the scenes where Saito would make Louise say weird things for his enjoyment. “I’m a little Lemon.” Oh god, I love it.
We all know Saito will end up with Louise but the anime still kept its harem element. Some of the girls in the series started getting aggressive trying to get Saito’s affection. Three seasons has already gone by so I don’t think the anime will be incomplete without the harem. It was out of place seeing the princess and Tabitha try to get Saito’s affection. It’s obvious he’ll end up with Louise so dedicating some time for useless harem and ecchi is just stupid. They could’ve used that to expand the arcs and slip in some ecchi or harem aspect in the arcs but they went with full on mindless four girls liking a guy.
The villains are forgettable. Just like the arcs, they were rushed and there was no real danger in the first arcs. The story is so predictable that you know that the villains will just die in the end. The final villain also just appeared and they expected the audience to just go along with it. I don’t care if they were fighting Godzilla, without a good build up and some hype, the battles are just hollow. Just like the rest of the anime.
Like I said before, I watched this for the ending and I am guessing you’ve already seen the first three seasons so you’re also in it for the conclusion. The ending was really nice and it was worthy of an ending for an anime that ran for so long. It could’ve been better with more episodes like 24 or so and they could’ve tried to avoid predictable plot points but it was a great ending nonetheless.
Sight and Sound
The animation is pretty plain. There was nothing worth noting in terms of animation. JC Staff just presented their typical production value and it was alright. People are already aware of the animation after watching three seasons prior so it was acceptable. The fight scenes aren’t that impressive as well. It provided nothing to the anime. It was just a tool to move the anime along.
The opening song was prefect. It reminds me of the opening song back in season one. “I’ll Be There For You” by ICHIKO really suits the anime pretty nicely. The ending song was a bit different though. It was sang by Louise and I really hate her voice. So the ending was a bit painful for me. The ending sequence was really cute though. Who doesn’t love watching Louise practice kissing a pillow?
Overall Score
3/10 “A decent conclusion for a beloved anime.”
I came to watch the conclusion of an anime that I really love. The story was a bit convoluted and the pacing was fast but the ending was great. So if you’re curious how Zero no Tsuikama end then you’ll enjoy this anime.
The Pantless Anime Blogger 
In-depth as always. How do you watch them so fast? Didn’t you post one yesterday?
/amazed
I marathon anime. 12 episodes is just six hours long if marathoned. After I watched it, I do a review. XD
It’s easy.
Ah. I tend to be very selective about what I watch. Don’t you ever encounter a series that just makes you facepalm and want to stop watching?
Luckily, I am very open to anime. There are some series I try to watch but stop mid way through like Hayate the Combat Butler. It’s bland.
I need to like a lot of genres if I ever want to reach my 1000th review goal. XD
Truthfully i stopped watching after the first few episodes it was kind of looking like the same kind of stuff they had done before.
the ending was great. thats the saving grace.
just finished watching all of the zero no tsukaima animes in a few days marathon. Wow…i really liked it. I was looking for info on possible continuation of the story (no I didn’t have enough 🙂 ) when I stumbled onto this site (blog to be precise). I was wondering if you know anything about that. More specifically if there is, will be or can be more to the story than included in the animes…also if there is any chance of another series in the following years. I read on wiki that the writer was diagnosed with cancer, but through a fortunate event they managed to operate. I think hes still alive and kicking (or in his case writing 🙂 ). I also seem to find the word “ongoing” wherever I look at the light novel or manga duration of this story. Sorry for the long comment, but after a marathon like this i almost feel like making a review myself :). Hoping for a reply here in the comments section. Btw good luck with your goal.
congrats on that awesome marathon. super respect dude.
i’m not sure about the light novels cause like you, i only saw the anime. i think there is only one more chapter left to be released so i think it is still on going.
sorry i couldn’t help.
and dude, you can make your own review too! its an awesome experience having your very own site to dump your thoughts in. XD
thx. meh…still hoping for another season (tho not one that would spoil the lot ofc)
im sure it is, but id rather watch some good anime or talk about them than worry about being thorough and objective and making writing understandable 😛 anyway see you in the comments section
too bad. that was the last one. XD jc staff said it was the last though maybe they can do a movie. what about the anime made you want more of it? some episodes about Louise meeting Saito’s parent?
its your blog. you can be as bias and as fanboy~ish as you want. XD
besides, some better blogs have reactions and reflections about anime and topics about it.
some do episodic reviews too. gives thoughts on every episode they watch. the possibilities are limitless. XD
hmmm…sounds nice…maybe later, first i need to see enough anime to cultivate Za Knowledge and get to know a few good bloggers and reviewers…good things come in small packages (and by that mindset great things start small)
This series was one of the first few I was exposed to when I started watching anime. and from what I remembered, I really enjoyed it. But after trying to watch a couple episodes I found myself not being able to keep concentration at the shallow story and same cliches. You said the ending was good, do you think you could pin point where I should start it from. I feel like the closure would be nice to this series, but I don’t think I could muscle through the series. Do you think watching the last few episodes would be worth it, or would it not make any sense?
If you saw the first three seasons before this then just skip to the last two episodes and see the show wrap up. The episodes before it is pretty awful. I can’t say the ending is good as well though, it was just a nice treat to see a series so dear to me end in such a fashion. 🙂