"Hey, hey, hey, we're halfway through episode one already—why is it still all setup?"
"Total newbie comment. Can't even handle one episode of exposition?"
"I still remember watching 'Steins;Gate' back then. The first six episodes nearly drove me insane. I even thought Jing Yu had ghostwritten the script or slapped his name on someone else's work. Be patient."
"Still, this is way too slow. I came for a high-budget action-fantasy spectacle. And so far? Nothing."
"It'll all show up eventually. Chill."
"Honestly, yeah, it's slow, but the characters are intriguing. Feels like an ensemble drama. Even though the official promo says Kiritsugu is the main character, I feel like Tokiomi and Kariya leave a deeper impression."
"Exactly. Maybe it's just the actor. Not saying he's bad, but compared to Jing Yu's past roles, this new guy feels... average. No real presence."
"Actually, Jing Yu plays villains pretty well, too. At least then we get to watch him get his ass kicked. He's been messing with us fans for years—it's only fair he takes a beating in his own show."
"True. I just hope episode one ends with a solid fight scene. I've waited forty minutes and they keep talking about summoning Servants—but where are they?"
"Same. I'm not even that impatient, but the trailers hyped up legendary ancient heroes, and so far, not a single one has appeared. It's hard to sit through this."
Just as the fan chatter ramped up over the show's slow pacing—
They finally got what they came for.
With the Holy Grail War drawing near, only the Caster-class Master remained unseen.
The other six had all appeared by the end of episode one.
And now came the moment everyone had been waiting for: the summoning rituals.
All six Masters who had appeared thus far gathered in the show's fictional city of Fuyuki, Japan.
Zhang Du perked up instantly.
A naive but determined student named Waver Velvet, trying to prove himself as a worthy magus.
Kiritsugu Emiya is willing to sacrifice his wife for some unspeakable mission.
Kirei Kotomine, a hollow young man hoping the war would help him figure out what he truly desired.
Tokiomi Tohsaka, smug and overconfident, was thinking he had the whole game figured out.
The professor was full of pride in his magical ability.
And Kariya Matou, desperate to save the daughter of the woman he loved.
Speaking of Kariya, he was the biggest target of fan mockery.
The rules were clear: to win the Holy Grail, you had to kill all other participants.
So if Kariya wanted to rescue Sakura—the daughter of the woman he loved, Aoi—he'd first have to kill Aoi's husband, Tokiomi.
Peak galaxy-brain logic: If I can't have the woman I love, I'll take out the guy she married instead.
To make things worse, right before the ritual, he made the most tragic flag ever with Sakura:
"After this is over, you, me, Aoi, and Rin—we'll all go out and play together, just like before."
At least he was cold to Tokiomi but gentle with his daughters, which earned him some sympathy from viewers.
Then—the ritual began.
Blood-drawn magic circles.
A full moon in the night sky.
The six chosen Masters began chanting the same incantation.
Waver had a red cloak fragment.
Tokiomi, a snake's skin.
Kiritsugu, a scabbard.
Each is paired with their blood-inscribed summoning circles.
The background music swelled, vibrant and intense.
Despite the lengthy, fantasy-style chanting, the actors delivered their lines with such conviction that what could've been cringey felt surprisingly fluid and powerful.
And then—
Just as the screen filled with blinding white light, the theme music's female vocal soared to its climax.
Zhang Du got goosebumps.
Inside the circles, blurry figures solidified into realism.
In the forest with Waver, a muscular man in a red cape emerged.
Before Kariya stood a black mist-shrouded, monstrous berserker.
"We've won, Kirei."
In a candlelit basement, Tokiomi toasted his apprentice with a now-iconic "celebration at halftime" speech.
Within his magic circle stood a regal, gold-armored man with piercing red eyes and an arrogant expression.
The king had arrived.
Before Kiritsugu stood a girl in gleaming blue armor, golden hair cascading down her back—topped with one single ahoge.
She looked up and, just like in 'Fate/stay night', delivered her iconic line:
"Are you my Master?"
Zhang Du nearly lost it.
If only this world had English, Jing Yu thought behind the scenes, I'd totally have her say, "Are you my f**ing Master?!"*
'Master' became 'Masutā' in the original phonetics, but Jing Yu couldn't quite get that joke across in this world. A pity.
The ending theme rolled in.
Zhang Du finally let out a long breath.
This show—
Really knew how to leave you hanging.
The entire first episode was essentially just a relationship setup,
But those final scenes—the Servant summoning sequences—were visually jaw-dropping.
There weren't any major reveals or fights,
And yet, the desire to keep watching was undeniable.
"Wait... that golden-armored guy—isn't that Jing Yu?! Damn, he looks insanely good in this one."
"Now that's a role worthy of him! All those past characters? What a waste. He's a literal heartthrob, and they kept casting him as bland everyman types. No wonder it felt off."
"Real talk, though, that armored blonde girl? Drop-dead gorgeous! She and the golden boy are perfect together."
"You think Jing Yu's golden knight and that blonde-armored girl are gonna fall in love? Their looks are untouchable—top-tier in the whole cast!"
"Nah, I'm still shipping Jing Yu with Xia Yining and Yu Youqing. After all the stuff between those three, anyone new just makes Jing Yu seem like a cheating jerk."
"Anyway, I'm buying the streaming version now. Didn't understand half of episode one, but the music and cinematography alone are worth the price."
"Same. I heard the streaming version has tons of lore and worldbuilding content. I suddenly want to dive deeper into this universe."
"Jing Yu must've prepared a ton of material for this show. Feels more like a full-blown franchise than a simple 13-episode drama."
"Maybe we'll get a sequel?"
"Depends on the ratings. Episode one was a little slow, but it had some surprises. The worldbuilding alone hooked me. If the next few episodes maintain this level, I'm calling it now—this show's gonna be a smash."
"Do you even need to ask? When has Jing Yu not had a hit? The only difference is how big each one gets."
"Alright, boys—see you on Qingyun Video!"
"Nah, I prefer Qiezi Video. More hot girls."
"Nah, man, Jixun has the babes. Their community forum are full of hotties."
At exactly 9 PM, 'Fate Zero' episode one ended.
Peak rating: 7.23%
Average rating: 6.82%
Not the highest ever for a Jing Yu premiere,
But considering the episode aired simultaneously across four platforms,
And that the three major video sites only had a 5-minute delay behind Yunteng TV—
This result shocked every critic who was ready to trash the show on Monday morning.
"Wait, how? This is way higher than expected."
Was it because viewers wanted to save money and just watched the TV broadcast instead of buying it online?
That theory didn't hold up.
Because the next day, data from the three major streaming sites came in:
Qingyun Video: 4.12 million paid views
Qiezi Video: 2.66 million
Jixun Video: 2.97 million
Over 9 million paid views, in addition to pulling 6%+ on TV?
Insane numbers.
Anyone who had accepted hush money from the Big Three to badmouth Jing Yu was now scrambling for an angle—they had nothing to criticize.
Sure, some might say the first episode was slow, and that the only reason it pulled these numbers was Jing Yu's brand power.
But is that even a criticism? That's just praising the guy.
At Yunteng TV, a month of anxiety melted away.
"Didn't I say Jing Yu's shows are never that simple?" grinned Meng Yu, the head of production. "Some execs said this show wouldn't even hit 4.5% because we were airing alongside the Big Three. Now we've cracked 6.5% on the first episode. Not a word from them in this morning's meeting."
He was still frustrated with the execs—after all, they could've bought the rights outright. Even without them, good ratings meant higher ad revenue. Jing Yu's shows always delivered.
But they kept resisting—worried they couldn't skim profits from in-house productions.
This success had finally given Meng Yu the upper hand.
Meanwhile, the three video sites—Qingyun, Jixun, and Qiezi—were stunned.
Most of their viewers? Second-time watchers.
They had seen the episode on TV and still paid to rewatch it online.
Even though the streaming versions had lore expansions and worldbuilding content, none of it was necessary to follow the main plot.
Yet fans still shelled out for it.
Jing Yu's brand loyalty and fan retention had far exceeded expectations.
Who feels it the most?
Qingyun Video.
Originally, Jing Yu had offered them exclusive streaming rights alongside Yunteng's broadcast.
But Qingyun said no, thinking that if it aired on TV, online views wouldn't exceed 3 million.
Now?
Over 9 million.
Higher than both 'Clannad' and 'Kaiji'.
Most viewers had jumped in after 'Clannad', hungry for Jing Yu's next project—and they came out in force.
As a result, the Qingyun executive who advised against the deal was fired in the next morning's meeting.
This should've been Qingyun's exclusive mega-hit, but now they had to share it with two competitors.
CEO Che Kaijun was livid at his team.
As for the Six Major TV Networks—
They were shocked to the core.
They knew Jing Yu was popular. But this?
He wasn't just famous anymore—he was a force of nature.
One man's brand could rival the entire traffic volume of six networks combined.
Sure, this might not last forever.
One or two bad shows could tank it all.
But for now?
Even with 'Fate/Zero's slow first episode and minimal plot movement,
It still pulled 6%+ on TV and 9 million paid streams.
That's what truly terrified the networks.
Even if viewers didn't understand a thing in episode one—
They still believed in Jing Yu.
They believed something incredible was coming.
So they paid for every extra scrap of worldbuilding—
Even if it didn't affect the plot.
How do you compete with that?
Even with 'Fate/Zero' airing on four platforms at once—
Could the Big Three really beat it in ratings?
They weren't so sure.
T/N: 🤔 Wait a second—didn't Qingyun Video specifically say they weren't interested in co-broadcasting with TV stations or other platforms? 📺❌ Back in an earlier chapter, they turned down 'Fate/Zero' because they only wanted exclusives. Now suddenly they're part of the joint release? 🤨 Looks like the author might've forgotten their own setup... in Chapter 351 📝💭