I had no interest of Fate/Stay night when it came out.
But I noticed the new Fate/Zero is very popular what with the vast amount of fan art.

I want to watch it, and I'm aware it chronicles the events that happened before Fate/Stay night.
But will I have to watch Stay night first to understand? Or even make it more enjoyable?

ಠ_ಠ So... you want to try a series because of the fanart? It's a prequel for Fate/Stay Night, so I believe Fate/Zero was made to be enjoyable for those that like Fate/Stay Night. If you're aware of the events, go ahead and try it, but I think series are best enjoyed watching/reading them in order of release.

No, you don't have to watch Fate/Stay Night. In fact, don't watch it, it's not recommended. Seriously, Deen made one of the best visual novels in history into a mediocre anime series.

On a more content-related note, Fate/Zero spoils about half of the important plot twists of Fate/Stay Night (the main heroine's identity, another heroine's backstory, the secret plot device that keeps the protagonist of the vn alive despite his stupidity in the first route are all spoiled in the very first episode of F/Z as something trivial and something the viewer is expected to already know). Watch it first only if you don't intend to read Fate/Stay Night. Reading F/SN (the visual novel) before F/Z is recommended for improved viewing experience. Knowing how the Verse works saves you a headache from trying to figure out what why and how, though F/Z does a good job at explaining things at the very start.

...Anyway, too lazy to go into details, and I would like to avoid posting spoilers. Bottom line, yes, it does make things more enjoyable but is not absolutely necessary for watching F/Z.

I had the same question, and friends of mine from #animeblogger have told me that Fate/Stay Night doesn't have to be watched to enjoy Fate/Zero.
But, in my opinion, I still think you should watch Night first, like the previous posters said,

I had the same reaction as this guy though.

I am in total agreement with the rest of his post, aaand I am not quite sure with how you didn't notice the vast amount of Fate/Stay Night fanart....

My two cents,
Pika.

Oh yeah, use Random Questions Thread next time, or make the thread in its respective series forum section.

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I'm sure most people wouldn't realise that from that glimpse.
I'm also sure that you don't need to know about the events of fate/stay night, but I'd recommend going through the game regardless.

Thanks for the feedback! Very helpful : )

As for the fanart part, I didn't exactly mean I became interested solely due to the fanart, but it showed its popularity anyhow. But I admit it did help spike my interest, mostly the content, the characters looked interesting.
I knew I was biased towards Stay Night which is why I was curious about the new 'sequel'. I remember watching one particular episode of Stay Night as it happened to be on TV and it was...boring. Might've been just that one episode but I dunno. And I don't like those type of male leads, similar to the guy in To Aru Index if I must say.

It makes it a little more enjoyable, IMO, as you get to see young Rin and Ilya <3

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Everyday I'm tumblin'

Trust me, he's not. He is like that at the start of the novel but develops from there, radically so in the third route. Though I have to say he was made almost static in the first route (the one which the anime follows, mostly) and does make such an impression there.

Well watching Fate/stay night isn't the only option, if possible playing the visual novel itself is a most definitely the best choice, unless u don't like playing games like that, the anime is just lacking compared to the visual novel, id recommend you play the Fate/stay night Réalta Nua if u don't like adult content (this one is for all age i hear).

+ 1
Young Rin is just so cute <3

I've seen the anime and played the Visual Novel (The VN is what really got me into the series. I watched the anime before, the ending put me off a bit, but the VN made me fall in love with the series and like it again). If anything, it kind of pieces together the things you hear about in the Stay/Night. I find it enjoyable because I'm a fan of the series, so seeing what happens before, for me, is actually kind of interesting.
You could watch it without having seen Stay/Night, but I dunno. It's like, I know how it's going to end, but I'm still really interested to see how it gets to that ending.
Also, thinking about it, there are things in Stay/Night that you're not supposed to know about until it's revealed, like Saber's name or something, which would be ruined if you watched Fate/Zero first, if you get what I'm saying.

Fate/Zero isn't complete yet either anime wise, but I recon the story will make sense whichever way you decide to watch it.