43,000 sets containing episodes 1-13 sold

According to the weekly Blu-ray disc ranking released by Oricon on Wednesday, 43,000 copies (rounded to the nearest thousand) of the first Fate/Zero box set of were sold in its first week of release, making it the highest-selling television anime Blu-ray box set to date. The set also topped the week's overall Blu-ray release sales rankings. The previous record was held by the The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya box set, which sold 31,000 copies (rounded) in its first week.

The Fate/Zero box set was released on March 7 at a suggested retail price of 39,900 yen (about US$480). It includes the first thirteen episodes of the anime, as well as bonuses such as soundtrack, an original drama CD written by Gen Urobuchi, and a production material booklet. A North American release of the same box set with an additional English translation of the production material booklet was also released on the 7th. The North American box set, which retails for US$498.98, is currently available for order on Right Stuf for US$369.98.

The anime adapts the prequel novel by Gen Urobuchi (Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Phantom - The Animation, Blassreiter) to Type-Moon's Fate/stay night visual novel software. The story is set a decade before Fate/stay night and reveals the 4th Holy Grail War that sets the stage for the war in the software.

Director Ei Aoki (Hourou Musuko, Ga-Rei: Zero, Girls Bravo), the anime studio ufotable, and composer Yuki Kajiura ( Madoka Magica , .hack, Kara no Kyoukai) are all involved in this anime.

Image © Nitroplus/Type-Moon, ufotable, FZPC

Source: Oricon

Update: Oricon's final number for the Fate/Zero box's first-week sales is 42,690.