Fate/Zero – 15
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「黄金の輝き」 (Ougon no Kagayaki)
“Golden Radiance”
Thy name is… Excalibur! The Sword of Promised Victory, Saber’s most powerful Noble Phantasm, truly lives up to its name by finally defeating Caster’s summoned creature in one fell, awe-inspiring swoop. While its sheer power was surely an sight that even put many of the already over-the-top attacks in the Fate universe to shame, a thought-provoking question lies behind the sword’s light, a question which Rider and Archer have diametrically opposed answers to. Does one find the brilliance of a hero borne from tragedy to be beautiful, or does one merely find it painful and tragic?
Fate/Zero is not lacking in tragic heroes for us to answer this question. As I thought about the back-stories of each character, it quickly became clear that my answer wouldn’t be so cut and dry. First of all, what exactly does the brilliance of a hero mean? Some characters, like Kariya, seem as if they do not have much ‘light’ or ‘brilliance’ to speak of, even though their lives can be just as tragic as any others’ lives. Just like his ignominious defeat at the hands of Tokiomi, Kariya’s self-sacrifice for the sake of Sakura isn’t brilliant nor is it a thing of beauty, as admirable as it may be. The way Kariya fights back against the misfortune and tragedies that have befallen him may be assuredly commendable as well, but they are also a few key ingredients shy of turning into something that can be considered brilliant.
The crux of Kariya’s motivation comes from revenge: killing Tokiomi for giving Sakura up to the Matou family, and Zouken for basically torturing her in innumerable ways. Vengeance and retaliation, while completely understandable in his case, are never brilliant and beautiful deeds – and neither are they honorable. Even though we may not consider Kariya’s actions, and consequently, who he is as a tragic hero to be anything coming close to brilliant, we nevertheless keep rooting for him (or at least I do). I almost always cheer on the underdog, of which I believe all tragic heroes are in some sense. We see in them an opportunity to break free from the misfortune that bedevils our lives, and live vicariously through their deeds and accomplishments. However, their struggle isn’t always considered brilliant because I believe that this distinction requires more than just an underdog status, a tragic hero status.
My theory is that for a tragic hero to be considered brilliant, they require not only mere tragedy or sacrifice, but also they should hold high ideals and/or have ambitious dreams – qualities which several Fate/Zero characters possess. One Heroic Spirit who made his sacrifice in the name of honor and chivalry was Lancer, who destroyed Gae Buidhe in order to free Saber’s left hand from her curse and enable to use her anti-fortress Noble Phantasm. Lancer might not be considered that much of tragic hero compared to the others, but I still find the sacrifice of his spear in the name of chivalry to be brilliant, because it was made for the lofty cause of a knight’s chivalry.
Perhaps out of all the Heroic Spirits, Saber is the one who most exemplifies a tragic hero’s brilliance – both literally and figuratively. As the King of Knights, she is arguably the most honorable and chivalrous of heroes as well. And like Rider describes, she has also sacrificed much for her country, such as her childhood and the chance to fall in love. Most importantly however, all of her actions have been guided by her pursuit of her dream – a dream which Archer deems to be too much for her to handle, one that is beyond attainment by mere humans. For me, this is where her brilliance comes from – a drive, an aspiration, a sacrifice, all in the name of the greater good, as idealistic as it may be.
This is also where I find her brilliance as a tragic hero to be something beautiful, although I do not think it is for the same reasons as Archer, who seems to revel in her foolhardiness and lamentation. I too, recognize the pain of her sacrifice like Rider does, but I would argue that it makes her aspirations and actions all the more admirable and beautiful because despite everything that has happened to her or will never happen to her, she perseveres. After much thought, I would consider Saber’s brilliance and that of other tragic heroes like her to be quite beautiful indeed. However, I also recognize that it is a bittersweet beauty; it is bitter from the pain of sacrifice and tragedy, but it is also sweet from the perseverance in the pursuit of higher ideals such as honor, chivalry, and the greater good.
So in the end, in this mini-debate of kings, I find myself surprisingly siding with Archer for once, albeit for different reasons (hopefully). I’m basically agreeing with Caster as well, who found the brilliance of Jeanne D’Arc, one of the most tragic of all heroes, to be so beautiful it was worth dying for. I believe it is possible for one to recognize the pain of tragedy and suffering, look past it, and see the beauty of brilliance borne from it – for there is much beauty in the lessons of those who are willing to look past their own pain and suffering, and forge ahead in pursuit of their dreams.
- Rider doesn’t like Saber being molested.
- Wish we could’ve seen Rider in action with his Ionian Hetairoi inside the Reality Marble.
- Kirei’s smile was especially disturbing after considering what he’s doing to Kariya while he’s healing him and seeing his flashback conversation with Archer.
- Full-length images: 02, 08, 12, 23, 27, 28, 30, 31, 39, 41
Preview
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April 15, 2012 at 4:48 amKenwil
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Awesome episode!!
April 15, 2012 at 4:53 amHakarum
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http://images.randomc.net/Fate%20Zero/Fate%20Zero%20-%2015%20-%20Large%2001.jpg
While people tend to freak out when there’s a crazy monster in the river, Emiya Kiritsugu only does 1 thing: SMOKE LIKE A BOSS!
April 16, 2012 at 3:57 pmkishiu
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Hahahahah ROFL at that scene, excellent episode!
April 15, 2012 at 4:53 amEspada
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we are heading to episode 16
April 15, 2012 at 1:10 pmd
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Really? I thought they were going to skip right to episode 18.
April 15, 2012 at 9:18 pmEspada
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just get your head ready
April 15, 2012 at 4:56 amRakkyo
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http://i.imgur.com/Hrr1g.jpg
DAT EXCALIBUR SCENE
THEM GRAINS
GLORIOUS
Lancer might not be considered that much of tragic hero compared to the others, but I still find the sacrifice of his spear in the name of chivalry to be brilliant, because it was made for the lofty cause of a knight’s chivalry.
Watch then,
Show Spoiler ▼
This is Gen Urobuchi we’re talking about, honor and chivalry only serves to make the fall harder.
April 15, 2012 at 4:58 amHakarum
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and the fact that he Show Spoiler ▼
April 15, 2012 at 6:32 amRakkyo
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Less Saber and more like the whole world lol
April 15, 2012 at 4:58 amRaijinoh
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Absoluttely brilliance, Fate Zero continues to be my top favorite for this season.
April 15, 2012 at 5:02 amKetMoRee
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Bad episode, Saber needs to die already.
April 15, 2012 at 10:35 amEnmire
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Well, I for one thought that was hilarious =)
April 15, 2012 at 5:11 pmnagi
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Pray tell, why is THIS a bad episode? You didn’t even care to explain.
April 15, 2012 at 8:21 pmLaughingMan
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Your ill attempt at trolling amuses me.
April 15, 2012 at 8:49 pmHalfDemonInuyasha
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You know, technically Saber/Arturia is ALREADY dead. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to become a Heroic Spirit in the first place, so you’re trolling is also completely invalid.
April 16, 2012 at 9:56 amKob264
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She isn´t a normal heroic spirit because she is… well kind of “still alive” but that isn’t important at all in Fate/Zero.
April 15, 2012 at 5:03 amChaos Raiden
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Awesome episode. Considering the great quality of Fate/Zero episodes, I hope that Ufotable will make an animated series of Fate/hollow ataraxia.
April 15, 2012 at 5:21 amJHN
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As if the last episode didn’t do it enough, this episode once again showed us why Fate/Zero is above God-Tier.
I really like Gilgamesh here. It’s obvious he really just does whatever pleases him unlike in F/SN, where he was just being a arrogant jerk.
Kudos for Berserker for pretty-much owning Gilgamesh in his face. +Minigun grabbing from wrecked F15 FTW!
Lancer, your knightly-ness is bordering foolishness.
Witness the birth of our favorite Evil Guy, Kotomine!
And Jeanne really looks like Saber in that shot.
April 15, 2012 at 6:52 amthenewhorde
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they can’t have Fate/Ataraxia without Heaven’s Feel, Heaven’s Feel is too heavily tied to Ataraxia.
And with the rape and all that, I dunno if they can do Heaven’s Feel, unless they do it like Kara no Kyoukai DVD movies.
April 15, 2012 at 2:09 pmSol Fury
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I’d imagine they’ll find a way of doing it – wasn’t the PS2 version suitably sanitised to take out the rape? Would love to see Heaven’s Feel as an OVA or something as a follow on to this.
April 15, 2012 at 5:08 amJhacks
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Yuki Kajiura Nailed it, the new version of The Sword of Promised Victory theme is just full of v(^o^) v(^o^) v(^o^).
To bad caster died, sad to see that crazy old bastard go. Him and Ryuunosuke is one of the craziest & COOOOLEST villains that I will never forget.
April 15, 2012 at 6:06 amfelix
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Now if only kajiura remade the emiya ost from fsn
April 15, 2012 at 6:49 amEamon
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I’m under the opinion that Yuki Kajiura is better than Kawai Kenji.
So yeah, I would like to see a remix of Emiya. However, since neither Shirou or Emiya Archer appears in Fate/Zero, I doubt we’ll get to hear one.
April 15, 2012 at 7:16 amJhacks
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Well if you actually think about it, Shirou may appear in the ending, so why not. Imagine Shirou is crawling in the fiery hell trying to survive, ignoring the cries of death around him, while a more slow and a requiem version of Emiya is playing.
April 15, 2012 at 12:46 pmdolor
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Show Spoiler ▼
April 15, 2012 at 12:46 pmnonexistant
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@Eamon
EMIYA Kiritsugu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kqls64aYUs
April 15, 2012 at 1:05 pmEamon
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Interesting. It would be uber awesome if a remix of EMIYA is placed in the final fight between Kiritsugu and Kotomine.
April 15, 2012 at 6:15 amRakkyo
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Yeah that remix was awesome with the trademark Kajiuran chanting in it. Sadly the BGM stopped right at the part where it was going to be awesome…
Oh well, that’s what OST CDs are for…
April 15, 2012 at 6:32 amAizen
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Really? I thought it was kinda mediocre. I mean, we already have so much Latin(?) chanting from Kaijura. This one didn’t seem special at all.
April 15, 2012 at 5:11 amLightnDark
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EXCALIBUR!!
My body was not prepared. That is all that needs to be said.
April 15, 2012 at 5:12 amShiguma Rika
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EKUSUKARIBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
April 15, 2012 at 6:10 amCybersteel
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EggSalad!!!
April 15, 2012 at 5:14 pmnagi
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You, sir, just made my day. XD
April 15, 2012 at 5:13 amSeishun Otoko
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All according to Kiritsugu’s plan ufufufu~
I’m still with Rider on this one. Not sure if you can consider a tragic hero “brilliant”. As a king/leader, you’re only as good as the end result that you lead up to and in Saber’s story, it was the downfall of her kingdom and betrayal of her loyal knights. That’s what she’ll be remembered for ultimately, not her chivalry or glory days.
April 15, 2012 at 1:10 pmBakaMochi
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But then as Saber pointed out in The Feast of Kings (was that the episode title?) Alexander the Great’s reign ended with his heirs killed and his empire dissolved into three parts – that’s not exactly a glorious end either…
April 15, 2012 at 1:16 pmCybersteel
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Ohoho Rider died gloriously. His empire crumbled only after he died. For Saber, her empire crumbled while she was still alive and kicking and it was due to infighting amongst her own people!
April 15, 2012 at 8:03 pmhaseo0408
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Most of the blame goes for those around her at the time as well. Sir Bediver, the most loyal knight she ever had, noted she never smiled niether she took joy or fun in anything at all, she only served as the king so you can say she was used by her people and abandonned because they couln´t understand her. Shirou and Iskandar were right, her destiny was a cruel one but she wasn´t completely at falt nor she was in the wrong so much.
April 15, 2012 at 5:25 amfragb85
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The cameo of Jeanne was a nice addition. Fate/Apocrophya animated next time? Maybe. Hopefully.
I disagree that Kariya is a tragic hero but he is a tragic character. He basically turned the War into a personal grudge match with Tokiomi with no foresight to actually win. This became very evident since first Berserker’s combat debut. In the end its no surprise no one considers him a threat.
As for Saber, I like how Zero gives depth to her character and how she contrasts with other servants. Its weird how she such an interesting character in Zero and a pretty boring one in the VN.
April 15, 2012 at 6:09 amCybersteel
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Impossibru cause that game was cancelled.
I wouldn’t mind an anime adaptation of Fate/Extra or Fate/Extra CCC similar to Shining Hearts : Shiawase no Pantsu
April 15, 2012 at 7:14 amNapůl
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Fate/Apocrypha is now novel. Currently in production. One chapter is out.
April 16, 2012 at 5:59 amD-LaN
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Is the F/Apocrypha a monthly serialize LN or there a LN about to come out?? Man, I wish I could read it even if its just one chapter….
April 21, 2012 at 5:27 amNapůl
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The first chapter was published in Volume 7 of Type-Moon Ace magazine. No further information about future chapters yet. The first chapter you can find translated here: http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Fate/Apocrypha
April 15, 2012 at 8:54 pmHalfDemonInuyasha
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I think that such things also make Zero more interesting than Night. Night had each person trying to go straight for the Grail, albeit for their own reasons, but still, it was all about the Grail.
Here, though, we have people thinking about other things, some of course with the Grail as the LAST thing on their mind (Kariya and Ryuunosuke, of course), which really helps create some of the chaos, conflict, and confusion within this war that was pretty lacking overall in Night.
April 15, 2012 at 5:39 amKinny Riddle
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Kiritsugu trolls Lancer to destroy his cursed spear, leading to…
EX… CALIBUR!!!!!!!!1111
Two down, Five to go.
Speaking of trolling, Kirei’s smile when healing his “master’s” enemy Kariya shows the gradual awakening of a potential troll-in-progress. And Kirei in turned was trolled (more like goaded) by Gilgamesh.
With Jeann D’Arc’s brief cameo appearance, expect Figmas of her to be released soon, snapped up by rabid Type-Moon fans. :)
April 15, 2012 at 5:39 amThe_Magus_Killer
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http://images.randomc.net/Fate%20Zero/Fate%20Zero%20-%2015%20-%20Large%2037.jpg
Jeanne D’Arc. That soft smile and outstretched hand. No wonder Gilles de Rais is so obsessed with her. Casters and Archers seem to be obsessed with Sabers, whether its the 4th or 5th Holy Grail war, no?
http://images.randomc.net/Fate%20Zero/Fate%20Zero%20-%2015%20-%20Large%2013.jpg
Before I read the novels on baka-tsuki, I never imagined that Gae Buidhe (not to mention any Noble Phantasm) was that easy to break. It seems like Lancer snapped a Pocky stick in half rather than a Noble Phantasm. But hey, ufotable faithfully recreated the scene, so no more complaints from me.
http://images.randomc.net/Fate%20Zero/Fate%20Zero%20-%2015%20-%20Large%2033.jpg
EX-U…CALIBAAA!!! My friends on Facebook and YM were cheering their hearts out when we saw Saber finally use the Sword of Promised Victory on Caster. Saber was achingly beautiful in this scene. If only the real King Arthur was secretly a beautiful woman. *sigh*
April 15, 2012 at 6:26 amMasterDragonKnight
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Yeah, I also thought that Gae Buidhe broke a little too easily. Maybe it’s because the owner of the weapon knew the exact weak point of where to break it.
On another note, Gae Buidhe makes for a crappy glow stick. It only shines for a few seconds after you snap it. Lancer should get a refund.
April 15, 2012 at 7:40 amHao
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I just assume they can break their own weapon whenever they want because heroic spirit are mainly made of manna. Like ending the supply of manna that created the spear?
April 15, 2012 at 11:00 pmBanana Furikake
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Agreed- was Saber especially cute in the ep?
April 15, 2012 at 5:40 amKinny Riddle
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BTW, if you rewatch Studio Deen’s FS/N episode 20, the old ship wreckage that Shiro saw during his date with Saber is the very ship that Kiritsugu abandoned and trashed by Saber’s Excalibur 10 years ago in this episode.
(Rewatching that particular scene after watching Fate Zero, and seeing Saber looking rather embarrassed by it was kind of funny. )
April 15, 2012 at 6:06 amEuzio
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oooo good spot. I went back to watch that episode and yeah, its the same ship that got caught in Excalibur’s blast in the battle against Caster.
April 22, 2012 at 2:34 amBurburbirman
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HAHAHAH SO TRUE :D
April 15, 2012 at 6:07 amCybersteel
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You should play Fate/Extra and get a feel to the ruthlessness of the Holy Grail War.
The sister sword, Galatine, Gawain’s sword, is equally as impressive. Well it’s hard to discuss how good this is cause it’s just so good.
April 15, 2012 at 6:20 amMasterDragonKnight
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What confused me a little in this episode was why Kiritsugu wanted Rider to send Caster back at a specific location?
If he had set up some form of trap at that exact place, then that would make sense. But Saber and the unsealed Excalibur was still the key to victory.
And if he wanted to minimize civilian collateral damage, 100 meters is not very far. Had it been a mile or so, then it would be more important.
April 15, 2012 at 6:40 amAizen
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I guess he wanted to minimize collateral damage. 100 meters is better than nothing.
April 15, 2012 at 6:50 ambelatkuro
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The monster was near the bridge. It would be destroyed had Rider return it to the exact same spot and Saber fired Excalibur. So he asked Waver to make Rider drop it to a specific point, namely far from the bridge and closer to the mouth of the river.
And 100 meters is the limitation of a Reality Marble to drop off its contents.
April 15, 2012 at 9:58 ambknight
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But he’s a ruthless assassin who would blow up planes and buildings to get his target, wouldn’t think one little bridge would matter much, maybe he didn’t want too many spectators finding out that King Arthur was a girl.
April 15, 2012 at 10:45 ambelatkuro
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Yes Kiritsugu likes to blow stuff up but that bridge probably has people plus it’s the only one connecting Shinto to the Miyama district. It’s stupid to destroy something that people use everyday
That’s why he asked Waver if Rider can drop off the monster at a distance away.
April 15, 2012 at 1:21 pmdolor
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Another reason is the fact that Saber would have hesitated to use Excalibur if she could have possibly hit other people. Since Kiritsugu knows Saber very well, he placed the ship and Caster at a position, where Saber can unleash Excalibur without any worries.
April 15, 2012 at 1:07 pmPtolemaios00
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Remember that Ship that Kiritsugu was on, and he left there while retreating on a motor-raft. That ship was on the other side of Saber with the Caster monster positioned in-between. Basically, it was a blockade to reduce the collateral damage of Excalibur from reaching the neighborhood.
April 15, 2012 at 6:34 amFaint Smile
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I feel bad that heroes have to fight each other but I guess that’s how to story goes..
April 15, 2012 at 6:41 amrasone0104
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was Excalibur that pretty
April 15, 2012 at 6:43 amAizen
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I can’t wait for the fair and honorable duel between Saber and Lancer! Finally!
And, isn’t Kirei so nice for helping out Kariya? :3
April 15, 2012 at 7:25 amKentaiyoshimi
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The things is, Archer destroyed one of his 2 Noble Phantasms , while the curse on Saber’s hand was lifted. This gives Saber a HUGE advantage in their next fight. It’ll be a honourable fight (I think), but it’s definitely not a fair fight.
I’m also really interested to see how that will play out.
April 15, 2012 at 7:26 amKentaiyoshimi
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I meant Lancer, of course. Not Archer.
April 15, 2012 at 7:38 amRakkyo
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If sarcasm is intended in that first statement, you really should make it clearer lol
If not, well just ignore me then…
April 15, 2012 at 1:27 pmdolor
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lol, I c whut u did thur.
Show Spoiler ▼
April 15, 2012 at 6:44 amricz
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Saber revealed the true form of her sword
Lance….much bigger than my lance >.>
Dat aside why bad guys like caster and the killer died happy?
April 16, 2012 at 6:08 amD-LaN
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‘Cuz they are insane enough to not freak out, lol.
April 15, 2012 at 6:51 amtakashid
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Really? not one screencap of Berserker blowing up Gilgamesh’s plane without even turning around to look? Really? that was my favorite part in the episode, i was laughing so hard at Gil.
April 15, 2012 at 1:10 pmPtolemaios00
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Yeah, Ancient Indian Plane made of wood and powered by magic stands no chance against Magic Chaff.
April 15, 2012 at 6:56 amthenewhorde
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totally random but just wondering, what’s the catalyst used to summon Jeanne D’Arc if she was to be summoned. I know she responds to either Saber or Judge class, and Judge class is specifically for her. What’s the condition required for her to be summoned as the 9th servant class, Judge in Holy Grail war? And what’s her Noble Phantasm? Does anyone know? Been wanting to find more information about the “Judge” class ever since I heard about it, but I don’t have the PSP games.
April 15, 2012 at 1:17 pmBakaMochi
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I would think she gets summoned as the Ruler class no matter what you do. Reading the info it seems like her being a Saber is just in addition to her being a Ruler class.
April 20, 2012 at 9:41 amKaris
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You make it sound like Jeanne de Arc is stronger than Arturia?
April 15, 2012 at 7:00 amKurisu Vi Britannia
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O Lancer you fool.
April 15, 2012 at 7:22 amJhacks
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I call it, in Love!! ><
April 15, 2012 at 7:07 amKarmafan
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So who do we have left for Heroes? Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, and who else? Is Berzerker gone now as well? Who has been eliminated besides Caster?
April 15, 2012 at 7:12 amMasterDragonKnight
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No, Berserker is still around. A simple fall like that is not going to kill someone who could humiliate Gilgamesh on multiple occasions.
Assassin is gone for good, though.
April 15, 2012 at 8:11 pmhaseo0408
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Caster and Assasin are gone for good, this Holy Grail War is taking its time with the servant, we are beyond half of the story and most of the players are stil around, not that I´m complaining or anything.
April 15, 2012 at 7:10 amMasterDragonKnight
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That reminds me, whatever did happen to the second pilot of the F-15?
You can see that he is no longer in the cockpit, not even his corpse. Did Berserker eject or merge with him after he took over?
April 15, 2012 at 7:18 ambelatkuro
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He’s dead since the moment Berserker hijacked the jet. He was screaming his lungs out when Berserker started corrupting the jet and then he died.
Plus he can’t possibly survive the G-forces from Berserker’s insane piloting.
Dunno what happened to the body though.
April 15, 2012 at 7:13 amQuestion…
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If Jeanne D’Arc had been a servant… What kind of servant would have been?… Saber? Lancer?
April 15, 2012 at 7:18 am…Answer
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She is new Ruler class in Fate/Apocrypha.
April 15, 2012 at 8:15 pmhaseo0408
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I´m sure that´s the only anime version we are going to see for Jeanne D´Arc, wich is a shame considering how much potential her story migh have in the fate franchise, because in a way her story is far more tragic than Arturia´s.
April 15, 2012 at 8:18 pmDa5id
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But…she is also a Saber Class.
April 21, 2012 at 5:42 amNapůl
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Yes, she has the potential to be summoned as Saber class. But in Fate/Apocrypha, she is summoned by Holy Grail itself as new Ruler class to act as the administrator of the Holy Grail War.
April 15, 2012 at 7:21 amKentaiyoshimi
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The lead up to the Excalibur was absolutely phenomenal. The BGM did wonders during that scene. Kirei smiling while healing Kariya was very ominous, and it’s great foreshadowing of what’s to come later.
April 15, 2012 at 7:24 amYanDaMan
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Kiritsugu pretty much manipulated Lancer this episode, while it was necessary it still didnt sit well with me, but its so like him to do that, do whatever it takes to win.
Lancer deserves the most props in this episode. Sacrificing his spear for the greater good, knowing it’ll make his future enemy more powerful. Not only that but he even went against Berserker’s rampage just to give Saber that opening she needed.
But honestly I dont get why Lancer didnt just fight in the first place. If wounds cased by Gae Buidhe cannot be healed, wouldn’t he be, I dunno, the perfect person to be attacking Caster’s summoned monster since the whole reason Saber and Rider couldnt stop it was due to its regeneration? I mean I guess its kind of hard to do with a spear and not a blade but even so it was better than he watching.
April 15, 2012 at 8:51 amzaz122
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The creature was in the middle of a body of water. Lancer couldn’t get to it like Saber or Rider. And if he waited till it got to land, it would start feeding on people and it’ll be too late then.
April 15, 2012 at 3:22 pmruirui
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actually, you forget how he easily teleported from the ground to Jetserker
I asked the same question to a few F/Z fans but they just said he was avoiding the tentacle rapes (thats probably not the real reason why… i think .__.)
April 15, 2012 at 7:32 amxephx
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Kiritsugu really thought this thing through, not only killing Caster, but removing the curse from Saber.
April 15, 2012 at 7:57 amHutch Hutchenson
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All according to Keikaku! (Translator’s note: keikaku means plan)
April 15, 2012 at 7:50 amcancerlad
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It always makes me sad when Lancer, Rider and Saber are together. They could have been such good friends, had they met under different circumstances. Maybe Archer too.
Wouldn’t that be a fun series? Saber, Rider and Lancer going on adventures together, occasionally joined by Saber’s crazy stalker, Archer? I’d pay for that.
April 15, 2012 at 8:30 amCybersteel
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Gilgamesh, Iskander and Taiga are drinking buddies ya know.
April 15, 2012 at 1:58 pm1Lau
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You might be asking for a sequel (Prequel) for this
http://myanimelist.net/anime/10012/Carnival_Phantasm
April 15, 2012 at 5:17 pmcancerlad
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Carnival isn’t really a sequel/prequel… its more of a widget side story for Fate/Stay Night, Tsukihime (Melty Blood), and Fate/hollow ataraxia. And it was AWESOME. F/SN’s Rider acting all moe was great.
The OP was too cute! Damn, now its stuck in my head.
“FINAL DEAD LANCER” Poor Lancer.
April 15, 2012 at 10:44 pmDa5id
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SEASON FOUR! SEASON FOUR! SEASON FOUR! SEASON FOUR!
April 15, 2012 at 8:22 amLeticia
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Awesome, awesome, awesome! ^O^ Now, I wanna see Saber VS Lancer so bad! >____<
April 15, 2012 at 8:52 amWonderstuffed
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This episode was epic, and it kicked in my girly mode as well: Lancer wouldn’t need his mole to charm me. His chivalry is more than enough.
April 15, 2012 at 9:37 amFate Zero
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UFOTABLE + YUKI KAJIURA + FATE ZERO = LEGENDARY ANIME OF ALL TIMES!
April 15, 2012 at 10:06 pmAn
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I think it should be
UFOTABLE + YUKI KAJIURA + TYPE MOON + UROBUTCHER = GODLY ANIME = FATE/ZERO
Now excuse as I’m now praying Ufotable to animate Mahou Tsukai no Yoru. lol
April 15, 2012 at 9:57 amboingman
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>Wish we could’ve seen Rider in action with his Ionian Hetairoi inside the Reality Marble.
I was thinking the same.
Question to the novel readers: Is that fight in the Reality Marble decribed in the novel? If yes, then I’d bet that this’ll be a new scene that we can look forward to in the DVD/Blu-ray release of season 2.
Oh, and does Gilgamesh’s airplane have a name? Guess that this is another of his many weapons, though this time one from the future.
Regarding the upcoming Saber-Lancer fight, I fear that at some point Kiritsugu will force Saber to do something very unchivalrous.
April 15, 2012 at 10:03 amGilgamesh92
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His plane is called Vinema
April 15, 2012 at 10:17 ambelatkuro
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^It’s Vimana.
And no, the Reality Marble fight with the monster wasnt described in the novels.
April 15, 2012 at 10:10 amchaos
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All the servents have something tragic in their past. Alexander the great problem was he had conquered all the known world -it was impossible at the time to expand his lands further. Lancer was unable to live as a loyal knight duel to the entire problem of his mole enchantment causing that entire run away bride issue-lords fiance falls in love with him and uses a geass to make him steal her away. Then there is Berserker -when you find out who he is you will know just how tragic he is. Saber well we know what her problem is -the exceptions to this seem to be Archer-Gilgamesh since he is an arrogant prick and has everything he doesn’t seem to be tragic more he seems to like saber because she is so tragic, then there is assasine -not much personality there -or too much as the case may be we never know much about him. As for Caster he is just nuts. He cared about Joan of Arc but his madness just seems to override any sense.
Also what is with all the casters that get summon being a little crazy -im serious each caster ive seen has always had some really really weird problems in fate/extra there is alice who is really really creepy and psyco and the reason is [spoiler] she is DEAD and only reanimated because of her servent nursery rhyme. [spoiler/] caster in fate stay night is willing to kill lots of people to get what she wants -though she is kind of tragic that what she really wanted was her master. —and then there is this one who is a big old psyco. Apart from the playable servent in fate/extra all the servents who hold the caster class are card caring psycopaths
April 15, 2012 at 1:20 pmCybersteel
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I might add that the playable Caster in extra looks quite cute.
Show Spoiler ▼
April 15, 2012 at 8:22 pmhaseo0408
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Don´t be so quick to judge Gilgamesh, yes he is the arrogance in flesh right now but according with the sumerian poems he was the greatest hero and king the uruks could ever hope for, but his pride got the best of him and goddess Ishtar took friends from him, including Enkidu the one who was like hi brother, after that he just kept corrupting hmself untl you see him as it is now. He might not be so trgic but he it is truly sad how a her destroyed everything he builded in his life.
April 15, 2012 at 10:16 amdrzero7
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IN the Novel, Rider fight inside his Reality Marble is NOT described, just like in the anime. (It’s an off-to-the-side battle) He just sucks the monster in and spit it out.
The name of the airplane is Vimana.
http://typemoon.wikia.com/wiki/Vimana
And no, Gilgamesh does NOT have any ‘Future’ weapons. He have all the ancient ‘original’ weapons that other NP weapons originated from. This is why he doesn’t have guns and stuff.
April 15, 2012 at 1:13 pmPtolemaios00
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Vimana is also suppose to be armed with ancient projectile weaponry including nukes. So, guns are not out of the question.
April 15, 2012 at 11:51 pmD-LaN
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REALLY!? NUKES!? But it got trash by a simple magic flame bomb….=.=
April 16, 2012 at 1:20 amKurisu Vi Britannia
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It wasn’t a flame bomb. It was the aircrafts countermeasures, basically what they drop behind them so that a locked on missile will detonate on that instead of them.
April 15, 2012 at 10:27 amzleihsh
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EXCALIBUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry for being repetitive, but I can’t help but in awe w/ it. Like you said, the animation on is fabulous!!
Nevertheless, her Noble Phantom shown a lot about her. According to Iri, Excalibur is the sword that reflect the Ideals/dreams of heroes. Saber didn’t live as a human being, but an ideal.
For example, (taking some ideas/quotes from Thess, the credits goes to Thess) Rider stated in ep 11, the drinking contest, Saber was not a leader/king because she never “lead her people” and lack of humanity to accept/consider her people’s feeling (she never smiled to her people even faithful knights like Benivere. Heck, her own SON killed her because she never expressed well her feelings). In fact, her people turned against her and killed her because “King Arthur doesn’t understand human feelings.”
I do not think this is what she wanted to accomplish in life with her ideals, and that is why she really want the change it, or re-write history………and that is why Rider said she is suffering from her ideals and he finds “it is so bright that it is so very sad.”
I thinks Saber is envious of Rider. He had an happier life. She cannot connect with him because of that. She saw her kingdom destroyed under her very nose and her own son trying to kill her, after a lifetime of sacrifice. While Rider died on his prime (which is another tragedy), and he has no regrets at all!!
I still think Caster is a bast*r who does not deserve that kind death for killing sooo many children mercilessly, but still the scene with Caster and Jeanne was really beautiful!
Also, Did anyone find the moment that Iri does not know how to operate her own phone interesting?
April 15, 2012 at 11:14 amDamrod
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But doesn’t the birth of her son raises some questions then?
After all, her son came forth from guinevere and her union ^_^”
April 15, 2012 at 11:24 amzleihsh
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I thnk, her son (as individual) just want to be loved/accepted by his dad (mom?) and never did even at the very end of his life. I think that is what he mainly wanted, other issues come 2nd.
April 15, 2012 at 11:45 amYanDaMan
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^ He was making a lesbian joke dude, lol.
April 15, 2012 at 1:13 pmzleihsh
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Ah~ I see, sorry I miss the point, lol.
April 15, 2012 at 1:15 pmPtolemaios00
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I think it was written somewhere in the LN that Mordred was a magic clone of Arturia by Morgan le Fay. So, not a legitimate son.
April 18, 2012 at 9:30 pmAnonymous
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I believe the Type-Moon wiki answers your question.
>Merlin is an incubus hybrid who serves as Arturia’s magus. He is an elderly man with an awful, childlike personality who is said to be a prankster and a womanizer.
>He is the cause of a number of problems, including stealing women’s underwear, and the world would have been less chaotic had he not been so fond of pulling pranks. He gave Arturia a penis for a duration of time, which allowed for the creation of Mordred from her sperm.
April 15, 2012 at 11:23 ammilkman
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gil is now a tsundere.
April 15, 2012 at 1:02 pmPtolemaios00
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As expected, the Brilliance of Excalibur when powered by a proper magus (Kiritsugu) is so much more impressive and majestic compared to when powered by Shirou.
April 15, 2012 at 3:39 pmtakashid
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…Or when you have a Animation team/director/company that knows what the hell its doing and how to do the source material justice.
April 15, 2012 at 1:13 pmone2the
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My god, this show is so great! I really wish that ufotable would remake Fate/Stay Night now, especially if it included the Heaven’s Feel route.
April 16, 2012 at 5:29 amPlatinum
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As amazing as that sounds, an anime adaptation of Heaven’s Feel would need to be censored like hell. Personally, I think a series of movies like the Kara no Kyoukai adaptation would work fairly well.
April 15, 2012 at 1:40 pmBakaMochi
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Awesome full-lengths – they’re super shiny *__*
As for your question though, my answer wouldn’t be so cut and dry either. Rider and Saber come from different time periods, where different ideals and hence different standards of kingship were idealized. The type of king Rider described back in The Feast of Kings was perfectly acceptable, even lauded, in his time but that wasn’t the case in Saber’s time.
The ‘knightly code’ was a lot more important to knights than people realize, and it dictates everything Saber does – even her actions as a king. The type of king she became in her time was just what was expected of her. Mt statements are purely restricted to the realm of Type Moon though, because historically, the universe of King Arthur was actually pretty whack (I assume the skewed Alexander’s history a little too).
In the end I would have to agree with Rider though, Saber is a tragic figure who never had a chance to enjoy her life or her kingship. But a tragic figure who enters an endless cycle of fighting to rewrite her history represents – like you said – a bittersweet beauty in its own way.
April 15, 2012 at 1:44 pmBio D
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Broskander might be the best character of a series filled with great personalities, but Caster and Ryuunosuke were the dark horses of the show. I can’t say I’m sad, because their deaths were expertly handeled, but I’ve enjoyed our COOL times together.
April 15, 2012 at 2:13 pmCroco
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For some reason, Saber looks really hot in this episode!
April 15, 2012 at 3:12 pmWuz
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I just love Lancer’s face after he snapped Gae Buidhe in two, and get’s to behold Saber with Excalibur in her hands.
http://images.randomc.net/Fate%20Zero/Fate%20Zero%20-%2015%20-%20Large%2015.jpg
I mean, seriously. That face just screams “So damn worth it”.
April 15, 2012 at 4:42 pmTerrorhunt
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Dayum. I’ve seen the Excalibur attack in F/SN anime and the UBW movie, yet I find the one in this episode FAR TOO EPIC for words.
April 15, 2012 at 7:39 pmsuff
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I found the resolution of Saber’s curse disappointing. I really thought they were going to duke it out in front of Caster.
Anyway, it seems to me that it’s really going to be Saber vs Lancer next episode. I wonder what Sola will think of Lancer’s actions.
April 15, 2012 at 7:41 pmGuruth
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Quick question
How is Iri able to hold that cell phone? Wasn’t her physical strength diminished to the point where squeezing Saber’s hand was barely a tug and difficult for her to get dressed in the morning?
April 15, 2012 at 8:06 pmhaseo0408
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She said her condition changes constanly but there will be a moment where she no longer will be able to preform daily rutines, remember she and Iliasvel are Humunculus.
April 15, 2012 at 8:40 pmGuruth
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Oh I’m not sure I’m gonna buy that. According to the countdown at the end of each episode, we’re looking at a time difference of 6 hours. I’ll give it 8-10 hours between those two scenes. She spends the entire day in a physically weakened state and all of a sudden she has plenty of strength to pull out a phone. Come on, she wasn’t able to hold a set of keys.
I’m think I’m gonna chalk this one up to the writers going, that was 3 episodes ago with a season break in the mix. They won’t remember that minor detail with all the epically cool scenes (and that they were) that went on since then. It’s either that or the writers overlooked that little tidbit themselves cause they needed an easy device for Kiritsugu to talk to caster’s master.
April 15, 2012 at 10:57 pmguest
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Well in the same episode where Iri had Saber hold the keys, she said it was difficult to get dressed that morning, but she still managed to get dressed. Therefore, she still has some use of her hands, for this episode at least. Can’t wait for the next. The big boss battle is over. Now it gets dramatic.
April 16, 2012 at 5:07 pmdolor
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Iri was connected to the leylines in the Emiya mansion. Remember, she made a magic circle to rest a short time in it.
Show Spoiler ▼
April 16, 2012 at 1:04 amBakaMochi
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You’ll remember she never actually answered the phone, and she did use two hands to pull it out, hold it, and hand it to Waver.
I actually wondered about this scene XP What I don’t buy is that she doesn’t know how to use it; it’d be stupid for Kiritsugu to give her something she can’t use. And she spent nine years with the man so I’m sure she’s seen him use electronics before. There was also a scene in another game where she used a phone too, so I was like, “Iri, you knew how to use it there but not here?!”
Who knows though?
April 16, 2012 at 1:01 pmAshaman
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Maybe she was lying about not knowing how to use it, because in her physically weakened state she was unable to use it, or at least her trying would have given the game away that she’s weaker than a new born kitten. Waver is a merely an ally of convenience at the moment, after all.
April 17, 2012 at 8:03 amGuruth
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That I’ll buy. She did mention that she’s making a magic circle and it sounded like they were going to do it immediately. I thought that was just setup for explaining why Saber shows up in that place in FSN. I guess without them showing them making the circle and having Iri say out loud, “I feel a lot stronger,” the explanation got lost.
April 15, 2012 at 7:58 pmThousand Mistress
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I was like, “Dayum, this episode is complete brillance” and pun intended for Excalibur.
Excalibur in Fate/Zero = way better than any Fate series.
And that explains how strong the Master is so the Servant won’t have any problems using all of his/her strength for his/her Noble Phantasm. Ufotable, I demand you to make a remake of F/SN!!! (and all the routes too, in one single series)
April 15, 2012 at 8:03 pmThousand Mistress
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I forgot to add by the way, that Jeanne d’Arc we have there is based off from Fate/Apocrypha’s Saber class, having the same appearance as Saber herself. Look it up here: http://typemoon.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Fate/Apocrypha_characters
April 15, 2012 at 9:02 pmGilgamesh92
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That would be a dream come true. It would cost way too much money though. Each route would need to be at least 24 episodes.
April 16, 2012 at 5:18 pmdolor
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Fate is actually quite short and would probably only need about 16, maybe 18 episodes if they leave out Archer’s fight against Berserker and don’t do that pseudo-Heaven’s Feel crap DEEN pulled off (Caster is basically a hi-and-bye character in Fate, lol).
A nice bonus for Unlimited Blade Works would be imo FSN-Prologue. This is Rin and Archer’s route anyway, so that would be a nice bonus.
And the bluray bonus for the Heaven’s Feel route would be Sparks Liner High…
*sigh* I wonder if that would happen before Tsukihime remake or Tsukihime 2(Nasu should stop playing too many games like Dark Souls. :p It took TM years to complete Mahou Tsukai no Yoru…). Well, Take-Moon got an anime, now Prisma Illya will get an anime. I haven’t given up hope for a FSN-remake yet.
April 15, 2012 at 8:28 pmhaseo0408
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I still can´t recover from the beatiful animation of the Sword of Promise Victory, I mean Excalibur looked good in the original series but this a whole new level, can I ask fro a ufotable remake of the original fate/stay night, please?.
April 15, 2012 at 9:00 pmGilgamesh92
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Yeah they should remake it and follow the VN. It would be best if they do the HF route though. Dark Saber Excalibur!
April 15, 2012 at 10:13 pmKusabi
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It’ll be perfect if they also animate Hollow Ataraxia.
June 4, 2012 at 9:02 amAshen-phoenix
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It woould be amazing – mind-blowingly so – if ufotable remade Fate/Stay Night. I can take the lighter tone everyone’s said it has, but what gets me is the overexaggeration of Shiro’s character. No matter what I read/hear about him, he just seems to pale in comparison to Kiritsugu. Ah well… still end up watching it, if for nothing else than the different Servants.
April 15, 2012 at 10:42 pmDa5id
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Caster first appears in the 2nd episode of the 1st half, and dies in the 2nd half of the 2nd.
COINCIDENCE?!
April 16, 2012 at 1:19 amDa5id
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*episode
April 16, 2012 at 4:16 pmLucas.R.J
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On deal wise , Caster is a destined tragedy
April 17, 2012 at 9:08 ammagixiii
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After watching Fate/Zero, I really want to see and anime version of Hollow Ataraxia. I say that we start a petion so that Ufotable will have a reason to make it.
April 17, 2012 at 7:55 pmbertman4
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Holy! This is a TV anime? I’m just blown away at the animation quality. That revealing of Exaclibur was so beautiful.
So interesting discussion on the brilliance of tragic heroes. It seems most of the heroic spirits carry with them their past. Archer seems the sole exception. Having at least listened to the audiobook of Epic of Gilgamesh, Archer just seems so far different from his historical namesake. I really don’t recognize any Gilgamesh in Archer.
April 18, 2012 at 2:23 pmSeishun Otoko
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Guys, another awesome piano cover by RC’s resident pianist, Fate/Zero’s 2nd ED Sora wa Takaku Kaze wa Utau
April 20, 2012 at 5:06 amewok40k
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While I admire Kariya’s resolve and determination, he: 1.totally doesnt control Berserker who goes off on his own on a wild gilgoose chase; 2.attacks that sorry excuse for a father frontally without any tactics and ineffectively. He has great Willpower, but Mages stat is Intelligence!
I find extremely annoying how the anime keeps alive players who should be dead – including lately Kariya. I can see some kind of plan behind the healing – maybe Kariya will take out Gil’s master and pave the way for the Kotomine to reenter the battle…
April 22, 2012 at 2:17 amBurburbirman
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Recently watched Episode 16 and found out that it was such a disappointment! :( Lancer and Saber should have an awesome duel instead! At the end of the ep, Irisviel collapsed, I wonder why did she faint?
April 22, 2012 at 3:18 amKusabi
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My my, what a spoiler. Can’t you wait for a couple of hours to let Verdant post his Fate Zero 16 post?
And you said that episode 16 is such a disappointment? Then you clearly haven’t watched Gen Urobuchi’s works besides this show. He is master of despair and betrayal. Just play Saya no Uta VN or watched Puella Magi Madoka Magica for good comparison.
June 4, 2012 at 8:59 amAshen-phoenix
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So many amazing screenshots for this one. God, I’ll never look at a TV anime the same way again thanks to the impossibly high standards of Fate/Zero.
I agree with everything you’ve said, Verdant (lol Perhaps that’s getting a bit old).
The only drawback to this ep. was missing out on seeing Rider’s Noble Phantasm go toe-to-toe with Caster’s horrible creature. Ah well. Epic moments and dialog from virtually EVERYONE ELSE, so that’s fine.