Fate/stay night / First Impressions

「Unlimited Blade Works」

Big episode this week—so big that they had to cut the OP just to fit all of it. Perhaps it’s a given, since the Emiya vs Emiya fight is arguably the most important one of the entire story. Notice how Archer already debuted his Reality Marble in episode 18, yet it is 20 that is titled ‘Unlimited Blade Works’. Well, he does cast it in this episode as well (while being allegedly low on mana; whatever you say, Fate/ stay night), and really, what better backdrop can there be to the defining conflict of Unlimited Blade Works? Shirou’s fighting his superpowered future archetype, his own insecurities, and the image of the bleak future that awaits him. It better be epic, and epic it was, much more so than I remember the visual novel being. The original source was a tense clash of wills, to be sure, but anime is a visual medium, and ufotable sure does bring the visuals. Imagery! Imagery! Imagery! I just couldn’t help myself with the screencaps this episode. Together with the new insert song (LAST STARDUST by Aimer, going by the credits), it certainly was a incredible audiovisual experience (or, at least, really shiny). Even though we only had half a minute of the Emiya theme before it faded out (stop getting me worked up for nothing), the last third of the episode was executed well enough for me to forgive that hiccup in the tension. This is how you bring value to an adaptation, by reinterpreting it in your medium. It’s quite different to the original, yes, but the soul is plain to see.

UBW has a prequel, and it’s not Fate/Zero

Speaking of adaptation issues, here’s another one that crops its ugly head: the existence of the Fate route prior. For those of you who started on the Fate franchise with this adaptation of Unlimited Blade Works, then firstly, welcome, and secondly, you probably have no idea what this thing was all of a sudden. The issue of Excalibur’s scabbard being grafted to Shirou was dealt with in more detail in the Fate route (it being about Saber and all), and without that knowledge this detail may seem to have come out of left field. Is it a deus ex machina? Certainly. But it’s not just an in-universe explanation for Shirou’s plot armour (which, you will note, he has donned before, after the fight against Berserker). If King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is the archetypal chivalric myth, then when Kiritsugu implanted the scabbard in Shirou when he lay dying one can say he also implanted the heroic ideal in him. The symbolism and parallels with Arthurian myth are a bit more overt in the Fate route, obviously, but it’s not exactly subtle here either. Saber is insistent on watching Shirou and Archer’s fight because it mirrors her own situation; she thinks her run as the king of Britain ended poorly, and wishes the sword did not choose her. Well, here Shirou knows how it’s going to end, refuses to be deterred. That’s what having principles is about. You stick with them, even if it hurts.

They love Lancer so much, they killed him twice

Back with the damsel in distress, it seems all the villains are lining up to cop a feel, which is quite unseemly, so she needs rescuing fast. Neither her Servant, her ex-Servant, nor her love interest seem very keen on doing it, though so I guess it’s up to poor old Lancer. Wait, wasn’t Lancer supposed to be dead? Yes, but apparently he can still keep chugging without a heart by sheer badassery. For those who are still amused by old memes, people don’t die when they are killed (not that Shirou is one to talk; just a flesh wound, right?). To be fair, in Cú Chulainn’s myth, in his last moments he tied himself to a standing stone so that he may die facing his enemies, and so feared was he that his foes dared not approach him until ravens started roosting on his corpse. Even then he manages to lop some sap’s hand off (it’s weird). So, one last hurrah, sticking it to the man in his post-final moments. Dead now? Nope. Can’t go before mortifying Shinji (*applause*). Kirei, though, has most-definitely-probably-in-all-likelihood pushed off. I may have mentioned before that the anime rule is to never assume anyone was dead until they cremate the body on-screen, and here it is (aside: the fire rune is not the same as the one Touka uses in Kara no Kyoukai, but meh, details). Lancer doesn’t exactly get the girl, but he does go out with style (or with pyromania; still not sure why he has to torch the place). You’ll have the play the PSP game Fate/Extra if you want to see him paired with Tohsaka, but of course that’s not exactly the same Lancer or the same Tohsaka so itscomplicateddon’task.

Don’t like your future? Beat him up ~ looking ahead

Even after Shirou’s defiant comeback, it’s still sort of a genuine question whether or not he’ll win. After all, consider what he said:

‘Just because you’re correct doesn’t mean you’re right.’

That may be meme-worthy all over again, but the context gives it sense. It’s not about rationality. It’s not about results. Even if Shirou is completely beaten, even if he ultimately fails, what’s important is that his moral core never wavers. That’s what heroism is about—beyond utilitarianism, against all odds. That said, if Archer is supposed to symbolise Shirou’s doubts and regrets, and Shirou cannot allow himself lose to them, then… well, we’ll see how it unfolds. Fittingly, the title of the coming episode is simply ‘answer‘. To which question? Same time next week, folks.

Full-length images: 06.

 

Preview

121 Comments

  1. Oh, come on, Lancer! Follow through! You would have been immortalized as a hero…again…had you rid the world of that pest.

    But regardless, let us have a moment of silence for the noble Cú Chulainn…

    MasterDragonKnight
    Reply

    2. *moment of silence*

      Sadly though being lancer = suffering. Even after his otherwise manly and epic death (for real) his glorious moment just fades into obscurity imediately in the next scene

      Juan
      Reply

    3. Cú Chulainn may be “E-Rank Luck,” but I’ll give him S-Ranks in awesomeness and bro-ness because of this episode. (And for his role in the second half of episode 16. XD)

      And while Shinji may have cheated death and ran away like a wuss (for now), I’ll look forward to seeing him get his just desserts in the upcoming episodes.

      Incognito
      Reply

  3. I have a question regarding how Kotomine died.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Raijin
    Reply

      2. It was an unfortunate translation that doesn’t make sense outside of context, but the mean is basically “just because you are factually correct, doesn’t mean you are acting in the right way”
        Right after the episode was released, I found someone that broke down the sentence in japanese, but I can’t find it again

        Eduardo
        Reply

    4. That quote is of “correctness” is actually on the wrong screenshot.

      And what the literal translation word by word is completely different too. It says:
      Show Spoiler ▼

      In other words, he is trying to imply that there is more than the simple righteousness he believes on. Maybe righteousness with the right course of action. Or righteousness with regret, etc. Who knows, he doesn’t elaborate more than that.

      Banzemanga
      Reply

  8. That was an amazing episode. I confess I did have some concerns with the second season. Important scenes like when Rin confronts Shirou’s ideals or the debut of UBW didn’t really have the emotional impact they had like the VN did. However the duel between Shirou and Archer was simply perfect. I’m even going so far as to say it was a far better done here than in the VN. For once everything came together. The dialogue, the cinematography and even the lackluster music worked this episode. Did UFOTable switch directors or did Eggplant himself get involved on creating this episode?

    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20stay%20night/Fate%20stay%20night%20ubw%20-%2020%20-%20Large%2036.jpg
    I really like how they used the Shirou’s absorbing of Archer’s experiences as a framing device. The duel was always more of a clash of ideals than an actual fight, because we all know the Shirou can’t ever beat Archer on a straight up fight. Instead of getting paragraphs of monologue like in the VN, the anime instead give us a lot of symbolism and allegory. My favorite part is when Shirou tells his young self that they are going to hell, then repeats again with Archer and Shirou. Very poignant stuff.

    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20stay%20night/Fate%20stay%20night%20ubw%20-%2020%20-%20Large%2006.jpg
    Not to be outdone though is Lancer. This was the moment the he establishes himself as a badass. He gave death a middle finger, just long enough to kill his oppressor, save the girl then burn everything in sight. Goodbye Lancer, the best bro of the 5th Holy Grail war.

    fragb85
    Reply

  9. https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20stay%20night/Fate%20stay%20night%20ubw%20-%2020%20-%20Large%2004.jpg

    divide in half

    that church man is 100% hentai (pervert)

    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20stay%20night/Fate%20stay%20night%20ubw%20-%2020%20-%20Large%2005.jpg

    getting stabbed by Gay Borg stick

    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20stay%20night/Fate%20stay%20night%20ubw%20-%2020%20-%20Large%2007.jpg

    and more CHICKENS

    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20stay%20night/Fate%20stay%20night%20ubw%20-%2020%20-%20Large%2017.jpg

    PRICELESS FACE of that church man getting owned at the end,

    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20stay%20night/Fate%20stay%20night%20ubw%20-%2020%20-%20Large%2009.jpg

    Food
    Reply

  10. Poor Shirou, undermined by low quality English translations even after all these years. “Just because you’re correct doesn’t you’re right.” should really be “Just because you have a point doesn’t mean you’re right.” Pretty much exactly like “People die when they are killed.” should really be “You can’t take back killing someone.” Shirou’s never says anything incredibly deep, sure. But he also doesn’t say things that are completely repetitious and / or outright contradictory. This is why you only ever see Japan making fun of Shirou for being overly naive, instead of being overly stupid.

    Still, cool episode. And maybe they’ll have an editor go over the translations if they ever do an english blu-ray / dvd relaease too.

    Ashlay
    Reply

    3. To be completely fair, ‘people die when they are killed’ made sense in context, and ‘just because you’re correct doesn’t mean you’re right’ makes sense even out of context, it just sounds stilted. As @Vagrant discussed further down the comments, it’s entirely possible to be correct and not right, because there’s multiple levels of both correctness and righteousness. I think it’s a perfectly serviceable translation, all things considered; the original Japanese, as far as I can tell, is even more obtuse in ways (something about Archer’s correctness being nothing but correct) which also relies largely on context to give it meaning (as Japanese often does). English has the benefit of a wider and more nuanced vocabulary, specifically that we have words of Romantic and Germanic roots for similar concepts (in this case ‘correct’ and ‘right’) and can produce lines that, if we were being positive, are more subtle than usual.

      Passerby
      Reply

      1. My interpretation of the “people die when they are killed” line is Shirou acknowledging that any normal person would have been killed or crippled by the various injuries that he has sustained thus far. This is because normal people don’t have a magic scabbard of regeneration stuck inside them. But it was terribly worded, whoever did TLC for that script was apparently asleep on the job.

        Riktol
        Reply

      2. The thing is, the translation of Shirou’s memetic quote is correct because that’s how it goes in the original text. The Japanese that he said was 人は殺されれば死ね(Hito wa korosa rereba shine) which is literally “If you kill people, they die”.
        It’s a pretty common phrase in Japanese actually and it’s not just F/SN who gets to use it, nor it was a mistake as to how it was translated. http://i.imgur.com/9MbK5xQ.jpg

        And contrary to everyone’s knowledge, Rin actually says almost the same thing in the same route in the VN. This happens at the end of the first season. In her case, she said 人間は傷つけば死ぬの(Ningen wa kizutsukeba shinu no) which roughly translates to “Humans die if you hurt them”.

        belatkuro
        Reply

      3. Heh, and that’s the issue with “idioms” in translations. Though I guess it’s not much of one. I mean if you want the standard English version of that aphorism, shouldn’t it really be “Once you’re dead, you’re gone” (Or in Bleach’s case “Once you’re dead, I don’t think you actually would be gone”)? All of this is really just to say translation is hard! And every now that difficulty starts some silly jokes.

        Ashlay
        Reply

    4. If we use the “standard english translation” of said aphorisms, it’d be no better than a literal-translation which kills the translated words (like what Commmie subs does sometimes). I think it’s better to keep the awkward, yet-closer-to-the-intended-meaning translation than to directly “translate it into english” which ignores the context (see the idiots laughing at Shirou’s lines without knowing the context he’s speaking in); English translations sometimes robs the beauty out of other languages (and yes, I speak English, German, and Spanish), this I learned from experience.

      Angra_Mainyu
      Reply

  11. I don’t know if a part of Archer unconsciously held back but had he used more psychological attacks then for sure Archer could’ve killed Emiya. The guy should have brought the matter about Illya by saying “Shirou, you already failed your father the moment you couldn’t save your older sister since Kiritsugu wanted a hero to save her. And Saber, not only did you fail to save Irisviel but you also let her daughter die, much less tell her the truth about Kiritsugu’s circumstances.” Something like that would have made Shirou enter into a deep depression; I mean, if he couldn’t save his long lost sister, that he didn’t even knew about even if she died, then Shirou shouldn’t even expect to ever become a hero.

    Ironically
    Show Spoiler ▼

    BTW, if anyone knows, did Archer cared about Ilya or reacted with grief and frustration when hearing about Ilya’s death? Frankly speaking, during his contract with Caster, it would’ve been nice if he could have made another condition earlier with Caster in fixing Ilya’s “condition;” something a trivial as a “heart surgery” should be easy for her.

    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20stay%20night/Fate%20stay%20night%20ubw%20-%2020%20-%20Large%2009.jpg
    And Kotomine, how much I imagine that felt good for Rin, especially since after Tokiomi’s death, many of his assets were passed to Kirei who, because of his naïve honesty and crude management, lost most of the valuable property that should have gone to Rin. Seriously, the priest’s sense of “evil” really knows no bound, which made Rin work as a maid later. T

    on the side note
    Show Spoiler ▼

    L002
    Reply

      2. @Petit Orenji

        It’s kinda important in-universe actually so that…

        Show Spoiler ▼

        Reikakou
        Reply

      3. @Reikakou you made it sound like it was sex scene between Shirou and Archer ( because srls by giving someone semen you can get mana? Sorry I didn’t play a game, but it sounds ridiculous )

        Shirocat
        Reply

    4. @Shirocat

      First, it requires 2 mages. I doubt servants are included in the mana transfusion process.
      Second, unless you’re trying to find every plot-hole posible, then you ought to know it requires standard straight sex for the mana transfusion to work.
      I doubt Nasu even considered same sex coitus as a was to obtain mana.
      geez, Some ppl have their mind in the gutter….

      Helvetica Standard
      Reply

  16. I’m happy to see more cool Lancer. I’m glad that they mentioned him having bad luck with masters and women. And that he was given a more heroic death. Also, him putting down the villain that needs to be put into his resting place.
    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20stay%20night/Fate%20stay%20night%20ubw%20-%2020%20-%20Large%2008.jpg
    This was an excellent episode to wrap together the two main characters’ self-development and origin stories mixed with all the delectable action.
    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20stay%20night/Fate%20stay%20night%20ubw%20-%2020%20-%20Large%2038.jpg
    Show Spoiler ▼

    random viewer
    Reply

  17. I’m already planning on watching Zero afterwards but is there really a point to watch fsn 2006. episodes such as these hint at it but the consensus seems negative towards deen fsn.

    Saul
    Reply

    1. It is not a very good adaption of the visual novel version of the Fate route, but it can’t hurt to see what you have missed. The Deen anime shows different events and fills in some of unexplained stuff from Unlimited Blade Works. For example why Saber remembers the previous Grail War will normal servants don’t acquire the memories of previous Grail Wars they are summoned in.

      If you want to see Fate/Zero you also have the option to wait until all the Heaven’s Feel movies have been released, because Fate/Zero will spoils some plot twists from Heaven’s Feel.

      Heaven’s Feel is the third and last route from Fate/Stay Night visual novel.

      Chaos_Alfa
      Reply

    2. I would suggest holding off on watching the Deen adaptation, if you’re so interested, until the Heaven’s Feel movies as well, because it also spoils that. The Deen adaptation wasn’t horrible, per se (not bad enough to disown, at least, unlike the Tsukihime anime) but it’s frightfully mediocre and doesn’t do the Fate/stay night stories full justice.

      Passerby
      Reply

      1. Honestly and truly, whatever could this “Tsukihime anime” be of which you speak? In order for there to be an anime, it would have to be modestly representative of the Tsukihime universe and not suck worse than anything that would make you want to go and watch School Days to go and get you cheered up again by relative comparison.

        But since there isn’t anything like that, there can’t be an anime, so you must be confused. Yes, that must be it, indeed. -Nod Nod-

        Ryan Ashfyre
        Reply

      2. @Passerby I’ve actually been thinking lately that DEEN/Stay Night might be worth watching, but only if it’s the first Fate-related thing you’re watching. Not because of its own merits (it has none), but because I think the Fate route needs to be first in an optimal viewing order. Neither UBW nor Zero works perfectly as the opening act; Zero spoils too much, and UBW relies too much on Fate for context. This Avalon thing, like you pointed out in the article, will come out of nowhere for anyone whose first foray into FSN is this show (though Zero does touch on Avalon, so I disagree that Zero can’t work as a prequel for UBW, at least for that reason).

        The following isn’t too spoilery, but it does kind of reveal stuff about the tone and broad content of each route, so I’ll cover it up. My thinking is that the optimal order would be:

        Show Spoiler ▼

        tl;dr: Fate (Fate/DEEN Night or VN) -> Unlimited Blade Works (ufotable) -> Fate/Zero (ufotable) -> Heaven’s Feel (fukken ufotable)

        Axe Armor
        Reply

    3. Well, I suppose it’s worth a watch if you are adamant that you won’t play the vn ever. It’s just doesn’t do it that well. My suggestion is to read the vn, but I understand that a lot of people down’t have time for the long ass vn. So if you are not going to read the vn, you should watch it, but there isn;t much point to watching it if you are going to read the vn someday.

      Soilofgenisis
      Reply

  18. “Just because you’re correct doesn’t mean you’re right.”

    Added to the ever expanding list of dumb things Shirou has said. This is going beyond stupid naivette and idealism. He literally said “I know you’re right but I dont want it to be, so you’re not right!”

    YanDaMan
    Reply

    1. Correct in this statement stands for logical, understandable conclusion. Right in the meantime stands for a moral correctness.

      Just because something is correct/understandable/logical doesn’t mean it’s the morally right path to follow.

      A better translation/interpretation I came across is “You’re right, but yours is just one of many possibilities.”

      Shirou’s idealism at this point is already tempered by her conversation with Rin earlier. He knows his path leads to suffering, and he knows compromises might be made, and he will fail a lot of times, but that doesn’t mean he should give up on his ideals and stop striving for em. Unlike archer we became cynical and jaded.

      I feel extreme idealism and naivette is one of the things that separates “heroes” from the common. They don’t let reality deter or jade them from constantly striving for their ideal.

      Think world peace, it’s near impossible, but that doesn’t mean we should stop striving for it despite all the setbacks, and the ugly realities of humanity as a whole.

      Vagrant
      Reply

    2. Neither this or the famous “People die when they are killed” are actually dumb lines. It’s people reading them out of context or just plain being too lazy to think that causes you to consider them dumb.

      When read in the context of the situation when they are used, you will understand what he means.

      Juan
      Reply

      1. Sure, let’s put it into context here then.

        Shirou’s a dumb naive idealism whom logic and reason doesnt apply to his brain. Every thing Archer said is correct, but since Shirou doesnt like the truth or want to accept it as correct, he claims he’s wrong, even though Archer is right.

        That’s exactly what he just did. The end.

        YanDaMan
        Reply

      2. See this is what I mean about being lazy with regard to understanding.

        Shiro says

        “Just because your correct”

        Meaning that just because you have a point or it is a logical argument. In Archers case, he fought over and over and regretted things over and over and blamed his “fake ideal” and in the end his ideal of everyone being happy was not attained as he sacrificed many people. It’s a correct point

        “It doesn’t mean you’re right”

        Does that mean that it’s wrong to try and help those around you? If in the end not everyone can be happy is it correct to just discard those or not even try?

        Taken differently,

        “We are all going to die in the end” (Correct)
        “Why bother doing anything in your life” (Not Right)

        you can also read the explanations above.

        Juan
        Reply

      3. Also do note Show Spoiler ▼

        Juan
        Reply

    3. Just to add that by literal translation:

      お前の正しさは,ただ正しいだけの物だ。そんな物はいらない。(omae no tadashisa ha, tada tadashiimono dake no mono da. Sonna mono ha iranai)

      -> “Your version of truth is simply a matter of correctness. I don’t need such a thing.”

      WhaleLord
      Reply

      3. If you want to get a little less literal could also go with: “you may be right, but that’s all you are. I don’t need your ‘truth’.” Previous scene and Shirou’s proclomation are both about Archer’s statements being just one facet of their lives. Sure, it’s not a lie. But it’s also only ONE truth about what they’re doing. Shirou is saying in his standard naive way that the bad things Archer sees about their situation does not negate the good things about it he chooses to ignore.

        Ashlay
        Reply

    4. Archer’s entire backstory and objective make him just as naive and stupid as Shirou but it also makes him selfish. Archer was moronic enough to contract with a celestial entity without knowing the true details of the contract and now he wants to get out of it despite the fact he only has himself to blame. Heroic Spirit EMIYA’s stupid actions far outweigh Shirou’s idealism.

      OkagetheShadowKing
      Reply

  21. Befitting blog post for an impressive episode. Thank you, Passerby.

    I actually expected the ultimate schemer Kotomine to survive Lancer’s attack. But from all the reactions I have read here I seem to be wrong? Really shows that I totally forgot what happens in this route, after having played through the VN 5+ years ago.

    Noticed that there were some parts where the character’s faces looked a bit different. For example Archer’s face here: https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20stay%20night/Fate%20stay%20night%20ubw%20-%2020%20-%20Large%2001.jpg
    Might have to do with the person in charge for the fluid fighting animation this episode?

    boingman
    Reply

    1. Thanks, boingman. I’ll take that as meaning my post was somehow really epic.

      Well, Kotomine is on fire now. That should be worth something. And in the Fate and Heaven’s Feel Show Spoiler ▼

      As for faces, I suppose there was a fair bit of moving around this episode, and that may cast faces at angles, and faces at angles can go weird. It could be both a natural occurence or an artistic slip-up, but it’s tempting to give ufotable the benefit of the doubt, or at least forgive them minor mistakes.

      Passerby
      Reply

  22. If I have to watch Shinji touch Rin inappropriately one more time I’m going to vomit. We get it, he’s crazy and one dimensionally evil. God knows I adore this series and its characters but these last two or three episodes have felt incredibly drawn out and I’m getting a tad impatient. Or maybe I’m just super anxious to get the Heaven’s Feel ball rolling already…

    kagehina13
    Reply

  23. I think this scene was probably the biggest beneficiary of the creation of Fate Zero and its subsequent adaptation. In the VN the focus was really only on Shiro but with the creation and adaptation of F/Z the underlying story feels a lot more complete with the addition of Kiritsugu’s back story and his own ideals (Which actually resemble archer a lot more closely than Shiro.)

    Juan
    Reply

  24. Unending Boring Talks.

    Very nice animation, but sorry – I found it extremely tedious to have Shirou/Archer and Saber talk things to death OVER TWO EPISODES. Lancer saved the day, but having Archer and Shirou blah it out was grating on my nerves. I bet that if I rewatched it, we’d have around 6x “You will die” from Archer, the same defiance from Shirou… urgh.

    Sorry. If this was supposed to be epic, I didn’t feel it at all.

    Mentar
    Reply

    2. yeah i know what you meant,

      in the novel it feels a lot more intense as the conversation takes place when they are exchanging blows
      and also something that is very clear are shirou’s wounds, with each hit he receives from archer his at least one figer breaks,
      he is completteley smashed then he keeps standing,
      and you also feel a psicological battle between archer’s despair and shirou’s determination,
      yet, is the same that happens in the novel, you read the exact same answers, from different questions

      maiku
      Reply

    3. If it makes you feel better, in the visual novel they talk even more. Archer is not just trying to kill Shirou, he’s trying to break him psychologically as well. At least the last portion of the episode (with the insert song and all) was rendered more abstractly, a change which I think serves the story rather well.

      They’re probably going to talk for a small while longer next episode, so you better bring some snacks. This fight and conversation between the two Emiyas is the culmination of everything their characters stand for, so if you’re not really invested in that, yeah, it’s going to drag. But it’s important stuff.

      Passerby
      Reply

  26. UBW has a prequel, and it’s not Fate/Zero

    Okay… but you didn’t tell us which anime to go watch to see where the scabbard gets grafted unto to Shirou? Which Fate show do we need to watch?

    Rick Anime
    Reply

      2. It’s in the Fate Route of the VN… Loosely adapted by Deen (they got parts of all the routes but mainly followed Fate)

        It’s also in Fate Zero to a lesser degree

        Juan
        Reply

      3. @Rick Anime

        I know someone’s got the whole VN (with voices, and in English) up on Youtube. You can do that instead (not sure how it compares timewise – Fate/Stay DEEN was two cours after all).

        Axe Armor
        Reply

    2. More like a wall of text masquerading as an essay impersonating a review that used UBW as a martyr to harp on about stereotypical gender roles, but I digress. Ugh.

      Ryan Ashfyre
      Reply

  31. Lancer best heroic spirit!
    Saving Rin while dying himself. TWICE. Taking out Kirei who survived Gilgamesh. Scaring Shinji …less.
    Going down flirting with Rin.
    They truly would make magnificent pair…

    ewok40k
    Reply

  33. Still how does Shirou plan on not ending up as Archer? It doesn’t look like he will back down on the ideals, that doomed Archer, though he has a more realistic view than in the Fate Route. Speaking of which, does Fate Shirou end up as Archer?

    dean
    Reply

    1. Archer’s mistake was that he still honestly believed his ideal could be realized when he made his contract and became a Counter Guardian, falling into despair and regret when he realized the truth.

      Shirou, knowing all of that and yet still choosing to pursue his ideals, won’t become like Archer because he’s already accepted the truth. That’s the difference between them.

      Ryan Ashfyre
      Reply

      1. I meant his death. Shirou will still pursue these ideals and die the same way as Archer did, only he won’t become a counter guardian this time, right? That is still far from an happy end. Shirou from the Fate route on the other hand will end up as Archer, right?

        dean
        Reply

      2. @dean : well that’s open up for debate. I think that it’s more likely that he still chooses to be a counter guardian in the end but he acknowledges that certain parts of his ideal aren’t actually attainable. This in effect tempers his ideals and lessens the regrets. I guess the best evidence of this is Show Spoiler ▼

        Juan
        Reply

      3. @dean: Purely with respect to the Fate Route, Shirou’s fate is up for some debate. Some argue that he still turns out like Archer, while others Show Spoiler ▼

        .

        While we’re on the subject of happy endings though, honestly I don’t think you could do any better than what Hollow Ataraxia showed. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of Realta Nua’s ending, but as far as broadly shared happiness goes, that’s about as ideal as you could hope for.

        Ryan Ashfyre
        Reply

    2. Whether Shirou would still ultimately end up as something like Archer is an excellent question, and one that the show will get back to, I’m sure. Notably, Rin has voiced discontent with the way Shirou and Archer have run their lives, and I’m sure she’s not going to stop now.

      Passerby
      Reply

  34. So… it just occurred to me that Saber is a pretty shitty servant. Her Master was about to get rape twice over and here she is all “I am gonna chill down here, it’s cool. Watch this fight.”

    Saber no baka!

    Duzz
    Reply

    1. Aw, don’t be so harsh on Saber. She’s not even supposed to know that Shinji and Kotomine are here as well; Archer kidnapped Rin, and he’s now fighting Shirou! She’s keeping an eye on the kidnapper! Lancer was supposed to be the one looking for Rin, and there’s no reason why she wouldn’t assume he’s got it covered. And turns out, he did, even if he needed to die a few times for it.

      (Regular reminder that Rin is still supposed to have a Command Spell left so if she wanted saving she could have drummed it up herself.)

      Passerby
      Reply

    2. Rin has the command Spell to summon on her Side in full battle mode, Rin knows that. But Rin also knows, in how Saber is important for Shirou, so Rin let Saber watch Shirou’s fight. But i bet, if it would got uglier, she surly would summon her…(I think). I think i saw that in her “eyes” and “voice”

      WorldwideDepp
      Reply

  36. Ep 21:

    Show Spoiler ▼

    WorldwideDepp
    Reply

      1. And how you wait to click on the spoiler until next Episode?

        i wrote it many times, this is my Service. My Appetizers for the ones, that want to know fast and short the next Episodes. Well i see this to hold the Blood running here

        If my writing skills would be better and expression. i would definitely asking for a firm blog space here.

        WorldwideDepp
        Reply

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