Fate/Apocrypha / First Impressions

「花と散る」 (Hana to Chiru)
“Scattered Flower”

Even though I’ve said this many times in the past, I don’t think there’s anyone out there who can disagree with this statement this week — Frankenstin’s Monster is best girl.

General Impressions

Diving straight into things, boy did this week’s episode not waste anytime throwing us straight into the thick of things. Starting with the point that stuck with me the most — I thought it was really interesting how the a Servant’s tier finally came into play this week. Looking back at it, I faintly remember Caules talking with Frankenstein about how as a lower tier Berserker she shouldn’t be pushing herself too hard. But up until now, it’s felt like a Servant’s tier has really mattered much since most of the fights have come down to whomever could be the trickiest. Anyways, even though it left me feeling a little bitter, I appreciated how the difference in power (and Master’s skill) finally came into play. Because as sad as I was to see my favorite girl literally get blown to pieces, what happened served as a good reminder that you always have to take the numbers into consideration when you’re dealing with the world of Fate.

Moving on from Frankenstein’s depressing end, I hope I wasn’t the only one who was a bit surprised to see Sieg turn into Siegfried. Ignoring just how corny it was and how much it belittled Siegfried’s sacrifice to save Sieg in the first place, it was a little tough for me to believe that Sieg would be able to handle Siegfried’s power so well. Seeing how it sounds like Siegfried’s spirit is “possessing” Sieg and not actually coming into existence, you’d think that Sieg would have trouble even moving around. That said, it wouldn’t be all that fun to watch Mordred step all over Siegfried so I’ll give this one to the story. As a small bonus, it was nice that we got to see Sieg unleash Siegfried’s Noble Phantasm since Siegfried never got a chance to do it while he was alive.

Overall, not too bad of an episode when you take everything that happened into consideration. The story seems to be moving at a pretty good speed and after a few episodes of action with bits of story sprinkled in, it feels like we’re primed and ready for something big to happen. Hopefully we’ll see something awesome next week since both sides seem to be ready to unleash their attacks. In any case, I’ll catch you guys then — see ya!

55 Comments

      2. @Takai
        Our expectations are mostly influenced by FSN Heracles though, which is a rather exceptional case for a berzerker(&master).

        Most berserkers bled their master dry without even trying. Having little sense of self-persevation isn’t good for survival either.

        The class is actually more suited to suicide bombing-like tactics.

        SMinstrel
        Reply

      4. @Asashi
        Indeed.

        Lancelot at least still have the “bled master dry” part intact, although he is apparently so good at skill-at-arms that he can utilize proper swordsmanship/fight tactically even after turning insane.

        If memory serves, Lancelot can follow his master’s order properly too, as long as Saber is not involved.

        SMinstrel
        Reply

  4. https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2007.jpg
    Mmmm, I was expecting maybe the Bounded Field would screw up the cell phone reception. Anyway
    one thing, I learned, is that because Jack’s master is a non-Magus, she can’t use the same “telepathy” that Mordred and her Master is using. Still new to the Type-Moon logic.

    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2012.jpg
    No mercy, my type of Servant compared to heavy chivalrous Servants. Anyway, I was surprised that Sieg’s sword manage to pierce Mordred’s armor, compared to how the armor was fine from Frankenstein’s attack.

    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2034.jpg
    On the side note, I read that King Arthur would, because she has the characteristics of a Dragon, have trouble with existences such as Siegfried. However, I guess Mordred doesn’t have dragon attributes if Siegfried isn’t giving that much trouble.

    L002
    Reply

    1. I really don’t understand why people like Mordred. What the fuck is wrong with people?

      -She just a clinically retarded edgy asshole and also filthy, disgusting monster which was born from the incestuous relationship between two women.
      -She has the mentality of a 2 year old mentally handicapped child
      -She is a fathercon (a women).
      -She is a selfish, egocentric brute.
      -She doesn’t care ‘about anything anything but his generic wish to pull the sword from the stone and prove to her father (a woman) that she is worthy to be king, She also doesn’t care about people around her (even a king should worries about their people as they are a part of their kingdom as even Gil understands this as they belong to him).
      -She pursues a street cat in the middle of a busy city in broad daylight as though it was a retarded irrational animal.
      -Episode 8, what’s Mordred’s problem with a hero dying for what he believes in? Isn’t that what heroes do? Yet she mocks Siegfried for that?
      -She scorns at the kind of sacrifice of Siegfried or Astolfo’s principles
      -She is easily provoked over silly things.
      -She gets angry quickly and cries very easily over silly things.
      -His master is a coward and pitiful guy, he gets scared and flees from the battlefield leaving her behind.

      mira-pyon
      Reply

      1. @mira-pyon: I can’t disagree with your logic, but there’s still this charm to Mordred (probably the fact she has cool armor + looks like Arturia). That said, when you list out the actual problems with her personality / character, I agree it’s uh, tough to justify.

        Frankenstein’s Monster still best girl thus far. Jack coming in close in terms of cuteness though.

        Takaii
        Reply

      2. @Takaii Frank is much more humane and generous than Mordred.

        @mira-pyon Given how much a inhuman evil demon Mordred has demonstrated herself, I guess she should better off be a Berserker just like Lancelot, instead of an Arthuria “defective clone” the Saber.

        Shrimperor
        Reply

      4. You can blast Modred all you like, but I have to disagree with you on her master and seriously wonder if your raging hatred for Mordred had skewed your standard for “corwady”.

        A battle between servants is no place for a master. At least he had the courage to actually follow Mordred to the battlefield, while ALL other masters simply hide their tails in a safe mansion somewhere.

        And other masters are not cowardy either. That’s just logical tactic 101.

        SMinstrel
        Reply

      5. I don’t like her as a person – especially by judging from the way she fights. Whilst being a generic shounen Mary Sue, she fights like a vile, arrogant barbarian against anyone who’re weaker than her with little regards of respecting others. Not to mention she has no qualm scoffing Siegfried for dying worthily while sacrificed honorably to save Sieg, which also in turn insulted Astolfo & Sieg himself like a bully. Yet it indicates that she knew little to nothing about her enemies & has no idea what is she talking about, while she face against someone whom is what she hate about herself.
        Even so, it can’t be helped that Mordred, Arthuria’s “defective clone”, is ultimately a man-child. Now I can see why Arthuria had a good reason for denying Mordred’s succession to be the next king. I don’t really mean to offend Mordred fans to begin with, but I began to find her personality fall flat to my preference.

        Xero8420
        Reply

      6. I think it’s also BECAUSE Mordred is just so much more different than most Servants we have seen (in the entire franchise, not just Apocrypha) that makes her seem more appealing than appalling.

        Kind of like Bluebeard / Caster in Fate/Zero – he was a vile, disgusting Servant who you wanted dead, but because he did things completely against what most of the other Servants would do (chivalry, honor, etc.), it also made him interesting to watch to see where things go due to his involvement.

        HalfDemonInuyasha
        Reply

      7. Are people in this thread baiting or is there something I’m not getting? Mordred is literally just a more generic, retarded and insufferable version of Saber. There’s nothing redeeming about her that isn’t derived from the fact that she’s another Saber clone.

        I mean come on I couldn’t have been the only one who laughed and cringed at her flashbacks and shit personality.

        Atavistic
        Reply

      8. @Atavistic
        Despite all her flaws, there’s at least one thing going for Mordred: POWER. Even though she’s a saberface, Mordred looks, acts and fights like an actually competent warrior woman.

        She fits our (or at least my own) expectation of a proper warrior: brash, brutal, fearless, tough as nail, kicking ass and taking names kind of warrior, quite unlike her father (Arthoria), that despite her supposed combat prowess, got bested or bullied by almost every servants she came across.

        (Servants that bested/bullied Arthoria: Diarmuid, Cu Chulain, Lancelot, Heracles, Medea, Iskander, Gilgamesh & Kojirou. Arthoria had to rely on bullshit/Deux ex Machina/Shounen Protagonist to defeat Heracles & Gilgamesh, lucked out when she faced Lancelot, ganked Bluebeard with everyone, and really only defeated Medusa and Kojirou by herself).

        (As of now Mordred already prevailed in a three way fight between Jack the Ripper & Chiron, kicked Chiron’s ass, and fought a consecutive fight vs Astolfo, Fran, then (Sieg-)Siegfried, tanked the command seal-charged suicide bomb NP of Fran, and still shows no sign of slowing down. That’s already an impressive feat by itself. Remember that just by getting run over by Iskander’s chariot is enough to force even LANCELOT of all servant back down!)

        Mordred is a nice breath of fresh air in the Fate Universe, already too saturated with “moeblob waifu with sword” type.

        SMinstrel
        Reply

      9. @Shrimperor
        In the Fate Universe, getting summoned as Berserker requires the master to intentionally fiddle with the summoning spell, and the Heroic Spirit had known legends of getting stark raving mad (i.e. Herakles & Lancelot both have tales about their insanity) or had thought process that are considered more-or-less alien to human mind (Frankenstein’s monster). AFAIK Mordred never went mad in his/her legend.

        …But then there’s Spartacus, which I don’t know the reason for him to become a berserker. Maybe he just look the part?

        SMinstrel
        Reply

    2. 1. Type-Logic at its finest. Would have made sense if Shiro (from FSN) gave Saber a cellphone now that I think about it.

      2. Mordred is honestly one of the best things about this show. Gotta love her/him.

      3. True — but what might be helping in this specific instance is Mordred being powered up with some extra juice from that command seal.

      Takaii
      Reply

    3. Siegfried would indeed have the advantage against both Arthur/Arturia (since she has dragon blood, like you said) and Mordred (since she’s basically a clone of Arturia and therefore has the same characteristic as her). But that advantage is mainly in his Noble Phantasm, Balmung. Is that sword as a Noble Phantasm that deals more damage against members of the dragon kind

      Lelo
      Reply

    1. Apocrypha’s main plot is about the Sieg’s desire to let everyone have freedom vs Shirou’s Perfectionism for everyone at the cost of stagnation.
      Sieg is the philosophical opposition to Shirou Kotomi, and Sieg is practically the centerpiece of the story because of it.

      Swagernator
      Reply

  6. well imho mordred is the best character in this shitty show.. some of the fellas saying some really interesting things like, mordred bullying weakers than her … ?? god dammit! the girl love’s to fighting, competing, she is pure warrior not saint or romance heroin…. and she is real baddass ! i actually like her character more than original saber (arthuria) too. also kotomine too feels good to me. they are really feels alive to me… not some idiotic hero stuff…

    kolpator
    Reply

    1. To be honest, she is the most generic and stereotypical character of the show, and it also doesn’t help that she has an unrealistic backstory, a generic wish and a stupid motive, besides having a shit personality, but nobody cares, because she’s a waifushit. The thing you need to remember is hat most of the current Fate fans only care about ”waifus”, ”servant waifu wars” and ” pointless random battles”.

      LeloTheUnamused
      Reply

      3. There’s a difference between unrealistic and convoluted. Her backstory is more convoluted. Only reason why I even say that her backstory shouldn’t be considering unrealistic considering this is a fantasy genre. You could basically write anything in that genre and make it possible because of “magic”. Though I do agree her birth is convoluted as hell. Even though a good deal of sentiment for people hating on her backstory I could see from the past, is the fact that they’re playing around with the pronoun game rather than the actual process of her being born.

        SDFGS
        Reply

    2. She was conceived between Artoria and her sister, Morgan le Fay, through unorthodox circumstances. Artoria, normally female, was a pseudo-male at the time due to Merlin’s magecraft, so Morgan enchanted her with a spell to extract sperm from her. Morgan developed it within her own ovary, and made the child into a homunculus clone of Artoria.

      Shirou
      Reply

    3. @kolpator Shirou Kotomine is main antagonist and villain of the series, he’s important for the main plot.
      Mordred is just one of the secondary antagonists and one of the secondary villains of the series, she isn’t even relevant to the plot main, she is just a supporting character.

      G_Spark233
      Reply

  9. Hhhmmmmmmmm and with that the only character I’m left caring at all for is Assassin of Red because she confuses the heck out of me and Shakespeare… WHY DID THEY HAVE TO KILL FRANKENSTEIN SO SOON DANG IT. Freaking Mordred… I want her dead. She ain’t even a good character…

    DuoraDoll
    Reply

  10. I have problems with this episode, majorly two of them:

    Mordred is able to tank Frankenstein’s NF without problem, even if it was command spell boosted, that was too much of a power level issue for me.

    Mordred’s getting more unlikable by the episodes for me and like i said before, it’s NOT helping that she’s about to take out Astolfo. I hope that Mordred died soon.

    Smudy
    Reply

  11. I don´t understand why so much hatred over Mordred, she´s far form perfect but she´s not that bad, as I said before she was also a victim in the Fall of Camelot, everything she did was a manipulation of Morgana with an unhealty dosis of brainwashing (that´s whay she wounded Arturia in the end). The real asshole responsible of the destruction of Camelot was Lancelot, the most sel-centered failure of a knight ever born in the multiverse, never he consider the feelings of Arturia or his fellow Knights of the Round Table until all all was said and done.

    haseo0408
    Reply

  12. Not lying, I was actually cheered when Sieg got schooled by Mordred. His bravado really cringeworthy and kinda pissed me off, what when he lunged meekly to his opponent, and Mordred just stab him nonchalantly.
    lol Serves you right.

    Too bad he didn’t die.
    smh

    Fuck Sieg
    Reply

    1. how to spot a redditor

      Why the fuck are redditors so predictable?

      please fuck off back to reddit and take your copypasta with you.

      No wonder people hate redditors and reddit

      Fuck redditor
      Reply

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