Fate/Apocrypha / First Impressions

「フロム・ヘル」 (Furomu • Heru)
“From Hell”

I actually really enjoyed this week’s episode.

General Impressions

It’s been quite a while since I’ve felt this about Apocrypha, but this week’s episode did a fantastic job at resonating with me. The storytelling, the characters, even Sieg managed to woo me in all the right ways. Leaping straight into the first point, let’s talk about just how great this week’s episode was in terms of the story it was trying to tell. Instead of some huge battle involving little kids ripping every other character limb from limb (I bet some of you like me were waiting for it), I really appreciated how the episode used this moment to highlight just how similar all our characters are. While their specific circumstances may differ, everyone at Trifas was dealing with the issue of just what it means to “exist”. Whether that means trying to save every single child possible or providing salvation to those children through freeing their souls, it doesn’t change the fact that there was a huge struggle going on between trying to determine who was correct. Looking at it from that point of view, it becomes pretty difficult to say whether Atalanta or Ruler had the correct train of thought when it came to dealing with Jack the Ripper. What may have been even better then that though, was how Sieg used the whole thing to really add some substance to his existence. As a homunculus who is trying to understand humanity and maybe even become “human” himself, it was fantastic to see him realize that the world is imperfect and that learning to accept that fact while moving forward is something that we all have to do.

Shifting gears back to the characters, I just wanted to talk about Jack the Ripper for a second. As someone who was badass as a servant and super humble facing death, I really wish her character got fleshed out more. Seeing how her character was the literal embodiment of children suffering (as well as possibly a commentary on England during that time), I can only imagine just how powerful this moment could have been had the story given her character a wee bit more time.

Overall, a great episode in my opinion. Sure, there may have been some odd moments here and there, but with what it had to work with, I thought it was a great way to end this mini Trifas arc. Our major characters got an opportunity to grow while less important side characters got some screen time. All that said, hopefully this also means we’ll be returning to the “main” focus of Team Sieg and friends trying to reclaim the Greater Holy Grail from Shirou. In any case, I’ll catch you guys next week. See you then!

112 Comments

  1. Official relationship chart for Fate/Apocrypha
    https://i.imgur.com/5iZ3mX8.jpg

    Sieg ↔ Astolfo “Trust and mutual dependence.”
    Sieg ← Astolfo “Willing to help him out whenever he needs” & “Romantic love ♥”
    Sieg → Jeanne “Love…?”
    Sieg ← Jeanne “Pledge to protect” & “Romantic love ♥.”
    Sieg ← Siegfried “Sacrifices itself to save the boy.”
    Sieg ↔ Shirou “Enemies.”
    Sieg ← Celenike “Jealousy, envy and hatred.”
    Sieg ← Avicebron “Wanting to use him as his Golem’s ‘core’.”
    Astolfo ← Celenike “Please pardon me.”
    Astolfo ← Celenike “Obsessive–compulsive disorder.”
    Jeanne → Red and black faction “Supervisor”.

    ultimatemegax
    Reply

    2. Spartacus → Avicebron “Captured by.”
      Atalanta → Achilles “Don’t call me ‘Big Sister’.”
      Achilles → Atalanta “Likes to call her Big Sister.”
      Achilles ↔ Chiron “Has a connection in their past.”
      Siegfried → Gordes “Obeys.”
      Gordes → Siegfried = “Distrust.”
      Mordred ↔ Kairi “Trust & mutual dependence.”
      Mordred → Semiramis “Distrust.”
      Kairi → Shirou “Distrust.”
      Shakespeare “Forever alone.”
      Shirou ↔ Semiramis “Mutual cooperation.”
      Karna → Siegfried “wanting/swearing to battle him again.”
      Avicebron → Roche “Sees him as a student.”
      Roche → Avicebron “Respect.”

      furizaa
      Reply

      3. 1. For LOLs. Same reason there’s a whore who looks like Chidori Kaname in Full Metal Panic: The Second Raid.

        2. Might be a not-so-subtle “she could have turned out like this if the situation were different”?

        Magnus Tancred
        Reply

      4. If the kids could reason and be reasoned with, such that they could make their decision to die, then it would seem that they were conscious despite being part of Jack’s Reality Marble. Jeanne’s premise that they were just evil spirits, which is what she uses to justify killing them, then seems highly suspect. Atalanta was right.

        poilk92
        Reply

      1. Does Jeanne know that Sieg’s rider is a boy? Jeanne has a “True Name Discernment” not a “True Gender Discernment.” If I was a Ruler, and I see “King Arthur” and all those gender swapped Servants, I would be so confused.

        L002
        Reply

      2. One of Astolfo’s NPs lets him mess with and negate spells, to the point that he makes a bunch of scribbles and doodles on the status that Jeanne sees when she looks at him. Since he labelled his gender “Le Secret~”, Jeanne thinks he’s a girl.

        Bob
        Reply

      4. can become a girl, so can Aslolfo. Besides, with just a flick of a magic wand, she can be a real girl. Considering that and all she have done for Sieg, she is really the main heroine. Jeanne is just a second heroine and a third-wheel.

        r3vival
        Reply

    6. If I had an astolfo, so help me god, I would visit such unholiness upon his anus that you would never shit again out of sheer sympathy. As I took great handfuls of his peachy white cheeks in my hands, satan himself would begin to weep with joy. He knows that the sin I am about to commit will damn every soul in existence, that the profane, wet noises alone will stain the universe with its echoes, that the sight of my face buried in her will scorch the eyes of god himself.

      Blader
      Reply

    3. Sieg will be stuck there forever alone. Jeanne will be forever be a slut. I don’t like Sieg to be stuck with that slut. It was a bad choice to begin with. He should have asked Astolfo to come with him. Sieg & Astolfo are soul-mates. So the chances are high there would be a miracle that would bring them together.

      Minnow
      Reply

  7. I can se why Atalanta feels that way regarding the tragedy of Jack and Jeanne´s dchioce to give them rest but at the end of the day she´s is just insane and broken by her own standards. Jack was a Legion of evil spirits hurting and killing everyone they touched so they could something, nothing could change that, no miracle could save them, by protecting them Atalanta was ensuring more innocent victims.

    I know Atalanta means well, but by imposing her ideals on other people, refusing to accept defeat or give mercy to those poor souls she will just creat a brand new hell for everyone, in a way she´s as insane as Shiro Amakusa seems to be and that´s so sad considering how noble bothe their dreams are.

    haseo0408
    Reply

    1. Medea is demigoddess, she is the niece of Circe the goddess of witchcraft and magic and gradaugther of Helios the Sun God, her level of divinity might not be as high as Heracles but sure as hell she´s your normal sorceress, that should the elf ears.

      haseo0408
      Reply

    5. I did not know there are no elves in the Type Moon universe, somewhat depressing since we have vampires, fairies, and dragons yet no elves. That means Santa Clause has no elves to help him. Meh.

      Thanks haseo0408 for sharing medea’s bloodline, I didn’t know she was a demigoddess which means Gilgamesh’s chains can easily restrain her. Have to admit, I guess Divinity gives one’s magecraft a boost. Divinity probably is another factor on why Medea can use Hecate’s Staff.

      https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2003.jpg
      Anyway, I think the animators made a mistake on Atalanta. Atalanta’s animal ears are after-effects of a curse told of in her legend. Unless those are really just hair meant to look like ears.

      BTW, fun fact, Atalanta hates Jason. Since Atalanta was good friends with Medea then I can understand why. I can guess that Atalanta also hates Aphrodite.

      L002
      Reply

      2. The crime he commited against Medea is just of many, many, many reasons Atalanta hates Jason´s guts, according to her Jason could never be consider a hero, he was a man whose only saving grace was his charm but it was also his greatest flaw, he could convince any person to join him in his adventure but a coward at heart that let everybody else do the dirty work and he would take the credit. The he discarded Medea after he found a better deal should tell you all you need to know about the bastard.

        haseo0408
        Reply

  9. The volume 5 presents one of the one of the best fights of the whole Type-Moon franchise, Sieg x Karna, the A-1 keep all their budget to animate it.
    We also have Sieg x Shirou Kotomine.

    heedree
    Reply

  11. I would, however, like to clarify some doubts that the anime forgot to mention, but are in the LN.
    – Shirou Kotomine isn’t the true irregularity of the war, but Jack the Ripper.
    – Shirou Kotomine touched the Grail in Third War and he has obtained permanently the Ruler’s body, thus becoming a ordinary human being. He no longer have his Ruler skills because he was not summoned as Ruler to the current holy grail war.
    – Jack the Ripper isn’t a heroic spirit, but a evil spirit. The convening of Jack the Ripper was possible only thanks to the changes Darnic made to the Grail after stealing it.

    3dB
    Reply

  12. https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2033.jpg
    Reminds me of Re:Creators Magane’s “Part 1: End~” in Episode 10. 😀

    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2014.jpg
    Dat minimum effort evasion. 😀

    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2016.jpg
    Gilles de Rais, pre-Caster. :O

    it becomes pretty difficult to say whether Atalanta or Ruler had the correct train of thought when it came to dealing with Jack the Ripper.

    In the end, I’m with Jeanne on this one. I understand Atalanta’s point, but the children are long dead, what more could be done for them?

    Magnus Tancred
    Reply

    1. Jeanne immediately goes after Jack because Jack is nuts and is killing people.
      Jeanne makes absolutely no attempt to pursue Atalanta, who has now been driven mad and is screaming that she will murder everyone (一人残らず).

      MorwenLaicoriel
      Reply

      1. Going after Atalanta after such a draining battle with Jack would have been foolish, that and Sieg was in bad shape after seing Jack Reality Marble, the best choice was to retreat now that Jack is dead for real and reagroup tp fight in full another day.

        haseo0408
        Reply

  13. https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2004.jpg
    Ah, that feeling I get when I played the Fate/Grand order game, Okeanos.

    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2022.jpg
    Saddest day for her. atalanta likely regrets killing Jack’s mommy.

    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2020.jpg
    I wanted Jack to say “Now we will go to our mommy.” T_T

    L002
    Reply

    1. atalanta likely regrets killing Jack’s mommy.

      Not in the novel. The battle’s a bit different there– while raining scalpels at Sieg and Ruler, Jack (being an amalgamation of spirits) also possesses some children and have them attack the two.

      Excerpt from Vol. 4:

      But—Assassin of Black had involved children.
      At that instant, Assassin and her Master became enemies to Archer of
      Red. The Master was especially unforgivable. Assassin was a child, but
      her Master was an adult—and she had allowed her Servant to involve
      children.

      Magnus Tancred
      Reply

      1. Mmm, I see, thank you so much sir, I need to know where to find and read the novel
        https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2003.jpg
        I am curious when did this scene occur in Red Archer’s life? Because archer hates children suffer then maybe this combing scene occurred before Medea killed her little brother. I don’t suppose those kids, we saw playing, one of the kids happens to be Medea’s little brother.

        L002
        Reply

      1. yes, turn one of the most mysterious, powerful and most speculated about entities in your fictional universe into a dumb mascot character in its first ever actual appearance (a shitty phone game)

        d.yaro
        Reply

  17. Newtype – December 2017 Character Ranking
    https://i.imgur.com/dYLfVU7.jpg
    Male Ranking
    1 Archer (Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel)
    2 Shirou Emiya (Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel)
    3 Kirito (Sword Art Online)
    4 Lelouch Lamperouge (Code Geass)
    5 Gilgamesh (Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel)
    6 Sieg (Fate/Apocrypha)

    Female Ranking
    1 Sakura Matou (Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel)
    2 Saber (Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel)
    3 Jeanne d’Arc (Fate/Apocrypha)
    4 Serval (Kemono Friends)
    5 Rem (Re:Zero)

    Fai
    Reply

      2. This is only funny in theory. God that shit burns me up. If you know it’s happening, if you know where, do something English. To do nothing is to give permission. You’re all accessories and facilitators.

        Pinkwings
        Reply

  24. I’m really curious as to why Jack said she felt sorry for Jeanne as she was disappearing at the end of the episode. Am I missing something cuz all Jeanne does at the end is say a prayer.

    Azrael
    Reply

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