Fate/Apocrypha / First Impressions

OP2 Sequence

OP2: 「ASH」 by LiSA

「最後のマスター」 (Saigo no Masutaa)
“The Last Master”

Off with their heads — or something along those lines.

General Impressions

After a short one week hiatus (I don’t consider half episodes an episode, sue me) Apocrypha makes its triumphant return to our screens with so much exposition that I felt like I had just read a book by the time the episode came to a close. Luckily, even though things were a bit heavier on characters talking to one another, a lot of questions from two weeks ago were somewhat answered which left me feeling pretty content by the time the new ending song by ASCA started playing.

So, what do we talk about first? Sieg becoming a bona fide master with one of the cutest servants left? Vlad / Darnic actually getting completely wrecked by Shirou? Mordred doing something freaking awesome instead of being a crazy meat head? Let’s start with Shirou first. Seeing how he’s a former Ruler-Class Servant who somehow managed to chain himself to the earth and has now lived under a different persona for sixty years just to prepare for this very moment, I think we should all at least give him a round of applause for successfully executing his plan thus far. With so many different moving pieces as well as the Yggdmillennia clan plus Mordred and Shishigou to account for, it’d probably be a little rude of us not to be impressed with Shirou’s ridiculous planning. All that said, I am also a stickler for the rules of the Fate universe and it really bothers me to see Shirou going completely against the natural order of things. Even if his wish is to bring salvation to the human world, there’s just something wrong about watching a Servant blatantly breaking the rules of the game that he’s supposed to be a part of.

Moving on to the other man of the hour, boy was Sieg cool this week. Besides truly growing a backbone and also turning into a heroic spirit, I loved how he finally got to return the favor to Astolfo. Just how many moons ago Astolfo provided a way for Sieg to keep his life, it was nice to see things make a full 180 with Sieg getting to become Astolfo’s master. And as an added bonus, hopefully this means we’ll get to see a full powered Astolfo in the future since Sieg is probably the best being in the whole world that could serve as a Master — infinite mana circuits and all.

Overall, a pretty darn good episode if you ask me. We got to see the factions get shaken up and characters who were deemed useless have finally been given an opportunity to show their skills. While it remains to be seen just what’ll happen now since Shirou has the actual Greater Holy Grail, I’m sure it’ll be a run ride figuring it out. In any case, I’ll catch you guys next week where things will hopefully get even crazier. See you then!

P.S. The most satisfying moment had to be watching Mordred execute Astolfo’s former master without a moment of hesitation.

Spoiler Policy: Please enclose major spoilers with spoiler tags. If there’s something that needs to be tagged, shoot me a reply at @rctakaii on twitter. Thanks everyone!<3

 

ED2 Sequence

ED2: 「KOE」 by ASCA

117 Comments

  2. https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2021.jpg

    Day 10

    There are too many high-level hideyoshi…we can’t stop them…they are simply too strong.

    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%20OP2%20-%20Large%2005.jpg

    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%20ED2%20-%20Large%2001.jpg

    Day 20

    We’re at wit’s end, even the new developed weapon…the cat-ear and the sideb**bs proved Ineffective….i think it’s a matter of time that this fortress gonna fall…

    souma
    Reply

    1. Mordred and Sieg are both homunculi. It’s pretty easy to conclude that, despite being at odds with him, Mordred can see a little bit of herself in Sieg(who is also a homunculus who has broken away from the mould). It’d make sense for her to want to give him a little push, even if it’s very small.

      ookamigirl
      Reply

      1. I wish they would have telegraphed it more. Like maybe have a scene between with Mordred and Kishi were they are talking about Sieg, and it’s revealed that she feels some sort of understanding towards him. Doesn’t have to be explicit, could just be her facial expressions.

        phatmlrd
        Reply

      2. I agree with you, but this time the fault is attributed exclusively to the A-1, becuse they didn’t know how to deal with the scene. A-1 also didn’t show a scene when Shishigo has used the first command seal into Mordred in the episode 10.

        Animefreak
        Reply

  4. https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2018.jpg

    probably one of the most satisfying deaths of all time. Thats what you get for hurting best girl you stupid bitch!

    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%20ED2%20-%20Large%2005.jpg

    Im probably in the minority here, but I find Serimaris as the most beautifully designed servant of Apocrypha. A lot of people would have fallen in love with her if the anime actually allowed more time to flesh out her character.

    Her novel version was quite an adorable one. She’s almost as good as the best girl Astolfo!

    A shame, really.

    Ginobi47
    Reply

    1. “The most satisfying moment had to be watching Mordred execute Astolfo’s former master without a moment of hesitation.”

      Somewhere out there, Mr. Mashin, the author of the manga “Fate/school life”, is unhappy that Celenike died. Honestly, to calm some yandere master, it would have been effective for Astolfo to say “I will promise you a big kiss, Master, so please don’t be angry.” A Rosy-cheeked Adonis Skill would be so useful for Astolfo in this situation. Meh.

      L002
      Reply

      1. She was a mage, and the “highborn” mages of Fate are always plagued with an undeniable degree of hubris. She saw people as playthings, so the one thing she could not actually control drove her to the brink of madness. Astolfo going YOLO GOOD alignment every 5 minutes of every waking day pushed her deep into insanity. The character itself is impossible to be sympathetic with, because she (like most mages of her social class, apparently) is a flaming asshole.

        SethMosrite
        Reply

      3. She’s a mess even for a magus you know. She’s going off engaging in her hobbies instead of actually pursuing the root. Well, Celenike is in a way the karmic backlash of the Icecolle family from their curses catching up ot them.

        >Gradually, the thread of curses binding the Icecolle family became too thick and strong, and the additional factor of them moving their territory caused them to suddenly decline. Though the other members of the Icecolle family noticed Celenike’s distortion, they chose to shut their eyes to her sadistic hobbies due to her rare talent. That pampering became the underlying cause that led her to prioritize her personal desire in the midst of the Great Holy Grail War and meet a tragic end… Well, she serves as an example that shows how magi who mistake the objective of their training end up like this. Or perhaps the sacrifices that the Icecolle family had killed until then had aimed to balance accounts in this way.
        There are two flaws to cursing someone. No matter how well you curse someone to death without exposing your actions—that curse will eventually rain down upon the curser on a whim. Celenike just happened to receive the backlash this time.

        killmyself
        Reply

  7. https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2002.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2005.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2021.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2022.jpg
    Sieg x Astolfo OTP, the one true pairing.

    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2033.jpg
    Also, Astolfo remains best girl. She’s optimal girlfriend material.

    Drake1000
    Reply

    1. I’ll agree about Sieg, but why would you say that about Astolfo? He’s on the other side of the spectrum compared to Sieg. I’m sure there are better ways to describe him.

      theirs
      Reply

      1. Astolfos character just isn’t appealing to me. Characters need some kind of edges, like having a bad trait or something. If they are so one dimensional like Astolfo you can always predict what he will do. That’s why he bores me.
        Sieg is just too many tropes in one.

        Shio
        Reply

      2. I see. So it was more for emphasis. Though I think you should’ve chosen a better word there. I’ll let you guess which word I’m referring to. Let’s just say, it can be really inaccurate regardless of personal opinion for the character.

        Could be why the comment got hidden. But that’s rather easy to get in the Apocrypha comment section for some reason.

        theirs
        Reply

    2. – endless repetitive shitposting
      – dedicated shitposters
      – shit spoilers about a shit that isn’t fully translated yet.
      – redditors
      – hater
      – ragers

      Why can’t we have a nice peaceful Apocrypha thread without them shitting the thread for once?

      BB2E
      Reply

      1. I understand your pain all too well.

        All that is really needed is the reminder to ignore them and sort them ‘negatively’ so that their shit comments will be hidden due to low comment rating, and move on.

        Wrangler
        Reply

      3. @BB2E and @Wrangler, YES, I definitely agree with you guys. I’m back after five days and I’m glad to see the shitposting about Apocrypha is still the same.
        And by “glad” I mean “this stopped being funny or even annoying like three months ago, guys”.
        I hate posting about Apo shitposters, even in threads like this, because I just know they love the attention whether positive or negative.
        But they are clearly mentally ill, or otherwise lacking some very critical fucking faculties.
        It’s at the point now that – whether a dedicated shitposter or a redditor or a troll – the 3 months or so of his endless, repetitive shitposting about the same repetitive shit can only be the work of a very sick fuck.

        Lovely
        Reply

  9. https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2033.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2022.jpg
    Sieg and Astolfo OTP, the one true pairing.

    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2021.jpg
    Also, Astolfo remains best girl.

    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2005.jpg
    https://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Apocrypha/Fate%20Apocrypha%20-%2013%20-%20Large%2002.jpg
    She’s optimal girlfriend material.

    Drake1000
    Reply

      1. Amakusa Totoshirou, that’s the name of a failed Japanese saint who claimed to have preformed many miracles and tried to overthrow the governement, before being made an example of. In the end he was recordered only as an apocryphal saint, because a lot of shit he was claiming was a bit too absurd, like pretending to be jesus. Thus he was never canonized. Even he admits in Fate he’s not a real saint, he’s a charlatan who didn’t realize he was a fake until he was already dead, he was just a magus.

        The fact that he’s named Shirou isn’t strange since that is a real historical figure and that name isn’t exclusive to sword autist; what’s strange is everything else about him. Why he looks kinda like Archer, why he was named Kotomine. The answer for those questions are a long line of coincidences that kinda pile up strangely.

        Izanagi
        Reply

      2. Well, maybe you DID learn since there are no obvious spoilers in your post this time, thank you. Unless you’re not stating these coincidences due to not knowing them yourself.

        boingman
        Reply

    1. Father wanted a son, abandons you in a forest as an infant.
      Later adopted.
      New father forces you to find a husband because he, too, wants a male heir.
      Holds a contest.
      Guy cheats.
      Forced to marry him.
      He tries to fuck her.
      She gets turned into a lion by Artemis for breaking her vow of chastity.

      Pretty good reason to be evil.

      Sven Viking
      Reply

      1. You forgot the part where she purposefully set an impossible challenge, and anyone who failed she killed. Because she was trying to rig it.

        Cheating was the only way to win/survive.

        Pixelationist
        Reply

  21. After this episode I can confidently say that Darnic’s a good planer, bad leader, terrible executive, and the worst judge of character I’ve ever seen in any media. Out of all the masters in his faction, only Fiore is even remotely competent (and she’s more competent than Darnic), while others are just completely worthless.

    SMinstrel
    Reply

    1. Your spot on with Darnic. But I feel Caules is also (master of Frankenstein) a fairly competent master. His decisions have been always right and well-chosen. The sole reason he failed was that Mortred is way too overpowered.

      Enan84
      Reply

      1. And it doesn’t help that, IIRC, Fran / Frankenstein’s monster was also a pretty low-tier Berserker too, so it was basically a weaker level of her class against a higher-tier opponent of the Saber class.

        HalfDemonInuyasha
        Reply

      2. Some of Fiore’s competency must’ve rub off on her brother, although Caules still come off as naive to me. He acted without order (although he managed to save Fiore’s life so it’s all good), and his action of helping a valuable asset (a servant) to blow herself up is not exactly a brilliant move. Knowing that Fran isn’t a match to Modred, he should have ordered/command sealed her to just grab Rider an run off.

        SMinstrel
        Reply

      3. A half-competent Darnic really should just hire someone with more common sense/sane to be the masters. Doesn’t even have to be mage since he got enough homuculus batteries. Heck, just order some homunculus to be the masters, and they will serve him better than these people he picked.

        SMinstrel
        Reply

    2. That the main point I came on to make, the soul transfers he did to stay alive certainly did not help his thought processes. Instead of using her command seals to force Astolfo to use Astolfo’s Nobel Phantasm on attacking the Hanging Gardens she just saved them for her own amusement. Of course, another Darnic mistake was going for Homonculi that were too human to be used as disposable pawns. Darnic knew he be using heroic spirits and that if the Homunculi had free will and intelligence the this “betrayal” by the heroic spirits was almost guaranteed. A system where the Homunculi were treated as fellow beings who owed service for their creation but were not treated as disposable would have gained Homunculi loyalty and kept the servants happy. The mana bank Homunculi could have been set up with limiters so mana draw would not kill them, after all, if you’re drawing the last energy that kills them you probably already lost anyway.
      Military of course a battery of 155mm howitzers would have done more damage than Alantia NP over a much longer period, I have yet to learn why a breakaway faction has to stick to medieval weapon tech. But even sticking with medieval weapon tech the troops with years to train should have been experts at fighting information, not falling into one on one combat mode once combat joined. And the grunts should have been instructed to disperse and move in small groups to avoid area effect attacks, combine in mass only when engaging the enemy mass and told to avoid servants at all costs. The role of the grunts is stop the other sides grunts not waste themselves on pointless servant attacks. Some large metal and magic reinforced nets could have been employed to give them a chance, not much of one, vs servants with the idea of dozens of them pulling on the huge nets deployed to trap servants. I actually support using disposable human bodies but one cannot let the higher cortex form making them human if one is doing that.
      Finally I do not know why Darnic could not retreat, regroup and go for the grail later, maybe he could not survive mage society revenge but in this case, the mage society has been betrayed as well maybe he could have allied with them. Is the worry the greater grail will be used up? otherwise, it can be reused after awhile after the last group used it.

      RedRocket
      Reply

    3. Since a Master anchors a Servant to the real world, presumably Shirou (and probably Gilgamesh) can act as actual Masters when it comes to summoning real Servants, because of their incarnated bodies. Medea, who was still just a Servant, could not do a full summoning.

      Becoming a Master of an already existing Servant seems fine though, like how Medea contracted Archer and Saber, and Avicebron contracted Spartacus.

      BMJ
      Reply

  26. One of the interesting thingsto me about apocrypha is that it raised an interesting point briefly: what if the pop culture memory of a heroic spirit characterise them as being a monster or demon when in reality they weren’t?

    Everyone believes Vlad III was a vampire, so he gained the ability as a noble phantasm, but he completely refuses to use it as he believes it is an insult to his more benevolent nature.

    I genuinely liked this idea, and it wasn’t territory the fateverse had explored before because generally all the good and evil servants had matching good and evil phantasms.

    But then COMMAND SPELLS’ spam happened and then he jobs to chuuni priest and no real resolution happens. Great.

    EireformContinent
    Reply

    1. Are you serious? That point was raised with Saber in FSN. The fact that she was summoned as female rather than male is supposed to be a clue about her true nature in that she’s not actually registered in the throne of heroes. Of course they fucked that bit of subtle nuance up when they went full retard with the genderswaps.

      FenixFiesta
      Reply

      1. In Grand Order, they basically saying the gender swap at least in two cases is the wish of the servant involved. Grail use is inferred to make it possible in one case at least. From time to time they will do a poll and a good sized minority of men state they would want to come back to life as a sexy young woman, I know I am one. So the servant is choosing their reincarnated form. So sort of original timeline they were male but after a wish, they are female in the corrected timeline.

        (A straight guy making the wish to be sexy female must remember to add always young and hot and sexually attracted to females to the wish 😉 )

        RedRocket
        Reply

  28. The fuck, UTW?! This particular episode’s subtitles are totally unacceptable. In previous episodes, the dialogue was entirely in proper English and did not contain any excessive profanity/mistranslations. Dunno what happened with this one. Perhaps he subbed this while drunk.

    HaruhiToy
    Reply

    2. I infer drugged as the smoke was still in the room. But of course, the drug might be fatal in the long run. And Assassin of Red might dispose of the trash now that they no longer needed, but they are still mana sources might want to keep them around and Shiro does not seem the type to kill when not necessary for his plan.

      RedRocket
      Reply

  32. Just thought of the conversation with Jeane and Shiro actually should have taken hours as both went through detailed arguments as neither in a huge rush it seems, with time maybe Shiro might have won the argument. But that bad drama so I will let it slide.

    RedRocket
    Reply

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