15 November 2011

Fate/Zero: Episode 7

Feels good catching up but this is only the first show. I have at least another backlog of 6 shows. Orz. Anyhoo, since my internet connection is kind to me today, lets do this.

The opening of episode 7 answered my question: Kayneth, Sola-Ui and Lancer are alive. Kayneth protected them in a ball of mercury during the explosion.

Risei temporarily stopped all combats for the Holy Grail and wanted the Masters to focus on defeating Caster. For those who managed to do just so, they will receive an additional unused command seal from the Masters of previous Holy Grail War. But it is all part of his and Tokiomi plan, knowing that Kayneth would probably go after Caster first since he has used one of his command seal. By giving up a command seal as reward, this guarantees that the other Masters will all fight for themselves, which mean none will work together. Once Caster is weak, Tokiomi plans to send Archer for the final blow.

Rider is of course not to be left out (Orz). He is definitely accustom himself with the modern era, even purchasing an online T-shirt that has the entire world map on the chest area. This allows his ego to grow, feeling like he has conquered the world (double Orz) as well as makes him somewhat looks normal so he can go outside. But first he needs a pant and Waver refused to buy him one until he at least defeats a Servant.

so gay

As expected, Kiritsugu didn't want to go after Caster, even though Saber obviously disagreed with him, and it hurts Saber's feelings when Emiya ignored her. Since he knew that Caster will look for Saber, they just need to stay put and used the opportunity wisely by going against whoever hunt Caster, but he won't let Saber fight. He would do the dirty job himself, with Maiya by his side. This wounded Saber's pride even more. She feels like her Master doesn't trust her.

don't you just wanna hug and comfort him?

Kiritsugu was not one without worry though. He sorta opened up to Irisviel sort after, asking her if she would follow him if he decided to abandon everything and escape. He is just scared and lack confidence knowing that Kirei is after him. Irisviel knows him too well though. She knows that he will never forgive himself for failing to save the world and it will eat him from inside out. He can't be emotional for long though for their moment was interrupted by Caster.

He brought the kids that he and Ryuunosuke kidnapped with him to draw Saber out. If Saber doesn't show herself, he will kill the kid one by one, cruelly too I might add. I cringed and looked away when he smashed that kid's head with his bare hand. Irisviel, with Kiritsugu's permission sent Saber out but she was too late. All the kids have been slaughtered and he used them to ensnare Saber but it was nothing for her though the fact that those tentacle monsters can never be undead was pretty troublesome. She would have done better if she could use her left arm or if she could destroy Caster's noble phantasm which is the source of his mana.

Thank goodness Lancer came just in time but god damn it I already feared for the worst. I don't want Lancer to fall in the hand of Caster. He is much better than that. Oh god, hopefully that won't happen.

can I start shipping these two now?

As Tokiomi and Risei predicted, Kayneth sent Lancer to defeat Caster so he can get that command seal. While his Servant was busy with Lancer, Kayneth lets himself in to Kiritsugi's mansion. Thankfully Kiritsugi has anticipated this and sent Irisviel and Maiya away. Kayneth definitely came prepared and found Kiritsugi oh so easily. This time, Kiritsugu's bullet won't reach him so Kiritsugi used the Reality Marble magic to escape but it took a toll on him since it exhausted his body. By now however, we all should know that we should never underestimate him, which Kayneth did.

that smirk, it will be remembered forever!

And... the episode left us hanging. Damn it! I want to know what happened next! It would be pretty lame in my opinion if Lancer disappear because Kiritsugu off his Master but I truly want Kayneth to die but Lancer to live. Urgh, I'm torn.

I went all d'awwwwwww when Emiya Kiritsugi proved to be a family man, worrying about his wife and Illya all the time. That's why he wanted to escape this war, knowing the probability of him (and maybe even Irisviel) getting kill and left Illya without parent. Kiritsugu has figured out that the Church is not to be trusted since they are working with Tokiomi which was why he refused to go after Caster at first. However, I was surprised to learn that he is actually scared of Kirei. I guess he acknowledge Kirei to be the most formidable out of the bunch and possibly has personal vendetta towards him (for reason unknown to me). After all, Kirei managed to anticipate his action in the last episode. The showdown between these two would probably be the epitome of greatness for this show. Both he and Kirei are men full of inner conflicts.

But most important of all, I want Caster dead. Like NIAO. He's one motherfff creepy fellow. I mean, I love blood and have no problem with Ryuunosuke making an art from his victims but watching Caster turned those poor kid into tentacle monsters was disgusting. He oughta be raped by those tentacle monsters. I bet he would love it if those spiky tentacle was shot through his ass.

For my rants on previous episodes, click here.

18 comments:

First of all, sorry for the delay, but I was very busy yesterday...:S (Tbh, I was just playing videogames and watched Germany vs The Netherlands lol)

He, now with episode 6, Volume 2(out of 4) "The Mad Feast of Kings" has begun!

Now on to episode 6:

I didn't notice it at the beginning, since Iri drove a Mercedes until I realized they are still in Japan. She's driving on the wrong side. >.> I guess, Saber would have insisted to drive the car if her left arm wasn't useless...

This scene at the beginning shows again that Saber is an incomplete Servant. Normally, since all the Heroic Spirits will go to the Throne of Heroes after their death, they will have all the knowledge about every Spirit when they get summoned. However, Saber is a rare exception because effectively, she is still "alive". She can only know the heroes she knew when she lived. She also has some kind of Independent Action skill because of this and will retain every memory of the 4th war in the 5th, although she shouldn't normally.

As you can see in the last two episodes, MANY scenes with Caster were cut for obvious reasons. It was just plain sick. In ep 6, Uryu played with the intestines of a girl whose stomach he cut open to use her painful moans as an instrument... and that girl couldn't faint or die because Caster healed her "a bit". And then, when Caster returned, he crushed that girl's head out of rage. That's why his hand became so bloody red.^^

Well, well, Sola-Ui Nuada-re Sophia-Ri's(don't ask me why she has such a shitty name.:>) introduction... and why is it that the first thing you see of her is her crotch...?

Btw, she was able to see the fight from ep 3-5 through a familiar she summoned. She is Kayneth's fiance. Both the Sophia-Ri and the Archibald family are aristocratic and famous families who have earned their reputation through their long history. Sola is the daughter of Kayneth's teacher.

Oh, and Lord El-Melloi is a title. It was given to Kayneth, a talented prodigy who practically mastered magecraft without the slightest effort and the only reason why he would participate in this war is for honor and glory.

As you can see from this scene, Sola doesn't seem to like Kayneth and makes fun of him(actually, she is probably the only person whose opinion he would care for, he was always praised and ignored it all the time, but he really is affected from her praise/scolding whatever). There are many hints and thoughts that can only be shown in a few images. See how Kayneth looks at Lancer's cursed love spot and Sola's smile(which he can see). Normally, a high ranked magus with such a famous and strong family like Sola-Ui has resistance against such curses(which would actually mean that Lancer's curse is ABSOLUTELY useless in this war), but Kayneth suspects that Sola-Ui willingly lowered her resistance to get cursed by Lancer.

And yeah, all your magic defenses are pretty much useless if the whole building gets blown up lol. Another scene that shows that Kiritsugu is absolutely no magus, just a magecraft user, a so-called Spellcaster. He hypnotized the man to make him think a Japanese guy is Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, lol.

And here is a major problem in the anime, that just can't be helped. How can they show the audience the inner thoughts of the characters?(most of the time, they rush things and wrap them up really quick. Archer's Independent Action was only briefly mentioned in ep2 for example. I don't really like that. You have to watch out for nearly every sentence they say to get not even a complete grasp of all the information, that's not really enjoyable imo, but it seems to work, although people always ask questions because so many thoughts and facts are only shown through very, very short scenes) If Kiritsugu had been the man from 9 years ago, he would have blown up the whole building without evacuating the people, thinking that sacrificing them isn't so bad if he can kill a Master that way. Also, the part where he sees the mother with her crying child. Kiritsugu actually sees the image of Ilya and his wife in these two people... he's no longer the Magus Killer who could turn into an emotionless machine to achieve whatever he wants, he has changed already. He's become weak in his opinion.

The weapons Kirei uses are called Black Keys. You know, people who have played Tsukihime or FSN are VERY pleased to see them in an action scene again. :)

http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/6/63703/1175215-black_key_2.jpg

The Black Keys are weapons which are used by the Executors of the Holy Church. Kirei is an Ex-Executor. Very difficult to use, but very effective in the right hands. The Executors are heretic hunters. The counterpart to them are the Enforcers of the Magic Association. Kiritsugu worked part-time as an Enforcer in his time as the Magus Killer, hence that name.

Hehe, the scene with Gil and Kirei is really interesting. Some scenes were cut again. All cut scenes will be added later in the Blu-Ray, I'll look forward to it!

That's what I really like about your blog entries. You are one of few bloggers who can understand the main characters, Kirei and Kiritsugu. People just get the wrong idea, thinking they are boring even though they are the most important characters, which can sadly be shown right now. The Servants seem to be more interesting, but the real "heroes" of this story are the Masters, they have a lot more depth. I really like these posts here, they can describe Kirei very well(with only FSN knowledge, which imo is quite impressive):

http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?p=3845296#post3845296

I don't agree with some of the points of this post here, but the comparison of FSN and FZ is still interesting:

http://forums.animesuki.com/showthread.php?p=3845469#post3845469

Btw, I guess Kirei doesn't talk about "joy", he talks about "pleasure". And well... he's a priest... no pleasure allowed for a priest, I guess. Oh wait, he has a child and was married(to find happiness - it did not work) until his wife committed suicide. >.>

As I've already said, some things were cut in that conversation. For example the Root Akasha(actually, all true magi seek Akasha, ever seen Kara no Kyoukai?(great anime movies btw, ufotable+Kajiura+Typemoon is a great combination imo) It's one of the major topics in these novels). Kirei explains that the world where they live now would be called the "inside". However, true magi who only study magecraft to find Akasha seek the "outside", and well... the outside has nothing to do with the inside. That's why the church has nothing against suppporting Tokiomi, a true magus. At least that's how Kirei explained it to Gil when he asked why the Church would support a magus, even though they were in war once upon a time and are still not in good terms. Gil then thinks that it would make sense and would be another reason for him to have no intereset in Akasha. He already owns the "inside", he doesn't need the "outside", that's why it's in his opinion boring. And that's why Kirei who seems to be similar to Gil is really interesting in his opinion.

Actually there's another reason why Kotomine Risei supports Tokiomi. The Tohsakas hid idk 200 years ago the fact that they were Christians(was probably not very good at that time in Japan). The Tohsaka family is quite...strange since they are in good terms with both the Church and the Magic Association. And why with the MA, too? Because they are spiritually the successors/descendants(as they were his apprentices) of Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg(shortly mentioned in ep 1 in the summoning of Archer), one of the few people who can still cast "True Magic", a great magus, respected and feared from everyone. And also, Risei was Tokiomi's father's friend. He promised to help Tokiomi win the Grail. Generally, the Church doesn't mind if the winner only seeks something that won't harm them, it's also not even the real "Holy Grail" the Church is searching for.

And now on to episode 7...

You know, Kiritsugu DID hug Irisviel and actually cried a bit. His family has changed him a lot and he can only punish himself. And imo, giving up such kind of an ideal to live a life for yourself, not for others doesn't sound that bat. There was a bad end in FSN where Shirou has to decide to kill Sakura, whom he loves because she seems to be a big threat. It's a bad end(even though Shirou will win the Holy Grail War) because he decides to take the path Kiritsugu once chose and without a person he cares for, he would turn into an emotionless machine with a cruel ideal.(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywkNzSTreDk)

Oh and Iri is aware of Kiritsugu's dual personalities. She actually doesn't like Maiya's presence(pointless "plot", Kiritsugu only loves Ilya and Iri, not Maiya), since she actually also doesn't like the Magus Killer and Maiya knows this Kiritsugu the best and thus is the best person to prepare him for the war, as Iri only causes him pain and she can't do anything about that. Also, Kiritsugu started to smoke again after ten years, which she also doesn't like.

Saber... is just stupid imo. She's not angry because of Caster's doing, no, she has already seen that as king many times before. She wants to stop him out of duty. To show that you can fight with dignity, to not let this war become hell(which is incredibly stupid. War IS hell.
This is a minor spoiler. In FSN Saber told Shirou that she only talked 3 times directly with Kiritsugu. When an interviewer asked Urobutchi how he could handle that, he answered that Irisviel is the bridge between Kiritsugu and Saber, so there weren't sooo many problems.

Btw, Irisviel COULD support Saber if they were more near the castle. However, Caster anticipated that and lured Saber to the end of Irisviel's range/"barrier". She would also have seen Caster's dangerous Noble Phantasm and Saber wouldn't have been trapped so easily.

Gosh... I would totally ship Lancer x Saber... if they weren't enemies. -_- I would understand Lancer's chivalry towards a friend, but unfortunately Kayneth and Kiritsugu probably won't cooperate like Rin and Shirou did in FSN. So he reeeaaaally overdoes it with the chivalry and that fucking annoys me. Stop it, already. This is a war. He already missed... idk 5? opportunities to kill Saber and I can fully understand Kayneth's reason towards Sola to kill Saber first(he saw her status page). The Saber class is a well balanced class, only missing ranged attacks. Direct(not indirect like Caster's summonings) are ineffective, they have great heal abilites, are strong in melee and have superior defenses. Also, Saber Servants ALWAYS made it to the final battle in the Holy Grail Wars.

His strategy wasn't actually bad. If both Saber and Lancer defeat Caster, both Masters will receive a Command Spell. However, what if Kayneth just kills Saber's Master shortly after that...? ;)

Tbh, I hated many comments from the forums that were posted the last days. I don't care if they don't like Kayneth, that's their own opinion, but calling him a coward? He just acted like a normal magus, observation is the most important thing in your first battles(like in ep4). Who called him a coward in the anime? Riiiight, Sola who doesnt't like him and Rider. And Rider is just... Rider. -_- Btw, changing the mana supply rule is risky, if Sola or him die, Lancer will disappear. Double risk, but he saves mana that he can use for other means.
As an experienced magus, he knows one thing they always tell in a school and that Waver didn't understand until he entered that war:

Death is always beside you.

Magi always have to be confronted with death when they use magecraft in any way. For fights, for research, whatever.
but Kayneth is confident of his abilities. He has not without a reason the mighty title of the greatest genius of spirit invocation.

Btw, some people think it was stupid from Kiritsugu to shout out Kayneth's name so he could block the bullets. Ehm... the blob automatically protects Kayneth(as seen when he activated the trap), it looked more like a trap when the audience saw Kiritsugu's smirk at the end of the episode. Oh and I found it hilarious if Kayneth to insult the Einzberns for relying on traps. What did he try to do last episode again?*grin*

Btw, people hate on Kirei, Kiritsugu and Kayneth so much and cheer for Rider... Honestly, FZ is not suited for them. I already explained Kiritsugu and Kirei enough. But Kayneth is also just someone I can't hate. He actually likes old-fashioned(hm...) culture a lot, actually hating the modern part of Fuyuki City(Shinto) because of its artificial "modern" look. He would have liked a normal village or a town with traditional Japanese culture more.

Actually there are only 3 people in this pic(http://hijiribe.donmai.us/data/dcee51a012431dc2aaa1f5bcdcfe46a9.jpg). The two psychopaths and Sola-Ui. Why Sola? Well, there's a reason why her nickname is "Slut-Ui"... maybe Kayneth should have done this: http://hijiribe.donmai.us/data/c12c0826753c80c97ef1479a46f1464a.jpg ;)

Term explanation follows...

Pardon, some words are missing. 3 people I truly hate. The rest is okay, I like nearly the entire cast(don't count in Matou Zouken). Risei is neutral for me. Neither do I hate, nor do I like him. And replace the "if" with a "when" in "Oh, and I found it hilarious if Kayneth to insult the Einzberns[...]".

Well, well, term explanation again(damn long posts >.<)


Elemental affinity

Actually an easy term. Out of the 5 elements(either Fire, Water, Earth, Wind and Void (Ether), or Water, Fire, Earth, Wood and Metal, depending on your teachings. There are rare ), there is one element you can normally wield/manipulate. Fire is considered normal, Wind is noble. Having more than one affinity(which normally support each other) is very rare and a hint for your abilities.

Tokiomi's element for example is Fire.
Kayneth's are(as mentioned in ep1) Wind and Water.
Kiritsugu's are Fire and Earth.
Rin has... "Five Elements Mastery". She has the super rare talent to use EVERY spell.
The element of the Matou family is normally Water, that includes Sakura now, too.

Magic Crest

A Magic Crest is something a magus has to give to the next generation, a treasure you should better NEVER lose. It's actually explained in episode 1 by Kayneth already. Normally, magi families will try to reach Akasha, that's why they study and research magecraft. However, it's impossible(even though Waver claims the opposite) to learn so many spells, especially the difficult ones, in one life. That's why you make a Crest, bequeath a part of your Magic Circuits and all your knowledge and give it to your heir. That means, the older the family the more complex the Crest and the stronger a family becomes(if they study magecraft). Rin in FZ is already slowly prepared to receive the Magic Crest. You can compare it to organ transplantations. There is a risk that the Crest could be rejected. Blood related people have a higher chance to receive the Crest, you can also boost it with medicines, but won't need them after a few generations anymore.
When you run mana through your Magic Crest, you can automatically and naturally use the magecraft your ancestors have learned, even though you were never able to learn or use this kind of spell.

Kayneth is the ninth head of the Archibald family.
Tokiomi is the fifth(and Rin would be the sixth, her Magic Crest is on her left arm http://i46.tinypic.com/2qm22c4.png) head.
Kiritsugu is the 5th and last head of the Emiya family. His Magic Crest is on his back.

Iirc, the Matou family doesn't have a Magic Crest, the equivalent would be the Crest Worms.
Oh, one more thing about the worms.
Some more information about the worms:

"Love feasting on the energy of humans. When the host is a male, they consume their bone marrow and part of the brain after shattering his spine, making him crippled in the process. When it is a female, they absorb the mental energy created after sexual stimulation is made through the nervous system. Usually don't consume the flesh of women, but the uterus is their favorite meals. Will eat the placenta after giving its victim sexual pleasure strong enough to fry the nerves of the brain."

Yeah, Sakura and Kariya are screwed. >.>

Ehem, Elemental affinity again: There are rare cases where some wield completely different elements not listed in the 5 elements. An example would be Lightning.

Next term would be... uh...


Origin(plays a very important role in Kara no Kyoukai btw)

I compare it with the truest orientation or state of your soul, leading and directing your whole life. Something similar to instinct or impulsive behaviour. You can awake your origin(I wouldn't recommend that, lol), but you will never go astray from that path again if you do so(for example your Origin is "devouring"... ugh...).

Shirou's Origin for example is "Sword"("This body was truly made out of swords"). From KnK, one girl has "taboo"(she's in love with her brother ;) ), one has "Void" and so on. Kiritsugu's Origin is "Severing and Bending", a rare dual origin. His parents didn't find the nature of his origin, thus giving him the name Kiritsugu(I think his name is his Origin, if my Japanese translator doesn't fail me now...). You'll see later what he can do with this knowledge.

You see, Shirou and Kiritsugu are not great magi like Kayneth or Rin.
But as Spellcasters, they focus and specialize on their strengths, making them to formidable and dangerous opponents(and as most magi are too arrogant to face not a true magus, underestimate them. In this case, Kiritsugu provoked Kayneth's pride, using machines as a trap, even though the Einzberns are a prestigious magi family. Kayneth finally understood who bombed him last night, making him veeery angry, since they would hire someone who relies to such "low" tactics).

I say, the only Master that can match Kiritsugu is Kirei, someone who doesn't rely on magecraft as he just learned it recently(although Kirei is fast, he can easily control Assassin).

Reality Marble(Koyuu Kekkai)

Reality Marbles are forbidden magecraft, which a normal magus who works for the Magic Association would never use, at least officially. Reality Marbles replace parts of the reality with the thoughts of the magus, their own world. However, similar to the Servants, they are a violation of reality and the world and as Gaia, the consciousness of the world, tries to crush that violation to correct things in the world, a magus needs mana to maintain the existence of the Servant/Reality Marble. FSN-Archer/Shirou's Reality Marbles were Unlimited Blade Works, a world made out of swords. For high mana costs for the world, they transfer the surroundings in a world, where all the weapons they have seen and analyzed are stored, reducing the costs to project/trace them to null.

Kiritsugu made use of the Magic Crest of his family and can use "Time Manipulation", casting a Reality Marble on himself, either speeding him up or slowing him down. However, the mana costs are not the only risks. Since Time Alter - (insert double, triple, square, whatever) accel pushes his body to its limits. He can normally only handle double accel, the rest would permanently destroy his body. When he returns from stagnating his body functions, the blood flow for example will "speed up", which can burst his blood vessels and causes internal bleeding, so Time Alter is a risky technique. "Release Alter" will remove stagnate and accel immediately.

Last term for today... I guess

Mystic Code

Mystic Codes are artifacts, support weapons, magi use. Either their usage is predetermined or they only act as support. The Jewel Magecraft is an example for the latter, as they store mana in those jewels and can use them for any spell they like to use.

The other type is similar to Noble Phantasms. Kayneth's is thanks to his manipulation of the "flow"(as his affinities are Wind and Water), Volumen Hydragyrum, high tier magecraft which can be both used as offense, defense and searching. Searching is utilized by "looking"(more like feeling vibrations) of heartbeat, breathing etc. There are (obviously) no eyes or noses on it and it will not recognize sth unnatural(that's why Kiritsugu used stagnate). The defense is automatic, reacting faster than Kayneth's reflexes. Depending on how much mana is used, the shield becomes stronger. That means, if Kayneth for example expects a "weak" attack and doesn't use enough mana/activate enough Magic Circuits because he underestimated the attack, the shield might break.

And what's Kiritsugu's Mystic Code(note: first time he acts/fights like a magus?;D):
It's the Thompson Contender, the weapon he took out at the end of the episode. Be prepared for "Origin Bullets"...

See the power of the Magus Killer... next episode. ;)

Hope I could help this time again... wow I really DID write a lot... >.<

See you later and I hope you'll enjoy Fate/zero until the end of the series next year. :)

http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/6/63703/1175214-black_key_1.jpg part one of the black key description.

Btw, Reality Marbles are normally rituals, which take time(I think FSN-Archer needed sth like 10 verses to completely summon Unlimited Blade Works). Kiritsugu has improved the time manipulation for his own needs. Now he only needs something less than one second to activate Time Alter.

Ahem... one last thing... really...

Kirei asks why he was chosen by the Holy Grail. The rules are normally like this:

1. If one of the three families Tohsaka, Einzbern and/or Matou wish to participate, they WILL participate.

2. Someone who is suitable for the Grail and/or who might need it, will be chosen.

3. Absolutely rare case: Someone, who doesn't need anything from the Grail. A hollow and empty person like Kirei.

Normally, rule 2 will apply(like with Uryu - he had drawn an incomplete magic circle and has Magic Circuits to somehow provide Caster with mana which made him the "best" person to be chosen, more like out of the need to finally start the war), so Kirei is a super rare exception(getting the command spells so early is also very strange, maybe because of his talent for everything?). However, this Holy Grail War might give him the answers he needs and seeks.

It's getting late, I'm off to bed. See ya! :p

You don’t need to apologize. I’m flattered as it is that you are willing to spend your valuable time reading my post. You commenting were like the icing on the cake. Reading it was like watching the “behind-the-scenes” part of Fate/Zero. Thank you :D

I have no idea what Ryuunosuke was doing but I knew he was admiring his art work. Now that I know, he was very sick indeed but somehow I feel myself more forgiving of him than with Caster turning those kids into tentacle monsters.

Sola-Ui and Kayneth are like match made in heaven and I kind of understand why her words can affect him so. Usually you seek approval from the person you admire/love and despite how she treated her, I think Kayneth does loves Sola-Ui which probably why he treated Lancer with such contempt. I can’t blame Sola-Ui though. I would strip off all of my resistance to be cursed by that mole of his lol.

If there are characters that I dislike, besides Kayneth and Caster, it got to be Rider and Waver. They are thoroughly annoying. As for Caster, he shouldn’t turn those kids into his perverted weapons. I don’t like Kayneth and wanted him dead simply because of how he treated Lancer. He humiliated him and I found that unforgivable, given Lancer’s status. You said he is an old fashion geezer. I found it ironic because he is a foreigner and yet so into Japanese culture. But he proved to be an interesting character with quite a depth.

Usually a person with nothing to lose is far stronger than a person who has someone s/he wants to protect and in my opinion; Kiritsugi is weaker because of Ilya/Irisviel. He is vulnerable, as displayed when he told Irisviel about his insecurities. He was right to be scared of Kirei who is dead empty inside but that just proved how human he is compared to Kirei. The links you provided were very useful indeed especially that from Endless Twilight. He pretty much summed it all.

Kirei imo was chosen by the grail because he seeks what he lacks and yet not knowing what it is made it looks like he doesn’t need nor has any desire for the grail. I see people were excited to see Black Key again and thanks to your explanation, I have now understood that he is a truly formidable both as a person and a Magi. Also, I almost forgot that he has a child. Where is that child now? By the way, knowing that the scene between him and Gil was cut kind of disappointing though. I wanted to know what happened now instead of waiting for the blu-ray. Damn these marketing people!

Part of the reasons why I look forward to your comments is because of the terms that you will provide explanation for. For example, I wouldn’t know what the Crest Worms would do inside of their hosts but like you said, Sakura and Kariya are screwed indeed lol

I love it that you used Kara no Kyokai as your reference for Origin. That helped me understand the term better and And I actually wanted to awaken my origin just so that my life would be less predictable. I wonder what my Origin is… hmm… devouring won’t be so bad? Lmao

“Origin Bullets” huh? Fuck next episode is going to be so gooooooood. I can’t hardly wait!

I pretty much have forgotten the details in FSN simply because I don’t care much about that show. I put the blame entirely on DEEN. With that said, I guess it means that I am watching this with a fresh mindset and thanks to UFOtable I am completely consumed by it. It’s the tone of the show that made the difference. I didn’t dig the friendly and colorful shits that were going on in FSN. Since this show is so similar with KnK, I have no doubt that I will enjoy it till the end. I can only hope that you will be here till the end as well :)

By the way, before I forget, basically all the Servants knew who their enemies are except for Saber because she "lived" but can still remember all the details in the 5th war? Wasn’t that sorta contradicting? She should be able to remember what happened in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd wars then. Or did I get the logic screwed up again?

Hello, again. ;D

Well, Kayneth isn't really into Japanese culture, it's more like it's not their original culture which pisses him off a bit. The luxury hotel he was living in for example is just a replication to make people think they are "royalty"(or sth similar, don't really care). Note, he as someone aristocratic already lived in a castle, fitting the true culture of his land. Modern cities aren't, lacking... idk soul? Not a good choice of words, I know. >.<

I just don't like Sola-Ui. She is just so damn annoying, I can't help it. Maybe you'll change your opinion once you see more scenes of her.

And I just cannot hate Kayneth. I actually even pity him. He should focus more on his personal life and his relationships than on a stupid war and a treasure he doesn't even need. Also, all Masters and their support are just humans. Many of them have family they care for. Kiritsugu already found his family, Kirei had a family and was still not satisfied and Kayneth would really like to improve his relationship with Sola. It's not like he abuses her or treats her like dirt, he wants to earn her respect, but I guess since their marriage is arranged, Sola will probably never be able to truly love Kayneth. Her fate has already been decided(even though I also think, they are a good match).

Btw, Lancer doesn't care if he is humiliated by Kayneth(which isn't even thaat true that he humiliated him imo, I mean, you don't need to fight honorably. Lancer actually brought shame to Kayneth because the own Knight did not follow the orders of his Master, forcing him to use a Command Spell, which turned out to be useless because of Rider's interference. As a knight, it should be Lancer who is ashamed, no matter whether his only wish is to fight honorable battles for his Master or not(which Kayneth btw doesn't believe, as he knows the human nature, he thinks that EVERYONE has a desire that wasn't fulfilled, not accepting exceptions like Diarmuid)).

And FSN-Archer already said it once: Servants are only tools. They also seek the Holy Grail and it's not bad to have a good relationship with your Master, but a Master must be determined to do what he thinks is right. To overcome the will of the Servants, he must use the Command Spells when it's necessary. And Servants have to accept that, that is all.

Oh, Rider and Waver... you know, Waver wasn't that annoying in the novel(probably because I didn't hear his voice crying like a baby -_-). He will slowly mature, thanks to Rider and since I know what will happen to him(which I won't spoil), I can't seem to hate him. Maybe annoying at the beginning, but that's all. Also, Rider and him are unfortunately needed to keep somehow a balance in this story. It's very sad, tragic and dark, the two lighten the mood a tiny bit and bring "normal" hilarious humour into the story.

Can't add more things you mentioned about Kirei. I already stated my opinion and agree with you. I'll add only these two pieces of information: from the last route of FSN("Heaven's Feel) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tF3b4WWMLvg&t=4m30s (Kirei's wife said at the end that he DOES love her, the translation wasn't changed at that point).
And that is his daughter "Caren Ortensia"(she lived with the family on her mother's side after the mother died and Kirei was busy, she only appeared in Fate/Hollow Ataraxia):
http://hijiribe.donmai.us/data/7e06e5134567669724410e0b0e063e3a.jpg
http://hijiribe.donmai.us/data/6bcdc4285b457922344cad6e53355446.jpg

Oh, and she loves to tempt people with her revealing outfit. It seems like she inherited the cruel mind which seeks entertainment from her father, hrhr. :>

You can actually see a hint of their relationship in their names. Kirei, when written in a different way can mean "beautiful". Karen can mean "pretty", so their names are when pronounced, synonyms in Japanese.

Now... the last confusing part(at least for now) is Saber's existence. Unfortunately, DEEN fucked up the explanation of Saber's condition(how is that even possible? I mean, the anime was supposed to show the first route "Fate", yet they STILL screwed that up...), so here is the explanation.

King Arthur only participated in the 4th(FZ) and 5th(FSN) war. She didn't appear in the first, second or third war.

Now, Arthur, as we already know, supposedly died after the last battle against Mordred, however he(or she) made a pact with the world. Before her death, she would win the Holy Grail, so she could change the past to find a better suited king, who again will prevent the tragedy of Camelot and Britain at her time. After her death then, she would become a Counter Guardian, similar to a Heroic Spirit. In fact, she would become what FSN-Archer became after his death, a tool which will be summoned when humanity's extinction is on the line.

That basically means, Arthur is neither dead nor alive, but stuck in time(find the similarities with FSN-Archer: "Unknown to death, nor known to life..." ;) ). It's a time paradox. She will not die until her wish has been fulfilled or she gives up her dream to obtain the Grail. That classifies her as an incomplete Servant(btw, she can only be summoned in the Saber class).

As she also has great mana reserves, she doesn't need her Master near her to provide her with mana, which means she can entirely her advantage of having a similar ability to Independent Action, she doesn't have that actually, it's one of the advantages for being an incomplete Servant. However, she also has disadvantages. For example, she cannot dematerialize. It was not Shirou's incompentence that she wasn't able to do it, she's not a true spirit, that is all.

Also, as she hasn't died, she has not gone to the Throne of Heroes, a location which is part of Akasha. There, you will receive the knowledge of all of the world and copies of your spirit will be summoned for whatever he or she is summoned for. Arthur did not reach the Throne of Heroes yet, also her real spirit(I guess, don't buy that) is summoned for the Holy Grail War, so she cannot recognize someone who lived after her "death", like Gilles de Rais.

However, she can recognize people who lived before her and that she had heard of, like Cu Chulainn(FSN-Lancer), Diarmuid, maybe Alexander the Great and so on.

If I'm right and her real spirit is summoned in the War, then it makes sense that she can remember the events of the 4th War(all other Servants are only copies of the Heroic Spirits, again don't buy what I'm saying. At least I understood it that way), while other Servants(if they coincidentally get summoned more than once) would not have any memories of past Holy Grail Wars. There are still plotholes though. It didn't seem like Saber didn't recognize Ilya in FSN in any way, but that wasn't the only thing that was not mentioned in the VN. Neither Sakura nor Rin for example mentioned their mother or Kariya.

That should do it. If you still have questions, then just ask. I'll try to answer them. :)


Btw, according to a poster from the forums, next episode's title is "Magus Killer", hehe... ;)

Then "Master and Servant" and then "Rin's adventure"(has sth to do with Rin and her friend who was kidnapped by Caster, iirc).

Only two more days until episode 8...
See you later. :)

Argh... one last thing...

Actually, it's about the worms again...

They replaced Sakura's sexual frustration caused by the worms with something else for the non-ero version. Some bullshitty excuse like blood lust or something. Don't know, don't care. :S But that plot change and Matou Zouken's strict teaching and methods can be compared with vampirism. That's why in episode 1 Kariya called Zouken "vampire". Dialogues in the FZ anime are shorten a lot and many of the sentences and statements are references to FSN.

They seem unimportant for first time viewers, but even people who read the VN have problems to get all the references. :S But I must admit, it makes so much sense and is so much fun to understand them, I love it. <3

*sigh* Why do I ALWAYS forget something?>.<

Another proof that Saber is an incomplete Servant is the fact that she does not possess Avalon or Caliburn(okay, she would be nearly invincible with Avalon...), she possessed these Noble Phantasms during the time she lived and they were symbols exclusively for King Arthur, so she should possess them if she is a complete Servant(or else Gate of Babylon too would be pretty useless, since all of Gilgamesh's treasure was stolen after his death).

Make no mistake that I share your feelings for Sola-Ui. As for Kayneth, he seems to have everything but happiness with the person he loves which sort of sad, really. And thanks to you know I kinda understand what you mean about Lancer humiliating Kayneth instead. But for the life of me, I still feel for Lancer when Kayneth used that command seal on Lancer.

Maybe it’s just me but I actually don’t need a stupid comedic relief for a show that has KnK tone and hence why I don’t appreciate Rider and Waver as characters. Let just see how mature Waver will become for the upcoming episodes and maybe I’ll change my mind about him. Not sure about Rider though. My mind is pretty set when it comes to characters like him T__T

And thanks for the lengthy explanation about Saber. That really helped me understood Saber as a Servant a little better now. Your assumptions are good enough for me :D

And I think they went for a safe version with Sakura for the sake viewer since she’s still a child but that kind of sucks though. The ero-version would have been much more entertaining lol.

Also, Karen is quite hawt XD

Post a Comment

Do it!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...