Irisviel senses another intruder and that intruder is none other than Kotomine Kirei. I have a stupid grin plastered on my face now knowing that this episode is going to be so effing good. How can I not get excited? Kiritsugu is already busy with Kayneth and to have Kirei in the mix is just like icing in the cake.
Irisviel who knew how Kiritsugu feels about Kirei however won't let Kirei go through without a fight. She instructs Maiya to stop Kirei from going any further but I think the both of them are underestimating Kirei. However, once again I am surprise that Kirei comes down to the place himself instead of sending out his Assassins. I guess the thought of him facing Kiritsugu face to face excites him just as much as it excites me.
But lets us go back to the mansion and resumes the Kiritsugu versus Kayneth's fight. Kirei used the "Origin Bullet" that managed to penetrate the shield Kayneth put up and thus wounded him. Too bad the bullet went through his shoulder and not his heart. Heh, served him right for lowering his guard against Kiritsugu. The fact that Kiritsugu is using human-made weapons further enrage Kayneth.
Like I said earlier, Irisviel and Maiya were underestimating Kirei. There is no way he could be taken care off that easily given his background but hey, Maiya thought she did it and BAM! Kirei wakes up from the "dead" and starts attacking her. He is fucking immune to the bullets, believe you me! Needless to say, I am fangirling for Kirei as he kicks Maiya's ass. Maiya would have been dead too if Irisviel didn't interfere. Irisviel used a magic trick Kiritsugu taught her: Shape Ist Leben. It works at first but once Kirei focuses on his mana, Irisviel knows he's not a match for either one of them. What Irisviel did just piss him off further which is not good. Not good at all... for Irisviel and Maiya that is but it's funner for us! heh. So what did he do? He fucking stabs Irisviel in the guts with Black Key just to ensure that her blood is red as well. Awesomeness.
It is baffling for him to see these two women challenging him not for their own accord but for someone else and thus makes him even more intrigued about Kiritsugu. What does he has that makes these people protect him? His brain is in denial though trying to convinced himself that Kiritsugu is the same as him, alone and empty and understood by none. Poor Kirei...
For those who are Irisviel fans, worry not. She would not die from that would. She is a homunculus and Kiritsugu forces her to carry the Avalon, a Noble Phantasm that heal the wounds of the bearer. In layman's term, Avalon is just Saber's sword scabbard.
Having faced Kirei herself, Irisviel is more determined not to let Kirei meet Kiritsugu. She is well aware of how dangerous he is. But here's the thing Irisviel, I don't think you or anyone else besides Kiritsugu (and Gil) is capable of stopping him.
Next up is Saber/Lancer against Caster.
And thus, a thought then crossed my mind. Since Caster is so obsessed with Saber, I think he will go berserk if Lancer and Saber start banging each other there and then. That should distract him, no? lol
Anyway, Lancer and Saber manage to destroy the Noble Phantasm and thus destroying the tentacle monsters as well. Caster then runs with his tail between his legs.
It is a perfect timing though because Lancer senses his Master is in danger. Knowing that it's her Master's doing, Saber urges Lancer to rescue Kayneth.
And then the episode takes a turn where I was left completely clueless. Well, almost. Thanks to Reiki's explanation I managed to grasp a thing or two. It looks like an explanation of where did the Origin Bullet got it's name. Some woman Magi powdered Kiritsugu's rib into the bullet and his origin will materialize in anything shot by it. It is especially powerful against Magi for when they used magic against it, his origin will destroy their Magic Circuit and left the Magi without control of his magic. The more powerful the Magi, the greater the effect which mean bad news for Kayneth because it is pretty much DEAD END for him. Kiritsugu would have killed him too if Lancer didn't come to take his Master away.
Interesting we found out that Kiritsugu's origin is severing and binding instead of destroying and regenerating as I first assumed. I also learned that the woman in question was his sensei Natalia and she made 66 Origin Bullets for Kiritsugu. I think he wasted one on Kayneth earlier.
To be honest, I was quite disappointed that neither Caster nor Kayneth is dead. I thought it was the end of both of them but I guess they want to save it for the second cour. Oh well, good things happened to those who wait I guess.
Looks like the next episode would be about Lancer, Kayneth and Sola-Ui. Should be interesting judging on the conversation they just had ^_^
16 comments:
Fantastic! I was looking forward to Kirei's fight in the woods for so long and it didn"t disappoint. Can't wait for next week. Wonder what will become of Kayneth.
I hope what Natalia said about the Origin Bullet is not just a bunch of gibberish, that it would be DEAD END for the Magi. This mean Kayneth might not be able to use his magic circuit anymore which is why Sola-Ui asked for the Command Seal.
As for the fight, Kirei is definitely knows how to entertain us.
Don't worry, Kayneth is crippled and pretty much out of the war. But I'll elaborate that tomorrow or in a few hours, depending on how much time I have. Need to play moar videogames and watch football Champions League. ;D
Out of curiosity, which team are you supporting?
I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, damn that was awesome. Though, Iris's alchemy didn't seem as cool as I imagined, but that's just being nitpicky.
the fact that I forgot about it until you mentioned it is saying that it wasn't as spectacular as we all hope it to be.
"Out of curiosity, which team are you supporting?"
You know, you ask difficult questions. >.< I already know the outcome of the war, so I can no longer support any team anymore. That's why I had to remind myself, whom I rooted for when I first read Fate/zero. Basically, I supported Kariya and Kiritsugu, even though I had heavy background information from the FSN VN already. Waver has no real reason to win the war, as Rider already pointed out, that his goal can be achieved without participating in the war. Kayneth, Kirei and Ryuunosuke also don't have a real wish the Holy Grail could fulfill so they are also out. Tokiomi looked very unsympathetic in the first two volumes and the first half of the third volume, but I changed my opinion about him later. But still, I have to agree with Gil, his wish is boring, especially how he wants to obtain Akasha. Araya Souren, Aozaki Touko and Cornelius Alba from KnK were more interesting in that part.
To be precise, Gen makes Kariya sympathetic and I cheered Kiritsugu on, as he's Shirou's father. I already knew partly his character, based on how he was described in the last VN route Heaven's Feel, so there isn't really anything I was left unspeechless, no matter how cruel or ruthless he seemed to act. Also, his thoughts in the LN are described in detail which helps the reader to better understand him.
So about this episode...
First about Kiritsugu's fight with Kayneth:
Volumen Hydragyrum is made out of mercury which is a very good weapon to fight with, as mercury is supposed to even damage diamonds, it is a heavy liquid in room temperature and the perfect weapon for someone like Kayneth, who has a natural talent to manipulate the "flow". However, Kiritsugu already figured out weaknesses(to be exact - three weaknesses) after watching Kayneth defending himself from the claymore traps at the entrance of the castle and analyzed the technique in a few minutes.
In general, Vokumen Hydragyrum is based on physics, it may sound a bit confusing. Kayneth controls the blob through the manipulation of pressure on the mercury.
When the mercury forms itself into a whip to strike the enemy, the mercury itself has no power. The power comes alone from the centrifugal force. Also, although a blob of mercury can quickly spread out into a membrane faster than a bullet through hydraulic pressure, it is impossible to quickly go back to a blob from a membrane using pressure alone. Kiritsugu abuses the limits of hydrodynamics. So if when another sudden massive force is launched against it, the mercury can’t react quickly and form a powerful defense.
Fyi, Kiritsugu's Contender is modified. He can shoot rifle bullets with it now. Kiritsugu used a "normal" bullet to shoot Kayneth's mercury membrane shield. The Springfield bullet is seven times stronger than the bullets from Kiritsugu's Calico machine gun, so it was natural that the bullet would go through Kayneth's defense, as Kayneth didn't expect the power of Kiritsugu's Contender. Actually, it was pure luck that Kiritsugu hit Kayneth's shoulder(if he had shot him in the head, he would have been even more lucky*grin*), since he can't see Kayneth thorugh the mercury shield. All he wanted to do is show Kayneth, that his current defense is not enough(as I've said before in your last review). He provoked Kayneth to use more mana next time to strengthen his Mystic Code, just as he planned.
Another important point is the fact that he pissed Kayneth off. Kayneth fell for Kiritsugu's trick with Iri as Saber's substitute Master and thus thought that Kiritsugu is just a random hired mercenary who can use a bit magecraft. Kiritsugu doesn't act like a magus and he disgraces the Holy Grail War in Kayneth's opinion. Actually I kinda feel bad for Kayneth. He would have remained calm if Kiritsugu had fought with magecraft, as Kayneth always analyzes his battles against other magi calm and collected, never underestimating them. Magi see themselves as superior against normal humans and refuse high modern technology, so it was like an insult when Kiritsugu broke through Kayneth's defense. Kayneth reaaallly went to Fuyuki with the wrong expectations. He wanted to fight great magi families like the Einzberns, Tohsakas and Makiri, rival with his Mystic Code and block fire, ice and other kinds magecraft with it and he would have respected them, if they kind of surpassed him in some aspects. However, look at his opponents...
Kiritsugu&Kirei: heretic hunters, no magi
Tokiomi: coward - a good magus, but hasn't left his house since the beginning of the war
Ryuunosuke: someone who knows absolutely nothing about magecraft
Waver: Haha, amateur.
Kariya: amateur
Yeah... so to sum it up, one could say one of Kayneth's weaknesses were his pride as a magus and the fact that he because of his pride totally underestimated Kiritsugu.
Now to the "Origin Bullet":
Fyi, there is some kind of difference between Conceptual Weapon and Mystic Code. You don't need to know the term Conceptual Weapon actually, it's just a magic item(armor also counts) that causes more than physical means and is imbued with effects that in some way interact with the natural laws, may it be destroying the laws, altering them or whatever. So one could say, the Origin Bullets are a Conceptual Weapon, the same goes to the sheath Avalon.
Btw, I made a horrible typo last time, I wrote "Bending" instead of "Binding", regarding Kiritsugu's origin. Severing and Binding basically means Corruption in Kiritsugu's case, it only causes destruction.
His ribs were ground to dust and condensed with a craft to preserve the soul, sealed within sixty-six bullets as their core.
Remember the connection of "soul" and "origin"?:)
That means, when he shoots an Origin Bullet, he shoots a part of his soul at his target to actualize his Origin. You can compare Kayneth's situation with a cable with high voltage. Now imagine, a water drop falls on the cable. What happens? Right, a short circuit, which fries both the cable and everything it was linked with. The "severing" part causes the mana in Kayneth's body to not flow correctly, runnin chaotically through his magic circuits and destroying them. The "binding" part will then reconnect the circuits improperly and will make them irrepairable, which effectively destroy the abilities of magecraft. The Origin Bullet is the more effective the more magic circuits the target has activated. And unfortunately, Kiritsugu "forced" Kayneth to open all his circuits, even the ones from his Magic Crest he inherited. This weapon is truly mean. You'll have to cast off your magecraft and physically block the bullet to avoid any permanent damage, as the bullet only has to come in contact with the magecraft of the target. In this case it was Kayneth's Mystic code, which was built up on Kayneth's mana, which again is linked with his magic circuits and THESE are again connected with his nerves and organs.
However, how can a human without magecraft possibly block a bullet that is practically shot from a rifle? You'd need an armored vehicle to block the bullet, so there is no chance for a normal human. So after Kayneth was "hit" by the bullet, his body was overloaded with mana and destroyed all his magic circuits, nerves and parts of his internal organs and muscles, rendering him useless as both a magus and a normal human, crippled for the rest of his life.
Btw, the scene to explain the Origin Bullet was added(as well as Kiritsugu shouting Kayneth at the end of episode 7), as well as the fact that it wasn't Kiritsugu who came up with the idea of the bullets. I already wrote here (http://otakuness.wordpress.com/2011/11/20/fatezero-08-review/ , my other nickname is leurc, it's "cruel" backwards, lol :>), but again, I first thought the woman was Aozaki Touko because of her (original) blue hair. Her hair color was later changed in the movies to red to resemble her sister Aoko more.
So yeah, that woman was probably Kiritsugu's foster parent and mentor Natalia Kaminski. She trained him to become her assistant the same way Kiritisugu would later train Maiya, when he became an orphan in a young age.
Lancer and Saber vs Caster:
Nothing much to say here. Lancer cut the mana flow of Prelati's Spellbook with Gae Dearg, that's why the monsters disappeared. He wanted to kill Caster immediately, but since it was very difficult to do this while running with the wind, it was okay to only hit the book(not properly animated, caused for misunderstandings). After the blade of his spear let go of the book, it regenerated itself. The blood of the children was still linked with Caster's mana, so Caster who jumped back after nearly getting hit by Lancer used an incomplete spell to create the blood fog.
Now, the scene after Caster's escape REALLY pissed my off because it was absolutely not the typical Saber. She normally prioritizes the safety of her Master, but since she hates Kiritsugu...
The moment Lancer called Kiritsugu Saber's Master(btw, he could still easily believe it, even though Kiritsugu doesn't look like a magus, he defeated Kayneth, whose abilities were conversant to Lancer.) was the moment Kiritsugu realized how reckless Saber was. So Saber not only revealed a part of Kiritsugu's scheme to the enemy, she totally left her Master at Lancer's mercy. I couldn't help but laugh when Lancer said Kiritsugu has to thank Saber for not getting killed, it was clearly the opposite. And even if Lancer is honorable enough to let go of Kiritsugu... Saber couldn't know that Kayneth is unconscious, so Kiritsugu and Saber would have lost the war if Kayneth had used another Command Spell to order Lancer to kill Kiritsugu. She only interrupted Kayneth and Kiritsugu's "fair"(in fact, in terms of the magi rules, Kiritsugu fought like a magus this time, absolutely fair, at least imo) because she was irritated that Kiritsugu's plan seemed to work and to get a chance to fight Lancer again. Her curse would have been lifted if Kiritsugu had killed Kayneth, but nooo, Saber has to play the morale idiot knight. :>
Btw, when I read the novels, I didn't feel the urge to kill off one of the characters. The pace was good in the novels imo. Urobutchi did it right, it's just another problem of the adaptation into 20minutes episodes.
And to the last fight in this episode:
*sigh* Iri, is it that hard to imagine that you're not the only woman who cares for Kiritsugu...? Although I can understand her other fear if she talks to Maiya. Since Maiya perfectly knows the Magus Killer, Iri fears that Maiya could destroy her image of her lovely husband who wants to be happy with his family and pursues his ideals.
Fyi, the Executor are both despised and feared in the own organizations of the Holy Church. They basically do the stuff, no one else from the Church would do. Also, they have a standard equipment(which Kirei also wears) which consists of not only Black Keys. but also a frock which is made out of Aramids(Kevlar, to be exact) and enchanted by the Holy Church(which possibly also gives them a minor protection against spells) to make them bulletproof. However, of course the bullets still hurt him, as they still have the impact of metal bats that mercilessly hit Kirei, but his trained muscles compensate that, he only needs to protect his head. Oh, and (even though it is said at the end of chapter that Kirei didn't use any kind of magecraft in this fight) it could be Kirei having used illusions to lure Maiya out of her hideout. At least, he was really lying on the ground, as you can see from the trajectory of the Black Key that hit Maiya's leg.
Kirei is also a kenpo master, he mastered Bajiquan/Hakkyokuken. That's also an interesting fact: The Tohsakas are mocked by many families because in their opinion since 200 years now, they train their body and learn a martial art because in their opinion, it's important for a magus to train his/her body too(though I think, Kirei learned it before being trained by Tokiomi). Seems like they are right, otherwise Kiritsugu could not use Time Alter effectively, no?:>
After having disarmed Maiya and hit her heart with his elbow, he broke 2 or 3 of her ribs, that's why she's spitting blood(should she make Origin Bullets with the broken ribs? xP jk).
Kiritsugu sucks as a great magus, he is average at best. He didn't teach Iri anything about magecraft(as she's superior to him), he taught her to "live as a human being", not like a puppet homunculus, he taught her human emotions. Oh, and I found Iri's incantation funny. Shape ist Leben... what is that, mixing english and German in it... Form ist Leben would have been more accurate imo as someone who speaks German(that was definitely cool but ineffective http://hijiribe.donmai.us/data/78201d7f0c3d84e4199fcb208e9fc2ee.jpg . :p . My guess is, she used only this magecraft technique because other attacks would have been ineffective against Kirei.
Well, well, so Iri thought, if she could catch Kirei's wrists, he has lost. Well, thought wrong, young lady. To quote the novel:
"Irisviel could not have known – but the strength from a martial arts master is not merely produced from the wrist. From the strength of the feet on the ground, the turning of the back, and the twisting of shoulders, it was possible to instantaneously release a burst of power in the fists. To an expert in this phenomenon, the strength of the arm was insignificant in comparison to the power of the whole body. If it was necessary, one can press the fist next to the target and strike simply by virtue of the “force” coming from outside of the arm – this is known as the hidden technique of “explosive force.” "
Btw, that scene took in real life something like 3-5 seconds, not thirty like in the anime, mistage by ufotable imo.
As I'm a guy, I unfortunately can't fully understand you fangirls to squee after seeing Kirei in action, but he's definitely badass. Maybe also because of this shot here? :p
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh230/liberal_degenerate/UTW_Fate_Zero_-_08_h264-720p5B1BCAC4mkv_snapshot_0812_20111121_122419.jpg
and directly the fan art that followed:
http://postimage.org/image/poism8rhh/
So... last thing. He stabbed Iri because Saber was approaching. That's why he gave Iri a grievous wound that would kill her if Saber follows Kirei to kill him instead of saving Iri.
Hm, term explanation? There are no more terms you really need to know imo. I could tell you something about class skills and the noble phantasms or the history of the making-of and the Grail Wars before, but maybe later. Anyway, next episode will focus on Lancer's and Waver's team(an expository episode again). And keep in mind that Master and Servant can see the past of the partner when they sleep. Guess, I'll post an analysis of Sola-Ui and Lancer next time.
Oh, and from next week on, exams will start for me so there might be the case that I will have to skip your episode 9 review and return in episode 10. Oh, and the next and probably last epic scene in this cour is the Kings' banquett(probably episode 11 or 12, maybe even 10).
See you again later. :)
Oh, and I want to add something again about the Origin Bullet:
Before Fate/zero, Kiritsugu had already used 37 of his 66 bullets. Guess how many magi he killed with them... right, 37. And now Kayneth had become his 38th victim, well almost at least.
In general, he uses them sparingly or better - he only uses them if it's a sure-kill. Orthodox magi do not have a chance to fight back, if Kiritsugu aims the right way, they won't be able to block it(dodging might be possible if they could also do Innate Time Control). Which basically means, he shouldn't use them against Kirei who doesn't really use any kind of magecraft. On the other hand, if Kirei is the last dangerous opponent, it wouldn't be a waste to use them to fulfill his dream and ideal.
And about the Executors again; Since they are actually a scret organization, I could understand it if Maiya was unprepared when she fought Kirei. I(and Maiya probably either) didn't expect him to be bulletproof at the beginning, though there wasn't an opportunity in FSN for me, since no one used a gun.
So I guess you are all for Kiritsugu and Saber huh?
I was under the impression that Kayneth knew Kiritsugu was Saber’s Master. I guess I read the situation wrongly. No wonder why he felt so humiliated when he got done for the first time by Kiritsugu. The used of physics for Volumen Hydragyrum made sense actually. It wouldn’t be fun if it defies logic but then again, ain’t magic supposed to defy logic? *shrugs*
All I know is I’m quite satisfied to see the look on Kayneth’s face when Kiritsugu’s Origin Bullet hit his Magic Circuits. That means he didn’t waste any bullet beforehand since he was using the Springfield bullet that wounded Kayneth’s shoulder, right? Now I wonder how many Origin Bullets does Kiritsugu has left out of 66? (oh you already answered this too? <3)
With your explanation, now I have a better understanding of Kiritsugu’s “severing” and “binding” origin. I get the severing part but was kinda blurry with the binding part. I gotta say that that is quite a handy and nasty origin to have but does it affected normal human in the same way or does it only works on Magi? Oh wait, you already answered that: normal human would be dead before his/her head hits the floor.
By the way, I like the answer you wrote regarding the Holy Grail war at otakuness as leurc. Destroying the Holy Grail sounds like a good idea, and a noble one at that. I simply cannot see what good this whole war is and it’s not like all the participant has some noble wish they wish to be granted, like ending world hunger etc. They are all selfish and only further represent human greed when it comes to power that they can’t have.
Now on to Saber and Lancer versus Caster:
I failed to understand the term “running with the wind”. My layman brain translated that as Lancer running on Saber’s sword lol.
I was a bit confused to as to why Saber didn’t go to Kiritsugu when she knew that he’s facing Lancer’s Master. She was pretty stuck up at that particular moment in my opinion. I was very relief when Lancer didn’t attack Kiritsugu because that would be just too unfair. It is interesting to see that you think Kiritsugu can “take care” of Lancer while I was thinking the opposite. I guess I too am underestimating Kiritsugu T__T
Now for the fight that got my blood pumping: Kirei versus Irisviel and Maiya:
Shape Ist Leben (-_-) was actually pretty and cool. Too bad it won’t work against Kirei because that would be gay. To see him using the explosive force on that tree got me grinning like a fool. I am actually appreciate the fact that ufotable prolong that scene instead of it being over in 3 seconds lol. DAT ASS!!
Hehehehe…
Also, you don’t have to worry about skipping my review. Focus on the exam and I wish you the best of luck. Having said that, I look forward for your return XD
By the way, when I asked you which team were you supporting, I was actually referring to the Champion League ^__^
"I failed to understand the term “running with the wind”. My layman brain translated that as Lancer running on Saber’s sword lol. "
Saber's Noble Phantasm "Invisible Air" has more than one function. First of all, it covers Excalibur - The Sword of Promised Victory with wind, making it somewhat invisible. The second function is the release of the air pressure. In episode 4, Saber used the air burst to accelerate her charge at Lancer at the end of the episode. In this case here, she used the burst to blow away the monsters. Furthermore, Invisible Air leaves behind/pushes the air in the atmosphere to leave a small gap of vacuum thanks to the released air pressure. You can compare it to Racer games or the formula 1. These cars are so fast, if you are directly behind the car of one of your opponents, you become faster because the air no longers hinders you. It's called "slipstream".
"It is interesting to see that you think Kiritsugu can “take care” of Lancer while I was thinking the opposite. I guess I too am underestimating Kiritsugu T__T"
Hm... did I really say that? Did you mean this sentence here?
"I couldn't help but laugh when Lancer said Kiritsugu has to thank Saber for not getting killed, it was clearly the opposite."
I think you misunderstood me. With "the opposite" I meant to say that Kiritsugu should do anything but thank Saber for her nobility, he should at best scold her for her naivity(or stupidity, but I want to avoid saying that) to leave Kiritsugu alone with both Kayneth and Lancer, she was risking both Kiritsugu's life and the chance to win the war.
A Servant is superior to a magus, let alone a normal human. The only thing that hinders them to kill his/her Master off is
a) the mana supply to keep them in the world
and b) the Command Spells.
Kiritsugu wouldn't have survived if he had to fight any Servant in this War. The only thing that could have saved him if Lancer really wanted to kill Kiritsugu is to use a Command Spell to summon Saber.
But a) he can't trust her because of their relationship
and b) Lancer would still be fast enough to kill Kiritsugu.
Furthermore, using a Command Spell for someone you practically defeated already is a waste and pointless. He defeated Kayneth with "fair" methods, Saber interrupting that battle is anything but fair. Also, Lancer recognizes Kiritsugu to be a threat, yet he still let him live. After all, Kiritsugu is the Master of the Einzberns and defeated Kayneth. And Lancer knows Kayneth's power as a magus.
However, the situation luckily came out without any consequences for Kiritsugu, so I will just try to ignore this scene. The only part I'm getting angry with is the fact that Lancer is not out of the war and Kiritsugu has to come up with another plan for them.
Thanks for wishing me luck for the exams, I appreciate this. :)
Oh, and since I'm German, I support all German football teams(even Bayern Munich...) internationally because my favorite team(Hamburger SV) doesn't play internationally this year and probably won't play next year either. T_T
Now back to studying for the exam...*sigh* At least I can watch football and Fate/zero for a pause today. :)
Heh, I love the fact that you used F1 as an example. That totally made it simpler to understand ^__^
As for the second thought, I was at first under the impression that Lancer can defeat Kiritsugu without breaking a sweat and then I read your comment and obviously I read it wrongly ^^"
And just so you know, Germany is my favorite team for the World Cup. I even covered the last World Cup matches in my blog lol
http://kluxorious.blogspot.com/2010/07/end.html
and again, do your best for the exam. Good luck!
Post a Comment
Do it!