Before I get into this week's episode, lets talk about the OTP for Fate/Zero. I've seen a lot of them with Kirei/Archer being one of the most popular pairing out there. Well, can't say that I disagree because they way these two interacted, they are just begging for a yaoi/BL doujinshi to be made. My personal preference however, and quite surprisingly, is Saber and Arher. They just look so good together and both have that pride of theirs that will definitely clashed with each other. To see them work it their differences would have been entertaining indeed ^_^
(c) Irono Yoita
Anyway, enough of that and lets get on with episode 12. Kirei revealed to Tokiomi that Rider's Noble Phantasm matched that of Gilgamesh' Gate of Babylon. I truly didn't expect that at all. I know it was pretty awesome but I always thought that his rank is lower than either Gil or Saber. My bad. Since he is so powerful, Tokiomi decided to let Gil defeated the other Servants first and hoped that in time, the mean to take down Rider will reveal itself.
At the other part of town, Kiritsugu was planning on his attack based on the intel he had gathered. Tokiomi hasn't left his mansion ever since the first attack by Assassin. Kariya and Berserker will be left alone for now since they were good to distract Tokiomi and Gil. Kiritsugu thought that Kayneth was done and out of the war but he needed to determine who Lancer's new Master is as soon as possible. Caster and his Master location were still unknown and they were kidnapping children again, that damn duo. It wasn't easy to locate Rider and Waver either since they were always on the move on that flying thingy of Rider's and since Maiya has reported about his Noble Phantasm, Kiritsugu realized how dangerous of a foe he really is. Kiritsugu's main concern however was Kirei and what he really up to in this war. He was right thinking that Kirei's main target was him though he wasn't sure why.
Kiritsugu also got a new base for Irisviel and Saber. It appeared to be in the suburbs and not really excluded from the rest of the world since there were many other residents there. Irisviel was happy because she always wanted to see a Japanese mansion and that's where their new base is even though it seemed old. Irisviel used the store to practice her spells and what not since it's too open in the mansion whats with the wooden/paper panel for doors etc.
Irisviel didn't waste any time and wanted to start preparing for her magic right away but Saber noticed that she has avoided touching anything since the day started. The reason for that was because she purposely cut off her sense of touch in order to have greater control over her power. It's one of homunculus' specialties. To me it seemed like she was hiding something from Saber and didn't tell her the absolute truth though.
As for Gil, he made it a habit of his to hang around Kirei's place. Because of that he noticed the subtle changes in Kirei. For example Kirei seemed pleased because his Servant was gone for good and he was relieved from that burden. A new Master could have been chosen though and Gil playfully suggested that Kirei might be chosen once again. Kirei quickly said that it was impossible of which Gil only smirked at his respond.
come 'ere, you
but I don't wanna!
Gil of course don't buy that shit especially since Kirei said it was a waste of time seeking out Kiritsugu because he was just Einzbern's tool to obtain the Holy Grail, as well as the other Masters. Since he spoke of great details about Kariya, Gil pointed out his interest/obsession for Berserker's Master in which Kirei quickly denied. He further poked Kirei with question that Kirei has no answer nor explanation for. All Gil wanted to point out was the fact that Kirei has finally found enjoyment while doing what was asked of him, in this case: researching about Kariya. LOL Kirei wasn't too happy about it and continue to be in denial. I love how Gil only played with words to provoke Kirei. Not everyone can do that.
And while they were having the conversation, a Command Seal once again appeared on Kirei's right hand. Unlike any other Master who Gil accused of stealing, Gil was actually quite happy that Kirei was chosen to get that wishing artifact that was supposed to be his. What he said was true though, looked like Kirei does indeed has a reason to seek the Holy Grail. With it he can give shape to what was it that he desires and used it as a means to learn it. In order to do that however, it means that he has to betrayed Tokiomi and steal a strong Servant for his own good.
LOL Gil was really putting some brilliant ideas into Kirei's head. He won't say it but I bet he wanted to be stolen and be Kirei's Servant. He wanted to see Kirei goes against Tokiomi because lets face it, Tokiomi was indeed boring as fuck. I wouldn't want a Master like him either. Heh, excellent, Gil!
who can resist the evil eye of Sauron!
And it seemed that Caster will be back in the next episode. I can't say that I look forward to that T_T
22 comments:
Finally... holidays...
I'll be right back in a few hours...
When Gilgamesh says "I won't say it" I think he would have admitted that he isn't actually the Archer class, and it has yet to appear. In that way Kirei can get his very own servant rather than steal someone else's.
maybe. I wouldn't know for sure since i didn't read the VN nor play the game etc.
And back I am. :)
Episode 11:
As feared, the quality suffered from Rin's episode. Pretty much everything in this episode besides Ionian Hetairoi looked weird. Before I'll write my two cents about this episode, you should know that many scenes here were cut, the epsidode is probably roughly 30min long. ufotable even cut out the OP this time to get a bit more time.
All right now, first of all, Saber and Archer were supposed to appear in casual clothes at the banquet(although they indeed equipped their armor in the novel), don't really know why they changed that back to the original. Furthermore, a lot of Gil's reactions were cut this time, though mostly he just called Saber a clown and laughed at her.
However, he sees Rider as a formidable opponent(he respects) by saying that he wants to kill Rider with his own hands two times in this scene. The first time when Rider elaborated his wish to become human again and the second time after Rider annihilated Assassin.
I actually found it interesting when Rider mentioned that Gil's wine cannot be possibly brewed by humans but rather being the drink of the gods and Gil's smile to this assumption. Another interesting fact is, that only through this dialogue, Rider figured out Archer's identity(even though he took the risk of Archer killing his Master when he invited them. My guess is, Saber trusted Rider's kingship of only holding a banquet and his earlier promise to not harm her, as long as her match with Lancer isn't settled). Has probably something to do with the fact, that Rider is closer to Gil's age of time than Saber. I also found the fact funny that Gil offered Saber and Rider the Grail if they would serve him, making a similar approach Rider tried on Lancer and Saber earlier.
It is irritating for e to see Saber irritated because she has a completely different view of kingship compared to Rider and Archer. But in Rider's time, the way he acted was seen as "noble" and whatever iirc, so there's no way she could possibly understand him, since she is a few hundred years "younger". It is also sad to see that Rider tries to convince Saber not to regret what she has done. We all know that he won't succeed, since Shirou tries the same thing in FSN(I know you don't remember FSN very well after Archer's death), meaning Rider failed.
Saber suffers because she is acting literally like a slave(just what FSN-Archer told Shirou), she tries to sacrifice her country, seeing her own life as a meaningless one to fulfill her ideal. She becomes her ideal and shut off her emotions in her time, making others believe that King Arthur cannot understand humans. In the end, she was killed after being betrayed, but she still believed in her ideal at the end and even made a contract with the "world" to obtain the Holy Grail.
Well... did you notice the parallels to FSN-Archer? :)
He went the same way she is going. In the end, he thought his own life was worthless, he was alone, never understood, betrayed and killed by people he protected, but he still believed in his ideal. Archer is just one step further and has already become a slave of the world as a "Counter Guardian", something Saber would become after she obtained the Grail and changed her past, just as she wished. And just like Saber, Archer tries to change his past by not letting Shirou become like him. That's why Archer's words can strike both Shirou and Saber directly, as he already lived through this and for Saber it was as if someone held a mirror before her.
Saber, Archer and also Kiritsugu are more similar than they might want to believe. Their wishes are pure, but if you only hold on ideals, then the only thing you have left in the end are ideals. Kiritsugu noticed that and changed his plans, seeing the Grail as the last option to fulfill his wish. It's funny how Saber sees flaws in Shirou's, Archer's and Kiritsugu's lives, but not her own mistakes, which are basically the same mistakes they made.
You might also want to have a look at Archer's UBW-chant again, since it pretty much summed up his life as a hero before he died:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tlG2DUkSEw
And also another interesting read, though I don't share this blogger's opinion actually, but you might want to have a look at it:
http://www.hyperboreans.com/heterodoxia/?p=607
Now after Saber baffled everyone with her wish, the author jumps back to Tokiomi and Kirei who are discussing matters. Assassin was finally able to sneak inside the Einzbern forest because Rider broke Iri's boundary field when he crashed with his chariot into the forest. That's why Assassin was able to maintain his Presence Concealment ability now and Kirei was allowed to observe the banquet. Right now, the two of them are discussing what they should do now. This scene was completely cut out and will be probably added later(note: you even heard Tokiomi's voice in the preview in ep10, yet he didn't appear in ep11). Tokiomi decides to test whether Rider has another Noble Phantasm besides his chariot Gordius Wheel as he analyzed all the other Servants:
Lancer: average, has probably now a Master inferior to El-Melloi
Saber: injured, no threat for Gil
Berserker: his Master will eventually run out of mana
Caster: his atelier, his strongest defense, destroyed by Rider in ep9
Rider: Gordius Wheel
As he thinks, he doesn't need Assassin anymore, he sends them out. Now it's finally time to explain Assassin's abilitiy:
Assassin's Noble Phantasm is called "Zabaniya: Delusional Illusion"(all the 19 Assassins' Noble Phantasms are called Zabaniya), an Anti-Unit Noble Phantasm, although the unit it is directed at is himself.
Assassin is the hundred-faced Hassan. In his life, he was able to disguise himself into any person he wanted to and was even able to change personalities to ensure his disguise. That was partly because his soul is divided into many parts and his wish was to "become one" again. Now as a Servant, his Noble Phantasm allows him to materialize up to 80 entities at the same time. However, only together, they are as strong as this Hassan, which basically means, since their power is split up, they are cannon fodder as fighters, but excellent in investigating and spying. They are only strong in pure numbers.
So why did they willingly attack Rider, even though that's pretty much suicide? Well, they didn't want to. They were forced by Kirei to "achieve victory no matter what sort of losses". It was an absolute order, which means Assassin can absolutely not resist this command. By completely surrounding Rider, Tokiomi wanted to corner Waver, as Rider cannot possibly protect Waver from all directions. And now an explanation about Rider's Noble Phantasm...
Ionian Hetairoi: Army of the King is a reality marble and embodies Rider's kingship and dreams and those who followed him. Unlike Kiritsugu or FSN-Archer, he is not a magus or spellcaster, this reality marble is possibly with the power of all his loyal followers, as they provide the most part of the mana for this world and maintain its existence. This NP also allows Rider to change positions of all the "visitors" of this world within a certain radius, that's why suddenly all the Assassins were no longer surrounding them but instead in one big crowd.
As Waver mentioned, Rider summoned an army of Heroic Spirits. Servants without Masters, but with Independent Action E- and I seriously laughed, when I saw this man here:
http://i895.photobucket.com/albums/ac155/MelchiaX/Type-Moon/fabdc769.jpg
However, I realized, he was just one of those men here with a lighter skin.
http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/3892/iskandarionianhetairoi8.png
Added info about Rider's NP: Pardon, I explained that in a weird way. Of course it's Rider's mana that is used(since Waver does not have enough to provide), but all his followers are maintaining the mana and this world. He cannot use IH too often. Oh, and of course, he can also use his legendary charger Bucephalus in this world, but using Gordius Wheel wouldn't be wrong, either.
Seeing Rider's kingship and all his followers, Saber's ideals were about to crumble. Even as a tyrant, he had what she did not have. Like FSN-Archer she was always alone and only had her ideals.
Gilgamesh cheers for Saber because what he wants is ravage her. In his eyes is pure lust and he indirectly mentioned that not only at the end, but also during the banquet one or two times. I'll say more to that later.
Now after both Archer and Rider left, Saber was about to break down and nearly lost the motivation to go on. However, Iri helped Saber and gave her a pep talk, reminding her, that she is the embodiment of her ideals. And indeed all the three kings' Noble Phantasms represent themselves, including their kingship.
Rider's NPs represent his dreams, his true friends and his followers.
Archer's NP represents his most valuable possession, his treasure.
And Saber's NPs "Excalibur - The Sword of Promised Victory" and "Avalon - All is a Distant Utopia" represent her ideals(as their names already suggest). She is the most pure knight, the Once and Future King, King of Knights and King of Ideals.
From the novel:
“Thank you, Irisviel. I almost lost the thing that was most precious to me.”
Saber nodded, her eyes were as peaceful and clear as before, shining with a confident radiance.
“My deeds as king, I cannot get any answers now. I should be asking the Holy Grail. Thus, that’s why I’m here.”
Let's go on to episode 12...
Episode 12:
In general, this here is one of the most interesting episodes of this cours, as it is an episode of so much foreshadowing and hints. I loved to see so many references in this episode.
The first scene of this episode ends volume 2(Tokiomi deciding to leave the house, now that the investigation phase has ended) and after this, volume 3 starts. It's interesting to note, that this volume is the shortest one. People will start flying like flies from now on, so be prepared in three months. *grin*
Nothing much to say about the scene at the beginning. Tokiomi has seen what he wanted to see. You can compare Rider's and Archer's NP if you want. Both exceed A-Ranks because even though their weapons/soldiers are vaguely "only" E-A++ rank, the nature of both their NPs exceed the rank system, thus they can only described as EX-Rank. However, I personally think, Rider would never stand a chance against Gil. No Servant should do that actually.
To the next scene:
Nothing mucb to say here, either. The conflict between Kiritsugu and Kirei is strengthened again. Btw, unlike Kirei Kiritsugu wasn't able to track down Rider because he is too fast for him with Gordius Wheel. Just an interesting note: Kiritsugu hasn't slept for 70 hours by now, instead using drugs to keep him awake during that time. To lighten his fatigue a bit, he decides to sleep a few hours by using self-hypnosis and shutting down his consciousness.
Back to Iri and Saber:
Choosing a base in the town is in Kiritsugu's opinion better, as all the other Masters have accommodated in Fuyuki. The Einzberns were the odd ones for living outside the town. Saber is confused again, since Kiritsugu seems to think about Iri, as he fulfilled her wish to live in a Japanese mansion, yet he acts so cold and cruel in front of Saber.
Well, have you noticed some things?:)
The mansion is the future Emiya residence, the place Shirou will live in together with Kiritsugu after the 4th war. The shed/storehouse Iri chooses as her atelier is exactly the same place Shirou uses as his own atelier later and the magic circle Saber is supposed to draw is the circle that was responsible for summoning Saber in FSN. Things finally start to make perfect sense and you see a wonderful connection between Fate/Zero and Fate/stay night.
Iri being so weak and her cutting off her sense of touch are two different things(doesn't make much sense, does it? :>). She is becoming weaker and cutting of her sense of touch compensates that a bit, that is all. You might remember what I said about two months ago with a SPOILER tag(if not, choose for yourself whether you want to hear my explanation about Iri), that Iri is
(SPOILER)
the vessel of the Holy Grail. As the vessel, it is her task to absorb all the defeated spirits. However, a human body can only take in one soul, its own soul. The Einzbern homunculus Iri can take in all the 7 spirits, but by doing so, she weakens herself so much that she is too weak to breathe, instead she shuts down all her human functions and will become a lifeless doll. Since Assassin died, Iri has to absorb him and has become weaker. She can still stand because of Avalon and because she already shut down parts of her body, in this case it's her sense of touch. Ilya was stronger, as she only collapsed after 5 spirits had been killed.
(SPOILER END)
So yes, Iri didn't tell Saber everything.
(Forgot one word. Of couse it's only one of the most interesting episodes for >me<. Most people think it's boring and I can't say much against this, since it's their opinion.)
To the last part of this episode: Kirei's second private conversation with Gilgamesh.
Didn't think they would take the "snake-like eyes" literally, lol. He is probably also wearing snake-skin trousers, isn't he?;D Well, most Sumerian gods were portrayed as snakes and iirc, Gil is 2/3 a god.
As seen, Archer speaks out indirectly his interest towards Rider and Saber. Especially Saber. People who try to pursue a foolish ideal, becoming the ideal itself and in the end only despair and suffer, Gil loves them as the sadist he is.
(Novel):
"I, as a person, like arrogant opponents. People who are not constrained by their own humble strength, and so are ambitious. Every time when meeting an opponent like this I will be very happy. But there are two types of haughtiness too. The case in which the person has too low a caliber; and the case in which he has too great a wish. The former, not unusual one is very foolish, but the latter is of a difficult-to-obtain, rare species."
And as I've said before, when he's looking at Saber, you see pure lust in his eyes. He actually also enjoys Kirei's suffering, but he wants to help him out of his misery, perhaps because he sees a kindred soul in Kirei. You can hear his informal speech(like to everyone else), but you can also see that Gil is not talking rude to Kirei.
Well, there isn't much I have to explain about the Command Spells, is there? I think Kirei's and Archer's explanations were clear. As Archer said,(just like the three families of the beginning), Kirei seems to be someone special, if he gets his Command Spells back again, even though all other living Servants still have their Masters. In fact, I see Kirei and Kiritsugu as the only people in this war who are suitable for the Grail, no one else. Elaborating this might be spoilerish, but if you wish, I'll do explain it.
Here is an intereting statement Gil gives regarding the Master-Servant relationship between him and Tokiomi:
"Kirei, it seems that you have a great misunderstanding of the Master-Servant relationship between me and Tokiomi.
Tokiomi faces me with the manner of a subject to his king, at the same time offering prana as tribute. It is because of this sort of contract that I agreed to obey his summon. Do not liken me to the other Servant lackeys."
"Then, how will you deal with the orders of the Command Seals?"
"I don't care... if a follower fulfils his obligations as one, then occasionally the king will listen to his counsel. That is all."
Another interesting note: Kirei lies to Archer regarding Kiritsugu, as he himself still doesn't know anything about Kiritsugu and even if he did knew something, he wouldn't tell. However, Gil saw through this blatant lie and let this pass, instead Gil wanted to talk about Kariya.
See, Kirei is an interesting villain for me because he exactly knows what can be seen as evil or good. He has common sense. However, he wants to deny so much his inner wishes and thoughts that seeing other people suffer is making him happy. He already knows he's defective from birth, but tried everything to attain common happiness, marrying being the last option he had left. Probably because of his sadist-like thoughts, he sees his sort of pleasure as a sin.
Aaand, everything Gil said after the "you're on your own"-part was added. The hints in this episode are pretty clear now, I guess.
Notice the chess pieces here (http://randomc.net/image/Fate%20Zero/Fate%20Zero%20-%2012%20-%20Large%2008.jpg, hm, a classical 7x7 set?) Gil holds and "kills".
Nothing more to say I guess, as only dialogue was cut, the rest was pretty clear I think.
And Gilgamesh is an Archer. I've said it before, shooting his weapons like arrows classifies him as the Archer class. And him having Independent Action also makes sense. I won't comment on his last statement, as I don't want to kill the fun of letting you all speculate and make theories. ;)
One interesting note: Kirei started to learn healing and spirit healing magic after his wife's death(which is very strange, since the Church normally doesn't use heretic things like magic. An exception is the Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament. Risei and Kirei are part of it). Ironically, he has a talent for that...
And the one true pairing of Fate/Zero... Rider and Waver! Nah, jk. I don't think, Gil and Saber are a good pairing. The "love" is one-sided and I don't consider lusting and thinking of raping someone as love. Saber and Iri are a good pairing in Zero. However, in the whole fate-verse it's obviously Shirou x harem. :>
And if it's about yaoi, it's obviously Enkidu and Gilgamesh, see their fan art!
http://danbooru.donmai.us/post?tags=enkidu_%28fate%2Fstrange_fake%29+gilgamesh&commit=Search
:>
Anyway, today, the last episode of this year and cours will come and will probably end with a huge cliffhanger. See the last episodes as the silence before the storm, since things will start going batshit insane in three weeks. I wish you a merry christmas. ;)
Three months, not weeks...
Just wtf am I writing? Saber doesn't want so sacrifice her country, she wants to sacrifice >herself< for her country...
Welcome back, you. I hope your few last papers went smoothly.
Episode 11
I thought something was off with Gil since he barely said anything during the whole Rider-lecturing-Saber conversation. It would have been awesome if they included his desire to kill Rider with his own two hands. That would be so freaking badass.
One of the reasons why I don’t like Saber much is the fact that she’s too emotional when it comes to her quest of saving Britain. I know that that what makes Saber, Saber but it’s getting old (I do remember how her character was in FSN). I’m not surprised that Rider phailed. I think she should get down from that horse of hers. Like you said, she noticed everyone else’s flaws/mistakes but turned a blind eye on hers. I thought Rider’s words could get through to her but she’s one obstinate woman with her ideals.
As usual, thanks for the explanation. That helps a lot… as usual lol
Episode 12
Thanks for reassuring the fact that no matter how powerful Rider’s Noble Phantasm is, he still can’t beat Gil. I would have been upset if he can because I want to believe that Gil is the best there is. I’m not sure if you read Bleach (I doubt that you do) but there is a captain in Bleach: Ichimaru Gin. That snake like eyes of Gil, and his cunning/sadist/pride self definitely reminds me a lot of Gin and I LOVE IT!
*cough*
Moving on…
I love it when Kirei and Gil were having that conversation. Like you said, Gil treated Kirei differently. I’m not sure about their similarities, I just assumed that Kirei entertained and amused Gil. It would be so much fun though to finally see Kirei acting like he wanted instead of listening to Tokiomi’s order. It would be extra fun to see how or if he’s going to betray Tokiomi. I think Gil did a good job by putting such ideas into Kirei’s head. Heh
Did Kiritsugu has really been awake for 70 hours? Now, that’s what I called hard work lol. And now that you have mentioned it, it just dawned on me that Iri/Saber base is indeed where Shirou live in FSN. Heh, thanks for pointing it out.
Are you saying that when the War is not happening, Iri was the vessel that store all of those spirits, or she was only a vessel during the time of war, storing the defeated Servants so that they can be called forth again in the next war? Is what I’m saying even makes sense? Orz
As for the pairing, I didn’t say anything about love did I? Lusting and raping, as you put it, will just makes it more interesting (in the anime fandom at least) and that sadistic kind of relationship was what I was hoping for. Like I said, I like to see Saber get owned by Gil. The method or how he do it was secondary lol
I hope I didn’t scare you off with such declaration.
Shits are definitely going to be fucking entertaining from now on ^__^
By the way, who the hell is Enkidu? O_o
Have a merry Christmas and happy holidays, Reiki <3
"People will start flying like flies from now on, so be prepared in three months." lol, I wanted to say "dying", not "flying". O.O
"Are you saying that when the War is not happening, Iri was the vessel that store all of those spirits, or she was only a vessel during the time of war, storing the defeated Servants so that they can be called forth again in the next war? Is what I’m saying even makes sense? "
I know what you mean. And honestly, it wasn't explained in the first two routes in the game. Everyone just assumed, Ilya was the grail vessel and that's all. Do you remember the part when Saber destroyed the Holy Grail at the end with Excalibur in FSN? To be honest, she didn't end the wars with only that. This is now a bit spoilerish...
Two Grails exist in Fuyuki. The Lesser Grail and the Great Grail. Most of the people are only aware of the Lesser Grail, the vessel. That's what Iri is. I might as well just explain now how the Holy Grail was made, so background story incoming. Don't worry, I'll leave out details that will be explained later in FZ.
You know, there is a difference between majutsu and mahou. When people are talking today about magic, they mean majutsu. I call it magecraft because I'm used to do this. Mahou on the other side is real Magic, true Magic or Sorcery if you want to say it like that.
It is called true magic because they are true miracles no one else could reproduce. 5 true Magics exist in the Nasu-verse. Aozaki Touko's sister Aoko can do the 5th Magic "Blue"(Ao), she is btw the protagonist in Type-moon's newest visual novel Mahou Tsukai no Yoru, Witch on the Holy Night(check this out for screens: https://junktheeater.wordpress.com/tag/mahoyo/)
The Second Magic can be used by the teacher of the Tohsaka family, Zelretch. However, since he doesn't play a role in FZ, unlike in FSN where it's different, I won't explain what this magic can do. I'll just say, it's one of the reasons why the Tohsaka family is working with jewel magecraft.
The Third Magic "Heaven's Feel" belonged to the Einzbern family. But 1000 years ago, they somehow lost the secret of the magic. Desperate to regain it, they made the Holy Grail, but things didn't go the way it should and they failed. Basically, the Holy Grail belonged to them. After 800 years of struggling, they had to realize that they couldn't achieve their goals without help and in shame invited(thus also shared the Grail with) two other families to help them, Makiri and Tohsaka. They offered them a way to open a gate to the Root Akasha, something every true magus family wants to achieve. The Grail system and the Great Grail were made under the supervision of Zelretch.
The three families of the beginning decided to use a spiritual land which is in the backwater of this world(since a war between the Magic Association and the Holy Church was present at that time), so they decided to use a land that was supposed to be supervised by the Tohsaka family, the land Fuyuki and its town. Einzbern should provide the vessel and Makiri invented the Command Spell system, as they were pretty good with familiars(and basically, Servants are somehow familiars).
The Einzberns' goal was no longer Akasha, they didn't care about that. They only wanted to see the Holy Grail completed, thus gain back the Third Magic. The Third Magic is the materialization of the soul and (Heaven's Feel SPOILER incoming)
it saved Shirou's life, when Ilya took Shirou's soul from his broken body and placed it temporarily into the jewel Rin used to save Shirou's life and Shirou kept his whole life. His soul was transferred to a puppet body made by Touko then.
(SPOILER END)
The Great Grail uses several parts of Heaven's Feel in an attempt to recreate it in its entirety. Using an incomplete version, it takes a raw soul, raw energy made from spiritual particles, and copies information of Heroic Spirits in order to generate Servants. Spirits who fit in the class system are invited. The Great dies that every sixty years, after enough mana was taken from the spiritual land of Fuyuki. It is also responsible for choosing the Masters.
Killed Servants are supposed to be removed from the time axis and return back to Akasha, but the vessel(the lesser Grail, in the first to third wars, it was literally a "cup") temporarily stops that. Those defeated Servants appear as pure pieces of energy and with that energy, the Great Grail can open a gate to Akasha. However, a wish that does not exceed the limits of the living world can also be fulfilled, that's why the Heroic Spirits answer the invitation.
However, things didn't go the way they should. Instead of only choosing the three families, >seven< Masters were chosen. Now the families did no longer possess the Grail, they were only preferred families to be chosen as Masters, thus the Holy Grail War began. That was an even greater humiliation for the Einzberns, since they now have totally lost their rightful possession of the Holy Grail.
As the true purpose of this war was the recovery of the Third Magic, the Holy Grail ritual and War is named after it - Heaven's Feel.
During the first war, before things were going out of control, Archmagus Lizleihi Justica von Einzbern sacrificed herself to become the core of the Great Grail. She still remains in it, thus is still alive and can be seen as a praticioner of the Third Magic. She was a homunculus and all the other types like Iri and Ilya descended from her and somehow have parts of their memory.
This sacrifice was a huge shock for Makiri Zolgen, the head of the family, who liked Justica very much and he swore he would see that miracle of the Third Magic come true with his own eyes.
Interesting note: Makiri is the forname, Zolgen the surname. After the Zolgen family moved to Fuyuki, they changed their name to "Matou", thus Makiri Zolgen changed his name to Matou Zouken. He desperately tried to stay alive to see that miracle become true. His soul began to foul because he used... strange methods like body exchanges to stay alive and he became frustated and bitter after three failed wars. Now he has forgotten his wish and only seeks immortality. He is still the head of the Matou family. No one knows why the family lost their Magic Crest and deteriorated so much that they lost more and more Magic Circuits with every generation, Kariya being the last exception.
As you know, Einzbern isn't skilled in combat, that's why they lost every war very early. Jubstacheit decided to hire a skilled combat magus who does not belong to the Association and found the perfect man in Kiritsugu. They offered him a wife, a chance to participate in the War for his own goals and a place in their family/becoming royalty, if he defeats all the other participants and achieves Heaven's Feel.
The Einzberns supported Kiritsugu with catalysts like Avalon and treated him like a true family member for nine years. This can be seen as another humiliation for a pure blooded family like them, but they've become so desperate after 1000 years, they no longer cared.
"As for the pairing, I didn’t say anything about love did I? "
Okay... you have a different idea of "one true pairing" than me. >.>
"By the way, who the hell is Enkidu?"
Enkidu was Gilgamesh's one true and only friend, equal in combat to Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh's most precious treasure and secret of Gate of Babylon(even more than his sword Ea!) is Enkidu: Chain of Heaven - named after his best friend.
Gilgamesh was able to kill the Bull of Heaven that rampaged for 7 years in Sumeria with Enkidu's aid and this chain that bound the divine bull. It is an Anti-Divine NP which binds every enemy, that has some part of divinity in it and weakens them greatly.
See these two videos how Gil used them on Berserker and Lancer in the anime:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpZiQVaHxVw (vs Berserker)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3ogB7aM39E (vs Lancer, though the chain can't be seen in this scene)
Enkidu is portrayed in the Fate-verse as someone very... feminine, that's why fan art of those two is very popular recently and hopefully, we'll see him animated in Gil's flashback in the second cours.
"I’m not sure if you read Bleach (I doubt that you do)"
Oh, I do. Though I only read it every 3 months because the pacing is horrible. Plot progression is so slow - if I don't wait, I'll just rage. My favourite characters are Rukia, Gin and Uryu. Btw, I refuse to believe Gin died. :p
My favourite manga is Mahou Sensei Negima by Ken Akamatsu because that guy plans things veeery well and has done his homework(the spells are in very good latin and old greek, I'm positively surprised). His foreshadowing is excellent and it's a nice change in his works because both A.I. Love You and Love Hina were mostly slapstick and comedy.
MSN is more a classical shounen-like manga and I really enjoy his work, though I'm very disappointed that this great manga never got a good anime adaptation. They were just bullshit and a waste of money.
Have a nice celebration(if you celebrate christmas *g*) and you too have happy holidays. :)
“flying” -> “dying” lol no worries though I know what you mean and I know you did a typo there XD
So basically Majutsu is the magic that can be reproduce while Mahou is unique to that 5 magic you mentioned? Got it. Thank you for the lesson/history of the Holy Grail. That was a very interesting read especially the part where the three families decided to work together. To be able to create something so grand like the Holy Grail… they sure are formidable. However, they ended up wanting to kill each other in the war. That was sad.
In my opinion, this Holy Grail thingy is not worth it at all, considering the lives that have to be sacrificed for it. Not only were the people who directly involved in it risking their lives, but people of Fuyuki too. Take Caster for example… just how many kids has he murdered? You said that Saber phailed to destroy the Holy Grail in FSN right? Well… their world will be fucked up again in few years lol.
I didn’t know there are other verses that branched out from the Fate verse – like Mahou Tsukai no Yoru or Heaven’s Feel. Now I am intrigue to know about them but given the time constraint that I have, I don’t think I can dedicate my life to it, like you seemingly did. I am jelly.
My OTP’s criteria depend on a show. Sometime “love” is included in the equation. At other time, it just my selfishness of pairing to see my favorite characters got some action, if ya know what I mean lol. That’s how it is with Saber and Gil.
And I thought Enkidu was a girl. Orz… but he seemed interesting and I really hope I got to see him in Gil’s flashback when the time comes. Please, Ufotable. Please…
Oh hey you read Bleach too! *dances*
I guess Bleach to me if like Typemoon world to you. Even though the story has taken down the path of destruction (fuck you Kubo), I couldn’t find myself hating it because I love the characters too much. I invested a lot of emotion in them too. Gin and Rukia is definitely my top two most fav character in Bleach XD
I read Mahou Sensei Negima 1/3 way through before I dropped all the manga (except Bleach) because I can’t read manga and watch anime at the same time due to me being busy with work/life/shit. I haven’t seen the anime but yeah from what I have read; Mahou Sensei Negima was good indeed.
I don’t celebrate Christmas but hey thanks for the wish. Hope you have a great and fulfilling holiday as well. I got 2 weeks off so going to a short vacation this New Year. Yay!
Heheheh I like Gil x Arthuria and Gil x Kirei both. Plus Gil x Nero. They are different dynamics that appeal me very much.
Of course the only one Gilgamesh would ever truly love is Enkidu (he wasn't just his friend, brother and lover, he was literally made to complement him by the gods: aka he's his perfect half and soulmate). The others he loves or likes about how they remind him to Enkidu somewhat. He'll get tired of them sooner or later. Enkidu is his companion, now and forever, the One.
Kirei seems to stick around for ten years without wanning in his interest. Saber seems fated to tire him sooner (if you take the Fate/Unlimited Codes ending where he 'gets' her). Not sure about Nero. I can see a fling between them.
So Gilgamesh is gay? The God made him gay?
Yeah, Gil already mentioned a few times that he likes Saber because she is opposing him(I only remember Fate/unlimited codes and the Fate-route right now). And I also think Gil x Nero(a.k.a. Red Saber/Saber extra) would be an interesting pairing, though I didn't really like her in Fate/Extra.
About Gil being gay: I guess he is... bi? I mean, as long as he is compatible with his partner it could be both, either man or woman and Enkidu was a man. That's actually the reason why I would like to read Fate/strange fake(an approved fanfiction that was released in Type-Moon's biannual magazine Type-Moon Ace), since both Gil and Enkidu appear in it.
Btw, FZ episode 11 uncut was released by UTW a week ago or so(ufotable also fixed the art a bit). Gilgamesh gets a lot more dialogue. Oh, and I just read your comment in your Top 10 anime 2011 blog entry. I'll reply when your FZ ep 13 review comes out, since I'm reeaally busy tight now. ;)
P.S. Just read Bleach after a few months. Man, wtf is Kubo doing...? I guess the only reason I didn't drop Bleach yet is because I've already read nearly 500 chapters.
The thought that he's bi actually makes him more appealing than before, or that's how my brain wants prefers it to be :P
Uncut of Episode 11. MUST GET IT. And thanks for reminding me that I haven't watch episode 13. Fucking New Year has been hectic. Urgh.
p/s: Have you read the latest chapter of Bleach? I can't complain much when it involved the shinigami and the vaizards. I am just that biased towards them :3
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