Fate/Zero/Characters

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The characters of Fate/Zero, the novel prequel to Visual Novel Fate/stay night. The prequel details the events of Heaven's Feel IV - the 4th Holy Grail War.

Characters may overlap with those from Fate/stay night. Go to its own characters page for their role in the Fifth Holy Grail War.

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WARNING: This character sheet will assume that you have read Fate/stay night. Major spoilers will be found ahead for both Fate/stay night and Fate/Zero.

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Masters

Kiritsugu Emiya (Master of Saber)

Voiced by: Rikiya Koyama (adult), Miyu Irino (child)

"Even if I am to carry "all the evils of this world", it won't matter. If that can save the world, then I'd gladly accept it."

Hitman and "Magus Killer" Emiya. Father of Fate/stay night protagonists Emiya Shirou (adopted) and Illyasviel von Einzbern, and Anti-Hero of this story. Standing on the Cynical side of the Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism, he believes that it is impossible for everyone in the world to be happy; in order to be a true hero, one must eliminate the destructive factors which would in turn threaten the survival of humanity as a whole. Killing one to save a hundred, dozens to save thousands.

He orders Arturia to destroy the Grail, setting the entire city on fire. Wandering aimlessly through the destroyed city, he finds a small boy, miraculously still alive. And thus Fate/stay night officially begins.

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• Anti-Hero - Unfettered and willing to kill the few to save the many.
• Ascended Extra - Went from a minor, backstory and flashback exclusive character in Fate/stay night to a major one in the prequel.
• Badass
  • Badass Longcoat
• Break the Cutie / Troubled Backstory Flashback - His backstory, revealed in Volume 4, involves watching his childhood friend turn his entire village into vampires after she drank a potion which turned her into a failed Dead Apostle, since he refused to Mercy Kill her; killing his own father, who was responsible for the potion in the first place; and taking down a plane with his mentor and mother-figure on it after they attempt to stop an outbreak of vampirism on said plane.
• Broken Bird - Male example.
• Bullet Time - Through an extension of Emiya magecraft called 'Innate Time Control', he can internally affect time. He once uses it to avoid Kayneth's autonomous search-and-destroy weapon (by slowing down his bodily functions).
• Byronic Hero
• Cold Sniper
• Combat Pragmatist
• Crazy Prepared
• Dangerous Forbidden Technique - Use of Time Alter causes significant damage to Kiritsugu's body, especially when speeding him up, thus he is unable to go beyond a twofold speed boost initially. But with Avalon and its passive regeneration factor he was able to go three, and then four times faster, in his fight with Kotomine.
• Dark and Troubled Past
• Dark Messiah - Kiritsugu in his Magus-killing prime was described as appearing at battles around the world only at their most critical stages. Combined with Necessary Evil and I Did What I Had to Do, his modus operandi is exactly how Counter Guardians (the 'verse's resident Dark Messiahs) protect humanity from itself. Like Father, Like Son, indeed.
• Dead Little Sister - His childhood friend, Shirley. The fact that his father was to blame for her transformation into a failed Dead Apostle hit Kiritsugu hard and paved the path to his cynical standpoint.
  • As did the realization that had he killed Shirley when she asked him instead of running away, he would have not only saved the village, but also allowed her to die as a human.
• Despair Event Horizon - He crossed it a long time ago.
• Dull Eyes of Unhappiness - His pupils can be seen momentarily when he glares back at Saber near the end of episode 16, but they just as quickly return to their usual emptiness. They aren't even visible in scenes with Ilya.
• Dungeon Bypass - Episode 6/the start of Volume 2 sees him blow up Kayneth's magic fortress. Kayneth, being way too prideful, thought that nothing will be able to pass his multi-layered magic fortress.
• Fatal Flaw - His idealistic beliefs of "saving everyone", which his adoptive son takes up at his death.
• Firing One-Handed - Uses his Calico M960 and Thompson Contender thus, despite the latter being modified to fire rifle bullets.
• Geas - He uses a self-geis scroll to bind himself from attacking Kayneth in Volume 3 as part of a contract to remove both Kayneth and Sola-ui from the war. Of course, it doesn't say anything about someone else attacking Kayneth.
• Good Is Not Nice
• The Gunslinger - Which is why he is a 'magecraft user' and not a magus.
• Hoist by His Own Petard - Kiritsugu's Mystic Code and conceptual weapon, the Thompson Contender, gives him the power to inflict this on any magus he fights against by turning his enemy's own magecraft against him and blowing his body up with his own overloaded prana. This is the main reason Kiritsugu is such an effective magus killer as his victims are essentially betrayed by their own magecraft.
• Hot Dad
• I Did What I Had to Do - Justification for blowing up buildings, taking hostages, sniping in public, etc.
• I Have Your Wife - Uses this against Kayneth.
• Irony: Kiritsugu's wish for the Grail is to save the world, but instead ends up inadvertently destroying a section of the city.
• Jade-Colored Glasses
• Jedi Mind Trick - He is capable of convincing a bellboy that he is Kayneth and that "he" and "his wife" Sola-Ui have evacuated said bellboy's building.
• Jerkass Facade
• Kick the Son of a Bitch - Often.
• Leitmotif - Magus Killer.
• Magus Killer
• Magitek - He is fond of using this, from familiars equipped with cameras to guns infused with Depleted Phlebotinum Shells.
• Meaningful Name - "Kiritsugu" means "cut, connect". His parents named him based on his Origin, so this is directly tied to his powers.
• Moral Event Horizon - In-universe example: Saber thinks he crossed it and calls him out on it when he forces Kayneth to have his own Servant commit suicide. Kiritsugu justifies it by invoking Necessarily Evil and War Is Hell.
• Morton's Fork - Kiritsugu's Origin Bullet is this for the average, technology-ignorant magus; the bullet's large caliber combined with the Contender's power requires at least military-grade vehicle armor (something very unlikely to be at hand) in order to avoid grave injuries, and magical means of defending against it earns the magus blown-out and permanently-unusable Magic Circuits as well as significant internal damage.
  • This also serves as a reflection of Kiritsugu's ideals. He desired to become a hero of justice, only to find that, in order to save others, he needed to kill the ones that threatened them. In other words, the more Kiritsugu wants to stop blood from being shed, the more blood he has to shed to do so. This is what leads him across the Despair Event Horizon.
• My Name Is Not Durwood - Shirley called him "Kerry" because she found his real name too much of a hassle to remember. He didn't really like being adressed as such.
• Necessarily Evil - "Save a ton of people by killing a bunch of other people". Needless to say, finding out that due to the Grail's corruption, the evils he's committed won't actually accomplish anything does not make him terribly happy.
• The Needs of the Many - His main principle in saving people -- "kill one to save tens", "kill ten to save hundreds". This gets deconstructed in-universe by Angra Mainyu in the fourth novel, who shows Kiritsugu an illusion of two sinking ships, one with 300 people and the other with 200 people. Both boats are sinking, so Kiritsugu chooses to save the 300. The 300 people are then separated into two boats with 200 and 100 people respectively, which then start sinking again. This continues until there are only two people left (Irisviel and Illya), and Kiritsugu realizes that he has killed 498 people to save two.
• Parental Abandonment - Him to Ilya.
• Perma-Stubble
• Pre-Mortem One-Liner - "For me, anyway." Changed to Bond One-Liner in the anime.
• Self-Made Orphan - Killed both his father and his mother-figure.
• Shadow Archetype - To Saber of all people. While much is made about how Kiritsugu and his servant are at odds, on a fundamental level they share many of the same ideals and much of the trauma they endure comes from the fact that they have been betrayed by their devotion to those ideals.
• Silly Rabbit, Idealism Is for Kids - But only later in life, after the war. While he was quite cynical before too, it was in a different way.

Kiritsugu: When I was young, I wanted to become a Hero of Justice very much. Shirou: What? You're saying you had wanted to, then have you given up now? Kiritsugu: Hmm, it is rather regrettable. Heroes have a time limit too, and it’s hard to keep being one once you become an adult. It would have been better if I realized that earlier.

• Start of Darkness - The start of volume 4 in the novels, and episodes 18 and 19 in the anime. It starts with Kiritsugu killing his father after the old man triggers a Zombie Apocalypse that wipes out their island home. It ends with him sacrificing his surrogate mother figure to prevent another, much larger outbreak.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech - When Saber calls him out on being a Complete Monster, he retorts that the legends of heroic spirits like her are what have beguiled mankind into war and suffering for thousands of years.
• Red Baron - "The Magus Killer"
• Smoking Is Cool
• The Stoic
  • Not So Stoic - More so in the novels, where he shows emotion more openly as early as in his first appearance in the prologue.
• Theme Music Power-Up - In the Drama CD, a remixed version of EMIYA plays during his fight with Kirei near the end.
• Totalitarian Utilitarian
• Tragic Hero
• Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Even as a boy, he barely blinked when called upon to Shoot the Dog.
• The Unfettered
• Used to Be a Sweet Kid
• Utopia Justifies the Means
• Villain Protagonist as an Alternate Character Interpretation, he is using a bad type of gun.
• War Is Hell - Here's a game. Read random quotes from Kiritsugu and William Tecumseh Sherman and see if you can tell who said what.
• Weapon of Choice - His Mystic Code, the Contender Custom.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist --> Well-Intentioned Extremist
• Why Don't You Just Shoot Him? - He will, especially if it's the best way to save others.
• Your Days Are Numbered

Tokiomi Tohsaka (Master of Archer)

Voiced by: Show Hayami

"From the moment a magus is born, he is someone that has 'power'. And some day, he will achieve a 'greater power'. This responsibility was already flowing in his 'blood' before he realized this destiny. That is what it means to be born into this world as the child of a magus."

Father of Rin Tohsaka and Sakura Matou, husband of Aoi, and head of the Tohsaka family. Being close friends with the overseer Risei, they plotted together to have Kirei become Tokiomi's pupil in magecraft, so that he can assist Tokiomi during the upcoming War.

Finding the War much more disastrous than expected, he gives Kirei the Azoth dagger as a parting gift. He is immediately betrayed by Kirei, who stabs him with Azoth. His body is brought to the Church later, and is used to set Aoi and Kariya against each other.

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• Abusive Parent - Actually subverted, he has both of his daughters' best interests at heart...though people outside the tradition of mages have a hard time understanding why he does what he does; see below.
• The Ace - Subverted, surprisingly. He is often perceived this way, but the novels state explicitly that he is "definitely not a genius", that he has little to no talent in magic, and he only became a strong magus through hard work (and even then, both his daughter and Kayneth are technically better magi than him).
• Anti-Villain - See Pet the Dog.
• Arch Enemy - Of Kariya.
• Badass Bookworm - Zig Zagged. He's theoretically the strongest mage, but there's just more to war than that...
  • Technically, Kayneth is superior to Tokiomi in terms of pure magical skill. But Tokiomi has the advantages of being from one of the three founding families and being buddy buddy with the church.
• Blue and Orange Morality - This technically applies to all the proper magi in the Nasuverse, who live in a very different world with its own rules, but is especially prominent with Tokiomi as it comes into play through his actions and his confrontation with Kariya.
• Blue Eyes - Blue-green, exactly like his daughter's.
• Captain Obvious - In the anime, when Kirei describes Irisviel's white hair and red eyes, Tokiomi remarks that that doesn't sound human.
• Call Forward - Similar to his daughter Rin, he also summons an Archer who later betrays him, and also makes an alliance with Saber's Master. Oddly enough, Tokiomi's Archer is the first Heroic Spirit, while Rin's is the latest, and both Archers have opposite powers with similar uses.
• Curb Stomp Battle - Delivers one to Kariya.
• Didn't See That Coming - Gilgamesh and Kirei's betrayal, as well as the fact that Gilgamesh would be summoned as an Archer-class Servant, giving him the Independent Action ability and making him absolutely uncontrollable.
• Gentleman Wizard - Very much so. In the anime, he discusses the importance of fusing power and elegance.
• Hard Work Hardly Works - Totally averted. He became such an outstanding magus through sheer determination and hard work.
• Hot Dad - well, his elemental attribute -is- fire...
• Horrible Judge of Character - Placed his youngest daughter in the care of Zouken Matou (with entirely predictable results) and then gave Kotomine his complete trust (with equally predictable results...)
  • Justified with regard to Kirei, since we the audience know about Kirei's true nature thanks to his role in Fate/stay night. At this point in the storyline (up until near the end of the series eventually), not even Kirei is aware of how evil he really is.
  • Also, Tokiomi hands over Sakura to the Matous to protect her from having to go through hell because of her immense magical potential, but might have misunderstood the nature of the Matou family and its head and thus really has no idea exactly what Zouken is doing to her.
• Irony - Tokiomi eventually realizes the possibility of his death in the Grail War, but fails to realize that it will come from betrayal rather than battle.
• Magic Staff - His ruby-topped cane is one.
• Manipulative Bastard - With mixed results, especially regarding Gilgamesh- he tries to win him over with a servile demeanor, which completely backfires.
• Pet the Dog - His last meeting with Rin. He also showed concerns over their safety during the ritual, tried to take them away from the battlefield, and he's visibly upset when innocents are caught in magical accidents. Along with Waver, he's also the only Master that is shown to be visibly upset by the actions of Caster and Ryuunosuke.
• Playing with Fire - Tokiomi's elemental attribute.
• Reasonable Authority Figure - When it comes to Rin.
• Sharp-Dressed Man
• Smug Snake - Tokiomi tries hard to set himself up as a Magnificent Bastard, summoning the strongest Servant, secretly having alliances with both the Church and another Master, and acting servile to Archer despite intending to kill him in the end, all to make him the most likely to win the Grail War. Despite correcting his overconfident, arrogant attitude after Risei's death, he fails to realize the treachery of his Servant and pupil.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom - Introduced Kirei and Gilgamesh. Gave Sakura to Zouken Matou. 90% of the bad things that happen in Fate/stay night result from this. Naturally, he Didn't See That Coming.
• Wine Is Classy - Like Servant like Master.
• Weapon of Choice - His Mystic Code is a staff with a ruby embedded in the top.

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Lord Kayneth Archibald El-Melloi (Master of Lancer)

Voiced by: Takumi Yamazaki

"In the world of mages, bloodline is everything. The secrets of magic cannot be discovered in a single generation."

Renowned magus and a Noble of the Magi Association, where he is a lecturer at the Department of Euryphis. Fiancé of the department head's daughter, Sola-Ui. The teacher of Waver, whose controversial thesis was torn to pieces without a second thought. Upon discovering that Waver stole his artifact, an enraged Kayneth uses a second artifact to enter the War.

After Sola-Ui is taken hostage, he is confronted by Kiritsugu, who offers the pair a chance to escape if they forfeit the War. Kayneth agrees to the terms, forcing his Servant to commit suicide with a Command Spell. Maiya then guns the pair down.

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• Aristocrats Are Evil - Or at least they're jerks.
• Asshole Victim
• Blond Guys Are Evil
• Break the Haughty - The most blatant case in Fate/Zero, going from someone who has everything but the love of his fiancee to a powerless victim who gets summarily dispatched. After a Hope Spot, no less.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: While not exactly evil, Kayneth's selfishness and arrogant nature makes it impossible for him to believe that Lancer really has no motivation besides serving his Master with honor.
• Gentleman Wizard
• Green Eyes
• Guns Are Worthless - Until Kiritsugu showed their effectiveness, after which he kills Risei with a handgun to frame the Magus Killer (though it fails).
• Hoist by His Own Petard - The fate of any magus who tries to throw down with Kiritsugu, since Kiritsugu's own Mystic Code is a gun that shoots an anti-magus bullet that destroys the target by shorting out their magic circuits and blowing out their bodies with their own overloaded prana. When Kayneth, a powerful mage, pours all his power into his already-powerful Mystic Code, Kiritsugu's bullet nearly tears Kayneth apart from the backlash.
• Immune to Bullets - His Mystic Code automatically shields him from damage, even explosions. Averted when Kiritsugu begins using his Thompson Contender on Kayneth.
• Improbable Weapon User - Volumen Hydragyrum, his Mystic Code, is 140 kg of weaponized mercury. He can shape it according to his will, creating anything from Combat Tentacles to Razor Floss. He can even use it to scout out his environment, locating enemies through their heat signatures and vibration.
• Insufferable Genius
• Jerkass
• Loophole Abuse - Kayneth modifies and exploits the contract system so that while he carries the Command Seals, Sola-Ui is the one supplying Lancer with the prana he needs. This allows Kayneth to fight at full strength without needing to worry about sharing his prana between himself and his Servant.
• Love Hurts - He really does love Sola-Ui, but she isn't too happy about the Arranged Marriage.
• Smug Snake - So very much... and boy, does he ever pay for it.
• Weapon of Choice - His Mystic Code, Volumen Hydragyrum.

Waver Velvet (Master of Rider)

Voiced by: Daisuke Namikawa

"What I wish for is only to be judged equitably. To renew the impression of my colleagues at the Clock Tower, who never acknowledged my talent..."

A talented student at the Clock Tower of the Magi Association. He developed a revolutionary concept on increasing magical potential with methods that go against the ancient tradition of bloodline inheritance. This prompted Kayneth (his teacher) to rip apart his manuscript. In retaliation, he steals Kayneth's summoning artifact and enters the War, intending to win the Grail to prove his own genius.

After Kayneth's death, he is forced to take up the title of Lord El-Melloi II, eventually becoming one of the top lecturers of the Magi Association. He is quite close to Rin as a teacher, and is the man who, outside of HF, dismantles the Fuyuki Grail system after the Fifth Grail War. In the All-Around TYPE MOON crossover Drama CD, he is also revealed to be Cafe Ahnenerbe's mysterious customer, and the narrator.

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• Adorkable - It shows all the more since he's a straight-laced type A Tsundere Master with a Boisterous Bruiser for a Servant.
• Boring but Practical - Being incapable of more spectacular spellwork, he has to resort to clever applications of simple magic. He sees it as something to be ashamed of until Rider, who considers resourcefulness more impressive than raw strength, commends him.
• Butt Monkey - Iskander is pretty abusive.
  • In the All Around TYPE-MOON Drama CD, though being the first customer of Cafe Ahnenerbe his food order winds up getting ignored amidst the antics of Arcueid and company, he gets ripped off by FSN!Rider ordering a pile of stuff on his account, beaten up by her two sisters for refusing to play along, knocked out by sampling Hisui's cooking... You get the idea.
• Character Development - Goes from a self-centered, obnoxious, arrogant brat to a true man, dignified and loyal follower of the great King of Conquerors that even Gilgamesh somehow considers worthy of living.
• Cheaters Never Prosper - He's the only Master in the war who doesn't cheat at some point, and while he doesn't win, he makes it through the war alive, and is the only one of the surviving Masters who is better off at the end of the war than he was at the start.
• Coming of Age Story - Fate/zero is one for him.
• Future Badass - As Lord El-Melloi II.
• Heroes Gone Fishing - An avid videogame player later in life. It was a pastime he took up in memory of his servant Iskander; see his own entry below.
• Hero Worshipper - In the end, facing Gilgamesh alone, Iskander asks if Waver would serve him. Without hesitating, he replies that he would. When Gilgamesh confronts him after defeating Iskander, he proudly replies that he's not Rider's Master, but his follower.
• Hot Teacher - According to his profile as Lord El-Melloi II, "Professor Charisma" is apparently very popular with his female students - they even voted him the number one man they'd have sex with.
• Humble Pie - Kayneth utterly humiliates him in public in the first episode/ the first book. This prompts him to enter the grail war to prove his worth and claim back his honor.
  • Humble Hero - Post series. Supplemental materials mention that he's outright annoyed with the prestige and popularity he's gained as Lord El-Melloi II.
• Identical Stranger - One of Rider's soldiers looks an awful lot like him...
• I Have Many Names - Waver acquires a large swath of titles and nicknames upon becoming a Clock Tower professor. Examples include Master V, Great Big Ben ★ Londonstar, Professor Charisma, and - most notably - Lord El-Melloi II.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex - While Waver begins the series as quite arrogant and self-assured, Rider's forceful presence quickly strips away that confidence, revealing his insecurities about his less-than-stellar talent at magecraft.
• Manly Tears - In Volume 4, after Iskander dies.
• Memento MacGuffin - Iskander's videogames. Character materials also show him wearing the shirt emblazoned with "The Admiral's Great Tactics" that Iskander previously wore. And as Lord Melloi II, he wears Iskander's colors.
• Naive Newcomer
• The Napoleon - Iskander's even joked that he'd probably use the Holy Grail to make himself taller.
• Non-Action Guy
• Odd Couple - With Iskander.
• Running Gag - His Servant can literally knock him down with one flick of the finger. This shuts him up whenever he complains to his Servant.
• Smug Snake - At the beginning. He fancies himself as an outstanding magus, but nearly pissed his pants when he arrived at the battlefield and realized that he could be killed in a battle to the death. Constant exposure to Alexander made him grow out of it to become a real man.
• Sidekick - Ironically, to his own Servant. And he knows it, too.
• Tall, Dark and Snarky - Post series as Lord El-Melloi II.
• They Called Me Mad - His reasons for joining the Holy Grail War.
• Tsundere - In great Nasuverse tradition.

Ryuunosuke Uryuu (Master of Caster)

Voiced by: Akira Ishida

"Nah, it's fine. I'm kind of a demon. But if there were real demons beside me, I'd like to try to talk a little with them. Now that'd be nice."

A Serial Killer who accidentally enters the War after finding a grimoire and completing the rituals contained within while morbidly decorating one of his crime scenes. Has no concern for the War or the Grail; he looks up to his Servant as an utmost expert of the art of killing, and the two spend most of their time finding new ways to inflict pain and suffering. Upon discovering the activities of the murderous duo, Risei announces to the other Masters that their elimination is of greatest priority.

While observing the battle on the bridge between Gilles and the other Servants, Ryuunosuke is sniped by Kiritsugu in public.

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• Ax Crazy
• Bishonen
• Catch Phrase - "Cool!" Caster picks it up later on thanks to him.
• Evil Tropes - His character encompasses a good deal of those, though not to the same extent as his Servant:
  • Card-Carrying Villain
  • Complete Monster - In-universe he is called by the news services as a demon. Not that he minds though. His introduction has him giving a little speech casually contemplating whether he likes that title.

Uryuu: "'Sup! I'm Uryuu Ryuunosuke, and I'm a demon! I don't know if that's how I should be introducing myself..."

• • Evil Duo - With Bluebeard.
  • Evil Is Cool - He really thinks this in-universe.
  • Evil Is Not Well Lit
  • Evil Redhead
  • For the Evulz - He thinks murdering women and children is fascinating and "cool".
• Freaky Is Cool - Ryuunosuke is incredibly happy to be friends with someone who shares his unique hobby.
• Go Out with a Smile - In Volume 3, when Kiritsugu snipes him.

Even though his entire head above the nose had been blown away without a trace, his lips still traced a smile of total bliss.

• • While his head still remains intact when he's killed in the anime, the last expression we see on his face is still a smile.
• In Love with Your Carnage - To Bluebeard.
  • Luminescent Blush - In the anime, Bluebeard's sadistic shenanigans often make Ryuunosuke's face turn pink in excitement.
• Psychopathic Manchild
• Slasher Smile
• The Sociopath
• Villainous Friendship - A type 1 with his Servant. The two seem to be genuinely fond of each other.
• World of Cardboard Speech/Rousing Speech - Delivers a long and coherent speech on his thoughts on the role of evil and God in the universe after Rider burns down the duo's art studio, which succeeds at getting Caster out of his slump and accept his role as a villain in God's great narrative.
• Your Head Asplode - In Volume 3, courtesy of Kiritsugu's second rifle bullet.
  • Downgraded to Pretty Little Headshots in the anime.

Kariya Matou (Master of Berserker)

Voiced by: Tarusuke Shingaki

“Say, Sakura-chan, shall we play together again when uncle’s work is finished? Together with your mother and big sister.”

The black sheep of the Matou and the first in many generations to be capable of magecraft, who severed ties with the family ten years prior out of disgust; this earns him the ire of Matou Zouken, the family head. Having loved Aoi since they were childhood friends, all he wished for was for her and her daughters Rin and Sakura to be happy. Upon finding out that Tokiomi gave Sakura away to the Matou, knowing that she will suffer torture and abuse, he makes a deal with Zouken to win the war in return for Sakura's freedom.

Due to his lack of formal training, Zouken used Crest Worms to boost his abilities; however, they also ate away at his body from the inside. It is this affliction that eventually kills him.

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• Big Damn Heroes - He manages to destroy one of Caster's familiars right before it can kill Rin.
• Body Horror - He is filled with Crest worms that are eating him alive. The damage is so extensive that he's half-blind and exhibits all the signs and symptoms of a stroke victim. Trying to use magic makes his capillaries explode. And those penis worms? He lets them turn into giant penis beetles and expels them from his body. He's got it as bad as poor Sakura.
• Byronic Hero
• Cast from Hit Points - Pretty much the entire basis of his magecraft.
• Dark Is Not Evil - Contrary to what his sinister appearance might suggest, he's a pretty decent guy whose reason for entering the Holy Grail War is the most selfless of all the Masters (excepting, perhaps, Kiritsugu, who just wants to fix the world).
• Despair Event Horizon - When Aoi, never realizing Kariya's love for her, accuses him of never having loved someone, he snaps.
• Determinator - He really did try his best, but in the end, he's just a runaway magus with no proper training whatsoever.
• Dogged Nice Guy - So dogged, he still hangs around Aoi despite her being married for several years to and having two children with Tokiomi. And he fails to realize that Aoi actually loves Tokiomi.
• Doomed by Canon - He enters the war on the condition that Zouken will release Sakura if he manages to win. Needless to say, he's destined to fail.
• Go Out with a Smile - Kariya dies with a satisfied smile, comforted by dreams of escaping with Aoi, Sakura, and Rin and starting a family together.
• Green-Eyed Monster - Though he genuinely wishes to save Sakura and help Aoi, jealousy is definitely also one of his motivations. At the end, his deepest wish is revealed: to win Aoi's heart, and to be called 'Daddy' by Sakura and Rin.
• Hero Antagonist: Besides Kiritsugu, Kariya is one of few Masters with a noble goal.
• Hopeless Suitor - To Aoi.
• Improbable Weapon User - In this case, the weapon is worms that transform into blade-winged beetles.
• In the Hood
• Irony - It is ultimately Kariya's own fault that Sakura was given to the Matou; had Kariya not ran away, become a magus, and gotten over Aoi, he could have extended the Matou line and Zouken would have no need for Sakura.
  • Zouken: "That piece of prana you swallowed just now came from a Lust Worm. The one that first absorbed Sakura’s innocence. How about that, Kariya? The vitality of a young girl, absorbed continuously over the course of this past year—it is the best magecraft energy of all, yes?"
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy - To Aoi. However, he fundamentally can't understand/admit that Aoi will never be happy if Tokiomi dies and makes Tokiomi's death one of his main goals in the war, other than saving Sakura.
• Leitmotif - "The Kariya's Theme"
• Love Makes You Evil - Not realizing that Aoi never wanted Kariya to fight Tokiomi, when she raged at him for apparently causing Tokiomi's death, he strangles her.
• Not Quite Dead - Courtesy of Kotomine healing him without the knowledge of Team Tohsaka, after Tokiomi roasts him and leaves him for dead.
• Papa Wolf - For Sakura, even though he's not even related to her.
• The Resenter - Towards Tokiomi.
• Revenge - His main goal, against Tokiomi for throwing away the daughter of the woman he loved.
• Unknown Rival - To Tokiomi, who barely acknowledges his existence. He got a confrontation with Tokiomi...which went nowhere, as they couldn't understand each other.
• Unlucky Childhood Friend
• Unwitting Pawn - To Kirei, who sets him up on a confrontation with Tokiomi... which technically wasn't a lie, except that Tokiomi's a corpse at that point. Cue Aoi coming in and misunderstanding the situation.
• White-Haired Pretty Boy - His hair has turned white as a result of the worms implanted in his body.
• White Sheep
• The Worm That Walks - Not as extreme an example as Zouken, but Kariya's body is infested with the Matou family's crest worms. He can actually vomit these worms out and transform them into much more dangerous bugs to use as weapons.

Kirei Kotomine (Master of Assassin)

Voiced by: Joji Nakata

"Why would the Holy Grail choose me? Someone without any ideals to accomplish; someone without any cravings to fulfill... Why am I chosen?"

An Executor and magecraft apprentice of Tohsaka Tokiomi; his wife committed suicide and he received the Command Spells in the same week. A skillful young man who unfortunately cannot gain pleasure from anything except the pain of others. Fittingly or ironically, his magecraft specializes in surgery.

Initially uninterested in the Grail, after advice from Gilgamesh, he decides to investigate why the other Masters are participating. He finds Kiritsugu's wish - saving the lives of all others - to be the opposite extreme of his; therefore, he wants to face him personally, asking, "What is the worth, of a worthless being?"

He is also one of the possible Big Bads of Fate/stay night; go there for his role in the 5th Grail War.

---

• Arch Enemy - To Kiritsugu.
• Back from the Dead
• Badass
  • Badass Abnormal - Average as a magus, but an experienced Executor.
  • Badass Bullet Proof Robes - His clerical vestments are reinforced with Kevlar and magic.
• Batman Gambit - After killing Tokiomi, he places the latter's corpse together with an unconscious Kariya in order to set Aoi against him, then manipulates Kariya into kidnapping Irisviel with Berserker disguised as Rider using the former's Noble Phantasm For Someone's Glory. This provokes Saber to attack Iskander, whose chariot is destroyed in the process. Gilgamesh then moves to finish off Iskander while Berserker duels Saber, ensuring that Kirei faces Kiritsugu alone.
• Battle Butler - To Tokiomi, in whose service he is obedient, dutiful, and effective. Until he's not.
• Big Bad - While it was foretold by canon, as of zero he doesn't know it yet.
• Card-Carrying Villain - Of the Destruction sphere. His only finds pleasure in the suffering of others, which is ironic because his profession directly contradicts his "passion". He is, however, a slightly unusual spin on this trope as he spends most of his life trying to repress it until late in the story. This may put him into Tragic Villain territory.
• Charles Atlas Superpower - Master of the Baji Quan martial art, and capable of keeping up with Kiritsugu's attacks when Kiritsugu is using time manipulation to speed himself up to three times past the human limit.
• Contractual Immortality
• Crazy Prepared - Bulletproof priest's robes, anyone?
• Deceptive Disciple - To Tokiomi.
• Desperately Looking for a Purpose In Life - Kirei's motivation for literally everything he does. With a little help from Gilgamesh, he eventually finds it.
• Dissonant Serenity - In the novel, his murder of Tokiomi is accompanied by a cheerful laugh and a bright smile.
• Dull Eyes of Unhappiness
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good - He demands that Irisviel tells him who's ordering her to get involved in the Holy Grail War, unable to realize she's doing it because she loves Kiritsugu. This is because Kirei believed the 'Magus Killer who threw away his pride' was like him, and Kiritsugu being sufficiently understood to be loved so deeply would invalidate that belief.
• Evil Duo - With Gilgamesh.
• Evil Feels Good - He's particularly aware of this because evil is the only thing that feels good to him, despite a lifetime in service to Good.
• Evil Sounds Deep - Comes with being voiced by Joji Nakata.
• Extreme Doormat - Early on. Even goes through a villanous version of that "growing a spine" and "finding your own reasons for living" thing thanks to Gilgamesh.
• Genius Bruiser
• Healing Hands - Kirei finds it ironic, given his dispostion, that his natural talent - and the only area of magic in which he's naturally above-average - is healing.
• In the Back - Stabs Tokiomi in the back with the Azoth dagger Tokiomi gave him.
• Irony - Invokes it, killing Tokiomi with the Azoth dagger he gave to Kirei as a parting gift, and then gives it to Rin as a gift. It comes full circle in the next Grail War when Shirou kills him with the same dagger in one of the three routes.
• Karma Houdini - Avoids the consequences for his various evil deeds until Fate/stay night.
• Kung Fu Wizard
• Mage Killer - Executors are trained to combat mages. He happens to be a very skilled one.
• Not So Different - Believes that he and Kiritsugu are very similar. He's wrong.
• Schrodinger Fu - With magic no less. Kirei baffles Kiritsugu by using Magecraft to counter Kiritsugu's origin bullets, which are designed to kill magi with their own prana, by utilizing his command seals in place of his own magic circuits. According to the Light Novel this is accidental on Kirei's part.
• Stalker Without a Crush - To Kiritsugu, though his single-minded obsession and casual beatdowns/murder of Kiritsugu's wife and sort-of-love-interest may turn this into a Does This Remind You of Anything? scenario.
• Start of Darkness - Fate/Zero is his.
• Super Speed - Can outright dodge and parry bullets.
• Teen Genius - Graduating valedictorian from the Theological College of St. Ignatius at Manresa, where he was Student Council President, after skipping two levels... at the age of fourteen. He became an Executor not long after.
• Throwing Your Sword Always Works - The standard equipment of The Church's Militants are Black Keys, literal throwing swords held between the knuckles in a Wolverine-esque manner.
• The Stoic - With Not So Stoic moments, such as learning the truth about Kiritsugu, his fight with Kiritsugu in itself, and his hysterical breakdown during the fire.
• Treacherous Advisor - To Tokiomi, again.
• Unusual Eyebrows

Servants

Arturia Pendragon (Saber)

Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi

"I only joined this war to avoid spilling rivers of blood. Fight for the Holy Grail, no meaningless bloodshed, minimize sacrifices, one person taking up the mission of fate instead of armies of men and competing here… this is what we Servants should do."

Arthur, the King of Knights, in fact a disguised young woman. Summoned using the sheath Avalon as a catalyst, after it was excavated by the Einzberns. Partnered with Irisviel due to the incompatibility between Arturia and Kiritsugu. She is engaged in nearly every battle of the War.

After defeating Berserker, she faces Gilgamesh, the last Servant remaining, amidst the sea of fire that covers Fuyuki. Kiritsugu, fighting off Kirei, orders Arturia to destroy the Grail with two Command Spells. Without knowing the reasons behind Kiritsugu's actions, she disappears.

Her Noble Phantasms are Excalibur, her signature weapon which she can use to launch a Sword Beam, disguising it with the windy barrier "Invisible Air", and Avalon, Excalibur's sheath, which grants the holder Nigh Invulnerability.

(Go to the Fate/stay night page for her role in the 5th Grail War.)

---

• Action Girl
• Anti-Magic - An innate ability of the Saber class is practical immunity to magic.
• Armor Is Useless - Played with and used against her by Lancer. Since Saber's armor is generated by her prana, Gáe Dearg goes right through it. Once Saber realizes this, she invokes this trope and sheds her armor, only to learn the hard way that it would have been able to protect her from Lancer's other spear.
• The Atoner - Views herself as this, though Rider opines that her desire is selfish at heart.
• Back-to-Back Badasses - With Lancer against Caster's summoned creatures.
• Badass
  • Badass Biker - She rides a motorcycle into battle against Iskander in the fourth novel.
  • Badass in a Nice Suit
• Battle Ballgown
• Bifauxnen - Saber spends most of her unarmored time dressed in men's clothes at Irisviel's suggestion.
• Broken Ace
• Broken Bird
• Call Forward - Just like in the 5th Grail War, she also fights a Lancer for her first fight and is wounded.
• Chekhov's Skill - The Class Ability of Riding, later applied by Prana-coating a motorcycle.
• Friendly Enemy - To Diarmuid.
• Green Eyes
• Hair of Gold
• Heroic BSOD - Narrowly-averted after seeing Rider's Badass Army and having her beliefs on kingship shaken to the very core. A talk with Irisviel renews her confidence and her wish - something she would carry until the climaxes of both Fate and UBW routes. She goes through it upon seeing Berserker revealed before her eyes as Lancelot, and nearly gets killed as a result.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation - Her wish is full of this. She basically wants to ensure that the legend she comes from never existed in the first place because she believes she did an inadequate job at it, which leads to Rider's "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
• Honor Before Reason - Much more knightly and chivalrous than in the fifth war. While she retained her knightly attitude in the fifth war, she was nontheless a little more ruthless and more intent on winning rather than proving a point. So you could say that in the fourth war, the "knight" aspect of her personality took precedence to the "king" aspect, while it became the inverse in Fate/stay night. Considering the crap she goes through here, especially the disappointment in Kiritsugu, it's likely that she became a bit more cynical, whether she likes it or not. A case could also be made for Kiritsugu's own ruthlessness and pragmatic attitude towards winning the war rubbing off on her by the fifth.
• Hot Chick in a Badass Suit
• Hot Chick with a Sword
• I Did What I Had to Do - Her own justification to herself for declaring war on Lancelot and starting a civil war. She personally wanted nothing more but for Guinevere and Lancelot to be happy, but as a king, had to declare war and bring them to justice.
• Identical Stranger - She looks very similar to Jeanne d'Arc ^{[dead link]}. No wonder Caster thought she was Jeanne.
• Idiot Hair
• Jeanne D'Archetype - In fact, Joan of Arc was one of the first guesses as to her identity both in-story and by audiences. Caster mistakes her for Jeanne D'Arc herself and spends the rest of the series convinced that she is her.
• Kicking Ass in All Her Finery
• Knight in Shining Armor
• Lady of War
• The Lancer - Foil to Kiritsugu.
• Lawful Good - In-universe alignment.
• Let Them Die Happy - To Lancelot as he's dying in her arms. She wanted so badly to reassure him that he's always been a loyal and just knight, and that he has nothing to atone for. However, she chose not to say anything, because she knew that by doing so, it would torment him even more.
• Lonely at the Top - She believes a king has no choice but to be alone and throw away all human bonds in order to rule.
• Mercy Kill - To El-Melloi in Volume 3, after Maiya perforates him with a Steyr AUG and Kiritsugu refuses to finish him off.
• Mistaken Identity - Caster refuses to believe that she is not Jeanne d'Arc.
• My Master, Right or Wrong
• Not So Different - From Kiritsugu; both are very deeply idealistic people who throw away all their humanity and any semblance of a normal, proper human life to fulfill their ideals, and, as mentioned above in Kiritsugu's entry, share a lot of their ideals at the core and endure a lot of trauma from being betrayed to their devotion to them.
• Older Than They Look - Saber was around 25 when she died, but due to the fact that she stopped aging once she obtained Avalon, she looks around 14/15.
• Pimped-Out Dress
• Power Glows - Excalibur being charged.
• Razor Wind - The offensive use of Invisible Air.
• Red Baron - "King of Knights"
• Samus Is a Girl - Kiritsugu's and Irisviel's in-universe reaction, due to having assumed she was a man from her role in history.
• Set Right What Once Went Wrong - She desires to use the Holy Grail to go back in time to avert her country's destruction.
• She Is the King
• The Smurfette Principle - She's the only female Servant in the story, aside from some incarnations of Assassin.
• Sugar and Ice Personality
• Sword Beam - Excalibur.
• Theme Music Power-Up - In the Drama CD, a remixed version of "The Sword of Promised Victory" starts up as she prepares to Excaliblast Caster.
  • Done again in the anime, with Yuki Kajiura nailing one of the three most epic songs of Fate (spoiler-in-video warning): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M 1 Al Mgopg KQ
• Tomboy and Girly Girl - Tomboy to Irisviel's Girly Girl.
• Tomboyish Ponytail - In civilian clothes.
• Walking on Water - Thanks to the blessings of the Lady of the Lake.
• What the Hell, Hero? - To Kiritsugu after he offers a mage's contract to Kayneth that forces Lancer to kill himself and then has Maiya to shoot down Kayneth and Sola-Ui.
• The Woman Wearing The Kingly Mask

Gilgamesh (Archer)

Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki

"You can't look at me. Worms can only look at the ground when they die, like the worms they are."

The King of Heroes; the oldest, most venerable Heroic Spirit participating in the War. Summoned using the fossil of 'the first snake to shed its skin' as a catalyst, relating to his quest for immortality.

As Arturia destroys the Grail, Gilgamesh standing beneath is covered by its black mud, which grants him an actual, flesh-and-blood body. It should've also driven him insane, but his ego was apparently too strong for that.

He is an antagonist in all routes of Fate/stay night as The Dragon in Fate and Big Bad in Unlimited Blade Works. In Heaven's Feel, he lost in the Eviler Than Thou.

He possesses the Gate of Babylon, a portal that contains the prototypes of all the Noble Phantasms, an Ancient Babylonian Spaceship, and his wine cellar. He also has Ea, a wave-motion drill sword which he uses for his finishing move Enuma Elish.

(Go to the Fate/stay night page for his role in the 5th Grail War.)

---

• Above Good and Evil - How he defines himself. He is absolute. As a true king, justice is unnecessary to him. An interesting case as it is not really considered an evil point of view, it's actually the opposite. It might even be taken literally as even all the world's evil is unable to corrupt such an "absolute existence"
• The Ace - The oldest of all Heroic Spirits, perfectly capable of wiping the floor with just about everything and everyone in the war if he could just summon the motivation to actually fight at full strength.
• Back from the Dead
• Badass - *ahem* King of Heroes
• Berserk Button - When Berserker uses his weapons against him, he is pissed.
• Be Yourself - His general philosophy, which he's happy to share with all who pass by. Particularly and especially those for whom 'being themselves' and following their convictions would be deeply unhealthy.
• Bishonen - You judge.
• Blond Guys Are Evil
• Born Winner
• The Caligula
• Chaotic Good - In-universe alignment, and let's leave it at that.
• Contractual Immortality
• Cool Ship - The Vimana.
• The Dragon
• Evil Duo - With Kirei, near the end of the way anyway. For most of the series he is the below.
• Evil Mentor - To Kirei.
  • Doubles as Poisonous Friend.
• Fatal Flaw - His pride.
• The Fighting Narcissist
• For the Evulz - Whilst this is not the core motive of his behaviour, he's notable for finding it a perfectly valid way to live if that is what truly grants you the most pleasure.
• The Hedonist - A rather dark take on it.
• Hyperspace Arsenal - Gate of Babylon.
• I Have the High Ground - One way his obsession with properly expressing just how much better he is than everyone else involves perching in high places. When Berserker cuts down the light pole Gilgamesh was standing on, the guy flips out at having to stand on the same ground with a rabid mongrel.
• It's All About Me - Need any help carrying that ego, Gil? It looks like it'll squish you if it gets any bigger.
• Japanese Pronouns
  • He uses the archaic ware (pronounced as ore) when referring to himself, as the special skill "Word of the King".
  • He refers to everyone else using kisama, or less frequently, omae, in keeping with his character. The only exception being shortly after defeating Iskander and telling him that he's welcome for a rematch anytime, when he uses the more formal and less rude form sonata.
• Jack of All Stats - B-rank in three of his stats, A-rank in MAG and LUK, but it doesn't really matter when your Noble Phantasm is EX-ranked.
• Jerkass
• Leitmotif - Two of them: "The Gilgamesh" and "King of Babylon".
• Light Is Not Good
• Lonely at the Top - How Iskander describes him in the last novel of Fate/Zero. Although it's kind of a subversion since he isn't really bothered by it.
  • His theme song: "Crimson Eyes" seems to contradict this. He just misses Enkidu.
• Manipulative Bastard - Is responsible for leading Kirei into realizing that he can only be happy by killing people and messing with their minds. He did so very slowly and with much glee. He also was the one who had Berserker fight Saber simply because he thought it would be amusing to have that "mad dog" as he puts it fight her and this is after he finds out about Berserker true identity.
• Mundane Utility - In addition to all the weapons and cool tools that he keeps in the Gate of Babylon, Gilgamesh also apparently has a first rate wine cellar.
• Nietzsche Wannabe
• Only Friend - Gilgamesh turns down Iskander's offer of ruling together because of this trope. Anyone who's familiar with the epic can probably guess who he's talking about.

Gilgamesh:It is unfortunate, but I do not require a second friend. Past and future, my companion will only be one - and there need not be two kingly ones.

• Person of Mass Destruction
• Pet the Dog - He honors Iskander's last command to Waver (to live on) by sparing the latter's life after Iskander dies.
• Pride
• Red Baron - "King of Heroes"
• Red Eyes, Take Warning
  • Hellish Pupils - Just in case we needed any further clues that Gilgamesh is not a safe person to be around.
• Shameless Fanservice Guy - When Angra Maniyu gives him a flesh-and-blood body, it also leaves him naked. Gilgamesh takes absolutely no issue with staying that way and spends the rest of the scene shamelessly walking around in the nude. In the midst of a huge fire, at that.
• Semi-Divine - Divinity Rank B; being two-thirds god should make him Rank A, but since he dislikes the gods, his divinity is reduced by one rank.
• Smug Snake
• Smug Super - He will never lose an occasion to tell you how much better than you he is.
• Spotting the Thread - He asks Kirei (who had expressed his lack of desires from the Grail) why he doesn't simply wish for worldy pleasures. Kirei replies that he's never wish for something so "sinful and corrupt". The realization that the notions of "pleasure" and "sin" overlap in Kirei's mind is Gil's first hint that something is off about the man.
• Storm of Blades - How he uses Gate of Babylon.
• Story-Breaker Power - His Gate of Babylon obviously, but even more so is the Sword of Rapture: Ea, which is a wave-motion drill sword that can rip a hole in reality if Gilgamesh wasn't careful. The good news is, his enormous ego tends to make him underestimate his enemies, and as such he never bothers going all out. The exception of course, is during his fight with Iskander.
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You - To Iskander, who he grudgingly respects, leading to a Worthy Opponent situation.
• Ubermensch - Though mixed in with a dose of For the Evulz, Gilgamesh in his core appears to have elements of this idea. He is an entity so far beyond good and evil that it becomes a form of greatness in itself, hence it could not be corrupted by the Grail. Also, in his conversations with Kirei, he essentially tells him to stop letting society define morales for him and to find his own goals instead. These just so happen to be a desire for pain and tragedy, but still.
• Unskilled but Strong
• Wine Is Classy - He loves high-quality wine, which highlights his status as the King of Heroes.

Diarmuid Ua Duibhne (Lancer)

Voiced by: Hikaru Midorikawa

"It wouldn't suit my reputation to murder a woman weakened by my face alone. I am glad my first opponent has such backbone."

Diarmuid of the Love Spot, a hero from the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology. Due to his mastery of arms and his nobility, he is respected by both Iskander and Arturia. His loyalty to his Master is both a source of pride and bitterness. He intervenes in many battles throughout the series, dueling Arturia several times.

He expresses no desire for a wish on the Holy Grail, which makes Kayneth suspicious. It turns out that this is because Diarmuid's true desire is to simply successfully serve a lord with all his heart to atone for the events of his previous life, but Sola-Ui's affections get in the way of that.

After Kayneth forfeits the War, he uses a Command Spell to force Diarmuid to commit suicide while fighting Saber. He is the third Servant to be defeated.

His Noble Phantasms are Gae Dearg, a spear that neutralizes mana, and Gae Buidhe, a cursed lance that creates a Wound That Will Not Heal so long as he's alive, or until he deems the curse no longer necessary.

---

• Anti-Magic - Gae Dearg, the Crimson Rose of Exorcism, renders prana-infused weapons ineffective.
• A Plague on Both Your Houses - He dies cursing his luck, Kiritsugu, Saber, the Grail, and everything else in the world, cursing that their wishes become disasters. Turns out that he's right with regards to the Grail.
• Back-to-Back Badasses - With Saber.
• Beauty Mark - A plot important beauty mark.
• Beauty Equals Goodness - His love spot results in a Mystic Face, which gives him Chick Magnet powers.
• Bishonen - Pretty much an actual power of his.
• Bodyguard Crush
• Born Unlucky: He doesn't have E-rank luck for nothing.
• Big Damn Heroes - Maybe this is a requirement for Lancers...
• Call Forward - Like Chu Chulainn in the 5th Grail War, Diarmuid is also forced to kill himself.
• Chick Magnet - His "Mystic Face".
• Cursed with Awesome - Seriously. What is his curse? Being a Chick Magnet.
  • Blessed with Suck - His Chick Magnet powers really are a curse. He originally died because his lord's wife fell in love with him, ending up in him being betrayed. Then his Master's fiancee also falls in love with him, meaning he gets killed again.
• Dual-Wielding - Equipped with two spears, though he usually drops one when fighting.
• Eyes of Gold
• Failure Knight - Lancer's only ambition (apart from finishing his duel with Saber) is to faithfully serve his Master as he was unable to in the past.
• Fashionable Asymmetry - His outfit differs at his shoulders, forearms, and legs.
• Friendly Enemy - To Arturia.
• Geas - He was put under a geas by his lord's fiancee to run away with her. While he didn't break it, it eventually led to his death anyway.
• Gameplay and Story Integration - A weird variation in that this isn't a video game, but the stat sheet for the Servants comes into play when you realize that Diarmuid has E-Rank Luck.
• Honor Before Reason - To such an extent that you might wonder if he is Too Dumb to Live...
• Knight in Shining Armor - Fits the archetype to a T, if you exclude the actual armor.
• Lawful Neutral - In-universe alignment.
• Leitmotif - "The Lancer". Nice.
• Mana Burn - His Gae Dearg as a special in Unlimited Codes.
• Mr. Fanservice
• Mythology Gag - Possibly one regarding his death - he dies the same way as the fifth war's Lancer in Unlimited Blade Works -- ordered to commit suicide by his Master.
• My Master, Right or Wrong
• No Pronunciation Guide - He's Celtic, after all. Something like "Deermood O'Deena".
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You - As he wounded Saber in their first battle, weakening her and rendering her left thumb worthless so that she cannot effectively wield Excalibur, his honor dictates that he's the only one who should properly fight her. His Master is not amused.
• So Beautiful It's a Curse - Almost literally, since he has an actual curse. And even beyond that, the magical Chick Magnet thing tends to lead things to go badly for him.
• Spin to Deflect Stuff - Deflects Kiritsugu's gunfire with but a twirl of his lances.
• Tareme - The Character Material mentions them as a Charm Point of his.
• Weak but Skilled - He has less-than-impressive stats (other than his AGI which is A-rank), but he makes up for this with his "Eye of the Mind (True)" skill which allows him to exploit all possible openings in battle, which also compensates for his terrible LUK (in battle at least).
• Wound That Will Not Heal - Gae Buidhe, the Golden Rose of Mortality, has the ability to inflict one.

Iskander (Alexander) the Great (Rider)

Voiced by: Akio Ohtsuka

"The King - lives to the fullest!! He needs to live more fully than anyone else! He is a figure of admiration to his people!!"

The King of Conquerors, Iskander. Summoned using his ancient mantle, he in fact has no interest in the Grail; he is far more interested in conquering the world again. However, he does not use violence as his primary method; "victory without elimination, ruling without humiliation, that is true conquest". An impulsive and overbearing man who lives according to his emotions and lets history take its own course.

In the final hours of the War, he confronts Gilgamesh, who is holding the bridge against him. Having lost his chariot, he summons his army and charges Gilgamesh, who activates Ea, destroying the Reality Marble. Running alone, Iskander is bound by Enkidu and killed by Gate of Babylon. He is the fourth defeated Servant.

He possesses the Gordius Wheel, a chariot led by two divine bulls, which he uses for his trampling attack "Via Expugnatio". He also has the Reality Marble "Ionioi Hetairoi/Aionion Hetairoi", which summons the Badass Army that he controlled in his life. He also has a sword called "Sparda" which he uses to summon the Gordius Wheel.

---

• Back from the Dead - He wishes to be alive again.
• Badass
  • Badass Beard
  • Badass Cape
• Big Damn Heroes - Saves a wounded Arturia from being overwhelmed by Diarmuid and Berserker.
• Boisterous Bruiser

Iskander: First, we will go half way around the world. West, straight west and conquer all the countries we pass. And thus upon my victorious return to Macedonia, I will make the people of my land celebrate my rebirth! (Later) Iskander: The Iliad is very profound. There are... the occasional times during a battle when one verse suddenly bothers me so much that I cannot stop thinking about it. When that happens, I must reread it at that very spot and time if I want to be free of it. Waver: At that very spot.... you mean where you're fighting? ...As in, while you're fighting? While you're swinging? Your sword? How? Iskander: When I am holding my sword with my right arm, then with the left arm. When my left hand is gripping the reigns, I had the page by me read it aloud. Waver: ...

• • He was kidding, though, and mocks Waver for believing him. But still, drinking party with Saber and Gilgamesh... Wha?
• Buffy-Speak - How does he describe the Gate of Babylon to his Master? "Showing off with a lot of shiny-goldy things." He also calls stealth bombers "big black B2 thingies."
• Cultured Warrior - He likes to read The Iliad, and spends a lot of his free time watching documentaries.
• Curtains Match the Window
• Dark-Skinned Redhead
• Defeat Means Friendship - His entire ideology, based around conquering without humiliation. Waver occasionally catches glimpses of Iskander's life whilst sleeping and marvels at how those he conquered became swept up in his goal to conquer the world.
• Determinator - In Volume 4, after losing his army to Gilgamesh, Iskander simply charges forward, right through all the Noble Phantasms fired from the Gate of Babylon, keeps going even after his horse has been shot out from under him and has been skewered multiple times and came within inches of actually landing a blow on Gilgamesh, who finally had to resort to Enkidu to restrain him before finally being finished off.
• Didn't See That Coming - False assumptions example. When fighting Saber (who thinks he abducted Irisviel), he develops a plan to defeat her. He had seen her use Excalibur the first time on Caster, and believes that when Saber begins to charge her attack, he will have enough time before she fires it off that he can run her over with his chariot and win. As it turns out, either Saber had charged it beforehand or the charge time wasn't as long as he had believed, causing him to lose his chariot.
• Fan Nickname - Broskander the Great.
• Foregone Conclusion - Iskander will never be able to convince Saber to give up her wish and regrets, seeing that it is what underlies the conflict of viewpoints between her and Shirou in the Fate route.
• Friendly Enemy - He casually suggests that he and Saber have a drinking game and invited Gligamesh to join them when he happened to run across the guy. Until Kirei's Assassins show up, the three of them are sitting around a table, talking about their dreams, kingship and even comparing the quality of wine.
• Genius Bruiser - He's a LOT smarter that his personality would suggest. How else would he have won all those battles in Real Life? After interrupting Saber and Lancer's battle, he's the first to realize other servants were watching too, to name one example. He even has a skill called "Military Tactics."
• Go-Karting with Bowser - He holds Gilgamesh to his promise of the two of them finishing off the remaining wine before facing off in a deathmatch. The two were quite cordial and even clicked their goblets before draining them. Waver was surprised that the two got along quite well.
• Go Out with a Smile
• Heroes Gone Fishing - He spends his free time, among other things, watching military documentaries, planning world conquest, buying videogames, and walking around the house not wearing pants.
• Honor Before Reason - In a game where the players' names and special attacks are jealously guarded secrets for strategic reasons, he interrupts a battle between Lancer and Saber using said special attack and then introduces himself by name.
  • It pops up again later when he insists on fighting Saber in a disadvantageous situation because that's 'his duty as a fellow heroic spirit' to make her abandon her ideals before she gets crushed by them. This resulted in him losing his chariot.
• Incoming Ham - Makes his first public appearence in the war by riding a magical, lightning-sprouting chariot into the middle of a battle, loudly announcing his name and inviting the two combatants to join him in world domination.
• Large and In Charge
• Large Ham - His original plan to gather all the Servants in one spot, offer them the chance to rule alongside him, and if they refused, duke it out with all of them at once.
• Leitmotif - "the legend" in the anime track.
• Mental World - His 'shared' Reality Marble, which both creates a new landscape and summons his entire army, all of whom are Heroic Spirits themselves, including his horse Bucephalus.
• Mentor Archetype - Surprisingly, ends up as one for Waver.
• Neutral Good - In-universe alignment. Interestingly, this just adds to the contrast he already has with the other two kings, as Arturia, who is Lawful Good, only tries to selflessly save people, while Gilgamesh, who is supposedly Chaotic Good, is only interested in control and selfish amusement. Iskander's way, meanwhile, appears to be a pragmatic "save people from themselves, then make them yours" attitude.
• Odd Friendship - With Waver.
• The Only One Allowed to Defeat You - To Saber. After witnessing her use Excalibur on Caster, he believes he's the only one who can save her from her ideals.
• Pimped-Out Cape
• The Power of Friendship - The reason his Reality Marble, Ionian Hetairoi, exists is the bond between him and his men, who are so devoted to him that even death cannot erase them. At the same time, Iskander considers them to be his greatest treasure. All of this is why even though Iskander himself is not a magus, he, along with all of his men are able to bring out the Reality Marble that recreates the land that they once marched over.
  • The Hepburn romanization of the original Japanese Hetairoi Phantasm goes like this: Aionion Hetairoi - which is (most likely badly conjugated) Gratuitous Greek for "Eternal Companions". You can google "aionion" to find a great deal of theological debate on the proper translation of the word.

Iskander: BEHOLD MY PEERLESS ARMY! Their bodies may return to ash, but their spirits still hear my call! These men are my legendary heroes - my loyal followers! They're my true friends - breaking the rules of space and time to fight once more at my side! They are my treasure within treasures; they're my right to rule! They make up Iskander's mightiest Noble Phantasm - Ionian Hetairoi!!

• "The Reason You Suck" Speech - To Saber, on her views on kingship. Combined with his demonstration of true kingship with his Badass Army, he nearly ended up giving her a Heroic BSOD and making her lose her motivation to win the war, too.
  • Also delivers one to Kayneth in the first real battle of the war when Kayneth starts taunting and intimidating Waver. Rider proceeds to call him out on his hypocrisy on having Lancer do all the fighting while Kayneth himself remains in hiding. He then states that only someone who would ride into battle at his side would be worthy to be his master (Kayneth was originally supposed to be Iskander's Master until Waver stole the needed relic).
• Red Baron - "King of Conquerors"
• Redheaded Hero
• Self-Destructive Charge
• Semi-Divine - Divinity Rank C, being a (possibly self-proclaimed) descendant of Zeus. Comes into play with his battle against Gilgamesh in Volume 4, which allows the latter to restrain Rider with Enkidu and impale him with Gate of Babylon.
• Story-Breaker Power - That's a guy who has the ability to summon literally hundreds of Servants (yes, with the capital S) to fight by his side. This is exactly as ridiculously powerful as it sounds. It takes another story breaker power to beat it.
• Take Over the World - His goal.
  • Later on, Waver asks him why he doesn't just wish for immortality. Rider likes this idea, because then he can try to conquer the entire universe.
• Too Dumb to Live - Subverted. It is explicitly pointed out that even though a lot of his decisions might seem to be foolish, he is simply so badass that it always ends up as a Crowning Moment of Awesome for him.

Those who mocked the King of Conquerors’s wish as a boring wish are the foolish ones who merely dragged their bodies along from day to day, and spend their life away on nothing.

• To Win Without Fighting - Though he never gets to do any of it, his conversations make it clear that he respects this sort of victory greatly as well. He would much prefer having the other Servants join him and go off to do his own thing rather than stick to the 'thou musts' of the Grail War and kill everyone else.
• Ubermensch - Though less so than Gilgamesh and portrayed much more heroically. Iskander appears to discard conventional social standards and morales for the sake of personal happiness and self-realization, chasing after one's dreams and such. Characters occasionally call him out on the selfish nature of his behaviour, such as invading other countries for shallow reasons, but Iskander (unlike Gil) is shown to be much more willing to compromise in this regard, often trying to assimilate those who oppose him into his own ranks (or just letting them rule themselves in his name) rather than annihilating them as Gilgamesh usually does.
  • He seems to think that this is the definition of a king: the top dog who's greedier, louder and angrier than everyone else, the apotheosis of both good and evil, envied and admired by his subjects. It's probably why his shirt reads "Admirable".
• Unusual Eyebrows
• We Can Rule Together - Iskander suggests this to Gilgamesh in the last novel when he tells him that if his Ionion Hetairoi was equipped with Gate of Babylon that they would be pretty much be unstoppable.

Iskander: For example, if my Ionion Hetairoi was equipped by your Gate of Babylon, it would undoubtedly become the most powerful army. Even that President of the West wouldn't be more than a break of wind. Gilgamesh: Hm. And? Iskander: Once again, will you not be my ally? If we join together, we can surely conquer as far as the ends of the stars.

• Worthy Opponent - To Gilgamesh. Getting Gil to call him this and becoming the only Servant in both the 4th and the 5th wars that Gil actually respected was arguably Alex's greatest Crowning Moment of Awesome in the series.

Gilles de Rais (Caster)

Voiced by: Satoshi Tsuruoka

"My only wish was that the holy maiden Jeanne d'Arc would be resurrected, and now this wish had already been fulfilled! Without even the need to compete with anyone, my wish had already become reality!"

Bluebeard, a French nobleman, one of the commanders led by Joan of Arc, and a comrade of Francesco Prelati, who introduced him to the occult. Mistakenly summoned by Ryuunosuke, he turns out to be as twisted a killer as his Master; in particular, he enjoys giving his victims a brief respite and spot of hope, before torturing them endlessly and turning their still-living bodies into 'amusing' configurations and devices.

After his atelier is destroyed by Iskander, he summons a giant sea creature, intending to let it rampage through the city. After Ryuunosuke is sniped by Kiritsugu, the monster and Gilles himself are wiped out by Arturia's Excalibur. He is the second defeated Servant.

His Noble Phantasm is Prelati's Spellbook, a living grimoire with a cover made of human skin that generates its own prana and allows him to summon Eldritch Abominations.

---

• Ax Crazy - Even MORE insane than his own master is.
• Bigger Stick - Compensates for his overall low stats by having a A+, Anti-Army Noble Phantasm, as is common for the Caster class.
• Combat Pragmatist/Dirty Coward - His stats are very poor, so he relies on a combination of summoned monsters, trickery, ambushes and a complete disregard for human life to get by. Somewhat justified given the nature of his Class, though Saber opines otherwise and explicitly referred to him as a 'coward' in the aftermath of their first battle.
• Conflict Killer
• Cthulhu Mythos / Eldritch Abomination - Summoner of these. Not just ugly, betentacled monsters, mind you - but real, proper, Lovecraftian affronts to all sanity and nature that regenerate their flesh and always keep coming. If that wasn't enough, the incantations he uses are straight out of the Necronomicon's alien tongues.
• Depraved Bisexual - Caster's official profile in Fate Zero Material states that he likes tomboyish girls (Jeanne, evidently) and feminine boys (Ryuunosuke probably qualifies, as he's repeatedly described as dainty in the novels). The 'depraved' part requires no explanation.
• Evil Tropes - Encompasses a good deal of those:
  • Black Magic
  • Card-Carrying Villain
  • Chaotic Evil - His in-universe alignment.
  • Dark Is Evil
  • Evil Duo - With Ryuunosuke.
  • Evil Is Hammy - As evidenced by his interactions with the other characters and Ryuunosuke.
  • Evil Is Not Well Lit - The lair he and Ryuunosuke use as their base of operations is all but shrouded in complete darkness.
  • Evil Makes You Ugly - He was quite a handsome man before his descent into madness.
  • Fallen Hero - As previously stated, he used to be an ally of Jeanne d'Arc. He is in the WRONG Fate storyline.
  • Faux Affably Evil
  • Lean and Mean - He's really just skin and bones under those bulky robes of his. Especially apparent in the ED.
  • Love Makes You Evil - He was once a heroic knight: valiant, handsome, basking in the glory to fight alongside Joan of Arc. He turned against God after she was burned at the stake.
  • Necessarily Evil - How he views his actions, though the narrative makes it abundantly clear that this is but the delusion of an insane mind.
  • Obviously Evil - Bulging eyes, bone-white skin, you know this guy is evil from the get-go.
• Fish Eyes - Appropriately enough, for a character with so many references to H.P. Lovecraft. An obvious reference to the "Innsmouth Look"
• Gonk
• Heel Realization - At the very end of his life when Saber blasts him with Excalibur.
• Homage - To the works of H.P. Lovecraft. Not so much Caster as the creatures he summons - as to be expected from Urobuchi Gen, who previously wrote Cthulhu Mythos - inspired works such as Saya no Uta.
  • Another name for his Noble Phantasm is the Text of the Sunken Spiraled City - also known as the R'lyeh Text. Caster's appearance itself evokes the "Innsmouth look".
• Hope Spot - He likes to purposefully create them, to give his victims hope which he can then destroy.
• In Love with Your Carnage - The reason he and Ryuunosuke get along so well is that they mutually appreciate each other's capacity for sadistic torture and murder.
• Large Ham
• Mad Artist - Oh, the Squick. Also comes into play with his skill "Eye for Art", which allows him a chance to identify Noble Phantasms with an artistic quality to them.
• Mook Maker - His main use of Prelati's Spellbook.
• Motor Mouth - When he's getting worked up.
• Playing Against Type - In universe, Gilles de Rais was a knight, more suited to one of the more combat oriented classes. It's a combination of Ryunosuke's botched summoning (he had no idea what he was actually doing) and the fact that only one class was left unclaimed at the time that the summoning occurred that results in Bluebeard being summoned as Caster.
• Powered by a Forsaken Child - Due to it being a central part of Blue Beard's legend and Ryunosuke summoning him as under the caster class this was pretty much a forgone conclusion. By the time he's finished though its more like a forsaken pre-school.
• Self-Serving Memory - The way he tells the story of his death, you'd think it was entirely due to political rivals wanting to plunder his estates and had nothing to do with his murdering children as part of his demonology studies. According to history, he didn't have much of an estate for said rivals to plunder at the time of his death - between commissioning a massive theatrical tribute to Joan of Arc, his occult research, and his love of high living, he was pretty much bankrupt. The only reason he still had lands at the time of his death was because the King of France refused to let him sell any more of them to fend off his creditors.
• The Sociopath
• Squishy Wizard - An odd case in that, because he was in life a knight, his physical attributes are greater than a human (he can easily kill one with his bare hands) and he hasn't memorized any spells (he has to keep consulting the book whenever he wants to use one in it). However, compared to other Servants he's still quite weak and his spellbook gives him a separate source of power for spells, meaning while he doesn't quite fit the archetype he functions as if he did.
• Stalker with a Crush - Certainly acts like one towards Saber.
• Summon Magic
• Tome of Eldritch Lore - Prelati's Spellbook.
• Would Hurt a Child - Does so as part of his Establishing Character Moment.
  • Though this shouldn't be surprising, since the real-life Rais was arrested and hanged for various reason (one being witchcraft), the most serious of which was that he was accused of being a serial child-murderer.
• Zerg Rush - A favourite tactic with his various summoned beasties.

The Black Knight/Lancelot of the Lake (Berserker)

Voiced by: Ryotaro Okiayu

"I am the shadow under the radiance of heroic spirits -- Birthed of the darkness of glorious legend..."

The mysterious "Black Knight" whose identity was only revealed at the end. Summoned by Kariya, but kept the Mad Enhancement voluntarily. Despite being rendered thoughtless, he maintained his mastery of arms; he becomes an unexpected major threat of the War, rivaling Arturia in skill.

Kariya's long participation in the War drains him of his life and energy; while Berserker is fighting Arturia and about to land the final blow, he suddenly loses his Master's Prana supply. Arturia, still in shock after the discovery of his identity, uses this opportunity to drive her sword through him. He is the fifth defeated Servant.

The Black Knight has three Noble Phantasms: First, he is able to disguise himself using the black fog "For Someone's Glory", indicative of Lancelot's disguises in his journeys, which also obscures most of his combat data; second is "Knight of Honor", which turns anything he can construe as a weapon into his own D-Rank Noble Phantasm the moment he touches it (including the Noble Phantasms of other Servants and an F-15 Fighter Jet); his final and most powerful Noble Phantasm is the demonic sword Arondight, which boosts all his stats at the cost of locking his other two Noble Phantasms.

---

• The Ace - His stats are god-like, he auto-masters anything that is conceptually recognized as a weapon that he picks up, any weapon he picks up becomes a Noble Phantasm and is capable of killing a Servant... and this is all before he uses his real Noble Phantasm and gains a small power boost. He's pretty much custom-tailored to rape Servants.
  • Hilariously, thanks to Knight of Honor, he's also an Ace Pilot, despite that he'd obviously never flown a fighter jet before nor possessing the Riding skill that would allow him to do so. Berserker can even pull off aerial maneuvers that would normally be impossible for a normal human, as the g-forces would instantly kill them.
  • Back when he was alive, he was also The Ace. The mysterious knight whom performed countless deeds and winner of countless competitions using the shields of various knights, attributing his deeds to someone else (the source of "For Someone's Glory"). Defeated and beat a knight to death with a tree branch he broke off from a nearby tree when he was attacked while unarmed and unarmored (the source of "Knight of Honor"). Given the blessings and protection of the Lady of the Lake and wielder of the fairy-crafted Arondight, a holy sword on par with Excalibur. The "perfect knight" indeed.
  • Broken Ace - Sadly, his experiences in life have turned him into little more than an insane Death Seeker.
• Armor Is Useless - Played with a bit. He's decked out in full-body armor that the novel describes as being "unsurpassed in quality", but he's so skilled he never actually needs to rely on its protection because he just doesn't get hit.
  • It allows him to survive getting run over by Rider's A+ Rank Anti-army Noble Phantasm (although he does have to retreat immediately afterwards), so it may be safe to say that this is averted.
• The Atoner - Ironically, Arturia never actually placed any blame nor demanded penance from him, because she wanted him and Guinevere to be happy together. This drove him to the point of madness; both when he was alive, and as a Heroic Spirit, as it made any attempt at finding redemption impossible.
• Badass
• The Berserker - Duh.
  • Attack! Attack! Attack! - Played with. Although his class dictates that he can't think of anything other than attacking, the Black Knight is more than capable of defending himself and performing complex maneuvers thanks to his instinctive mastery of every kind of weapon.
  • Cursed with Awesome - Like Hercules, he gains a stat boost in exchange for his sanity. Unlike Hercules, an Individual Skill called Eternal Arms Mastership allows him to keep all of his combat prowess. This includes the ability to fight tactically and wield his greatest Noble Phantasm, Arondight, without any loss in skill. And he does it all instinctively.
    • Awesome but Impractical - Essentially one of the most powerful Servants in the game, but as a Berserker, his prana requirements are on average much higher than other Servants, which is pretty bad when you have a Master like Kariya, who barely qualifies as a magus. To make things worse, Berserker's primary Noble Phantasm, Knight of Honor, also has a higher-than-normal activation cost, which is added to the incredible burden needed to maintain a Berserker-class Servant in the first place.
  • The Speechless - Mad Enhancement removed his ability to speak, or have complex thoughts. Which is exactly how he wanted it to be. His consciousness is somewhat connected to his Master's, though, allowing them to "communicate".
    • Screaming Warrior - He can't speak, but he can certainly scream.
  • With Great Power Comes Great Insanity - The whole point of this class. Massive stat boosts in exchange for massive penalties on sanity.
• Black Knight
  • Tin Tyrant
• Conspicuous CG - In the anime. Watching him work is absolutely glorious.
• Cool Sword - His third Noble Phantasm, Arondight, which reveals his identity and seals For Someone's Glory and Knight of Honor.
  • Black Swords Are Better
  • Face Heel Turn - Previously amongst the mightiest of the holy swords -- up there with Excalibur, in fact. Lancelot's act of spilling the blood of his companions among Knights of the Round Table guarding Guinevere's execution turned it into a demonic sword.
  • Infinity+1 Sword - Arondight is mentioned as being right alongside Excalibur in power.
  • Named Weapons
  • Power Glows - Shines much like the light reflected from the Lake.
  • Public Domain Artifact
  • Unbreakable Weapons - Said to be able to receive any attack without taking any damage from it.
  • Unholy Holy Sword - See Face Heel Turn above.
• The Corruption - In the anime, the effects of Knight of Honor are shown as the weapon turning pitch black and gaining red Tron Lines.
• Death Equals Redemption - Eventually achieves this after deliberately seeking it out, right down to the person he wanted to be killed by.
• Death Seeker - Just as he dies, his Mad Enhancement wears off and he tells Arturia that he "wanted to die by her sword" to atone for his sins.
• Dying as Yourself
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep" - He's referred to as the "Black Knight" for the majority of the War -- while the other Servants' true names are revealed early on, his is kept secret until near the end of the story.
• The Faceless - His helmet hides his face until the final day of the 4th Grail War.
  • This is also the primary function of his Noble Phantasm, For Someone's Glory, which obscures his identity and also hides his stats from the other Masters of the Grail War. Unfortunately, because of his status as a Berserker class Servant, Lancelot can't use this ability to its fullest potential (which would allow him to take on the forms of other Servants) unless Kariya sacrifices at least two Command Seals to do so.
• Fallen Hero
• Fatal Flaw - His love for the queen brought his fall and his kingdom's.
• Instant Expert - Due to his Noble Phantasm, Knight of Honor, which is ranked A++, he attains complete mastery of anything he conceives of as a weapon the moment he picks it up.
  • Implausible Fencing Powers - The very first thing we see him do in battle is catching a rocketing sword flying straight at him and swinging it immediately to deflect a second rocketing polearm that was coming right behind it. It happened so fast that only the Servants themselves could actually make out what happened. He continues to survive the barrage in this manner for another sixteen projectiles or so, and actually switches out the weapons he uses when a stronger one comes along. He even throws Gilgamesh's own weapons back at him. Everyone watching is understandably shocked, since he's supposed to not be sane enough to even think about such complicated maneuvers, let alone actually do them.
    • Barehanded Blade Block - He grabs Excalibur, despite it still being sheathed in Invisible Air. This convinces Saber that he had to be someone that knew her in life, to know Excalibur's shape so well.
    • Dual-Wielding - From scavenged weapons to the Noble Phantasms Gilgamesh shoots at him with Gate of Babylon to sub-machine guns. This lasts until he brings Arondight out.
    • Guns Akimbo - At one point, he gets equipped with two MP5 sub-machine guns.
  • Improbable Weapon User - Street lamp poles, fighter jets, the aforementioned submachine guns...
  • Master Swordsman - Taken Up to Eleven as his skill with Arondight actually surpasses Knight of Honor, which already auto-grants him complete mastery of any weapon. Not surprisingly, Saber considers him to be the strongest sword-wielding Heroic Spirit.
  • Multi Melee Master / Multi Ranged Master - Swords, spears, axes, sub-machine guns, gatling guns... it doesn't matter. If it's a weapon, he's a master at using it.
  • Possession Implies Mastery - Literally, in this case.
• Knight in Shining Armor - Back when he was still alive and before his downfall, Lancelot was considered to be the "Perfect Knight", and was a role model for all knights in his era.
• Lawful Neutral - His in-universe alignment is "Lawful Insane".
• Leitmotif - "The Berserker" Very nice.
• Lightning Bruiser - Strength? A; Agility? A+; Endurance? A. Using Arondight and getting a stat boost? Well... fuck.
• The Man Makes the Weapon - Due to a combination of Eternal Arms Mastership and Knight of Honor, even something as mundane as a street lamp pole becomes capable of dealing out serious pain to a Servant.
• Master of Illusion - For Someone's Glory lets him distort and alter his appearance. The full extent of this power is revealed in Volume 4 when he convincingly disguises himself as Iskander.
  • Power Limiter - Volume 4 also reveals that slapping him with Mad Enhancement did this to his "For Someone's Glory" Noble Phantasm. Had he had full use of it, the Black Knight could have spent the entire war masquerading as other Servants.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown - Delivers one to Saber as she was in the throes of a Heroic BSOD.
• The Paragon Always Rebels
• Power Limiter / I Am Not Left-Handed - Like Saber's Invisible Air, the true purpose of Berserker's Noble Phantasms, For Someone's Glory and Knight of Honor, is to protect his identity. Both are disabled and Berserker's full power is unleashed once he releases his third, true Noble Phantasm, Arondight. The difference in power is so massive that Berserker's mana consumption increases ten-fold, to the point that Kariya's worm-enhanced mana, which would have lasted him several hours worth of regular combat, was completely burnt up in just ten seconds.
• Red Baron/Names to Run Away From Really Fast - "The Black Knight". Back when he was alive, he was also known as "The Knight of the Lake".
• Red Eyes, Take Warning - A variation of the usual. His helmet visor is constantly glowing red.
• Say My Name - His helmet-muffled vocalizations are revealed to be this. "AAAAAARTHUUUUUURRRRR!!!!"
• Secret Keeper - He was a very close friend of Arturia and was one of the few whom knew of the King's true gender. Even during the civil war, he never considered revealing the truth to the people.
• Suicide by Arturia
• Too Powerful to Live - Came THIS close to killing Arturia, only to be stopped by Kariya's Heroic RROD.
• Voice of the Legion: Rather subtly.

Hassan-i-Sabbah (Assassin)

Voiced by: Sachie Abe, Takuo Kawamura and Eiichiro Tokumoto

"We are all acting as one Servant, and each individual is only a shadow of the whole."

The "Old Man of the Mountain", one of eighteen leaders of the Hashshashin. As Kirei was meant to assist Tokiomi, Assassin was 'killed' early in the War to mask their activities, mainly reconnaissance.

The first defeated Servant; after being sent to test the strength of Iskander, Hassan is trapped within his Reality Marble and massacred by his army.

In life, this particular Hassan-i-Sabbah had several personalities and was also able to alter his body to match them, making him a formidable spy and assassin. This manifests as his version of the Noble Phantasm Zabaniya, which allows all these personalities and their bodies to be manifest at once. Each one has to be killed in order to kill him for real.

---

• Adjusting Your Mask: Zayd in the Einzbern Consulation Room Specials.
• Butt Monkey: The first assassin killed called Zayd in the Einzbern Consultation Room Specials.
• C-List Fodder - Isn't it sad, Assassin?
• Conservation of Ninjutsu - Invoked by his Noble Phantasm, as every time Assassin splits off into a separate body, his already unimpressive stats are redistributed accordingly. This makes him an exceedingly weak Servant, especially since the Assassin class is pretty weak to start out with, but makes him a first rate Servant for gathering intelligence.
• Death Is Cheap - His Noble Phantasm allows his soul to be split into eighty separate entities, all of which have to be killed before Assassin is counted as Killed Off for Real. Of course, he ended up fighting the guy who has a giant ARMY as a special ability. Should have kept a body at home.
• Face Death with Dignity - In the anime, when faced with Ionion Hetairoi, all the Assassins either turn tail and flee or put up pathetically useless struggles...with the exception of the female personality, who resigns herself and simply allows Rider to decapitate her. Averted in the Drama CD, where, upon Rider's taunting for her to show at least some resistance, she lunges at him, only to get slashed and killed ignominiously in return.
• Laser Hallway - Tokiomi's defenses around his house resemble this, causing Assassin to take the usual dodging and weaving methods necessary, plus a few thrown rocks. It's actually pretty impressive until Archer turns him into a pincushion.
• Lawful Evil - In-universe alignment.
• Legacy Character - There were 18 different Hassan-i-Sabbahs. Needless to say, this one is very different from Fate/stay night's True Assassin.
• Mook - How they are considered and used by Tokiomi and Kirei.
• Rapunzel Hair - The female body.
• Split Personality - In life, he could take on any conceivable role perfectly due to this, which manifested as his Noble Phantasm as a Servant.
  • Literal Split Personality
• Zerg Rush - How his Noble Phantasm is ultimately put to use by Kirei. Kirei uses his Command Spell to order all of Assassin's bodies to attack Waver and Iskander (who happen to be with Gilgamesh and Saber at the time). This is obviously a poor way to use a spirit as stealthy and versatile as Assassin. However it's justified since the entire reason for using Assassin like this was so that they could provoke Iskander into using his most powerful Noble Phantasm, which would allow Kirei and Tokiomi to get a reading on his strength.

Supporting Characters

Irisviel von Einzbern

Voiced by: Sayaka Ohara

"You don't need to grieve over me. I am already part of you. Enduring only the pain of your own sundering is enough."

Nicknamed Iri, the wife of Kiritsugu, and mother of Ilya. She is a homunculus created by the Einzbern family as a vessel to activate the Great Grail. Having lived her whole life inside the Einzbern castle in Europe, she is bright and cheerful, and follows Kiritsugu on pure faith and trust. During the War, she is partnered with Arturia due to her healing magecraft.

As the War rages on, she begins losing her consciousness as the souls of the defeated Servants are contained within her. The Corruption within the Grail eventually fuses with her.

---

• Adorkable - She really blurs the line between sweet-cute-cuddly and sensually-beautiful, and being a Mom on top of it all.
• Adult Child - Justified due to Younger Than They Look below.
• Alchemy Is Magic
• Artificial Human
• Badass Adorable
• The Chick - Every single Master is male.
• Country Mouse - Lived her whole life inside Einzbern grounds.
• The Cutie
• Demonic Possession/The Corruption - Towards the end of the Grail War.
• Doting Parent
• Drives Like Crazy - She's actually a pretty great driver, except that she has absolutely no idea about traffic restrictions and treats the car like it's a toy. She managed to make Saber sweat...
• The Glomp - Cuddly in canon, this gets turned up to eleven in the Einzbern Consultation Room Specials.
• Healing Hands
• Hot Mom - This is Ilya's mom you're talking about...
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy - To Kiritsugu.
• Kawaiiko
• Long Hair Is Feminine
• MacGuffin Girl - Being a homunculus, she is the Holy Grail.
• The Medic
• Naive Newcomer
• Nice Girl
• Plucky Girl
• Pretty in Mink
• Proper Tights with a Skirt
• Rapunzel Hair
• Red Eyes, Take Warning - Averted.
• Senseless Sacrifice - She dies for nothing as the Grail was already corrupted.
• Thigh-High Boots
• Tomboy and Girly Girl - The girly girl to Saber, or to Maiya's, tomboy.
• Too Good for This Sinful Earth
• White-Haired Pretty Girl
• White Magician Girl
• Woman in White
• Yamato Nadeshiko - Fits the bill in several ways despite being both German and an Adult Child. Unlike Aoi, she has the "iron core" part as well, though both times she actually shows this backfire on her rather badly and doesn't ends well.
• Younger Than They Look - Appears to be an adult woman in her early twenties, while her chronological age is about nine.

Maiya Hisau

Voiced by: Ayumi Tsunematsu

“Even if I were to give up this life of mine, I would protect you till the end. Therefore, for Emiya Kiritsugu, please don’t die. For the fulfillment of that man’s dream.”

Gunslinging partner and other woman of Kiritsugu (sort of). Found as an orphan on the battlefield and saved by Kiritsugu, she dedicated her life to assisting him. Knows what makes Kiritsugu tick, very well.

While taking care of Irisviel, the pair are attacked by an enemy Servant. Contacting Kiritsugu immediately, she attempts to hold the enemy at bay, but is killed in the attempt.

---

• Action Girl
• Almost Dead Girl - After being attacked by Berserker, she lives long enough to talk with both Arturia - who arrives almost instantly - and Kiritsugu unspecified tens of minutes later.
• Bob Haircut
• Child Soldier - Part of her backstory, as revealed in Volume 4.
• Died in Your Arms Tonight - Played with in that she kept telling Kiritsugu to focus on his objective instead of grieving for her.
• Friends with Benefits - With Kiritsugu in the past, and it's explicitly stated that there's no real emotion involved. Kiritsugu did it as a form of self-punishment, and as a "rehearsal" for how he'll eventually have to betray Irisviel.
• Go Out with a Smile
• Only Known by Their Nickname - "Maiya Hisau" was the name on the first passport Kiritsugu made for her. She no longer remembers her real name.
• Rape as Backstory - Revealed in Volume 4 -- She was raped by soldiers in a war-torn battlefield before she was found by Kiritsugu.
• Shoot the Hostage - Part of a plan instigated by Kiritsugu. Having crippled El-Melloi, Kiritsugu orders Maiya to kidnap El-Melloi's wife. Kiritsugu gives El-Melloi an offer; quit the War, and Kiritsugu will be magically bound from harming the pair of them. El-Melloi agrees and hurries to leave the city. Maiya guns the pair down.
• Sidekick - And by extension, Dead Sidekick.
• Sugar and Ice Personality - As revealed by her conversations with both Kiritsugu and Irisviel.
• The Stoic
• Tall, Dark and Bishoujo - Thus described.

Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri

Voiced by: Megumi Toyoguchi

The daughter of the head of the Department of Euryphis at the Clock Tower, and the fiancée of Kayneth due to an Arranged Marriage. Kayneth bent the rules of the War by removing the burden of Prana supply to her, allowing him to keep the rights of the Master and still be an effective combatant.

After having her arm cut off by Maiya to remove the Command Spells, she was held hostage and Kiritsugu forced Kayneth to quit the War. Just as Kayneth prepares to take Sola-Ui and leave the city, Maiya guns the pair down.

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• An Arm and a Leg - Maiya cuts off her right arm in order to remove the Command Spells.
• Bodyguard Crush - To Diarmuid, and incredibly so, though he's technically not her bodyguard to start with.
• Defrosting Ice Queen - Resigned to being a pawn in magus politics, Sola became indifferent and cold early on. Lancer, being chivalrous and brave, melted Sola with incredible speed. Accidentally and unfortunately for all involved.
• Irony - Threatened to cut Kayneth's arm off if he didn't surrender his Command Seals to her after his defeat. Guess what happened to her in the end?
• Longing Look - In episode 9, as shown here
• Love Makes You Crazy - She seems like a typical high-class Ice Queen until she willingly falls for Lancer's Mystic Face, after which... Well.
• Mad Love - She snaps off one of Kayneth's fingers as he lies paralyzed and very calmly threatens to keep going unless he gives her his Command Spells so she can become Lancer's Master.
• More Than Mind Control - A magus of Sola-ui's caliber would be able to resist Lancer's C-Rank "Mystic Face," meaning she willingly gave in to the power of the Love Spot and assuming those weren't just her own feelings at work.
• No Pronunciation Guide - "Sola-Oo Nwatha-Ray Sophia-Ri".
• The Ojou
• Overly Long Name
• Shoot the Hostage - Kiritsugu has her shot along with Kayneth.
• Stalker with a Crush - Diarmuid has to force her to stay away out of combat after she takes over, pointing out that she doesn't have Kayneth's training; Sola only gives in because she doesn't want Lancer to think she lacks confidence in him, not out of any concession to her own safety.

Aoi Tohsaka

Voiced by: Hasumi Ito

"I was prepared for something like that when I decided to marry into the Tohsaka family, when I decided to become the wife of a magus. When you enter the bloodline of a magus, it is a mistake to seek for the normal happiness of a family."

Childhood friend of Kariya, wife of Tokiomi, and mother of Rin and Sakura. Despite knowing exactly what was meant by marrying a magus (ie. being used to produce a capable heir) she accepted and was happy with her life. Devoted and unquestioning, who supports all of her husband's decisions and makes no objections; the ideal 'traditional wife'.

Finding Kariya with the dead body of Tokiomi, she snaps, grieves and blames him and the Matou for taking away both Tokiomi and Sakura. Kariya, unwilling to admit that Aoi truly loved her husband, is broken by her words, and strangles her. She survives the War, but is forever wheelchair-bound and mentally damaged, not understanding the absence of Tokiomi and Sakura. It's pointed out though that this might have been for the best as she gets to live the reminder of her life in (false) happiness.

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• All Girls Want Bad Boys - Marries the arrogant Tokiomi over Dogged Nice Guy Kariya.
• Beware the Nice Ones - Calls Kariya out after the death of her husband.
• Disposable Woman
• Extreme Doormat - Extremely submissive, never challenges the decision to marry Tokiomi and once married never questions him, following him devotedly and obediently no matter what, even when he decides to give her youngest daughter to the Matou family (resulting in her being horribly tortured for at least eleven years). It's even more evident in the bonus Drama CDs.
• Hime Cut
• Hot Mom
• Housewife - This is basically her assigned role; homemaking and heir-producing. Too bad she proves to be way too good at that...
• Oblivious to Love - Has no idea of Kariya's feelings for her.
• Yamato Nadeshiko - Wants to and tries to be this but lacks the "iron core".

Risei Kotomine

Voiced by: Masashi Hirose

"I am obliged. My debt toward the Holy Church and both generations of the Kotomine family will be carved as a family precept."

The father of Kirei and the overseer for the previous and current Wars. Secretly supporting the Tohsaka family, Tokiomi is close friends with him. While he is proud of his son, he does not seem to understand what kind of person he truly is.

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• Doting Parent - He thinks that he knows what makes his son tick very well. Unfortunately...
• Eyes Always Shut
• Horrible Judge of Character - Though it's a line from Fate Stay Night Kotomine once reflects on how his father never really understood him, he only saw his exceptional capabilities and apparent piety. In Fate/Zero, he has utter faith in Kotomine. However, he is not the only one to misunderstand what drives Kotomine, nor did he ever see Kotomine after he became the villain we know him as. Kotomine was genuinely distressed when Risei died as he wanted to kill his father himself.
• Unusual Eyebrows

Zouken Matou

Voiced by: Masane Tsukayama

"There were terrible cries for the first three days, but by the fourth day, she was silent. Today, she was thrown at dawn in the worm storage to test how well she would last, but, ho ho, she endured it for half a day and is still breathing. What do you know, the Tōsaka material isn't defective."

Head of the Matou/Makiri family, grandfather to Shinji Matou, father to Kariya Matou, and adoptive grandfather of Sakura Matou. He is actually around two centuries old, having used parasitic worms to extend his life span. He has a minor role in Fate/Zero as the one who pushes Kariya to join the Grail War, as well as the one who fosters Sakura's "training".

For his role in the fifth war, go here.

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• Bald of Evil
• Bigger Bad - Though he is a Big Bad in one of the routes of Fate/stay night, his presence is relegated to the background in Fate/Zero.
• Black Eyes of Evil
• Evil Old Folks
• For the Evulz - He sends Kariya into the 4th War although he considers Kariya's victory improbable from the very start, just because he wants to torture Kariya, who betrayed his expectations and defected from the Matou clan.
• Genre Savvy - When the demonic Caster was summoned, he immediately deduced that the Holy Grail system had erred, which caused the Grail's corruption and dismisses any chance of winning it, something Tokiomi and the Einzberns never realize through the whole war. He also discerns Kirei's true nature upon meeting him, and is very much aware of the stealth activities Kirei has been doing without Tokiomi's knowledge.
• Immortality Seeker
• Karma Houdini - Remember it isn't until Heaven's Feel in Fate/stay night when he gets what he deserves.
• Older Than They Look - And considering how old he does look, that's an accomplishment.
• The Worm That Walks - How he extends his life span.

Rin Tohsaka

Voiced by: Kana Ueda

The eldest daughter of Tokiomi and Aoi. A spunky, outspoken girl who shows a lot of promise as a mage.

She's one of the main heroines of Fate/stay night. For her role in the 5th Grail War, go here.

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• A Day in the Limelight - Gets a short chapter from her POV in the book. Expanded into a full-fledged episode (fittingly titled Rin's Adventure) in the anime adapatation.
• Aloof Big Sister - Totally ignores the fact that her younger sister was given to a family of evil mages.
  • Although there's no indication that she's aware of the "evil" bit....
• Badass Adorable - Only in the anime, though.
• Blue Eyes - Blue-green.
• Contractual Immortality
• Girlish Pigtails
• Kid Hero - Takes a shot at this during her spotlight chapter/episode. In the novel it ends in complete failure. In the anime her attempt is more successful.
• Morality Pet - To Tokiomi.
• Zettai Ryouiki - Even back when she was a child.

Sakura Matou

Voiced by: Noriko Shitaya

The younger daughter of Tokiomi and Aoi. Sakura was given away to the Matou family because the laws of the magus world prevented Tokiomi from training more than one of his daughters to carry on his family's tradition, and Tokiomi didn't want Sakura's potential to go to waste. Kariya made a deal with Zouken to win the Holy Grail in exchange for Sakura's freedom to return to the Tohsaka family.

She's one of the main heroines of Fate/stay night. For her role in the 5th Grail War, go here.

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• Body Horror
• Broken Bird
• Curtains Match the Window - Her hair and eyes have turned purple as a result of the worms implanted in her body.
• Dull Eyes of Unhappiness
• Hair Decorations - Wears a ribbon in the left side of her hair, which was the first ribbon her sister Rin ever made.
• Purple Eyes
• You Gotta Have Purple Hair

Illyasviel von Einzbern

Voiced by: Mai Kadowaki

The daughter of Kiritsugu and Irisviel.

She's a major character in Fate/stay night. For her role in the 5th Grail War, go here.

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• Artificial Human
• Cheerful Child
• The Cutie
• Daddy's Girl
• Older Than They Look
• Red Eyes, Take Warning
• White-Haired Pretty Girl

Shirley

Voiced by: Ayahi Takagaki

A young Philippine woman whom Kiritsugu was friends with in his childhood. Big admirer of Noritaka Emiya's research.

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• Dead Little Sister - To Kiritsugu.
• I Cannot Self-Terminate
• Posthumous Character
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom - She drank one of Noritaka's potions under development out of curiosity, which caused her transformation into a vampire and the destruction of her village.
• Wide-Eyed Idealist

Natalia Kaminski

Voiced by: Akeno Watanabe

A freelance mercenary who sold information concerning Noritaka and his research on vampires. She rescued a young Kiritsugu from Arimago Island and took him as her apprentice.

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• Action Girl
• Badass
  • Badass Longcoat
• Bare Your Midriff
• Blue Eyes
• Bob Haircut
• Cynical Mentor
• Expy - Basically a gun-toting version of Aozaki Touko, her design in the anime even resembles the original, novel-only design of Touko.
• Go Out with a Smile
• The Gunslinger
• Heroic Sacrifice - A botched assassination forces Kiritsugu to blow to smithereens the plane she's in to prevent a zombie outbreak. The anime implies that she's at peace with that and knew it was coming.
• Mage Killer - Kiritsugu learns all his gruesome trade from her, especially marksmanship.
• Mentor Archetype
• Only in It For the Money
• Parental Substitute - To Kiritsugu.
• Posthumous Character
• Smoking Is Cool
• Sugar and Ice Personality
• You Gotta Have Light Blue Hair

Byakuya Matou

Voiced by: Katsumi Toriumi

Father of Shinji, brother of Kariya and eldest son of Zouken Matou. He was passed over as heir to the family due to possessing very few, if any, magic circuits.

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• Alcoholic Parent
• Cain and Abel - Byakuya hates Kariya and believes that because of Kariya leaving he had to endure the cursed destiny of the family. And when Kariya returns, Byakuya believes it's for a selfish reason.
• Dirty Coward - It's Shinji's dad we're talking about...
• Freudian Excuse - He has few magic circuits, his son is incapable of sorcery and he eventually learned that Sakura was going to be the successor, which is probably is what turned him into broken alcoholic man.
• Hot Dad
• Irony- Shinji is out of the picture due to studying abroad at the time of the 4th Holy Grail War, which means that Byakuya was probably hiding the fact that the Matou family was a family of Magus from Shinji. Too bad Shinji eventually not only found out, but proceeded to let it go to his head in a big way, and when Byakuya finds out that Sakura will be the successor to the family in the Heaven's Feel route he starts neglecting Shinji.
• Parental Favoritism - In the Heaven's Feel route, after (unsuccessfully) trying to hide the nature of the Matou family from Shinji Byakuya starts favoring Sakura.
• Sibling Yin-Yang - With Kariya.
• The Unfavorite - Because he is weak as a Magus.
• Unwitting Pawn - Subverted, since while he is the one in charge of training Sakura in the worms' storage, the novel clearly states that he is fully conscience that he is being used by Zouken, but he doesn't care.
• You Gotta Have Blue Hair
• You Have Failed Me... - To Zouken. In hopes of having a heir with magic circuits, Byakuya had to marry a woman with an "inheritor" sorcery trait. Unfortunately his son had no abilities at all.

Kotomine's wife

Kirei Kotomine's deceased wife.

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• Eyes of Gold
• Hot Mom - Caren Ortensia's mother.
• Ill Girl
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy - To Kirei.
• Love Martyr - She was devoted to a man who was literally incapable of loving her.
• No Name Given - Her name has not been revealed. However, based on Caren, her surname is presumably Ortensia.
• Posthumous Character
• Senseless Sacrifice - She ended up committing suicide in hopes that Kirei would find compassion within himself again. And failed.
• White-Haired Pretty Girl
• Woman in White
• Yamato Nadeshiko