Fate stay night/Characters/Masters: Difference between revisions

 

 

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== Shirou Emiya ==

 

[[File:shirou_emiya.jpg|frame]]

 

 

Later it is discovered that {{spoiler|he possesses an innate talent in Projection magic, which enables him to replicate items -- including Noble Phantasms -- that he can visualize in his mind (although the copies are inferior to the originals, being reduced in power by one rank). His talent stems from the fact that, in the explosion at the climax of the Fourth Holy Grail War where he lost his parents, Shirou lost all sense of self-worth and can only find meaning in other people -- thus, Shirou can use ''himself'' as a material component when carrying out Projection}}.

Shirou is an accomplished archer (having been a member of the school's archery club without ever missing the bull’s-eye except the one time he felt like doing so) and, following some training from Saber, is mildly proficient in swordplay. {{spoiler|Like Archer, he possesses the Reality Marble "Unlimited Blade Works" -- which reduces the mana cost required for Projection magic to nil -- although his incantation to activate it is different.}}

 

* [[Always Save the Girl]]

** [[Visual Novel]]: {{spoiler|It's the point of ''Heaven's Feel''. Not so much in the other roads.}}

** [[Anime]]: Episode 4 of the anime, to Saber, though strangely only in the Japanese audio track.

* {{spoiler|[[Artificial Human]]: Kind of. [[Multiple Endings|In the True End of]] ''[[Multiple Endings|Heaven’s Feel]]'', Shirou's body has been destroyed and his soul, which was saved by Ilya, has been implanted into a human puppet, making him something closer to a familiar or a homunculus than a true human. He is indistinguishable from the real thing, but requires mana infusions to stay alive -- basically a non-[[Squick|squicky]] version of [[The Worm That Walks|Zouken]]'s existence, which only seems to work for one body}}.

** {{spoiler|And the way he gets his "[[Intimate Healing|infusions]]" ain't too bad either.}}

* [[Berserk Button]]: His loved/significant ones are his button.

** In the ''Unlimited Blade Works'' movie, calling Saber "useless" in Shiro's presence will result in the loss of an arm and being thrown into a black hole/rip in the fabric of the universe.

** You do ''not'' mess with Taiga.

* [[Beware the Honest Ones]]: Shirou's a little too far on the idealistic side for even ''Saber'', so while his allies appreciate him somewhat, they also know [[Honor Before Reason|he'll do something stupidly reckless if it's the "right" thing to do]]. {{spoiler|Tohsaka at the very end of the last route realizes she has no right to criticize because she isn't as ruthless as she thinks she is.}}

** In ''Fate'': {{spoiler|It lets him survive Rider's attacks, but also causes him to accidentally stab himself to death when he tries to use reinforcement to survive a three story fall immediately afterwards. However, it also saves him in the same route when it, along with Avalon's [[Healing Factor]], sutures him back together after he has been cleaved in half by Gilgamesh's Merodach.}}

** In ''Heaven's Feel'': {{spoiler|However, overloading on mana from Archer's arm causes the blades to ''manifest permanently'', slowly skewering him from the inside, but the protruding blades also end up [[Incredibly Lame Pun|giving him an edge in his last fight against Kotomine]].}}

* [[Broken Hero]]: Even called that in-series a few times. Much of ''Unlimited Blade Works'' is devoted to exploring it.

* [[Bully Hunter]]: He was this as a child.

* [[Comedic Sociopathy]]: Shirou honestly doesn't understand why ordering his male best friend to take off his clothes would be at all strange.

* [[Deadly Upgrade]]: {{spoiler|Archer's Arm.}}

* [[Determinator]]: Shirou has shades of this in all three routes, but ''Heaven's Feel'' deserves a special mention: {{spoiler|After having lost his servant, and discovering that the woman he loves is possessed by the avatar of all evil, Shirou decides that he's going to save Sakura, and he means it. He is supposed to drop dead after using Archer's Arm to project 3 times. He projects six times. He also fights both Dark Berserker and Saber Alter, both of whom are many times stronger than usual due to Sakura's increased prana, and wins. Oh, and his whole body is slowly being skewered by swords growing inside of him due to overuse of projection, he still keeps going. Then after all that, he still has a fist fight with Kotomine. Now with only a shred of his consciousness remaining, Shirou with his final thought projects Excalibur, and pops Angra Mainyu like a zit. Shirou should have been dead five times up this point, and he STILL. KEPT. GOING.}}

** [[Determined Defeatist]]

* {{spoiler|[[Died Standing Up]]: [[Multiple Endings|Normal End]] of ''Heaven's Feel'', and unleashing Excalibur on the Great Grail after he died.}}

* [[Eyes of Gold]]: Rather unusual for a protagonist.

* [[The Fettered]]: Shirou's ideal of wanting to save everybody is a large source of his strength. {{spoiler|''Unlimited Blade Works'' implies that his magic specialty arose specifically due to his lack of self-image.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Field of Blades]]: Can summon one in ''Unlimited Blade Works'', and [[Storm of Blades|it's not just for show]].}}

* [[Future Badass]]: {{spoiler|In the final bonus epilogue of the ''Realta Nua'' port, you will learn that Shirou takes the same path that Archer did, minus the regrets and eternal loneliness. As Saber says, he no longer needs her to be his sword and shield, he is more than capable of taking care of himself now. Whether he got an extreme tan, white hair, and a ridiculous growth spurt from overusing Projection magic is unknown since first person view makes it impossible to see how he looks like.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Future Me Scares Me|Future Me Annoys Me]]: Shirou instinctively can't get along with Archer, even long before he knows his identity.}}

* [[Generation Xerox]]: {{spoiler|"Mind of Steel" sees Shirou go down the exact same route as his foster father and willingly damn himself for his ideals. Kotomine, who knew his father, even points this out}}.

* [[The Hero]]

* [[Heroes Prefer Swords]]: Hell, even his affinity (and Origin) is "Sword".

* [[Honor Before Reason]]: For better or worse.

* [[Idiot Hero]]: He sometimes gets better.

** ''Unlimited Blade Works'': {{spoiler|I am the bone of my sword. Steel is my body, and fire is my blood. I have created over a thousand blades. Unaware of loss, nor aware of gain. Withstood pain to create many weapons, waiting for one's arrival. I have no regrets. This is the only path. My whole life was [[Title Drop|Unlimited Blade Works]].}}

** ''Heaven’s Feel'' [[Bad End]] #38: {{spoiler|Divine skill, flawless and firm. Strength moves mountains. Blade cuts water. Life approaches the Imperial Villa. Two great men, shared life!}}

* [[I Want My Beloved to Be Happy]]: Deconstructed. This is basically Shirou's default state towards ''anyone''. To clarify, unlike normal people who can somewhat create their own happiness, Shirou, thanks to his lack of any concept or sense of self, always places the need of others before his own and is completely unable to create his own happiness and has to live through others.

* [[Knight in Shining Armor]]: His role in the ''Fate'' route.

* [[Knight in Sour Armor]]: What he becomes in the ''Unlimited Blade Works'' route. {{spoiler|Hanging out with your cynical future self will do this to you.}}

* [[Martyr Without a Cause]]: Only in the beginning in the [[Visual Novel]]. The [[Anime]] has him this way all the way through.

* {{spoiler|[[Mega Manning]]: The whole point of Projection magic is that it lets Shirou use any weapon he has seen the original of. Also copies Archer in ''Unlimited Blade Works.''}}

* {{spoiler|[[Never the Selves Shall Meet]]: Works to his advantage. Shirou ends up siphoning skill and knowledge of fighting from his future self due to the time paradox that brought them together.}}

* [[Normally I Would Be Dead Now]]: Shirou is apparently not allowed to do anything awesome without first being reduced to a near-dead cripple. ''Ever''.

* {{spoiler|[[Not Quite Dead]]: In the [[Multiple Endings|True End]] of ''Heaven's Feel''. Shirou really did [[Earn Your Happy Ending|earn his happy ending]] in that one.}}

* [[Say My Name]]: {{spoiler|[[Large Ham|KOTOMINE KIREI]]!}}

* [[Selective Obliviousness]]: Trying hard not to notice anything in regards to how Sakura feels or how he himself is starting to feel about her since he feels it's inappropriate to be attracted to his friend's sister. Additionally, it's implied (and stated by Shirou himself, even) that he knew {{spoiler|who Archer was all along<ref>Do note that even before Archer uses the Trace On spell, Shirou recognizes him someone who embodies his ideals</ref>}}, but couldn't possibly comprehend the idea.

** {{spoiler|He's forced to kill Saber Alter}} in ''Heaven's Feel''.

** And again in one memorable [[Bad End]] of the same path, where he {{spoiler|lets Rin kill Sakura [[Principles Zealot|for the sake of his ideals]]}}.

* [[Spam Attack]]: {{spoiler|Nine Lives Blade Works. Shirou projects Berserker's sword. Much ass is kicked.}}

* [[Staying Alive]]: Due to the [[Healing Factor]] mentioned above.

* [[Survivor Guilt]]: He has a massive case of this, shown during both Fate and Unlimited Blade Works, and present but barely and far more subtle in Heavens' Feel. {{spoiler|[[Zig Zagged]] a bit later; on one hand, as Archer reveals the truth of Shirou's ideals, he points out that the reason for developing them and his dream of becoming a superhero isn't actually feeling guilty for being the only survivor. Rather, he only admired Kiritsugu and the smile he wore when he saved him, and that he took up Kiritsugu's own dream. On the other hand this still heavily applies to him in other cases.}}

** ''Unlimited Blade Works'': Two moments cement this: {{spoiler|when using Projection for the first time at a level superior to what he accomplished in ''Fate'' as well as learning some decent sword technique and the second when he uses the actual Reality Marble itself against Gilgamesh.}}

** ''Heaven's Feel'': {{spoiler|He gets Archer's arm attached and gains a mastery of Projection on par with Archers... but it slowly kills him. At the same time, though, it's turning his body into swords and speeds up the process, but still useful in the middle of hand to hand combat.}}

** After {{spoiler|stabbing Saber Alter}} in ''Heaven’s Feel'' {{spoiler|he erases all his memories of Saber over his crushing guilt at killing her.}}

* [[Unwanted Harem]]: He started out with Taiga and Sakura... And then got Rin. And then Saber. And then Ilya. {{spoiler|And Rider too in ''Heaven's Feel''.}} Some people include [[Gay Option|Issei]] in this.

* [[Weak but Skilled]]: Shirou was born with almost zero talent as a mage and with a single magic circuit (which is why it threatens to overload even by doing the simplest of magic like reinforcement). To make up for it, he work so retardedly hard that people even ridicule him for it. This is why his ( {{spoiler|and Archer's}}) battle abilities are pretty much all fighter-oriented as opposed to talented mages like Rin.

** {{spoiler|Though it could be argued that the ability to utilize the Reality Marble "Unlimited Blade Works" (without even having to manifest it) is a talent in of itself, an extraordinary one.}}

* [[You Killed My Father]]: In ''Fate'', {{spoiler|Shirou finds out that Kotomine killed Kiritsugu, ''and'' his original parents by causing the fire. He doesn't take that well.}} He finds out the former in ''Heaven’s Feel'' as well, but at that point it makes no difference to him.

 

== Rin Tohsaka ==

 

[[File:rin_tohsaka.jpg|frame]]

 

One of the main Magi of the series, known in the [[Fandom]] for her [[Tsundere]] traits and her Grade-"S" [[Zettai Ryouiki]]. Rin is an honor student in Shirou's school, and the talented heir of the prestigious Tohsaka magus family, one of the founders of the Holy Grail Wars. She enters the Fifth Holy Grail Wars out of a sense of responsibility (as the Tohaska heir) and her own competitive desire to win, and tries to summon a Saber-class Servant (widely considered to be the best Servant class). Thus, it is a point of much irritation when she summons Archer instead. Eventually she grows accustomed to him, and they are partners in every route of the game.

Rin is a complex person, using a honor student facade to hide her true character and using the Magus excuse for ignoring her own morals. {{spoiler|Sakura is her sister and she is aware of the fact. They have been separated when Sakura was taken in by the Matou, but because she avoids her sister, she hasn't learned about her horrific life.}} More than anything, Rin seems driven by her sense of duty to the Tohsaka lineage, though her moral values save her from being a self-absorbed sociopath like most magi (including the father she idolizes).

 

* [[Action Girl]]

* {{spoiler|[[Aloof Big Brother|Aloof Big Sister]]: Rin does not make it very obvious she cares for Sakura, and will retreat to her "we're just strangers" mask when around her. Though she has reasons for this, whether they are good ones, is up to the reader.}}

* [[And Now for Someone Completely Different]]: [[Inverted Trope|Inverted]]. Rin is the POV character in the game's prologue before it switches over to Shirou once the game proper begins. She also gets the POV at several times during ''Unlimited Blade Works''.

* [[Badass]]

* [[Blood Magic]]: Uses blood runes for summoning. It's later shown that she gradually enhances her magic arsenal by drawing her own blood and applying it to gems.

* [[Blue Eyes]]: Blue-green.

* [[Cheshire Cat Grin]]: If she's smiling at you, something bad is going to happen.

* [[Creepy Cool Crosses]]: One is displayed on her shirt when she's in her casual attire.

* [[Cry Cute]]: A great example of [[Cry Cute]] happens during the scene {{spoiler|where Shirou comforts Tohsaka after Archer betrays her}}.

** She gets another good one in the Unlimited Blade Works movie when Shirou tells her the story of how Kiritsugu saved him right after {{spoiler|Gilgamesh rips Ilya's heart out}}. Its not even the story that does it, its the fact that it twisted him so much.

* [[Equivalent Exchange]]: Supposedly a strong advocate of this, but it's a very poor cover for the good natured aid she gives at almost any opportunity.

* [[Face Palm]]: Rin does this ''a lot'', often because of Shirou.

* [[The Gadfly]]: Mixed with [[The Tease]]. Tohsaka doesn't limit herself here. Equal opportunity harassment.

* [[Gratuitous German]]: but beautifully spoken

* [[Image Song]]: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWIA0i3SgD4 "Kirari" (Sparkling)]

* [[I Uh You Too]]

* [[Jerkass Facade]]: Her "uncaring magus" persona.

* [[Kung Fu Wizard]]: She is a [[Nasuverse]] magus after all, so don't expect her to be [[Glass Cannon|useless]] [[Squishy Wizard|in close combat]].

* [[Leitmotif]]: "Gentle Everyday", which often plays during light-hearted moments.

** [[Weirdness Censor|And then they forget about it]].

* [[The Ojou]]: Complete with a [[Big Fancy House]]. Despite this, she's mocked as a bumpkin by Luviagelita, since she's from a country the Magic Association considers a backwater. As it turns out, she actually ''isn't'' very rich. Jewel sorcery is expensive.

* [[Panty Shot]]: Shirou almost gets one of these in the anime, which distracts Rin enough to make her lose her concentration. Also lampshaded in Shirou's victory quote over Rin in ''Fate/unlimited codes''.

* [[The Rival]]: To Luviagelita.

* [[Selective Obliviousness]]: Not her, but people around her. Whenever she does something that breaks her image as the "perfect model student"... like going full-on berserk [[Tsundere]] towards Shirou in the middle of a crowded classroom... other students will simply ''choose not to remember it'' so they can keep idolizing her in peace.

** Rin herself seems to exhibit this in regards to {{spoiler|Sakura. For someone who is usually very intelligent and observant, she is remarkably poor at noticing all of the things that have changed about her sister, including her ''hair color''. When she goes into the Matou house for the first time, she immediately realizes what being the Matou heir means, and yet despite knowing that Shinji has no potential as a magus, and that her sister was adopted into that family because her father couldn't train both of them, she fails to make the obvious logical jump to working out that Sakura is Rider's true master, and the heir of the Matou family, until it is explicitly pointed out to her. Of course, since working it out would have meant either hand-waving the fact that her sister is suffering horrific torture, or breaking from her duty as guardian of Fuyuki in an effort to save her, it's perhaps understandable that she decided not to think ''too'' hard about it}}...

* [[Stepford Smiler]]

* [[Suddenly Always Knew That]]: She learned martial arts offscreen and that skill is not know before the plot requires it.

* [[The Tease]]: She repeatedly teases Shirou in an overly flirtatious manner after finding out that he is easly embarrassed. It's turned back on her in her route when she starts becoming embarrassed when they're about to horizontal lambada.

* [[Tomboy and Girly Girl]]: It tends to get lost because of comparisons to Sakura, but Rin is actually very feminine as well. It's just that she's also an [[Action Girl]], who puts away any "feminine" traits when it's time to fight. The Tomboy in question here is Saber, who at some points adamantly refuses to even be considered a woman.

* [[Walking Techbane]]

* [[Wave Motion Sword]]: Her personal use of the {{spoiler|Jeweled Sword of Zeltrech.}}

* [[You Killed My Father]]: In ''Unlimited Blade Works'', {{spoiler|Rin finds out that Kirei is the one responsible for her father's death. She doesn't take it well.}}

* [[Zettai Ryouiki]]: GRADE "S"! She actually helped really popularize the popular combination of twin tails, tsundere and zettai ryouiki.

 

 

 

[[File:sakura_matou.jpg|frame]]

 

 

{{spoiler|She was chosen as a participant of the Holy Grail War and summoned Rider, but discovered that Shirou was also a participant and did not want to end up fighting against him. Thus, she was forced into handing over her Command Spells to Shinji, and Rider also suffered much abuse at Shinji's hands.}}

 

In ''Heaven's Feel'', Sakura becomes the heroine of the story, but also at cost of her sanity. {{spoiler|She becomes consumed by darkness, turning into a proto-form of Angra Mainyu known as ''Dark Sakura''. Giving into [[The Dark Side]] gives her tremendous power -- enough to kill anyone with ease, [[Healing Factor|regenerate from any wound]] [[The Corruption|and corrupt Servants into her loyal pawns]]. She also feels resentment towards Rin for basically abandoning her to a life of hell at the hands of the Matou family (unknown to Rin herself), which is amplified massively by her dark side. She eventually makes peace with Rin and was rescued by Shirou when he uses Caster's ''Rule Breaker'' to sever her connection to Angra Mainyu.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Abusive Parents]]: Or, rather, (supposed) grandparent....}}

* [[Beneath the Mask]]

* [[Big Eater]]: Although she tries to reserve herself out of fear of looking unladylike.

* {{spoiler|[[Body Horror]]: The Crest Worm.}}

* [[Broken Bird]]

* [[Cherry Blossom Girl]]

* [[The Corruptible]]: Throughout ''Heaven’s Feel'', there's a constant fear of Sakura succumbing to the corruption. {{spoiler|She resists more than seems humanly possible, but eventually she does.}}

* [[Curtains Match the Window]]: Sakura has unusual, purple-colored eyes and hair. {{spoiler|This is revealed to be because of the "conditioning" imposed upon her by Zouken in order to make her into the successor of the Matou brand of magecraft}}.

* [[Dogged Nice Girl]]

* [[First Girl Wins]]: Only in ''Heaven's Feel'', and even then she only gets to ''keep'' Shirou in one ending.

** She does get to keep Shirou in one [[Bad End|bad ending]] ({{spoiler|the last one}}), but she's hardly in a state to appreciate it by that point.

* [[Gratuitous German]]: ''Heaven's Feel'' only.

** It is revealed to be a [[Memento MacGuffin]] since {{spoiler|it was the first ribbon Rin ever made, and one of the few signs of their ''true'' feelings for each other}}.

* [[I Will Wait for You]]: In the Normal ending of the Heaven's Feel. {{spoiler|Sakura promises to wait for Shirou after his [[Heroic Sacrifice]], though it eventually becomes clear that he never returns to her.}}

* [[Lighter and Softer]]: In the manga, her backstory and other horrible things seem not to have occurred.

* {{spoiler|[[The Mourning After]]: Through the rest of her life in the Normal ending of the Heaven's Feel, Sakura stays in Shirou's home constantly waiting for Shirou to come home after his [[Heroic Sacrifice]] at the end of the Grail War.}}

* [[Nice Girl]]

* {{spoiler|[[Not Blood Siblings]]: A non-romantic variant. She's not Shinji's blood-related sister. Rather, she's ''Rin's''.}}

* [[Not So Weak]]: A plot point. {{spoiler|Zouken Matou can't break her by himself, and she won't fight back. At all. It takes a great deal of manipulation of outside factors and a good deal of stupidity from the heroes to actually make her snap. Until then, she was far more resilient than you'd expect for someone that's essentially broken inside. Still mostly sane after being raped constantly by Shinji at least, plus violated by worms, plus worms living inside her, plus excruciating pain and who knows what the hell else. But the crack that breaks her is how she tries to settle things to keep Shirou safe}}.

* [[Purple Eyes]]

* [[Shrinking Violet]]

* [[Stepford Smiler]]: Played with. At school, Sakura is more or less her "true self"; [[Extreme Doormat|quiet, stoic and never smiles in front of people.]] Around Shirou, she's cheerful, happy, lively and always has a smile on her face. The latter is not an act, but this trope still applies to some extent because of everything she's hiding under that smile.

** {{spoiler|[[Apocalypse Maiden]]}}

** {{spoiler|[[Combat Tentacles]]}}

** {{spoiler|[[From Nobody to Nightmare]]}}

** {{spoiler|[[Leitmotif]]: "All the Evils in this World", a remix of Kirei's "The Church on the Hill".}}

** {{spoiler|[[Marked Change]]}}

** {{spoiler|[[Person of Mass Destruction]]}}

** {{spoiler|[[Roaring Rampage of Revenge]]}}

* [[Tyke Bomb]]: {{spoiler|For eleven years, Sakura has been forced to act as a host for magical worms that allow Zouken to control her at will.}}

* [[Yamato Nadeshiko]]: [[Invoked]]. When she grew interested in Shirou, she resolved to reform herself to be more appealing and feminine.

 

 

== Shinji Matou ==

 

[[File:shinji_matou.jpg|frame]]

 

Sakura's brother and Shirou's childhood friend. Due to the land of Fuyuki "rejecting" the Matou family, they had lost their magical potential by the time that Shinji was born. Thus, Shinji lacks a Magic Circuit (and thus, has no magical potential whatsoever). This caused him to develop a massive inferiority complex {{spoiler|and a vast amount of resentment towards his adopted sister Sakura, who was brought in to continue the magical lineage that he could not. So when family head Zouken Matou orders him to periodically rape Sakura (to relieve her abnormal levels of sexual tension, caused by the parasitic worms flowing through her bloodstream), he takes far too much pleasure in it and even abuses her whenever it takes his fancy.}}

 

{{spoiler|Because he's such a lowlife, he ''never'' ends up well in any scenario. Ilya had Berserker kill him for being too pathetic to live in ''Fate''. In ''Unlimited Blade Works'', he is turned into a [[Body Horror|Holy Grail Core]] by Gilgamesh and nearly dies, which is enough to scare him straight after Rin saves his life. In ''Heaven's Feel'', he tried to blackmail Sakura by threatening to reveal to Shirou how he had raped her, which pushes Sakura over the edge and leads to him getting decapitated by Dark Sakura.}}

* [[Asshole Victim]]

* [[Berserk Button]]: He frequently snaps if he is humillated.

* [[Dirty Coward]]

* [[Disproportionate Retribution]]: In the manga, he bullies an archery student over minor and imagined infractions, prompting Ayako to warn him that he's on the verge of being expelled from the club. In response, he {{spoiler|orders Rider to attack her, putting her in the hospital}}.

* [[Easily Forgiven]]: Rin still manages to find it within herself to save his life in ''Unlimited Blade Works'' {{spoiler|in spite of the fact he tried to rape her while she was bound to a chair and completely helpless}}.

** {{spoiler|The fact that he is Sakura's adopted brother and she would be very upset by his death probably helped his cause}}.

** In the manga, he gets this from {{spoiler|Ayako, whom he had Rider attack, and Sakura, who saved his life}}. It should be noted that he does not {{spoiler|rape Sakura}} in the manga, {{spoiler|and this causes him to undergo a [[Heel Face Turn]]}}.

* [[Eviler Than Thou]]: Shinji faces off against other villains in every path; Ilyasviel in ''Fate'', {{spoiler|Gilgamesh}} in ''Unlimited Blade Works'', and {{spoiler|Dark Sakura}} in ''Heaven's Feel''. Too bad (for him) that he's the "Thou" part of the trope all three times.

* [[Freudian Excuse]]: The ''Heaven's Feel'' route reveals that he belives he is justified to abuse Sakura, due to being trated with contempt and neglect by his grandfather and his own father all his life.

* [[Humiliation Conga]]: In ''Heaven's Feel'', {{spoiler|right before Sakura kills him}}.

* [[Jerkass]]

* {{spoiler|[[Karmic Death]]: In "Fate" and ''Heaven's Feel''.}}

* [[Parental Neglect]]: Zouken considers Shinji to be a disgrace of a sorcerer and often neglects him. {{spoiler|In ''Heaven's Feel'' it is revealed that even Byakuya, Shinji's father, acted distant and with contempt towards Shinji and after he knew that Sakura was the successor, Byakuya started spending more time with Sakura until his death}}.

* {{spoiler|[[Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil]]: His defining and most hated trait: he is ''violently'' attracted to girls of the Tohsaka bloodline; if they are unwilling to receive his monstrous "affections?" [[Squick|All the better.]]}}

* [[Smug Snake]]

* [[Static Character]]: Apart from the ever present [[Villainous Breakdown|Villainous Breakdowns]], he tends to remain a complete and utter jerk throughout every route.

* [[The Unfavorite]]

* [[Villainous Breakdown]]: In the [[Anime]] and every storyline of the [[Visual Novel]], with multiple breakdowns in ''Heaven’s Feel''.

** In the manga, when Shirou and Rin interfere with his plans.

* [[Would Hit a Girl]]

* [[You Gotta Have Blue Hair]]

 

 

 

[[File:illyasviel.jpg|frame]]

 

 

* [[All There in the Manual]]: Several notable things, for instance {{spoiler|we only find out that she dies a year after the Holy Grail war in Archer's back-story via supplementary materials, and apparently the Dress of Heaven she wears at the end of ''Heaven's Feel'' will turn any human who touches it into gold!}}

* {{spoiler|[[Artificial Human]]: She was naturally conceived, but she's still a homunculus.}}

* [[Enfante Terrible]]

* [[Evil Albino]]: In much of ''Fate''.

* [[The Fake Cutie]]: She's genuinely quite innocent and naive, but in contrast to that she's probably the must brutal character in the story. {{spoiler|''Heaven's Feel'' makes it pretty clear that her little girl act ''is'' just an act. She's actually quite emotionally conflicted about what she should be doing and almost entirely lacks any hope for the future.}}

* [[Fille Fatale]]: Exactly ''what'' she plans to do with Shirou once she gets him varies from route to route, but in ''Fate'' at least she made it pretty clear just what she was planning to do with her new "toy" (You can't get much more explicit than straddling a tied-up boy and asking him if he'd like to be your slave!). [[Have a Nice Death|Tiger Dojo]] confirms [[What Could Have Been|there was originally an H scene here]] if you picked the wrong option. {{spoiler|Partially [[Subverted]] by the fact that she's actually older than he is, although her mental age seems to match her appearance pretty accurately}}.

** Arguably in ''Heaven's Feel''.

* [[Heroic Albino]]: In ''Heaven's Feel''.

* {{spoiler|[[Heroic Sacrifice]]: In ''Heaven's Feel''. She sacrifices herself to shut down the [[Artifact of Doom]] behind the Holy Grail War once and for all}}.

* [[Hostile Show Takeover]]: She cheerfully announces her intent to do this in ''Heaven's Feel'' during a [[Have a Nice Death|Taiga Dojo]] segment in ''Unlimited Blade Works''. When it doesn't work out that way, she tries to take over the Dojo instead... with a '''[[Tank Goodness|tank]]'''.

* [[Hypnotic Eyes]]

* {{spoiler|[[I Am Your Father|I Am Your Sister]]: She's technically Shirou's adoptive sister by virtue of her being Kiritsugu's biological daughter.}}

* [[Image Song]]: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghWNo01BpFA "Tsuki no Namida"]; also shares a more "fun" version with Taiga.

* [[Legal Jailbait]]

* [[Leitmotif]]: "Die Lorelei" by Phillipp Friedrich Silcher. Notable in being an actual German folk song.

* [[Meta Guy]]: She becomes this during the [[Have a Nice Death|Tiger Dojo]] segments accompanying each of the game's 40 [[Bad End|Bad Ends]].

* [[Mr. Exposition|Ms. Exposition]]: She fills this role pretty often, especially in ''Heaven's Feel''.

* [[Older Than They Look]]: {{spoiler|She's actually in her 20's. Homunculi have strange growth patterns, but hers is nonexistent as she wasn't made to be able to live as a human.}}

** To be exact, {{spoiler|she is actually Shirou's older stepsister.}}

* [[Oracular Urchin]]

* [[Restraining Bolt]]: For Berserker. See his entry for more details.

* [[Sociopathic Hero]]: ''Averted'', surprisingly enough. When she [[Heel Face Turn|turns]], her more sadistic tendencies seem to be put to rest.

** To make matters worse... Type Moon's official website uses "Ilya", while nearly all Type Moon merchandise uses "Illya". So it seems ''both'' spellings are canon.

* [[Stepford Smiler]]

* [[Tyke Bomb]]

* [[Units Not to Scale]]: Reversed from the normal presentation. The artwork actually exaggerates the size difference between her and Berserker. He's about eight feet tall while she's four to four and a half feet, but she doesn't reach much past his knee if the artwork is anything to go by.

* [[Winter Royal Lady]]: Not literally, but certainly she is characterized both by her princess-like looks and character and her affinity with winter.

* [[Yandere]]: Non romantic despite her clinginess. {{spoiler|She just wants to be properly acknowledged and secretly believes that Shirou won't.}}

* [[You Lose At Zero Trust]]: From early on in ''Heaven's Feel'' Shirou is getting along with her much better than in the previous two routes. {{spoiler|However, thanks to Zouken dicking around,}} she feels she has to ignore how she feels and opts for pragmatism and kills him rather regretfully if you don't have a high enough affection score with her.

 

== Kirei Kotomine ==

 

[[File:kirei_kotomine.jpg|frame]]

 

 

 

{{spoiler|His goal is to observe the effects of a wish made upon the tainted Holy Grail, for he is driven by a mental abnormality that can only find meaning in the suffering of others. To this end he hides the existence of Gilgamesh (who also survived the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War), kills one of the seven Masters to seize their Command Spells and Servant (Lancer), and quietly carries out his duties as the Grail War's overseer whilst hiding the Holy Grail's true nature as an evil artifact of destruction from everyone.}}

 

{{spoiler|In other routes, he's not quite the [[Big Bad]] anymore. Gilgamesh takes that spot in ''Unlimited Blade Works'', and he [[Enemy Mine|momentarily fights side by side]] with Shirou and Rin against Zouken Matou (who also takes that spot) in ''Heaven's Feel'', though he's still the final obstacle in the very, very end and is a Final Boss of sorts in that route.}}

** [[Badass Longcoat]]: His priest garments are like a combo between this and [[Badass Long Robe]].

*** [[The Coats Are Off]]: At the end of ''Heaven's Feel''.

* [[Classic Villain]]: {{spoiler|In ''Heaven's Feel'' Kotomine's parallels to Shirou become quite obvious with the classic climactic conclusion being resolved by Kotomine's lack of purpose outside the emptiness that is at both Shirou and his own core. Shirou's nature lies in defining himself through others, which is the same as Kotomine. The reason it is a virtue for Shirou and a vice for Kotomine is that Shirou's self definition lies in aiding others while Kotomine's is in harming them.}}

* [[Creepy Cool Crosses]]

** In ''Unlimited Blade Works'', {{spoiler|dispatched by Lancer, the original Servant of Bazett which he stole her Command Seals to obtain him.}}

** {{spoiler|[[Irony|And he's still not happy with that--- specifically because it makes him happy]]}}.

* [[Deuteragonist]]: {{spoiler|Does double time as primary antagonist and deuteragonist. While the main heroines generally have more screen time than Kotomine, he is largely the one who pushes the plot along and has a strong and complex relationship with Shirou, much to the latter's disquiet.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Disk One Final Boss]]: In ''Unlimited Blade Works''.}}

* [[Dissonant Serenity]]: In the ''Fate'' route, {{spoiler|during the scene where Shirou discovers the little secret Kotomine keeps underneath the church and Kotomine more or less psychologically tortures him about it while they stand there surrounded by corpses undergoing [[Body Horror]],}} he is described in the narration as speaking in his most genuinely cheerful tone of voice possible, smiling pleasantly, and generally treating him as a friend who came over for dinner. In the voiced version he even chuckles in between speaking as though at some kind of exceptionally funny joke he's listening to.

* [[Enemy Mine]]: In ''Heaven's Feel'', Kirei teams up with Shirou once {{spoiler|Zouken and Sakura kill off Lancer and Gilgamesh}}, putting Kirei on the losing end of [[Eviler Than Thou]].

** He still wins on [[Eviler Than Thou]], he's just a [[Magnificent Bastard]] taking advantage of the hero, with a bit of {{spoiler|[[My Death Is Just the Beginning]]}} thrown in. Zouken's an inevitable victim of [[Evil Is Not a Toy]], whereas Kirei knows exactly what he's doing.

* [[Foil]]: Is portrayed as quite an explicit one to {{spoiler|Kiritsugu Emiya, Shirou's father. Whereas Kiritsugu is a just, moral man who makes of himself a monster to protect the innocent from supernatural evil and to preserve the world, Kirei is a sociopath who was raised to be selfless and to serve goodness, but finds no pleasure in anything except doing evil, and wants to destroy the world which created him. Shirou finds himself also as a foil to Kirei, once his motivations are revealed.}}

* [[Friendly Enemy]]: The only way to describe his relationship with Shirou in the ''Heaven's Feel'' route.

'''Kirei''': You're thanking me? Are you sick? I will listen if something is worrying you }}

* [[The Gadfly]]: He derives pleasure from the misery of others. According to a humorous little side-story in the manga adaptation, this includes giving Rin clothes she absolutely hates every year.

* [[Hannibal Lecture]]: Is a master of it.

** [[From a Certain Point of View]]: And this.

** [[Mr. Exposition]]: And this too.

*** And [[Info Dump|Interminable Info Dumper]], which Shirou [[Lampshade Hanging|lampshades]] in impatient [[Internal Monologue]] in ''Heavens Feel''.

* [[Hidden Depths]]: You don't really get to know Kotomine until ''Heaven's Feel'' route. He's not as simple as he looks.

* [[Holy Hand Grenade]]: {{spoiler|He '''''baptizes''''' '''Zouken''' ''to death''.}}

* {{spoiler|[[Light Is Not Good]]}}: He's a priest. {{spoiler|An evil priest.}}

* [[Manipulative Bastard]]

* [[Meaningful Echo]]: In ''Fate'', he tells Shirou that, to have a chance of winning against him, he has to put his life on the line. He applies what he said on himself in ''Heaven’s Feel'' {{spoiler|upon finding his knuckles pulverized by punching Shirou's body which had been turning to swords.}}

* [[No Cure for Evil]]: Seemingly [[Averted]] by his healing magic. Except that those abilities were inherited through a Magic Crest, and according to all descriptions of their functioning, his is an exception in that it's consumed through use. He has no reservations against squandering it and doesn't seem troubled by its disappearance.

** {{spoiler|Those Crests were more than likely leftover Command Spells from the Fourth War since the Kotomine aren't a family of magicians and as such it's unlikely that they have a Crest. The rest is probably Kirei screwing around with Shirou.}}

* [[Say My Name]]: {{spoiler|Shirou and Kirei seem especially fond of calling each other by full names, especially when yelling.}}

* [[Shadow Archetype]]: {{spoiler|As Shirou comes to realize in ''Heaven’s Feel'', Kotomine and he are [[Not So Different]] -- both have essentially no sense of self and can only find purpose through their fellow humans: The only difference is that for Shirou it is helping people, and for Kotomine it is to cause them pain.}}

* [[Sinister Minister]]

* [[Throwing Your Sword Always Works]]: Due to his time spent with the [[Church Militant]] "Burial Agency", Kirei has a supply of "Black Key" throwing swords similar to the ones used by [[Tsukihime|Ciel]].

* [[Trademark Favorite Food]]: Mapo tofu. And he likes it ''hellishly hot''.

* [[Villains Out Shopping]]: Shirou enters a restaurant and... finds Kirei eating infamously hot mapo tofu at a Chinese restaurant.

** The first plate was probably an intimidation tactic. To signal the end of his conversation, he has ''second and third'' helpings sent to the table, starts gobbling scoops of it, and again asks Shirou if he wants some.

* [[Will Not Tell a Lie]]: For shits and giggles. It's much more fun to trick people without lying.

 

 

== Souichirou Kuzuki ==

 

[[File:soichirou_fsn.jpg|frame]]

 

Rin's homeroom teacher at school. He lives in the Ryuudouji Temple and is Issei's older-brother figure. A tall, stern man who [[The Stoic|rarely expresses any emotion at all]], he appears physically intimidating, but is really a gentle soul who does his best to give each student a fair and proper education.

 

In ''Unlimited Blade Works'', {{spoiler|Kuzuki is killed by Archer after the latter double-crosses Caster}}. In ''Heaven's Feel'', {{spoiler|he and Caster are the first victims of True Assassin and Angra Mainyu's embryonic form}}.

* [[Asskicking Pose]]

* [[Badass Normal]]: He actually manages to defeat {{spoiler|''Saber'' during their first encounter with only magical enhancements from Caster toughening up his hands and his own unconventional martial arts style. It's stated that had they figured out his assassin-like fighting style, any Servant could easily beat him, but be that as it may...}}

* [[Badass Teacher]]

* [[Barehanded Blade Block]]: The very first demonstration of his [[Badass Normal]] status came when he caught {{spoiler|[[Action Girl|Saber's]] [[Up to Eleven|invisible sword]]}} between his elbow and knee.

* [[Extreme Doormat]]: Fairly obviously in love with {{spoiler|his Servant, Caster}}, but doesn't actually ''do'' anything of his own volition. In fact, he rather bluntly says that she can do anything she likes and he'll let her, and his only priority is his own life over hers. {{spoiler|This really isn’t true ‘‘either’’, but whatever}}.

* [[Good People Have Good Sex]]: [[Subverted]], as he and {{spoiler|his Servant Caster}} have a pretty decent sex life despite being among the enemies.

* [[Invulnerable Knuckles]]: [[Reinforce Field|Justified.]]

* [[Megane]]

* [[Perpetual Frowner]]

* [[Power Fist]]: With a bit of [[Status Buff|help]] {{spoiler|from Caster}}.

* [[Rescue Romance]]: {{spoiler|With Caster.}}

* [[Scary Shiny Glasses]]: In the anime and manga adaptations.

* [[Stern Teacher]]

* [[The Glasses Come Off]]

* [[The Stoic]]

* [[Unholy Matrimony]]: {{spoiler|With Caster.}}

* [[Unusual Eyebrows]]

* [[Weak but Skilled]]: He's a normal man with no knowledge of the supernatural world and no magical abilities whatsoever. Yet with an enchantment on his fists and his own unconventional martial arts style, he manages to {{spoiler|temporarily overwhelm Saber, the best close-range fighter, and rips out Rider's throat during his most prominent route.}}

 

 

== Zouken Matou ==

[[File:zouken_9823.png|frame]]

 

 

{{spoiler|However, he eventually loses control of Sakura, and eventually he is killed by a combination of Kotomine Kirei and Dark Sakura. Living through even this by sheer force of will, he is finally convinced it is his time by Ilyasviel during the final moments of the final ending.}}

* [[Big Bad]]: In ''Heaven's Feel''.

* [[Black Eyes of Evil]]

* [[Determinator]]: {{spoiler|Still alive after being exorcised by Kotomine and having the worm carrying his soul crushed by Dark Sakura by jumping into a bunch of hastily created worms (all the while enduring agonizing pain for the sake of ''not dying'') -- until he was convinced to finally let go by Ilya.}}

* [[The Dog Bites Back]]: {{spoiler|Killed by Dark Sakura when at his most vulnerable after years of mistreatment. It's implied (though not outright stated) in ''UBW'' that Shinji had Gilgamesh kill his body in that path as well, which if true would make it a double case due to him saddling Shinji with his inferiority complex.}}

* [[Faux Affably Evil]]: The very first time Shirou encounters him, Zouken just looks like a normal, well-mannered grandfather to Sakura and Shinji ; he invites Shirou to stay for dinner and asks him to be a good friend to his grandchildren. He even threatens to call the police or to "hurt [Shirou] a bit" when he first mistakes him for a stalker following Sakura. [[Complete Monster|Then we learn how he himself treats Sakura.]] Feel free to think about [[Fridge Horror|what he might have meant by that "hurting a bit" thing.]]

* [[Grand Theft Me]]: In order to keep himself alive, he has to obtain a new body every few months (or when the old one is damaged beyond repair).

* [[Immortality Immorality]]

* [[Immortality Seeker]]

* {{spoiler|[[Karma Houdini]]: Outside of ''Heaven’s Feel''.}}

* [[Leitmotif]]: "Wandering Shadow" plays almost every time Zouken appears onscreen.

* [[Older Than They Look]]: And considering how old he ''does'' look, that's an accomplishment.

* [[Shadow Archetype]]: {{spoiler|His original motivation as a magus, revealed upon his death, was the betterment of the human condition, even if his life and efforts aren't rewarded at all. In the last portion he was exactly what Shirou is}}.

* [[The Dark Side Will Make You Forget]]: His original motive for attaining the Grail was {{spoiler|to honor the life of a colleague who had sacrificed herself to create the original Holy Grail (in order to create the Gate of All Things, which would lead to the root of the universe itself).}} Over time, frustration, age and his deteriorating body caused him to forget his original goal, leaving only an unnatural obsession with immortality.

* {{spoiler|[[The Worm That Walks]]}}

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Characters]]