The Tragedy of Emiya Kiritsugu (A Fate/Zero Character Analysis)
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0:00 Introduction & Motivations
3:40 Clash of Ideologies
10:10 The Haunting Past
14:46 A Tragic Ending
Fate Zero is one of my all time favourite anime and the journey Emiya Kiritsugu goes through is so profoundly impactful. Today I present a character analysis of Emiya Kiritsugu and what makes him so well written!
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Kiritsugu is a human trying to act like a machine while Shirou is a machine trying to act like a human.
That's pretty much what happens in Mind of Steel ending of the VN.
This is actually a really good encapsulation of their characters.
I suppose that's accurate.
No they are both human trying to act like a machine
@@markandrewbautista5539 i agree They are both human that end up on the same path of destruction as machines of murder being the heroes of justice. As kiritsugu become a killer of bad magus and shirou becoming a counter guardian that only keeps on killing that finally end up to that broken state of mind for both
Its kinda interesting how the character design and intial meanerism of both kiritsugu and shirou is misleading. Kiritsugu dressing in all black and seeming like a cold and calculated machine only to reveal a flawed and troubled human being. While shirou has the nice guy persona plain looking and generic clothing to hide a psychopath comparable to kirei
Never got that vibe from Shirou. Really need to watch Heavens Feel.
@@rhetttimbers2186 you should read vn ( i know you can't). You get this vibe from every routes not just heaven's feel.
@@HerMi.T I've heard. Apparently Shirou is better in the visual novel for UBW than he is for the show.
@@rhetttimbers2186 The VN should be #1 priority material. The anime doesn't properly show Emiya's thought process, which is a good portion of his character.
@@rhetttimbers2186 Heaven's Feel won't show you that aspect. In fact, HF shows his humanity. He was willing to abandon and sacrifice everything for Sakura, like a human for his/her beloved.
Rather, you should read UBW and Fate route in VN. That 2 route shows how hollow and broken he is.
I love how Kieitsugu, the three shirous and archer all just make such a rich exploration of idealism
exploration and certain deconstruction
Dude, you should "Fate/Kaleid Liner: Oath Under Snow" then. It explores what Shirou would've become if he lost his faith in humanity.
@@genghiskhan6809 and yet, even there he isnt truly cold, he takes on a path closer to kiritsugu's
@@tiagobelo4965 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐤𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝.
@@tiagobelo4965he doesn't do anything remotely close to what Kerry does. He's literally doing the opposite
Kiritsugu's journey of struggling to fulfill his dream of world peace out of guilt and a sense of responsibility because of the trauma that he experienced, which he blames himself for, will always be one of the most impactful and emotionally resonating motivations to me. Kiritsugu is a beautifully written tragic hero and one of my favorite characters of all time who changed me as a person. Thank you so much for making this vid! I'll now enjoy it! :)
He is absolutely amazing. Hope my video does him justice!
@@KevinNyaa It did him justice, fam. Really loved it and it made me tear up, thank you so much. Keep the good work up, king.
Yes you are completely right. I think his story is not complete without stay night. His character arc is actually completed in ubw route of stay night.
He's even more tragic after this as he unknowingly created someone way worse.
Why did kiritsugu say that he wont be able to play with illya anymore when he kills the grail/illya ..did he know that the Einzbern family wont let him meet her ?
(Waking irisveil makes sense cause now she is dead, but returning illya ? When was she taken in the first place ?)
Kiritsugu is certainly one of the most complex characters in anime and in general although I'm personally way more partial to Artoria and Kotomine. Fate/Zero's cast, in general, remains a true testament to some of Urobuchi's best writing only matched by Psycho-Pass and it's not that Kiritsugu is devoid of emotion, I never got that impression, he is emotionally broken. Anytime he ever developed a strong emotional pillar they would end up dying and it just made him a darker and less sane person, this comes to a conclusion when he is able to find someone who will hopefully not repeat his mistakes, Shirou Emiya. Urobuchi's nihilism is interesting because while it does display some of the darkest things humanity can achieve and what mindset is required to reach those points, it can leave faint glimmers of hope and a chance to do better. One last thing I wanted to comment on is one of my favorite scenes in fiction ever which is the ideological clash between Kiritsugu and Artoria that happens in Episode 16 if I remember correctly is many people point out how Kiritsugu rightfully deconstructs Artoria's idea of the battlefield but overlook how Artoria calls out Kiritsugu's poor attempts at a utilitarianism because he once had a mindset that clearly was similar to hers and something must've caught that to decay severely and that's what Kiritsugu's backstory arc covers so well. This is one of my favorite anime of all time for a reason and a true masterpiece in every sense of the word.
Well said
said by someone with the most complex character in anime pfp
@@rarewaifu F/z Saber is impeccable.
I feel like Shirou Emiya giving up on his ideals in Heavens Feel was really for the best because his "ideals" felt and looked more like suicidal behavior than anything good.
@@ColonelBragg UBW Shirou didn't give up on his ideals but he ends up having a healthy version of it.
I am the bone of my bullet.
I am the bone of my sword.
Like father, like son.
Nasu did say "No matter how much goodwill Kiritsugu's actions are base on, in the end, he is just a self-satisfied villain, this is the same for Shiro as well."
Could you post the source for that please.
@@r.k845 If you can find it, it's in the "UBW's behind-the-scenes interview" the name is not an official translation, it's my own because I don't have it in English.
Quick summary about it: Nasu was working with Ufotable on Fate/Zero, Ufo want to include Kiritsugu as a hero, then Nasu express the quote I posted.
@@LazyJunn that is the trouble. The animation usually isn't fit with the original story. And even the original story isn't easy to understand. ( if we only can understand his story by reading his interview, why we buy and read his novel from the beginning?)
I actually feel sick when UBW anime explain as Archer only kills the bad guys ( some soldiers) while he actually massacres even innocents and citizens in novel. The director wants the viewers have a good feeling about Archer.
Well at least both of those character was reborn on fate grand order on lost belt🥰🥰🥰
When you realize Shirou was the reason Kiritsugu didnt die alone and miserable :(
"The road to hell is paved with good intentions" "You either die a Hero or live long enough to become a Villain" ""Some people were born with with greatness, others have it thrust upon them". I believe these words are appropriate to describe Kiritsugu. What people tend to forget is that sometimes, the most vile of villains are the most human of characters. Even more so than heroes. Often, this may be because, at one point in time, they too were heroes. But the awful truth of reality had jaded them. The understanding that sometimes, in order to get things done, horrible things have to happen and that somethings, can only be purchased in blood. Theses truths would break anyone. With this knowledge, the honorable thing to do would to disappear or fade from history. But the right thing to do, is to exists and continue live on, carrying this burden. In hopes that future heroes would never have to carry the same burden and that their ideals would never be tainted with the same truths. And, if fate was merciful, allow these "villains" redemption. Either with them being defeated. Or to be sacrificed, so that, at the very least, they are able accept themselves for what they have done. And, if they are capable, find the strength to forgive themselves for their sins. Few villains or tragic heroes are written so well. Kiritsugu is one of them.
Couldn't have put it any better myself!
Eren Jaeger
That was beautiful man 😢
@@kingstash8955 HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I bet you don’t think that way anymore!
Wp
The "I want to become a hero" line at the end of the series killed me the first time I saw it. Great job encapsulating one of my favorite characters ever!
How are u typing this if u r dead?
Kiritsugu is a character who when you see him, you will smile, but in sadness..
It's like you are trying hard to cheer him up, but you know that you can do nothing for him..
Exactly how I've always been understanding Kiritsugu. The main motivation of Kiritsugu was never any sense of justice, but his guilt that he failed to keep his promise in the first time, and his desperation to make up for that. The series has shown, in multiple occasions, that Kiritsugu, in his monologue, reiterating his resolution to keep his promise he made to Shirley by trying to answer the question Shirley asked.
That ending of Fate Zero is the perfect conclusion of the show, for Kiritsugu, at last, explicitly answer that important question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" This signifies that this long journey of Kiritsugu has come to an end, and symbolizes his fulfilling of the promise that has haunted him the whole life --- he finally lets Shirley witness what he've become.
P.s. I by no mean argues that Kiritsugu has little sense of justice nor do I argue that his sense of justice serves no place in motivating him. I mean that if his motivation only came from his ideals on justice, he wouldn’t have went through such long, painful and desperate path. He could have been an activist or someone like that who strive his life for justice, but he wouldn’t have habitually threw himself into the most hellish place on earth to save the many, sacrificing his most beloved ones for his ideals, nor would he bet all his faith and everything in the miracle holy grill, i.e. he wouldn’t have led himself to all these tragedies.
@@gouhoh7906 the reason why he took the route he took was because that’s what he was good at doing. also, one of the main reasons he part take the Holy Grail War was because it grants any wish to whom was victorious. Hence why he was in it. He wanted world peace. At the end, he figured out that the Holy Grail War was nothing but just a sick joke and also came to a conclusion that his wish was impossible. All those killings were pointless and unredeemable. I also agree that he thought that he was always right when in fact he wasn’t. As much as i agree with him and love his character, he has many flaws. The sad part is, he just made things so much worse and like you said, getting his love ones dead in the process. It’s sad. He failed miserably. It’s pretty ironic that his dreams and ideals was to end Wars and Violence but has killed many and many people. He became the very person he hated.
I just can't side with this character. This character is such a hypocrite... uses "Justice" for his killings. Alot if not all his decisions could have been done a more humane route but instead goes to shooting and blowing up his own family and says it's for justice. He is no different than an infamous irl person who I won't mention here but is quite similar to him. I've never clashed with the ideology of a character like this before so while his character may be one of the best well written characters, my way of thinking or my view on things didn't align with his thus making me not enjoy his character. If u enjoy his character then go for it but I couldn't care for him at all to be frank...
@@gouhoh7906 Kiritsugu literally said he wanted to a "hero of justice"
@@malekat8539 You're naive if you think this story could've been settled humanly
The only difference between Saber and Kiritsugu is quite literally strength. Luxuries like honor on the battlefield belong to those who are strong. Weak people have to be more vicious, play dirtier, and ultimately be ready to sacrifice to even stand a chance to beat someone stronger. This is what Kiritsugu had to do. He had to win because he thought what he was doing was just. But to enact his justice, he had to commit atrocities to even stand a chance to beat stronger opponents.
The journey that Kiritsugu undergoes in Fate Zero is so profoundly impactful. I feel many people undercut his character and simply label him as having a utilitarian ideology when it's so much more nuanced. I hope this video convinces people why he's such a beautifully written tragic hero.
I promise not to take so long in uploading next time! See you all. :)
Worth the wait
Because of the one time Kiritsugu stood there and didn't pick up the dagger. He's been picking up daggers whenever he sees them for the rest of his life.
This video explains the truth and purpose of the Tragedy genre. It's not all about suffering and nihilism but it's just as much about hope, catharsis and the belief that one can survive pain and tragedy in their lives. Tragedy is a multifaceted genre that's not solely about suffering cause it's so much more.
czcams.com/video/m6Vz2TCGTKs/video.html
I believe people who think that way are just people who really don't think of why stuff happens the way it happens. If people tried to understand Kiritsugu, they would see that all of it is a product of his earlier life. Nature vs Nurture yet again!
I just can't side with this character. This character is such a hypocrite... uses "Justice" for his killings. Alot if not all his decisions could have been done a more humane route but instead goes to shooting and blowing up his own family and says it's for justice. He is no different than an infamous irl person who I won't mention here but is quite similar to him. I've never clashed with the ideology of a character like this before so while his character may be one of the best well written characters, my way of thinking or my view on things didn't align with his thus making me not enjoy his character. If u enjoy his character then go for it but I couldn't care for him at all to be frank...
The Animated John Wick
Idk why but Kiritsugi's face had always reminded me of Adult Gon's face.
I was actually thinking the same thing.
Maybe because of the soulless eyes or it shows them already having lost most of their humanity.
His teenage face during his time with Natalia kinda reminds me of Kamijou Touma.
Why is your profile picture blackface...
@@justahuman9273 just realized
@@justahuman9273 he lost most of his humanity
before killing his mentor, kiritsugu thought that killing less to save more is the right thing to do. but after that he breaks and acknowledges that the world containing this rules is wrong. from now on he can only rely on the miracle grail can do.
Ironic that this same ideology is how emiya archer was made
In killing less to save more he realized how impossible and hypocritical his dream to become a hero of justice
I honestly fell in love with Kiritsugu. Fate Zero was amazing.
Kiritsugu Emiya is one of the best written characters in all of anime and I'll die on this hill
Urobuchi and Nasu are both really good writers, that's why.
This anime was so unbelievably masterfully crafted, it crushed my soul. I cried genuine tears, but it somehow ended with a glimpse of hope shining through the tradgedy. This Gen Urobuchi guy is incredible. Almost reminded me of Evangelion in some ways.
@@benjaminramsey498 lol I didn't think you were supposed to like Caster honestly. For me I liked certain aspects of Kiritsugu, and didn't like others, for me the story was more about idealism never truly being feasable. From the first time he explained "I want to eradicate human violence" I immediately jokingly thought "pfft yeah right, the only way there will be no violence is if there's no people! It's human nature". I truly was angered by when he kills Lancer, as I loved him and his dynamic with Saber. But I feel like all of the characters, have things I love about them, but also things I don't agree with. Loved Saber, but thought her ideals were impossible (very similar to kiritsugu), I loved Rider but disagreed when he claimed his way of being king, was the only true way. I felt like the characters were very human. I also loved Kariya, but feel like his arc was well enough shown on screen, it was sad, but clear that his mind and soul were being destroyed by the worms, and that his ending would not be a happy one. I loved the twist that it was already kind of too late for Sakura, made his entire character more of a tragic futile struggle. Rather than a simple martyr.
@@benjaminramsey498 pfft yeah I would agree, him and Ryuunosuke are somehow even more revolting in the Manga. I was mainly a Rider fan, but I also liked Lancer, Saber, Kariya, Iri, kinda hated Archer though, fuck that dude.
I love how you can see kiritsugus emotional and mental process through his eyes. In the beginning he was more naive but when he killed his father his eyes dimmed and lost some life, some flare that had before. As the story went on and showed his backstory I saw how his eyes seemed dead showing how he cut off his emotions and turned into a so called machine. Kiritsugu is an amazing character and is honestly in my top 5 if not top 3
Thank you for this, Fate/Zero is my favourite anime and Kiritsugu is my favourite character. I was also going to do an analysis on him but you did an amazing job explaining his flaws and true motivations that I probably don't need to. He's one of the most complex characters I've seen in anime, and I related to him a lot. His biggest flaws were his unwillingness to admit his ideals were not entirely correct (due to the burden he placed on himself), and him not being consciousness about other possible factors applicable to the grail. In my eyes he was a hero tainted by suffering in the world, thus creating his savior complex to rid the world of suffering as a promise to Shirley. Thank you again for the video.
After looking into Kiritsugu's eyes I really felt he has lost his motivation in life
His childhood version had the shine but his adult version look broken
Truly masterpiece of a character
@@cynt4416 For me it was the look in his eyes when he killed his father. It wasn’t a sacred look of desperation like you’d expect that scenario to bring out of a kid. Instead he looked cold. Empty. Ruthless. Frankly, psychotic.
I’m not sure what this was supposed to tell us as viewers. But I took it as him having that monster inside of him from the very beginning.
This is going to be good kiritsugu emiya the magus killer is one of my favourite characters in all of fiction
Cringe.
I love that this is back!
This video was super well put together and gave great insight into one of my favorite series... Well done!
I can't believe I've never seen this video on my favorite Fate character! I watched Fate Zero last May and right after I was searching any analysis video on it that was possibly interesting. I'm so glad that just now by accident I found this one.
Love your videos man. Excited to see more takes on masterful peices of fiction.
this is the best review i have ever seen, thankyou so much
WONDERFUL interpretation, I just finished this show and came out of it with only wanting to disect each frame and key point as you have!
I love these kinds of videos about fate zero so much .
You did a fantastic job in this video.
One of the best anime videos I have ever seen.
You’re back with an analysis of Best Boy. Based
Great video, man!
Beautiful analysis of my favorite character in all of anime. Bravo sir.
really love your videos!
Fantastic video!
Thanks!
Love this video thank you. Hopefully you can do shirou emiya someday but once again thank you for this video
Great video
My god this is a good analysis
A promise. Quite the parallel with EMIYA. Just like EMIYA. No wonder both end up Counter Guardians even in another World.
Hi man, I loved and enjoyed this video. I sawed this right after watching it
This channel truly needs more subs ngl
Great video! :D
great video..I think you did him justice
truly one of the greatest anime character to ever exist
I just re watched fate zero so thanks for making this video
Kiritsugu heroism form of bulet
Shirou unhealthy mind like broken sword.
Kirei flawed existence
Gilgamesh golden arrogance
Sakura fracture mind of cute kohai
Rin ignorance towards everyone around her
Illya frozen misunderstandings
Kazuki emptiness
Shinji's insanity and crave of acknowledgement and honesty in people warps in sea of shadows .
Saber unhealthy desire
Archer self hatred
Man... people are scary sometimes.
Fate stay night:Emiya
Fate zero:The cooler Emiya
Nah
Nooooo, go away Zerostan
What do you mean Archer already exists in Stay night?
Fate zero is a tragedy and a lesson that people dont want to watch or learn,but it's way too deep for an understanding that you must learn ,life isnt what you always expect it to be
The tragedy is he drew Artoria and not Mordred.
The tragedy is that Gen doesn't know how to write Artoria. These two should've been a pretty natural fit for each other at this stage
@@wrigglenight93 The fact that Kiritsugu and Artoria had a bad relationship was already established in the VN.
A lot of people including the creator of the video keep saying that I disagree with is that Kiritsugu's story is tragic. What defines tragedy is that no matter how much a character struggles, no matter how much they try, no matter what they do, they have a horrifically painful and sad end. I think Kiritsugu's story is one that is quite sad but the end is not tragic. He saved someone who should not have lived, he ended up passing away a kind and happy enough figure.
Whats tragic is that emiya archer, even after ubw he is still stuck as a counter guardian
@@r3ll282 lol he died empty inside. Shirou literally said that he was even emptier then him, a literal machine.
It's tragic cuz he achieved 0% of all that he wanted to achieve...
World peace? Bitch wait till the human incineration comes....
Happy family? Dead wife, daughter turned into a homicidal robo who later dies, either through self destruction, magic or open heart surgery...
A better mentor than Natalia? Maiya died in a corner without even reuniting with her son...
A saved son who will live on and be normal and happy? Bitch u don't become the most eligible counter guardian in the universe unless your life and mind are both fukd up...
A hero in the end? Didn't even ascend to the throne nor helped chaldea... The only thankful person would be ALAYA cuz it got EMIYA cuz kiritsugu once again fukd up
Kariya in a nutshell basically
I might actually title this "He saved someone who should not have lived, he ended up passing away a kind and happy enough figure." as the catharsis of the story. The peripeteia comes at the catastrophe and after that, a catharsis is reached. We can also see this in many greek tragedies, where the chorus at the end gives a look into the future, ending the tragedy.
Good fucking video bruv. Spot on analysis.
Kiritsugu is such a good character. His story made me want to cry. I also see a bit of myself in him.
Dude, you seriously deserve more views. Subbed. ✌🏻
Yo, thanks!
I agree with your take 100% that’s exactly how I saw him he is a layered character but not hard to understand.
I think people focus too much on the "focusing on your ideals too much leads to disaster" part. I think the main problem with Kiritsugu was the actions he took were all preventative actions.
It wasn't that being a hero of justice was wrong, what was wrong was how he was going about doing this.
I think instead he should hav focused quite a bit more on healing the world after some tragedy. By doing so, he would have become an ideal for how others can heal the world, instead of becoming an ideal for people who love delivering their personal form of justices.
Doing so would have maybe made him love himself and his life more, because that would have been a creative process instead of a destructive process, having a balance of those is important I think.
Grief and tragedy and fate are such good songs.
This video is so perfectly constructed kiritsugu is such a complex character that a lot of people find hard to appreciate
DAYUM this video hit hard also this is why Kiritsugu is my favorite non servant character in Fate.
Him and Tenma Kenzo really are something
To me it feels like Kiritsugu forces himself to view the world in a black and white world because it makes his job easier
Btw I'm not saying that he is lazy I'm simply saying that he is someone that doesn't bend his ideology for anyone.
That’s basically what he’s doing. He’s trying to justify him killing people
@@beliefanderson1150 it IS lazy, he's taking the easy way out every time
@@tsurugi5 Yep, he’s given opportunities to change his character but he just can’t. And every time he chooses to push forward, things get worse until he finally has some sort of an epiphany and saves Shirou.
he does not force it upon himself, the world forced it upon him, he was molded into it ever since he was a child, he knows nothing else, no one was there to tell him how he should view things other than the person who murdered his father
One of my favorite characters
I fucking love Kiritsugu, he is my favorite character in Fate, and possibly my favorite in anime. His story reminds me in many ways of No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai, but from the angle of heroic struggle. To shed your humanity piece by piece as you sacrifice for others I think is a universal experience of responsible adulthood.
Been a fan of Fate since 06 (21 years old) and I’ve always connected heavy with Kiritsugu. He’s an extremely layered character, just like I am. Unfortunately it almost seems I’ve almost become him. I only care about making money (currently working in HR management, nearly an emotionless field and yes I’ve changed many lives) and I’ve sacrificed nearly all of my personal relationships for it, but I did it to protect the people I love, whenever they need me.
Money Is good fuck humans
Be true to yourself did you do it for yourself and your own sense of acomplishment or for others. I am only 18 but I will never do such a thing, I will try to be with everyone in my life this is the only thing that gives meaning to me. When you let someone go you also let go a part of yourself. I don't want to regret anything in my deathbed and I want to be me.To feel like made a diffrence in someone... And to see how I can make other people happy that is why I live. I am sorry that I made this about me I think I am more of an Iscandar person , go back try to talk to the people you left behind and live with no regrets
"The King of England."
Celts: and I took that personally.
"While you're up here fighting for peace, tons of blood is being shed on the ground, some "peace" kid."
- Pixy from Ace Combat Zero: Balkan War
Kiritsugu's actions reminds me of Martin Walker, A man with good intent willing to use the most horrid methods necessary to achieve it, no matter how much it kills him from the inside, it was his dream of a world without death and violence that ended in more death and violence, this time He had a more active role in it, the previous one could be excused, this one cannot.
A man who wants to save everyone, yet his talents lie elsewhere.
A man who never wants to hurt anybody.
After all the things that had happened, He still gets the chance to go home, lucky bastard.
I wonder if there is a possibility Kiritsugu can be summoned as a Heroic Spirit in an alternative fate spin off. Now that would be badass.
He is. in Fate: Grand Order, he is summonable as an Assassin.
@@enemyweeb2311 Only in a world where he never found love.
STILL ONE OF MY MOST FAVOURITE ANIME
Kiritsugu is my favorite character in fiction currently I just wanna give the poor man a hug.
While you nailed down most of Kiritsugu's character, saying that his motivation stemmed from his promise to Shirley is...objectively incorrect, no offense. Here are some passages of Zero's last chapter:
- "“… When I was a kid, I used to want to be a hero of justice very much.”
Suddenly, he muttered this unconsciously.
Like a shipwreck that had sunken beneath the surface a long long time ago, those untouched and forgotten words suddenly escaped from his lips - that was right. He seemed to have said something like that to someone else some time ago, although he didn’t manage to fulfill it at the end. But just when did that happen?
...
The youth promised casually in the elegant night. He said that he’ll achieve something, which Kiritsugu had longed for but could not fulfill, in Kiritsugu’s place.
In that moment, Kiritsugu remembered.
He had also made a promise like this. He had also said something like this before a person that was more important to him than anyone else.
Back then, he had firmly believed that the things within his heart will never be lost. But that confidence - had now been forgotten, forgotten until just a moment ago."
An interesting thing English speakers may miss is that Kiritsugu uses the pronoun "Boku", which means "I" with implications of youth and immaturity. This ties into the theme of adulthood vs idealistic heroism prevalent in both Zero and Stay Night. Kiritsugu's problem was basically he grew up too fast without actually maturing. He became an adult basically overnight without the chance to even try to achieve his dreams.
-“Hmm, it is rather regrettable. Heroes have a time limit too, and it’s hard to fulfill once you become an adult. It would have been better if I realized that earlier.”
While this does allow him to thrive in a cynical world, it comes with the cost that he could only find value in accomplishing his goals. It's not so much that he failed to consider if the grail was legit due to relying too much on his ideals, rather his ideals mandate that he goes after an absolute utopia because that's the only end that justifies his means. He could not handle anything less because there's no inherent value in his ideals.
You're right about one thing, it's not a full-blown tragedy. Ultimately, Kiritsugu dies in peace after the one person he managed to save took on his dream. He understood that such a dream needs to be tempered with childish innocence if the end goal can't be aligned with reality.
-“Hmm. If you can’t fulfill it anymore, then let me fulfill it for you. Dad is an adult already, so maybe you can’t do anything anymore. But I’m alright. So entrust it to me, entrust Dad’s dream -”
(note that the 12-year old Shirou is using "ore" pronouns)
I don’t think anything here really contradicts what I said but bear in mind that I am anime only. Maybe the books expand more behind his thoughts but from the series it’s very clear that his motivations stems from Shirley. It’s particularly evident after he shoots down the plane. During the breakdown, Kiritsugu is at his most emotionally raw and vulnerable state, therefore we can conclude that anything he says during that scene came from deep inside his psyche. Calling out to Shirley in that moment is indicative of what he values most. Yes, he wants to become a hero but it was due Shirley who was the catalyst in the decisions he made.
@@KevinNyaa I never said his motivations didn't stem from Shirley, I said it didn't stem from his promise. Urobuchi wrote much of Zero to echo or contrast Stay Night. Kiritsugu's actions stem from guilt over his choices as a child and overcompensates when he's older by absolute utilitarianism, just like how Shirou's actions stem from guilt ignoring everyone who needed help in the fire and overcompensates when he's older by psychotic altruism.
"Did you see that, Shirley?
I have killed again this time. Killed as when I killed my father. I would never make the same mistake that I made with you back then. I, wanted to save more people…"
If you have the time, you should give Zero's novel a read. There are no Fate adaptation as good as its source material. Zero comes close, but you're still missing the pure experience.
@@flockinify Yes it stems from his guilt, but one major element in this guilt involved his promise to Shirley: The main motivation of Kiritsugu was never any sense of justice, but his guilt that he failed to keep his promise in the first time, and his desperation to make up for that.
Besides the moment when Kiritsugu shot down the plane as mentioned by the video, the ending of Fate Zero anime also gives an indicative sign of Kiritsugu's motivation all alone. In his final words, Kiritsugu, at last, explicitly answers that important question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" This signifies that this long journey of Kiritsugu has come to an end, and symbolizes his fulfilling of the promise that has haunted him the whole life --- he finally lets Shirley witness what he've become.
@@gouhoh7906 The novel explicitly states "he didn’t manage to fulfill it at the end". The entire point of the ending was Shirou promising to become what Kiritsugu failed to. He didn't just fail the first time, he failed for his entire life. And as much as Shirou viewed his father as a hero for saving him, Kiritsugu only recognized it as life chucking him a bone. You can argue as much as you want that it was subconsciously because of the promise, but there's no concrete evidence to that in the novel.
And on a conscious level, it was all about justice:
-"The Kiritsugu back then still didn’t know what this scale named ‘justice’ would rob away, and what it would bring him.
‘Justice’ took away his father, and now it also took his mother. All it left was the sensation of blood in his hands. Even his right to remember them was also stripped away.
The people he loved. Their voices, their faces; none of them can come back. Instead, they will appear again and again in Kiritsugu’s nightmares. They would probably never forgive Kiritsugu, who took their lives away with his own hands.
That is the choice of ’justice’. The price of pursuing his ideal."
His last words were "Yes. Ahh - then I’ll be at peace now.” It was a stylistic directing choice having the older Kiritsugu voice the response at the end. He was already dead by the time that phrase was said onscreen.
@@KevinNyaa Why did kiritsugu say that he wont be able to play with illya anymore when he kills the grail/illya ..did he know that the Einzbern family wont let him meet her ?
(Waking irisveil makes sense cause now she is dead, but returning illya ? When was she taken in the first place ?)
It's a beautiful parallel to Archer Emyia
When I read the fate route first time I notice there are elements in shirou were similar to Rider Pov when it came talking to saber
Definitely. Particuarly near the end of the route when they fight on the bridge and when Saber comes to rescue Shirou from Kirei at the underground church
Because of the one time Kiritsugu stood there and didn't pick up the dagger. He's been picking up daggers all his life.
In the visual novel, it says that Saber was willing to sack one village to save the rest of her kingdom and continued on with her beliefs despite what those around her did or said. So l don't get why she was against Kiritsugu's ways at least not entirely. Plus, if I recall when summoning a servant you often will summon a servant similar to you in some way especially if done so without a catalyst.
Anyway, you made me contemplate certain things that l have been thinking about Kiritsugu. Like in his quest to kill evil he became evil and set out on a never-ending battle as he had only one method to solve an ever increasing over expanding problem. Plus, even if Kerry kills all evil people then he still needs to start doing good and fix other issues that push people to do evil acts like poverty, political corruption, economic problems, and other societal woes. Evil is not just one thing and it can take multiple forms. In Batman begins Ras al ghul says, "Create enough hunger and everyone becomes a criminal". If true, then there are some problems that can't be solved with guns and bullets alone. I mean no one just wakes up and does evil unless maybe they're -Kirei- crazy but the things that caused evil must be sorted out otherwise nothing will change and history will forever repeat itself. Sometimes, l think Archer Emiya hated being a counter guardian because he's literally stuck killing people for all eternity and can't do or try anything else not even finding better methods if there are any (almost like a dead end job but worse). Moving on, it also makes me wonder what exactly Kerry's utopia would be because even if the grail could grant such a wish if it is not maintained then it would devolve into chaos once more like the rat utopia experiment, and in a way, Kerry would force his vision of peace onto everyone and how would he go about judging who is evil and who is good because there are varying levels.
Either Kerry would have to:
Kill everyone
Kill all the bad people and leave the good people (don't know how you would go about judging that)
Become God and take away free will then force everyone to act as he wishes them to act.
There is also the problem of protecting the innocent and rebuilding since Kerry is an unaccountable executioner/terrorist who acts above the law and may sometimes kill innocent people who get caught in the crossfire (probably even kills the people he once saved if the situation calls for it) or destroys property to get to the guilty then who would repair that damage or help the people hurt by Kerry's method or would they be left to rebuild themselves? Also, what would Kerry do if met with someone who wanted revenge because he killed their loved one? And when he isn't killing or hunting would Kerry help the less fortunate? That being said he did evacuate the hotel before blowing it up but he did say that Iri and Ilya made him soft so if it weren't for them he may have killed those people too. In the case of the Fuyuki fire the survivors had their lives destroyed and were fed to Gilgamesh by Kirei but Kerry, to my knowledge, only helped Shiro. Changing into a better person is also possible sometimes but Kerry probably never considered that and it's also possible Kerry can change into a worse person with even more destructive methods. Heck, in l think it was prisma Ilya manga Kerry continued his methods because he didn't experience the fuyuki fire and in grand order he's a counter guardian. So l guess unless something crazy happens he's only loyal to his ideals.
Basically, in his quest to become a hero Kerry became the very thing he sought to destroy, he became arrogant in thinking that only he alone could save the world, no sacrifice was too high regardless of who, what, whether or not they asked to be sacrificed and only his methods were correct. Seriously, l want to know who made Kerry judge, jury and executioner? And if a normal person did what Kerry did they would be a criminal. Also, it's ironic that those who preach about the needs of the many want to go about enforcing what they believe to be the needs of the many when it's actually their own personal individual beliefs of what they think the majority wants. Also, it was dumb for Kerry to directly or indirectly condemn Shiro to a life of superheroism because he's seen how bad it can be and has lived through that hell so why he wants Shiro to experience the same thing he went through is crazy. Perhaps I'm looking too deeply but Kerry and his father have a few parallels like their final acts resulting in the destruction of an area and condemning a child to a certain mindset/way of life. Lastly, perhaps the holy grail and fuyuki fire opened Kerry's mind and made him realize that his methods would result in the death of everyone because no one would be safe from him whether guilty, innocent, minority, or even majority. Sorry for the ramble just wanted to get my thoughts out there.
Alexander describes it best, she's not a king. She's a naive girl running at her ideals while keeping a blind eye to the consequences she causes. Completely different than Kiritsugu
Appreciate the ramble
I agree with most of your points but disagree with what you say about Saber. After her reign ended with a rebellion from Modred and other unhappy knights, I'd say she probably blamed her actions on the sacking. She knows from experience that Kiritsugu's methods dont work.
Finally someone that understands. Kiritsugu is a tragic figure, a boy who wanted to be a hero but ended being a monster. His actions speak of blind arrogance. His methods borderline cruelty, his family fuel to his ambition. He was not a hero, but he was indeed tragic. Many people worship his character ignoring how monstrous his mentality is. Who made him God to choose who lives and who dies. I will admit Kirei and him are by far the best rivals in the series, both monsters, one by nature one by nurture. 10 out of 10 series
Because she obviously had limits. As much as Saber was efficient and tried to save the many sacrificing the few, she did believe in the ideas of chivalry and of keeping some level of morals. Kiritsugu here just completely destroyed a man on every level, treating him and his wife more like a dog than as a human being after having done everything to make them a non-threat, then still finishing them off to assure every possibility of danger didn't remain. Nothing indicates that Saber ever went this far, nor that she considered such extreme utilitarianism acceptable.
Though to be frank, a lot of it feels less like her genuinely thinking like this and more like Urobuchi trying his best to just have a train go over Saber with his usual, stupidly overboard nihilism. Then you have F/SN where Arthoria admits she played dirty in war, or Apocrypha where Mordred's memories are of Arthoria being so immaculately perfect she never let emotions get in the way as long as it was for the people (to the extent of letting all of Morgan's kids become part of her Round Knights, and giving Agravain a rather important position, simply because she judged them just and capable, and therefore deserving). Mordred herself ridiculed all of the petty nobles and knights singing her praises when all she cared about was herself, and calling the King that did everything she could for them inhuman and cold. Is like he was trying to make her ESPECIALLY sensitive to this kind of shit just to trample her underfoot even harder for his narrative, which was fucking dumb as far as I care.
Have you ever heard the tragedy of Kiritsugu Emiya.
He could save others from death, but not himself...
when i saw you in the notification i thought that i was dreaming
*The tragedy of Spike Spiegel
Fate zero is the most beautiful story of all the time, because this is a mirror of Thruth even in human lives We always repeating our mistakes over and over again no matter how you try en de End it's all desame WE always repeated what tragic happened in the past
Rewatching this now and I honestly love Kiritsugu Emiya
Rewatching this again, can’t help it :D
Once Again I Am Rewatching This❤
Here I am again 3/11/23
Love this! Kiritsugu and Saber are portrayed as polar opposites, but they’re the only ones that can understand each other. What always made me love episode 16 is how both of them analyze each other perfectly, Kiritsugu correctly calls out saber for sustaining ideals of chivalry that have led to countless deaths and lost of humanity values all across the world while Saber correctly deduces that Kiritsugu wanted to be a hero and that the ideals that he at that time sustained would only bring more pain to him and others. While people may see this as highlighting the confrontational nature of their interactions, I believe it shows how much they really respect each other, because they now that if certain choices and circumstances were different, they could’ve ended up like the other.
After understanding this video, what if he had a chant for unlocking a similar state like those Reality Marbles? Maybe this makes him no whole justice, but must be similar to this:
I’m just like these guns,
like steel, my resolve; like bullets, my words.
I have ended over thousand lives,
unaware to regret,
nor aware of hesitation.
I have faced death to reach my goals,
then, my feelings are nothing but mere distractions.
If you’re not with me,
you’re my enemy.
As I DEMAND, set free my
UNLIMITED KILLER WORKS.
Kiritsugu one of my favorite characters of all time
Same here
This man is everything I wish Eren to be, but Eren turned to be a simp
This fight is interestingly an opposite to the Shirou vs. Kirei fight in HF. While in this fight both participants use every trick up their sleeve, the HF fight is just a brutal fist brawl between two men who have nothing else left.
killing hist mentor with a rocket to save humanity was the most painful for me.
I saw it coming from a mile away but damn seeing it was pure pain
Man, when I first watched Fate/Zero it literally took me the forever to distinguish the difference between Kiritsugu, and literally like three other guys. Gilgamesh’s master Tokiomi, Assassin’s master Kirie, and Berserker’s master Kariya. They literally (to me) all looked some what alike. And what’s worse is three outta the four had very similar names to boot lol. For a second I didn’t know what was going on and who was doing what and who lol. I think that the creator himself probably foresaw that as well and that’s why he changed Kariya into some white ghoulish looking dude to avoid further confusion lol.
Poor guy wanted to save the world but in the end realized he couldn’t and gave up right at the very end while he was watching it happen
Irisveil is such a beautiful character
Maybe my fav Fate character
Thamk You For This Tale 🛐
Kiritsugu is indeed pretty well written I agreed also reliable since his ideology are quite common in general (me included back in the day) but that grail scene is quite good at breaking the utility ideology logic like if a there a formula that "have now flaw" or always work. Whene there isn't what if insteed of switching boat you just fix the boat you got captured on for exemple you save less ppl but someone is saved. I also kinda find it funny whene he renounce to the grail he still apply his Utility ideal but once it broken the frist thing he do is just try to same anybody.
I also quite agreed that he quite conflicted I like your comparison with Saber because he got alot in common with her (outside of the wolverine what ever his name is) he also got alot in common with him too tho the difference is that Kiritsugu doesn't fully believe in his ideal it just what was force on him by outside factor.
But yah I like that Saber is a good exemple of him in an other contexte insteed of being molded by war being molded by his Owen inside ideal (or at less more natural ideal AKA heroism, and Honour etc.) it kinda show that it would hapend in on other context. But any way I like that there no right or wrong in the end overall and for the most parth everyone got something they want to achieve.
Any way nice video overall tho good work.
I finished Fate/Zero today
Kariya guys? Anyone remember him?
One thing I really like about Kiritsugu is what a failure he is. He routinely takes the most pragmatic option available purely to avoid deaths but in the process he causes more. He and Saber could never see eye to eye and their experience in the Grail War leads to her want to erase her reign from history, where she would sacrifice her independence to the Throne of Heroes not to gain something but instead to lose. His pragmatic worldview means he has no way to stop conflicts outside of violence, leading to the Grail trying to grant them by killing everyone in the world expect his family, which leads him to kill his wife and be barred from ever seeing his daughter again (as well as dooming her to have to fight in the next Grail War). The only "victory" he ever achieved is saving Shirou, but his romantic anecdote about his want to become a hero of justice leads Shirou to lose himself chasing after an ideal that never really existed to begin with. This leads him to become archer in one timeline, forcing him to throw away his life to the counter force to essentially become their hitman. From his Dad, to Natalia, to Iri and Illyia and finally to Shirou, his attempts to become a hero of justice via any means necessary leads nothing but pain for his family.
When you combine this with his attempted destruction of the grail causing the fire and his failure to kill Kirei, this means that Kiritsugu, along with Zouken, the Einzberns and Gil to be the main causes of the large scale problems of Fate/Stay Night.
Essentially, I feel like Kiritsugu to be Type Moon's refutation to the criticism of Shirou as being naive and u realistic in his efforts, showing how a more pragmatic protagonist would cause nothing like pain.
Also, I think he had arrested development (i dont know if I'm using the term right), where he never really grew up after the Zombie incident on the island. He turned himself into a machine at least on the surface, but underneath that he was still a child with a childish dream to become a hero of justice.
Only after he essentially gave up on his dream was he able to be a person again and the original fate visual novel describes him as being a kind of immature, childish person, further showing that he never really grew up. While it was definitely not the intent of the visual novel, (their intent was to build him up as the perfect idol so the revelations about him would sting more, both for Shirou and the reader) I think Fate/Zero retroactively makes this childishness one of his most tragic qualities. I have to commend Urobochi for building a character arc based around a few throwaway lines that you dont realise existed until you replay the vn after zero.
@@punbasedname9032 Peter Pan syndrome. And yeah he didn’t. What he truly wanted is to be validated by a family member that all his action was the right call
@@KhanhNguyen-mh5ec yeah, Kiritsugu never truly grew
Will you do a video about Kirei and Shirou as well?
I don't feel as strongly about Kirei or Shirou as I do with Kiritsugu. They are interesting characters in their own right, but it's not my video to make.
@TovarishPingu yeah you're right. But stay night is the story where these characters become more human even kirei in heaven's feel route.
@@KevinNyaa I thought you hated shirou?
@@r.k845 when he said that he hate Shirou. He just never able to feel strongly with shirou and kirei. Because they are designed as kind of inhuman.
Well my opinion about is same but he becomes more human in route. Also I think his development and resolution is superior to kiritsugu.
Shirou is very twisted character and you can even call him the embodiment of every hypocrisies of any superheroes. he is very different to a normal human being. Many normal humans also have this very optimistic dream. Normal humans have this dream but they have their own sense of justice. But shirou is very different. he has a ideal but he didn' have any sense of good or evil or any form of justice. he only try to save others for satisfying his need of pleasure or the feeling of alive. he didn' even know the true reason of his dream. He also said this in Unlimited Blade Works route.
[I swore so as a child.
To fulfill the dream of the man I admired most.
…But to be honest, I'm still wondering…
If my idea is the right one.
Where my idea comes from.
What I can do even despite me being just an amateur.
How to make the dream of making everybody happy, which Kiritsugu always talked about, come true.]
his every ideal is copied. he copied everything from Kiritsugu. Even his morality is also copied from his father. he mindlessly follow it and trying to save others without thinking because he just want to feel that smile again which is present in Kiritsugu's face. he even also want a enemy or some 'true evil' to defeat as a superhero to feel that feeling of pleasure. kirei also point out which shirou wanted to prove wrong.
[Rejoice, boy. Your wish will finally come true."
The priest says, as if declaring an oracle.
Those words are...
Aren't those the true feelings I haven't yet realized
"What are you saying all of a sudden?"
"You should know. Your wish will not come true unless there is a clear evil. Even if it is not something you approve of, a superhero requires a villain to defeat."
"!"
I feel like everything has turned black.
The priest said it.
The greatest wish and the ugliest wish I have are the same.
…Yes, the desire to protect something…
…Is, at the same time, none other than the wish for something to violate it
" Y-You"
But there's no way I'd wish for something like that.
I don't remember a moment when I've wished for that.
Such an insecure wish…
…Just means the target ideals are inconsistent.
But the priest says as if to pierce my heart, "Good thing you have an enemy now."
"No, you do not have to gloss over it. Your worries are normal for a human being."
The priest smiles.
"!"
I shake off the priest's words and walk to the door.
]
He later also said that he think he did actually want a enemy in fate route. that's why he actually want to change saber as a more "human" for her sake but never understand his own hypocrisy. that is the reason why fate route is route which explains Shirou ideals very well. Shirou forces his copied morality and fake love of human towards everyone without understanding their problems. he has very limited emotion and he can't understand the emotion of others. But he also never understand that he also has his own "true self" of his own but he never understand his true self in fate route. We also understand that his love toward human is not fake but it is the characteristics of his true self. it is also said by Kirei in heaven's feel route
[I see. So that means you will not follow Kiritsugu's path."
He talks as if he's disinterested.
The priest regards me with a bored expression, as if disappointed.
"Father's path…?"
"That's right. Your father loved humans.
Higher, wider, farther. He loved humans as they go over their limits without end. That is why he turned himself into the definite evil.
That man would have killed Matou Sakura. He threw away his human emotions for the sake of justice."
"…Is that any different from you?
Casting away one person's happiness for the sake of justice, for many people's happiness."
"No. What you people call happiness did not bring me joy."
"Huh…?"
That's not a reply.
No, more than that…
He's not even looking at me.
"Right, we were different.
He threw away what he had, but I had nothing to throw away.
The result was the same, but the process was completely different.
His existence was too unpleasant. His agony was truly unpleasant.
If he went to such lengths to cast it away, he should never have had it in the first place. But still he agonized over his decision, trying to pick it back up after he threw it away. As if saying that is the correct way for humans to live."
"The difference was crucial. Yes. If I cannot obtain anything, why was I born into this world?"
The priest' words are not directed at anyone.
...But they contain anger.
They contain emotion, which i thought this man didn't have.
"…Hah. Come to think of it, there is no way you can succeed Kiritsugu. He did what was necessary by throwing things away, but you insist on having it both ways.
We are similar, you and I.
You died once and broke down when you were resurrected. It is posteriori, but you are like me, a defect from birth."
"What…? What part of me is broken?"
"You just do not realize it.
You have no concept of self. So I did not think you would concern yourself with a single person. No, rather
You are not concerned about many,
but concerned about all as if they were only one."]
In ubw he started to saw the hypocrisy of his own ideals with help of Archer and Rin and his experiences in ubw route. he understand that his ideal is always false. he has not any sense of justice and even his self. he also understand the inconsistencies of ideal of not just his own but also the ideals of others heroes. others heroes only force their ideals on the basis of their own ideals. He understand that he can't save everyone by forcing his ideal on someone. his way of saving only destroy anyone for others and only lead despair. But this is the route where he understands the true meaning of his ideal and his true self. he actually loved humans but very differently to his father. he loved the human emotions, love, compassion, shared human nature and values. He thinks that good and bad are situational. There are right and wrongs and those who didn't fear to this always lead a destruction. he want to become superhero to spread this shared nature and love of human toward each other into everywhere to form a ideal "human society" where everyone understand other's feelings and also think about the gain and loss of others as well as themselves without any prejudice and also create justice in this world. Shirou want to create a world filled with 'Swords'. swords represent Shirou's selflessness and his live for others. he want to create a ordered world where people also punishes those are bad or wrong in that situation. To destroy discimination, he want to first create a selfless world by eradicating prejudice and spreading the human nature. But it is still impossible to satisfy everyone. it still lead nowhere but it is able to create a better world. that's why he said
["I have created a thousand blades .
Unaware of loss
Nor aware of gain"]
And
[“Everything is here, and nothing is here.
That is why this is called Unlimited Blade Works.
This is the only definite answer obtained by the one who lived as a sword all his life.”]
Well sorry for this long comments. 😓😞
Fate is an anime with the best well written characters who agrees
~ah, yes...
11:23 what is the name of the background theme ?