Stupid Archer.
Compassion
Archer and Shirou are both such morons.
As I’ve said many times last season, the entire thematic conflict of Unlimited Blade Works just doesn’t make any sense to me.
Shirou values others more than himself. Which is apparently wrong.
What? Come on. Valuing others more than yourself is a great thing. It’s called compassion. Shirou’s problem isn’t that he values others more than himself. Shirou’s problem is that he’s fucking stupid.
For example, consider when Shirou revealed himself to Gilgamesh in an attempt to save Ilya. Had Shirou been able to save Ilya’s life at the cost of his own, maybe it would have been worth it. But the problem is, when Shirou stood up, all he did was scream ineffectively at Gilgamesh. There was no possible way he could have saved her in that scenario. Furthermore, Ilya was already dead. Shirou isn’t wrong for valuing others more than himself. Shirou is wrong because he’s an idiot.
Set up as Shirou’s foil (and also as spoilers, you know), Archer takes the opposite position, that you should value yourself more than others. Which makes him an asshole. (Assuming he actually does value himself more than others… sometimes it feels like he’s just trying really hard to make himself look like an asshole.)
Ilya
Ugh, everything with Ilya was so great. I cried. (OK, not really, but I should have.) All of this worked as well as it did solely because I’d watched Fate / Zero. This really is a sequel.
I especially liked the scene on the roof. One second it’s this comedic scene with Shinji being Shinji. Then the next second Gilgamesh is turning the maids into pincushions. It did a great job at establishing Gilgamesh as a threat.
I loved Ilya’s flashbacks too. Berserker is so moe…
Further Thoughts
The confession scene was cute. I think I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t played the visual novel though. If I recall correctly, in the game they just start fucking each other silly outside on the grass? Maybe I’m forgetting this though. The only one I remember for sure (because that’s when I learned that I have to fast forward through them) is when Saber had to recharge her mana (remember how Shirou can’t give her magic power? yep, that’s why, semen is the most condensed form of magic power). Um, anyway, Shirou’s confession that he always liked her rings a bit hollow if you’ve seen the other arcs but whatever.
True love, true love.
Says the guy who has been practicing human sacrifice…
Rin you pervert…
Here, have some Rin faces:
I think this one’s my favorite:
“If I recall correctly, in the game they just start fucking each other silly outside on the grass?”
You recall incorrectly
Oh, ok, good
“What? Come on. Valuing others more than yourself is a great thing. It’s called compassion. Shirou’s problem isn’t that he values others more than himself. Shirou’s problem is that he’s fucking stupid.”
I think that’s what they mean by valuing others more than yourself. As in: he values others so much, he’s not able to even tell when self-sacrifice isn’t going to do an inch of good to anyone. Or when taking care of himself coincides with taking care of others as well (when he screamed at Gilgamesh, he didn’t put only himself in harm’s way, he risked Rin’s life too). In general, the point that comes across is that Shirou isn’t even altruistic; he actually is a self-loathing idiot who thinks that maximizing his own sacrifice is the best way he can help others all the time. Kiritsugu may have been too keen to rationalize death and life, but Shirou isn’t able to do the most basic ethical math. At a point it really looks like he’s more looking for a martyr’s death which would perhaps finally sate his heroic aspirations than to actually do any good. There’s nothing wrong in being motivated to do good to others for partially selfish reasons, but his are so twisted they actually end up harming his effectiveness at doing good.
TLDR; he’s an idiot.
Christ, he reminds me of Suzaku
Truly, Suzaku, Shirou and Slaine shall have their names written in history as the three biggest dumbasses anime has ever conceived.
Yep, pretty much!
Oh, ok. If that’s what they mean then I’m totally on board. 🙂
who knew Lancer could be so bro?
I know right!!
That last one was a priceless Lancer face moreso than a Rin face.
Yep! Priceless.
One should value others as much as yourself, but generally not more. To do otherwise is to set yourself am up as a doormat to be trod upon as happened to Archer.
Yup. Stupid Archer.