Fate / Zero 21 — Rider Outridden

A motorcycle races a chariot. Only in Fate / Zero… Why isn’t Rider the one with the Riding skill again?

We’re upping the corniness here on Rider’s title, King of Conquerors. He doesn’t conquer land, but souls. Good to know. Too bad he hasn’t conquered anyone yet but Waver.

The efforts Saber goes to to extend the misunderstanding regarding Irisviel defy belief. Why doesn’t she just ask Rider and Waver where Irisviel is so they can all team up and look for her? I’m sure they’d be happy to help if they knew what happened.

Even more confusingly, why does Saber just run away after she’s blasted Rider’s chariot away? What happened to searching for Irisviel, again?

Maggots of a Feather

I’d be interested in seeing if Zouken could entertain Gilgamesh. Somehow I doubt it.

But they do seem to share much in common.

Despair

This may have been my favorite scene of the series so far. I wouldn’t call Kirei’s script amateurish as Gilgamesh does by any means. Just by placing a corpse and sending out invitations, he managed to get Matou blamed for Tohsaka’s death and got him to kill the woman he loves. I had to really pity Matou here. He didn’t even get to kill Tohsaka, but still received all the negative consequences.

When Tohsaka’s wife accused Matou of not understanding anything and never loving anyone, I was really pissed. She’s the one who doesn’t understand anything, and to make it worse, she was the one he loved. To top it all off, she accuses him of taking Sakura away! He is going to die in a couple days because he’s been trying to protect Sakura from Zouken and Tohsaka’s deal! Give him a break!

Just as my rage begins to explode, the screen blanks out. “What’s happening?” I thought in the back of my mind as my anger continued to brew. “I hope she gets what’s coming to her.”

“Wait, he was strangling her?! Oh my goodness!” The way the show manipulated my emotions made me feel as if I, who shared Kariya’s spur of the moment rage, might have done the same thing. I shared Kariya’s guilt for her death.

So congratulations, Fate / Zero. You made me feel empathy for a murderer while he was in the midst of strangling someone (although after I realized what he was doing, I was of course horrified). I’m not sure if this confirms whether I’m a loving person or a sociopath.

16 thoughts on “Fate / Zero 21 — Rider Outridden

  1. the anime didn’t really elaborate on Kariya’s state of mind while he was strangling Aoi, but the way you reacted to that scene was exactly how he felt in the novel after he came back to his senses.

    1. I was guessing that he was going to regret this later. I was half expecting him to regret it before he finished strangling her, actually.

  2. > Asking Rider where Irisviel is and maybe teaming up to find her
    I dunno, it seems like if you’ve got a weakness, the last thing you would want to do is brazenly announce to the enemy camp, “Hey I lost my ‘master’ can you help me find her?”

    > Saber just run away after she’s blasted Rider’s chariot away? What happened to searching for Irisviel, again?
    I’m not sure if you’re joking, but she’s running away *because* she wants to continue searching for Irisviel.

    1. I dunno, it seems like if you’ve got a weakness, the last thing you would want to do is brazenly announce to the enemy camp, “Hey I lost my ‘master’ can you help me find her?”

      Um, but Saber thought that Rider was the one who kidnapped Irisviel. What would be the point of hiding the fact that Irisviel has been kidnapped from the person who kidnapped her? I’m not saying she should just go up to Rider and ask for help. I’m saying she should ask what *he’s* done with Irisviel so they can clear up the misunderstanding. Then he’d probably volunteer to help.

      I’m not sure if you’re joking, but she’s running away *because* she wants to continue searching for Irisviel.

      So let me get this straight. Saber follows Rider, who she believes has kidnapped Irisviel, on a wild, lengthy and dangerous motorcycle ride. Then after she has defeated Rider and he is partially at her mercy, instead of asking the kidnapper, who is hanging from a tree right in front of her, where Irisviel is, she leaves to go ride randomly around the town and search for Irisviel. Somehow I don’t think this is the most effective search method.

      1. She realized that Rider is not the one who kidnapped her because Irisviel is not the chariot and she already suspect that Rider is not the one who kidnapped Irisviel.

  3. Even more confusingly, why does Saber just run away after she’s blasted Rider’s chariot away? What happened to searching for Irisviel, again?

    Because Saber prioritizes Iri. She notices that not only Iri is not in the chariot, but Rider was actually on his way to the Einzbern Castle, which means he has no idea that Iri and Saber have a new hideout.

    I wouldn’t call Kirei’s script amateurish as Gilgamesh does by any means.

    But that’s exactly how Kirei saw it too. He thinks it was kinda boring(even though their despair certainly delighted them) because Kariya and Aoi just followed his script and did exactly what he intended them to do.

    She’s the one who doesn’t understand anything, and to make it worse, she was the one he loved.

    Well, let’s just say he was a very shy guy and never let her know that he loved her, that’s why she only thought of him as a little brother and nothing more. The very first scene in the novel depicts Kariya unable to talk with Aoi, instead talking to Rin.

    Neither does Aoi know that Sakura is tortured physically and mentally, nor does she know that Kariya went the same path in a more extremish way to bring Sakura back and sacrificed his sanity and life by doing this. She basically knows nothing. Or better, the only thing she knows is that because Kariya abandoned his family, Sakura was adopted(that’s how I interpretated her accusation), but she never knew the reason why.

    And let’s be honest, Kariya is at fault, too. Just moments ago Kariya wanted to kill Tokiomi, thinking Aoi would approve and become happy again, but he only did what he thought was right and ignored the fact that Aoi still loved her husband, despite whatever he has done.

    Other than that, Zouken’s conversation with Kirei was cut short. For example, Zouken shows that he can easily see through Kirei’s lies and mocks Einzbern and Tohsaka for not noticing, that the Grail War must have been manipulated because a spirit like Gilles de Rais, who was certainly NOT a Heroic Spirit, was summoned.

    Btw, Berserker’s Heroic Spirit would have been totally overpowered imo, if he had been summoned as a Saber. The transformation Noble Phantasm of his(which is part of the black fog that does not allow anyone to read his status) normally doesn’t cost any Command Spells, meaning he could disguise himself for the whole war.

    1. Oh, I missed the part where Saber realized Rider was heading towards the castle. That makes more sense then. Although a bit of communication before and after the two fought each other would still have made sense to me… I guess I’m still left wondering why Saber would bother using her Noble Phantasm if she was just going to run away afterwards.

      But that’s exactly how Kirei saw it too. He thinks it was kinda boring

      Huh, I didn’t get this from the show. He went on and on about how it was the sweetest wine he’d tasted and all, I thought he had enjoyed it. But I like your explanation better, it makes Kirei more interesting.

      And yeah, I realize that Kairya is totally at fault and Aoi knew nothing, but the things she said were still rage-inducing given what we know about Matou.

      the Grail War must have been manipulated because a spirit like Gilles de Rais, who was certainly NOT a Heroic Spirit, was summoned.

      Huh, I hadn’t thought of that either. Interesting… Zouken is awesome, I hope we see more of him.

      Berserker would kick ass if he could disguise himself for the entire war. I guess this way it’s much more interesting though.

      1. Well, as I’ve said, he predicted pretty much everything(except for Tokiomi falling down, that was not intended and yet perfect), but still felt excited because it was something completely new to him. He didn’t feel surprised, but the “freshness” felt amazing and he actually enjoyed the clash of his evil-natural thoughts and his morals.

        Overall, your first interpretation was certainly right. The boredom he felt could be compared with the Bad End in HF, in which Shirou decides to embrace his ideals and becomes Kiritsugu. The Grail War will return to normal, which is a slight disappointment as then Shirou will certainly win the war(in his prediction), but Kirei was still looking forward to the final confrontation between a despaired Rin and a hardened Shirou.

  4. Rider does possess the Riding skill, in fact he has A-rank Riding while Saber has B-rank Riding. In Nasuverse terms, this means that Saber can mount any vehicle or animal except those of Divine Beast or Demonic Beast class.
    Rider can also mount Divine or Demonic Beasts, with the only exception of Dragons.

    1. I’m sure draggle is aware of this. Otherwise the class name “Rider” and the chariot would be misplaced.

    2. I want to see Rider taking Waver for a ride on a motorcycle. Or maybe he can jump on a fighter plane next time.

  5. I was feeling exactly the same during the scene in the church! Matou’s life already seems to be wrecked beyond repair. He really would have needed a hero who would provide him some actual help, like Rider. I just hope he succeeds to save Sakura in the end, otherwise his suffering would go to waste.

    1. Can’t say much without spoilers for the original Fate / Stay Night, so be warned….

      In F/SN, Sakura is still made up of worms, so prepare to be disappointed. But she is saved in the end if it makes you feel better.

  6. I was a bit shocked that Saber didn’t say a word about Irisviel too, it’s so out of character for her. Kariya’s breaking point was excellent, I loved the direction during that scene.

  7. Rider wasn’t on his top condition (last episode), but he took his risks and ends up bailing out for Waver’s sake (clearer in the novel).

    As for Kariya, he wasn’t trying to murder or hurt Aoi. His brain wasn’t 100% working and he couldn’t even recognize her. It’s clearer in the novels. He saw some female demon who was telling him that all his sacrifice ended up hurting Aoi and wanted to shut her up, not hurt her. Anime doesn’t do justice to how deplorable his physical state is. When he realizes it’s Aoi, he releases her horror-stricken.

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