Fate/stay night Fate route: Innocence in the Shell

by eternal on February 20, 2009

fate-stay-night-fate-route-3

Saber was an interesting young lady. With her knights’ armor coating her body and her brilliant golden hair tied humbly back, she could not be so easily defined by the word “beautiful.” And yet, the instant Shirou set eyes on her, he was not mesmerized by her cold confidence and imposing stature, but rather, by the softness that dwelled just beneath the surface, forced into slumber.

However, there was much more to this young lady’s story than a bittersweet tale of love between a man and a spirit. She was once a warrior that fought valiantly for her country, who was determined to lay her life on the life to defend the lives of strangers…but even so, the innocence that remained within her never faded away.

As we learn in the first route of Type-Moon’s widely acclaimed visual novel, Saber’s true identity is none other than the mighty King of Knights. However, as we also learn, there was much more to this girl’s story than the wars that she fought and the lives that she saved. At her core, Saber was little more than a girl: in fact, one could even call her one of the most feminine members of the cast (though I’m saying this before completing HF). Despite her cold exterior, Saber harboured a wish, a sincere desire, that she could never reveal to the world. She was the legendary King Arthur, and yet she was also only a human being.

In the beginning, Saber was effectively forced into her position as king. While I don’t believe she was ever unwilling to step forward and take responsibility for her people, the circumstance was forced upon her just as it was forced upon the rest of the country. She was, after all, a woman. How could a woman ever become king? The citizens would never accept such a travesty. However, the sword had spoken, and the truth was already determined: Arturia would don the armor of the King, and live out the rest of her days as a male.

As she continued to fight for her country, she gained as much respect as she attracted attention. Surely such a brave yet cold-hearted knight could never exist? And yet, there she was, as human as the rest of them: the very picture of what a king should be. She slayed her enemies without hesitation, and she created a period in history for her people that never would have been possible otherwise. She made a name for herself – the legendary King Arthur – and that name would be passed down from generation to generation.

But there was one simple truth that neither her country nor her future peers could see: that she was a woman, not a man. And more importantly, that she was a human being, not a God.

fate-stay-night-fate-route-1Images like this make people like me fanboys squeal, but realistically speaking, wouldn’t all of the viewers have looked at Saber very differently if she dressed like this?

Shirou was, arguably, the first and only person to see through her shell. She appeared cold and defensive at first, taking her role as Servant as seriously as she took her duty as king. She vowed to fight for Shirou, to defend him, and to assure that they win the war and attain the Holy Grail. She was even so preoccupied about her goals that she failed to see herself as a woman. Rare is the anime that lets a male walk in on a female in the shower and not conclude with a loud scream and/or physical attack. Saber did not see her body as that of a woman: she saw herself as a warrior, almost as an object, whose sole purpose of existence was to find the Holy Grail and redo history.

Even in the present, Saber’s will remained with her people. Having suffered defeat at the hands of her own country, she must have been ashamed at the fact that a legendary knight was slain by the people she defended – ashamed, and ultimately regretful, because she was the king that allowed such a terrifying tragedy to occur. Was she not strong enough? Was there something that she did wrong? At the end of the day, the sword must have made a mistake; there was no way a weak king like her could have been suited to governing the country. Her people would have been better off if a different knight were chosen as king – if history were to change, then perhaps those deaths would have never occurred.

What matters most in this story, however, is the fact that Saber was as much of a human being as Shirou. He realized this from the moment he saw her, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that he was attracted to her from the very beginning. He was awed, certainly, but I believe that he was also attracted. That is why his instincts kicked in, allowing him to jump in front of her to defend her from Berserker’s attack: because he couldn’t allow a girl to get hurt. It didn’t matter if she was a knight or if she was a Servant. She was a girl, he was a man, and he believed it to be his duty to protect that innocent blond-haired goddess from evil. It’s sexist when stated directly and romantic when sugarcoated, but the truth remains constant nonetheless: Saber was a human being, and Shirou saw her first as a human and second as a warrior.

It was this discrepancy between their perceptions that served as the foundation of their relationship, and as the dangers escalated and Shirou began training to defend her, she must have realized, too, that she was a woman before she was a knight.

fate-stay-night-fate-routeSaber, as she firmly denies Shirou’s idealistic notions. They were both stubborn, but maybe that was why they worked so well together.

Looking back, what do we know about Saber? She often takes things seriously but doesn’t like to be embarrassed, and she wouldn’t hesitate to chastise if it meant avoiding an awkward moment. She prides herself in her strength and understands the importance of physical combat, but somewhere inside, she must have wished for someone to understand her, too. Didn’t she deny Shirou whenever he called her beautiful? Didn’t she stubbornly insist that her body existed to fight, and that it was not meant to be attractive? In some ways, Saber followed the classic tsundere formula in saying the opposite of what she meant: because if she really didn’t want to be seen as a woman, then she would have never opened up to Shirou in the first place.

And let’s not forget her favourite plushie: that cute little tiger. It was supposed to be such a ferocious animal, coldly killing and devouring the organisms around it without a second thought, but when portrayed as a stuffed toy, it suddenly became adorable. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw the resemblance between Saber and the lion that made its way into Type-Moon fandom; they were both so cold, so cruel on the outside, but when looked at from a different perspective, they became the most innocent things on the planet.

fate-stay-night-fate-route-2Lion Saber probably wasn’t meant to be taken seriously, but she always brings a smile to my face nonetheless.

The innocence of our heroine is where I got the cheesy pun in the post title, and that’s where I believe Saber’s truth lies: in her innocence. Ultimately, she possesses the same innocence as countless other visual novel girls, except it’s portrayed realistically and hidden beneath her shell. As a woman who lived her most important years as a man, she had begun to see herself more as a sword than a human; an object that should not have feelings, and should instead be used to protect those with feelings. In convincing herself of this “truth,” she was able to cast aside everything that made her human and become the perfect king.

But that king – that hero – was not perfect. Because Arturia was never happy, and it wasn’t until a certain young man helped her become a human again that she realized everything she had been missing out on in life.

fate-stay-night-fate-route-4

Fate/stay night impressed me tremendously with its characterization. I was familiar with the characters before hand, but none of them made much of an impression on me in the anime, and I couldn’t help but see them by their archetypes – the silent girl, the tsundere, the childhood friend, the loli. As a matter of fact, Shirou annoyed me tremendously at first due to his childish ideals, but I came to love him after accepting him as a genuine character that was not necessarily right. I loved him in the same way that I loved Shinji Ikari.

But I digress: having completed Fate route, I realized that the characters of the story contain a significant amount of depth, and that instead of focusing on the overall plot (which has been covered countless times over), I decided to focus on the development of the characters. The story is skillfully written, the plot cleverly woven, and it didn’t take much to convert Saber from the silent warrior girl that I wasn’t interested in to a tragic heroine who wanted nothing more than to become human.

And that, in a nutshell, is what Saber is. She was a brave warrior, an excellent knight, but in the end, she had sacrificed her emotions as a human being. It wasn’t until Shirou stubbornly denied her way of life, until he forced his own seemingly idiotic ideals onto her that she realized everything she had been missing. She came to understand that she was as much of a woman as she was a knight, that she was beautiful enough for a man to love her – and at the end of the day, she realized that a king destroyed by his kingdom was far less cruel than a kingdom destroyed by its king. Much like Tsukihime’s Arcueid, Saber was able to shatter the shell that protected her from her emotions and retrieve the innocence beneath, and she decided to die in peace knowing that she had lived her life to the fullest.

Now that’s what I call a hero.

~ ETERNAL
つづく

{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }

Martin February 20, 2009 at 6:36 pm

Bravo indeed. Not just for taking the time to work through it (my memories of doing the same thing are still vivid) but for acknowledging the storytelling and concentrating on the characters in particular.

I can’t take the scope and intricate nature of the story away from it – the intricacies pile up with the next two routes, believe me – but even at the end, with two other routes completed, Saber is still the true heroine of the piece. Granted, Rin isn’t without her charms and Sakura’s story is compelling but Saber is such an admirable individual, and her personality is developed so well.

I often wondered if calling her a tsundere was selling her short though. Rin to me is the tsundere of the piece but Saber is…well, I can’t find words to describe her awesomeness. She’s rediscovering the simplest of things – how to be human – but to lose that simple thing in the first place is utterly tragic.

…she realized that a king destroyed by his kingdom was far less cruel than a kingdom destroyed by its king.

Well said! That whole setup was bitterly cruel, wasn’t it? Doing the right thing was her undoing. Isolated, shunned and betrayed for being honourable and completely selfless, yet still refuses to be weak and selfish. I don’t think it’s possible to NOT love a character like that, really.

It’s also telling that she and Shirou are alike in a lot of aspects…in the same way that Rin and Archer share their practical, laconic attitudes and sharp wit to make an effective team, I saw Shirou and Saber as a perfect match, even taking certain Other Ends into account.

I’m just glad you seem to have enjoyed reading it as much as I did. H-scenes aside (notice how Saber let her hair down for the second one? I wonder how many of the more hormonally-charged readers would notice that!) it’s a well-written story, pure and simple. Long comment is long. I’ll leave it there till next time. ^_^

Martins last blog post..Are KyoAni trying to make another Escaflowne out of Munto?

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meganeshounen February 20, 2009 at 7:15 pm

If I remember correctly, Gilgamesh also drew a parallel towards Saber’s past, using the “destroyed by her kingdom” bit.
Although in Gilgamesh’s case, it was the other way around.

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Blowfish February 20, 2009 at 9:28 pm

Your Summary makes me think a bit better of Fates Storyline.
I like F S/N for its character development aswell the question if the fight for your ideals no matter what is the right thing to do.

Out of all 3 ( finished Heavens Feel recently) i still favor Unlimited Bladeworks the most.The Focus of this Route was much more to my delight.Ill be glad to hear what you think about it when you are done with it.

Blowfishs last blog post..Bikini Idol Iori

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Blowfish February 20, 2009 at 9:30 pm

Sorry for the Doublepost:

I cant remember that Lion you are talking about at all.Sure I know all those various incarnations of it but i cant remember it appearing in any of the routes ?

Blowfishs last blog post..Bikini Idol Iori

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ghostlightning February 21, 2009 at 3:50 am

I don’t have it me to Lionize (LOL NICE PUN!) Saber, but I do find her an interesting (and godly cute) character. It’s Shirou who I’m having so much problems relating to. I should finish UBW soon, which I’m enjoying more than Fate.

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Jinx February 21, 2009 at 12:09 pm

Saber is my favorite character out of FSN itself. Certainly there are cooler characters, such as Rin and Archer. However, Saber has the elegance and softness that far surpasses the other characters (which put her side by side with Ryougi Shiki as my favorite) . I think people put down the Fate route because it was the ‘anime’ route, but the character development was the best of the heroines by far.

UBW and Heaven’s Feel is of course cooler, but since when is Type-moon all about the cool factor?

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GNdynames February 21, 2009 at 8:02 pm

@Blowfish: Saber Lion makes her first appearance in Saber’s route of Fate/Tiger Colosseum as her final opponent (Like Saber Lily she’s just another variation of Saber). I don’t fully understand that event either (the conversations seemed amusing though).

@Martin: I noticed that bit as well, her reasoning struck harder though.

Fate/Stay Night definitely has that depth to it which makes it the greatest visual novel ever despite lacking of H-content. Even though it’s been a year since I first cleared it (that was without Ayako-sama’s moe voice) I still remember almost all the details. The tragety of Saber is her taking on all responsibilities and blames onto herself. But at the end she accepted reality and things couldn’t have turned out better. To me, this is what makes the major difference between Fate and UBW (at least UBW didn’t leave this kind of impression).

Oh, and the part of her not being a god, if Saber had any ranks of Divinity she would not have beaten Gilgamesh because that chain (stupid reformat of Wiki makes me not able to get the name, gah) specializes in capturing gods. Lancer had Divinity rank B, that’s how he was ensnared.

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M12 February 21, 2009 at 9:26 pm

I’m extremely interested in seeing what this Saber character is all about. I have yet to watch Fate Stay Night. However, I know lots of Saber fanboys. So yes, it’s very interesting.

M12s last blog post..Departure Resumes

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balance February 22, 2009 at 9:23 pm

I just install the patch recently, So I wont read your post Eternal cuz I dont want to spoil myself ^^.

Will get back to you after I finish the game :P

balances last blog post..First Figures, Haruhi Suzumiya goodies!

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Rakuen February 23, 2009 at 2:53 am

Darn, I still haven’t played her route yet. I knew Rin’s was really nice, but I should taken more priority with Saber’s. I’m currently writing a short fanfic to make up for the ShiroXSaber stuff that I haven’t paid attention to.

Idling in Shinji’s mind ain’t half bad anyway.

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Kenzikan February 23, 2009 at 4:06 am

Wow what a beautiful summary of all that is saber. Made my day reading this post. Hope you still have enough energy to whip out something amazing for UBW. Archer was one of my favoritest characters.

“Oh, and the part of her not being a god, if Saber had any ranks of Divinity she would not have beaten Gilgamesh because that chain (stupid reformat of Wiki makes me not able to get the name, gah) specializes in capturing gods. Lancer had Divinity rank B, that’s how he was ensnared.”
– GNdynames

I always did wonder about that and why gilgamesh didnt use his chains more often and why it worked on Berserker. Thx for the explanation.

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ETERNAL February 24, 2009 at 8:14 pm

@ Martin: She really is a great character when it comes down to it; great enough to warrant a post like this. There isn’t much more I can think of adding other than what’s already said, but regardless, thanks for commenting!
And yes, I did indeed notice Saber’s change in hair style – in fact, it was probably one of the highlights of the scene!

@ meganeshounen: Yeah, that’s what I was referencing in the line that Martin quoted. I’m sure there’s more to come in the other routes, but it’s already interesting to see how he fleshes out the story, with both the obvious filling of plot holes and the less obvious alluding to various themes.

@ Blowfish: I’ve been hearing more or less the same thing, so I’m definitely looking forward to it. The fact that it’s Rin’s route also couldn’t hurt :3

@ ghostlightning: Shirou annoyed me at first as well, but once I started to accept him as another person and not as a projection of the player, it was easier to understand him. I’ll probably address that later as well.

@ Jinx: It’s good to see that Fate route gets some praise as well. Seeing as the other stories weren’t covered in the anime, I’m not surprised at the amount of people that praise UBW and to some extent Heaven’s Feel, but that doesn’t mean that the first route is in any way inferior. In fact, even though the surprises were no longer surprising, I still found myself thoroughly enjoying Fate – a testament to how good the game is, I suppose.

@ GNdynames: Ah, I always forget about how complex the Nasuverse can be. It’s one thing to wrap your mind the intricacies of the storytelling, but it’s another to memorize the crazy laws of Type-Moon. Not that it’s a worthless task, of course – I’ll probably do it myself some time – but I’ll have to remain in the dark about the finer details for now. I should probably finish the game before scouring Type-Moon Wiki anyhow :P

@ M12: The franchise is definitely worth looking into, and the anime isn’t half bad if you don’t have 50 hours to spare on the VN. It’s also worth noting that I vastly prefer Rin over Saber in terms of superficial appeal – and yet, I still wrote this post. It’s just another small fragment of proof that the characters are more than just moe.

@ balance: Don’t worry about it, I still haven’t read the other bloggers’ posts on UBW and Heaven’s Feel yet. Read at your own pace :P

@ Rakuen: Good luck with the project, it can be hard to maintain consistency when working with another writer’s characters. Presumably. But anyway, as long as it allows a deeper appreciation for the story, it’s ultimately worth it.

@ Kenzikan: I’m glad you enjoyed it! Assuming that the quality of the game doesn’t drop, which I’m sure it won’t, I’ll probably be writing something similar for the remaining two routes. Look forward to it!

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Rin February 25, 2009 at 12:37 am

Lion Saber isn’t supposed to be taken seriously…
Lion Saber is just meant to be super kawaii!!!!!!!

Rins last blog post..Finally Got It!!!

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phossil February 27, 2009 at 11:34 am

Saber’s storyline and background amuses me a lot. I totally support Shirou’s idealistics but I am at Saber’s side as well. Probably thats why they become a perfect couple/team.

phossils last blog post..Miku nendo quick photoshoot

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Saku March 7, 2009 at 3:32 am

@m12: I am speechless >.>

Sakus last blog post..Anime Expo 2009 Online Pre-Registration is available

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Randy Flynn December 14, 2009 at 7:30 pm

Hi, I’m an Italian fan of Fate/Stay Night and I absolutely loved your Saber post. It clearly catches the whole meaning of the Saber route in a nutshell…Saber was one of my favs before the UBW route, by far one of the most epic, breath-taking and shockingly awesome story ever told. If I have to make a list of favs, my number two would definitely be Arthuria Pendragon.

By the way, it’s pretty late in here, so I’ll leave this wonderful post with a thrill: speaking of which, have you ever listened to “Nutshell” by Alice in Chains? Sounds very close to Archer’s story…and how about “Disposable Heroes” by Metallica? It’s odd to make similarities with songs written before F/SN, but oh GAWD if those things give you shivers.

Have a nice day! By the time you’re reading this, I’ll probably be sleeping. It’s 2 AM in the morning here in Italy and I’m not used to staying up late in the night anymore. Perhaps I’m getting too old.

(P.S.: the website links takes you to my Italian blog. I’m thinking I should probably start writing in English.)

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ETERNAL December 14, 2009 at 9:40 pm

Thanks for commenting! I’m actually not familiar with rock music so I don’t know the songs off hand, but I wouldn’t mind checking out the lyrics.

To be honest, everything about F/SN left me in a daze by the time I finished it – it’s really one of the best works of fiction I’ve read, period. I’m glad I played it and wrote about it, and I’m glad you like the post :P

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randyflynn December 15, 2009 at 5:42 am

And here’s Alice in Chains’ “Nutshell”. This one, in my opinion, is rather close to Archer’s story. It seems as if he’s regretting the day he became a Servant.

We chase misprinted lies
We face the path of time
And yet I fight
And yet I fight
This battle all alone
No one to cry to
No place to call home

My gift of self is raped
My privacy is raked
And yet I find
And yet I find
Repeating in my head
If I can’t be my own
I’d feel better dead

Okay! Enough for today! Time to graze some bullets in “Perfect Cherry Blossom”…

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randyflynn December 15, 2009 at 5:47 am

Funny. I swear I’d have posted the lyrics of “Disposable Heroes”. Nevermind, here it comes again.

Bodies fill the fields I see, hungry heroes end
No one to play soldier now, no one to pretend
Running blind through killing fields, bred to kill them all
Victim of what said should be
A servant `til I fall

Soldier boy, made of clay
Now an empty shell
Twenty one, only son
But he served us well
Bred to kill, not to care
Just do as we say
Finished here, Greeting Death
He’s yours to take away

Back to the front
You will do what I say, when I say
Back to the front
You will die when I say, you must die
Back to the front
You coward
You servant
You blindman

Barking of machinegun fire, does nothing to me now
Sounding of the clock that ticks, get used to it somehow
More a man, more stripes you wear, glory seeker trends
Bodies fill the fields I see
The slaughter never ends

Soldier boy, made of clay
Now an empty shell
Twenty one, only son
But he served us well
Bred to kill, not to care
Just do as we say
Finished here, Greeting Death
He’s yours to take away

Back to the front
You will do what I say, when I say
Back to the front
You will die when I say, you must die
Back to the front
You coward
You servant
You blindman

Why, Am I dying?
Kill, have no fear
Lie, live off lying
Hell, Hell is here

I was born for dying

Life planned out before my birth, nothing could I say
Had no chance to see myself, molded day by day
Looking back I realize, nothing have I done
Left to die with only friend
Alone I clench my gun

Soldier boy, made of clay
Now an empty shell
Twenty one, only son
But he served us well
Bred to kill, not to care
Just do as we say
Finished here, Greeting Death
He’s yours to take away

Back to the front
You will do what I say, when I say
Back to the front
You will die when I say, you must die
Back to the front
You coward
You servant
You blindman

Back to the front.

In my opinion, the first verse resembles some scenes from the Fate route (especially the ones Shirou dreamt about), while the last one is considering Archer’s point of view.

And again, time to graze some bullets in “Perfect Cherry Blossom”.

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Wesieboy February 18, 2011 at 10:35 pm

what an amazing read!! i cried a little reading this, this really hit me , really unexpectedly how excellent you nailed her character and THIS is exactly reason i love her so, just amazing :D

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