April 11th, 2012 
AstroNerdBoy フェイト/ゼロ Episode 14
Fate/Zero – 14
SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:
The beast Caster has created is too much for Saber and Rider, and it has drawn the attention of Japanese civilians and the air force. Risei sends his son Kirei to the scene to help Tohsaka as Risei prepares for a coverup of this disaster. Tohsaka tries to get Archer to help, but after four failed attacks, Archer won’t waste any more of his treasure weapons. One of two air force jets gets consumed by the monster and the second is taken over by Berserker, who uses it to go after Archer, who’s on a winged throne platform. Archer flees, but finds himself entertained by Berserker’s continued pursuit and attacks.
Tohsaka engages Kariya, the later demanding to know why Sakura was sent to his family. Tohsaka’s explanation angers him and he launches a massive insect attack. Saber rescues Rider from the clutches of the massive monster while nearby, Ryuunosuke rejoices in the death and destruction he can witness at his leisure. Emiya puts a bullet in Ryuunosuke’s gut, then one in his head. Caster mourns the loss of his Master and proceeds with the plan. Emiya contacts Maiya, telling her that they have to kill the monster before it gets to shore, or Caster will become immortal. Saber has the ability to kill it, but since Lancer’s curse put her out of action, Emiya decides to put the Servant’s chivalry to work.
Thoughts/Review:
Finally, that creep Ryuunosuke is dead. It made sense to remove him first, and Emiya is right in that they have to stop the monster. Still, what is Emiya going to have Saber and Lancer do? Knowing Emiya, he’s going to do something ugly to try to force Lancer off the stage and thus remove the curse. Not sure what else he could do that he hasn’t already done though.
However, Tohsaka is only interested in removing Kariya first. I suppose since he has no control over Archer, it is all he can do, even if it means disaster.
As to Tohsaka’s explanation on why he gave Sakura up for adoption, it sounds good on paper, but it is crap. Only one family member can know the family mage secrets? That’s bonk. What happens if Rin is killed? Oops? I guess the Tohsaka family is hosed then, eh? *_*
I guess Berserker was brought in to go after the monster, but ended up going after Archer instead. Well, that would match his name — berserker. He’s just a mindless warrior going after the first Servant he came to.
Anyway, not sure what’s going to happen to Lancer, but Caster is probably soon to be removed. From there, it is a question of who’s next. Further to that, what’s Kirei going to do?
Thus ends an entertaining episode comes to an end. I’m glad this series is back on. ^_^
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BOOM HEAD SHOT!!!!
*lol* Don’t mess with Emiya. ^_^;
I think it comes from here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyNuriXG3BQ. It’s a official MOD for Half-Life 2 called Team Fortress 2. Am I right, Lan?
It is not like Tohsaka “is only interested in removing Kariya first”. It is Kariya who is only interested on killing Tohsaka. Tokiomi needs to defend himself, after all. convincing Archer to deal with over monster is already dificult enough without crazy Black Knight distracting him.
As for only one children being able to learn the family secrets. The anime likely won’t get into the details, but said knowledge (and power) is engraved in a tattoo-like “Magic Crest” in the arm of the magus. This crest can’t be split and only one person can wear it at any single time. You don’t need a crest to use magic (as we saw, with little Rin), but you won’t be much powerful without one and likely won’t be considered a ‘true’ magus either.
Traditionally, the non-pimogenity children are raised without knowledge of magic, as a normal person, or is forced into arranged marriages to enhance the other magic families (it was what happened to Sola Ui). For Tokiomi, the perspective of having her second daughter to become a proper magus as well is simply too good.
(Of course, there is other crap in the whole thing. Like Sakura not being allowed to get closer to her former family, for example.)
>The anime likely won’t get into the details, but said knowledge (and power) is engraved in a tattoo-like “Magic Crest” in the arm of the magus. This crest can’t be split and only one person can wear it at any single time. You don’t need a crest to use magic (as we saw, with little Rin), but you won’t be much powerful without one and likely won’t be considered a ‘true’ magus either.
So, this is more of a gimmick magic that relies on this crest rather than on true, magical powers. I was thinking the whole magical circuit thing was the result of being gifted with magic. I guess not.
No, no. There is a difference between Magic Circuit and Magic Crest. You are born with Magic Circuits, which will filter the mana so you can use it for magecraft, formalcraft, wtichcraft, whatever. Magus families will put all their knowledge and parts of their Magic Circuits into a Crest and give it to their child.
This is what Kayneth meant, when he said that the older the blood the stronger the family is. For Example: Since one has the knowledge of over 12 generations of magi, one is naturally stronger than someone like Waver, whose family is only 3 generations old.
Tokiomi is the fifth generation, Rin will be the sixth. Kiritsugu is also the fifth generation of the Emiya family(though he only received 1/4 of his father’s crest; his Time Alter abilities are based on the Emiya family’s time manipulation magic), however, he didn’t pass on his Magic Crest to Shirou. One of the reasons is the fact, that they are not blood-related, it works similar to organ transplantations.
OK. Thanks for the clarification.
When we got to see episodes 14 and 15 at Sakuracon this weekend, the headshot got a massive cheer… I wonder what the creators (who were on hand for a Q&A panel afterward) thought of us bloodthirsty Americans, or whether that was actually the reaction they were hoping for.
I didn’t realize the Japanese creators were at Sakuracon. One year, I’m going to have to go there…maybe. ^_^;
Actually Berserk was meant to go after Archer from the beginning, just because Kariya hates Tohsaka to the bone.
Well, that does make sense now that you guys mention it.
The answer to why there’s only one heir to a magic family: magic crest.
They’re basically magic circuits put into a more stable form that can be passed to a successor. At some early point on the history of a magi family, a mage forges some of his magic circuits into a crest, stores all the spells he knows in it and passes it on. Subsequent inheritors add the spells they themselves learned to it. The spells stored in the crest can be cast just by filling it with prana, ommitting any rituals or incantations and allowing a mage to use spells he wouldn’t be able to learn himself, making it an extremely poweful tool. Now, the magic crest are only passed to one child, because if it was divided in each generation, it’s power would actually dissipate instead of accumulating. Now, since magi with crests are much more powerful than those without them, only the heir who received it is taught the magic, as magi see devoting time to teaching the other child, who is bound to be weaker, as futile.
>The spells stored in the crest can be cast just by filling it with prana, ommitting any rituals or incantations and allowing a mage to use spells he wouldn’t be able to learn himself, making it an extremely poweful tool.
So, it is a crutch then. Still, if a crest was initially created, why couldn’t a new one be created?
The reason for the one heir rule is not as simple a matter as having a single Crest (in fact, Tohsakas had had 2 on their hands at one point but those had been merged) or avoiding succession disputes over said Crest. While there is a general theory behind magecraft taught at the Clocktower, it mostly covers how to create a magic system, as well as some widely spread systems that have already lost much of their power. Runes are an example – while they are a stable and old (don’t forget, older usually means more powerful in the Nasuverse where magic is concerned), the system is looked down upon because it’s a dead end of sorts, and it’s been losing power over time. Now, the magic systems of separate families are NOT nearly as stable as that, albeit generally more powerful at what they are intended for. In the Nasuverse, recognition equals attention – the more people know the details of the system, the more attention its use attracts from the world. And the world denies magecraft. So having more heirs leads to bad bad consequences for family-specific magecraft. To reduce the impact on efficiency, magi only train one heir and avoid using their magecraft in public (the Masquarade is the main reason, but this factors in as well). Teaching two children magecraft is a radical step rarely taken. Aozakis are an example, although with a twist to it – Touko was born with a crazy high potential but had little affinity to the family brand, whereas Aoko had low potential overall but unlike Touko she had potential to achieve the Fifth True Magic, and has done so.
Also, there was a bit of misinformation from the Anonymous above: Rin already has most of the Crest transplanted to her. Tokiomi knows full well that he may die in this War. Using it is another thing, though.
I am the Anonymous above.
About Rin, I thought she had transplanted her Crest only after Tokiomi’s death. Tokiomi knows full well he might die in the war, of course, but he need his to minimize the chances, right? No sense going into a deadly war without being at full force.
The problem I see with this system still lies with the death of the stated heir. In that case, who gets the crest?
It’s the risk that has to be taken because it’s impossible to achieve magical greatness in one generation (or even a half dozen). With that said, the Crest makes it much more difficult to die as it provides both first aid of sorts (along with all the “precreated” spells).
Generally speaking, you CAN have a “spare” heir as you say but this is not possible in the case of Tokiomi because Sakura and Rin are both supremely powerful (Rin has the potential to be in the top 100 EVER in the history of the Magus Association and Sakura is her equal). The Magus Association would basically put a sealing designation on Sakura since she’s not the heir and experiment on her.
Another heir is raised. Otherwise, there may be a suitable successor from outside the family who will be taught the nuances of the family’s magecraft after the transplantation. Due to the nature of the Crests, a blood relative is preferable as a successor to prevent possible rejection, however.
As for the Tohsakas, the Crest is like a metaphysical internal organ. While it is sometimes possible to recover it after the mage’s death, most likely it will be damaged to some degree; the Crest will instinctly act as a life support system for a magus (this is one of the reasons Rin had survived being stabbed in the gut – the Tohsaka Crest is unusually strong, and the Edelfelts are one of the few families who specialize in combat), and due to that, there is always a possibility of overload – circuits frying themselves channeling prana to sustain the magus’ life. And furthermore, judging from Tokiomi’s own words, he would rather risk his life than his family’s greatest treasure – all magical research accumulated over time (and mostly stolen from an Edelfelt heir in the Third War but that’s not important here).
Also, Kayneth has come to the War at full force. He even made Sola-Ui into Lancer’s prana tank instead of himself so that he would be able to use his magecraft freely. The result? His Crest has been utterly destroyed and is beyond recovery, just like his circuits and his nervous system. In his arrogance, he had thrown away 8 generations of research and accumulation of power; his family won’t remember him well for this.
Remember him well? lol, they probably didn’t even have the time and nerves to do this. Since his Magic Crest was irreparable, the Archibald family was on the verge of ruin, if one certain magus hadn’t saved them. Actually ironic and a shame, that one of the greatest prodigies the Archibald family had brought forth almost destroyed said distinguished family.
Now that I think about it, it was absolutely unnecessary for Kayneth to use every Magic Circuit, including the ones from his Crest when he fought Kiritsugu. He had more than enough mana reserves and Circuits to block any attack with Volumen Hydragyrum. Kiritsugu completely read Kayneth’s mind and move pattern.
Though in Kayneth’s defense, he could have never guessed that a man exists, who could destroy Magic Circuits. Even more so, since he didn’t know that Kiritsugu was Saber’s true Master and not some random hired mercenary with machine guns. At least he was not the only one who fell for that trick. 37 other magi were killed by Kiritsugu with 37 Origin Bullets before Kayneth became victim no. 38.
Lots of interesting stuff here. Thanks for sharing.
The Crest will be transplanted to Rin later. She is slowly prepared to receive it. Astro, I know your memories of FSN are vague, but Rin used her Crest against Shirou in school in the first episodes. Looks like this http://i46.tinypic.com/2qm22c4.png.
Since in Tokiomi’s opinion it is necessary for Sakura to learn magecraft, it was inevitable for her to be adopted. The reason might be explained later on, so I won’t spoil anything. Just wanna add one last thing. The heir of the family will get certain protection that the second child, if it has to learn any magecraft(distinguished families like Nuada-Re and Archibald will train their second child anyway, since it’s impossible to hide magecraft from them), won’t. Zouken’s offer was too good to not accept it for Tokiomi. Sakura would get first-class education and protection.
The only problem is that both families have to forget that Sakura was a Tohsaka and they are no longer allowed to interact with each other. In the end, Tokiomi’s plan backfired, since Zouken tricked him. While Kariya is aware of that, Tokiomi is not.
I vaguely remember Rin having her arm light up, but I didn’t know it was her crest. I’m trying to remember if anyone mentioned that back when I blogged FSN. Thanks for the info.
“Still, if a crest was initially created, why couldn’t a new one be created?”
Think logically. Say your blog you’ve been writing for many years gets wiped out. As you’re capable of rewriting all the articles anew, it’s not a big deal to recreate it, right?
But if the blogs gets wiped out, ANB could just continue to make new spells… erm, I mean articles, and put them in the blog. Of course, it would be inferior to the previous blog if it continued to expand, but it’s still preferable than nothing.
Moreover, some of the more important old spells could be recreated in the new crest. And over time all could be put in the new one. And if two crests exist, the accumulation of new spells could progress faster since two people would be researching and making new spells, that could be then shared, making the family a lot more powerful for rather short time.
Actually, if my blog is wiped out, I have a backup of it. ^_^
And what if the back-up gets wiped out as well?
There’s also the matter of circuits collected in the Crest. An average magus has a capacity of about 25 prana. The Tohsaka family Crest adds 250 prana to the magus’ maximum capacity. So Yeah. Increasing one’s reserves 10 times over is a nifty bonus, and not something achievable in a single generation. And even a magus of Rin’s caliber (Rin has an inborn capacity of 250 prana but she is stated as pretty much a miraculous occurence) would not be able to create a Crest that large on her own. After all, circuits are bound to the soul. Tearing them away to expand the Crest is like ripping off a part of one’s soul. As such, normally, magi only infuse a small part of their circuits into the family Crest. Even the Barthomelois are not exempt from this (in case people don’t know: Barthomelois are the most ancient – they predate writing – and most powerful – well, duh – canon bloodline of magi).
While you can have backup of spells and magic theory in written form, those are obviously inefficient in comparison (same as comparing a book and a human with eidetic memory), and there is no way to back up fragments of your ancestors’ souls. Thus, recreating a Crest is a rather difficult task that will span multiple generations.
>> Moreover, some of the more important old spells could be recreated in the new crest. And over time all could be put in the new one. And if two crests exist, the accumulation of new spells could progress faster since two people would be researching and making new spells, that could be then shared, making the family a lot more powerful for rather short time.
Read my comment above about how having more practitioners weakens the magic system. What you are suggesting would severely undermine the family’s power.
>And what if the back-up gets wiped out as well?
I have more than one backup copy of it. ^_~
>While you can have backup of spells and magic theory in written form, those are obviously inefficient in comparison (same as comparing a book and a human with eidetic memory), and there is no way to back up fragments of your ancestors’ souls. Thus, recreating a Crest is a rather difficult task that will span multiple generations.
Based on the rules of this world, I can understand that.
ok i know this is totally out of topic but i just want to recommand a show call “Jormungand” to you. The manga it based on is weird to say the least. Its story about bad people that are cool & sometime cool.
And I try to recommend Level-E for at least half a year, but ANB still haven’t watched it. *Sigh*… and just thinking about already legendary article on TM!R OVA3… *Sigh again*. But seeing how much he picked to watch this season (http://astronerdboy.blogspot.com/2012/04/my-spring-2012-anime-list-and-2012.html), I doubt we’ll see him writing about them anytime soon. *Sigh for the last time*
I’ll have to check into both. I’ve heard of both, of course. As you say, evgenidb, time is an issue. ^_^;;; And I do need to do the OVA 3 stuff (thought I might get to do that last month, but failed).
By the way, Anon, are there any good fansubs for Jormungand? And is it censored a lot (better wait for the BDs or I can watch it even now)?
If it’s better to wait for better releases, I can, since I have to watch a lot for now (probably more than I have time to watch and I’m not watching only anime).
I’m gonna miss Ryuunosuke and Caster….and I was wonder why lancer couldn’t beat that magical, regenerating cthulu, with his anti-magic and anti- healing spears…
It wasn’t “magical”. It is a summon, but in itself it is a physical being. Besides, Lancer has already fought Caster’s lesser summons if you recall the past season. His spears were of little use there. Also, I believe an attempt to hack it down one piece at a time using Gae Buidhe would be rather hilarious to behold but futile. That thing was just too huge.