50 Fun Facts About Fate Series

In Fate/stay night, the armoured heroine Saber is a female version of which famous British monarch?

King Arthur becomes a girl named Artoria in the story, whose father hid her sex at birth for fear his subjects would never accept a woman on the throne.

Which Greek demigod is the towering Servant who protects a young homunculus Master in Fate/stay night?

Heracles has to be killed twelve times to stay dead, once for each of his legendary labours, thanks to his Noble Phantasm God Hand.

Which ancient conqueror is the boisterous Rider of Fate/Zero, summoned by a student using a stolen relic?

Alexander the Great appears under the name Iskandar, the King of Conquerors, and joins the war hoping to be reborn and resume his conquest of the world.

Which historical figure is summoned to referee the war between the Red and Black factions in Fate/Apocrypha?

Joan of Arc, called Jeanne d'Arc in the series, belongs to neither team and is summoned as a mediator to see that the war is fought fairly.

Which Mesopotamian hero appears in Fate/Zero and Fate/stay night as an arrogant Archer who calls others "mongrels"?

Gilgamesh calls himself the King of Heroes and fights by opening portals to a mystical vault that holds the treasured weapons of other legends.

Which Roman emperor is reimagined as the female Saber and lead heroine of the PSP game Fate/Extra?

Nero leads Fate/Extra, a 2010 dungeon crawler whose war begins after an object beyond all human wisdom is discovered on the Moon.

Which figure from Greek myth is the blindfolded Rider serving Shinji Matou in Fate/stay night?

Medusa wears the blindfold as a seal, because her Mystic Eyes of Petrification turn weaker beings who look at her to stone.

Which famous writer is summoned as Caster of Red in Fate/Apocrypha, fighting with illusions instead of weapons?

William Shakespeare fights with a Noble Phantasm named First Folio, which builds elaborate illusions out of a target's own past.

Which legendary sword is Saber's main Noble Phantasm in Fate/stay night, later used to destroy the Holy Grail?

Excalibur is Saber's trump card in Fate/Zero too, where a rival Lancer breaks his own spear to heal her wound so she can use it to destroy Caster.

Which studio, later famous for Demon Slayer, animated both Fate/Zero and Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works?

Ufotable also adapted Type-Moon's The Garden of Sinners, and its 2020 Demon Slayer film Mugen Train topped the annual global box office.

Which Fate/stay night heroine, a model student who stores magical energy in jewels, is the Master of Archer?

Rin Tohsaka had wanted to summon Saber, but the ritual she performs at the start of the story gives her Archer instead.

Which priest oversees the Holy Grail War in Fate/stay night after fighting as a Master in Fate/Zero?

Kirei Kotomine eats mapo tofu at a Chinese restaurant in one film scene, which his voice actor said had an impact on long-time fans.

Which Irish hero is the Lancer who mortally wounds Shirou at school in Fate/stay night, wielding the spear Gáe Bolg?

Cú Chulainn is called the "child of light" from Ireland, and the full name of his weapon marks it as a spear of impaling barbed death.

Which famed Japanese swordsman's name is claimed by the Assassin guarding a temple gate in Fate/stay night?

Sasaki Kojirō is only a borrowed name here, since the Servant is really a nameless swordsman whose Turning Swallow Strike hits from three directions at once.

Which Knight of the Round Table, driven mad by guilt, is the Black Knight serving Kariya Matou in Fate/Zero?

Lancelot went mad from wanting to be punished for his affair with Guinevere, and he can turn almost anything he grabs into a Noble Phantasm.

Which student steals his teacher's relic to summon Rider in Fate/Zero and later takes the title Lord El-Melloi II?

Waver Velvet hoped that winning would force the Mages' Association to recognise his genius, and he gains his title when the El-Melloi family adopts him.

Which sorceress of Greek myth is the Caster of Fate/stay night, wielding a dagger called Rule Breaker?

Medea is the disgraced princess of Colchis in the story, and her weak-looking dagger dispels every form of magic it touches.

Which notorious mage killer is Saber's Master in Fate/Zero and later rescues the child Shirou from a huge fire?

Kiritsugu Emiya joins the war believing the Holy Grail can grant his wish for world peace, leaving behind his work as a mercenary.

Which family of mages creates homunculi such as Irisviel to act as the vessel of the Holy Grail in Fate/Zero?

Einzbern mages have about a thousand years of history behind them, and the residence where Irisviel first appears stands in Germany.

What is the name of the scabbard of Saber's sword, which Shirou carries sealed inside his body in Fate/stay night?

Avalon shares its name with the mystical land where only true heroes may reside, the place where Saber finally waits for Shirou.

Which Type-Moon co-founder began writing the story of Fate/stay night as a student, years before it became a game?

Kinoko Nasu first imagined the story as a novel, and in his early drafts Saber was a man while the lead character was a girl with glasses.

Which illustrator co-founded Type-Moon and designed the characters of Fate/stay night, including Saber and Shirou?

Takashi Takeuchi likes Saber so much that he keeps designing new heroines based on her, a habit fans call the "Saber face".

Which writer, co-creator of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, wrote the light novels of the prequel Fate/Zero?

Gen Urobuchi wrote for the game studio Nitroplus, and Fate/Zero first appeared in December 2006 as a collaboration between Nitroplus and Type-Moon.

Which company animated the first Fate/stay night anime, a 24-episode series from 2006 based mainly on the Fate route?

Studio Deen followed the series with a 2010 film of Unlimited Blade Works, years before that route was remade for television.

Which Fate/stay night route, centred on Sakura Matou, became a film trilogy released between 2017 and 2020?

Heaven's Feel was created by partly combining two heroines' planned storylines, which spared the team from splitting the game into two releases.

Which vampire-themed visual novel, first sold at Comiket in 2000, was Type-Moon's hit before Fate/stay night?

Tsukihime was made while Type-Moon was still a hobbyist dōjin circle, and its success turned the group into a commercial company.

Which 2005 sequel to Fate/stay night traps Shirou and Bazett Fraga McRemitz in a repeating four-day time loop?

Fate/hollow ataraxia uses its time loop so the cast can share everyday scenes while the mystery behind the Holy Grail War comes out.

Which Japanese voice actress has played Saber across the Fate franchise since the 2006 Fate/stay night anime?

Ayako Kawasumi was suggested by the sound director, and the game's creators chose her because they found her voice a fit for Saber's personality.

Which singer performed "oath sign", the opening theme for the first half of the Fate/Zero anime?

LiSA made "oath sign" her first solo single, a year after her major debut as a vocalist for a fictional in-story anime band, Girls Dead Monster.

Which singer performed "Brave Shine", the second opening theme of the Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works anime?

Aimer's "Last Stardust" was first meant for that opening slot, but it was instead played during Shirou's duel with Archer in episode 20.

Which mysterious girl travels back to 2004 with rookie Master Ritsuka Fujimaru at the start of Fate/Grand Order?

Mash Kyrielight later gives her life deflecting the final enemy's attack, then is revived by Fou, the small dog-like creature who travels with the party.

In Fate/Grand Order, which security organization uses Rayshift time travel to send the player into humanity's past?

Chaldea was founded to watch humanity's future for extinction events, bringing together experts from both the magical and the mundane fields.

In Fate/Apocrypha, Lancer of Black is strengthened by fighting in his old domain, which is now what country?

Romania boosts the powers of Vlad III, a warlord hoping to erase the stain that the Count Dracula legend left on his family's name.

Which paladin of Charlemagne is the Rider of Black who rescues and hides the homunculus Sieg in Fate/Apocrypha?

Astolfo finishes the story as one of the war's winners alongside Sieg, then sets off afterwards to explore the world.

Which knight of British legend is the Saber of Red summoned by necromancer Kairi Shishigou in Fate/Apocrypha?

Mordred gets on well with her Master, and the pair act independently from the rest of the Red faction before bringing down Semiramis together.

Which extra Servant class, introduced in Fate/Apocrypha, belongs to the neutral mediator of the Holy Grail War?

Ruler is held in Fate/Apocrypha by a spirit occupying the body of an ordinary high school student named Laeticia, who is spared at the end.

Which Fate spin-off turns a Fate/stay night character into a magical girl chosen by the wand Kaleidostick Ruby?

Prisma Illya, in full Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya, sends its schoolgirl heroine to collect seven Class Cards holding the spirits of legendary heroes.

In the true ending of Fate/stay night's Unlimited Blade Works route, Shirou goes abroad to study in which city?

London houses the Clock Tower of the Mage's Association, where the anime's epilogue has Shirou cross paths with Lord El-Melloi II.

Which three-use marks appear on the hand of anyone the Holy Grail picks as a Master in Fate/stay night?

Command Spells can be turned cruelly on a Servant, as in Unlimited Blade Works, where Lancer is ordered by one to take his own life.

Which infamous killer appears in Fate/Apocrypha as Assassin of Black, a girl formed from the souls of lost children?

Jack the Ripper is imagined as the merged souls of children who died in Whitechapel's harsh conditions, and anyone who meets her forgets her face.

Which composer wrote the music for the Fate/Zero anime and formed the vocal group Kalafina?

Yuki Kajiura's other anime scores include Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Sword Art Online and Demon Slayer.

Fate/stay night Réalta Nua, the 2007 edition without adult content and with voice acting, debuted on which console?

PlayStation 2 owners got the first all-ages edition, and a 2024 remaster of it for Nintendo Switch and PC became the game's first release outside Japan.

Which subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan publishes the hit mobile game Fate/Grand Order?

Aniplex proposed in 2014 that a cancelled game project be revisited, and teamed up with the studio Delightworks to rework it as a mobile RPG.

Which Fate action role-playing game was developed by Omega Force and published by Koei Tecmo in 2023?

Fate/Samurai Remnant casts players as Miyamoto Iori, a pupil of the master swordsman Miyamoto Musashi, exploring recreated districts of old Edo.

Which subtitle completes the 2019 anime Fate/Grand Order Absolute Demonic Front, set around the city of Uruk?

Babylonia sends the heroes back to Mesopotamia in 2655 B.C., where Uruk holds out as humanity's last defence against an army of beasts.

Fuyuki City, the fictional setting of Fate/stay night, is inspired by the landscape of which Japanese port city?

Kobe has long been identified with the West, and many foreign residences from its early trading days still stand in the city's Kitano area.

In Fate lore, which ceremonial sword does the young Saber draw from a rock to become Britain's monarch?

Caliburn is later lost, but Shirou recreates it with his magic so that he and Saber can strike down an enemy Servant together.

Which studio produced the 2018 anime Fate/Extra Last Encore, co-directed by Akiyuki Shinbo?

Shaft's series is no straight retelling of the 2010 game, since it continues from an alternate "bad end" in which the original hero was defeated.

In Fate/strange Fake, an organization from which country copies Fuyuki's ritual to stage a False Holy Grail War?

United States magi managed only an imitation of the ritual in the city of Snowfield, and their copy came out missing the Saber class.

Which being would be unleashed from the Holy Grail in Fate/stay night, its shadows consuming Saber in the third route?

Angra Mainyu began as an ordinary boy whose village picked him by lottery to embody all evil, and he returns as the Servant Avenger.