50 Fun Facts About Fate/stay Night

Which legendary figure is the true identity of Saber, the armoured swordswoman who serves Shirou in Fate/stay night?

King Arthur is recast as a young woman, Artoria Pendragon; in the writer's first draft Saber was a man, until the artist suggested swapping genders with the lead.

Which Servant of Fate/stay night is revealed in the Unlimited Blade Works route to be a future version of Shirou?

Archer is Shirou from a possible future, embittered by a lifetime of killing for his ideal, and he tries to erase himself by slaying his younger self.

Which Greek demigod is Berserker, the giant who guards a young Master and revives after death in Fate/stay night?

Heracles has to be killed twelve times before he stays dead, one death for each of his famous labours.

Which soft-spoken Fate/stay night heroine, raised by another family of mages, is revealed to be Rin Tohsaka's sister?

Sakura Matou was born a Tohsaka and given away for adoption as a small child, a secret at the heart of the game's third and darkest route.

Which disaster orphaned Shirou as a child, ten years before the story of Fate/stay night begins?

A massive fire swept the city when Saber was ordered to destroy the Holy Grail at the end of the previous war, a truth Shirou only learns years later.

Which figure of Greek myth is Rider in Fate/stay night, a blindfolded Servant who fights with nails on a chain?

Medusa wears the blindfold to seal her Mystic Eyes of Petrification, which can turn anyone weaker who meets her gaze to stone.

Which legendary Mesopotamian ruler is the arrogant extra Servant in Fate/stay night who launches weapons from a vault?

Gilgamesh calls himself the King of Heroes and has lingered in the world for ten years, ever since the previous Holy Grail War ended.

In the true ending of the Unlimited Blade Works route, Shirou and Rin leave Japan to study magecraft in which city?

London is home to the Clock Tower, the mages' academy where the 2014 anime's epilogue shows Shirou and Rin as students.

Which young aristocrat, living in a castle outside the city, is the Master of Berserker in Fate/stay night?

Illyasviel von Einzbern is a homunculus built to become the vessel of the Holy Grail, and she is the daughter of the man who adopted Shirou.

Which company, later behind Demon Slayer, animated the 2014 Unlimited Blade Works series and the Heaven's Feel films?

Ufotable has a long partnership with Type-Moon, having also animated its Garden of Sinners films before taking on the Holy Grail War.

Which warrior of Irish legend is Lancer, the first hostile Servant to attack Shirou in Fate/stay night?

Cú Chulainn carries a cursed spear that reverses cause and effect, so its thrust is fated to pierce the heart before it is even made.

Which sorceress of Greek myth is Caster in Fate/stay night, a princess of Colchis branded a witch?

Medea cheats the system by summoning a Servant of her own, the swordsman who stands guard at the gate of her temple stronghold.

Which famed Japanese swordsman's name is borrowed by Assassin, in truth a nameless samurai, in Fate/stay night?

Sasaki Kojirō is only a borrowed name: the Servant is an unknown swordsman whose Turning Swallow Strike cuts from three directions at once.

Which priest, supposedly the neutral overseer of the Holy Grail War in Fate/stay night, secretly controls Lancer?

Kirei Kotomine took Lancer by ambushing the Servant's original Master and cutting off her arm, all while acting as Rin's trusted guardian.

Which retired mage, Saber's Master in the previous war, rescued the orphaned Shirou and raised him as a son?

Kiritsugu was once a feared hired killer of mages, yet he was reluctant to teach his adopted son magecraft and passed on little before he died.

Which stoic teacher of Rin's class is revealed in Fate/stay night to be a trained assassin and Caster's Master?

Souichirou Kuzuki has no magic of his own, so Caster strengthens his fists with spells and takes the souls of others to sustain herself.

Which English teacher, Shirou's guardian in Fate/stay night, co-hosts the comic hint corner shown after a bad ending?

Taiga Fujimura dislikes her nickname, Tiger, yet the hint corner she runs after each of Shirou's untimely deaths is called the Tiger Dojo.

Rin Tohsaka of Fate/stay night stores her magical energy in which objects, which she can detonate in battle?

Jewels charged with mana over time let Rin release far more energy in one burst than her body could normally handle.

In which fictional Japanese city do seven Masters fight the Holy Grail War of Fate/stay night?

Fuyuki is where three mage families built the Holy Grail ritual long ago, and the war in the story is the fifth to be fought there.

In Fate/stay night, Shirou inherits from his adoptive father the dream of becoming what?

A hero of justice who saves everyone is an ideal that even Shirou's own future self calls naive and impossible, and each route tests it differently.

Which marks borne by each Master in Fate/stay night can bind a Servant into absolute obedience when one is used up?

Command Seals are scarce: each Master gets only three, and Rin impulsively burns one almost at once to bring her unruly Servant into line.

What term does Fate/stay night use for a Servant's legendary trump card, such as Lancer's cursed spear?

Noble Phantasm covers more than weapons: Berserker's is a power of resurrection, and another Servant's is an entire world filled with swords.

Which power of Berserker in Fate/stay night revives him automatically, so that he must be slain again and again?

God Hand also makes him immune to lesser attacks, so only the mightiest legendary weapons can take even one of his lives.

Which weapon of Caster in Fate/stay night cancels any magic it touches, even the bond between Master and Servant?

Rule Breaker is nearly useless as a blade, yet a single stab is enough for Caster to make Saber her own Servant for a time.

Which fiery Chinese dish does the priest of Fate/stay night devour in a scene of the first Heaven's Feel film?

Mapo tofu became a running joke among fans, and the priest's voice actor said the restaurant scene made a real impact on followers of the original game.

Shirou first becomes a target in Fate/stay night after witnessing two Servants duel at which location?

His school is where Lancer strikes him down for seeing too much, and only Rin's magic brings him back from the brink of death.

Which corrupted Servant, swallowed by the shadow in Heaven's Feel, is finally defeated by Shirou and Rider?

Saber Alter is what remains of Shirou's own Servant after the shadow devours her, forcing him to strike down his former partner.

Which entity, summoned as a weak Avenger in the third war, has tainted the Holy Grail of Fate/stay night ever since?

Angra Mainyu began as an ordinary villager sacrificed as the source of all the world's evil, and his defeat left the Grail filled with a black mud.

The true Assassin of the Heaven's Feel route takes his name from which founder of the medieval Order of Assassins?

Hassan-i Sabbah is a title in the story: every leader of the order took the name, so each war summons a different man who once bore it.

Which magecraft does Shirou first use in Unlimited Blade Works to copy weapons, having trained only in reinforcement?

Projection is usually dismissed as useless because its copies are so fragile, yet Shirou uses it to recreate powerful weapons he has seen.

Which author wrote the scenario of Fate/stay night, having begun the story in college before it was planned as a game?

Kinoko Nasu first wrote only what became the Fate route, and later hit on the idea of telling the story through three separate storylines.

Which artist co-founded Type-Moon and designed the cast of Fate/stay night, later calling Shirou the hardest to draw?

Takashi Takeuchi also proposed the gender swap that made Saber a woman, because he liked the idea of drawing an armoured heroine.

Which vampire visual novel was Type-Moon's breakout hit before Fate/stay night became its first commercial release?

Tsukihime first appeared in 2000 as an amateur release, and its success turned Type-Moon from a hobbyist circle into a commercial company.

Which 2005 sequel to Fate/stay night, set half a year later, introduces Bazett Fraga McRemitz and Caren Ortensia?

Fate/hollow ataraxia traps its cast in a repeating four-day loop, a setup chosen to allow scenes of everyday life alongside a new mystery.

Which prequel to Type-Moon's 2004 game follows Saber and Shirou's adoptive father through the Fourth Holy Grail War?

Fate/Zero began as a series of light novels in 2006 and shows how the previous war ended in the disaster that orphaned Shirou.

Which subtitle was given to the 2007 PlayStation 2 edition of Fate/stay night, which removed the adult content?

Réalta Nua also added voice acting by the cast of the 2006 anime and an extended ending scene for the Fate route.

Fate/stay night Remastered took the game outside Japan for the first time in 2024 on Steam and which console?

Nintendo Switch players got the first official release outside Japan, twenty years after the original appeared on Windows PCs.

Which short animation, released with the final Carnival Phantasm volume, features a male Saber and a girl as the lead?

Fate/Prototype shows the tale as first imagined in the writer's student days, before the two leads swapped genders for the 2004 game.

Which Nitroplus writer declined an invitation to help script Fate/stay night, then wrote its prequel novels?

Gen Urobuchi, later co-creator of Puella Magi Madoka Magica, was handed complete freedom over the prequel's lead character.

Which Japanese historical fantasy novel inspired the premise of Fate/stay night, a clash of famous figures of legend?

Makai Tensho, by Futaro Yamada, gave the writer the idea for a fantasy in which famous heroic figures from all over the world take part.

Which company animated the first Fate/stay night television series in 2006 and the Unlimited Blade Works film of 2010?

Studio Deen's 24-episode series mainly follows the Fate route but borrows scenes from the other two storylines along the way.

Which singer performed the theme songs of all three Heaven's Feel films and an opening of the 2014 anime?

Aimer's theme for the second film became her first single to top Japan's Oricon weekly chart.

Which composer of the Sword Art Online and Madoka Magica soundtracks scored the three Heaven's Feel films?

Yuki Kajiura also composed each film's theme song, having already scored the prequel series and The Garden of Sinners for the same animators.

Which Japanese voice actress plays Saber in Fate/stay night and co-hosted its promotional internet radio show?

Ayako Kawasumi was picked by the game's two creators, who felt her voice suited the heroine's personality.

Which voice actor, also the Japanese voice of Sasuke in Naruto, plays Shirou in Fate/stay night?

Noriaki Sugiyama and the actor playing Shirou's older self deliberately copied each other's delivery, so the two would sound like one person.

Which composer of the Ghost in the Shell film scores wrote the music for the 2006 Fate/stay night anime?

Kenji Kawai also arranged the score himself, while the singer Sachi Tainaka performed both of the series' opening themes.

Which subtitle belongs to the final Heaven's Feel film, whose 2020 release was delayed twice by the pandemic?

The film called spring song slipped from March to August 2020, yet it opened at the top of the Japanese box office.

Which vocal group, formed for The Garden of Sinners, sang both endings of the 2014 Unlimited Blade Works anime?

Kalafina sang Believe for the first half and Ring Your Bell for the second, then disbanded in 2019 before regrouping in 2024.

Which actor replaced Sam Riegel as Shirou's English voice for the 2014 Unlimited Blade Works series?

Bryce Papenbrook kept the role for the Heaven's Feel films, while a child version of Shirou in the series was voiced by Mona Marshall.

Which 2015 mobile game grew out of Type-Moon's Holy Grail War saga and has grossed billions of dollars worldwide?

Fate/Grand Order had grossed over $5.6 billion worldwide by July 2021, placing it among the highest-grossing mobile games ever released.