Kiritsugu Emiya

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Kiritsugu Emiya (衛宮切嗣, Emiya Kiritsugu^?) is a character from the Japanese visual novel and anime series Fate/stay night by TYPE-MOON.

Shirō's foster father, and also his savior from the aftermath of the massive Fuyuki fire. During his lifetime, Kiritsugu strived to be a Hero of Justice, a defender of humanity who could protect the weak. Although he feels he failed to do so, his efforts were a source of inspiration for Shirō. Kiritsugu was also a sorcerer, although he never taught Shirō seriously and Shirō had little talent for the craft. He dies several years prior to the beginning of Fate/stay night from an unknown cause.

The voice acting for Kiritsugu is done by Rikiya Koyama in Japanese and Kirk Thornton in English.^[1]

[edit] History

Kiritsugu was hired by Einzbern family as their representative in the 4th Holy Grail War, and is also the father of Illyasviel von Einzbern, who was artificially created using samples of his sperm. His Servant was Saber, who was summoned with the aid of Avalon, a Noble Phantasm exhumed by the Einzberns from Cornwall in England. However, they fought independently of one another, and only spoke to each other on a couple of occasions. It is revealed in Fate/Zero about the specifics of his strategy against the other masters; he employs modern technology including Thompson Contender pistol and a Walther WA 2000 sniper rifle with a attached AN/PVS04 night scope with IR heat vision to detect Masters through their heat (which is different from a regular humans due to the magic circuit) signatures. He is aided primarily by his assistant, a young woman named Maiya Hisau.

Kiritsugu was driven by principle, for he sought to be a sentinel who could safeguard mankind from harm, known as a "Hero of Justice". However, he came to realize that such an ideal was impossible to embrace, for every preserved life came at the cost of extinguishing another. Understanding this, and the destructive nature of the Holy Grail War, Kiritsugu decided to minimize the innocent casualties by ruthlessly massacring other Masters, employing guns, bombs, and taking hostages. By setting aside his morals and adopting a mechanical mindset, Kiritsugu hoped he could reduce unnecessary bloodshed and restore tranquility to Fuyuki City.

In the climax of the war, Kiritsugu defeated the last Master, Kirei Kotomine, and obtained the Holy Grail, which he discovered had been contaminated by an evil presence. Recognizing the danger of wishing upon such a black artifact, Kiritsugu betrayed the Einzberns by forcing Saber to shatter the Holy Grail with Excalibur. Without a corporeal vessel, the malevolent ichor within the Holy Grail splattered onto Kiritsugu, permanently rendering him decrepit and pallid. It was this contagion that eventually killed him four years later.

With the war's end, Kiritsugu discarded his merciless facade and sought to atone for his gruesome deeds. When he stumbled upon Shirō, he was overjoyed at the opportunity to save a life, for he had forced himself to extinguish many lives during the war. In order to revive him, Kiritsugu implanted Avalon, which possessed rejuvenating properties, into Shirō's dying body.

[edit] References

Fate/stay night (TYPE-MOON)
Characters
Shirō Emiya | Saber | Rin Tōsaka | Archer
Illyasviel von Einzbern | Berserker | Kiritsugu Emiya
Sakura Matō | Rider | Shinji Matō | Zōken Matō | True Assassin
Kirei Kotomine | Lancer | Gilgamesh
Sōichirō Kuzuki | Caster | Assassin
Taiga Fujimura | Bazett Fraga McRemitz | Avenger | Caren Ortensia | Zelretch
Minor characters
Information
Scenarios | Voice actors | Fate/hollow ataraxia | Fate/Zero