Alternate versions Ruler Avenger

Ruler (ルーラー, Rūrā?) is the Ruler-class Servant of the Einzbern Master‎‎ in the Third Holy Grail War in the world of Fate/Apocrypha. Taking on the name Shirou Kotomine (シロウ・コトミネ, Shirō Kotomine?), he is the Master of Assassin of Red in the Great Holy Grail War. He later contracts with Caster of Red, Archer of Red, Lancer of Red, Rider of Red, and Caster of Black. He is one of the Servants summoned by Ritsuka Fujimaru in the Grand Orders of Fate/Grand Order.

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Profile Edit

Identity Edit

Ruler’s True Name is Shirou Tokisada Amakusa (天草 四郎 時貞, Amakusa Shirō Tokisada?), the teenage leader of the Shimabara Rebellion.[5] Born in the Edo period, he was a boy of miracles who could nearly be called a saint.[6] However, how exactly he was discovered and, in fact, at least a good half of his lifetime is wrapped in mystery. He who concentrated on his studies since childhood began to perform many miracles at the frontier for a time. Having healed wounds and walked on water, he eventually began to be enthusiastically worshiped as son of God by the peasants that believed in a prohibited religion.[3] In reality, he was merely a Spellcaster. He wasn't taught Magecraft but it was something that came to him naturally but very rarely. His use of Magecraft was mostly subconscious, so he had not even realized it himself. It just so happened that he was born with the power to exercise the miracles called Magecraft, and no one around him ever pointed it out, and so he was revered as a boy of miracles. Perhaps Mori Souiken and his peers had suppressed those whispers.[7]

The Shimabara Rebellion Edit

The rulers of the land, the Matsukura clan had drastically raised the taxes causing famine and overtaxation to the people. This action forced the weak to fall in despair as they were unable to even resist. As they continued to be exploited, the people found salvation in Christianity, the words filled with love that couldn’t be defeated by starvation, poverty or despair. However the Matsukura clan tried to take even that from them. For them it was no longer exploitation but it was murder. The people were provoked and they rose up and revolted. They feared of having their right to live taken away overcame their fear of dying in battle.[8]

Amongst them was Shirou, a young boy at the time. Nobody knew whether his presence there was a coincidence or the will of God, but before anyone realized it, Shirou was leading them, though under the instruction of several Rōnin.[3][8] Before long, former-vassals of Konishi Yukinaga had him as leader established a rebel army against the Edo Shogunate. Together with the peasants of Shimabara, who were suffering with the harsh environment of the times, they raised a large-scale insurrection.[3] Their battle should have no defeat and no victory either. Because by rising up, they were both losers and victors at the same time. All they had left was the power to rise up, however the act of rising up itself was a necessary act. They rose up for the sake of what they believed in—that in itself was important and what they wished for. They believed the sacrifices would be kept to a minimum, and even if several people including themselves became sacrifices, the world wouldn’t die, but would instead be reborn.[8]

Shirou brought forth a miracle, the possibility of victory that should have been impossible. In his own words, he was granted miraculous power granted by God because God will occasionally exercise malice due to good will. Unfortunately, Shirou attained victory. Everyone went wild and became excited over the victory. They clung to Shirou, who had won a battle where victory should have been impossible, as a child of miracles. That foolish purity of theirs troubled the boy. Shirou believed they shouldn’t have won. Winning was not an option. He had been caught up in saving lives in the near future and averted his eyes from the bigger picture. They may bite a cornered cat—but after being bitten, the enraged cat would retaliate by slaughtering them.[8]

Death Edit

Despite taking the uprising lightly at first, the Edo Shogunate got serious due to its punitive forces being defeated and sent out Elder Matsudaira Nobutsuna as the supreme commander.[3] Shirou led the defense of Hara Castle, and defeated the strongest of the Shogunate attackers in a series of coordinated defensive surges. Matsudaira Nobutsuna brought on starvation tactics to the revolting army that had shut themselves in Hara Castle, and estimated the time when they were running out of food and ammunition to start his general offensive. It has been told that 37,000 people, including Shirou were massacred by the shogunate forces, with the exception of a single betrayer (there are various theories about this).[3]

After his rebellion ultimately failed, Shirou was sentenced to execution by decapitation. Before his death, Shirou felt he was naïve and he witnessed a scene like hell as his comrades were slowly killed off. The decapitated heads of the elderly, men butchered up like experimental animals, babies pierced by spears, girls raped in the pursuit of lust and then thrown away afterwards. He was convinced that the countless lives gathered were not taken away by the enemy but by himself. Shirou without once changing expression, accepted this result with a will of steel and it made him impossible to yield and give up. He merely gazed at this scene of ruin. He revealed no resignation or sorrow and even overcame the pain of his dismembered arms. He accepted that he had lost, the responsibility for his comrades death and his inevitable death. But the one thing he could not accept was that everything would fall to ruins after this. He couldn’t accept it. After having wasted so many lives, he absolutely could not accept that nothing would be gained as a result.[8]

« So, God. Give me another chance. Next time, I won’t lose sight of the bigger picture. I will eliminate all obstacles, enemies and hardships in my way. Next time, I will obtain all the good in the world. A world where everyone is happy, everyone is good, and everyone is perfect. I will exterminate all evil and create a new, pure world. » ( Shirou Tokisada Amakusa's last prayer )

Appearance Edit

Shirou appears to be a tanned-skinned youth with white hair like silver and with dark ageless golden eyes. His hair became white as compensation for when he forcefully incarnated and after that his skin changed color because he spent twenty years in the middle-east.[5] He wears the vestments of a priest and a golden cross around his neck. His vestment is a type of a red holy shroud and he wore a red stole over his cassock. He has an innocent, boyish face showing that he has yet to have aged past twenty years of age. Though incarnated decades ago, Left Hand - Xanadu Matrix has granted him his still youthful appearance. He is eternally seventeen years old despite he is over seventy years old. He hasn’t emotionally matured regardless of how much knowledge and experience he has gained.[9] His body is covered in scars and he has two Command Spells on his chest, the seals are very similar to Kirei Kotomine.

In his Servant form, he has long hair tied into a ponytail. His clothing is a mixture of traditional samurai outfit with European influence. He wears a jinbaori style haori with Christianity crosses decorated on them. He wears a tradition umanori hakama with Shin guards which had cloth straps that were used to tie the Shin guards to the lower leg. He wears a collar shirt underneath his Kimono and a Cravat tied around his collar.





Personality Edit

In his lifetime, Shirou walked the path of suffering and despair. He and his comrades fought for their faith and beliefs, and in return, they failed and died. He once hated everything, from God to humans. He claims that he hated humans, not because they had killed him or his comrades, but how humanity easily accepted it as a repeating system in history where life is priceless yet has no value. He finds humanity to be just like Ouroboros, eating themselves in order to grow. Shirou admitted to his failure, his mortality and his guilt. So, he forsook his heart filled with hatred, for the sake of humankind's salvation. He claims he does not hate humanity anymore, and that he will save the current six billion people and the people from past and future. In reality he is trying to save humanity to forgive himself for not being able to save a single person, he wishes for everyone to throw away their selfishness and create a world where everyone is saved and happy. He desires to make use of the Holy Grail to fulfill his own ambition. He simply wished the happiness of all mankind, for innate goodness to be found in the heart of all humanity and the annihilation of Angra Mainyu: All the Evils of the World.[6]

Shirou appears to be a benign man with an innocent smile; he is in actuality a manipulator who would destroy his adversary with no hesitation in order to fulfill his own ambition. He is essentially a character who looks light on the outside and has a darker personality inside. Kairi sees him as being overly judicious given his supposed age.

He is the mastermind, but is a good and virtuous being. In the first place, it is a matter of argument whether or not Shirou’s actions are truly evil. Because you could say that he guided people through a slight shortcut to the place they would eventually reach someday. However, on the other hand, he is unmistakably evil. Because he tried to save not individual people, but only the human race itself. Having no hobbies or anything he likes, he's lived for seventy years for the sake of humanity’s salvation. Even if his plans were overturned in the end, the instant when he saw the rising sun as he lay on Semiramis’ lap—was a moment of supreme bliss for Shirou.

Relationships Edit

Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia Shirou and Darnic encountered each other 60 years prior during the previous Holy Grail War where he succeeded in killing Darnic's Lancer class Servant in Fuyuki City even though it cost him his Master in the process. The moment Darnic first encountered Shirou, he felt afraid for once. He feels this feeling again when he encounters Shirou in the Great Grail War while in the form of the Nameless Vampire, trying to find the Grail in Shirou's fortress. Shirou recognizes Darnic, despite his different form and reminds him of their previous encounter from 60 years in the past and declares he has been waiting for the chance to finish things between them. Announcing that he cannot allow Darnic to live any longer now that he has the Grail in his posession, he slowly destroys him with the Black Keys while reciting a chant; reducing the former Grail War survivor to ash and avenging his deceased Master's death. Sieg Shirou considers Sieg to be unintended piece in his plans when Sieg was revived due in part to Saber of Black's rebelious action. He was also irritated that Sieg would discard the perfect existence as a homunculus, even if said life was ephemerally short.[10] Jeanne d'Arc Shirou and Jeanne are enemies in Fate/Apocrypha. Shirou considers Jeanne to be a nuisance that must be killed for the sake of his goal, but hopes that as a fellow Catholic, she would understand his desire to bring salvation to mankind. As Shirou will not back down from his goal and Jeanne views his actions as immoral, the two are eventually forced to fight in a battle that costs Shirou an arm and Jeanne her life. Edmond Dantès Semiramis Shirou is the Master of Semiramis in Fate/Apocrypha, whose catalyst he had spent decades searching for. He trusts her with many of his secrets that he's unwilling to share with the rest of the Red Faction.

Role Edit

Third Holy Grail War Edit

Shirou during the Third Holy Grail War.

Shirou holding his Master and mourning her death. 1 of 2 Add photo

Differing from the timeline of Fate/stay night's Third Holy Grail War where the Einzbern family summoned the Avenger-class Angra Mainyu, they abuse one of the systems installed in the Greater Grail and brought forth Shirou as a Ruler-class Servant who was meant to be an impartial authority who regulated the progress of the War. The Einzberns wished to call forth a proper Heroic Spirit befitting of the Ruler class rather than some nameless Eastern hero. However the act of summoning a Ruler was already a severe interference in the normal operating format of the Holy Grail War so he was a compromise with the advantage of his Command Spells.[6]

As the third war drew to a close, the Einzberns clearly stood closer than any other to the Greater Grail. Shirou had fought to the death against the Servant Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia had summoned. While his Master was killed in action, Shirou remained materialized due to Shirou having come into contact with the Greater Grail and managing to receive flesh. As Risei Kotomine rescued the Master of the Tohsaka, Shirou helped him with his rescue work. As Darnic successfully stolen the Greater Grail, the survivors were Shirou and Risei. Risei questions about Shirou's future plans, Shirou lied to Risei about giving up on the Greater Grail but he plans to travel around the world.[6]

Risei prepared a family register, registering him as his son "Shirou Kotomine" (言峰 四郎 , Kotomine Shirō?). He had joined with the Church thanks to Risei's connections. He entered the Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament as Kotomine Shirou, but naturally Risei could not acknowledge him as his son there and approached him honestly as a friend. Around the time when Risei's son was born, Shirou had deliberately diminished his contact with Risei.[11] Shirou remained distant from Risei's own son. Shirou consciously avoids Kirei Kotomine because Shirou noticed the "distortion" within his stepbrother. Of course, he would very much like to free Kirei from his anguish, but no matter how he thought about it, it wouldn't end well. Additionally, if the one-in-a-million chance occurred where an event caused him to affirm his own distortion, Shirou was greatly worried that the first person Kirei would target would be him. Thus, Shirou kept his distance from Kirei as much as possible from the beginning to end of their relationship.[12] Risei's funeral was the last time that his son Kirei and Shirou met.[11] He sometimes served as the mediator in some of the subspecies Holy Grail Wars.[5] Taking up a position in the Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament, there was little information left to be gleamed about him from those who would search for it. He had almost no interaction with the other members of the Assembly, and was viewed as a curiosity by his compatriots who wondered, "How long has this guy been here?". He concealed himself in the Middle East for nearly twenty years in order to search for catalysts for Semiramis.[5]

As the Mage's Association decided to seek one Master from the Church in order to have their involvement prove the legitimacy of their cause. Having already hypothesized the possibility of a Great Holy Grail War—a situation with seven Servants versus seven Servants occurring instead of a normal Holy Grail War. In such an abnormal situation with seven Servants versus seven Servants and where even the previous Ruler had summoned his own Servant, the Greater Grail automatically summoned the Ruler for this war, Jeanne d'Arc, but Shirou had included even that into his calculations as an event within his expectations. Shirou promptly joined the Red faction as the dual mediator and Master sent by the Holy Church. He received a catalyst for Semiramis from the Sophia-Ri family the moment it was decided that he would participate in the Great Holy Grail War, but it seems he secured three other catalysts on his own after searching for nearly twenty years as a precaution. He quickly summoned Semiramis without delay.[5] He summoned Assassin of Red as his Servant, and she asked him, "Not for naught am I known as the world's oldest poisoner... Are you truly certain that you can wield Queen Semiramis?" He replied to her with, "O Queen of Assyria - in this Great Holy Grail War, I aim not for victory or defeat but for another goal. Will you aid me?" Although initially worried over his strange nature, she eventually came to greatly respect him and decided to aid him without hesitation. He gathered with five of the other Masters of the Red Faction, and Assassin managed to manipulate them into allowing him to control their Servants.

The Great Holy Grail War Edit

Assassin, Caster and Shirou conversing 1 of 1 Add photo

Shirou is sent by the Church to observe the Holy Grail War as the overseer and to participate as one of the Masters of the Red Faction. He takes control of the five puppet Masters, and he and Assassin are the ones present for the summonings of Archer of Red and Rider of Red. Pretending to provisionally act as the mediator for the other Servants, Rider and Archer are wary of their Masters not showing themselves and of his presence. Caster of Red has oppositely taken to calling him Master. Upon the arrival of Kairi Sisigou and the summoning of Saber of Red, he uses one of Assassin's dove familiars to deliver a message requesting a meeting. He calmly introduces himself upon their arrival, but both are not trusting of him. He requests that Saber be materialized, and he is surprised when he cannot tell of her identity with his ability as Ruler.

He has Assassin reveal herself and begins to discuss the situation of the war. Showing the collected parameters of the Black Faction's Servants, he gives his speculation on the likelihood of Lancer of Black being Vlad III. He confirms that Lancer of Red and Rider have the strength to oppose Black Lancer. Though he tries to get Kairi to reveal the name of Saber, Kairi declines and decides to act alone instead of with the group. Though somewhat troubled by the situation, he agrees to provide Kairi with information on the proceedings of the war as the two leave. Disappointed that they felt suspicious and of being unable to see through Secret of Pedigree, Shirou rejects Assassin's idea of sending an agent after them. Dealing with them as allies until the Black Faction's defeat is in their best interest, so he instead moves onto the topic of the completion of Hanging Gardens of Babylon in three days' time.

They are interrupted moments later by the arrival of Caster, chanting a line from Richard III. When Shirou is unable to identify the line, Caster exaggeratedly laments that he cannot believe Shirou has not read one of his greatest works, giving him "The Works of William Shakespeare." As discussion with Assassin brings him back to seriousness, he reveals that Berserker of Red has begun a march on the enemy. Shirou is relatively clam compared to Assassin's shock, and immediately has Assassin send orders for Archer to pursue him in an attempt to stop him, though very unlikely. He thinks that trying to stop Berserker with Command Spells would only delay the inevitable now that he has found his target, so he has Archer back him up instead.

Shirou must work as the overseer in keeping the supernatural away from the public eye, so he must follow Berserker's path to deal with onlookers. Berserker does not dematerialize, so he will be kept busy for the two day march. Telling Caster to stay out of trouble, he tries to encourage him by telling him that the coming war will satisfy his love of stories. As Berserker reaches the stronghold, he returns to the other Master and feeds them false information about the nature of the war. Telling them that the Red Faction has only two Servants left and that the escaped Masters have been caught, he urges them to relinquish full control of the Servants to him due to it being no longer necessary for them. They are still unable to accept his proposal, believing it to be too dangerous, so he takes his leave of them. He returns to Assassin, having bet a bottle of wine over an acceptable outcome, so he plans to set other things into motion.

He asks if the wine, a bottle obtained from an elder of the Eighth Sacrament, is an acceptable prize, but she simply wants it for the "taste of wealth." They muse over the nature of kings, causing Shirou to become amused as it appears to him that it would be more suitable for him to have been the Servant and she the Master. As she jokingly asks if he would like to switch places, he declines while noting her nature as a despot in life, and they repeat their words from her summoning. She mentions that his words at the time were strange enough to want her to search out a person to become her Master instead, but later became greatly interested. They receive notice that Berserker has almost arrived, noting that Rider has also joined them. They also receive notice of Ruler's arrival, of whom Shirou is most cautious. While not hating her, he feels she is one who's existence must be crushed, so he dispatches Lancer of Red to kill her after deciding that Rider would not willingly accept the task.

Shirou sleeping on Assassin's lap

The Red Faction on top of Hanging Garden of Babylon.

Ruler confronting Shirou.

Assassin of "Red" seducing Shirou.

Shirou manipulating the Greater Grail with his Noble Phantasms.

1 of 6 Add photo

The instant when he saw the rising sun as he lay on Semiramis’ lap was a moment of supreme bliss for Shirou.[5]



Fate/Grand Order Edit

Amakusa Shirou is the same individual that was reincarnated in "Apocrypha". He possesses his memories in the Third Holy Grail War. His presence is completely contradictory with the records of the "Grand Order" world. He bonds with Sakata Kintoki, Lu Bu and Fuuma Kotarou in Chaldea.[7]

Amakusa Shirou Trial Quest Edit

Shirou and Child-Gil are fighting over the subspecies Holy Grail.

The Vengeance Demon Howls in the Prison Tower Edit

Shirou is the Heroic Spirit that governs the "greed" in the prison tower.

Salomon: The Grand Time Temple Edit

He is amongst the "Special event" Servants to assist the Chaldea against Demon Gods Pillar.[13]

Shimosa Province: The Stage of Rivers of Blood and Mountains of Corpses Edit

And alternate universe version of him is the Sorcerer (妖術師, Yōjutsu-shi?) who is collaborating with Caster Limbo. Unlike the Shirou from most Fate timelines, this one went totally mad at Shimabara, and became an Avenger. He wandered bizarre parallel worlds before coming into contact with the Alien God, whom he worships as Lucifer, the Great Satan. At one point, he rants about his hatred for the Amakusa Shirou from the other timelines, who still loves humanity and wants to save the world.

Valentine 2018: ~The Flourishing Chocolate Gardens of Valentine~ Edit

Shirou meets Semiramis at the end of the event, though she doesn't seemingly recognize him.

Interlude Edit

Let Us Tell a Tale of World Salvation (世界の救済について話をしよう?) is his interlude. Amakusa Shirou accompanies Ritsuka Fujimaru and Mash Kyrielight to prevent even the smallest Singularities from emerging. Shirou tells his past to Ritsuka and Mash. They detected a polluted Holy Grail, the black mud oozing out can contaminate Servants. They defeated the remnants of Zouken Matou and his insects. Angra Mainyu pops out from the mud, he asks who wants the corrupted Holy Grail. Shirou betrays them because he has a goal and battles Ritsuka, Mash and Angra Mainyu. As Shirou was defeated, the Holy Grail was about to explode. Shirou insist that he'll destroy the Holy Grail because he was defeated so he'll put an end to this. As they return to Chaldea, Shirou informs the group that as long as there is a Holy Grail, he will claim it. However to his surprise, Ritsuka says he'll stop Shirou as many times as it takes. He and Ritsuka cannot come to an understanding, but Shirou is willing to place his own dream under seal so he can fight alongside with Ritsuka. As punishment for his earlier betrayal, Ritsuka orders Shirou to clean his room, to which Shirou would devote his all.[7]

Other appearances Edit

In Fate/strange Fake, he is mentioned in the opening of Rider's narration. It is said that if the Holy Grail War had existed when Shirou lived, he may have even been able to summon his more powerful future self, an icon of heroism.[14]

Abilities Edit

Amakusa Shirou Tokisada was summoned as a Ruler-class Servant. He was a figure whom had been as close to a "Saint" as you could possibly find in the Far East, but the sainthood of this tragic youth had never been recognized.[6] Amakusa Shirou was made to become a Ruler by foul play, his summoning in the Third Holy Grail War fooling the system into thinking he was qualified. If there wasn't the case of the Human Order Incineration Protocol, the chances of summoning him would be very low.[7] As a Servant, he would be third-rate if he weren't Ruler.[5][7] Shirou was neither outstanding in combat nor proficient in Magecraft to the level of a Caster-class Servant, but he continued to win, and survive, in the Third Holy Grail War.[6] He is more of a Spellcaster than a Magus. He may barely be able to qualify as a Caster.[7] He was ever heedful and never gambled, fulfilling his duties even as he thoroughly cemented his defenses.[6]

Almighty Key Skeleton Key

万能鍵 スケルトンキー

Ban'nō Kagi Sukeruton Kī

By the strange device called faith, after dying and becoming a Heroic Spirit , he became capable of exercising miracles. Therefore he possesses two Noble Phantasm, Left Hand - Xanadu Matrix and Right Hand - Evil Eater Due to the unique nature of his Noble Phantasm, his arms are connected to the Thaumaturgical Foundation which allows him to effectively use any sort of Magecraft with its).He can also combine them to create a powerful technique called Big Crunch

As a Ruler class, he gains True Name Discernment class skill. Status information such as the true identity, Skill and Parameters is automatically revealed when he directly encounters Servant.[1] There are certain limits, Servants with hiding capacity such as Saber of Red's Noble Phantasm Secret of Pedigree can mask out her identity, however it depends on his luck level to bypass this.[1] As he was dispatched by the Church with the duty of being the overseer of this Great Holy Grail War, he possessed the Spirit Board (霊器盤, Reiki Ban?) that was given to the overseer and could perfectly grasp the state of all fourteen Servants. As his "True Name Discernment" skill makes him need to directly encounter Servants to see their status, Shirou must rely on Spirit Board to track down any Servants and learn their identity. It was particular useful when Saber of Black had committed suicide and Shirou suspected something was odd since his name was not entirely gone from the board.

While he holds a Magic Resistance skill equivalent to a strong Saber-class, he does not cope with the sacraments of the church.[1]

God's Resolution (神明議決, Shinmei Giketsu?) is the highest privilege for the Ruler class skill. Normally Ruler-class would possess two Command Spells for each Servants that participated in the Holy Grail War. However, as Shirou is not a participant of the Greater Grail War, this skill has been lost.[1] As he participated as a Master, he only has three command spells for Assassin of Red. While he leads the Red Faction, he made sure that the Red Faction Servants do not interact or meet with their respective Master. While he could steal the command spells by cutting their arms, Shirou decided to avoid this method. The reason is that he wants to avoid lying to Lancer of Red who excels at perceiving deceptions. This is the main reason why he'd manipulated the Red Faction Masters into his puppet, so they could peacefully hand over the three command spells of their Servants and provide enough Magical Energy until his connection to the Greater Grail. Eventually he obtained their Command Spells, his arm was engraved with eighteen Command Spells of Archer, Lancer, Rider, Berserker, Caster and Assassin.

Revelation is a personal skill equivalent to "Instinct". Instinct is a sixth sense regarding battles, but "Revelation" accommodates all matters related to the achievement of a goal (for instance, choosing the most suitable path while traveling). Because there is no basis (so he thinks), it cannot be explained well to others.[1] His Revelation comes from a vision from his arm, if he studied under Thomas Edison, he would be undergoing Conceptual Improvement until it became a rocket and the birth of Shin Amakusa Shirou.[7]

Charisma is the natural talent to command an army. Although he cannot run a nation, he can share those with his like-minded and strong ties comrades to death. Thanks to his charisma, it is possible to make others believe in the contents of the "Revelations" skills without basis.[1]

Baptism Rite is a type of magecraft that changed style into a church form. It is effective on a spiritual body. By linking his two Noble Phantasm, it is even possible to make a Servant go through a sublimation process.[1] His Baptism Rite was extraordinarily powerful that it wasn’t possible for a human. He used this chant on the nameless monster, who had once been Lancer of Black and Darnic Prestone Yggdmillennia. The nameless monster very existence was melting away as he began to emit white smoke, the vampire evaporated away right down to the final fragment of himself.

Baptism Rite I will kill, I will let live.

I will harm and heal.

None will escape me.

None will escape my sight.

Be crushed.

I welcome those who have grown old and those who have lost.

Devote yourself to me.

Learn from me.

Obey me.

Rest.

I am light and relieve you of all your burdens.

Ask for forgiveness here.

I, the incarnation will swear.

Kyrei Eleison

Combat Edit

Set I announce

As part of the Church's Assembly of the Eighth Sacrament , Shirou is skilled at using Black Keys . These were the thrown-type Conceptual Weapons favored by agents of the Church and they were strong enough to purify Dead Apostles but the power of his Black Keys was far too extraordinary and abnormal. The Black Keys were particular useful against the Nameless vampire . He is seen capable of running and throwing four Black Keys without even looking back when he used it to slow down Berserker of Black . He inserts a spell into the hilts of his Black Keys beforehand activated by the wordthat allows them to return to their intended target after being deflected.

He is an adept swordsman and he wields the enchanted Miike Tenta Mitsuyo when Black Keys are not effective against his opponents. Shirou’s sword technique is average, but he manages to fight extremely well due to his Noble Phantasms.

Incarnation Edit

Upon being incarnated, he had the abilities of a regular human for seventy years until again establishing a connection with the Grail in Romania. He still displays superhuman capabilities in that state, easily running at speeds exceeding sixty kilometers per hour.

Development Edit

In the Type-Moon franchise, he was first mentioned in the opening of Rider's narration in Fate/strange Fake.[14]

If ever the Third Holy Grail War were made into a Visual Novel, the ending would greatly differ depending on the choice of the Einzberns. Just as said until now, if they chose Avenger, events would follow the official history—that is, the "Fate/stay night" route, but if they chose Ruler, the story would follow this "Apocrypha" route.[5]

Creation and Conception Edit

Yuuichirou Higashide mentions that in the process of choosing the mastermind in Fate/Apocrypha, all the characters in "Fate/complete material IV" along with the original setting were deemed to have too weak of an impact as a mastermind. The idea of "doing something that would have been impossible in the original game setting" was one of the concepts of "Apocrypha". "Makai Tensho" served as an even further impetus that made Higashide think, "How about bringing out Amakusa Shirou?" (Shirou Tokisada Amakusa was the major antagonist who commands the historic figures from around Japan in Makai Tensho), from which everything started. He was planned to be a complete contrast to Jeanne d'Arc as one was a young boy and a young girl. Both of their battles were heavily connected to flags. One who never became a saint, and one who did. Their points of commonality and difference were so clear and contrastive that Higashide selected him as the last boss. At that point, Nasu approached Higashide and whispered "...Speaking of which, the name of the protagonist of the original Visual Novel is... and their age is almost the same too...", and thus Shirou Kotomine was born.[5] Before Nasu wrote Fate/stay night, he claims he was a big fan of "Makai Tensho".[16]

Ototsugu Konoe explains that he had troubled over designing Shirou in terms of balancing him in various ways but he believes he succeeded well with the final design. He further claims that he is interested in Kotomine's family home life like in this universe.[9]

Reception Edit

Higashide said that not only readers, but even his friends retorted, "Really?", when they discovered his true identity. Higashide apologizes and calls this coincidence to be like destiny.[5]

References Edit



