Both women have a kinship, coming from abusive backgrounds, and hide a monstrous side. While presented as the servant of sleaze-ball Shinji Matou, she was actually summoned by his foster sister Sakura. In the third adaptation, Heaven’s Feel, Rider plays a much bigger role. Medusa is a character who is hugely popular, despite her limited screen time in the first two adaptations of Fate/stay night. There is some sympathy and odd sweetness to the character, but Jack remains a deadly assassin, driven by a need to murder people. She does find one in the form of Reika Rikudou, though it is an unhealthy pairing, since Reika allows Jack to murder people. An amalgamation of abandoned children from 19 th century London prostitutes, Jack is a violent girl who is looking for a loving mother.
What’s heroic about a serial killer? Several versions of the notorious British murderer have appeared in the franchise, but since this is an anime, of course Jack appears as a psychotic little girl. Jack the Ripperĭon’t ask me why Jack the Ripper would even be considered heroic.
At heart, Gilles is seeking redemption for his sins, mistaking Saber (who will be mentioned frequently) for Jeanne, and hopes she will grant him atonement. Delightfully creepy and insane, Gilles’ cruelty and sick humour should make him a character to hate, but there is a strange likability to him. His motivations are to cause such awful sins that God will smite him, wishing to know why someone as good as Jeanne died, whilst he was spared for years. A French knight who fought alongside Jeanne d’Arc, Gilles became a child murderer and sorcerer following Jeanne’s execution. Gilles de Rais appears in Fate/Zero as a Caster. The definition of what makes a hero varies in the Fate franchise, so a number of people considered evil or villainous can be summoned. His Noble Phantasm allows him to resurrect himself a grand total of twelve times.
Akin to the Hulk on the battlefield, Hercules is a near unstoppable brawler, and could potentially be the strongest of all Servants. In Fate/stay night, Hercules is summoned by Illyasviel von Einzbern, acting as both her bodyguard and a stand-in for her absent parents. In Greek/Roman myths, Hercules was hexed by Hera into a murderous rage, subsequently killing his family, leading to his famous twelve labours to earn redemption. Herculesīerserkers are often heroes who went mad at some point in their lives, and Hercules fits the bill. Her Noble Phantasm summons forth a grand opera house, which can then promptly erupt into flames. There is a lot of unnecessary focus on Nero having large cleavage, but Saber is proud of her looks, and is prone to flaunting it throughout Fate/Extra. She appears as a Saber in Fate/Extra, guiding her master, Hakuno Kishinami, with such self-assurance and flair, you can’t help but like her. Instead of an insane tyrant, Nero is a joyous, theatrical empress who vainly sought the love of her people, though with tragic consequences. Case in point, we have Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, the fifth Roman emperor, reimagined as a girl. The Fate franchise tends to take a lot of liberties with history, though historians probably do the same thing. Once six Servants are eliminated, the surviving master and Servant can have their wish granted by the Grail. Each master can temporarily control their Servants using three command spells, their contract vital to their survival. Each Servant has one or two special techniques called Noble Phantasms, which personify their greatest legends/achievements. Other classes can be summoned, like the neutrally aligned Ruler-class, or the chaotic Avenger-class. When summoned to fight in the Holy Grail War, the Servants are normally categorised in several classes: Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Assassin, or Berserker. Servants are heroes from history or myths, their stories immortalised within the ethereal Throne of Heroes. A Servant is summoned by a mage to participate and battle in the Holy Grail War.