About Fate/Stay Night

"About Fate/Stay Night"
Guess who contributed this great series? Yup, once again it's Mina.

The Fate/stay night anime series aired between January 6, 2006 and June 16, 2006, containing 24 episodes. It is an adaptation of the Fate/stay night visual novel, featuring content from all of the available scenarios in the original game's release. The general direction of the anime borrows heavily from the Fate scenario, with select segments from Unlimited Blade Works included as filler while only a couple nods are given toward the Heaven's Feel option. Elements from Fate/hollow ataraxia not directly impacting the plot were included, but sparingly. Kenji Kawai composed the original music for the series, also remixing three symphonic themes from the Fate/stay night visual novel for use in the anime; they are "Yakusoku Sareta Shouri No Tsurugi", "Emiya", and "This Illusion", the latter of which was retitled "disillusion".

Spoiler Warning!! [+/-] Show/Hide Synopsis...

Fate/stay night chronicles a two-week period in the liThrough their conversation, Shirō learns of his foster father's failed life ambition to become a "Hero of Justice" (Seigi no Mikata), a guardian of mankind who could protect the weak and innocent. Touched by Kiritsugu's conviction, Shirō affirms to his foster father that he intends to devote his life to achieving that distant ideal, much to Kiritsugu's chagrin. To do this, Shirō pleads with a begrudging Kiritsugu to teach him sorcery (Majutsu); but Shirō proves to be talentless in almost all the fundamental sorcerous disciplines.

Kiritsugu warns his son that the life of a sorcerer is one that leads to destruction, but if he is truly set on benefiting people, he should apply his knowledge in secret and hone his craft in private. After Kiritsugu dies, Shirō becomes frustrated with his progress, for he feels inadequate about his good deeds through sorcery and is unsure of how to orient his future to contribute more.

Unknown to Shirō, Fuyuki City is the setting for a secret and violent war among competing magi. For the past two centuries, seven sorcerers have gathered and engage in a Battle Royale, each gambling his or her own life to obtain the Holy Grail, a legendary chalice capable of granting wishes. The past four Holy Grail Wars have typically occurred every sixty years, with the most recent concluding a decade ago, but the fifth war has eerily started prematurely.

Each of the sorcerers, better known as Masters, are aided by one of the seven summoned spiritual familiars known as Servants, who are the reincarnations of legendary souls from all across time. These resurrected Epic Spirits (Eirei), possess superhuman characteristics and wield powerful artifacts or abilities called Noble Phantasms (Hōgu). A Noble Phantasm's hidden abilities may be released by invoking its true name, but casual brandishing of a Noble Phantasm is best avoided, for symbolic Noble Phantasms usually belie a Servant's identity, diminishing that Servant's competitive advantage. Specific legends may be summoned with the aid of catalysts, which are artifacts, ideas, or experiences similar or of value to the desired Servant. Only one Servant can be summoned in each war from one of seven classes: Saber, Archer, Lancer, Berserker, Rider, Assassin, and Caster.

The Holy Grail is a spiritual artifact, so only astral entities, such as Servants, are capable of touching it; this restriction forces Master and Servant to cooperate with each other against rival pairs, even if a situation entails fighting to the death. Masters control Servants with three Command Mantra (Reiju), which are crystallized miracles issued by the Holy Grail that manifest on a Master's hand. When activated, Command Mantra permit a Servant to accomplish an incredible feat, or alternatively provide Masters with the authority to issue an irrevocable and absolute order to a Servant. In the event of a Master's demise, a Servant may choose to bind him or herself to another Master; if a Servant is slain, a Master may ally with a wayward Servant or pursue sanctuary with the Holy Grail War's impartial supervisor, who is traditionally a delegate of the Roman Catholic Church.

After cleaning his school's kyūdō (archery) dojo late one night, Shirō stumbles upon two Servants, Archer and Lancer, battling in the school courtyard. To avoid compromising the war's secrecy, Lancer hunts down and pierces Shirō in the heart with a spear. For an unknown reason, Shirō's classmate, Rin Tōsaka, uses an heirloom filled with concentrated magic, Mana (Maryoku), to resuscitate him. Shaken and dazed, Shirō goes back to his home, but is again attacked by Lancer. Shirō weakly defends himself against Lancer but is soon overwhelmed by the powerful Servant's attack. After the battle prelonged, Shiro falls into his storage room. Cornered, Shirō prepares for the worst; but before Lancer can inflict another fatal blow, a young woman outfitted in alabaster armor blocks Lancer's spear. She drove Lancer away from Shirou. She introduces herself to Shirō as Saber, and greets him with the words:
fe of Shirō Emiya, an amateur mechanic who attends school called Homurabara Gakuen in Fuyuki City. Ten years ago, Shirō was caught in a massive fire hazard that incinerated his parents and consumed a large portion of the city; as he was dying, an enigmatic man discovers and treats him. This man, Kiritsugu Emiya, decides to adopt him, though the two maintain a distant relationship because of Kiritsugu's frequent departures from Fuyuki City. One moonlit night, Kiritsugu and Shirō have a discussion outside of their home, and Shirō discovers a fact about his father that Kiritsugu was actually a mage.

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