Mecha Talk

And here I was thinking no one else wasn't too crazy about that.

I'm quite satisfied with watching Berserker manhandle Gates of Babylon. Knight of Honor is one of my favorite Noble Phantasms to see in action.

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Plenty of cool stuff to be had for sure, but still, CG Berserker isn't what I would have prefered.

Aside from his impressive skill set, what sets Berserker apart is the completely mystery of his identity. Every other Servent has had their identity revealed by episode 4 but we have no idea who is under Berserker's armour and won't know until the very end.

Of course for those of us who do know who he is, the appeal then comes from the significance his identity holds which is aided by his origin in lore.

The Fate series does have the advantage of needing minimal characterization for certain characters because it's already been established in their source legends.

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"A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting their coat around a young boy's shoulders to let him know the world hasn't ended."

Anyhow, just watched episode 5 (at least I think it's 5 - whichever the most recent ep is), and I had a lot of fun.

Did anyone happen to recognize

I actually think that the CG really works for Berserker, so it didn't bother me too much. Incidentally, this episode has firmly cemented Berserker's place as my second favorite Servant in Fate/Zero. Though I have to wonder how he would hold up one-on-one against Lancer.
Speaking of which, the more I see, the more I hate Kayneth. It really is unfortunate that an honorable warrior like Lancer had to be summoned by such a slimeball.
And as much as Waver annoys me, the whole dynamic between him and Rider is hilarious.

Caster freaks me out, but that ain't new. The less I see of those two, the happier I'll be.

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I don't get how Caster can mistake Saber for Joan of Arc when he knew Joan while they were alive. That just speaks to his insanity, I guess.

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"A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting their coat around a young boy's shoulders to let him know the world hasn't ended."

If we go by the Joan of Arc that we see in Fate/Apocrypha, she does look a bit like Saber. Close enough for a desperate and loony Caster, anyways.

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Warning: When using Minovsky Particles, please do not drive or operate heavy machinery. If you have a Newtype Flash lasting longer than 6 hours, please call 911 as this may be a sign of a serious and life threatening side-effect. Ask your doctor if taking Minovsky Particles are right for you.

Yeah, I'd call it a combination of Caster being exceptionally crazy, desperate to see Joan again, and Saber looking very similar to her, and being a Saber-class Servant, which is Joan's 'normal' class, though for Apocrypha she was summoned under the Ruler class.

Eh, I don't think they're all that similar... Certainly not at the same level as Nero, anyways.

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"A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting their coat around a young boy's shoulders to let him know the world hasn't ended."

On an unrelated note, rewatching the new episode, I finally realized Ryunosuke is none other than Athrun. It wouldn't've occurred to me if I hadn't rewatched a little SEED recently 'cause of Burke's thread.

Talk about playing against type.

Edit: Wiki'ing his voice actor more fully, I found he's also the voice of Roger in the PSP game Jeanne d'Arc (which is a fun little tactical RPG). And then he went on to be Caster's Master (who was another major character in the Jean d'Arc game, though it was before he went insane and evil).

I also wonder if mistaking Saber as Jean d'Arc might be something of an in joke. I know myself and a number of friends mistook Saber to be Jean d'Arc prior to her eventual reveal in the original VN. I can't say for sure but perhaps this is a fairly common occurrence among new readers of FS/N.

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"If You are a man you'll do what's important before you grieve" -Captain Harlock

"I like the SAGA. Its what Rambo would pilot if he was in Gundam 00" -Kylern

Not really. Akira Ishida plays smarmy villains all the time.

And yeah, Saber as Joan of Arc is the logical assumption. What other female knights are well known? Gender bending King Arthur isn't something one normally would think about.

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"A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting their coat around a young boy's shoulders to let him know the world hasn't ended."

Oh does he? Admittedly I'm not familiar with him outside of Gundam and now Fate/Zero. Learn somethin' new every day.

Especially being blonde. I'm sure there are the odd woman-warrior tales from the Asias and such, but she's blonde and distinctly European, which seriously limits the possibilities. The more I try to think of other people she could have been, the sadder it seems that there just aren't many cool warrior women in that period of mythology. =/

Not that that stops Nasu.

After Jack the Ripper and Nero, I'm no longer surprised by genderbending in any Nasuverse characters.

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Well, Saber was the first and there was no precedent when trying to figure out her identity. If not Joan the next possibility was probably an original character like Archer.

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"A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting their coat around a young boy's shoulders to let him know the world hasn't ended."

That's true. I suppose I just didn't have too much surprise in regards to Saber's identity as I didn't play the identity guessing game when I read the VN. I did, however, did some thinking on Berserker's identity as I read Fate/Zero, however.

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Warning: When using Minovsky Particles, please do not drive or operate heavy machinery. If you have a Newtype Flash lasting longer than 6 hours, please call 911 as this may be a sign of a serious and life threatening side-effect. Ask your doctor if taking Minovsky Particles are right for you.

I saw the anime first, and I'm not sure but I think I knew who Saber was before hand. Still, the scene when she first unleashes Excalibur was epic.

Berserker's identity is the only servant you can play the guessing game with, since every other servant's identity was revealed pretty much straight away.

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"A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting their coat around a young boy's shoulders to let him know the world hasn't ended."

I did enjoy that scene, especially that line "You know, Rider, I also find this height to be an advantage. I don't have to worry about scorching the earth with my blade" which is engraved in my mind because of the dub.

I guess mentioning Zero Berserker was a bit silly of idea on my part as it's the only one in F/Z that isn't given right out. I suppose it's more accurate to say that Zero Berserker was the only one I had an active interest in knowing in both Fate/Zero and F/SN, as opposed to having a relatively passive interest in the identities of others.

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Warning: When using Minovsky Particles, please do not drive or operate heavy machinery. If you have a Newtype Flash lasting longer than 6 hours, please call 911 as this may be a sign of a serious and life threatening side-effect. Ask your doctor if taking Minovsky Particles are right for you.

As I've said before, Berserker is effective because he's a complete mystery. You don't even know what he really looks like so you can't even guess based on his appearence. He doesn't have any character to speak of either because of his madness so that's no help. It sure was nice of Illya to tell us her Berserker was Hercules right away.

When I first knew of Zero Berserker, he was only called "The Black Knight" and I figured he was a ficticious hero like Assassin, as the Black Knight is a character in many stories rather than any particular person.

He doesn't have any particular weapon either as he just uses whatever is lying around. It's not until the final volume when he finally uses

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"A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting their coat around a young boy's shoulders to let him know the world hasn't ended."

I feel like the snapshot of him in the lake in the ED is a rather decent hint for people trying to figure him out.

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Warning: When using Minovsky Particles, please do not drive or operate heavy machinery. If you have a Newtype Flash lasting longer than 6 hours, please call 911 as this may be a sign of a serious and life threatening side-effect. Ask your doctor if taking Minovsky Particles are right for you.

True, but that certainly wasn't in the original novels ^^"

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"A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting their coat around a young boy's shoulders to let him know the world hasn't ended."