The Tragedy of Emiya Kiritsugu (A Fate/Zero Character Analysis)

Kiritsugu is a human trying to act like a machine while Shirou is a machine trying to act like a human.

Its kinda interesting how the character design and intial meanerism of both kiritsugu and shirou is misleading. Kiritsugu dressing in all black and seeming like a cold and calculated machine only to reveal a flawed and troubled human being. While shirou has the nice guy persona plain looking and generic clothing to hide a psychopath comparable to kirei

I love how Kieitsugu, the three shirous and archer all just make such a rich exploration of idealism

When you realize Shirou was the reason Kiritsugu didnt die alone and miserable :(

I am the bone of my bullet. I am the bone of my sword.

Kiritsugu's journey of struggling to fulfill his dream of world peace out of guilt and a sense of responsibility because of the trauma that he experienced, which he blames himself for, will always be one of the most impactful and emotionally resonating motivations to me. Kiritsugu is a beautifully written tragic hero and one of my favorite characters of all time who changed me as a person. Thank you so much for making this vid! I'll now enjoy it! :)

Kiritsugu is certainly one of the most complex characters in anime and in general although I'm personally way more partial to Artoria and Kotomine. Fate/Zero's cast, in general, remains a true testament to some of Urobuchi's best writing only matched by Psycho-Pass and it's not that Kiritsugu is devoid of emotion, I never got that impression, he is emotionally broken. Anytime he ever developed a strong emotional pillar they would end up dying and it just made him a darker and less sane person, this comes to a conclusion when he is able to find someone who will hopefully not repeat his mistakes, Shirou Emiya. Urobuchi's nihilism is interesting because while it does display some of the darkest things humanity can achieve and what mindset is required to reach those points, it can leave faint glimmers of hope and a chance to do better. One last thing I wanted to comment on is one of my favorite scenes in fiction ever which is the ideological clash between Kiritsugu and Artoria that happens in Episode 16 if I remember correctly is many people point out how Kiritsugu rightfully deconstructs Artoria's idea of the battlefield but overlook how Artoria calls out Kiritsugu's poor attempts at a utilitarianism because he once had a mindset that clearly was similar to hers and something must've caught that to decay severely and that's what Kiritsugu's backstory arc covers so well. This is one of my favorite anime of all time for a reason and a true masterpiece in every sense of the word.

Nasu did say "No matter how much goodwill Kiritsugu's actions are base on, in the end, he is just a self-satisfied villain, this is the same for Shiro as well."

The only difference between Saber and Kiritsugu is quite literally strength. Luxuries like honor on the battlefield belong to those who are strong. Weak people have to be more vicious, play dirtier, and ultimately be ready to sacrifice to even stand a chance to beat someone stronger. This is what Kiritsugu had to do. He had to win because he thought what he was doing was just. But to enact his justice, he had to commit atrocities to even stand a chance to beat stronger opponents.

Kiritsugu is a character who when you see him, you will smile, but in sadness.. It's like you are trying hard to cheer him up, but you know that you can do nothing for him..

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions" "You either die a Hero or live long enough to become a Villain" ""Some people were born with with greatness, others have it thrust upon them". I believe these words are appropriate to describe Kiritsugu. What people tend to forget is that sometimes, the most vile of villains are the most human of characters. Even more so than heroes. Often, this may be because, at one point in time, they too were heroes. But the awful truth of reality had jaded them. The understanding that sometimes, in order to get things done, horrible things have to happen and that somethings, can only be purchased in blood. Theses truths would break anyone. With this knowledge, the honorable thing to do would to disappear or fade from history. But the right thing to do, is to exists and continue live on, carrying this burden. In hopes that future heroes would never have to carry the same burden and that their ideals would never be tainted with the same truths. And, if fate was merciful, allow these "villains" redemption. Either with them being defeated. Or to be sacrificed, so that, at the very least, they are able accept themselves for what they have done. And, if they are capable, find the strength to forgive themselves for their sins. Few villains or tragic heroes are written so well. Kiritsugu is one of them.

Exactly how I've always been understanding Kiritsugu. The main motivation of Kiritsugu was never any sense of justice, but his guilt that he failed to keep his promise in the first time, and his desperation to make up for that. The series has shown, in multiple occasions, that Kiritsugu, in his monologue, reiterating his resolution to keep his promise he made to Shirley by trying to answer the question Shirley asked. That ending of Fate Zero is the perfect conclusion of the show, for Kiritsugu, at last, explicitly answer that important question "What do you want to be when you grow up?" This signifies that this long journey of Kiritsugu has come to an end, and symbolizes his fulfilling of the promise that has haunted him the whole life --- he finally lets Shirley witness what he've become.

The "I want to become a hero" line at the end of the series killed me the first time I saw it. Great job encapsulating one of my favorite characters ever!

The Animated John Wick

The journey that Kiritsugu undergoes in Fate Zero is so profoundly impactful. I feel many people undercut his character and simply label him as having a utilitarian ideology when it's so much more nuanced. I hope this video convinces people why he's such a beautifully written tragic hero. I promise not to take so long in uploading next time! See you all. :)

Idk why but Kiritsugi's face had always reminded me of Adult Gon's face.

before killing his mentor, kiritsugu thought that killing less to save more is the right thing to do. but after that he breaks and acknowledges that the world containing this rules is wrong. from now on he can only rely on the miracle grail can do.

I honestly fell in love with Kiritsugu. Fate Zero was amazing.

Kiritsugu Emiya is one of the best written characters in all of anime and I'll die on this hill

This anime was so unbelievably masterfully crafted, it crushed my soul. I cried genuine tears, but it somehow ended with a glimpse of hope shining through the tradgedy. This Gen Urobuchi guy is incredible. Almost reminded me of Evangelion in some ways.