Fate / Zero 18 — Shirley you Jest!

This is not how you should use a sacred talisman!

Kids, DO NOT try this at home! Always cut away from yourself with a knife!

The Pride of the Magi

I hadn’t realized that the Emiyas also had a long magical history. Kiritsugu’s dad actually starts out seeming like a pretty nice person. He lets Kiritsugu play in the village, and isn’t all wound up and straitlaced like Tohkiomi.

But here’s where things start to go wrong. Something bad is going to happen.

Oh crap. This will turn out poorly.

Kiritsugu’s father is searching for what all magicians seem to want: the fountain of youth, the philosopher’s stone, the elixir of life. He suffers from the sin of pride, believing that man should be like God.

His sin doesn’t stem from wanting to live eternally in and of itself, but from wanting to discover knowledge and reach the Root. This is the traditional source of pride as well: the Fall came about because Adam and Eve desired the knowledge of good and evil. In the story of the tower of Babel, pride has the same root: the desire to build a tower to reach heaven, becoming like god.

All these magicians miss the entire point, which the flower example illustrates perfectly: the flower is beautiful because it withers and dies. Proof? Nobody likes those artificial flowers.

The Mage Killer

After Shirley dies, Kiritsugu’s father is surprisingly unsympathetic. I’m not sure why he didn’t try to go and kill her himself when she ran into the town.

But I wasn’t quite expecting this. Kiritsugu’s father didn’t even do it intentionally. Kiritsugu just seems to be a born killer.

Now consider an alternative scenario: what if Kiritsugu’s killer instinct had taken over earlier, and he had killed Shirley instead of his father? Then the entire village would have been saved, the church and mage’s association may never have noticed anything, and Kiritsugu wouldn’t have needed to kill his father. Everythg is Kiritsugu’s fault. (note: I don’t necessarily believe this, but it is something to consider)

I agree with the exorcist. Kiritsugu didn’t need to kill his father. He chose to. Even seeing him as a kid, I still don’t feel much sympathy for him.