Monday, June 22, 2020

Fate/Apocrypha Part 5 Episodes 17-20


Shirou, revealed to be a surviving Servant from the last Holy Grail War in Fuyuki 60 years ago, announces his plans to the Servants of Red in order to fully gain their trust.  Meanwhile, the Yggdmillenia alliance moves to deal with another lingering threat: the Assassin of Black, Jack the Ripper.  In the town of Trifas, three souls encounter the monstrous killer and find their pasts and their resolves tested in a nightmarish trail.  In the end, this battle is merely the prelude to a larger one as the Servants of Red ready the Hanging Gardens for one final showdown.  But is anyone, Master or Heroic Spirit, ready for the carnage that comes next as the final act of the Holy Grail War approaches?

In the past, there have been Anime I have covered with characters I have hardly ever cared for during the bulk of their run.  This tends to last right until the very end of their time on the show.  However, there are occasions where one episode can bring about a whole seasons worth of redemption for a lackluster character arc.  My prime example is Anew Returner in Gundam 00.  From the minute she was introduced, I knew her character was bound to turn on the Gundam Meisters at any given moment and yet one episode gave her a very fitting and emotional send off I didn’t expect.  I bring this up because I think it’s well known by now that I have never really cared for Jack the Ripper on Fate/Apocrypha.  Besides being given a disturbingly cute character design and an outfit no child of any age should be wearing, her presence up until now has added nothing to the plot or the Holy Grail War at large. Her only role has been that she’s the missing Servant who was supposed to be aligned with Yggdmillenia.  Til now, she’s been giggling her way through legions of dead bodies while getting cozy with her “Mommy” who we knew just as little about.  Well, much of that changed in the opening half of this set of episodes that finally drew the curtain on Jack the Ripper and set up some exciting rivalries and motivations to take us into the home stretch.

The only thing more disturbing than Jack’s choice of wardrobe is the revelation of what she truly is.  Whenever she’s spoken, Jack’s referred to herself as “We”.  Ok did that mean her and her Master?  Nope.  Turns out Jack is a vast collection of young souls from the Victorian Era who were discarded, abused and just lead a generally terrible existence until their tragic ends.  Sieg, Jeanne and Atalanta all had to confront this head first when they were pulled into Jack’s Noble Phantasm, a nightmarish recreation of the era she comes from.  For Sieg, he was forced to see some of the darkest parts of human nature and how cruel humanity, a race he has strove to admire and protect, can be.  For Atalanta, we got to see how heartbroken she felt seeing the dismal lives of all these children.  As we learned last week, Atalanta wants to use her wish to save all of the children everywhere, so this nightmarish vision gave her added reason to commit to that idea.  And then there was Jeanne, who looked at the horror and said, “I’ve still gotta stop you.”  Jeanne was the only member of the trio who didn’t mince words or try to see reason.  Jeanne’s done things in her past life that she knows are terrible and that meant the deaths of families in her own quest.  Seeing her elect to have Jack’s many souls destroyed rather than be saved or redeemed is a tough scene to watch, especially with Atalanta begging Jeanne to save them.  The cold and distant Archer looked truly horrified that someone as renowned as Jeanne D’Arc would make such a decision added layers to her character (at last) and gave her new reason to keep fighting AND set up a clear rivalry for Jeanne in the last act.  All of this came from one really well done episode that gave Jack the Ripper proper reason for being in this series.  It’s both one of the best and saddest stories from the Fate series, so much so it would fit in just fine with Fate/Zero.

Once Jack and her Master were laid to rest, it was time to knuckle down and get things ready for the last battle.  This meant strategizing and a changed in Yggdmillenia leadership.  I’m back and forth on Fiore’s decision to cecede her title role to her brother, Caleus. On the one hand, she wanted to avoid civilian casualties if they attacked now.  However, waiting three days for Astolfo to be at pique performance would be a strong asset.  Everyones going with Fiore’s kindness being a weakness but I do think it’s a strength and I’m not all onboard with Caleus opting to convince her to give him control of the family cause he thinks she cant make the tough calls.  But this is war and it’s probably for the best, if only to ensure that Fiore makes it to the end.  Speaking of leadership roles, Sieg and Astolfo also got to sit down with Mordred for Lunch.  After what Sieg saw in Jack’s reality, he’s understandably shaken in his wish to protect people.  But Mordred set him straight, I think.  When the question was thrown her way, Mordred told Sieg that there is no right or wrong answer to “is humanity worth saving.”  That does sound like the reply of a good King who knows the world isn’t simply black and white.  Mordred might prove worthy to take her fathers mantle eventually…though I wonder if what Kairi told her will come to pass and Mordred will have to face Aurturia eventually.

The march to the final battle also included more quieter character focused moments for Sieg and his two besties: Jeanne and Astolfo.  For my favorite, pink haired Rider, we discovered that Astolfo is a guy…and Jeanne’s reaction was priceless.  This revelation doesn’t bother me and doesn’t take away from the amazing character Astolfo has been since the moment he was summoned.  Free spirit, lover of good times and a loyal and good friend, Astolfo is the kind of Servant you want watching your back at all times.  Plus, this meant that Astolfo got to play with Jeanne’s feelings for Sieg…or is it Laeticia?  I wish we had more scenes with Jeanne speaking with the soul of the girl who’s body shes using on a frequent basis.  Clearly, Laeticia is ok with Jeanne using her body and is also well aware that Jeanne is falling for Sieg…but so is she?  Astolfo picked up on Laeticia being in control for a few interactions with Sieg and assured her that he didn’t have any kind of romantic feelings towards Sieg, or at the very least he wasn’t going to stand in her way.  Everybody loves Sieg I guess is the take away and man does that guy deserve some happiness at the end of this long conflict.

This week closes out with the beginning of the last big battle of the series, with airilines being used to transport Servants, Mages and Troops from Yggdimillenia to the Hanging Gardens.  Match ups have been determined, final plans are being enacted and Shirou looks poised to bring on Third Impact at any cost.  While I don’t know if it will match the scope of the Battle of Yggdmillenia Castle, the Battle of the Hanging Gardens feels more personal, so much that lack of quantity (armies) might not hinder the execution of the story.  Either way, next week is the end of Fate/Apocrypha and I’m expecting big things.  Let’s hope it can deliver.  See ya next week everyone.

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