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This is a list of characters from the Japanese adult visual novel, Fate/stay night, created by Type-Moon and adapted in an anime series by Studio Deen. The voices of the characters listed are from the anime and PlayStation 2 version of the game.

Main characters

Shirō Emiya (衛宮 士郎, Emiya Shirō ^?)

Voiced by: Noriaki Sugiyama (Japanese), Sam Riegel (English)

Shirō is a good-hearted and honest teenager, who always enjoys helping others. Shirō has no interest in the Holy Grail, and instead despises its use. However, he is determined to win the Holy Grail War with Saber, for he hopes his efforts will ensure that another disaster like the Fuyuki fire will never occur again. He is raised by Emiya Kiritsugu, who imparts on him basic sorcery, and the ideal of protecting the innocent. Shiro takes this ideal to the extreme, going as far to shield his own servant from danger. He is in his second year of High School, and his hobbies include fixing a variety of broken things, from VCRs to stoves, as well as cooking and cleaning. He is voiced by Noriaki Sugiyama in the anime adaptation, and by Sam Riegel in the English adaptation.

Shirō is unskilled in most traditional forms of sorcery, and he only knows Reinforcement, the power to analyze the structural composition of objects and increase their effectiveness by understanding their chemical and physical makeup, such as the sharpness and durability of a sword and shield. However, he lacks mastery for even this simple spell, and his various applications of it are limited. He later masters a more advanced form known as "Projection", which allows him to recreate objects from memory. The clearer the image in the user's mind, the better the final result. Shiro's personal variation of Projection is referred as Tracing, which also copies the history and special properties of the items, though they are of slightly lesser quality. All of the objects are created within the reality marble, Unlimited Blade Works, a world where all of the necessary materials are at his disposal.

Saber (セイバー, Seibā ^?)

Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi (Japanese), Kate Higgins (English)

Saber is Shirō's Servant. Loyal, independent, and reserved, Saber acts coldly but is actually suppressing her emotions to focus on her goals. Her class is considered the "Most Outstanding", with excellent ratings in all categories. Since her Master cannot effectively provide her with Mana, she minimizes her activity to preserve her energy. Saber is frustrated by Shirō's "protective" tendencies, believing his erratic and reckless behavior will jeopardize her chances of winning the Holy Grail War. Her full name is Arturia Pendragon. She is King Arthur, a former ruler of Britain, who gives up her humanity for the sake of her country. Before her last breath, she appeals to the world; in exchange for services as a Heroic Spirit, she asks to be given an opportunity to relive her life, where someone more suitable and effective would lead Britain in her stead. She is voiced by Ayako Kawasumi in the anime adaptation, and by Kate Higgins in the English adaptation.

She has the ability to cancel any magic below A-rank, instinct that comes close to precognition, and high charisma, which she can use to command an army. She can use "Mana Burst", which transfers magical energy into her weapon and body, though the weapon must have strong divine protection to withstand the ability. She uses the Noble Phantasms Excalibur: Sword of Promised Victory (エクスカリバー: 約束された勝利の剣, Ekusukaribā: Yakusoku sareta shōri no tsurugi ^?), a celestial sword constructed by the world from the collective wishes of mankind and fueled through a conversion of Mana into photoelectric energy, and Invisible Air: Barrier of the Wind King (インビジブル・エア: 風王結界, Inbijiburu Ea: Fū-ō no kekkai), which compresses and gyrates the air around Saber's blade, allowing her to induce an illusion of ethereality, making it hard for opponents to judge her strikes, and release the air in the form of a intense gust. The scabbard of Excalibur bequeaths limited immortality through regenerative stimulation, as well as preventing physical deterioration due to aging.

Rin Tōsaka and Archer

Rin Tōsaka (遠坂 凛, Tōsaka Rin ^?)

Voiced by: Kana Ueda (Japanese), Mela Lee (English)

Rin is a model student and idol of Shirō's school. She barely talks to other students in her school and exhibits a desire to be left alone, as exemplified by her tendency to stay on the school's rooftop, away from the rest of the students. She is also secretly a magus, and a Master in the Holy Grail War. Rin is reared as the successor to her family's magecraft, instructed by her father, Tokiomi Tōsaka, to prioritize sorcery over her own interests. After her father is killed, Rin continues to perfect her sorcery, with some guidance from Kirei Kotomine. She strives to earn the admiration of her peers to avoid drawing attention to her private life, even though she is secretly stingy, tomboyish, and a slacker. She is perceptive, resourceful and avidly competitive. Although she tries to summon a Saber-class Servant, she accidentally calls Archer instead.

Rin excels in transformation of energy, which includes storage of Mana in objects. She stores all of her mana in jewels that she charges daily to bypass her body's natural limitations on releasing energy. She can detonate her jewels on contact with an object, resulting in a release of energy equivalent to an attack rank of "A". Her most common offensive spell is "Gandr", which fires concentrated mana in the form of a black orb from her finger. On contact, the spell amplifies physical conditions -- a person who is already sick, for example, becomes far sicker upon being hit. Rin is also proficient with reinforcement sorcery, which she uses on her legs to give herself more speed.

Archer (アーチャー, Āchā ^?)

Voiced by: Junichi Suwabe (Japanese), Liam O'Brien (English)

Archer is the Servant of Rin Tōsaka. He is sarcastic and cynical, considering Shirō's mentality of "wanting to save everyone" as naïve and impossible. Archer is actually Shirō Emiya from the future. He is ultimately the winner of the fifth Holy Grail War, and is a living incarnation of the "Hero of Justice". The Throne of Heroes, which preserves the souls of all Epic Spirits, exists outside of any conventional timeline, so Archer can be called from any point in history. He is linked to the jewel used to save Shiro's life, which allows him to be summoned. He is voiced by Junichi Suwabe in the anime adaptation, and by Liam O'Brien in the English adaptation.

Archer is a Faker, an individual skilled at creating imitations of objects through the use of tracing and projection of mental images to form tangible objects. Though Projection is normally ineffective at creating durable or powerful artifacts, Archer’s unique approach to this craft enables him to materialize enormously powerful and accurate copies of the images recorded in his mind. He is capable of instantly recording all information and properties of weapon, and he can read into the history of the weapon to use any skills associated with it, though the rank of the weapon is lowered by one. In addition, through the use of Alteration, he can modify a weapon to give it special properties, such as crafting Broken Phantasms, Noble Phantasms overloaded with magical energy that exponentially increases its attack power at the cost of destruction after use.

He is also skilled in the basis of both Alteration and Tracing: Reinforcement; the art of temporarily strengthening the construction of objects through the understanding of their nature and perfection of defects in their structure. This is done through projection, enhancing the fundamental proprieties of the target, such as an armor’s resistance or the sharpness of a blade. Archer employs this method on himself to enhance his physical performance, particularly in his eyesight, granting him such precise vision that it approaches a limited form of clairvoyance. Archer is also in possession of a sleek black longbow, which is constructed from a synthetic compound that does not exist in the modern time period. It allows him to propel any weapon as an arrow, which would normally strain a weaker bow. Similarly, Archer's breastplate and boots are crafted from the same material, while the red cloak he wears is a holy burial cloth that shields Archer from spiritual interference in his surroundings.

Illyasviel von Einzbern (イリヤスフィール・フォン・アインツベルン, Iriyasufīru fon Aintsuberun ^?)

Voiced by: Mai Kadowaki (Japanese), Stephanie Sheh (English)

A young Teutonic aristocrat, she traveled to Japan to participate in the Holy Grail War as a Master. Illyasviel has an angelic appearance and an unsurpassed degree of magical power. She lives in a castle on the outskirts of Fuyuki City, accompanied only by her Servant and two maids. Illyasviel asks those she feels comfortable around to simply call her "Ilya".

Berserker (バーサーカー, Bāsākā ^?)

Voiced by: Tadahisa Saizen (Japanese), Michael McConnohie (English)

The Servant of Ilya, who appears as a swarthy giant with adamantine skin and gross brawn. He wields a colossal Hardedge, and is capable of causing massive destruction with the mere backlash of his swings. As a Berserker, he is stripped of his sanity and reason, acting feral and animalistic in combat. Berserkers are praised as members of the "Strongest" class, though they are difficult to control and always turn on their Masters. Ilya appears to have little trouble managing him. He is Heracles in his past life. He possesses the noble phantasm "Godhand," a series of layered resurrection spells which give him a total of twelve lives. The name of his noble phantasm is possibly a reference to the manga "Berserk," in which the main antagonists are a collection of demons known collectively as the Godhand.

Sakura Matō (間桐 桜, Matō Sakura ^?)

Voiced by: Noriko Shitaya (Japanese), Sherry Lynn (English)

A student in her first year of high school, and the sister of Shinji Matō. After Shirō's father Kiritsugu died, Sakura often visited Shirō's home to help him with his daily chores. Though Shinji is from a family of sorcerers, he asserts that she has no knowledge of her family's craft or history. Sakura is outwardly shy and timid, but possesses great inner strength. She has a long standing and obvious crush on Shirō Emiya.

While Sakura plays a minor part in the Fate and Unlimited Blade Works scenarios, she plays a much larger role in the final path, Heaven's Feel. She is revealed to be Rider's true Master having used a command spell to give control to Shinji as she had no desire to fight. After the end of the previous Grail War, her grandfather implanted a piece of the Grail into Sakura in an attempt to recreate it. This led to the creation of the eighth Servant, Avenger, who tried to summon himself by controlling Sakura with an alternate persona, The Shadow. Sakura takes on the form of The Shadow at nights and kills hundreds of people in order to gain energy. She is eventually stopped when Rin attempts to kill Sakura; Sakura is revealed to be Rin's biological sister, adopted into the Matō family as their heir since Shinji lacked magical circuits. Unable to kill her sister, Rin allows Sakura to stab her instead, allowing Sakura to realize that her friends had not abandoned her and still wanted to save her, and regain control of her mind.

Shinji Matō (間桐 慎二, Matō Shinji ^?)

Voiced by: Hiroshi Kamiya (Japanese), Doug Erholtz (English)

Sakura Matō's older brother, and a long-time friend of Shirō. Shinji is very popular as vice-captain of the archery dojo despite being chauvinistic and a narcissist. Like Rin Tōsaka, he is of a distinguished lineage of sorcerers, though the Matō blood has thinned and no longer produces heirs naturally capable of sorcery. Shinji feels uncomfortable with his sister's daily visits to Shirō's home. He has an open crush on Rin, but she does not return his favors.

Rider (ライダー, Raidā ^?)

Voiced by: Yu Asakawa (Japanese), Karen Strassman (English)

The Servant of Shinji, first seen scouting around Homurabara Gakuen. Rider is silent, sultry, and vigilant, never hesitating to shield her Master from harm. With Shinji incapable of lending Mana to her, she is forced to seek alternative means to augment her abilities. To compensate for her weakness, Rider employs covert battle tactics and takes full advantage of territory around her. Her weapon of choice is a pair of long iron nails fastened to opposite ends of a single chain, which she effectively thrusts from distances. She was Medusa in past life.

Supporting characters

Kirei Kotomine (言峰 綺礼, Kotomine Kirei ^?)

Voiced by: Jouji Nakata (Japanese), Jamieson Price (English)

Through an agreement between the Mages' Association and the Church, the Holy Grail Wars are moderated by a priest. Kirei's father was the mediator for the fourth Holy Grail War, and when he died, Kirei felt obligated to replace him. His selection as mediator is unusual, for Kirei is a member of both the Church and Mages' Association, organizations on hostile terms with one another. Since the death of Rin's father, he has acted as an indirect caretaker for Rin. Ranked far lower in the Church hierarchy than Ciel (from Tsukihime), Kirei employs many of the same techniques and weapons she does. He is surprisingly powerful as a magus, having trained under Rin's father.

Lancer (ランサー, Ransā ^?)

Voiced by: Nobutoshi Canna (Japanese), Tony Oliver (English)

The first hostile Servant to appear in the story. Lancer is a fierce but balanced warrior who enjoys combating a worthy opponent. He has a playful attitude and takes a very carefree approach to life, but is quick to work himself into a frenzy during a heated battle. Lancers are hailed as the "Most Agile" of Servant classes. This Lancer was Cúchulainn in his previous life.

Kiritsugu Emiya (衛宮切嗣, Emiya Kiritsugu ^?)

Voiced by: Rikiya Koyama (Japanese), Kirk Thornton (English)

Shirō's foster father, and his savior from the aftermath of the massive Fuyuki fire. During his lifetime, Kiritsugu strove to be a Hero of Justice, a defender of humanity who could protect the weak. He feels he failed to do so, but his efforts were a source of inspiration for Shirō. Kiritsugu was a sorcerer, though he never taught Shirō seriously and Shirō had little talent for the craft. He died several years prior to the beginning of Fate/stay night from a curse Kirei Kotomine placed on him at the end of the 4th Holy Grail War. He is a major character in the prequel, Fate/zero.

Taiga Fujimura (藤村 大河, Fujimura Taiga ^?)

Voiced by: Miki Ito (Japanese), Julie Ann Taylor (English)

She is an English teacher at Shirō's school, homeroom instructor of Shirō's class and the supervising teacher for the archery dojo. She is widely called "Tiger" (タイガー, Taigā ^?), a nickname she dislikes ("Taiga" and "Tiger" sound similar in Japanese), though Shirō refers to her as "Fuji-nee" (older sister Fuji). After Kiritsugu died, Taiga became Shirō's guardian and has been living with him for several years. Taiga and Shirō are very close, and she regards him as a younger brother. She has a grandfather named Raiga.

Gilgamesh (ギルガメッシュ, Girugamesshu ^?)

Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki (Japanese), Grant George (English)

An arrogant, selfish, and enigmatic Archer-class Servant. He appears familiar with Fuyuki City and has unrequited love for Saber. Typically clad in an ornate golden armor, he possesses an immense number of Noble Phantasms, though none (with exception of "Ea") are representative of his true identity.

Sōichirō Kuzuki (葛木 宗一郎, Kuzuki Sōichirō ^?)

Voiced by: Kazuhiro Nakata (Japanese), Patrick Seitz (English)

A well-built man with angular glasses and a conservative hairstyle. He is the strict homeroom instructor of Rin's class. He primarily lectures on World History, though he holds classes in Ethics. Sōichirō is well respected among staff and students, but he is widely regarded as austere and impersonal.

Caster (キャスター, Kyasutā ^?)

Voiced by: Atsuko Tanaka (Japanese), Tara Platt (English)

She is an honored guest of the Ryūdō family, permitted to live at their temple until the preparations for her marriage have been finalized. A gorgeous and talented yet mysterious woman of high stature, her presence has attracted the attention of trainee priests. She was Medea in her past life.

Assassin (アサシン, Asashin ^?)

Voiced by: Ryosuke Minase^[1] (Japanese), David Vincent (English)

A solitary Servant, clothed in a traditional Japanese hakama and kimono with an indigo haori. This handsome man bars entry beyond the main gate of the Ryūdōji Temple. Quiet and composed, he maintains a degree of bushido and is eager to spar with other Servants. He is of the same class, but he is not to be confused with another Servant known as True Assassin. He is not really Sasaki Kojiro, but someone who resembled him and was chosen to play his persona.

Minor characters

Leysritt (リーゼリット, Rīzeritto ^?) and Sella (セラ, Sera ^?)

These two women are Ilya's maids, but they act as her caretakers and instruct her in the secrets of sorcery. Like Ilya, they both have silky blonde hair and deep crimson eyes. Sella is rather fickle and insecure (especially regarding her body), and is very suspicious of Shirō Emiya. In contrast, Leysritt is far more casual, and has affection for Shirō because his presence makes Ilya happy. Leysritt is skilled in combat, particularly with halberds, and she is able to sacrifice her life to manifest The Dress of Heaven, an artifact of the Einzbern family capable of limited applications of "true magic" (魔法, Mahō ^?), miracles that can accomplish impossibilities beyond modern science or sorcery.

Ayako Mitsuzuri (美綴 綾子, Mitsuzuri Ayako ^?)

Voiced by: Fumie Mizusawa (Japanese), Minx Lee (English)

A stellar athlete, and captain of the archery dojo. Ayako and Rin are actively competing to see who will be the first to snag a boyfriend. She is victimized by Rider or Caster early in the story and later found unconscious in an alleyway. In the anime, Ayako is seen with Shinji after her disappearance, although Shinji denies it when asked by Shiro. Ayako often asks Shiro to come to the archery dojo and watch them practice. After she is attacked, Ayako is not seen again.

Yukika Saegusa (三枝 由紀香, Saegusa Yukika ^?)

Yukika is the gentle manager of the Track Team, warmly loved by the majority of her class.

Kaede Makidera (蒔寺 楓, Makidera Kaede ^?)

Kaede is a beautiful but loud and obnoxious sprinter. Rin dislikes her.

Kane Himuro (氷室 鐘, Himuro Kane ^?)

Kane is one of Yukika and Kaede's friends, and a long jumper. She is considerate and intelligent.

Issei Ryūdō (柳洞 一成, Ryūdō Issei ^?)

Voiced by: Mitsuaki Madono (Japanese), Lex Lang (English)

Issei is the Student Body President of Shirō's school, and another close friend of Shirō. Issei often asks Shirō to fix broken equipment for the Student Body to try and reduce save money on the school's bill. Issei and Shirō often have lunch together in the Student Body's office where they talk about what ever comes to mind. His father is the head priest of Ryūdōji Temple, and his brother was a classmate of Taiga and Neko-san. He dislikes Rin and seems to have some sort of fear of females, although he seems to be unusually at ease around Saber. Issei unknowingly tells Shirō that Caster is at the Temple.

Otoko Hotaruzuka (蛍塚音子, Hotaruzuka Otoko ^?)

She is Shirō's employer, and owner of a liquor store, The Copenhagen Bar. She dislikes her given name, Otoko (phonically identical to the Japanese word for "male"), preferring to be called "Neko". She feels attached to Shirō and always addresses him by a pet name, "Emi-yan". "Neko" considers Taiga to be a bad influence on her hard-working employee.

Raiga Fujimura (藤村雷画, Fujimura Raiga ^?)

Better known as the grandfather of Taiga, Raiga is the Oyabun (組長 family head) of a yakuza group operating in Fuyuki City. He was an old friend of Kiritsugu Emiya, and as a favor, manages Kiritsugu's estate after his death in place of Shirō.

Zōken Matō (間桐 臓硯, Matō Zōken ^?)

Zōken is a shrewd, powerful, and ancient sorcerer who is patriarch of the Matō family and is known to be the grandfather of Shinji and Sakura. He has amassed a large and extensive library of sorcerous knowledge, yet his lessons are strict and harsh. Zōken considers Shinji to be a disgrace of a sorcerer, and believes Sakura may have more potential than her brother.

True Assassin (真アサシン, Shin Asashin ^?)

An exceptionally dangerous Servant with a limited appearance in Fate/stay night and Fate/hollow ataraxia, but an expanded role in Fate/Zero. The designation of "True" is meant to distinguish this Assassin from another Servant that has usurped his place in the current war. All True Assassins share a collective identity and have appeared in every Holy Grail War throughout history. They are infamous for an ebony and tattered costume, as well as for concealing their identity behind an ashen skeletal mask.

Zelretch (ゼルレッチ, Zeruretchi ^?)

Zelretch is one of five living sorcerers capable of "true magic". Zelretch's particular miracle is known as the "Kaleidoscope", which gives him dominion over alternate possibilities. Originally introduced in Tsukihime, he makes a cameo appearance in the Heaven's Feel scenario of Fate/stay night.

Luviagelita Edelfelt (ルヴィアゼリッタ・エーデルフェルト, Ruviazeritta Ēderuferuto ^?)

A descendant of the Edelfelt family, who participated in the 3rd Holy Grail War with twin Masters, believing it would be advantageous for them to have two Servants. Luvia, a student at the Mage's Association, is an outstanding but arrogant one and frequently gets into fights with other students, including Rin Tōsaka. Her powers are similar to Rin's. Luvia' first proper appearance is in Fate/hollow ataraxia. She was voiced by Shizuka Itō in the fighting spin-off game Fate/Unlimited Codes.

Lizleihi Justica von Einzbern

Known as the Saint of Winter, Justica was a homunculus whose family desired the Holy Grail long before the Holy Grail Wars began. When their attempts continued to fail, the Einzbern reluctantly accepted the aid of the Tōsaka and Makiri (Matō) families and under the guidance of Zelretch, they formed the Holy Grail Wars. Justica agreed to form the core of the Holy Grail; as such, her descendants (Illyasviel von Einzbern and her mother, Irisviel) each contain within them parts of Justica's memories and personality as well as a genetic resemblance to her.

References