My blogging kohai has a lot to answer for. With one full story thread of the Fate/Stay Night visual novel under my belt I can see where he’s coming from in terms of the connections that hold everything together, although it’s taken a fair while in getting there. Since I’m not a gamer the idea of spending hours and hours on something like this is pretty alien to me but as I said in my warm-up post the interactive nature of the VN works wonders in bringing the story to life in a way that the TV version couldn’t (although my not being sloshed this time around must have helped). It’s only part of the full picture of course: there are two other routes to follow afterwards but this one concentrates on the Shirou/Saber relationship in particular.
“..into the uncertain divine/we scream into the last divide…”
I wasn’t as fascinated by Saber in the TV show but when the events are geared towards portraying events from her and Shirou’s point of view I had a much clearer picture of her circumstances and personality so felt for her predicament much more keenly. While Rin is the tsundere character (not a bad thing I might add!), Saber is I think someone even more interesting, with a imaginatively-realised backstory that I can’t help but admire on so many levels.
The the idea that masters are deliberately paired with servants who share similar characteristics is introduced very early on, which makes perfect sense if they’re to work as a team in combat: Rin and Archer are both laconic, practical, good at long-range fighting and planning ahead for instance. The link goes much, much further than this though where Shirou and Saber are concerned.
The reversed knight in shining armour and the damsel in distress setup was great, although I must admit Shirou’s desire to put himself in the firing line grated on me and Saber was quite understandably insulted by his (albeit misunderstood) reluctance to let her fulfil her purpose. As we see the flashbacks and lines of spoken dialogue though we learn why Shirou is so angsty and prone to self-sacrifice, and why Saber is equally stoic. The presentation of the emotional baggage was really well done actually, and gives the heartstrings some pretty hefty tugs. Then of course there’s the issue of Saber’s true identity…*grins*
The thing is, seeing someone who has suffered so much rediscover their humanity is wonderfully heartwarming: through the little misunderstandings and meaningful moments Saber gradually comes to realise what she’s lost and what’s important to her. It’s like watching someone learn to walk again, and I guess from her point of view it’s just as difficult. Shaking off a lifetime’s worth of having a certain destiny drummed into your head is no small feat, and this is fundamentally what the Fate route boils down to: where duty and destiny ends, understanding what we can decide for ourselves and what we must accept, and how detrimental it is to slip into self-deception.
“You make me real/strong as I feel…”
Clarke’s Second Law states that the only way to discover the limits of the possible is to venture into the impossible: you have to truly push yourself to know your limits. In a set of conversations that I’ve been assured are extremely significant Archer explains to Shirou that his self-abasement is as absurd as it is counter-productive, and that he is better off concentrating about what he is able to do for Saber as opposed to beating himself up over what he cannot do. It’s stating the bleeding obvious for those who find this aspect of his character irritating, but his adding of a more productive slant to over-zealous gallantry has a significant part to play in Saber resolving her own issues.
Like the Rin/Archer double-act Saber and Shirou compliment each other so perfectly, even without taking the sword-and-sheath revelation near the end into account. Shirou’s realisation of his role and knowledge of his strengths and weaknesses helps Saber come to understand her own and make peace with herself; both are their own worst enemies, and so sweetly similar for that.
“It meant the world to hold a bruising faith/but now it’s just a matter of grace…”
While I’m on the subject of togetherness I suppose I ought to give my opinion on the hentai scenes. It seems to be a damn good story with eroge elements mixed in so I very much doubt that anyone would pick this up purely for the sauce. There are only two sexually explicit chapters in the entire Fate route, although equally this excludes it from the under-aged by going into such anatomical detail.
I’m comfortable with it when it’s in context, however. The first scene in question seemed pretty gratuitous and felt out of place; the second scene on the other hand was in a more natural setting, felt relevant to the narrative as a whole and provided a milestone in the characters’ relationship. In addition to indulging in intercourse out of necessity (‘exchanging magical energy’ LOL), they were doing it for each other’s sakes too; finding personal reasons and desires within the sense of duty. Hentai not just rationalised but…romantic? Yep, just about.
The moments of ordinary romantic tension did the job just fine too: the gradual shift in dynamic between the two of them was immensely rewarding, not least because Saber’s back-story meant she was crying out for a little bit of happiness. Only when she met Shirou was she granted the wish she deserved to have in her own lifetime: that of being seen as a human being and finding peace. I still think it was a calculated decision to make a story about moral dilemmas and examinations of what can be decided for oneself into a branching narrative; her story also demonstrates how some things cannot be undone. But then, maybe some things shouldn’t, or needn’t, be undone at all.