Fate/stay night ep.5

February 6, 2006 | 7 Comments

This episode seems to be a breather after the rather tense one that preceeds it. Despite this, I found myself liking it alot. I am kind of amused too with the ever growing harem that Shirou amasses without even trying. I do wonder, however, how long will it be before Sakura sees red in regard to this matter. Anyway, judging from the episodes that have been aired thus far, it seems that the writers are taking a rather leisurely approach to introducing each character. I supposed they can afford to do this since there are 24 episodes in total for the series. I do hope, however, that the writers will use the opportunity to write better story and background for characters such as Sakura and Rider if these characters will end up becoming prominent in future episodes. Because as it is now, I still haven't been able to feel any kind of concern for her and I assume I'm supposed to feel this later on in the story.

The episode begins with Shirou remembering how he was being playa to both Saber and Sakura by not introducing each girl to the other. He achieved this by asking Saber to hide until he complete his rendevouz with Sakura. But because he feels guilty abou this, as soon as school is over, Shirou goes home quickly to check on Saber only to find her sleeping. Well, not really since apparently she is awaken as soon as she senses her 'Master' coming home. Hmm, this starts to sound dubious but oh well, I guess it's one of those wish-fulfilment thing for anime fans. Anyway, Shirou is surprised to know that Saber has been sleeping ever since morning but Saber tells him that when she's not in battle, she'd be better off sleeping. Before the two can talk further, however, Shirou hears Sakura's voice so Saber thinks that he wants her to hide again. Shirou feels guilty about this but does not say anything. During dinner, however, Shirou can't help feeling sorry for Saber so he ends up inviting her for dinner with the others.

Of course this becomes a recipe for disasters. Fujimura-sensei immediately asks Shirou what he was thinking for inviting a blond gaijin like Saber into his house. Sakura, on the other hand, thinks that his sempai is a player. As a result, Shirou has no choice but to make up a story that Saber is a distant relative of his. Fujimura, however, thinks the whole story is foul so she decides to asks Saber why she is here to begin with. Saber calmly tells the teacher that she's been instructed by Kitsurugu to protect Shirou. Hey, that's actually a good excuse. Fujimura, who still doesn't believe this wants to test Saber's strength. Of course, as expected, Saber wins this battle quite easily. Fujimura-sensei, however, doesn't give up and insists on staying at the house. She also asks Saber to sleep between her and Sakura but is dismayed when Saber refuses and insists on sleeping in Shirou's room so she can protect him.

Shirou eventually has to tell Saber to go with Fujimura's wish besides there is kekkai around the house so they should be okay. Shirou then leaves the three women and probably feel a bit relieved because of it. Saber, however, catches up to him and asks him why he introduced her to the others since it'll be easier if she just stayed inside the room. Shirou tells her that he didn't feel good about leaving Saber there. Meanwhile, Rin and Archer are seen investigating victims of gas leakage around the city. After opening the windows to help the victims, Rin talks to Archer about the person who have possibly done this. Archer is not aware of it but Rin wants to pursue the guy. Archer warns her that his wound is not completely healed and besides, they have easy target. Rin tells him that Shirou is not a problem and can be taken care of later. Upon hearing this Archer asks her what she'll do if she sees him next. Rin claims that she'll kill him.

The next morning, everyone is having breakfast at Shirou's household. Shirou criticises Fujimura-sensei for eating too much but she claims that even Sakura already has some onigiri. Sakura is embarassed to have her secret revealed and even more so when Saber asks her if she always thinking of food. LOL. After breakfast, Fujimura tells Shirou that he can put the futon away because she and Sakura won't be needing them anymore. It seems they believe that Saber is not that kind of girl. Shirou is amused by this but much to his surprise, Saber also has some respect for Fujimura. She thinks it's rare to see a sincere yet not easily influenced by others kind of person like Fujimura. She thinks many of Shirou's good qualities came from her. Anyway, Saber is a bit worry when Shirou has to go to school because her connection with him is rather weak. So she asks him to summon her if there is a danger. She also tells him to put his safety first and foremost.

Shirou doesn't seem to take Saber's advice seriously until he feels kind of weird when he passes by a tree on his way to school. Unknown to him, a Servant has been observing him from inside the tree. After Shirou gets into the school, he bumps into Rin, who's a bit pissed off because Shirou is not taking his Servant to protect him. Nevertheless, she lets him go despite what she told Archer the night before. Later on that day, Shirou finds out from Issei that Archery captain, Mitsuzuri Ayako has been missing since yesterday after last seen talking to Shinji Matou, who also hasn't been seen since then. During an attempt to investigate the situation, Shirou bumps into Rin again, who this time tells him that she's dead set on killing him. Shirou thinks that she's not serious but Rin keeps firing him with magic shots so off the two on a cat and mouse game. Meanwhile outside the school, a Servant with long hair and blindfold watches the fight with a smile on her face.

Impression:

Well, that's a rather lighthearted fare in comparison to the other episodes. The focus this time around seems to be the deepening trust between Shirou and Saber. It's also obvious by now that Shirou is uncomfortable of treating Saber as a 'Servant'. As a result, he goes out of his way to introduce her to his friends even if it means a lot of problem for him. The episode also features the mystery of people whose soul has been stolen and whose 'death' has been disguised under gas leakage story. I think this is the work of the newly introduced Servant, Rider. I think her appearance is also related to the disappearance of Mitsuzuri Ayako, the captain of the Archery club. I think it's highly likely that Shinji Matou, Sakura's brother, is the one who's controlling Rider. Last but not least, Rin seems to be trying to supress her feelings for Shirou and tries to kill him but judging from the rather comedic battle, I highly doubt they'll end up battling each other.

© memento 2003