Fate/stay night ep.7

February 18, 2006 | 26 Comments

This is a rather funny episode involving Shirou's Harem. I supposed it's inevitable that conflict between the girls starts to happen now that Shirou has amassed quite a following here. The rest of the episode, however, feels a bit like a filler. It's unbelievable how the writers manage to stretch a spell search scene for almost a quarter of the episode's length. This is probably not a big problem since there are 26 episodes but it's easy to see why some viewers start to become impatient with the story. It really makes me wish that the fight will start right away. Or else, I wish the show will start introducing other candidates and show their background a little bit more. Because otherwise, they'll just end up as another enemy that Shirou must face. On the other hand, if they are given backstory, at least the viewers will be able to feel sorry for them should anything happen to these characters in the future.

The episode begins with Saber showing an unusual appetite for foods, much to Fujimura-sensei's chagrin. Sakura asks Shirou what happened to Saber, prompting a flashback of the conversation the two had earlier. Apparently Saber is upset because Shirou chose not to summon her during his fight with Rider. She is also unhappy with the fact that Shirou makes an alliance with Rin without her knowledge. After breakfast, Sakura asks Shirou if they can go to school together. Shirou agrees but much to his surprise, Saber insists on coming to school with him. To make the situation worse, Rin arrives and tells everyone that she's there to go to school together Shirou. Sakura becomes upset immediately despite Shirou's attempt to convince her that it'll be more fun if 3 people go together. It doesn't help that Saber becomes impatient at the whole debacle. In the end, Sakura ends up going to school on her own and Saber ends up staying at home after Rin manages to convince her to do so.

Because of this, Shirou and Rin end up going together to school. When the two about to enter the school gate, however, Shirou feels a pain sensation in his chest. Rin believes that the pain is caused by the Kekkai. If they leave it like this, she thinks it'll grow its power in 2 to 3 days. Before Rin can say anything further, however, their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Issei, who is shocked beyond belief to see Shirou with Rin. He immediately warns Shirou to stay away from the big bad Rin so Rin has no choice but to tell Shirou to meet her later during lunch time. When lunch time arrive, Issei once again is shocked to know that Shirou has an appointment with Rin. Nevertheless, Shirou manages to go out of the classroom but before he can get to the rooftop, he bumps into Sakura. Sakura, who is still upset about this morning, decides to run away from Shirou. Because of this, Shirou has no choice but to go after her.

After telling her that Rin won't come again tomorrow and Saber will stay home, however, Sakura becomes happier. Before Sakura left, however, Shirou decides to ask her the whereabouts of her brother, Shinji and it appears that he's at home. Before Shirou can process this information, however, Rin appears next to him and tells him that she remembers telling him to meet her in the rooftop during lunch time. Because of this, Shirou explains to Rin that he had to calm Sakura down after what happened this morning. Rin seems to be slightly upset but she chooses not to say anything. Once the two reach the rooftop, Rin tells Shirou that Ayako has just been found in a dumpster looking like she's in a coma. Shirou and Rin immediately agree that it's the work of Rider. Right now, however, the two need to lift the Kekkai before it is put into operation to absorb human's soul.

Unfortunately they can't destroy the Kekkai itself. However, if they destroy the seals, they can weaken its operation. Rin then explains how once a Kekkai is erected, it'll produce several seals within the area. The seal will then resonates and spreads, creating a new seal elsewhere. Gradually, the barrier will become wider and stronger. After explaining this, Rin assigns Shirou the task of finding the seals. Shirou immediately points out at a specific location in the rooftop. Rin thinks there is no way Shirou could spot it that easily but is surprised when she realises there is indeed a seal in that place. Once they completed the job, Shirou offers Rin a hot drink, prompting her to make fun of him. Because of this Shirou points out Rin's tendency to put up a facade of an Honour student around others like Issei despite her real sarcastic personality. Rin claims that it can't be helped since that it's their job as a mage to hide their identity.

In addition to this, Rin feels that she can't face her father in Heaven unless she performs well in school. She then informs Shirou that her father passed away when she was young. Despite this, she claims not feeling sad about it. Shirou thinks Rin is a liar because he thinks everyone feels sad about death, especially if someone that they are close to is dead. Rin quietly agrees with Shirou's assessment. Before the two part ways, Rin asks Shirou to go home right away, prompting Shirou to tease her that it seems she worries about him. Of course, Rin denies everything. After Rin left, Shirou suddenly feels a sudden pain again. He decides to investigate on his own and is drawn to the dojo. Upon entering it, he finds a large seal inside and its creator, Rider. He, however, is more surprised upon seeing Rider's master, Shinji. After ordering Rider to go away, Shinji asks Shirou to come to his house with him since it's been a while since the two play together.

Impression:

This is a mostly comedic episode with Shirou playing the Harem master. Even though the result is quite funny, I can't help but noticing that the seed of discontentment has been placed between Rin and Sakura. Sakura is clearly unhappy to see Rin around Shirou. It doesn't help that some of the words Rin said to Sakura such as "Didn't you know?" sounds like provocation. The words inevitably made Sakura feels as if Rin and Shirou have a relationship that she was not aware of before this incident. The fun thing is that Saber is not even in the picture yet. Right now she doesn't seem to have any romantic interest in Shirou but I can see that changing in the future. Judging from next week's episode preview, it seems the situation only gets worse because Rin is seen moving to Shirou's house. That sounds like Harem scenario from Hell. Anyway, the rest of the episode is not that exciting although I'm glad that the episode finally reveals Rider's master.

© memento 2003