Saber (Fate/stay night)

"Arturia Pendragon" redirects here. Not to be confused with Arthur Pendragon (disambiguation).

Saber Arturia Pendragon
Fate/stay night and Fate/Zero character
File:Saberstaynight.jpg
First appearance	Fate/stay night (2004)
Created by	Kinoko Nasu

Saber (Japanese: セイバー, Hepburn: Seibā), whose real name is Arturia Pendragon (アルトリア・ペンドラゴン, Arutoria Pendoragon), is a fictional character from the Japanese 2004 visual novel Fate/stay night by Type-Moon. In Fate/stay night, Saber is an ancient warrior who is summoned by a teenager named Shirou Emiya to participate in a war between masters and servants in order to accomplish their dream through the mythical Holy Grail. Saber's relationship with the cast varies depending on the player's decisions, becoming a love interest to Shirou in the novel's first route. An agile and powerful warrior, Saber is loyal, independent, and reserved; she appears cold, but is actually suppressing her emotions to focus on her goals. She is also present in the prequel, Fate/Zero, by Type-Moon and nitroplus, which she is the servant of Shirou's guardian Kiritsugu Emiya, a decade before meeting Shirou, during the previous Holy Grail war.

Saber was created by Kinoko Nasu after the main illustrator suggested the idea of having an armored woman as a protagonist for the visual novel. While Saber has been voiced by Ayako Kawasumi in all of her Japanese appearances, multiple English actors took the role in the dubs of the series' animated adaptations Critical reception to Saber's characterization and role in the series has been generally postiive, most notably her relationship with Shirou. Saber has also been popular within the Fate series and anime in general.

Creation

Before Kinoko Nasu started writing Fate/stay night, Fate was something he had written for fun in his spare time when he was a student. Shirou and Saber's gender were swapped, mostly due to a previous experience with the novel Tsukihime as Type-Moon believed this would fit the most updated demographic. Takeuchi had the idea of drawing an armored woman which resulted in Saber being female. Takeuchi went to call Saber as one of his favorite Servants in the series to the point of calling her an ideal bride based on the multiple times he illustrates Saber on his free time. The relationship between Shirou and Saber was meant to be different from previous romances in fiction due to the fact Shirou has to accept Saber has to fight for him.

Urobuchi believes Saber's relationship with Shirou doesn't seem like a realistic relationship between a male and a female, but a complicated relationship with a boy who became a girl. He further explains that it is not a relationship fueled by instinct like the relationship between a man and a woman, but a romance of logic between two people who need each other from the heart. He thinks the Fate route could have been told as a story through the ancient Greek views on love. Nasu responded to Gen by saying that it's difficult to call the relationship between Shirou and Saber a relationship between a man and a woman. Saber has fought for a long time as the ruler of Britain, but then turned into a girl all of a sudden and fell in love with Shirou. It's pretty ridiculous when you think about it. But I really wanted to push it towards that sort of boy-meets-girl story. So as a last resort, I had Shirou continually say things to her like "But you're a girl," and "Girls aren't supposed to fight," in order to remind the users that "she is really a girl." It's like the author's actually the one trying to convince Saber that she's a girl... I feel like I could have written it a lot better now, but that was the best I could do at the time. It's true that Rin is different from Saber. In regards to the different alternate designs Saber has, Urobuchi referred to Alter as a dark hero rather than a villain while Nasu said she was not yet a pure villain as she was not fully corrupted yet.

In the making of Fate/Zero, writer Gen Urobuchi had multiple ideas like Saber being lectured by Gilgamesh and Alexander which motivated Nasu to let write the light novel series. As in the original Fate/stay night Saber states she did not know his former master, Kiritsugu Emiya, properly, Urobuchi created Kiritsugu's wife, Irisvel, in order to facilitate communication between Saber and Kiritusugu. Urobuchi stated that in his works the characters who survive to the plot's events become "pillars". While Saber, Kiritsugu, and Kirei Kotomine are the major survivors, Kiritsugu dies offscreen and since Saber does not have a large role in Fate/Zero, the pillar character is instead Kirei.

Ayako Kawasumi voices Saber in Japanese

Saber is voiced by Ayako Kawasumi in Japanese. She was chosen by Nasu and Takeuchi because they found her voice fitting for Saber's personality with the sound director also suggesting Kawasumi during the making of the series. Kawasumi said regardless of the multiple appearances she has in the Fate/stay night series, her characterization did not change due to her convictions. The actress noted that Saber was drawn by Irisviel due to her love for her family. However, because Saber did not accept Kiritsugu's principles, Kawasumi was regretful of this area regarding her character.

Appearances

Saber's full name is Arturia Pendragon (sometimes translated Artoria or Altria), a character inspired by the legends of King Arthur. At her nativity, Uther decides to not publicly announce Arturia's birth or gender, fearing his subjects will never accept a woman as a legitimate ruler. She is entrusted by Merlin to a loyal knight, Sir Ector, who raises her as a surrogate son. When Arturia is fifteen, King Uther dies leaving no known eligible heir to the throne. Britain enters a period of turmoil following the growing threat of invasion by the Saxons. Merlin soon approaches Arturia, explaining that the British people will recognize her as a destined ruler if she draws Caliburn, a ceremonial sword embedded in a large slab of stone. However, pulling this sword is symbolic of accepting the hardships of a monarch, and Arturia will be responsible for preserving the welfare of her people. Without hesitation and despite her gender, she draws Caliburn and shoulders Britain's mantle of leadership.

Despite her immense strength and fighting abilities, Arturia is plagued by feelings of guilt and inferiority throughout her reign; she sacrifices her emotions for the good of Britain, yet many of her subjects and knights become critical of her lack of humanity and cold calculation. Excalibur's scabbard is stolen while she repels an assault along her country's borders; when Arturia returns inland, she discovers Britain is being torn asunder by civil unrest. Despite her valiant efforts to placate the dissent, Arturia is mortally wounded by a traitorous knight, a homunculus born of her blood named Mordred, during the Battle of Camlann. Her dying body is escorted to a holy isle by Morgan le Fay and Sir Bedivere. Arturia orders a grieving Bedivere to dispose of Excalibur by throwing it back to Vivian; in her absence, she reflects on her personal failures, regretting her life as king. 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.

Servants of the Saber class have inherently high magic resistance, and Saber takes this to extremes, being virtually untouchable by modern magi. She also possesses instinct that comes close to precognition and high charisma, which she can use to command an army. She can also use "Mana Burst", which transfers magical energy into her weapon and body, explosively increasing the power of both, although the weapon must have strong divine protection to withstand the energies.

She possesses the Noble Phantasm Excalibur: Sword of Promised Victory (約束された勝利の剣（エクスカリバー）, Ekusukaribā), a celestial sword constructed by the world from the collective wishes of mankind and fueled through a conversion of Mana into photoelectric energy, allowing a wave of destructive energy to be released from the tip when swung. Another Noble Phantasm she possesses is Invisible Air: Barrier of the Wind King (風王結界（インビジブル・エア）, Inbijiburu Ea), which compresses and gyrates the air around Saber's blade, turning the blade invisible, making it hard for opponents to judge her strikes, and allowing a one-time release of the air in the form of an intense gust. It also serves to help hide her identity - Excalibur's fame being so great that any other Servant would recognise it the moment they laid eyes on it.

Her third Noble Phantasm, the scabbard of Excalibur, Avalon: The Everdistant Utopia ((全て遠き理想郷（アヴァロン）, Avaron), bequeaths limited immortality through regenerative stimulation, prevents physical deterioration due to aging, and when activated, is capable of protecting the user from virtually any attack. She also has a fourth Noble Phantasm, Caliburn: Golden Sword of Assured Victory ((勝利すべき黄金の剣（カリバーン）, Karibān), the sword she initially pulled from the stone as a child. This sword is Saber's favourite, being of a more decorative nature than Excalibur, but was broken during her lifetime.

Role

Saber Alter as seen in Heaven's Feel

In the Fate route of Fate/stay night, Shirō falls in love with Saber. At first, despite reciprocating, Saber refused to accept Shirō's feelings because of her duty to her country being at the foremost as a King as well as being uncomfortable with how much she sees her own lack of self-worth mirrored in him. Despite this, Shirō still does his utmost to convince Saber that what happened in the past cannot be changed, and that trying to change it was nothing but a fool's errand. Once she finds out that the Holy Grail she believed to be omnipotent was actually corrupt and causes only death, she accepted that her noble wish was indeed impossible to accomplish, and works with Shirō to save the world she was summoned in. She then destroys the Holy Grail with Excalibur, and after finally accepting Shirō's feelings and confessing her own, is sent back to her original time, dying on the hill. In the Last Episode epilogue, Saber accepts herself for who she is and forgoes becoming a Heroic Spirit so as to wait for Shirō in Avalon, the mystical land where only true heroes may reside. She waits for many lifetimes before Shirō finally earns the right to ascend to Avalon, where the two are finally reunited to be together forever.

In the Unlimited Blade Works route of Fate/stay night, Saber is stabbed by Caster's Rule Breaker, and was forced to become her Servant. Caster then uses her command spell to force Saber to kill Shirō and Rin Tohsaka, but she then shows her extraordinary magical resistance by resisting the absolute binding power of the command spell, giving Rin and Shirō time to escape. After Caster is killed by Archer, Rin then forges a contract with her, becoming her new Master; however, despite being Rin's Servant, she remains loyal to Shirō since she was summoned by him and has pledged her allegiance and loyalty to him. She then destroys the Holy Grail with Excalibur. In the Good End of this scenario, she lives on in the world as one of Rin's familiars along with Shirō in a polyamorous relationship with the two. In the True End, she disappears, similar to the Fate Scenario.

In the Heaven's Feel route of Fate/stay night, Saber is consumed by the Holy Grail during a battle with True Assassin and becomes a vastly stronger, corrupted version of her former self, Saber Alter (セイバー・オルタナティブ, Seibā Orutanatibu), and a Servant under Sakura Matō. In the Normal End and True End, Saber Alter is defeated and killed by Shirō with the help of Rider after a great deal of internal conflict within Shirō, in which he is forced to kill off his memories of Saber and how she has saved him many times as his Servant in order to kill Saber herself and save Sakura. In one of the bad ends, Saber Alter is defeated by Shirō in one-on-one combat, at the cost of the latter's mind. Saber was, at first, pleased with Shirō's victory over her, but after seeing what the battle cost him, she once again becomes apathetic and announces her victory. Despite this, Saber reveals that she no longer cares about the War or the battle between Rin and Sakura, as "the one who blessed them" is gone forever.

In Fate/hollow ataraxia

In the fandisc/sequel, Fate/hollow ataraxia, Saber continues to protect Shirō, though it seems their relationship has turned more towards Saber having the major control over her relationship with Shirō and, if the player chooses, can be pursued romantically once more. She kills Archer when he attacks Shirō in one loop. In another loop, Saber is killed by Bazett's Fragrach when she tried to use Excalibur on Bazett. In the final loop of Fate/hollow ataraxia, Saber aids Shirō/Avenger in reaching the Grail by fending off the mysterious monsters (which were in fact leftover parts of Avenger wishing to continue the loop) with other Heroic Spirits. It is also shown that when the stray hair on her head is pulled, she reverts to her Alter form. Saber Alter is portrayed here as being crude and obsessed with fast food and bad food in general, in direct opposition to Saber's love of Shirō's cooking.

Fate/Zero

In the prequel Fate/Zero Saber is summoned to participate in the 4th Holy Grail War by Kiritsugu Emiya. In order to prepare for the war, Kiritsugu has his wife, Irisviel von Einzbern, to act as Saber's guide while he aids her in the shadows. As in the original visual novel, Saber wishes to obtain the Holy Grail to change her kingdom's past which results in Gilgamesh and Alexander the Great mocking her ideals. During a fight against Lancer, Kiritsugu forces Lancer's Master to committe suicide which results in Saber's anger for not respecting knight's ideals. Shortly afterwards, Irisviel is kidnapped by Kirei Kotomine and Saber goes to find her. On the way, Saber confronts Berserker who is revealed to be her former ally Lancelot. After Lancelot's death, Saber is ordered to destroy the Holy Grail by her then-master, Kiritsugu via use of two back-to-back Command Seals, but only succeeded in destroying its physical form. Saber returns to her world, still aiming to take the Holy Grail for her people.

Other appearances

Saber has appeared in the anime and manga versions of Fate/stay night and the movie Unlimited Blade Works. Three of versions of Saber (regular, Saber Alter, Saber Lily) appeared in the fighting game Fate/unlimited codes. A Lion form of Saber also appeared in Fate/tiger colosseum. She, along with other characters from Tsukihime, Melty Blood, and the rest of the cast of Fate/stay night, appears in the 2011 anime Carnival Phantasm. Fate/Zero, another anime adaptation of the novel of the same name, has been released in 2011, with Saber acting as Kiritsugu's servant in the fourth Holy Grail War. Numerous figures of Saber have been created, including all three forms of her and a keychain replica of her sword.

She also appeared in Fate/Grand Order as her multiple forms (Saber Alter and Saber Lily) as well as her newer forms (Lancer and Lancer Alter) and gag forms (an Archer and Rider Alter form wearing a swimsuit and maid outfit respectively, as well as another rider form as "Santa Alter") introduced in the game. She is one of the Servants of Ritsuka Fujimaru of the Grand Order conflicts of Fate/Grand Order. She additionally appears in Fate/Extella as a secret playable character. She is also present in the manga and anime adaptation Today's Menu for the Emiya Family.

Reception

A coach with the Game Fate/Grand Order livery at Shanghai Metro Songhong Road Station showing Saber.

In the Type-Moon Fes. 10th Anniversary Event, she was ranked 1st amongst all characters created by Type-Moon and has effectively become the Fate franchise's mascot. In an Unlimited Blade Works poll she took fourth place. In the Newtype top 30 characters of the 2010s, Saber topped the female cast.

Critical reception to Saber has generally been positive. Mania Entertainment's Chris Beveridge liked the development of Saber across the series particularly her team ups with Shiro. He shared similar comments when talking about the romantic relationship between her and Shirou. Similarly, DVDTalk enjoyed this and claimed "the Master/Servant relationship is an interesting one and though Saber appears to be robotic at times there are glimmers of feelings beneath her cold exterior." Anime News Network's Carl Kimlinger referred to her and Archer as "the only spices" of the series. Kimlinger later highly praised the character as "Saber alone is worth the price of admission" when watching the series, also commenting on her fight scenes. He added "the results are positively exhilarating, cementing Saber's status as one of the coolest heroines to come down the anime turnpike in quite some time." IGN's Jeff Harris said that Shirou and Saber's growing relationship was Fate/stay night most interesting plotline and that the romantic tension there between the two is something to look forward to over the course of the rest of the series. On the other hand, the duo was felt to be the least interesting from the anime Unlimited Blade Works as Rin Tohsaka and Archer felt more entertaining than them according to UK Anime Network.

In regards to the prequel Fate/Zero, Anime News Network praised the tragedy that happens to both Saber and Kiritsugu despite each character wishing for solutions to world issues making the series worth watching. The writer also noted how both Saber and Kiritsugu are opposites due to their different backgrounds while at the same time being similar. Anime News Network's Carlo Santos praised her fight against Lancer in Fate/Zero which served as a good counterpart to expositions in the story. Kotaku enjoyed the way the series' handled how Saber, Gilgamesh and Alexander the Great discussed their ideals as kings and how their people should be treated, giving each character different philosophies. THEM Anime Reviews agreed, seeing as a more explored area rather than the rivalry between Kiritsugu and Kirei Kotomine. UK Anime Network stated that Saber felt like the Servant who lacked a character arc based on how she is mocked by her rivals for her beliefs with her misrelationship with Kiritsugu showing more conflict within her.

External links

• Saber at The Visual Novel Database