 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Summary:
Saber tries to save Rin from being crushed by Berserker, but her sword swings have no effect. Berserker responds by smashing Saber into the ground. When Shirou tries to help, he also gets hit. Saber decides to try to use her Noble Phantasm, but, remembering what happened last time, Shirou uses one of his command spells to stop her. Archer’s words once again float into Shirou’s mind, and so he tries again to see the image of the sword in his mind. This time, he’s able to form it into a physical sword. His first swing severs Berserker’s left arm and frees Rin. But doing so also shattered the sword, so Shirou creates another one. Berserker goes on the offensive to keep Shirou from attacking again, and the two lock blades. The massive strength of the Servant sends Shirou tumbling backwards. Fortunately for him, Saber parries Berserker’s next swing. Master and Servant join hands and launch an attack that breaks Berserker’s club and stabs right through him – it succeeds in permanently killing Berserker. Before he disappears, Berserker asks Saber about the sword, so she reveals that it is Caliburn, the sword from the stone, the sword she had forever lost. Berserker knows that Shirou had only created an illusion of it, but it still killed him seven times. Ilya falls to her knees in disbelief at Berserker’s death, and Shirou has to stop Saber from going to execute Ilya.
While resting from the battle, Shirou has a dream about Saber sitting on a throne with a room of armored men staring at her. When he wakes up, she’s sitting at his bedside, watching over him. Saber is worried about his health, but their conversation gets interrupted by Ilya, who’s apparently snuggled in bed with Shirou. Both Saber and Rin don’t like the notion of Ilya staying with Shirou, but he doesn’t want to leave her alone since she’s just a child. Rin can’t forgive Ilya because of Archer, and she’s also worried that Ilya would join with another Servant. However, Ilya says that Berserker is the only Servant for her. Much to Saber’s and Shirou’s surprise, Rin decides to accept Ilya. During practice, Ilya comments on Saber holding back against Shirou, and Saber starts to blush because she’s trying not to hurt him by attacking him head on. Afterwards while they’re eating, Saber surprises Ilya by wiping off her face. Saber has decided that she can at least be civil with Ilya since Ilya is Shirou’s guest.
That night, Shirou accidentally walks in on Saber in the bath. She becomes embarrassed because she doesn’t think that her body is feminine like Rin’s – it’s too muscular and ugly to a man’s eyes. Shirou leaves and ends up talking with Rin about his imaging technique Rin mentions that the most important thing about Excalibur is not the sword, but the sheath. With that sheath, King Arthur was immortal. However, according to legend, Arthur died after the sheath was stolen. Later that night, Shirou is in the storeroom trying to create the sword again. Saber interrupts him, and so he takes the opportunity to ask her about the dream she had started talking about earlier that morning. Saber says that Servants don’t have dreams, and what she had seen was Shirou’s dream – his past. Master and Servant are mentally connected, and if the relationship strengthens, they are likely to start seeing each other’s pasts. She thinks that they are similar, and says that his ally of justice ideal is a mistake. His devotion is strange and she knows that he hadn’t put much consideration into his own life. Saber thinks that she must obtain the Holy Grail, but Shirou also needs it. She feels that it was inevitable that she was summoned by him.
Meanwhile Kuzuki Souichirou (a teacher at Shirou’s school), Caster, and Assassin are together. Caster says that with Berserker gone, they have nothing to fear. She talks about the storage of magic reaching a critical point and how they need to find a mage to act as a vessel – a sacrifice – so that they can summon the Holy Grail by force. Rin is the ideal choice in terms of ability, but she’s a bit too tomboyish. Instead, Caster has got her eyes on Sakura.
Preview:
 |
 |
 |
Lots of Super High-Quality Animation of Saber Fanservice 🙂
They’re really playing up the SaberxShirou aspects, with Saber now acting embarrassed half the time she’s with Shirou. Oh and he’s also got Rin & Ilya, and his own powers are now a force to be reckoned with. Things are looking up for Shirou, who was spouting idealistic crap for the first several episodes of this series. Now he can at least back that up. I do have to say that the combo attack with Shirou and Saber joining hands came off as just slightly cheesy to me. But that’s probably just me…
The first half of this episode concludes the Berserker and Ilya arc, and the second half is transitioning us to a Caster and Kuzuki arc. I’m not sure what the direction of the series is taking as they appear to be dabbling in all of the scenarios with the renewed focus on Caster, Kuzuki, and Sakura. At this point, I’m willing to believe that they’re going to try for a unique plot that involves elements of all three scenarios. Who knows what will happen…
