FRANTIC INTERRUPTING EDIT: OMG I HAD NO IDEA THE TERM GAR ORIGINATED IN REFERENCE TO ARCHER. (Not Gilgamesh, the other one.) THOUGH SINCE HE IS MY FAVORITE, I SUPPOSE IT IS ONLY NATURAL. O HO HO HO HO HO HO
*ahem* Anyway-
Of course, after writing that furious rant last post, I'm forced to acknowledge that, in the end, Shirou is actually an okay guy. Well, sort of. He's still insufferable in the first route of the game, which the anime primarily focuses on. But it seems that Shirou's character development doesn't occur within each route, but rather, spans over the course of the entire VN, and so he gradually matures as you progress through each route. In the second route of the game, he and several other characters are infinitely more likable. And as shocked as I am to admit it, by the end of the route, he's actually kind of... cool. He still doesn't quite grab my heart, but hell, it's a marked improvement. Bravo, Shirou. +10 points.
But in the meantime, I've decided to watch the first season of fate/zero, even though I have yet to complete the third route of the VN. The first episode alone already spoiled two things for me. Hell, the very first scene contained a spoiler! :/
Thoughts on the first five eps of fate/zero:
- oh my god, the animation.
- Kiritsugu is such a fucking cheater, lol.
- Why are both Lancers Irishmen in spandex? Not that I'm complaining, but still. Does Ireland have a monopoly on all famous spear men (and spandex)??
- Saber in a suit is an amazing thing and should be cherished and admired. Seriously, one of the things I hated about the first route of the VN is how it (and Shirou especially) tried so hard to feminize Saber, which came off as forced and unnatural.
- Rider is wonderful. And that is all that needs to be said.
- Gilgamesh is a crazy bastard no matter what happens to him, lol. But I will readily admit that he has been a consistently entertaining character. I love him and all of the outrageously offensive things he says. e.g. "I don't hold back with women and food. I take and eat at my leisure!" Seriously, who says that even.
Gilgamesh, that's who.
EDIT: This is the best thing I've seen all day:
