TV-Series
Description
Caster of Red is a Servant summoned by the Red Faction in the Great Holy Grail War. His true identity is the renowned English poet and playwright William Shakespeare, a figure whose fame as a literary giant has reached a global scale. He is a tall man with brown hair and sharp, golden-brown eyes, typically dressed in an elegant green coat with a feather at his collar. Despite his Caster class, he possesses almost no conventional magical ability and is entirely incapable of combat, lacking the skills to create magical items or a defensive workshop. His physical parameters are exceedingly low, with Strength and Endurance ranked at E, reflecting his nature as a non-combatant.
The core of Shakespeare's personality is his absolute and unwavering devotion to the concept of a good story. He views the entire world and the conflict of the Holy Grail War as a grand narrative unfolding before him, and his sole desire is to witness a tale of unparalleled beauty and drama. To achieve this, he willingly employs deception, manipulation, and betrayal, caring little for the consequences to himself or others as long as the resulting story is compelling. He does not see himself as a participant in the war but rather as an observer or an author, often referring to himself with the grandiose first-person pronoun "吾輩" and frequently quoting lines from his own plays.
His interactions with others are dictated entirely by their potential as characters in his narrative. He shows little interest in ordinary people, dismissing them as irrelevant. Conversely, he is intensely fascinated by individuals he deems "protagonists"—those with extraordinary qualities, dramatic destinies, or deep-seated flaws. He has a particular fondness for modern literary terminology, often using words like "death-flagging," and has a habit of making blunt, piercing observations that expose hidden truths, shocking those around him. While he presents himself as an ally, his true allegiance is always to the story, making him an unpredictable and often troublesome presence for his own team.
Caster of Red is summoned by a magus named Jean Rum, but his Master quickly becomes a puppet of the priest Shirou Kotomine, the true mastermind of the Red Faction. Shakespeare shows no objection to this arrangement, finding Kotomine's plan to save humanity to be a fascinating plot. Throughout the war, he acts as a supporter and observer. In one notable instance, he reveals the location of the Black Faction's headquarters to his own ally, Berserker of Red, solely to see what interesting development might occur, leading to the Berserker's capture. He primarily serves as an assistant to Kotomine, using his abilities to support others in battle. In the final stages of the war, he is tasked with delaying Ruler to prevent her from interfering with Kotomine's plan. In his final moments, as the Greater Grail is destroyed, he is last seen furiously writing, recording the events of the Great Holy Grail War for posterity before he vanishes along with his manuscript pages as they scatter in the wind.
Shakespeare holds a notable relationship with Ruler, Jeanne d'Arc, with whom he has an extremely poor compatibility, a fact that is remarked upon by others. He also has a connection with Saber of Black, whose tragic and monstrous nature he finds to be a source of excellent drama. His primary relationship is with his effective Master, Shirou Kotomine, whose grand ambition provides the central plot that Shakespeare is so eager to witness.
Despite his lack of fighting ability, Caster of Red possesses unique and potent skills centered on his literary genius. His primary skill is Enchant, of rank A. Through impassioned, poetic recitations, he can "write" new properties onto objects, temporarily granting them extraordinary abilities. For example, by declaring a blade can "cut all things," he can drastically increase its sharpness. This skill is so powerful that, given a suitable object with its own spiritual history, he can elevate it to the rank of a low-tier Noble Phantasm, ranging from E to C rank. He also possesses a skill called Self-Preservation, of rank B, which reflects his nature as an author who never takes center stage. As long as his Master is safe, he is capable of escaping almost any crisis, allowing him to survive even in the midst of a brutal war.
His most formidable ability is his Noble Phantasm, First Folio: When the Curtain Rises, the Applause Shall Be As Ten Thousand Thunders. This is a type of reality-warping theater that forces a single target to enact a tragic scene from a script based on their own deepest traumas, regrets, and past failures. It does not cause physical harm but delivers a devastating mental attack, forcing the victim to relive their most painful memories in an inescapable performance. The despair inflicted can completely incapacitate a Servant, rendering them helpless and unable to fight, as was the case when he used it to mentally break his opponent. While an early concept for another Noble Phantasm involving his theatre troupe, The Globe, was considered, it is the First Folio that stands as his definitive and most dangerous ability in Fate/Apocrypha.
The core of Shakespeare's personality is his absolute and unwavering devotion to the concept of a good story. He views the entire world and the conflict of the Holy Grail War as a grand narrative unfolding before him, and his sole desire is to witness a tale of unparalleled beauty and drama. To achieve this, he willingly employs deception, manipulation, and betrayal, caring little for the consequences to himself or others as long as the resulting story is compelling. He does not see himself as a participant in the war but rather as an observer or an author, often referring to himself with the grandiose first-person pronoun "吾輩" and frequently quoting lines from his own plays.
His interactions with others are dictated entirely by their potential as characters in his narrative. He shows little interest in ordinary people, dismissing them as irrelevant. Conversely, he is intensely fascinated by individuals he deems "protagonists"—those with extraordinary qualities, dramatic destinies, or deep-seated flaws. He has a particular fondness for modern literary terminology, often using words like "death-flagging," and has a habit of making blunt, piercing observations that expose hidden truths, shocking those around him. While he presents himself as an ally, his true allegiance is always to the story, making him an unpredictable and often troublesome presence for his own team.
Caster of Red is summoned by a magus named Jean Rum, but his Master quickly becomes a puppet of the priest Shirou Kotomine, the true mastermind of the Red Faction. Shakespeare shows no objection to this arrangement, finding Kotomine's plan to save humanity to be a fascinating plot. Throughout the war, he acts as a supporter and observer. In one notable instance, he reveals the location of the Black Faction's headquarters to his own ally, Berserker of Red, solely to see what interesting development might occur, leading to the Berserker's capture. He primarily serves as an assistant to Kotomine, using his abilities to support others in battle. In the final stages of the war, he is tasked with delaying Ruler to prevent her from interfering with Kotomine's plan. In his final moments, as the Greater Grail is destroyed, he is last seen furiously writing, recording the events of the Great Holy Grail War for posterity before he vanishes along with his manuscript pages as they scatter in the wind.
Shakespeare holds a notable relationship with Ruler, Jeanne d'Arc, with whom he has an extremely poor compatibility, a fact that is remarked upon by others. He also has a connection with Saber of Black, whose tragic and monstrous nature he finds to be a source of excellent drama. His primary relationship is with his effective Master, Shirou Kotomine, whose grand ambition provides the central plot that Shakespeare is so eager to witness.
Despite his lack of fighting ability, Caster of Red possesses unique and potent skills centered on his literary genius. His primary skill is Enchant, of rank A. Through impassioned, poetic recitations, he can "write" new properties onto objects, temporarily granting them extraordinary abilities. For example, by declaring a blade can "cut all things," he can drastically increase its sharpness. This skill is so powerful that, given a suitable object with its own spiritual history, he can elevate it to the rank of a low-tier Noble Phantasm, ranging from E to C rank. He also possesses a skill called Self-Preservation, of rank B, which reflects his nature as an author who never takes center stage. As long as his Master is safe, he is capable of escaping almost any crisis, allowing him to survive even in the midst of a brutal war.
His most formidable ability is his Noble Phantasm, First Folio: When the Curtain Rises, the Applause Shall Be As Ten Thousand Thunders. This is a type of reality-warping theater that forces a single target to enact a tragic scene from a script based on their own deepest traumas, regrets, and past failures. It does not cause physical harm but delivers a devastating mental attack, forcing the victim to relive their most painful memories in an inescapable performance. The despair inflicted can completely incapacitate a Servant, rendering them helpless and unable to fight, as was the case when he used it to mentally break his opponent. While an early concept for another Noble Phantasm involving his theatre troupe, The Globe, was considered, it is the First Folio that stands as his definitive and most dangerous ability in Fate/Apocrypha.