TV-Series
Description
The Servant known as Berserker in Fate/Zero is the legendary Knight of the Lake, Sir Lancelot, once hailed as the strongest and most virtuous of the Knights of the Round Table. His true identity is that of a tragic hero whose life of glorious honor ended in ruinous scandal, directly contributing to the downfall of King Arthur's kingdom of Camelot. This history of overwhelming pride, forbidden love, and profound regret forms the core of his character when he is summoned into the chaotic Fourth Holy Grail War.
Born and raised in France, Lancelot was orphaned as a child and raised by the Lady of the Lake, from whom he received his epithet and his magical sword, Arondight. Upon coming to Britain, he was immediately struck by the unwavering conviction of the young King Arthur, a figure he initially doubted. He became the king’s most trusted friend and the greatest of her knights, a paragon of chivalry known as the "knight of knights." However, this same romantic and passionate nature led him into a tragic love affair with Queen Guinevere. While the King's true identity as a woman was a secret, the affair was a political and moral catastrophe. When it was discovered, Lancelot slew several fellow knights during the Queen's rescue, an act of violence that shattered the unity of the Round Table and plunged the kingdom into civil war. After Arthur's death, Lancelot was consumed by despair and madness, a state of mind that defines his existence as a Heroic Spirit.
In the context of the Holy Grail War, Lancelot is forcibly summoned into the Berserker class by the magus Kariya Matou. To compensate for Kariya’s lack of power, the summoning ritual is deliberately corrupted with an extra line of "madness" incantation, sealing away Lancelot’s reason and trapping him in a state of perpetual, rage-filled insanity. His personality, as seen through this madness, is one of pure, animalistic aggression. He does not speak and acts almost entirely on instinct, yet a haunting remnant of his former brilliance remains. His fighting style is a terrifying contradiction: a ferocious, beast-like onslaught executed with the flawless, peerless technique of the world's greatest knight. This is due to his skill, Eternal Arms Mastership, which allows him to utilize his full combat prowess even while mentally compromised.
Berserker's primary motivation, twisted by the haze of his madness, is an obsessive desire for punishment and absolution. He carries an unbearable burden of guilt for his betrayal of his king, whom he loved and revered above all. However, because King Arthur forgave him in life, he was never able to atone for his sins. This forgiveness became a curse, trapping him in an endless cycle of self-loathing. Therefore, he seeks out his king, now manifested as the Servant Saber, with the single-minded goal of forcing her to fight him. He does not seek victory, but rather to be judged, condemned, and ultimately destroyed by the very person he failed, hoping that death by her hand might finally grant him peace.
His role in the narrative is that of a formidable and chaotic force, as well as a dark mirror to Saber’s ideals. He first appears during the battle at the Mion River docks, single-handedly matching Archer's assault. Using his Noble Phantasm Knight of Owner, which allows him to turn any object he perceives as a weapon into his own personal Noble Phantasm, he catches and wields the weapons fired from the Gate of Babylon as if they were his own, demonstrating a terrifying tactical cunning that belies his madness. In later battles, he commandeers a modern fighter jet, corrupting it with his magical energy to become a monstrous draconic steed that can duel the divine Vimana. His most significant moments are always in proximity to Saber. When he sees her, he abandons all other objectives, driven solely by the need to confront her. This culminates in their final duel, where his helmet is shattered, revealing his face to Saber and forcing her to confront the painful legacy of her kingship.
His key relationships are defined by tragedy. His bond with his master, Kariya, is a desperate and unstable one; both are broken individuals using each other to achieve their impossible goals, and their partnership ultimately consumes Kariya from within. His relationship with Archer, Gilgamesh, is one of pure antagonism, as his ability to steal and wield the King of Heroes’ treasures is an unforgivable insult that enrages Gilgamesh. His central relationship is with Saber, his former king. She is both the object of his deepest love and the source of his unendurable guilt. For his part, Lancelot's madness and final moments force Saber to question her own reign, as she is horrified to learn that her most loyal knight was driven to despair not by her failures, but by her perfection and unwillingness to blame him.
Lancelot's development in Fate/Zero is largely a descent into revelation. For most of the story, he is an anonymous, black-armored monster. His development occurs when his identity is finally revealed. In his final moments, as his master dies and his mana supply is cut off, the madness recedes. He regains his sanity and speaks one last time with Saber. He confesses that her forgiveness was the greatest torment, for it left him no way to make amends. He laments that he wished for her to be a flawed, human king who would hate him, rather than the perfect, ideal king who could only forgive. He then dies content, finding a bitter solace in the fact that he perished in the arms of the king he had betrayed, finally receiving the judgment he craved.
Notable abilities stem from his legend and are augmented by his Mad Enhancement. His primary Noble Phantasm is Knight of Owner, which allows him to transform any weapon he touches into a D-rank Noble Phantasm under his control. This includes modern firearms, street lamps, and even the Noble Phantasms fired from Gate of Babylon. His secondary ability is For Someone's Glory, normally a cloaking device that shrouds his identity in black mist, but can be used with a Command Spell to allow him to perfectly disguise himself as another Servant. His final Noble Phantasm, which he only draws when his identity is exposed, is Arondight, the Unfading Light of the Lake. This is a holy sword equal to Excalibur, now classified as a demonic sword because he used it to kill a fellow knight. When he draws Arondight, all his other abilities are sealed, but every single one of his parameters is raised by one rank, and he gains bonus damage against any enemy with dragon attributes, making him a deadly threat to the dragon-blooded Saber.
Born and raised in France, Lancelot was orphaned as a child and raised by the Lady of the Lake, from whom he received his epithet and his magical sword, Arondight. Upon coming to Britain, he was immediately struck by the unwavering conviction of the young King Arthur, a figure he initially doubted. He became the king’s most trusted friend and the greatest of her knights, a paragon of chivalry known as the "knight of knights." However, this same romantic and passionate nature led him into a tragic love affair with Queen Guinevere. While the King's true identity as a woman was a secret, the affair was a political and moral catastrophe. When it was discovered, Lancelot slew several fellow knights during the Queen's rescue, an act of violence that shattered the unity of the Round Table and plunged the kingdom into civil war. After Arthur's death, Lancelot was consumed by despair and madness, a state of mind that defines his existence as a Heroic Spirit.
In the context of the Holy Grail War, Lancelot is forcibly summoned into the Berserker class by the magus Kariya Matou. To compensate for Kariya’s lack of power, the summoning ritual is deliberately corrupted with an extra line of "madness" incantation, sealing away Lancelot’s reason and trapping him in a state of perpetual, rage-filled insanity. His personality, as seen through this madness, is one of pure, animalistic aggression. He does not speak and acts almost entirely on instinct, yet a haunting remnant of his former brilliance remains. His fighting style is a terrifying contradiction: a ferocious, beast-like onslaught executed with the flawless, peerless technique of the world's greatest knight. This is due to his skill, Eternal Arms Mastership, which allows him to utilize his full combat prowess even while mentally compromised.
Berserker's primary motivation, twisted by the haze of his madness, is an obsessive desire for punishment and absolution. He carries an unbearable burden of guilt for his betrayal of his king, whom he loved and revered above all. However, because King Arthur forgave him in life, he was never able to atone for his sins. This forgiveness became a curse, trapping him in an endless cycle of self-loathing. Therefore, he seeks out his king, now manifested as the Servant Saber, with the single-minded goal of forcing her to fight him. He does not seek victory, but rather to be judged, condemned, and ultimately destroyed by the very person he failed, hoping that death by her hand might finally grant him peace.
His role in the narrative is that of a formidable and chaotic force, as well as a dark mirror to Saber’s ideals. He first appears during the battle at the Mion River docks, single-handedly matching Archer's assault. Using his Noble Phantasm Knight of Owner, which allows him to turn any object he perceives as a weapon into his own personal Noble Phantasm, he catches and wields the weapons fired from the Gate of Babylon as if they were his own, demonstrating a terrifying tactical cunning that belies his madness. In later battles, he commandeers a modern fighter jet, corrupting it with his magical energy to become a monstrous draconic steed that can duel the divine Vimana. His most significant moments are always in proximity to Saber. When he sees her, he abandons all other objectives, driven solely by the need to confront her. This culminates in their final duel, where his helmet is shattered, revealing his face to Saber and forcing her to confront the painful legacy of her kingship.
His key relationships are defined by tragedy. His bond with his master, Kariya, is a desperate and unstable one; both are broken individuals using each other to achieve their impossible goals, and their partnership ultimately consumes Kariya from within. His relationship with Archer, Gilgamesh, is one of pure antagonism, as his ability to steal and wield the King of Heroes’ treasures is an unforgivable insult that enrages Gilgamesh. His central relationship is with Saber, his former king. She is both the object of his deepest love and the source of his unendurable guilt. For his part, Lancelot's madness and final moments force Saber to question her own reign, as she is horrified to learn that her most loyal knight was driven to despair not by her failures, but by her perfection and unwillingness to blame him.
Lancelot's development in Fate/Zero is largely a descent into revelation. For most of the story, he is an anonymous, black-armored monster. His development occurs when his identity is finally revealed. In his final moments, as his master dies and his mana supply is cut off, the madness recedes. He regains his sanity and speaks one last time with Saber. He confesses that her forgiveness was the greatest torment, for it left him no way to make amends. He laments that he wished for her to be a flawed, human king who would hate him, rather than the perfect, ideal king who could only forgive. He then dies content, finding a bitter solace in the fact that he perished in the arms of the king he had betrayed, finally receiving the judgment he craved.
Notable abilities stem from his legend and are augmented by his Mad Enhancement. His primary Noble Phantasm is Knight of Owner, which allows him to transform any weapon he touches into a D-rank Noble Phantasm under his control. This includes modern firearms, street lamps, and even the Noble Phantasms fired from Gate of Babylon. His secondary ability is For Someone's Glory, normally a cloaking device that shrouds his identity in black mist, but can be used with a Command Spell to allow him to perfectly disguise himself as another Servant. His final Noble Phantasm, which he only draws when his identity is exposed, is Arondight, the Unfading Light of the Lake. This is a holy sword equal to Excalibur, now classified as a demonic sword because he used it to kill a fellow knight. When he draws Arondight, all his other abilities are sealed, but every single one of his parameters is raised by one rank, and he gains bonus damage against any enemy with dragon attributes, making him a deadly threat to the dragon-blooded Saber.