TV-Series
Description
In the fifth Holy Grail War of Fate/stay night, the Servant summoned under the Assassin class is an irregular existence who stands as the solitary guardian of the Ryuudou Temple gate. This Assassin is a unique case, as he was not summoned by a standard Master but by the Servant Caster, who exploited a loophole in the war's rules. Because of this irregular summoning, he is bound to the temple's mountain gate and cannot move freely beyond its confines, serving as a permanent watchman. His true identity is the legendary Japanese swordsman Sasaki Kojirou, though this is a fabrication. He is not a true Heroic Spirit but rather a nameless wraith, an amalgamation of various forgotten swordsmen who matched the fictional legend of Kojirou. Upon being summoned, this wraith assumed the appearance, name, and peerless skills of the famed swordsman from Japanese folklore.
Physically, Assassin presents the figure of a traditional samurai. He has long indigo hair tied back into a ponytail and piercing indigo eyes. His attire consists of a light purple kimono and umanori hakama, worn under an indigo haori, with traditional geta on his feet. He carries his most distinctive feature on his back: the Monohoshi Zao, an exceptionally long Japanese sword measuring over one and a half meters in length. This weapon, sometimes mockingly referred to as a drying pole, requires immense skill to wield effectively.
The personality of this Assassin is one of quiet composure and deep-seated honor. He is a man who cares nothing for the Holy Grail or the ultimate prize of the war. His sole motivation is to enjoy a decent sword fight against a worthy opponent. He is often described as a refined, elegant man who appreciates the simple beauties of nature, such as flowers, birds, and the moon. Despite his class being Assassin, he despises underhanded tactics and always seeks a fair, head-on confrontation. He maintains a strong sense of bushido, the warrior's code, and is not the type to attack defenseless people. When he first meets Saber, he reveals his true name without hesitation, not out of naivete but because he believes such formalities are meaningless in a pure contest of skill. His general tone can be mocking and slightly arrogant, particularly towards his own master, Caster, whom he dislikes and refers to as a vixen. This disdain is mutual, and Caster is forced to use a Command Spell to ensure his obedience.
His role in the story is intrinsically tied to the location he protects. Because he cannot leave the temple gate, he functions solely as a barrier, a final line of defense preventing other Servants from entering Caster's stronghold. He has no grand ambition or personal stake in the war's outcome, which frees him to pursue his only real interest: testing his sword against powerful enemies. He willingly lets intruders pass if they provide him with an entertaining fight, and he has been known to halt combat prematurely if an outside party tries to interfere, preserving the purity of the duel.
Key relationships define his limited existence. His relationship with his master, Caster, is purely utilitarian and filled with mutual contempt. He obeys her command to guard the gate but openly mocks her and has stated he would kill her if given the chance. His most significant relationship is with Saber. He recognizes her as a kindred spirit, a fellow warrior of immense skill and honor. Their battles are not merely conflicts but mutual appreciations of technique. He respects her dedication to her master, Shirou Emiya, and allows them to leave the temple together out of respect for the moment. He also has a brief but memorable interaction with the heroic spirit Archer, whom he prevents from killing Shirou and Saber after a battle, simply because he dislikes Archer's demeanor.
Development for this character is subtle but present. He exists outside the normal rules, an artificial Heroic Spirit with no past and no future. His development is not a change in his personality but a deepening of his role as an observer of human and spiritual conflict. In the Unlimited Blade Works route, after Caster is killed, he stubbornly continues to exist, his body slowly fading due to lack of magical energy. He remains at his post not out of duty, but because he has nowhere else to go and nothing else he wishes to do. He forces a final, fatal duel with Saber, not to win, but to experience a true contest of skill one last time before disappearing. In the Heaven's Feel route, his story is more tragic; his body is brutally slaughtered by the shadow and then used as a catalyst to summon the True Assassin, effectively erasing him from existence.
His abilities are extraordinary and completely anomalous for the Assassin class, which is typically weak in direct combat. He is widely considered to possess the greatest pure swordsmanship among all the Servants in the fifth war, a skill level that surpasses even Saber's. His primary weapon is his inhuman speed and precision. He possesses a high-rank Mind's Eye (Fake), a form of sixth sense that allows him to predict danger and perceive his opponent's abilities instantly, even discerning the length and shape of Saber's invisible sword after only a few exchanges. His most notable ability, however, is his secret technique, Tsubame Gaeshi, or Swallow Reversal. This is not a Noble Phantasm in the traditional sense but a skill born from pure, obsessive training. It is a forbidden technique that defies physics, allowing him to strike his opponent from three different directions simultaneously. This creates a Multi-Dimensional Refraction Phenomenon, an effect that reaches the realm of True Magic. In practical terms, it is a perfect, unavoidable close-range attack that traps the enemy in a cage of blades coming from three angles at once. While he has the Presence Concealment skill typical of his class, its rank is low because he does not use it for stealth; rather, it is a byproduct of his martial arts state of empty mind, making him unnoticeable only when he is utterly still and passive.
Physically, Assassin presents the figure of a traditional samurai. He has long indigo hair tied back into a ponytail and piercing indigo eyes. His attire consists of a light purple kimono and umanori hakama, worn under an indigo haori, with traditional geta on his feet. He carries his most distinctive feature on his back: the Monohoshi Zao, an exceptionally long Japanese sword measuring over one and a half meters in length. This weapon, sometimes mockingly referred to as a drying pole, requires immense skill to wield effectively.
The personality of this Assassin is one of quiet composure and deep-seated honor. He is a man who cares nothing for the Holy Grail or the ultimate prize of the war. His sole motivation is to enjoy a decent sword fight against a worthy opponent. He is often described as a refined, elegant man who appreciates the simple beauties of nature, such as flowers, birds, and the moon. Despite his class being Assassin, he despises underhanded tactics and always seeks a fair, head-on confrontation. He maintains a strong sense of bushido, the warrior's code, and is not the type to attack defenseless people. When he first meets Saber, he reveals his true name without hesitation, not out of naivete but because he believes such formalities are meaningless in a pure contest of skill. His general tone can be mocking and slightly arrogant, particularly towards his own master, Caster, whom he dislikes and refers to as a vixen. This disdain is mutual, and Caster is forced to use a Command Spell to ensure his obedience.
His role in the story is intrinsically tied to the location he protects. Because he cannot leave the temple gate, he functions solely as a barrier, a final line of defense preventing other Servants from entering Caster's stronghold. He has no grand ambition or personal stake in the war's outcome, which frees him to pursue his only real interest: testing his sword against powerful enemies. He willingly lets intruders pass if they provide him with an entertaining fight, and he has been known to halt combat prematurely if an outside party tries to interfere, preserving the purity of the duel.
Key relationships define his limited existence. His relationship with his master, Caster, is purely utilitarian and filled with mutual contempt. He obeys her command to guard the gate but openly mocks her and has stated he would kill her if given the chance. His most significant relationship is with Saber. He recognizes her as a kindred spirit, a fellow warrior of immense skill and honor. Their battles are not merely conflicts but mutual appreciations of technique. He respects her dedication to her master, Shirou Emiya, and allows them to leave the temple together out of respect for the moment. He also has a brief but memorable interaction with the heroic spirit Archer, whom he prevents from killing Shirou and Saber after a battle, simply because he dislikes Archer's demeanor.
Development for this character is subtle but present. He exists outside the normal rules, an artificial Heroic Spirit with no past and no future. His development is not a change in his personality but a deepening of his role as an observer of human and spiritual conflict. In the Unlimited Blade Works route, after Caster is killed, he stubbornly continues to exist, his body slowly fading due to lack of magical energy. He remains at his post not out of duty, but because he has nowhere else to go and nothing else he wishes to do. He forces a final, fatal duel with Saber, not to win, but to experience a true contest of skill one last time before disappearing. In the Heaven's Feel route, his story is more tragic; his body is brutally slaughtered by the shadow and then used as a catalyst to summon the True Assassin, effectively erasing him from existence.
His abilities are extraordinary and completely anomalous for the Assassin class, which is typically weak in direct combat. He is widely considered to possess the greatest pure swordsmanship among all the Servants in the fifth war, a skill level that surpasses even Saber's. His primary weapon is his inhuman speed and precision. He possesses a high-rank Mind's Eye (Fake), a form of sixth sense that allows him to predict danger and perceive his opponent's abilities instantly, even discerning the length and shape of Saber's invisible sword after only a few exchanges. His most notable ability, however, is his secret technique, Tsubame Gaeshi, or Swallow Reversal. This is not a Noble Phantasm in the traditional sense but a skill born from pure, obsessive training. It is a forbidden technique that defies physics, allowing him to strike his opponent from three different directions simultaneously. This creates a Multi-Dimensional Refraction Phenomenon, an effect that reaches the realm of True Magic. In practical terms, it is a perfect, unavoidable close-range attack that traps the enemy in a cage of blades coming from three angles at once. While he has the Presence Concealment skill typical of his class, its rank is low because he does not use it for stealth; rather, it is a byproduct of his martial arts state of empty mind, making him unnoticeable only when he is utterly still and passive.