This time, we'll be introducing the riders.
We'll be introducing Astolfo, one of the most popular servants in Fate/Apocrypha!
Please read to the end!
Black Rider
Profile
Real Name: Astolfo
Gender: Male ("???" in FGO)
Height: 164cm
Weight: 56kg
Measurements: B71/W59/H73
Attributes: Chaos, Good
Source: Legend of Charlemagne
Region: France
Image Color: Rose Pink
Special Skill: Superhuman Strength
Likes: Everything in this world
Dislikes: Creatures that appeal with moist eyes
Natural Enemy: None
CV: Rumi Okubo
Overview
A Servant summoned as a Rider for the Black Faction in "Fate/Apocrypha."
His Master is the dark magician Serenice Icecol Yggdmillennia.
A beautiful androgynous boy dressed in flashy attire who could easily be mistaken for a beautiful girl.
He enjoys materializing and frequently hangs out in the castle town, but seems to be fed up with his Master, who constantly summons him and showers him with perverse affection.
While wandering the castle grounds, he accidentally discovers and protects an escaped homunculus, but this incident later escalates into a situation that shakes up the Holy Grail War.
Character Profile
He appears as a boyish, beautiful girl with pink hair, but is actually male. He is a so-called "male daughter," and while he has a delicate build, his bones are clearly male.
He is also often treated as a girl throughout the story, and even mischievously blacks out the gender field on his status screen.
He is an innocent, cheerful, and lively boy. He is extremely optimistic, and despite his many past failures and defeats, he does not consider them "failures." Being used as a plaything by his Master, Serenice, is a humiliation that would be unbearable for an ordinary Servant, but he silently endures it (and doesn't seem particularly bothered), demonstrating his mental toughness.
However, he is also carefree, as the description "his reason has evaporated." He often accidentally calls his fellow Black comrades by their real names, even if it's just him introducing himself.
On the other hand, he also possesses the heroic qualities of standing up to powerful foes and lending a hand when asked for help.
True Name
Astolfo is the son of the King of England and one of Charlemagne's Twelve Braves.
The description of his character, "his reason has evaporated," is not a metaphor; even the original text already describes his state. It's likely that the glass vial Serenice used to summon him contained his reason itself.
In "Mad Orlando," he appears with a vial full of Roland's reason, along with a vial half full of his own. It's said that he restored Roland to his senses, making him incredibly intelligent for a while, surprising those around him...but then he reverts to his old self.
He says that his cross-dressing is an act of God to calm his friend Roland's madness, but for some reason he continues to dress as a woman even though Roland is no longer with us. According to the author, "I don't like cross-dressing, I just like cute things."
By the way, while everyone focuses on his relationship with Roland, in the original work he forges friendships and becomes close friends with the Saracen knight Rogero, who later becomes one of the Twelve Braves, the female knight Bradamante, Charlemagne's niece, and Rogero's sister, Empress Malfisa, during their adventures.
He is a handsome boy who is loved by everyone, but he is a "weak" knight in terms of ability. He is also a second-rate Servant.
However, he doesn't care about this at all, and with his natural positive attitude and good fortune, he embarks on many adventures and obtains numerous Noble Phantasms during his lifetime. He has no particular attachment to the treasures he acquires, and is happy to part with them if someone begs for him or asks for his help. He possesses a true heroic disposition.
Abilities
A hero who has traveled the world and created many legends, he possesses a wide variety of Noble Phantasms and Magical Instruments, including horns, books, phantom horses (hippogriffs), and golden jousting lances. This makes him the type of Heroic Spirit whose true name is not a problem even if known. However, in the story, he restrains his abilities for certain reasons.
In other classes, for some reason, it corresponds to Saber.
Noble Phantasm: Touch and Fall! (Trap of Argalia)
A golden jousting lance favored by Prince Argalia of Katai.
As its name suggests, it knocks anyone who touches it to the ground. When used against Servants, it forces only the target's feet to become spirit form, preventing them from materializing.
This effect inflicts a negative status effect, making it impossible for the victim to recover for a while, and it ignores defenses such as armor.
While it is in some ways a "sure-kill" Noble Phantasm, as evidenced by his lack of Lancer class aptitude, his own spearmanship is hardly masterful, so it will only hit superior opponents if he attacks unexpectedly.
Inherited from a certain witch, this book contains methods for defeating all magic.
It is an excellent tool that grants A-rank magic resistance simply by possessing it, and if its true name is unlocked, it can even defeat powerful magic...but he has completely forgotten its true name. The name "Universal Magic Strategy Manual" is a rather arbitrary one.
Noble Phantasm: Otherworldly Phantom Horse (Hippogriff)
It can sprint through the sky at high speeds, and its charge is equivalent to an A-rank physical attack.
Furthermore, by unlocking its true name, the Hippogriff, an "impossible" being, is sublimated from this dimension and erased from existence.
So, just before it completely disappears, a real-life "rider" can pull it back into the original world, causing it to disappear for just a moment before reappearing. For the brief moment it disappears from this world, it becomes possible to escape all observation and nullify attacks.
Rider of Red
Profile
True Name: Achilles
Height: 185cm
Weight: 97kg
Attributes: Order, Moderation
Image Colors: White-Green
Special Skills: All skills necessary for a hero
Likes: Victory and the smiles of beautiful women
Weaknesses: Fate
Natural Enemies: Hector, Penthesilea
CV: Makoto Furukawa
Overview
One of the Servants appearing in "Fate/Apocrypha."
Summoned as a "Rider" belonging to the Red Faction.
A handsome man clad in silver light armor. He's a free-spirited young man who will openly ignore even the king's orders if he doesn't like them.
However, he is loyal and hates cowardly behavior. He's a hero who will turn an entire army against an enemy general for the sake of his defeated friend. He's content with just his one and only friend in the world, and the woman he loves, and he remains cheerful even as he dies.
Character Profile
He has a fierce temperament and will thoroughly crush anyone he recognizes as an enemy, but he shows leniency toward those he once recognizes as allies or "good guys." He's a "heroic" character, in both good and bad ways.
He enjoys giving his all in battles against formidable foes, and although he boasts of his extraordinary immortality, he prefers to be defeated, and he eagerly seeks to fight worthy opponents who can injure him.
Although he ultimately accepted a change of master for his own wish (Apocrypha main story), he seems to dislike the act of betrayal itself, and even when he never met his original master, he expresses his unwillingness to betray his master.
True Name
His true name is Achilles, the great hero known as "Fleet Achilles" in the epic poem "Iliad."
In Greek mythology, he is a great hero comparable to Hercules. His parents are the hero Peleus and the goddess Thetis. He is known worldwide as the strongest warrior in the Trojan War.
Wish for the Holy Grail
His wish for the Holy Grail remains the same as in life: to "act as a hero." While he has no regrets about the events of his past life, such as his past battles and the destruction he suffered by rebelling against God, there are countless things he wants to try in this life, so he is not completely uninterested in a "second life." However, for him, the promise he made to his mother, "Live as a hero, die as a hero," is the most fundamental premise of his life.
Abilities
Thanks to the blessings of the Olympian gods, his body is invulnerable to attacks by those without "Divinity," and can easily withstand direct hits from anti-military Noble Phantasms of at least A rank.
In "Apocrypha," the opposing Black faction's only divinity holder is his master, Chiron, and it's said that without Chiron, the Black faction would have been doomed.
Despite being a "cavalry" class, his skills are first-rate, and in close combat he can single-handedly take on multiple opponents by simultaneously wielding the "Hero-Killing Spear" and the sword slung at his waist. His skills are so high that it wouldn't be surprising if he were summoned as a "Spearman."
As legend has it, he boasts overwhelming agility, surpassing even Lancer, the fastest Servant, and Archer of Red, one of the most agile in Greece. His speed is so great he is mistaken for teleportation, and his speed makes everything within his field of vision seem within his reach.
His attack speed and maneuverability are also unmatched, so much so that even Chiron cannot catch his attacks, and he can only match them with a combination of his experience as a master and his Mind's Eye, which allows him to predict the future.
Noble Phantasm: Immortal Chariot of Raging Storms (Troias Tragoidea)
A three-horse chariot said to have been driven by Achilles on the battlefield.
The chariot is made up of two immortal divine horses, Xanthos and Balius, bestowed by the sea god Poseidon, and the famous horse Pedasus, stolen during an attack on the city of Aetion.
Simply dashing, he crushes the battlefield, pulverizes enemy formations with the force of a jackhammer, and soars into the sky.
He deals additional damage in proportion to his speed. At top speed, even a jumbo jet can be instantly dismantled.
Noble Phantasm: Comet Run (Dromeus Cometes)
Legend of Achilles, "the swiftest of all heroes of all time."
This constant-activation Noble Phantasm is activated by dismounting from the "Immortal Chariot of Raging Storms." He sprints across the vast battlefield in a single breath, undeterred even by obstacles on the field.
While his Achilles tendon, his weak spot, is exposed, few heroes can match Achilles' speed. Destroying his heel destroys this Noble Phantasm and reduces his speed by approximately 70%.
Noble Phantasm: Achilles' Cosmos, a Small World Surrounding the Blue Sky
This large shield, representing "the world itself," was crafted by his mother, Thetis, at the request of the blacksmith god Hephaestus. Its entire surface is engraved with incredibly intricate designs.
By unleashing his True Name, a tiny world engraved on the shield unfolds, blocking attacks with a single "world itself." Although not used in the film, Achilles can also use this Noble Phantasm offensively. After unfolding the Noble Phantasm, he charges forward, crushing his opponent in the tiny world.
Introducing the Rider of Black and the Rider of Red: Conclusion
Thank you for reading to the end.
Next time, we'll introduce the character stars.
Please tune in!
