"Fate/Zero" is a work that depicts the Fourth Holy Grail War that took place 10 years before the main story "Fate/stay night", and features eight Masters and eight Servants. Today we will be introducing Matou Kariya and his Servant "Berserker", including his true identity and how he is portrayed in the work.
Source: Fate Zero ©Nitroplus TYPE-MOON・ufotable・FSNPC
Profile of Matou Kariya
Source: Fate Zero ©Nitroplus TYPE-MOON・ufotable・FSNPC
He is the younger brother of Matou Tsuruno, the head of the Matou family at the time of the Fourth Holy Grail War, but is not a legitimate Matou magician. He is the master of Berserker. Although his magical abilities are superior to his brother's, he hated Matou magic and ran away from home 11 years ago. During his time on the run, he made a living as a freelance reporter.
Values unbecoming of a magician
Thus, even though he was born a magician, he is an ordinary person in terms of values and sensibilities, and hates the unique way of thinking and pride of magicians. Since he has not lived as a magician, he is happy and respects a very ordinary life and family. Therefore, he is at odds with magicians who decide the life of their children based on their innate magical abilities rather than on their personalities.
Qualifications to participate in the Holy Grail War
Source: Fate Zero ©Nitroplus TYPE-MOON・ufotable・FSNPC
After negotiating with Matou Zouken, he promises to participate in the Holy Grail War as the Master and bring back the Holy Grail in exchange for freeing Sakura from Matou's horrible magic. He trained in magic, which he hated, and underwent treatment with the seal insect to make up for his missing magic circuits, and even though his body became like that of a dead person, he barely qualified to be a master.
Reasons for participating in the Holy Grail War
Source: Fate Zero ©Nitroplus TYPE-MOON・ufotable・FSNPC
He was a childhood friend of Aoi Tohsaka, Tohsaka Tokiomi's wife, and secretly had feelings for her, but he stepped aside, convinced that Tohsaka Tokiomi was the one who could make her happy. For this reason, he congratulated Tokiomi and Aoi when they got married. However, looking at his behavior during the Fourth Holy Grail War, it seems certain that deep down he had not been able to let go of his feelings for Aoi.
Liberation and Revenge
Source: Fate Zero ©Nitroplus TYPE-MOON・ufotable・FSNPC
However, he learns that Tokiomi and Aoi's daughter, Matou Sakura, has been adopted by the Matou family as the successor and is undergoing torture-like training in magic. Feelings of envy and jealousy towards Tokiomi, who has things that she doesn't have, build up within her, and she hopes that he will make Aoi happy, but since Tokiomi is also a magician, the betrayal of her expectations triggers her to express her hatred. Feeling guilty and filled with long-held hatred towards Tokiomi, she vows to participate in the Holy Grail War in order to free Sakura and get revenge on Tokiomi.
Matou Kariya's abilities
Source: Fate Zero ©Nitroplus TYPE-MOON・ufotable・FSNPC
With guidance from Zouken (not sure if that can be called magic), he uses magic to control insects. His trump card is the control of a swarm of carnivorous insects called "winged insects" that can even crunch beef bones. However, since bugs are weak against fire, they are a terrible matchup against Tokiomi, who is good at fire magic.
The price of summoning Berserker
Source: Fate Zero ©Nitroplus TYPE-MOON・ufotable・FSNPC
Because he is a half-baked magician and has a Berserker that consumes a lot of magical power, his magical situation is always tight. Furthermore, using magic comes at the cost of over-exciting the marking insects and destroying the wearer's own body. In other words, just using magic is painful enough to literally make the wearer vomit blood. In the truest sense, this magician is "always living in danger of death."
A tragic love-hate drama
Source: Fate Zero ©Nitroplus TYPE-MOON・ufotable・FSNPC
Kirei tempts Kariya by telling him he will have a chance to face Tokiomi, and leads him to the church. So Kariya goes into the church and finds Tokiomi, and exclaims, "Did you think you'd kill me, Tokiomi?! But you were wrong! I'll do it again and again until I get my revenge...!!" He becomes enraged and grabs him, but Tokiomi is already a corpse and collapses without a sound on the spot. Kariya is shocked by Tokiomi's completely changed appearance. Then Aoi appears, apparently having come at Kirei's request, and seeing what happens, Kariya mistakenly believes that Kariya has killed his husband.
A Trap
Source: Fate Zero ©Nitroplus TYPE-MOON・ufotable・FSNPC
"Are you satisfied... Kariya-kun? Now the Holy Grail is practically in Matou's hands..." Aoi cries and speaks in a trembling voice. Kariya has feelings for Aoi. However, when he sees Aoi shedding tears for the hateful Tokiomi, he becomes stunned and begins to become confused. "It's not... I'm not... I'm... I..." Kariya desperately tries to speak, but Aoi cries and pleads further.
Aoi has everything taken away from him
Source: Fate Zero ©Nitroplus TYPE-MOON・ufotable・FSNPC
"Why...? Is it not enough that you just took Sakura from me...? Of all people, you would kill this person right in front of me... Why!?" Kariya, growing even more confused, pointed at Tokiomi and said, "If only he... if only that man hadn't existed... no one would have had to suffer. Even Aoi-san... even Sakura-chan... they could have been happy..."
Poor Kariya
Source: Fate Zero ©Nitroplus TYPE-MOON・ufotable・FSNPC
At that moment, Aoi, whose reason was burned away by Kariya's words, cried and screamed as if she was spitting blood. Blowing away Kariya's reason, the next moment he grabbed Aoi with a scream and strangled him. Then, when he came to his senses, he saw Aoi with her eyes wide open and motionless, and ran off somewhere.
What is Matou Kariya's Servant?
Source: Fate Zero ©Nitroplus TYPE-MOON・ufotable・FSNPC
A Berserker Servant summoned by Matou Kariya in the Fourth Holy Grail War. A mysterious knight clad in a black full plate covered in scars. Even after going mad, he still possesses extraordinary abilities that have not diminished his original martial arts skills. He shows an intense attachment to Saber, and if he sees her, he will defy his Master's control and attack her.
Reason for summoning Berserker
Source: Fate Zero ©Nitroplus TYPE-MOON・ufotable・FSNPC
The reason Berserker was summoned was to cover the difference in strength between Kariya, who became a master as a so-called instant magician, and most of the other masters who were legitimate magicians. That was the apparent reason, but in reality, it seems that Zouken Matou, who gave the order to grant Kariya the "Madness" ability, had him choose Berserker simply as a sadistic desire to make Kariya suffer through intense magical consumption. Zouken never thought that Karya would win, and was actually surprised that he was one of the last four remaining.
Berserker's true identity
Source: Fate Zero ©Nitroplus TYPE-MOON・ufotable・FSNPC
His true identity is one of Saber's former subordinates, the Knights of the Round Table. The Knight of the Lake and the traitorous knight "Lancelot". After Guinevere's infidelity was exposed, he was chased away from his position as a Knight of the Round Table, and was disgraced for playing a part in the downfall of Britain. Even after becoming a Heroic Spirit, he was unable to completely let go of his feelings of regret and hatred, and responded to the summons for the Fourth Holy Grail War because it allowed him to "go mad."
Berserker's Abilities
Source: Fate Zero ©Nitroplus TYPE-MOON・ufotable・FSNPC
Thanks to the skill "Infinite Martial Arts", he is able to demonstrate the highest level of skill among the Knights of the Round Table without being affected by "Madness", which causes the loss of reason. In the original work, he is said to be a knight who surpasses King Arthur, so his skills are top-notch. However, thanks to his "Madness Enhancement" his fuel consumption is extremely poor, which causes problems for Kariya, who has a low amount of magical power. His many talents and qualities have made his specs go beyond high specs and reach the level of cheating.
Noble Phantasm "Not for My Own Glory (For Someone Glory)"
Source: Fate Zero ©Nitroplus TYPE-MOON・ufotable・FSNPC
This ability embodies the story of Lancelot, who performed many heroic feats while disguised as another person. He conceals his true identity by wrapping himself in a black mist, and the details of his armor are blurred in layers, making it impossible to grasp his exact form. The reason why Saber, who knew him from his past life, did not realize his true identity until the end of the game was largely due to the effect of this Noble Phantasm.
Noble Phantasm: Knight of Owner
Source: Fate Zero ©Nitroplus TYPE-MOON・ufotable・FSNPC
This ability is the embodiment of an episode in which he was caught in a trap and forced to fight unarmed, but won with only an elm branch he picked up. He takes control of any weapon he holds in his hands, bestowing it with the attributes of his own Noble Phantasm and using it freely. Whatever weapon or weapon it is, the moment he holds it in his hands it becomes a Noble Phantasm equivalent to D rank, and if it is a Noble Phantasm that is originally of a higher rank, it will be placed under Berserker's control at its normal rank.
The tragic end of both Master and Servant
Source: Fate Zero ©Nitroplus TYPE-MOON・ufotable・FSNPC
I endure the pain, thinking that I have endured it all this time. I feel like there was something else, but when I try to remember it, the pain hits me, so I guess there must be a reason I shouldn't think about it. Even if I feel something fatally important is failing, I am interrupted by the pain. After Berserker was defeated, his mind was as worn down as his body, but he returned to the Matou Mansion with the sole desire to "save Sakura," and died in front of Sakura, muttering delirious words until the very end, leaving a contented smile on his face.
The End of Berserker
Source: Fate Zero ©Nitroplus TYPE-MOON・ufotable・FSNPC
In the final battle with Saber, he finally revealed his true face and used his Noble Phantasm-ized firearms and Arondight to overwhelm her, who had lost her will to fight, but his master's magical power was depleted and he destroyed himself. When he was unable to move, Saber unconsciously stabbed him, causing a fatal wound and defeat. Just before he was destroyed, the curse of madness was lifted, and he returned to his senses, finished talking about his feelings, and fell asleep peacefully in Artoria's arms.
Summary
If Shirou, the protagonist of the main story, had been in the same position as Kariya, he would have acted exactly the same way. However, I also think that Kariya is not wrong, but to be honest, I cannot agree with the fact that the ratio of reasons suddenly changed from saving Sakura to taking revenge on Tokiomi. Also, Berserker's feelings towards Saber were not depicted in detail in the anime, so if you want to know more, please read the original work.
