The Holy Grail War is a keyword in "Fate/stay night," and the protagonist, Emiya Shirou, is drawn to participate in it by a strange fate.
Holy Grail Wars are also held in spin-off works, and fierce battles are similarly waged there.
Even after hearing the details of the Holy Grail War in the main story, many mysteries remain.
In this article, we'll introduce what the Holy Grail War is, its history, and the various forms it takes in spin-off works, so be sure to check it out.
What kind of battle is the Holy Grail War?
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The story of "Fate/stay night" begins with the protagonist, Shirou Emiya, becoming embroiled in the Holy Grail War. But what is the Holy Grail that they are so desperate to obtain that they are willing to shed blood for it?
We will introduce the purpose of the Holy Grail War and its overview.
Additionally, while various works have been spin-offs of "Fate/stay night," the Holy Grail Wars do not follow the same rules or format; rather, they take on an entirely different form.
We will also summarize the content of the Holy Grail Wars in spin-off works, so be sure to read to the end.
A battle between seven Masters and Servants
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The Holy Grail War in the main story of "Fate/stay night" is also known as the "Fuyuki Holy Grail War." Seven Masters, chosen by the Holy Grail, summon Servants to battle for the Holy Grail.
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The seven summoned servants are Saber, Archer, Lancer, Rider, Caster, Berserker, and Assassin. Saber, Archer, and Lancer are particularly powerful classes, known as the Three Knights.
Additionally, Masters fight while controlling Servants, and they possess absolute command powers known as Command Spells, which allow them to make Servants carry out orders that are otherwise impossible to command, up to three times.
However, if the order is long-term or lacks specificity, the effect will be weakened, and Servants can disobey, although they will incur penalties.
Obtaining the Holy Grail will grant you a wish.
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In the Holy Grail War, Masters and Servants battle for the Holy Grail, but why do they pursue it?
The Holy Grail, also known as the "omnipotent cauldron" or "wish-granting device," has the power to make the wishes of whoever wields it come true, and each person fights to make their wish come true.
However, due to the events that occurred during the Third Holy Grail War, the Holy Grail lost its function as a wish-granting device, and the magical power it stores has become a deadly curse, making it a defective product.
The stagnant black mud is so strong that it distorts the personalities of even Servants with noble souls, and those who come into contact with the Holy Grail's curse will go into a runaway state where they display evil personalities, and fall into a blackened state.
The Three Great Families Who Created the Holy Grail War
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The three great families, the Einzbern, Tohsaka, and Matou families, have been involved in the Holy Grail War since its inception, and have played a role in formulating the detailed rules.
The Einzbern family prepared the vessels that would house the Holy Grail, the Tohsaka family provided the land where the Holy Grail War would be held and a system that represented the Servants, and the Matou family devised things like the Servant system and Command Spells.
It all started with each family cooperating with their own motives, but when conflicts broke out to monopolize the rights to the Holy Grail, they were met with repeated failure.
The Presence of an Overseer Watching Over the Holy Grail War
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The Holy Grail War eventually developed into a battle over the Holy Grail, leading both the Cathedral Church and the Magisterium to assign nominal overseers.
The Overseer's role in a Holy Grail War is to ensure the smooth running of the Holy Grail ritual, by arranging substitute magicians, covering up incidents that occur during battle, and protecting Masters who have lost Servants.
As their existence is purely formal, Masters participating in a Holy Grail War do not need to listen to what the Overseer has to say, and it is not a problem if they ignore them.
Furthermore, in previous Holy Grail Wars, Kotomine Risei served as Overseer in the Third and Fourth Holy Grail Wars, while Kotomine Kirei took on the role in the Fifth Holy Grail War.
History of Holy Grail Wars
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The Holy Grail War has a history of being held every 60 years, but we will touch on a brief history of the entire history.
We will be introducing the Holy Grail War in "Fate/stay night," and it has been revealed that five Holy Grail Wars have been held up until the start of the main story.
Let's take a look at the changes that led to the Fifth Holy Grail War.
First Holy Grail War
The first Holy Grail War, believed to have taken place around 1800, took place at Ryudou Temple. At the time, the Einzbern, Tohsaka, and Matou families had no intention of competing for the Holy Grail.
However, when it became clear that only one family could wield the Holy Grail, a conflict arose among the Three Great Families over its ownership.
Though everything went smoothly until the Servants were summoned, the absence of the Command Spell system led to chaos, including the event becoming uncontrollable, resulting in a failed ritual.
Unfortunately, no images exist.
Second Holy Grail War
The Second Holy Grail War, held around 1860, saw the establishment of the rules for the Holy Grail War, including the Command Spells, and finally saw the formation of the Holy Grail War.
The war was to be held at the Tohsaka residence, and only the three Great Families were scheduled to compete for the fate of the Holy Grail, but when an invited outside magician learned of the relationship between the three Great Families, he intruded and a battle between seven pairs ensued.
However, the battle ended without a winner being decided, and the second Holy Grail War also ended in failure.
Unfortunately, there are no images of this one yet.
The Third Holy Grail War
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The Holy Grail War took place around 1930, just before World War II, and the Imperial Army and the Nazis intervened, resulting in fierce fighting in the imperial capital.
Even more detailed rules were established than in the Second Holy Grail War, and the Mage's Church and the Cathedral Church also intervened, appointing overseers to ensure a fair Holy Grail War.
The Holy Grail War ended in void when the Holy Grail vessel was destroyed mid-battle, but it was at this time that the Einzberns summoned Avenger Servants.
As a result, the Holy Grail became tainted with "all the evil of the world" and lost its function as a wish-granting device.
The Fourth Holy Grail War
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The story of "Fate/Zero" depicts the Fourth Holy Grail War, which took place in Fuyuki City around November 1994.
The fourth Holy Grail War saw its first winner, but the victor destroyed the Holy Grail, causing the ritual to fail.
After the Holy Grail War ended, Emiya Kiritsugu installed a mechanism in the earth's veins that would allow him to destroy the Greater Holy Grail.
However, at the same time as the Holy Grail War ended, the Great Fuyuki Catastrophe occurred, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people.
Fifth Holy Grail War
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The Holy Grail War is normally held every 60 years. However, this one was held just 10 years after the Fourth Holy Grail War, leaving remnants of the previous one.
The Holy Grail War told in "Fate/stay night" features some of the strongest Servants ever, and the average age of Masters is also younger.
A major feature of the Fifth Holy Grail War is that the Greater Holy Grail was destroyed, meaning that no future Holy Grail Wars would be held.
The destruction of the Greater Holy Grail is depicted in "Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel," but in other routes, the Greater Holy Grail is also destroyed by a trap set by Emiya Kiritsugu.
The Holy Grail War in Fuyuki concludes with Tohsaka Rin and Lord El-Melloi II
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A new battle breaks out when those who seek to steal the Greater Holy Grail abandoned in Fuyuki appear.
Due to conflicts with a section of the Mage's Church plotting to revive the Greater Holy Grail, the turmoil escalated to a scale comparable to that of the Holy Grail War.
However, in 2010, Rin Tohsaka and Lord El-Melloi II conducted the dissolution of the Holy Grail War, ultimately completely dismantling the Greater Holy Grail and bringing the history of the Fuyuki Holy Grail War to a close.
About Other Holy Grail Wars
The "Fate" series has spawned numerous spin-off works, each featuring different characters and Servants.
The same is true for Holy Grail Wars; the Holy Grail War in "Fate/stay night" is called the "Fuyuki Holy Grail War," and the names and titles change in spin-off works.
Here, we'll highlight Holy Grail Wars that have taken place in spin-off works of the "Fate" series so far and introduce the types of battles that have unfolded.
False Holy Grail War
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"Fate/Strange Fake" is a spinoff novel written by Ryogo Narita, the creator of the "Durarara!!" series, and has since been treated as an official side story.
Someone is recreating the Fuyuki Holy Grail War in Snowfield, USA, but because it is an incomplete imitation, certain classes are missing, and Servants that should never have been summoned are summoned, resulting in a bizarre battle.
The False Holy Grail War also has a time limit, lasting for seven days after the six "primers" for the initial summoning are gathered.
The Servants each act with their own motives, and with "something" possessing power greater than that of a Heroic Spirit being summoned, the False Holy Grail War reaches a state of extreme chaos.
Moon Cell Holy Grail War
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Set in the fictional world of spiritual particles known as "SE.RA.PH (Seraph)," the Moon Cell Holy Grail War is a battle for the Holy Grail, the "Moon Cell Automaton," modeled after the "Fuyuki Holy Grail War."
This Holy Grail War takes place in the game "Fate/EXTRA," in which over 100 Servants compete in a tournament that continues until only one survivor is decided.
The Servants that appear are summoned heroes from historical time, whether they actually existed or not.
The world of "Fate/EXTRA" takes place on a completely different timeline from the main story of "Fate/stay night," and is set in a parallel world that originated in the 1970s.
Fate/EXTRA CCC and Fate/EXTELLA are sequels to the game.
Teito Seihai Kitan
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The Holy Grail War that took place in "Fate/KOHA-ACE Teito Seihai Kitan" occurred after the Third Holy Grail War ended with Archer's victory, when the Holy Grail suddenly disappeared and reappeared.
The main participating forces are the Third German Reich and the Imperial Army, with the Great Three Houses of Tohsaka, Matou, and Einzbern, who are involved in the Holy Grail War, not participating due to being exhausted from the Third Holy Grail War.
The Imperial Capital Holy Grail Tale is set in a Holy Grail War that takes place two years after the Third Holy Grail War, resulting in a timeline discrepancy.
Also, because the event is held in Japan, the Servants that appear are often Japanese warlords and patriots from the end of the Edo period, such as Okita Souji, Oda Nobunaga, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, with settings based on historical facts added.
Holy Grail War
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The Holy Grail War that takes place in the story of "Fate/Apocrypha," a spinoff novel of "Fate/stay night."
This Holy Grail War began after the Third Holy Grail War, when the Nazis stole the Greater Holy Grail of Fuyuki, causing the Einzberns to summon the Ruler instead of the Avengers.
The battle, which takes place in Trifas, Romania, is a team battle between the Ruler, who will guide the Holy Grail War in the right direction, and seven + seven Servants, divided into the Black and Red camps.
While the Holy Grail War is a team battle, only one team can obtain the Holy Grail, so if one team is defeated, a second battle will begin between the allies.
Subspecies Holy Grail War
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"Subspecies Holy Grail War" refers to the small-scale Holy Grail Wars that occurred frequently over a decade before the events of "Fate/Apocrypha."
The scale of the battle is also extremely small, with sometimes only two Servants being summoned and sometimes only five, and this Holy Grail War has been plagued by various failures.
Subspecies Holy Grail Wars are made possible by inferior rituals, which means that Servants summoned using the inferior Holy Grails have many problems, with some rebelling against their Masters and others refusing to be summoned.
Furthermore, in the case of the Holy Grail in Greece, a battle between magicians over the Heracles Catalyst took place before the Holy Grail War, and there have been cases where the Holy Grail War has concluded before the actual Grail War begins, or where the battle has been decided by a battle between the magicians themselves.
A Summary of the Holy Grail War, the Origin of the Story
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The Holy Grail War, where the various motives of Masters and Servants intertwine, not only unfolds with numerous fierce battles, but also contains a hidden drama beyond imagination.
Additionally, including spin-off works, there are a huge number of servants, and the appeal of the Fate series lies in the array of fascinating characters.
The main story, Fate/stay night, is made up of three episodes, each of which ends in a different way, but the spin-off works also have highlights that are not found in the main series, so be sure to check them out.
We encourage you to check out the Holy Grail Wars in each story and experience the appeal of the Fate series on a deeper level.
