Did anyone truly emerge victorious in the Grail War of Fate/Stay Night?

The Holy Grail War in the Fate franchise is one of the most epic battle royales in all of fiction. It features powerful mages summoning heroic spirits, historical figures and mythological beings, to fight for the chance to obtain the Holy Grail, an artifact that can grant any wish. However, despite the high stakes and intense battles, it often feels like no one ever really wins. So the question remains, has anyone actually won the Holy Grail War?

To answer that question, we need to delve into the lore of the Fate universe. The Holy Grail War is just one expression of a much larger part of the fantasy universe created by Kinoko Nasu. In this world of modern magic hidden behind the scenes of the real world, all magi possess the same goal: to reach The Root, another name for the Akashic Records, a record of all things in existence. The Grail War is a ritual meant to reach the Root.

When the war started, it wasn’t actually a war at all. The First Grail War of 1810 was a meeting of three powerful mage families: The Tohsakas, the Matous, and the Einzberns, all familiar names to those who have played/read/watched Fate. They met to perform a ritual in order to reach the Root together but discovered that there could only be one winner. So there was no technical winner of the first “war,” save for the outside magi that were brought in to conduct the ritual, who granted their own wishes while the families argued. The ritual would recommence in 60 years, and it was an even bigger disaster. The Second Grail War of the 1860s was an unsupervised bloodbath that resulted in no winner once again.

Once it was clear that the Grail War couldn’t function unsupervised, the mages turned to the Holy Church, an enemy of the magi, who supervised to keep an eye on things. The threat of the Grail’s complex inner machinations is too dangerous not to keep a watchful eye on. As such, The Third Holy Grail War of the 1930s is considered the first true Grail War.

And even then, it was a disaster, as the Einzberns were so worried that they would lose that they manipulated the ritual to summon Angra Mainyu, a god of the Iranian faith of Zoroastrianism. For those who are out of date with their middle-eastern religious lore, it basically meant that they summoned an evil spirit to be their servant, and it messed everything up. By the time the Grail War was over, Angra Mainyu has been absorbed back into the grail once all was concluded and corrupted the entire thing. So if you’ve ever wondered why Servants in Fate stories that are historically evil are still referred to as “Heroic Spirits” it’s because the Grail was corrupted.

In 1994, the Fourth Holy Grail War is held, and so begins the events of Fate/Zero, where most anime audiences either got into the series or came off the heels of Fate/Stay Night. And while either Zero or Stay Night serves effectively as a reveal of the Grail’s true nature, Zero is not only set first but hammers home the tragedy of the War so well. Kiritsugu Emiya fought hard to defeat the other masters and his arch-rival Kirei Kotomine, but when he finally won the Grail, it wasn’t at all like he imagined. His altruistic wish of ending all conflict on earth proved impossible, at least how he imagined it. The Grail revealed that the wish could not be achieved through a method that Kiritsugu would find acceptable, and so it unleashed a destructive force upon the city, killing most of the participants and nearly destroying the entire city. Kiritsugu’s daughter, Illya, was the only survivor of the catastrophe.

This event would come to shape the entire Fate series, as the Holy Grail War becomes a recurring theme throughout each subsequent installment. But the aftermath of the Fourth War also sets the stage for the story of Fate/Stay Night, which follows the protagonist Shirou Emiya, Kiritsugu’s adopted son, as he becomes involved in the Fifth Holy Grail War.

The themes of sacrifice, tragedy, and morality continue to be explored throughout the Fate franchise, with each iteration offering a unique perspective and take on the Holy Grail War. But it all began with Fate/Zero, which not only established the world and rules of the series but also delivered a gripping and emotional story that still resonates with fans today.

In addition to the anime adaptations, the Fate franchise has expanded into numerous other media, including visual novels, manga, light novels, and video games. It has become a massive franchise with a dedicated fanbase, and it all started with the tragic tale of Kiritsugu Emiya in Fate/Zero.

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