Famous Quotes from Fate/Zero and What They Mean

Fate/Zero is more than just a dark fantasy show. It is memorable because it focuses on a clash of different ideas. The story moves forward because characters are forced to fight for their beliefs.

The show's main conflict is between being an honorable hero and being a practical person who does whatever it takes to win. The tragedy is that every character is completely dedicated to their own ideals. When these strong beliefs collide, it only leads to despair.

Kiritsugu Emiya: Quotes from a Broken Hero

Kiritsugu Emiya, known as the "Magus Killer," is at the center of the show's main conflict. He is an anti-hero who believes the final outcome is all that matters. He believed in his ideals more than anyone, and they completely broke him.

His Ideas on Justice and Sacrifice

Kiritsugu's way of thinking isn't about convenience, it's about making hard choices. He is willing to do things that traditional heroes refuse to do. This makes him who he is.

• “Shirou, saving one person means not saving another .”
  • This one line is the key to how he sees the world. For Kiritsugu, saving someone is an active choice to let someone else die. His idea of justice isn't about good versus evil, but about saving the most lives .
• "Justice can not save the world. I don't think it's possible to save everyone. I just want to save as many as I can."
  • Here, he rejects the idea of being a knight in shining armor. He thinks ideas like "justice" are useless when a tough choice has to be made. His goal is not to be a good person, but to get the best result .
• "Six billion people... or two members of my family. I will kill you. And I will save the world."
  • This is like the famous "trolley problem," where you have to choose who to sacrifice. Kiritsugu is defined by his choice to always save the larger group, even if it means sacrificing his own wife and child. But the Holy Grail shows him this logic fails, because there's always a new small group to sacrifice, over and over again.

His Views on Despair and War

Kiritsugu's cynical attitude isn't what drives him. It is the scar tissue that formed over his pure, broken dreams.

• "You heard her, Iri. Our Heroic Spirit Saber over there considers a battlefield to be better than Hell. What a joke. A battlefield is Hell itself. There's no hope on the battlefield. There is nothing but unspeakable despair."
  • This is his sharpest criticism of Saber's romantic view of war. He has to believe this. If war is anything other than pure evil, then his own cruel methods are not necessary, they are just evil .
• "As long as people don't repent and don't regard it as the most evil taboo, then hell will endlessly reappear in the world... The true nature of humanity has not advanced a step beyond the Stone Age."
  • This quote explains why he dislikes Saber so much. He sees her honor not as a good thing, but as a dangerous lie that keeps the cycle of violence going. In his eyes, she is part of the problem.
• “Curse you… Emiya Kiritsugu… I will never, forgive you…!” “That is fine.” … “That is all right. Like I said, I will bear you.”
  • In this moment, he accepts that he is damned for his actions. He has already sacrificed his own soul for his ideals. He accepts the world's hatred as the price he has to pay for his choices.

Saber (Artoria Pendragon): Quotes on Honor and Regret

Saber stands for the ideal of a knight who follows a strict code of honor . Her beliefs are all about duty, honor, and a deep sense of regret for her failures as a king.

Her Beliefs on Honor

Saber's main problem is her strict code of conduct. This puts her in direct conflict with her own Master, Kiritsugu, who is very practical.

• "I will never forgive you."
  • She says this to Kiritsugu after he tricks Lancer into taking his own life. For Kiritsugu, it was a smart move to get rid of two enemies. To Saber, it was a cowardly act that ruined a fair fight and stained her pride.
• "Of what worth is a king who fails to protect the powerless?"
  • This quote sums up her way of thinking. Saber believes how you do something matters more than the result. A victory won through cheating is not a real victory at all.
• "The weight of my sword is the weight of my pride."
  • Saber's identity is tied to her code of honor. Many fans feel this view of Saber is one-sided and not true to her character from the original series. In Fate/Zero, her honor is often shown as a weakness to make other characters look better.

Her Ideas about Being a King

Saber's view of being a king is not about glory. It is about selfless sacrifice and martyrdom .

• "Since a king must be a martyr to their ideals."
  • This is Saber's core belief about leadership. She thinks a king should be a perfect example who serves the kingdom. A king must push down all their personal feelings and desires.
• "Everything she was saying was the idea of a 'good king'."
  • During a debate with other kings, Saber defends the ideal of a selfless, good king. She wants the Holy Grail so she can redo her time as king. She believes someone else could have done a better job.
• "There are no regrets. If one can be proud of one's life, one should not wish for another chance."
  • This quote is from her future self, and it shows how her character eventually grows. In Fate/Zero, she is the opposite of this and is defined by regret. Rider criticizes her for this, saying that by regretting her rule, she insults the people who followed her.

Rider (Iskandar): Quotes about Living a Big Life

Rider, also known as Alexander the Great, is the heart of the show. His philosophy is the opposite of Saber's self-sacrifice and Kiritsugu's sad, practical view. He believes in living a full life , being a strong leader , and having no regrets .

Living Life to the Fullest

Rider's loud personality is a direct part of his philosophy. You can see this most clearly in how he mentors his young Master, Waver Velvet.

• "To do exactly as you please, that is the secret of life."
  • This simple line shows his worldview. To Rider, "conquest" is not about controlling others. It is the best way to show you are truly living .
• He "lectures him about how he should have more confidence... that Waver may not have had the best luck in his life but still has the chance to go far beyond what he could imagine.”
  • Rider's philosophy is to "be bold." He doesn't just talk about it, he lives it. He helps turn Waver from a shy, insecure boy into a confident man .
• "Glory lies beyond the horizon. Challenge the unattainable. Speak of conquest and make it real."
  • This is what drives him. The relationship between Rider and Waver is the only healthy one between a Master and Servant in the show. This proves that his philosophy of inspiring others actually works.

What Makes a True King

Rider's most powerful lines are from the "Banquet of Kings" scene. He tears down Saber's ideas about leadership and presents his own.

• "A king without greed is even worse than a figurehead! Saber. You said you would become a martyr for your ideals... But who can truly admire the martyr's thorny path? Who dreams of such an ending?"
  • He rejects her idea of sacrifice because it's not inspiring. He argues that a saint cannot be a king. A king must be someone that people desire to be like .
• "A King…The king must be greedier than any other. He must laugh louder and rage harder. He must exemplify the extreme of all things, good and evil. That is why his retainers envy and adore him."
  • This is his main point. Being a king isn't a job, it's about having a powerful will. A king inspires people to follow because they are so full of life.
• "You only saved your subjects, not lead them. You left them alone, when they needed you the most, following your little ideals. You were hence not a king, but a little girl."
  • This is his final summary of her failure as a king. She saved her people but did not lead them. To lead, a king must have a dream that people can look up to and share.

The "Banquet of Kings" shows three very different ideas about leadership that can't exist together.

Table: The Banquet of Kings - Three Different Ideas

Gilgamesh: Quotes from the King of Heroes

Gilgamesh believes he is the center of the universe . His worldview is not an idea up for debate. From his god-like point of view, it is simply a fact.

His Arrogance and Sense of Ownership

Gilgamesh's famous arrogance comes from his core belief. He believes he is the original , and everyone else is just a copy .

• "Mongrel."
  • This is not just an insult, it's how he classifies people. As the very first hero who owns everything in the world, Gilgamesh sees all other heroes and people as "mongrels" or "fakers." They are just worse copies of his own perfection.
• "The king is gonna do all that."
  • This quote shows his real philosophy. He is beyond ideas of "good" and "evil." As the king, he sets the standard for everything.

His Views on Pleasure

Gilgamesh's main role in the story is to help the priest, Kirei Kotomine, accept his true, dark nature.

• “Dreams disappear when the dreamer wakes. Every last one of them with no exception.”
  • This is his final, crushing criticism of Rider's entire philosophy of life. He says that all dreams eventually end. This is the harsh reality that destroys Rider in the end.
• [Kirei] "rejected the idea of pleasure and saw it as a sin... Gilgamesh gave Kirei the freedom to pursue pleasure because he wanted him to be proven wrong."
  • Gilgamesh comes from an ancient time. He sees Kirei's strict religious morals as a silly, self-made prison.
• "A soul naturally seeks pleasure, consciously or not. Why must you insist on defining joy so narrowly?"
  • Gilgamesh's philosophy is simple: pleasure is the only thing that is real . He is not trying to corrupt Kirei. He is trying to de-program him from his strict beliefs and help him accept his true self.

Kirei Kotomine: Finding Joy in Pain

Kirei Kotomine is the show's other main character. His story follows a man who is a psychopath by nature . He goes from feeling empty to finding a twisted meaning in the suffering of others.

His Feeling of Emptiness

Kirei's main struggle is that he cannot find joy in the things his religion tells him are "good."

• "I envy you people. What I sought, but could not obtain. What I obtained, but could not obtain. Many things slipped out between my fingers... As you feel supreme bliss in others' happiness."
  • Kirei thinks he is empty, but he is wrong. He is actually full of a desire that his strict life has told him is evil. He envies "normal" people because their path to happiness is seen as good.
• "He... was prepared to set his life on the line to discover what about himself left him at odds with what he was taught was good and true... he would probably have gladly given up... even his own soul for an answer."
  • His goal in the Holy Grail War is not to win the Grail. He is looking for an answer to why he is the way he is.
• "...[Kirei] realizes that his pleasure comes from the suffering of others." "He can only take joy in the suffering of others."
  • This is the answer he finds, with Gilgamesh's help.
• "I feel supreme bliss in others' unhappiness."
  • Here, he finally accepts his true nature.
• "Conflict is humanity's primal instinct. Eliminating it would mean eliminating humanity itself."
  • This is Kirei's direct response to Kiritsugu's idealism. Kirei is the real winner of Fate/Zero. Kiritsugu's ideal is shattered, Saber's is torn apart, and Rider's is destroyed. Only Kirei finds his purpose and survives by embracing his dark nature.

Fan Favorite Quotes from Fate/Zero

Looking at fan discussions online shows which conversations from the show have stuck with people the most. It really boils down to two big debates and a few funny moments.

The Biggest Debates

Fans love to talk about the "Banquet of Kings" and Kiritsugu's core moral problem.

• The Banquet of Kings: The debate isn't about what the characters said, but about who "won" the argument. Many people are convinced by Rider's powerful personality. But others point out that the scene is one-sided and makes Saber look weaker than she really is.
• Kiritsugu's Trolley Problem: Fans often call Kiritsugu's problem the "Trolley Problem." People argue about whether his plan to save the most people was right, or if he was just a broken person whose ideas were doomed to fail.

Iconic Speeches

These are the quotes that people share most often because they sound so cool and profound.

• Gilgamesh: “Dreams disappear when the dreamer wakes. Every last one of them with no exception.”
• Kiritsugu: "True human nature has not advanced a step beyond the Stone Age."
• Rider: "Glory lies beyond the horizon. Challenge the unattainable. Speak of conquest and make it real."

Funny and Heartwarming Moments

While fans respect the deep philosophical quotes, the quotes they truly love are the funny ones. These moments give a break from the show's dark tone. Most of them involve Rider and his Master, Waver.

• Rider & Waver's "T-Shirt" Scene: A popular scene is when Rider finds a video game about conquering the world. He buys a t-shirt for it, gets yelled at by Waver, and then goes out and "conquers" the game and a game console. Fans love it because it shows their great friendship.
• Waver's Exasperation: “GO CHOKE ON SOME RICE AND DIE!”
  • Fans say this quote perfectly captures Waver's easily annoyed personality. It shows his funny relationship with the loud and cheerful Rider.
• Saber's Humanity: "Hunger is the enemy."
  • Fans love this quote because it's a rare, funny, and human moment from Saber. It's special because it shows a side of her that isn't focused on being a perfect, serious knight.

What fans like shows something important about the show. People respect Fate/Zero for its dark and smart ideas (Kiritsugu, Kirei). But they love it for its heart (Rider, Waver).