Shirou Emiya

Ten years before the start of Fate/stay night , Shirou was an ordinary boy living with his parents in Shinto. The Great Fire, caused by the Holy Grail's contents spilling at the end of the Fourth Holy Grail War , killed his parents and left him mortally wounded in the rubble. He was rescued by Kiritsugu Emiya , who was in shock after causing the fire and, genuinely wanting to "save" someone for the first time in his life, rescued Shirou by implanting Avalon into his body. He then asked Shirou if he wanted to become his adopted son, fully revealing his identity as a sorcerer. Shirou agreed and spent the next two years begging Kiritsugu to teach him sorcery . Kiritsugu eventually agreed, and although he disapproved of Shirou's desire to learn his art, he advised him to practice it in secret, where it could only benefit people and not attract confusion or suspicion. The knowledge he imparted to Shirou was very basic and incomplete, leading him down a dangerous path with little to show for it. Furthermore, and perhaps inadvertently, Kiritsugu passed on his philosophy of wanting to be a "hero of justice" capable of saving anyone to Shirou.

Five years before the Fifth Holy Grail War, weakening daily due to the effects of the Holy Grail's black mud, Kiritsugu dies, leaving Shirou frustrated, depressed, and alone. He is subsequently cared for by Taiga Fujimura , Shirou's neighbor and English teacher, and his expenses are handled by his grandfather, Raiga Fujimura . Later, he attends a middle school where he meets Shinji Matou . In October of his second year, he is tasked with redesigning the Cultural Festival poster according to the third-year students' design in a single night. Shinji, who supervises him throughout, remarked, "Hmm... you're an idiot, but you can actually do a pretty good job." And he begins to laugh.

After starting to attend Homurahara High School, he met Issei Ryuudou and gained a reputation as someone who would readily do anything to help others, such as fixing school equipment. He later joined the Archery Club, which led to a strained relationship with Shinji. Throughout his time in the club, he only missed one shot, and even before he shot, Shirou had already warned him that he would miss. He quit during the summer of his first year due to a bone fracture in his right shoulder, which he sustained while working part-time, leaving a burn mark on his skin. The injury wasn't serious, but Shinji pointed out that it was unsightly for someone with a burn mark to participate in formal archery (since the boys had to have their right arm uncovered, and the burn would be visible), so he left the club, as it was also a time when he was busy with his part-time job. Their relationship eventually stabilized, but some tension remained, especially regarding Shinji's abuse of his sister, Sakura Matou . Shirou grew closer to Sakura when she began visiting his family frequently during his injury, helping him cook and clean. Even after he recovered, she continued to visit his home as a member of the family.

During the events of the Fifth Holy Grail War, Shirou is a teenager with brown hair and golden-brown eyes. He is often seen in casual clothes, consisting of a blue and white long-sleeved baseball jersey and blue slim-fit straight-leg jeans. At school, he wears his Homurahara Academy uniform, but underneath his blazer, he wears the same long-sleeved baseball jersey.

After completing one of the scenarios in the Heaven's Feel route , Shirou obtains a new body designed by Touko Aozaki . This body closely resembles his original body. He wears a white long-sleeved shirt and black jeans.

In Ufotable's anime adaptation of Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works , Shirou has a much wider variety of clothing. For example, Shirou wears a black and white jersey zip-up jacket with his casual clothes. He wears a lambswool scarf with his school uniform. Besides his casual clothes, he is seen wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and a black hooded coat. He also wears a long-sleeved black shirt.

Due to the trauma he suffered during the great fire, Shirou has a constant void in his personality. He feels that as the sole survivor, it's unfair that others died so he could live. He has a distorted sense of values, feeling he must help people without expecting anything in return, as the act of helping others is its own reward. He believes it's deeply unjust that some people survive while others don't. When it comes to taking an injury or even sacrificing his own life to help someone, Shirou will do it without hesitation. People who see this side of him are often deeply concerned and try to correct his behavior, though they are unable to change his mind. Kiritsugu used to talk about how he strived to protect the innocent from the many dangers of the world, even at the cost of his own humanity, and how saddened he was by the reality that every time he could save one life, another was destined to die. Although Kiritsugu was tormented by his inability to save everyone, Shirou always admired his efforts. Just before Kiritsugu's death, Shirou vowed to become a Hero of Justice in Kiritsugu's place and strive to protect everyone at the cost of his own life. Everything Shirou is now is a result of that promise. His dream has become to become a "Hero of Justice" who will save everyone, regardless of the consequences for his own life.

Shirou takes his ideals to the extreme during the Fate scenario , constantly risking his life to protect Saber by fighting other Servants, even though she is infinitely more powerful than him. He cannot stand idly by when a woman needs help, and he risks his life to defend his ideals, regardless of the harm he might suffer. During the Unlimited Blade Works route , Shirou constantly argues with Archer , realizing there is a certain hypocrisy in his ideals. Despite this, he refuses to abandon them completely, remaining in a middle ground where he continues to fight and work hard for his ideals, even knowing they are difficult to achieve. He faces an even greater dilemma in Heaven's Feel , where he is forced to choose between continuing to fight for his ideals or protecting Sakura (whom he loves) at the cost of renouncing his ideals forever. He eventually decides to abandon them (with the exception of the "Mind of Steel" ending, where he makes the same decision as Kiritsugu 10 years earlier, allowing Sakura to die for the greater good), dedicating himself solely to protecting Sakura even though he finds himself in conflict on numerous occasions.

Shirou is very stubborn; once he sets his mind to something, he won't stop until he achieves it, such as spending hours trying to perform a high jump that is nearly impossible for him. This action, witnessed by Rin and Sakura , is one of the initial factors that leads them to develop strong feelings for Shirou. He stubbornly defends his points of view, no matter how bad they may seem to others, even to the point of causing them great distress. Although he does his best to help others, if he feels that someone has brought about their own downfall, he simply observes without intervening. Nasu has stated that Shirou and Shiki Tohno would not get along.

Shirou's romantic interests vary between Saber, Rin, and Sakura depending on the route. However, he initially shows attraction to Saber, being in love with her from the moment he sees her after she is summoned, regardless of the route. In Fate , Shirou finally fully accepts his feelings for Saber and even wishes to be with her despite her not being able to exist in the mortal world. In Unlimited Blade Works , Shirou develops feelings for Rin during their alliance and becomes her boyfriend. In Heaven's Feel , his feelings for Sakura become a major plot point, as he notices her growing beauty and develops feelings for her even before the Holy Grail War begins. This drastically alters all subsequent events and ultimately leads him to abandon his ideals of becoming a hero of justice to save her.

Shirou quickly develops a rivalry with Archer after their first encounter, and is shown to be jealous of the Servant 's relationship with Rin in the Unlimited Blade Works route . Shirou also grudgingly believes Archer is cooler than him. Although initially afraid of Illya, he can become fiercely protective of her when they aren't acting as enemies, even before he discovers they are step-siblings. In addition to Saber, Rin, and Sakura, Shirou is also attracted to Rider.

Shirou possesses an extraordinary talent for housework. Despite having Taiga as his tutor, he generally cooks all his meals and does all the housework, while she does nothing. Cooking at home is his forte, and he takes particular pride in his Japanese cuisine. He's not stingy with ingredients when it comes to preparing a delicious meal, and he takes a long time to make anything extravagant. He taught Sakura how to cook, and she improved over time, to the point that they began to compete in the quality of their meals. Shirou also enjoys Japanese tea, black tea, and coffee, but he prefers Japanese tea; he doesn't like seaweed or plum tea. He also had the opportunity to try the liquor from the Copenhagen Bar, but he only tasted it since he doesn't handle alcohol well. Among the characters in Fate , he's one of the best at cooking, second only to Saber , Berserker , and Lancer . According to him, " Someone who can't stomach breakfast is a failure as a martial artist ." Even though Taiga covers all the household expenses, Shirou doesn't want to feel like he's taking advantage of her, so he's been working part-time after school to pay his own way. He earns 950 yen an hour in Copenhagen and gets paid for accompanying Raiga Fujimura on his hobbies, which include wrestling and sumo hunting.

Shirou doesn't feel comfortable in arcades. He's bad at blind dates, even though he enjoys them. He's never been to the dentist. His English is poor, and his main goal is to pursue a career in law and politics. He has a small collection of pornography, acquired through his part-time job, which he hides behind a photo album made by Shinj Matou—not intended as a disguise. He has a knack for electronics, which he uses to hone his sorcery skills; he can spend hours focused on repairing a single appliance. Because he almost never refuses requests to repair appliances or do odd jobs, such as cleaning the school pool before it opens, he has many nicknames, including "Fake School Janitor," "Repair Guy," "Archery Club Vacuum Cleaner," and "Homurabara Brownie." He enjoys meditating in his home dojo, often to relax before or after practicing sorcery.

Meanwhile, at school, he enjoys participating in "first come, first served" contests. On one occasion, he participated in a sepak takraw tournament with Issei Ryuudou and Shinji Matou during a school festival. They advanced to the finals, but when they competed against the team of Kane Himuro , Ayaka Sajyou , and Ayako Mitsuzuri , Issei started a fight after being hit by concentrated attacks, and both teams were disqualified.

Shirou appears near the end of the story. He had lost his family in the great fire caused by the Grail, and was lying on the ground trying to reach someone. Kiritsugu found him and thanked him, making Shirou envious to see him crying happily as if he were the one being saved.

After being rescued from Hell by Kiritsugu, Shirou is adopted as his son. He felt more comfortable calling him "old man" (爺さん, jii-san ) than "father" or "dad." In the anime adaptation, he is seen settling into the Emiya residence .

In the drama CD, Shirou continued to experience nightmares. He takes the medicine Kiritsugu had made using sorcery and asks him to teach it to him, but Kiritsugu is completely against it.

Five years later, while gazing at the stars at the Emiya residence, Kiritsugu tells Shirou about his dream of becoming a hero of justice and how he had failed. Shirou, in admiration, affirms that he will achieve Kiritsugu's ideal, allowing Kiritsugu to die in peace.

Main articles: Fate (route) , Unlimited Blade Works (route) , and Heaven's Feel (route) . Shirou is a second-year student in Class C at Homurahara High School during Fate/stay night . He has no interest in the Holy Grail , and in fact, despises its use. Nevertheless, Shirou is determined to win the Holy Grail War alongside Saber because he hopes their efforts will ensure that another disaster like the Fuyuki Conflagration never happens again.

At the end of the Fate scenario , Shirou continues to pursue his dreams of becoming a "Hero of Justice" and hopes to join forces with Saber while living a normal life. After the true ending of the Unlimited Blade Works route , Shirou works part-time at the mansion of Rin's rival, Luviagelita Edelfelt .

Shirou does not end up like his alternate future self at the end of any of the three scenarios.

The manga adaptation of the visual novel follows the Fate route with a mix of events from Unlimited Blade Works . The story follows the events of Fate normally until Rider's defeat. Instead of Shirou being immediately kidnapped by Illya while Saber is weakened, Saber manages to recover somewhat from using Excalibur before Caster attacks the Emiya family. Using Taiga as a hostage, Caster successfully uses Rule Breaker on Saber and takes her as his Servant after Shirou is unable to make a quick decision. When Rin tells Shirou that he is no longer a Master and shouldn't get involved any further, Shirou becomes depressed and confused about what to do.

Feeling depressed by his loss and worried about Saber, Shirou goes to the church for refuge. At the church, Kotomine tells Shirou that his decision to sacrifice Saber was the right one. Enraged to hear this, Shirou retorts that Saber's sacrifice was wrong and that he never truly abandoned her. Kotomine then tells Shirou that the real betrayal is not accepting what he did. He reveals that his father, Kiritsugu Emiya, was also a Master in the Holy Grail War and that he was the victor. Shirou is shocked and even more horrified upon learning the truth. Kotomine tells Shirou that Kiritsugu was the man who killed all the other Masters and caused his first death to reach the Grail, leading Shirou to believe that Kiritsugu was responsible for the great fire that killed so many people ten years ago (though this is only partly true, as Kotomine was the one who made the wish to make everyone in the area disappear). After that, Shirou begins to have visions of Saber through their mental link, and decides to leave his hiding place to rescue her. Kotomine recognizes Shirou as Kiritsugu's son and secretly vows to end his life herself..

Shirou, as Saber's Master , is the victor of the Fifth Holy Grail War, having opted for its destruction. Half a year later, he continues to live a peaceful life alongside the other Servants and Masters in Fuyuki. However, the peace is shattered when the Holy Grail War unexpectedly restarts despite the artifact's destruction. Shirou decides to patrol the city with Saber to investigate the dangers of the restarted war, discovering that everyone is trapped in a four-day loop and resolving to stop it. Meanwhile, he often encounters a mysterious girl with thin hair when he goes out alone at night, but is unable to properly interact with her as he is quickly killed by a horde of beast-like shadows, resetting the loop to the first day. In addition to this, Shirou and Saber encounter a new Master and Servant : Bazett Fraga McRemitz and the mysterious Avenger , who are involved in a war not recognized by the others. Unfortunately, Shirou and Saber are killed in this encounter, restarting the loop once again. Shirou learns from Rin, after her return from London, that both the loop and the restarted war may be the result of the Holy Grail granting someone's wish. Later, Shirou encounters the thin-haired girl once again, who reveals her name as Caren Hortensia and claims to know who Shirou is. However, as before, a horde of beast-like shadows attacks, but this time Shirou and Caren defeat them. After defeating the horde, Caren tells Shirou to meet her at the church to discuss the situation in Fuyuki further. Upon meeting Caren as agreed, she begins to transmit information about the loop and the restarted war. She reveals that the events occurring within the loop are artificial, though she states that the people are real, with one exception. She also reveals that she was sent to investigate the Holy Grail and the nature of the restarted war, telling Shirou that, as the victor of the Fifth Holy Grail War, only he could end this new war with his victory.

Shirou plays a major role in Carnival Phantasm due to being the main character of Fate/stay night . He frequently interacts with his love interests, and a large part of the plot revolves around him trying to date them all simultaneously to keep them happy. It's also shown that, despite what Nasu has said, he and Shiki Tohno are very good friends, conspiring together to keep the girls happy.

Shirou is the main character of Today's Menu for Emiya Family , which primarily features Shirou (and occasionally other characters) cooking various Japanese and/or Chinese dishes while explaining how they are made. A younger Shirou also makes an appearance in episode 6.

Shirou's face darkens in the episodes that focus around Archer , as shown in episode 11.

Shirou is a sorcerer trained by Kiritsugu Emiya . Unlike a formal sorcerer, Shirou can be described as a spellcaster who doesn't follow the typical sorcerer methods. Having been adopted into the Emiya family , he has no way of inheriting Kiritsugu's magical crest and lacks the innate talent cultivated through generations of sorcerers who strove to develop the finest magical circuits . His training was informal, as Kiritsugu originally had no desire to teach him, and aside from a rudimentary knowledge, Kiritsugu taught him nothing about sorcery. Shirou has a "Sword" origin and an elemental affinity of "Sword," also due to having Avalon within him for many years. This leaves him unable to use the sorcery of the five great elements with precision due to his lack of alignment, but it allows for the manifestation of Unlimited Blade Works and the derived abilities in Reinforcement and Projection sorcery .

Despite receiving further training, even after following Rin to the Mage Association , he will never rise above the level of a sorceress apprentice. If Rin were given a ranking between seventy and one hundred as a sorceress, Shirou would only rank ten. Classifying within the category as a spellcaster, he would be considered on par with Kiritsugu's assessment as a "Sorcerer Killer" with a rank of forty.

Shirou is an unorthodox sorcerer who utilizes a highly specialized version of projection sorcery . Initially, he is completely inept as a sorcerer, only able to use reinforcement and projection sorcery with a low level of success. Reinforcement allows him to analyze an object's structural composition and increase its effectiveness, such as making it more durable or practical, or even returning it to its original state. Shirou can also use it to enhance his own physical capabilities, such as his eyesight, allowing him to see up to four kilometers away. He is highly skilled in structural grasping sorcery , which allows him to understand the structure and design of objects as if he were viewing a blueprint. Projection, while a high-level skill, is generally considered useless compared to reinforcement due to its greater magical energy cost , and everything Shirou projects is initially useless and empty. Although the objects merely mimic the form, only a few can identify them as forgeries at first glance. Any practitioner analyzing their composition would be unable to see through them, and even one working through spiritual means would only notice a sense of incongruity. Since only objects with a history are allowed into the Clock Tower's Spiritual Summoning Department, there is a low probability of their being discovered. Shirou's structural analysis is not a type of Mystic Eye .

Shirou later becomes capable of using "Tracing," a higher-level projection technique that completely copies everything related to an object's creation and existence. During the Fate scenario , Shirou gradually learns this technique on his own by training with Rin and following Archer's advice: "If you can't defeat it, then imagine what can." In the Unlimited Blade Works scenario , Shirou learns from the Servant through extensive interaction. Shirou can only effectively reproduce swords, other weapons, and armor, but this specialization allows him to faithfully reproduce even legendary ones. These weapons, however, always suffer some degradation, as humans cannot conceptualize an object's existence with only one sense. Shirou is able to reproduce any sword he has seen, although Noble Phantasms are always one rank below their original strength, and armor costs three times the amount of magical energy. Furthermore, he can draw upon the weapon's entire history, allowing him to wield any weapon with the same mastery as its original owner. He has to see the weapons, their final form, with his own eyes to reproduce them, since even Zelretch 's blueprint isn't enough to replicate it until after seeing Caliburn through shared memories with Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern and Saber, when he becomes able to fully trace them. If the weapon isn't made of materials that exist in the world, like Ea , he can't analyze or reproduce it, though he can discern its basic nature. Shirou is also quite capable of creating his own original types of weapons if he puts his mind to it.

Shirou's basic training in sorcery was extremely deficient, leaving him with the misconception that he needs to create a new magic circuit with each use of sorcery. He undergoes extremely dangerous training, which he describes as feeling like a red-hot iron bar being driven into his spine, constantly facing the risk of death in order to develop a new circuit. Although his body possesses twenty-seven natural magic circuits, these had been abandoned by his nerves, which he converted into makeshift circuits due to his flawed training methods. Once his true circuits awaken, Shirou experiences extreme pain and suffering as his nervous system adjusts to the new energy input. His newly opened magic circuits can barely handle ten units of magic energy each.

Shirou has Avalon implanted within his body, which saved his life during the great fire. This grants him extremely powerful regenerative abilities while Saber is summoned due to Excalibur , though he seems capable of sustaining himself even without her aid, as he was able to temporarily survive a fatal blow from Lancer. Having Avalon allows him to survive numerous fatal injuries, but this works against him in the bad endings, where he can be tortured and mutilated without succumbing to his wounds for an extended period. Unlimited Blade Works also appears to protect Shirou by creating blades within his body to reinforce Avalon. He is able to survive a blow to the chest from Rider 's dagger , which is repelled as if it were hitting metal; a kick that would have ripped out his stomach, instead sending him flying; and he even manages to avoid having his entire body destroyed by an attack from Gilgamesh. The ability seems to spiral out of control during a bad ending where numerous swords erupt from his dying body, and as he collapses completely in the Heaven's Feel stage , swords are constantly being created and protruding from his skin. Shirou practices basic sword fighting with Saber.