We hate it when sisters fight over a boy. But sometimes, it’s a necessary evil, like the competition for Shirou’s affections between Rin and Sakura in Fate. The two sisters both have good reasons to have feelings for Shirou and also to be at the top of his list for potential partners.
Whichever girl he chooses, Shirou would probably be making a good choice, since both of them have such good qualities. But just to break it down for him, and for us, here are five reasons he should choose to be with Rin and five reasons he should be with Sakura instead.
10 Rin: Has A Strong Sense Of Honor
Rin and Shirou are ultimately trying to achieve the same thing, to win the Holy Grail Wars. This means that they’re pitted against each other. While Rin could eliminate her competition easily by killing Shirou, especially when he’s not on his guard, she chooses not to. Her sense of honor is very strong, and she doesn’t want to win that way or to see Shirou die that way. This is a good indication of her respect and caring for Shirou and that she would make a good partner for him because this could carry over into their relationship.
9 Sakura: Long-Held Feelings
While Sakura having feelings for Shirou doesn’t necessarily mean that he needs to reciprocate them, it is a good sign of her sincerity and earnestness. Sakura hasn’t been minorly crushing on Sakura for a couple of days or weeks, but instead feels a real devotion to him.
We could probably assume from this that her feelings aren’t going to suddenly change overnight, and she’s not going to drop him for someone else in a heartbeat. Sakura seems like she would be a good choice here because of her loyalty, even though they aren’t together yet.
8 Rin: Loves To Tease Him
Rin is a pretty serious, focused person, but she also has a bit of a silly side that particularly comes out when she’s around Shirou. She loves to tease him and to generally mess around when he’s nearby. This kind of lighthearted relationship must be pretty refreshing with all of the stress that their lives and the winning of the Holy Grail Wars must bring out. And the fact that Shirou brings out this sweet side of Rin is a good thing, since we always want our partners to bring out the best in us.
7 Sakura: Draws Strength From Shirou’s Efforts
Sakura has a pretty crappy life. Her adoptive father works her to the bone, her adoptive brother is equally cruel and unfeeling toward her, and their expectations of her are very high and don’t take into account that she’s a person with feelings.
But any time she feels like giving up, she thinks of how hard Shirou is working, and this motivates her to keep moving forward as well. Romantic partners who feel encouraged by each other have very healthy relationships as they seek to become better people in order to be together.
6 Rin: Supportive Of Shirou’s Relationships
It takes a great deal of maturity to step aside for others when you really want a person to be in a romantic relationship with you. Rin’s ability to do just that in the face of potential other partners for Shirou just shows that she’s a great choice for Shirou to be with. Her desire for him to be happy and to therefore be with the person who is going to make him the happiest shows that she truly cares for him and, were she to be his choice, that she would be a great partner for him.
5 Sakura: Helps Shirou With His Chores
We don’t want to imply that in a good relationship, a good female partner should do her male companion’s domestic tasks. But the fact that Sakura cares for Shirou so much that she wants to support him even at this level is very sweet. Her desire to be close to him is so strong that she’s even willing to step in to help him with his chores. This also gives him more time and energy to focus on things that are more important and allows them both to grow closer.
4 Rin: Protective Of Shirou
Participating in the Holy Grail Wars puts a target on everyone’s backs and makes day-to-day life much more dangerous than it would be for a normal person. Though Rin and Shirou are ultimately competing in the Wars, Rin feels deeply protective of Shirou and does her best to make sure he isn’t injured or killed in dangerous situations, even though it means not paying as much attention to her own well-being. This desire to make sure Shirou is okay shows a great deal of affection from Rin and proves she would be a great romantic partner.
3 Sakura: Protective Of Shirou
Rin isn’t the only person who is concerned about Shirou’s safety. Since Sakura also participates in the Holy Grail Wars, she also finds herself in the position of competing with Shirou and wanting to take care of him.
Beyond that, Sakura’s training and the torture her adoptive father put her through to prepare her for the Wars has made her more dangerous to her friends, which means she’s sometimes protecting Shirou from herself. She goes as far as to ask others to take her out of the Wars by injuring her in order to not hurt Shirou when she gets out of control.
2 Rin: She And Shirou Are Rivals
We love when romantic relationships have a basis in rivalry. Rin and Shirou are necessarily rivals, because they’re competing against each other for the same crown in the Holy Grail Wars. But more than that, Rin feels that Shirou is her personal rival, somebody she needs to strive to surpass in order to meet her goals. This sense of competitiveness might seem strange for a relationship to have, but ultimately, it means that both of them are striving to do their best and to work harder, both for and because of each other.
1 Sakura: Waits For Him Forever
There is a part of the Wars in which Sakura is told that Shirou has been killed. She has a lot of trouble accepting this and, in the end, decides not to. She moves into Shirou’s house in order to wait for him to come home and ultimately dies of old age so that she can meet him in the afterlife. Her devotion to Shirou lasts long after Shirou is no longer around, and her belief that he’s not really dead is touching and heartbreaking. This kind of determination to be together is really sad and also incredibly sweet, and we think that’s probably the kind of devotion that should be acknowledged.