In the Fate universe, Masters and Servants work together to compete in the Holy Grail Wars, in which the Holy Grail is the ultimate prize. Servants are heroic spirits summoned to be used as familiars in battle, and they’re bound to a Master that they fight with and serve. Saber is one such Servant, working with Shirou as her Master.
The two of them work well together and have a special relationship which eventually leads into them being romantically involved. But is Saber actually good at being a Servant? Here are five reasons why she’s great at it and five reasons why she’s not.
10 Best: Strong Code Of Honor
Saber has a very strong sense of the right way to do battle and the wrong way. She thinks face to face combat is the proper way to do things, and she’s very firm in this belief. Having a Servant who’s very adamant about the way she does things must make things easy to strategize, since it’s clear how she wants to fight. This also means that she also approaches going into battle with a sense of fairness and respect for her opponent, which certainly must translate to her feelings about her Master as well.
9 Worst: Strong Code Of Honor
On the other hand, Saber is very firm in the way she wants to do things, but other people might not have the same qualms with being more underhanded or cunning in their battles. This puts her at a disadvantage since it likely means she doesn’t see people coming who aren’t coming straight at her, the way she would at them.
It also means that she’s unwilling to take orders from her Master if she feels they are at odds with her feelings and will only do so under duress, which is not the way one would want someone in battle to react to orders.
8 Best: Trusts Shirou
Shirou has not always been Saber’s Master, but they are the best suited to one another. This is particularly because Saber trusts Shirou to make decisions. She doesn’t question his instincts and, though she sometimes doesn’t think he’s making the right choice, she’s ultimately willing to follow his lead when he puts his foot down about something. Her trust in him makes their relationship stronger. It also gives them the edge over less well-suited Masters and Servants that they meet in battle, since she’s willing to follow him without question.
7 Worst: Not Able To Dematerialize
Some Servants are able to move around the world by dematerializing, so they do not have to worry about what they look like. Since Saber is from medieval Britain, she often stands out in the modern-day world, and she has to take pains to make sure that she blends in.
For example, she can’t wear the clothes she’s comfortable with and has to don more modern apparel. Not having all the skill to move easily through the world makes her more difficult to explain to others and therefore makes it more of a hassle for her to be someone’s Servant.
6 Best: Wants To Protect Shirou
A Servant’s most basic function in the world of Fate is to help a Master during battle in the Holy Grail Wars. As Shirou’s Servant, Saber is meant to assist him in fighting their opponents and also to protect him from harm. Since she has feelings for him and wants him to remain safe, she is a great Servant at watching his back and making sure that he is unharmed during their battles. Since the goal is to win the Holy Grail, this serves the function of getting them through the Wars as well as just protecting his life.
5 Worst: Not Familiar With Modern Life
Because Saber isn’t from the modern world, she often has trouble understanding things that are happening around her. This is particularly clear in terms of communication. She doesn’t understand slang and jokes, and innuendo often goes over her head.
From the point of view of how this affects her ability to be a Servant, it can be difficult to communicate with someone who is used to a totally different kind of speech and manner of interacting. Plus, it can be frustrating to need to explain modern ways of behaving to someone all the time.
4 Best: Not Afraid To Disagree With Shirou
While Saber trusts Shirou to make the right decisions when they go into battle together, she’s also not afraid to tell him when she thinks he’s wrong. This is a good personality trait to have when you work under anyone, since it means there are different voices being heard. Saber makes sure to tell Shirou when she thinks that the choices he’s making aren’t going to work out the best for them or when she thinks he’s going to put himself in danger by doing something. Being honest with him about this is a great way to keep him safe.
3 Worst: Not Afraid To Disagree With Shirou
On the other hand, a Master and Servant aren’t a traditional master and servant relationship, but one does certainly report to the other. While Shirou doesn’t necessarily control Saber, she is his familiar and is expected to submit to him on some level.
So the fact that she’s stubborn and often passes judgment on the decisions he’s making by telling him he’s making the wrong ones is probably frustrating. It would likely be easier, and less messy, to have a Servant who is willing to take orders no questions asked.
2 Best: She’s Strong
Saber lived most of her life as a man, since she was the King of Britain in her previous life. So she doesn’t think of herself as particularly feminine, and she has actually got a pretty muscular physique. This shouldn’t be too much of a surprise since she was summoned to be Shirou’s Servant because of her heroic spirit and the fact that she was a warrior. The fact that she is strong and able to fight make her a really good choice for a Servant and an asset in battle.
1 Worst: She’s Insecure
Regardless of her strength and abilities on the battlefield, Saber can only use those skills effectively if she is confident enough to do so. Saber thinks of herself as a failure as a king and as a protector of her kingdom. Because of this, her confidence in her abilities isn’t always the strongest it could be. That’s a problem when it comes to battles, because if she’s not sure that she has the strength to be successful in battle, or to protect Shirou, then she can’t do her job as a Servant as well as she should be able to.