| “ | Hero of Justice? Don't make me laugh. Just because the idea consumes you, it doesn't mean helping others is something you truly want. It's nothing but a borrowed dream. Something like you believing you can be a force for good, it is the height of hubris! That's right. You couldn't help but admire the beauty in your father's dream of helping others. That's why you never developed any real passions of your own! If that isn't hypocrisy, then what is?! You're driven by this ridiculous obsession with sacrificing yourself for the sake of others, blind to your own arrogance! But in the end you are a fraud and your hypocrisy can't save anyone! How could you when you never knew who you should save to begin with?! And look! This is the result! You could never be a saviour! You never had anything to save! You became the embodiment of justice and justice can be cruel! Your ideals are falling apart. Maybe other people aren't more important than you are. It's dawning upon you that a world where everyone is happy is just a fairy tale. And if you can't live without that dream, let it drag you down and drown you! | „ |
| ~ Archer to Shirou Emiya. |
Archer is one of the main protagonists of the visual novel and anime series Fate/stay night. A supporting protagonist/anti-hero in all three routes, Archer is the Servant protagonist and secondary antagonist of the Unlimited Blade Works route. He has also appeared in other media including Fate/Grand Order: First Order as the secondary antagonist.
He is Shirou Emiya from an alternate future, with his goal being to kill the present Shirou to prevent him from making the same mistakes he did, and possibly free himself from his torturous existence as a Guardian.
He is voiced by Junichi Sawabe in the Japanese version of the anime and Liam O'Brien in the English version. In the English version of the Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works anime, he is voiced by Kaiji Tang, who also voices Wingul and Kouen Ren.
History
Past as Shirou
Archer is not a proper Heroic Spirit in the sense of other heroes. His true identity is that of Shirou Emiya of an alternate timeline from that of Fate/stay night who made a contract with the world and became the Heroic Spirit EMIYA. He acts as a Counter Guardian for the world as payment for the contract. He is summoned because he still has the jewel pendant that Rin used to save his life after Lancer stabbed his heart. The jewel he owns is the actual catalyst used for his summoning rather than the one that Rin still has at the time of his summoning. After the end of each of the three routes in Fate/stay night, the possibility for Shirou to become Archer still exists, but the chance is it happening is close to zero.
After winning the fifth Holy Grail War along with his Servant Saber, Emiya Shirou was all the more inspired to pursue his dream of becoming a superhero. To this end, he stubbornly trained himself to his peak and began working as a freelance magus similar to his father. It was during this time when he received his signature red overcoat as a gift from Ciel of the Burial Agency. In order to save the lives of a hundred of people dying before him in a calamity, for the sake of saving the lives that his eyes could see and for the sake of saving even more lives as a Heroic Spirit after his death, he made a contract with the world and became a hero. Although he desperately fought to end a war, he was in turn branded as the mastermind behind that war and subsequently executed. His belief that he would continue to save many people as a Heroic Spirit did not happen, but rather he was made to clean up after human actions and forced to take many lives to save humanity as a whole instead. After seeing human self-destruction and forced to oppose his own ideals countless times, he began to deny himself and his ideal. Even knowing that the Throne of Heroes was isolated from time and space, Archer desperately came to believe that his only hope of release was to have himself summoned into an era where Emiya Shirou exists and kill his past self, hoping that the double paradox created by Emiya Shirou being killed before having a chance to make the contract with Alaya and that the killing was done by an Emiya Shirou which successfully made the contract with the world would create a time paradox great enough in magnitude that could potentially erase his existence as a Counter Guardian.
Fate/stay night
Unlimited Blade Works
On the night of the second day, his statement that his memories were vague and he didn’t know his identity due the imperfect summoning was halfway true and halfway false. He no longer possesses Shirou’s memory, although he can still remember some key events such as being saved by Kiritsugu Emiya and meeting Saber. While Rin slept, he reasoned out his situation and realized that he may have the opportunity to achieve his goal. This was affirmed when the girl who summoned him introduced herself as Rin Tohsaka the following morning.
Archer betrays Rin, aligning with Caster because, he claimed, she had the highest chance of acquiring the Holy Grail.
He then betrays Caster and her master and kills them both, revealing his true intentions. Archer needed to be free from Rin's command seal in order to accomplish his goal of killing Shirou. Archer then kidnaps Rin after she forms a contract with Saber, forcing a situation where Shirou faces off one on one against Archer.
Archer loses the fight, but only because he does not attack Shirou as he is stabbed through the chest. However, he survived the blow thanks to Independent Action, and remains hidden until the final battle where he saves Rin from the Holy Grail and eliminates a cornered and near-defeated Gilgamesh.
He then disappears for good with a smile on his face, confident that Rin will stop Shirou from taking a path that he will regret.
Fate/Grand Order
First Order
In this timeline of the Fifth Holy Grail War Archer was among the Servants killed by Saber Alter and corrupted into her minions who slaughtered the population of Fuyuki City to preserve the Grail (though its hinted that Archer obeyed Saber out of free will due to his affections for her). Archer regularly patrolled the city searching for any potential threats and frequently encountered his old nemesis Cú Chulainn, who'd manifested as Caster in this timeline.
When Ritsuka and Shielder arrive from 2015 trying to change this timeline Archer immediately senses it and attacks them both but they evade him. Later when they align with Caster and storm Saber's hideout Archer intervenes and forces Caster to battle with him. Though evenly matched Archer ultimately loses to Caster and is finally destroyed.
Gallery
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 Villains
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Servants Assassin | Beast of Revelation | Caster Masters & Humans Manaka Sajyou | Sancraid Phahn | Misaya Reiroukan
 Masters & Humans Kiritsugu Emiya | Kirei Kotomine | Tokiomi Tohsaka | Risei Kotomine | Ryuunosuke Uryuu | Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald | Sola-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri | Zouken Matou | Byakuya Matou | Noritaka Emiya Servants Archer | Caster | Berserker | Assassin
 Masters & Humans Kirei Kotomine | Zouken Matou | Dark Sakura | | Shinji Matou | Illyasviel von Einzbern | Soichiro Kuzuki | Atrum Galliasta Servants Gilgamesh | Archer (Unlimited Blade Works) | Assassin | Caster | Saber Alter | True Assassin | Black Shadow
 False Masters False Servants True Masters True Servants Others
 Kiara Sessyoin | BB | Kazurodrop | Kirei Kotomine | Shinji Matou
 Yggdmillenia Clan & Black Faction Darnic Prestone Yggdmillenia | Celenike Icecolle Yggdmillennia | Assassin of Black | Caster of Black | Lancer of Black Red Faction Shirou Kotomine | Archer of Red | Assassin of Red
 Chaldea Security Organization Marisbury Animusphere | CHALDEAS Beast Goetia | Tiamat | Beast-III/R (Kiara Sessyoin) | Mara | Primate Murder | Beast V | Beast of Revelation | VII of the End | Beast of Cherishment | Beast of Oblivion
Heroic Spirits Jeanne Alter | Jason | Goddess Rhongomyniad | Mephistopheles | Gorgon | Kingu Allies of the Beasts King Solomon | Lev Lainur Flauros | Demon Pillars | Laḫmu Others
Shinjuku Phantom Demon Alliance (Archer of Shinjuku | Avenger of Shinjuku | Archer Alter | Assassin of Shinjuku) Argatha Rider of Resistance | Caster of the Nightless City SE.RA.PH. Shimosa Salem Sut-Typhon
Crypters Lostbelt Kings Alien God's Force Crypters' Servants Lostbelt Inhabitants The Twenty-seven Dead Apostle Ancestors Others
Part 2.5: Ordeal Call Paper Moon
Id
BB | Bestia Coccinea | Black Grail | First Lady | Testement | Ultra Heroine Z | Zouken Matou | The Master With No Name | Darnic Prestone Yggdmillenia | Kama | Space Ishtar | Xu Fu | Akechi Mitsuhide | Serizawa Kamo | Jacques de Molay (Foreigner)
 Beast Sodom's Beast (Bestia Coccinea) Heroic Spirits Nebuchadnezzar II
 Masters & Humans Servants Others | ||
