Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from watching all these Fate animes it’s that having the right servant makes all the difference. If you’re going into the Grail War and you and your servant aren’t on the same page it can spell disaster for you. It’s important that you can count on your servant to have your back, compliment your abilities, and watch their back as well whether it be offering support or a sound strategy. Throughout the Summer of Fate we’ve seen a lot of servants and it made me think. If I was ever in the Grail War, who would I want to be my servant? Who could I count on to help me win the war? While there are a good number of servants from Fate/Grand Order I could choose to fight beside, I think I’ll remain fair and stick to the animes I’ve watched this past summer to decide the best servant. I’m Nitsuj and these are the top 11 Servants.
#11. William Shakespeare from Fate/Apocrypha
There’s a lot of servants from Apocrypha on here, just letting you know. I was never a big fan of long-range attackers and the Caster servants never really stood out to me all that much. However, if I had to name my favorite Caster of the bunch it would have to be Shakespeare himself. This is the one Caster who isn’t a complete psycho. He’s eccentric, exciting, and just seems like a fun guy to be around. The only real downside is that he doesn’t seem to offer much on the offensive side. Don’t get me wrong, the illusions are cool and mess with the minds of his opponents but aside from that he doesn’t have much to offer offensively, hence why he’s so low on the list. If you’re going to be my servant, you better come prepared to fight. Still, a cool servant and someone I really would love to hang out with.
#10. Hassan-i Sabbah from Fate/Zero
One of my complaints from Zero was that we never really got a chance to really see what Hassan-i could really do. It’s a shame too, because of all the servants this was the guy who seemed the most unique. It wasn’t just one servant it was multiple servants, so that gives you a lot of flexibility with what you could do. Credit where credit is due, Kirei used him well at the beginning to fool everyone into thinking he lost early on and to spy on other masters in the war, but there were so many more possibilities I feel that could have been done with this guy such as attacking other masters from behind while the servant was distracted. If having one servant is good then having multiple servants is great and when they’re a team of highly skilled assassins the possibilities are endless.
#9. Medusa from Fate/stay night
Heaven’s Feel did a good job showing off just how good and powerful Medusa can be when put in the right hands and used correctly. I was impressed at how she was able to go toe to toe with Saber, her loyalty and care to Sakura and how she wanted to protect her at all costs. I respect that. While I don’t think she’s the strongest of the servants there’s no denying that she’s the one I would have the best chemistry with and the one I could trust my back to and form strategies around to work in her favor and win the war. Plus, we’d make a great couple.
#8. Frankenstein’s Monster from Fate/Apocrypha
Hands down my favorite Berserker-class servant. A different interpretation from Frankenstein’s Monster I’ve read in the past and the one that I really do like. There’s a more human and cuter side to her here that really shows her side of humanity and just like us, longs to find someone to share her life with. Along with this, we also see she is a powerhouse character. Out of all the noble phantasms in Apocrypha she had my favorite and I liked her tenacity when she fought. She reminded me of Guts from Berserk. Win by any means necessary even at the costs of your body. A pretty cool and cute character that I wished stuck around more in the anime.
#7. Diarmuid from Fate/Zero
Easily the best Lancer in the animes. Just like Medusa, he shows great loyalty as well as chivalry that many would say is a weakness, but in my opinion, its his strength. I did like his twin spears where one attacks his opponent spiritually while the attacks physically. This gives him a lot of flexibility in his battles where even if he doesn’t defeat his opponent right there, he’s weakened them for the rematch or for them to get picked off by another opponent. All I have to do is avoid the Lancer curse, play my cards right, and we’ll win the war with ease.
#6. Mordred from Fate/Apocrypha
Okay, real talk here, I actually found myself liking Mordred more than Arthur. While there’s no denying that Arthur is the more skilled fighter, I think Mordred is the stronger of the two and the one I would work better with because of her confident, outspoken and brash character. Unlike Arthur who hides what she’s thinking, Mordred is more open with her actions, not afraid to share them or put them on display for everyone to see. She can also show rational thinking in her actions showing us that while she may act brash at times she’s not stupid, she’s intelligent and knows how to fight smart. That in my opinion makes her easier to work with as well as a fun personality to be around.
#5. Jeanne D’Arc from Fate/Apocrypha
This one may be cheating, but she did participate in the war and is a servant, so she counts. Despite having an appearance that cashes in on Arthur, Jeanne showed everyone how much of a badass she was in the anime laying down the law and not backing down from any fight no matter who or what she was up against. She showed good offensive and defensive capabilities as well as concern and care for those around her, so I would always feel safe staying by her side knowing that she’ll do everything in her power to protect me. Plus, she’s cute and chances are once the war is over she and I can go out on a date.
#4. Jack the Ripper from Fate/Apocrypha
If there’s one complaint I have in the Fate series it’s that nobody knows how to properly use an Assassin servant. Thankfully, Jack the Ripper was used effectively and correctly. Like I said in the review, this is a unique interpretation of Jack the Ripper. I liked how under this childlike innocence is the mind of a dangerous serial killer who doesn’t fight her opponents head on but instead uses all of her abilities to her advantage. She stays hidden in the shadows, uses a poisonous gas to weaken her enemies, and will usually try to sneak up on her opponents and attack from behind. This is the kind of strategy that makes the Assassin class so deadly and Jack managed to do this better than any other Assassin in the animes. We could use the mystery to what Jack looks like to our advantage. Such as using magic to change up her appearance and confuse the other masters and servants. Keep them guessing on what Jack looks like, but never getting a solid answer thus being one step behind every time they face us. Along with all of this, she’s not easy to kill. Unlike the other servants who would most likely die from a fatal wound, Jack wouldn’t die because she carries the souls of 10,000 children who were supposedly aborted in the 1800s. This means if you want to kill her you’ll have to kill her 10,000 times and I doubt that’s going to happen. If I get any Assassin in the war, I’m choosing Jack the Ripper because she’s the best and the cutest.
#3. Nero from Fate/Extra Last Encore
The servants of Last Encore didn’t leave much of an impact on me except for Nero. Out of all the Saber-class servants she is easily my favorite. Her Imperial Privilege is OP and gives her access to skills her class normally wouldn’t have making her one of the most versatile servants and the hardest one to fight against as she takes whatever advantage you may have and makes it her own. As for her golden theatre, it’s almost guaranteed that she’ll win in the theatre no matter who she’s up against. Her personality is also great too. She’s energetic, flamboyant, fun-loving, confident, motivational, and likable. My good friend Chris said it was suggested that she proposed sexual activities with the MC of Last Encore to restore mana and at first I didn’t believe it, but given the true historical facts about Nero and how open and flirty this Nero was, I could definitely see that as a possibility now. Still, Nero was definitely a great servant who lacked no confidence in her skills or what she can do. It’s hard not to get swept away in her confidence and believe that you also can achieve things you thought you never had no talent in.
#2. Astolfo from Fate/Apocrypha
Yep, everyone’s favorite trap character. While Astolfo has great fighting skills for the Rider-class as well as having 4 noble phantasms the one thing that wins me over is his personality. He just seems like a very fun person to be around. Every time this guy appeared on screen you knew it was going to be good because he was there and when it came time to fight he showed everyone how serious he can get and how he has a tool to face any opponent he comes across. Astolfo is that one servant you can easily get along with and form a good partnership with as compared to a majority of the other subjects who show some difficulty in teaming with.
And number one. . .
#1. Alexander the Great from Fate/Zero
I honestly can’t think of any other servant I would want to have by side other than this man right here. Alexander was just awesome from beginning to end. The man showed no hints of doubts or fears in his pursuit of the Grail and displayed a personality that you could trust, respected and followed. His noble phantasm was awesome and he was a just and proud man with great ambitions that I admired and someone I know that if I had by my side, I would win the war with ease. We’d be unstoppable.
And that’s my list. I hope you enjoyed. Let me know who your favorite servant was. What does the future hold for the Fate series? Only time will tell. As for me, I know what the future holds because next week it’s August and it’s time for the Underrated Arc.