I knew this was going to happen. Despite the fact that I so often bring up Sakura she is hardly the most controversial character in Fate/Stay Night. It is not Shinji, Saber, or Kotomine that engenders the most vigorous debates. They all have volatile arguments attached to them and their mere mention in any group of Type-Moon fans (or people who have just experienced Fate/Stay Night) can ignite a flame war as easily as a spirited discussion. But the character that actually gets people the most incensed is probably Shiro. He is seen a naive white knight, a boorish chauvinist, or a flimsy self insert character (with those three criticisms often intersecting.) He reminds me of Touma Kamijou in that way. I always like that sort of hero despite the fact that I admit they can be distinctly problematic. Your mileage may vary.

The thing is that a vocal group of people have always loudly complained that they feel that Fate/Stay Night would be all the better without Shiro as the protagonist. This always leads to people making grand statements about how Nasu should have kept Rin as the sole heroine, how all the rest of the characters a dragged down by this clown, or how Tsukihime and Shiki Tohno are far superior. So I knew this backlash was coming. The fact that the Answer was three episodes long only exasperated this dissent. Up until this point the mixed focus on Rin and the rest of the cast was able to hold off a majority of the complaining. But after last three weeks it has become crystal clear Shiro is the main character and this is his story. The Shiro backlash was coming. It was only a mater of time. But the levy really broke last week.

Overall I think people have a right to dislike the show at this point. It is a shame but it is still a valid opinion. My only criticism is to say that the show was always about Shiro with the rest of the cast being supporting members. Each of them has been there to play a role of reinforcing the themes of Shiro growth. While they have their own stories and themes the structure of the plot makes it so they all have to fall away as the story slowly centers more and more around Shiro. It is one of the greatest strengths and weaknesses of Fate/Stay Night. The main problem is if you really dislike Shiro then the strengths of continually reinforcing his growth becomes a fatal flaw.

And so if you thought the show was more of an ensemble work then the veil was fully lifted from your eyes. That is the problem of going into a show and expecting one thing but discovering it is another animal entirely. It can easily make a viewer turn 180 on a show. It is not always the show’s fault. It can often times just be accidental misinterpretation, wishful thinking, or a willful self-deception but when the illusion is broken the results are not pretty.

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