Folks who love the Fate franchise would grow fond of its unique premise: a battle royale amongst Masters and their Servants - Heroic Spirits in the form of historical and mythological figures, to say the least - all for the Holy Grail that can fulfill any wish. As a result, the Fate/stay night anime, the prequel anime Fate/Zero, and even the alternate route in Fate/Unlimited Blade Works and even the Fate/Grand Order films have had a fair share of Servants with interesting and compelling stories.
Unfortunately, with the Holy Grail War needing seven Masters and seven Servants, it’s safe to assume that a 24-episode anime - be it from the original series or anime films like Fate/Grand Order - wouldn’t be able to emphasize the stories of 14 different individuals. Outside iconic characters such as Artoria Pendragon (Saber) and EMIYA (Archer), there’s been quite a number of underutilized Servants in the Fate anime series.
10 Heracles
Anyone who’s ever watched Fate/stay night will likely recognize the hulking behemoth Berserker and his Master, the rather whimsical Ilya. However, it was only during Shiro’s battles with him that he, Saber, and Rin would realize Berserker’s true identity as Heracles. Corrupted by the Grail with madness, Heracles is there only to serve Ilya. And with his Noble Phantasm God Hand: Twelve Labors, the hulking beast had to be killed twelve times in order to stay fully dead. This easily makes him one of the most difficult opponents Shiro and his friends had to face, and it doesn’t help that he’s always out to get them.
While Shiro and Saber will prevail against Heracles in any iteration of the story, it perhaps could’ve helped the story better if Heracles had a deeper background other than that of the corrupted spirit of the Greek hero. This is all the more frustrating, considering that Berserker of Fate/Zero - Lancelot - also had a deeper backstory.
9 Sasaki Kojiro
Purple-clad swordsman Sasaki Kojiro serves as the guardian of Ryudou Temple, seemingly unable to leave its vicinity. This is partly due to his nature as an Assassin who has another Servant, Caster Medea, as his summoner. Medea only tasked Sasaki to protect her domain of Ryudou Temple, and this was, unfortunately, the extent of his role in the story.
Despite his only desire being that of a proper sword fight, Sasaki is no pushover. His Noble Phantasm, Turning Swallow Strike, is a three-directional attack that apparently reaches parallel dimensions. Unfortunately, his abnormal summoning didn’t allow him any time to explore the nature of his existence, especially since he’s always killed in any scenario of the anime. In Heaven’s Feel, Matou patron Zouken Matou uses Sasaki’s dying body to summon the True Assassin.
8 Kuzuki Soichiro
At first glance, Kuzuki Soichiro is the strict homeroom teacher assigned to the class of Rin Tohsaka. As such, it was quite a surprise for her to learn that this stern teacher became the Master of Medea of the Caster Class. In truth, Soichiro met Medea by chance, when the latter begged him to make a contract with her so she won’t disappear from the War. Soichiro obliged, and their relationship blossomed into a bordering romance. Unfortunately, both he and Medea die in all incarnations in the anime.
However, as viewers would learn, Soichiro was actually trained to become an assassin by an organization at a young age. He only went to Fuyuki City to establish his cover as a teacher in order to do assassinations with ease. It would’ve been interesting to explore this background of Soichiro’s character, considering that very few humans actually dabble into the mercenary arts in the Fate universe.
7 Ryunosuke Uryu
Nothing is perhaps more terrifying than a Master who participates in the Holy Grail War for the sake of killing, and such was the case of Uryu Ryunosuke, a deranged serial killer. Having only stumbling upon the ritual to summon a Servant, Uryu murders a family in cold blood to summon Caster, the horrifying Gilles de Rais. What’s truly horrifying isn’t just the fact that Uryu doesn’t have any ulterior motive about the Grail, but rather he’s completely surrendered himself to the deranged ways of Caster to see more macabre ways of killing.
When the Holy Grail War is temporarily halted to stop him and Caster’s madness, it’s evident that Uryu would become the anime’s main antagonist for its first season. And while Uryu had to die to stop his madness, it would’ve been interesting to see how crazily messed up the Holy Grail War would’ve been had he lasted much longer as a visible threat compared to the other conspirator Masters.
6 Natalia Kaminski
Kiritsugu Emiya may have been infamous for his status as Magus Killer, but this wouldn’t have been possible had it not been for the tutelage of Natalia Kaminski. Briefly shown in Fate/Zero, she served as Kiritsugu’s guardian and eventual mentor after she took him in during a ghoul attack in Alimango Island. Years later, Kiritsugu would have to fire a missile on a plane filled with ghouls with Natalia still inside, with both Natalia and Kiritsugu realizing that her life is inconsequential compared to the havoc the ghouls would inflict on the populace if they survive.
Considering the technical prowess of Fate lore, it was such a shame not to see how Natalia would specifically train Kiritsugu in his methodologies. Despite Natalia’s morally-questionable methods, even she admits Kiritsugu ended up being too methodical as a freelancer. And it would’ve been interesting to explore their full relationship, considering that Kiritsugu considered Natalia as a mother until the end.
5 Emiya Noritaka
Serving as the fourth head of the Emiya Family, Emiya Noritaka was considered a genius among magi despite his weak family line. In fact, such was Noritaka’s potential that the Magus Association gave him a Sealing Designation, a retrieval order reserved to magi with thaumaturgical abilities that no one else can study. Despite his natural curiosity as a scientist, Noritaka focused more on Kiritsugu’s welfare than anyone else in Alimango Island.
An experiment gone wrong would have his assistant transform into a ghoul, forcing the Association to send down Natalia to deal with the threat. When Kiritsugu reunites with his father, he realizes that Noritaka is willing to continue his experiments despite the moral costs, forcing the young man to kill him in turn. Considering the technical nature of Fate lore, it would’ve been interesting to see Noritaka’s take on magecraft, particularly as to how Masters of the Holy Grail War could use it to their advantage.
4 Tohsaka Tokiomi
In the early stages of the Fourth Holy Grail War, Fate/Zero showed Tokiomi Tohsaka conspiring with the likes of Kotomine Kirei to secure victory by summoning the most powerful servant, Gilgamesh of the Archer Class. This alone shows Tokiomi’s nature as cunning, manipulative, and arrogant. Serving as a father to both Rin Tohsaka and Sakura Matou, Tokiomi is shown to prioritize the welfare of the Magus Association first than his own family. Unfortunately for Tokiomi, his own understudy Kirei would betray him and kill him near the end of the War.
Despite Tokiomi being built as Kiritsugu’s “foil,” it was a shame for the two of them to have never interacted. It would’ve also been interesting to see Tokiomi fighting on the front lines with his magical abilities, instead of the careful maneuvering he’s done throughout the series, especially considering the existence of the Magus Association in Fate/Grand Order.
3 Maiya Hisau
Kiritsugu always had a young woman with him in his travels, and this was Maiya Hisau. Serving as his assistant during the Fourth Holy Grail War, Maiya and Kiritsugu had a professional relationship that stemmed years in the past. Apparently, Kiritsugu had rescued Maiya from a war-torn country after she was trained to become a child soldier. Existing without a name, Kiritsugu simply gave her “Maiya Hisau” while making her fake credentials.
Given her status as Kiritsugu’s assistant, he also trained her in the ways of magic, albeit informally. With her training as a child soldier, Maiya is an extremely competent combatant. Unfortunately, her traumas in childhood made her grim, brooding, and lacking any sense of self. It would’ve been interesting to see Maiya and Kiritsugu meet for the first time and see their relationship develop further throughout Fate/Zero, instead of Maiya being the glorified bodyguard.
2 Waver Velvet
A magus with a grudge against the Magus Association, Waver Velvet stole an artifact belonging to his teacher, Lord El-Melloi, and used it to summon a Servant. Originally just out to prove his genius to the Association, he gets roped into the Holy Grail War due to the overbearing nature of his Servant, the Rider Iskandar. Due to his lack of battle experience, Iskandar often sees Waver as a nuisance. However, thanks to Iskandar’s skills, Waver ultimately survives the war - but not without developing a bleaker outlook towards the world.
Despite his status as a minor character in Fate/Zero, there’s more to Waver’s talents than what’s depicted in the series. He eventually becomes Lord El-Melloi II, the successor to his professor, and even becomes the vessel of the Servant Zhuge Liang. It would’ve been interesting to see more of Waver’s tactical prowess and potential in the mystic arts, especially considering his bigger role in the Magus Association in the future.
1 Hassan Of The Cursed Arm
It was only in the Heaven’s Feel route of Fate/stay night that fans got to see the true form of the Servant meant to become an Assassin instead of Sasaki Kojiro. Also known as True Assassin, it was Hassan of the Cursed Arm that Matou Zoken summoned after using Kojiro’s dying corpse as a catalyst. Although lacking a personality and intelligence, Hassan of the Cursed Arm is extremely loyal to its master, making him a deadly Servant ready to follow his Master’s whims. He only acquires a personality after killing Lancer and attaining his heart, obtaining a bit of Cu Chulainn’s essence inside him.
Despite his minor role in the story, it would’ve been interesting to know more about Hassan’s true nature. In truth, he is simply a man who wanted to become a legend in the form of the Old Men of the Mountain. Unfortunately, when he took upon the role of Hassan-i-Sabbah, he would soon realize that this meant giving up on his dream of ever becoming known. In Fate/Grand Order, Hassan of the Cursed Arm is one of multiple Hassan Assassin variants players can obtain.