Tokiomi Tohsaka: Who's Taking Advantage of Whom?

Azu naturally noticed the unusual nature of the Heavenly Garment and exclaimed in admiration at its mystery.

On screen, Illya, in place of Shirou Emiya, follows the original ritual, offering herself as a sacrifice to activate the Great Holy Grail, slowly closing it.

"Bye-Bye."

Illya smiled and turned back to say goodbye to Shirou Emiya.

"Although Shirou and I are not related by blood, it's really wonderful to be able to become siblings with Shirou."

After bidding her final farewell, Illya walked toward the Great Holy Grail, accepting the fate that the Einsbern family, who created humans, should face.

"Illya!!"

Shirou Emiya anxiously tried to say something, but it was too late.

"Illya is going to sacrifice herself?"

Shibamatsu was somewhat bewildered.

Originally, as the story of HF was nearing its end, he was already considering whether he should leave early to avoid being locked in the basement at night.

However, Illya's last-minute reversal completely dispelled his pre-planned scheme.

"No, this isn't a plot twist. Illya's sacrifice was foreshadowed long ago."

As the movie flashbacks show scenes of Illya and Shirou together, we recall Illya mentioning the lifespan of androids.

Given that Illya already had a limited lifespan, sacrificing herself to allow Shirou Emiya and Matou Sakura to be together seems not hard to understand.

Only--

Who in their right mind would think of this?!

Anyway, Shibamatsu felt that no one who had seen the FSN movie (including himself) would have expected that Illya would sacrifice herself in the end.

[The Emiya family has really had a lot of bad luck, especially Kiritsugu Emiya. If he knew the outcome of the Fifth Holy Grail War, he wouldn't even be able to die peacefully, would he?]

Shibamatsu rested his chin on his hand and mentally complained.

In contrast, Azu, sitting next to Shibamatsu, didn't have as many distracting thoughts.

This traditional Magecraft actually felt a slight envy towards Illya.

"As a human, Illya is quite pitiful. But Magecraft, to be able to personally reach the other side of the hole is simply—"

Azu didn't know how to describe it, but she felt that it must be a gift that the Root had given to the pure girl, Illya.

The other Magecraft agreed with Azu's sentiments.

"I wish I had this opportunity."

"Yes, it's a rare opportunity."

Compared to those somewhat eccentric Magecraft, the reactions of ordinary viewers were much more normal.

"Poor Illya."

Why are all the female characters in Fate so tragic?!

"Does Shinji Matou have a problem with us girls?!"

When they saw Illya saying goodbye to Shirou Emiya, many viewers who are not easily moved by film and television works felt their noses tingle.

I'm leaving.

Illya was enveloped in light, and with a final, farewell smile, she slammed the doors of the Great Holy Grail shut.

Shirou Emiya finally collapsed to the ground, unable to hold on any longer. He looked up at the sky revealed by the complete collapse of the cave and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Finally, it's all over.

The thousand-year pursuit of the Einzbern, the five-hundred-year obsession of the Makiri, the two-hundred-year prayer of the Tohsaka, and the Holy Grail War that lasted for more than 200 years in five separate wars, have finally come to an end.

Chapter 223 Tokiomi Tohsaka: Who really got the better deal?

"I'm back! Oh dear, I'm so sorry, I was late because I went to collect the offerings I received from the Issei's Buddhist altar."

On the screen, the familiar red-haired boy walked into the room carrying a mountain of shopping bags.

The two beautiful women who were already waiting for him in the room stared at him and then grinned foolishly.

"Hey, Emiya- kun, you're still the same as ever, you look really energetic."

Tohsaka Rin, who had changed to long, straight black hair, greeted the other person with feigned composure, but her voice unconsciously went off-key.

Hehe~

Matou Sakura took turns looking at Tohsaka Rin and Shirou Emiya, while one of them covered her mouth and chuckled to herself.

"Senior, Sister, you two are really evenly matched!"

"Hey, Sakura!" *2

Hehe~

The three of them naturally teased each other, their faces beaming with genuine joy.

This is just a normal conversation between family members, but it is a life that three teenagers paid for with their lives.

This scene depicts Tohsaka Rin returning from studying in Britain two years after the end of the Holy Grail War.

Two years ago, Illya sacrificed herself to shut down the Great Holy Grail.

In the final moments before the hole closed, Illya used the Holy Grail's last remaining function to extract the soul of Shirou Emiya, whose body had completely collapsed, and stored it in a container.

Afterwards, Rider, Tohsaka Rin, and Matou Sakura, who had found the vessel for Shirou Emiya's soul, purchased the work of a Grand Puppeteer and placed Shirou Emiya's soul into a blank doll, allowing him to live in a form almost indistinguishable from a normal person.

At the same time, due to the side effects of being connected to the Holy Grail, Matou Sakura gained immense magical power, which allowed Rider to remain in this world.

Two years later, in the spring, Tohsaka Rin returned to Japan after studying abroad. She, along with Matou Sakura, Shirou Emiya, and Rider, who stayed at the Emiya family home, made a pact to go flower viewing together.

Walking along the streets where cherry blossoms were fluttering in the air, Tohsaka Rin looked at her family and smiled sincerely.

"Sister? What's wrong? Why are you giving that wicked smile?"

"Huh? Really? You're mistaken, Sakura."

Tohsaka Rin waved her hand, then asked seriously, "Sakura, are you happy?"

"Yes."

Looking at her beaming smile, no words were needed to explain.

This smile is the best gift for Shirou Emiya, Tohsaka Rin, and all the fans who finished watching Heaven's Feel.

The camera gradually zooms out, and the figures of the four people walking on the slope gradually become smaller.

Winter has passed, spring has arrived.

Thus concludes the theatrical release of Heaven's Feel, temporarily bringing the Holy Grail War to a close.

The reason it's described as temporary is that Shinji filmed the ending of "Spring Returns" as well as the ending of "Cherry Blossom Dreams," but it wasn't used.

Considering the oppressive atmosphere throughout HF, Shinji felt that the story shouldn't torture the audience any further at the end; a happy ending would suffice.

"This is the downside of commercial stories; compromises have to be made to cater to the audience's feelings."

Shinji crossed his arms and complained softly.

"According to my original idea, the Heaven's Feel story should have a nested ending of 'Spring's Return' and 'Sakura's Dream.' First, Sakura dreams of the happy ending of 'Spring's Return,' but when she wakes up, she discovers that Shirou Emiya is actually dead, and she is still waiting in vain."

"Master, please, have some decency!" *4

In the small conference room, the other four people complained at the same time.

Shinji shook his finger and said, "How can this be called being inhuman? Please call this the result of a pretentious, artsy mindset."

"He just enjoys toying with others through tragedy."

Joan of Arc astutely pointed out Shinji's inner depravity.

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As the credits rolled, Shinji's specially prepared piano version of <Disillusion> for the ending of HF began to play.

From North America to Britain, from Europe to Japan, virtually no one left the theaters participating in the HF screenings.

They were all listening intently to the melodious singing, bidding farewell to this final chapter of the FSN story.

Even the most wonderful journey must come to an end; even the most beautiful gathering must eventually end in parting.

In the spring of 2003, everyone met because of that question, "Are you my Master?"

Now, in the winter of 2006, we've come to the end of this story.

Are you sad?

Certainly, compared to the previous two versions, HF has a more pronounced tragic tone.

However, it is precisely because of the darkness of the process that the audience is particularly satisfied with the Happy Ending, fulfilling their expectations for the happy life of the three boys and girls in Fuyuki City.

Fortunately, the audience was unaware that the story of HF could have ended with the male protagonist dying and the female protagonist living a lonely life.

Otherwise, these fans wouldn't be sitting quietly in the theater listening to the music; instead, they would be rushing to the post office to send razor blades to some Director in Fuyuki City.

"Ah... it's over."

The lights came on, Azu remained seated in the movie theater, the song "Disillusion" still playing softly, and the end credits still rolling on the screen.

In her daze, she felt like she was having a dream, a dream that lasted for three whole years.

Her feelings were very complicated, and she didn't know how to describe them.

Before she came across FSN movies, she never imagined she would be so obsessed with something outside of Magecraft.

But one Azu is for sure: she will definitely watch the three FSN series more than once in the near future: the movie version, the TV series UBW, and the OV version of HF.

By this time, the friends who had been with Azu had long since disappeared.

Judging from the slogan Fujita shouted before leaving, "Send Shibamatsu to the basement," those guys must have been fooling around outside.

Azu was too lazy to deal with those mischievous guys. Rather than wasting her energy, she'd rather savor the fantasy story of HF, which combined real Magecraft with fantasy elements.

"As expected of Shinji Matou..."

Despite having said this countless times, Azu still sighed in this way once again.

Only Shinji Matou, who excels in both Magecraft and film, could perfectly integrate Magecraft into a movie—both in terms of story setting and technical support.

Shinji Matou, while holding a devout attitude towards Magecraft, also possesses a spirit of daring adventure.

He did not get lost in the tedious conventions of Magecraft, but instead extracted its essence and discarded its dross, making reasonable and bold imaginations about existing Magecraft, and presenting everyone with the image of "how Magecraft should be" in his mind.

"Sigh, I'm a little envious of Touko... She ended up getting this ad for free."

Azu sighed softly; she was having more and more thoughts about Shinji Matou.

My good friend Aozaki Touko will definitely become more and more famous in the Mage world, and may even become the world's number one puppeteer, just like in the HF story.

Even if Touko's actual skill level doesn't reach that level, people in the Mage world, influenced by Fate, will still think so.

After all, Touko is undoubtedly world-class in the production of Magecraft props, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it is among the top tier.

However, Touko has an advantage that other Magecraft cannot match— Shinji Matou's powerful publicity.

"However, Aozaki Public might be angry, right?" Azu chuckled, stroking her chin. "Although she clearly mentioned Touko's name earlier, she didn't mention the surname Aozaki. But I suppose that old man probably wouldn't care about such empty titles anyway."

Azu had no idea that Shinji would later release a new anime called "Kara no Kyoukai" in which Touko would have a significant role.

If that work is successful, it won't be as simple as HF just mentioning it at the end; Touko's influence in the Mage world could reach an unprecedented level.

At that point, it won't be a question of whether Aozaki Public cares about empty fame.

Even though Azu didn't know about the Kara no Kyoukai, she was still envious of Touko's limelight.

"Yes, we definitely need to find a way to get in touch with Mr. Matou; simply being an organizer of a fan club isn't enough."

Stepping out of the theater, looking at the bright moon in the sky, Azu clenched her fist tightly.

There are quite a few Magecraft Kuonji Azu. Everyone is not stupid; they can't possibly not see the benefits of promoting their own family through film and television works.

Even if these Magecraft are truly idiots or old-fashioned, unable to grasp modern things like media, the valuable Magecraft knowledge displayed in HF is enough to make them drool.