Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh (ギルガメッシュ), also known as Archer (アーチャー), is the Archer-class Servant of Tokiomi Tohsaka in the Fourth Holy Grail War of Fate/Zero. He later forms a new contract with Kirei Kotomine that lasts ten years later into the time of the Fifth Holy Grail War of Fate/stay night. He has a obsession with Saber during both stories.

Identity
Gilgamesh is the great half-god, half-human king born from the union between the King of, , and goddess. He ruled the Sumerian of Uruk, the capital city of ancient, in the years before. He was an ultimate, transcendent being so divine as to be two thirds god and one third human, and no others in the world could match him. He was a despot possessing high divinity who believed he was invincible. He is not merely a legend, and is said to have actually existed and ruled during the Sumer Dynasty five thousand years ago. He was the King of Heroes who possessed all things in the world, whose tale is recorded in mankind's oldest epic poem, the  which portrays Gilgamesh as a hero, destined to be king and achieve great feats, who is driven to meet his destiny, facing challenges together with his best friend Enkidu.

Gilgamesh was originally a tyrant who did not care about his people, but his behavior slowly changed after he gained a friend considered to be an equal,. Enkidu was created by the goddess Aruru in response to the prayers of the people who suffered under Gilgamesh's oppression and tyrannical policies. He is described as a foolish and ridiculous fellow whom, despite having a body made of mud and soil, set his heart to stand shoulder to shoulder with gods. The two met as was fated, and they strongly affected each other even though Gilgamesh feared Enkidu as an enemy at first. While Enkidu was released to fight against Gilgamesh, and they met and battled as enemies, they eventually came to understand each other soon after, recognized each other as equals, and worked together to rule the country.

The two eventually defeated the, the guardian of the forest and beast of the gods. He became the greatest and richest king on Earth, who eventually acquired all the treasures of the world. Uruk became unprecedentedly prosperous, and Gilgamesh was considered so powerful that even the gods could not ignore his existence. One goddess, the goddess of fertility, even fell in love with Gilgamesh and proposed marriage to the perfect king. He rejected her immediately because he knew her to be a witch who was unfaithful, cruel, and the corruptor of all men. She became furious, feeling that he had insulted her, and went to her father, the god, to get revenge. She persuaded him to unleash the Bull of Heaven.

The unopposable beast of the gods caused seven years of starvation and destruction on the earth. Gilgamesh and Enkidu cooperated, faced the Bull of Heaven, and they successfully defeated it after Gilgamesh bound it with the Chains of Heaven. Ishtar's reputation was once again crushed, and her fury did not abate. She complained before the Gods to give death to one of the men, as it was a sin for human to kill the beast of the gods. Her wish was granted, and since he was created by the gods, Enkidu could not resist the command. Due to his hubris and disrespectful arrogance that offended the gods in heaven, he suffered divine retribution that caused him to slowly weaken to death.

Gilgamesh is unable to forget the way Enkidu passed away with tears streaming down his face. He asked Enkidu "Why are you crying? Could it be that, only now, you are regretting having taken my side?", to which Enkidu responded “Who would understand you after I die? Who else would march forward by your side? My friend… when I think that you will live on all alone henceforth, I can’t help but shed tears…” As he saw Enkidu taking his last breaths, he realized that the way the man who was human but wanted to surpass humanity had lived was even more precious and more brilliant than all the treasures he had collected. His final words to Enkidu were “You fool who stretches your hand towards realms not of men… There is only one person in heaven or earth who’s worthy of appreciating your destruction, and that is none other than I, Gilgamesh. Sink into my embrace, oh you glorious and illusionary man. That is my decision.” As Enkidu's golden majestic brilliance disappeared in the night mist, there was only an evil laughter left echoing long after.

Enkidu's death began Gilgamesh's downfall. He was shocked by the fact that death could come to even a friend who was his equal, and he was tormented by the fear of this "death." He finally traveled to the underworld in search of immorality, and obtained the miraculous elixir of immortality at the end of a long journey and many hardships. It was stolen by a snake on his way back while he was bathing. While it is said he eventually died of grief, he personally claims to Saber that immortality was nothing he needed, so he casually gave it to the snake. It is said that the snake begins its life again in a new body after shedding its skin because it stole Gilgamesh's medicine and drank it. The skin shed by the first snake in the world in ancient times was later fossilized and remained in existence for countless eons before being used as a catalyst by Tohsaka Tokiomi to summon Gilgamesh as Archer in the Fourth Holy Grail War.

Appearance
Gilgamesh is a tall and dignified young man with golden hair standing up like a blazing flame. He is described as handsome with an elegant face, and his eyes, crimson like blood, are visibly not those of a human and give off a mysterious radiance that makes people wither. He has a "perfect, Golden-proportioned body" described as emanating majesty that makes flames surrounding him afraid to come close. He normally wears golden armor that makes a heavy first impression on those he encounters. While fighting at full power in Fate/hollow ataraxia, he gains a number of red tattoos on his body that are not normally present.

He is often referred to as the "golden Archer" and the "golden-sparkling Servant," and Rider generally calls him "Goldie." Rin calls him Gold-glitter, but it has less to do with the color of his hair and more simply due to the fact that she thinks he looks like he is living a rich and luxurious life.

He likes to wear casual clothes, "playing attire" to ward off boredom from being in spirit form, when not in battle, such as a modern match-up of a leather jacket with furs and fashionable leather pants. He looks like a regular foreigner to both Rin and Archer, and he does not openly give off the impression of a Servant or Master due to his body being made of flesh after the Fourth Holy Grail War.

After drinking his potion of youth, he takes the form of a young child that is referred to as Child-Gil (子ギル). He has the same blood-red eyes and golden hair that makes him stand out from others. Shirou is unable to identify him from sight, and he finds it hard to believe they are the same person even after being told.

Personality
Gilgamesh is extremely arrogant and selfish, believing himself to be the sole ruler and only king of the world even thousands of years after his death. He cannot acknowledge the authority of anyone, including that of other kings and especially that of the gods. He views all those around him as inferior due to this fact, viewing all other kings and heroes as a collection of mongrels, and disdains anyone who would try to be on the same level as him. The only exception is Enkidu, who he considered to be his equal and only friend. He responds to Rider's request to join him as an ally by saying "It is unfortunate, but I do not require a second friend. Past and future, my companion will only be one."

He believes that all who look upon him, when he honors them with his presence, should be able to recognize him instantly, and feels that the ignorance of not knowing him is worthy of death. If anyone so much as looks upon him with a "lowly and filthy" gaze, it is an intolerable disgrace for a nobleman who claims the title of king more so than anyone else. This is enough to make that person a complete criminal in his eyes, instantly marked for death. He doesn't view the modern world as worthy of having him rule over it because humanity has become too weak. After finding out the nature of the Holy Grail, he plans to use it to eradicate most of the world's population and rule over those who survive.

Despite his treasury having been dispersed all over the world, he still holds that it all belongs to him. As its contents even exceeded his knowledge, if an item is labeled as a "treasure", it is obvious that it belongs to him. He has absolutely no interest in the Holy Grail before finding out its true nature because competing for his own treasure is a pointless action. He doesn't have a wish, but he cannot allow people to rob his treasury as a matter of principles. The only reason he needs is that it was the law he set down as king. Only if he agrees to give someone the Holy Grail would he allow them to obtain it, but the rats trying to steal his treasure are not worthy of reward. He doesn't mind rewarding his own subjects and people, and would even allow Rider a "cup or two" if he were to bow down to him.

He takes a great interest in Saber and her ideals, and proposes that she becomes his wife. He becomes enthralled with her stubbornness, believing there has to be at least one person in the world to deny him. Should he actually "obtain" her, he comes to realize that the outcome isn't very satisfying. Normally flowers are their most beautiful as their petals fall, but feels disappointed because she only shines brightly to him when she is opposing him. He decides to "show her his love" until he grows tired of her. He has no interest in Saber Alter because she has lost sight of her ideals.

He is prone to underestimating his opponents and views fights as a game of amusement. His gigantic ego prevents him from acknowledging his opponent as a real threat and he does not battle them seriously. This leads to his defeat in his dogfight with Berserker in the Fourth Holy Grail War and his deaths in the possible scenarios of the Fifth Holy Grail War.

After he consumes his potion of youth, he becomes a well-mannered, polite and amiable little boy. He not only retains his memory but his royal and divine charisma as well. He is amiable with Shirou and expresses his uneasiness of how he grows up to become someone so unpleasant. He becomes a popular idol among children in Fuyuki, as he is seen leading a football team with amazing leadership. Though he later reverts to his normal self, he is able to socialize with others without issue, though he displays his usual arrogance, and becomes portrayed comically in a number of scenes.

He is quite different between the Fourth and Fifth Holy Grail Wars due to his priorities. Kinoko Nasu describes the variation in his personality as the "prideful Boss King of Heroes" and the "not very prideful Horny King of Heroes."

Development
When selecting heroes for Fate/stay night, Gilgamesh was chosen as the oldest and most obscure hero that Kinoko Nasu and Takashi Takeuchi could find in contrast to the well renowned Heracles. While there were other candidates, they liked his strong sounding name and myth. The overall concept of the character was changed very little since his initial conception.

Fate/Zero
Gilgamesh is summoned by Tokiomi Tohsaka in the Fourth Holy Grail War. While the relic used as the catalyst looked like the broken fragment of a mummy, it was actually claimed to be the fossil of the first skin ever shed by a snake. He immediately takes notice of both Saber and Rider due to their status as kings. As they exchange their philosophies on ruling as monarchs, he develops a fascination for Saber due to her flawed ideals and the chance to see them crush her in despair. He feels Rider is a suitable opponent after witnessing Ionioi Hetairoi, and exclaims that he will be the one to kill him.

He eventually begins to take an interest in the actions taken by Kirei Kotomine, Tokiomi's disciple, because of the conflicts in his heart. He has begun to find Tokiomi boring and uninteresting to view, so he attempts to guide Kirei into finding true pleasure in his otherwise empty life. He suggests that Kirei should determine the backgrounds and the motivations of the other Masters and Servants as to why they wish to obtain the Holy Grail. As Kirei takes an interest in Kariya Matou, he convinces him to learn about him specifically

In the culmination of these events, Kirei reveals that Tokiomi will use a Command Spell to force Gilgamesh to commit suicide to gain the Holy Grail and proposes that he should form a new contract. Gilgamesh allows him to murder his former mentor and forms a contract with Kirei afterward. He continues to observe Kirei's movements with interest, and finally has his duel with Rider that ends in Rider's defeat. In a moment of respect, he spares Waver Velvet after the fight because he no longer has any claims as a Master, only proclaims that he is Rider's follower, and says that as his king told him to live, he cannot seek revenge only to die.

During the final confrontation with Saber, he proposes that she becomes his wife while she lays defeated in front of him. Their battle is interrupted by Kiritsugu Emiya ordering Saber to destroy the Holy Grail. Due to his proximity, Gilgamesh is caught off guard and becomes drenched by the pollution that spills from the Holy Grail. He obtains a physical body, and because he has been incarnated into the world, he decides that it is time to once again unite the world under his rule. He continues to follow Kotomine after the war is over, and Kotomine provides him with energy drained from children orphaned by the fire to sustain himself. He decides to wait for the next Holy Grail War to cleanse humanity, so he retrieves a potion of temporary youth from his vault that reduces his physical age and allows him to smoothly blend in with society for ten years.

Fate/stay night
Gilgamesh is one of the antagonists in each scenario of Fate/stay night. He first appears before the start of the Fifth Holy Grail War around Sakura's house. He identifies her as “the other Grail” and comes to tell her “Go die right now.” It is just a suggestion rather than a command, as he believes that the matter will develop into some sort of entertainment regardless of the situation. When asked about the encounter, Sakura just claims that he was asking for directions and that “It was English” in order to hide the truth.

Fate
In Fate, he kills Caster as she assaults Shirou's residence, and later ambushes Shirō and Saber during their date. Gilgamesh reveals to Saber his true identity and pulls out his Ea from his treasury. As Saber and Gilgamesh noble phantasm clashes, Gilgamesh's Enuma Elish over powered Excalibur blast and seemingly defeated Saber. Shirou projected Avalon and repelled Enuma Elish back to Gilgamesh, forcing him to retreat.

Shirou was held captive when he wanted to know more about the 8th Servant as he went to the Church to see Kirei. Kirei revealed everything about the Fourth Grail War and Gilgamesh was his previous servant to Shirou and Saber. While Kirei ordered Lancer and Gilgamesh to eliminate Saber and Shirou. Lancer disgusted with Gilgamesh and Kirei, betrays them and allows Saber to Shirou to escape. After that, Gilgamesh kills Lancer.

Ultimately, he is killed in a climatic battle with Saber at the Ryuudouji Temple atop Mount Enzō.

Unlimited Blade Works
Gilgamesh is more active in Unlimited Blade Works, and reprises his role as the final antagonist; He is "lent" to Shinji Matou after Shinji's Servant, Rider, is killed by Sōichirō Kuzuki and later easily killed Ilya and Berserker. Gilgamesh attempts to use Shinji as the core of the Holy Grail, but he is killed by Archer after being cornered by Shirō.

Heaven's Feel
Gilgamesh has a small role in Heaven's Feel scenario, where he lacerates Dark Sakura with swords from the Gate of Babylon. However, he underestimates her regenerative abilities and is devoured by her shadows. Dark Sakura is forced to quickly convert him to mana in haste because Gilgamesh's ego allows him to be immune to the mental pollution and she was afraid he might tear her up from the inside if she does not digest him.

Fate/Hollow Ataraxia
In Fate/hollow ataraxia, Gilgamesh once again consumes his potion of youth, and holds a low-profile in Fuyuki City to avoid interacting with previous Servants or Masters. As a child, he is extremely popular with other children, retaining his royal charisma but also affable and amiable. When Shirou reunited with this younger Gilgamesh, Shirou did not recognize him and was surprised as to how Gilgamesh would eventually grow into such a haughty and selfish person. It is possible that Gilgamesh is a better person when he is still a child, or the potion he consume to revert to child affects his personality as well as his age. Furthermore, he still remembers the events in Fate/stay night as he recognizes Shirou and greets him politely. He is also aware of his adult alter ego and wonders why he grows up becoming someone so unpleasant. During the Fuyuki eclipse, he reverts to his adult form and assists the other Servants in slaying the endless horde of Shadow Wolf Beasts, providing the opportunity for Avenger to make his way to Heaven's Feel. He also seems to retain his pleasant personality even after he turns back as adult as he is seen fishing at Fuyuki Dock with several children, with golden fishing rods that his children companions think very cool albeit being slightly silly-looking.

Other
Fate/strange fake and Fate/Extra CCC feature other incarnations of Gilgamesh separate from the version summoned during the Fuyuki Holy Grail Wars. Archer of strange fake is the Servant of Teene Cherke, and Gilgamesh in Fate/Extra CCC is one of the four selectable Servants summoned by the Protagonist along with Saber, Caster, and Archer. Fate/Prototype features Archer, an alternate version of Gilgamesh that lacks his kingly disposition. In Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Ilya, Gilgamesh is the 8th servant as well as the 2nd archer. Unlike his Fate/stay night counterpart, who is extremely stingy when using either Gate of Babylon or Ea, Gilgamesh does not hesitate to utilize either of them at maximum output.

Abilities
Gilgamesh is placed into the Archer class because of his main Noble Phantasm, Gate of Babylon. It grants him access to all of the world's treasures that he collected during his life, which include prototypes of other heroes' Noble Phantasms, and he can launch them as the strongest arrows towards his opponents. While he may sometimes choose to wield them as regular weapons, he mainly fights by raining down an infinite amount of weapons on his opponents. The most trusted Noble Phantasms contained within include Enkidu and Ea. While he has numerous Noble Phantasms, none are indicative of his true identity, and the only person through both Holy Grail Wars to figure out his identity without being told is Rider, though Shirou is able to guess after he gives a number of details about himself.

He has the skill Golden Rule, being fated to a life that is filled with riches. It does not measure the percentage of gold in one's body, but the chance of attracting gold in one's life. The level of gold provided by rank A will make the user incredibly wealthy to the point where money trouble will be unknown, allowing him to live the life of a. While it seems unrelated to battle, it plays a great role in arming him. Claiming all the world's treasures as his own, he obtained the originals of Noble Phantasms preserved in his treasury during that period.

He has a very high rank of Charisma with the influence to build a grand empire on a global scale. He is often praised as the greatest king, so his ability to command and lead great armies is excellent. It is a rare talent, and even a B rank is sufficient enough to lead a nation. Gilgamesh has a rank of A+, making it no longer a matter of popularity or skill, but closer to something like sorcery or curse. Any army led by him will have a tremendous increase in abilities because an egotistical Gilgamesh radiating with self-confidence will be sure to boost the morale of his army to an extremely high level.

He would normally possess the highest rank of Divinity among the many Heroic Spirits due to being 2/3 God. He is at a level even exceeding Heracles, the son of Zeus who ascended to the Pantheon after death. The rank is instead decreased from A+ to B due to him despising the Gods because they killed his friend Enkidu, unleashed the Bull of Heaven onto the earth, and caused him much trouble.

Combat
His compatibility against Heroic Spirits is great due to the versatility of his weapons, allowing him to assault the weakness of any Servant. He can be called the "Servant Destroyer" because he has an advantage over most of them in combat and because they are no match for him. He is undoubtedly the strongest Servant. He is rarely serious while fighting, describing his going all out in hollow ataraxia as a once in a lifetime whim, and it is said he could have ended the Fourth Holy Grail War in a single night if he wished. He also would have been able to conquer the four day loop of Fate/hollow ataraxia by himself had he not turned himself into a child. He has the absolute self-confidence to calmly show himself before his opponents, but he is also apt to simply kill by raining Noble Phantasms behind his enemies' backs depending on his mood. The will of the king cannot be simply gauged by the concept of tactic.

He is extremely perceptive of magecraft, allowing him to see through Caster's fake death and tell the exact number of spells a magus is preparing just by looking at them. He is able to predict the exact number of Projections prepared by Shirou, and asks what kind of hero he would be if he could not see through a magus. He is also capable of accurately assessing his opponents' abilities. He would not even consider having a battle of swordsmanship with Assassin, and while he plays around with a weakened Saber in Fate, he immediately backs off from her to avoid hand-to-hand combat during Unlimited Blade Works after she receives a boost in power from her contract with Rin.

He normally wears golden armor materialized from magical energy much like Saber's armor. It is extremely strong to the point that Shirou initially assumes that it is his main Noble Phantasm. It has a strong innate Magic Resistance, and it is durable enough to block Tsubame Gaeshi and numerous strong blows from Invisible Air simply by protecting his head with his hands. While it is completely free from damage after Saber's attacks, he claims it is at its limit and that any more would be bad even if his armor doesn't give out to attacks often. Shirou believes she would have been able to slash through it if she were to relaunch her barrage of attacks.

He did not have any abilities to resist magecraft during life, so he only gains Magic Resistance as the class ability of the Archer class. He obtains C rank under Tokiomi, allowing him to completely nullify magecraft under two verses, but he is still susceptible to High Thaumaturgy and Greater Rituals. It is lowered under Kirei due to his lack of magical energy, and remains at only the minimal level, rank E, that provides light damage mitigation against magecraft rather than full neutralization. The state of his Magic Resistance matters little, as he is able to neutralize most magecraft with his many items that defend against it. His armor and a shield are able to repel A-rank magecraft with ease. Overall, he is much more likely to simply unleash a raging wave of Noble Phantasms against "mongrels" impeding the king by attempting to use large-scale spells, completely crushing them without even giving them the time to cast.

Independent Action
Gilgamesh has a high rank of Independent Action, rank A, allowing him to easily utilize his Noble Phantasms and remain in the world without Tokiomi's backup. He is able to easily ignore his Master's orders, making it possible to stroll around without making his Master aware of his whereabouts. The only way to command him is through the use of Command Spells, but his disposition that does not even contain an ounce of respect for his Master makes utilizing them idly a bad move. Utilizing Noble Phantasms of great power does require backup from his Master.

After being materialized, he gains the rank of A+, completely setting him apart from the rest of the Servants by allowing him to operate without a Master. Exceeding his previous rank, the support of the Master is unnecessary even while unleashing a large amount of magical power. It is an ability that bends the rules, and it allows for his continued materialization as a Servant even after the conclusion of the Holy Grail War for ten years. While he was always able to operate without regard for his Master, gaining a physical body is what allowed for him to remain materialized after the Holy Grail War. While he accepts energy supplied by Kirei from a number of orphans, he claims that the act was unnecessary overall.

Incarnation
Servants are normally corrupted and blackened upon contact with the incarnation of All the World's Evil from the Holy Grail, but Gilgamesh is unable to be controlled or blackened due to his powerful ego that can stave back the mental pollution. He claims that someone would need at least three times that amount to even think about affecting him. The only change after being temporarily absorbed after being showered by the black mud spilled from the broken vessel of the Holy Grail is that the saturation converts his spiritual body to one of flesh and blood. It could not digest him, so he was given a flesh body and regurgitated back into the present world. Becoming completely incarnated, he continued to survive as an existence with a physical body.

During Heaven's Feel after being devoured by Sakura, she quickly converted him to mana in haste because she was afraid he might tear her up from the inside if she does not digest him. It also has to do with the power behind the curse, as the "mud" cut off from the main body that he manged to "beautifully escape" and the "shadow" connected to the thing itself are of different quality.