Rin Tohsaka

Rin Tohsaka (遠坂 凛) is one of the three main heroines of Fate/stay night who acts as the Master of Archer in the Fifth Holy Grail War.

Appearance
Rin has long black hair, which she styles into twintails tied with black ribbons. During school, she wears the standard Homurahara uniform, which she sometimes accompanies with a long red coat. Her casual clothing consists of a red turtleneck, a black skirt and long black socks.

When she was young, her clothing consisted of a white shirt with a red necktie, a red skirt and long black socks, much like when she becomes older.

Background
Two centuries ago, the Tohsaka House, in collaboration with the estates of Makiri and Einzbern, helped found the Fuyuki Holy Grail Wars. The land of Fuyuki City, which possessed the second greatest spiritual power in all Japan, was owned by Rin's ancestor, Nagato Tohsaka; at the behest of the Einzberns, he provided his property as battleground for present and future wars. Nagato was a, as well as a pupil of Zelretch; these titles gave him considerable influence in both the Mage's Association and the Church, allowing the Tohsaka family to participate in the Holy Grail Wars, free from harassment by either organization.

Rin was brought up as the successor to her family's magecraft, and was instructed by her father to prioritize sorcery over her own interests. Ten years ago, Tokiomi Tohsaka was selected as a Master in the 4th Holy Grail War, and Rin was entrusted to take care of the Tohsaka estate until his return. Her mother, Aoi Tohsaka, was left in a debilitated state from the war, so her care was left to her guardian, Kirei Kotomine. After her father was killed, Rin continued to improve her sorcery with some guidance from Kirei Kotomine. To divert attention from her private life, Rin has diligently strived to earn the admiration of her peers, even though she is secretly stingy, tomboyish, and a slacker. The rights to the Tohsaka lands were inherited by Aoi after Tokiomi's death, and subsequently inherited by Rin after Aoi's death. Kirei managed them as Rin's guardian, and because of his foolhardy and coarse management, the majority of profitable properties ended up in the hands of others. It is possible that he believed the wealth was bad for her upbringing due to following the principles of humility and poverty.

Although Rin resents the sacrifices she has endured for the sake of tradition, she is fiercely competitive and eager to prove herself as a skilled and capable magus. She was immensely disappointed at summoning Archer and ended up in a quarrel with him; however, the duo soon reconciled, set aside their differences and quickly got along.

Personality
Rin is a perceptive, serious, resourceful and very competitive person. Though she is widely-admired at school as an honor student, it is a front she puts up in order to prevent others from prying into her life. In private, she is notably stingy and bossy, but usually means well for those she cares about. She is known as a model student and idol of her school.

During her childhood, she understood the Fourth Holy Grail War about as much as Shirou understands the Fifth, seemingly understanding while not actually comprehending it. She saw her father as a great magus who must be respected and loved, but failed to understand the negative aspect of his personality, the coldheartedness that accompanied such an ideal. If he had lived until Rin could actually understand his personality, it is likely that it would have greatly affected the development of her own personality. It is unknown if she would have opposed such inhumanity and left the path of a magus, or if she would have become a “perfect and coldhearted” magus like her father. Either fate for Rin would have been one far away from happiness.

For the sake of her deceased father and her family's name, Rin seeks to obtain the Holy Grail, though she has little personal desire for it. Unbeknownst to her sister Sakura, Rin feels guilty and believes that she has abandoned Sakura after she is adopted into the Matou household. While Rin eventually admits that she has always watched Sakura from afar, she never realized how much Sakura suffered under the Matou and fooled herself into thinking Sakura was happy to alleviate her own guilt.

In the Unlimited Blade Works route, she falls in love with Shirou, and in the Heaven's Feel scenario, it is revealed that she had a growing interest in him.

Fate/Zero
Rin appears as a minor character in Fate/zero. She first appeared when Kariya Matou visited her and her mother Aoi. During Kariya and Aoi's conversation, it is revealed that Sakura was sent to the Matou family, an incident which deeply upset Rin and she avoids speaking of it. Shortly before the war begins, Rin's father Tokiomi acquires Kirei Kotomine as a student. Despite her father's confidence in his abilities, Rin is wary of Kotomine, going so far as questioning him to determine if she can trust him to protect her father. Ironically, it was Kirei who murdered her father.

Throughout the Fourth Grail War, Rin and Aoi reside with Rin's maternal grandparents outside of Fuyuki City for their own personal safety. When children begin disappearing from Fuyuki City as a result of Ryuunosuke Uryuu and Caster kidnapping them, Rin sets out on her own to find one of the missing children, a girl named Kotone whom Rin was friends with. Using her elementary magic skills and a magical compass from her father, Rin's attempt goes awry and she winds up lost and in danger of being attacked by Caster's monsters. Her mother finds her shortly after Rin is saved by Kariya, though Rin fainted soon after seeing the terrible changes to Kariya's face. The anime expands Rin's short adventure, resulting in her meeting Ryuunosuke Uryuu in person and freeing the children he kidnapped. While escaping, she is attacked by Caster's Horror, though she is saved by Kariya. The incident concludes as it did in the novel, where Rin faints and Kariya brings her to a park where Aoi finds them.

When Tokiomi visits his wife and daughter one last time before the conclusion of the war, he presents Rin with his necklace (the same one that Rin would use to summon Archer) and some books, as well as his reasons for allowing Sakura to be adopted into the Matou family and words encouraging Rin to become a powerful magus. The meeting would be the last time Rin ever saw her father before his death. In the likelihood of his own death, Tokiomi arranges for Kotomine Kirei to become her guardian and teacher until she comes of age.

Rin's final appearance occurs in the epilogue of the series, during the funeral of her father. Thanks to Tokiomi's careful preparations, she has already obtained most of her family's crest and has become the next head of the Tohsaka family despite her young age. Rin shows no visible distress at her father's death, even as she is forced to care for her mother, who suffers from brain damage and still believes that Sakura and Tokiomi are with her, leaving Rin to feel lonely within her own home. Kirei, in hopes of eliciting an unhappy reaction from Rin, gives her the Azoth Knife, telling her that Tokiomi had given it to him but omitting that he had used it to kill Tokiomi; to Kotomine's secret delight, Rin is overcome with emotion and weeps.

Fate/stay night
Rin narrates the prologue of Fate/stay night, detailing her first three days involved in the 5th Holy Grail War. In her dialogues, she reveals to her Servant Archer that she is only participating in the war out of her own competitive desire to become the winner. She also expresses dissatisfaction with Archer, for she was attempting to summon a Saber-class Servant, though she quickly grows accustomed to him.

After scouting out Fuyuki City, Rin is caught off-guard at Homurahara Gakuen by Lancer, who then engages in battle with Archer. This fight is interrupted, however, when Shirou Emiya is discovered and fatally wounded by Lancer; Rin, who felt sympathy for Shirou, used her family's treasured pendant, which possessed a strong concentration of Mana, to repair his heart. After she returns home, she realizes Lancer will continue to hunt Shirou when he discovers that Shirou is not dead, prompting her to sprint toward Shirou's neighborhood. It is here that she first encountered Saber, and the three Fate/stay night scenarios branch off. In all three scenarios, Rin helps and allies with Shirou.

Fate
By the conclusion of the prologue, Rin would have used two Command Seals on Archer; the first is to force him into submission after he acts insubordinately to her after he is summoned. The second is to force him into ethereal form before he is killed by Saber, except for the Unlimited Blade Works path where Shirou uses a Command Spell to stop Saber's attack instead. In all scenarios, her position as narrator is replaced by Shirou.

Rin acts as an advisor to Shirou, dutifully attempting to school him in traditional sorcery in light of his powerful Servant, Saber. Although Shirou's recklessness results in the death of Archer, she bears Shirou no ill-will, though she hides bitterness at her loss of both her Servant and her chance at winning the war. Rin is later stabbed by Kotomine in Shirou's home, though she survives and ultimately leaves for London after the war to become a true magus.

Unlimited Blade Works
The next day, when all other students and teachers have left the school, Rin started her assault on Shirou, relentlessly pursuing him with the intent to kill him unless he surrendered Saber's Command Spells. She is interrupted at the last moment by the sudden appearance of Rider, who attacks a student. Shirou and Rin promptly team up to drive Rider away.

Shirou and Rin form a truce and begin searching for possible candidates for Rider's Master. While Shirou goes to Ryuudou Temple, Rin fights Caster, who also wishes to take away his Command Spells. Archer interrupts and saves Shirou while Saber confronts Assassin. It is at this moment that Shirou starts to get even more irritated by Archer, who has looked down on his ideals. Archer then attacks Shirou, but is stopped by Saber and Assassin. Shirou and Rin continue searching for possible candidates for Rider's Master. While Shirou goes to the Ryuudou Temple, Rin begins to have dreams about Archer and his past as a hero who was betrayed by his ideals. After she finds out about Archer going to the temple to kill Shirou, Rin apologizes to Shirou for Archer's actions and tells him that she used a Command Spell to order Archer to never attack Shirou. In order to make it easier to plan and strategize, Rin comes to stay at Shirou's house.

The next day, Rin takes Shirou on a date, bringing Saber along. Upon returning home, they find Caster holding Taiga as hostage. When Shirou tries to follow her demands, Caster releases Taiga and strikes Saber with Rule Breaker, transferring Shirou's Command Spells to her. At Saber's urging, Shirou and Rin leave. With his Command Spells gone, Rin declares that she will fight Kuzuki and Caster with only Archer, despite Shirou's protests.

Shirou follows Rin and witnesses her confronting Kuzuki and Caster in Kotomine Church, their new base of operations. To her shock, Archer suddenly betrays Rin and attacks her. Shirou saves her and, although she is reluctant, she eventually thanks him and accepts his help again. With Archer gone, both decide to ask Ilya and Berserker for their help. Unfortunately, they arrive too late and find that Shinji and Gilgamesh have already killed them.

They return to the Kotomine Church, where Lancer fights Archer again. Archer admits defeat and retreats into the church. Meanwhile, Shirou and Rin team up to fight Kuzuki and Caster, ending in a stalemate. Caster tries to turn the tables and uses a spell to completely dominate Saber and send her against Shirou and Rin. But before she can, Archer arrives and attacks Kuzuki, revealing his true motives about killing Shirou in the process. Rin makes a new contract with Saber, thereby making her Saber's master. Archer then kidnaps Rin and takes her as a hostage to Einzbern Castle. There, Shinji tries to rape her, despite her warnings that he is just being manipulated. She is ultimately rescued by Lancer, who also kills Kirei.

Shirou, Rin and Saber reach Gilgamesh's new hideout, Ryuudou Temple. Rin saves Shinji as Shirou successfully defeats Gilgamesh. However, Gilgamesh tries one last time to make him the new incarnation of the Holy Grail. Fortunately, Archer, who also appeared to help Rin at the same time, comes to Shirou's aid. Rin bids her Servant goodbye as Archer tells her to take care of his younger self, hoping that her care of Shirou will change the future and grant his wish to save Shirou from his ideals. In the end, Rin finally sees Archer with a geniune smile, the same one as Shirou's.

In Rin's True Ending, she heads off to the Mages' Association after she graduates, and asks Shirou if he would be willing to travel with her to London as her apprentice so they can stay together and she can watch over him, though they both know he would say yes. In Rin's Good Ending, she keeps Saber as her Servant, and Rin and Shirou live a normal happy life.

Heaven's Feel
In the "Heaven's Feel" scenario, she reveals to Shirou that Sakura is actually her biological sister who was adopted into the Matou family. Despite her cold words that Sakura must be killed to prevent the Shadow inside her from killing more people, Rin is actually reluctant to kill her sister. In the climax of the route, Rin uses the Jeweled Sword Zelretch to fight Sakura; during the fight, the sisters are finally able to admit how they truly feel towards one another. Though Rin is stabbed, Sakura realizes her sister's love for her and manages to regain control of herself long enough for Shirou to trace Rule Breaker and free her from the Shadow's control. The sisters reconcile in both the Normal and True Ending.

Epilogue
Ten years after the end of 5th Holy Grail War (on the Fate and Unlimited Blade Works routes), Lord El-Melloi II arrived in Fuyuki and together with the head of the Tohsaka family, Tohsaka Rin, set out to completely take apart the Great Grail. The Association was planning on bringing back the Great Grail, so the two sides were completely opposed. After the end of the great turmoil of the same magnitude as the Grail War, the Great Grail was completely dismantled and the Grail Wars of Fuyuki came to a complete conclusion.

Fate/hollow ataraxia
Two months before the events of Fate/hollow ataraxia, Rin was performing one of her experiments at Einzbern Castle in Fuyuki City with Illyasviel, using a duplicate of the Jewel Sword Zelretch. She aimed to transform the sword into a pendant to be able to use it as part of their experiment to travel to parallel worlds. The experiment was a failure and now, in Fuyuki City, any and all events are possible. The Servants and Masters who were killed in the 5th Holy Grail War were revived except Kirei Kotomine, even though the Holy Grail was destroyed by Shirou and Saber (these events possibly occurred after the Fate route, since this is the only route where Illyasviel lives). Rin leaves for the Mage's Association soon afterward to avoid being punished for disrupting the time-space reality of Fuyuki City.

In Fate/hollow ataraxia, when she wields the Kaleidostick, another one of Zeltretch's inventions, which, when activated, transfers knowledge from an alternate version of its user into its current wielder in addition to providing an ample source of mana. However, the Kaleidostick dislikes its creator, and frequently manipulates its user into humiliating situations. In Fate/hollow ataraxia, the Kaleidostick is responsible for transforming Rin into the magical girl Kaleido-Ruby. Rin's rival from Clock Tower, Luviagelita Edelfelt is also introduced.

At the night of the final loop, Rin guards the Fuyuki bridge with her servant, Archer, from a horde of "monsters" to prevent them from chasing after Shirou/Avenger.

Carnival Phantasm
Rin has an active role in Carnival Phantasm due to being one of the heroines of Fate. Her tsundere personality is comically exaggerated and she seems to be obsessed with winning and having more money than she already has. She is also hopeless with technology to ridiculous lengths. Her alter-ego is the magical girl Kaleido Ruby.

Abilities
As the successor to the Tohsaka family, Rin excels in Flowing/Transferring of Power, which includes storage of prana in objects, typically jewels. Because the amount of energy a magus can release at one time is restricted by bodily limitations, Rin has been able to accumulate all of the Prana generated by her body during her lifetime through jewel crystallization. As with practicing of sorcery, charging these jewels has become a daily process for her. When Rin's stored power is needed, she can utilize the jewels for an instantaneous release of A-rank magic capable of countering a spell from Caster's magecraft from the Age of Gods or taking one of Berserker's lives by using four jewels. Their speed of release is great enough that it can match Caster's High-Speed Divine Words. As of the beginning of Fate/stay night, her savings consists of twenty jewels containing the energy she has saved since she was much younger, each costing ten million yen to create. She uses ten during Archer's summoning ritual, and uses the remaining ten during the battles of the three routes. Ultimately, her use of jewel-based magecraft in combat situations still pales in comparison to her father, who can summon elemental spells using a single jewel for both offensive and defensive purposes with far less prana use, and without having to expend the said jewel.

Her most common offensive spell is a Finnish technique known as Gandr, which concentrates prana into Rin's forefinger, resulting in a hazy black orb to be subsequently fired like a bullet. Originally intended to be a curse, Rin's variation on Gandr takes on an unusual, corporeal form. Additionally, Rin has bypassed any need for a verbal component to initiate this spell, and she can fire many Gandr shots in an instant. While statistically superior to Kirei Kotomine, he would win eighty percent of the time by taking advantage of her traumas to keep her from fighting at her full potential. Even without such knowledge, he has an affinity over her due to having over ten years of experience in killing magi.

Rin is also proficient with reinforcement sorcery; although not her specialty, she begins Fate/stay night with far more skill than Shirou Emiya has in the discipline. This spell is employed only once when Rin uses reinforcement on her legs in the Fate/stay night prologue in an attempt to give herself enough speed to distance herself from Lancer. This displays her talent in the field, as the application of reinforcement to enhance parts of a living being is considered the pinnacle of difficulty.

In accordance with the teachings of Tohsaka Nagato, Rin has also learnt a secret style of Chinese kenpo, which she uses to great effect against Caster during Unlimited Blade Works, though her proficiency pales in comparison to the likes of Souichiro Kuzuki or other, more straightforward martial-arts practitioners.