Taigong WangWP (太公望WP, Taikōbō?), Class Name Rider (ライダー, Raidā?), is a Rider-class Servant summoned by Ritsuka Fujimaru in the Grand Orders of Fate/Grand Order.
Profile[]
Identity[]
A famed tactician from ancient China. His surname is Jiang, given name Shang, courtesy name Ziya or Ya. While fishing on the north coast of the Weihe, a branch of the Yellow River, he met with King Wen of Zhou (Xi Bochang). King Wen declared he was the sage that the previous rulers of Zhou wished for, and accordingly started calling him by the title of Taigong Wang (meaning "my father's wish").[1]
He helped King Wen and his Royal General, putting high effort into toppling the Yin DynastyWP. His successes award him the title of Ruler of Qi, making him the founder of the Qi kingdom from the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States period. He's also known as Shi Shangfu, Jiang Taigong, or Jiang Ziya (姜子牙?).[1]
In the Ming Dynasty novel Investiture of the Gods, he's portrayed as a Taoist: a being with paranormal abilities.[1]
History[]
A general and the tactician of Zhou, and a disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun. A Taoist. He carried out a grand deicide (homicide) plot that unfolded in the background of ancient China's Yin Dynasty insurrections, bringing collateral damage to both Xian and human realms. That was the Investiture.[1]
Ultimately, as history tells, he helped King Wen and his Royal General, commanded the troops as a tactician despite being a Taoist, and served the cause of toppling the Yin Dynasty. Later he founded the kingdom of Qi.[1]
Appearance[]
 Rider Stage 1 in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by Oyo.  Rider Stage 2 in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by Oyo.  Rider Stage 3 in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by Oyo.  Rider Stage 4 in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by Oyo.  Rider Stage 2 in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by Oyo.  Heroic Spirit Dream Portrait: Taigong Wang (英霊夢装：太公望, Eirei Yume Sō: Taikōbō?) in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by Oyo. .png "Heroic Spirit Dream Portrait Taigong Wang (full body).png (1.26 MB)")     Commentator of Flowers in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by Mebaru. |
.png "Heroic Spirit Event Attire Taigong Wang (full body).png (1.08 MB)")
Personality[]
He originated the Chinese proverb "spilled water won't go back to its tray", but when asked about it, he looked a bit sad.[1] He seems to have a prideful personality but justifying so. He is fairly confident in himself, both in his appearance and in his abilities, despite not being in his "Caster" form. He frequently makes allusions to how he could have been a "Grand Caster" if summoned in a different form. He is confident in himself that he has little regard for "tactics" because of his skill with Taoist Arts.
Funnily enough, when Daode Tianzun ordered him to leave the mountain and seal the gods, he remarked that it was because Jiang Ziya lacked the talent to further the Way of the Xian, but that he could seek success as a human. Taigong Wang holds firm that he was not fired, but that he was simply "destined to fight Yin and defeat Daji." Worth noting, is that after defeating Yin, he was offered to return to the mountain and surpass his talents or remain on earth.
He seems to have a certain amount of affection for fishing. There are several times when he is remarked to enjoy fishing and be a "fishing teacher" and "the most famed fisherman." He also finds the fact that he has to be careful about mentioning "Fangshi" (Tao Arts) around members of the Clocktower to be annoying.
He recognizes and admires other famed tacticians such as Odysseus and can challenge them to certain games of intellect such as backgammon. Another smart individual that he respects is Kiichi Hogen. He seems to have a distaste or dislike for Guan Yu out of jealousy, although he denies it, due to their conflicting natures as "symbols of military prowess."
When he sees Tamamo Servants, his fifth Bond Level remarks them to be attractive and that although he does not care for "looking at gorgeous women from a distance" - he finds himself to be tearing up almost. When he sees them, he can accidentally recognize them as Daji if caught off-guard. When meeting EMIYA or EMIYA Alter, he remarks about whether they are the Swords of Moye.
He seems to have no overt desire for the Holy Grail itself, and actually seems to find it to be a "terrible thing to have."
In his Tunguska manifestation, he was motivated to meet Daji again in his Daji hunt, but to everyone's surprise, Koyanskaya was a completely different person. Taigong Wang didn't express any opinions about it. He didn't say if he was disappointed or relieved. All he had was an ambiguous smile. Nikitich pressed him to apologize for his mistaken conjecture, but he stayed resolutely smiling without a word.[1]
The past contains no records of a romance between Taigong Wang and Daji. As told in The Investiture of the Gods, he defeated Daji and brought the Yin Dynasty to the end of its days. All companions fighting alongside him would unanimously say the thought of Daji seducing Taigong is not plausible. They're correct, she didn't seduce him. On the contrary, Daji hated him, and he ultimately defeated her with his own hands.[1]
Relationships[]
- Koyanskaya of Light / Koyanskaya of Darkness
- "Heh. Fated connections work in curious ways. I never imagined I would meet her...Tamamo Vitch Koyanskaya...once again. But having a Light and Dark version... Hmmm, how intriguing."
- Tamamo-no-Mae
- "Daji! Hah! ...Oh... A-ah...! My apologies! I didn't realize it was you, Lady Tamamo-no-Mae. I apologize for my rudeness..."[2]
- Tamamo Cat
- "Why, isn't that...? Greetings, Lady Cat."[2]
- Zhuge Liang
- "Ah, Lord Zhuge Liang. So you use fangshu as well? Eh? You've always tried to conceal that? How dare I say such things in the presence of a member of the Clock Tower, the pinnacle of the Western magecraft world...? Hahaha. What a thing to say Lord Zhuge Liang...what an uptight thing to say!"[2]
- Nezha
- "Ah, Nezha! You look cute as ever. Have you settled down and gotten less rambunctious? You haven't? I see."[2]
- Chen Gong / Xu Fu / Zhang Jue / Sima Yi
- "Hmmm. Do you use a little bit of fangshu too? Well, do you?"[2]
“Ah, a Taoist from the Qin dynasty. So you served Qin Shi Huang...hm, interesting. May I ask one thing? Do you have any interest in the sage world? ...Guess not.“
“What a cute Taoist nun. Do you have any interest in the sage world? ...Guess not.“
- Noah
- including to Taigong Wang's perspective, they’re friends.
- Katsushika Hokusai (Swimsuit) / Katsushika Hokusai
- "Ah, a fairy, you say? How wonderful! How bold, how fearless! Katsushika Hokusai in a swimsuit... Chaldea sure has all sorts of Servants. Hm? Oh hello, original Katsushika Hokusai. Why are you blushing? What? The swimsuit you didn't train in the Taoist arts and calls herself a fairy simply as something she's striving to be? I...see... No, I think that's nice. Yes, I actually love that. Motivation is everything! I do mean it! Keep on doing things like that! If need be, shall I change into a swimsuit too?"[2]
- Kiichi Hougen
- "Eh? Seriously? You deciphered the secret military arts I concealed as code in the "Three Strategies"? Really!? Well, that's a surprise. I am truly impressed. Well done, Kiichi Hogen!"[2]
- EMIYA / EMIYA Alter
- "Lord EMIYA. Is that...is that by chance the treasured sword Mò Yé? It's not?"[2]
- Odysseus
- "Odysseus... So you are the legendary military strategist from the West. You seem a formidable opponent. Okay, let's have a match! In backgammon! Bring it on!"[2]
- Merlin
- "Oooh! Amazing! The flowers are blooming! You are literally the Mage of Flowers, Lord Merlin. And you are certainly as handsome as the rumors say. Then again... (stares). I apologize if I offend you, but are you perhaps much more evil than you let on? Am I wrong?"[2]
- Dobrynya Nikitich
- "It's been a while, Nikitich. Oh, I mean...it's a pleasure meeting you for the first time."[2]
Role[]
Fate/Grand Order[]
Non-Primate Biosphere - Tunguska Sanctuary[]
Taigong Wang helps Chaldea defeat Beast IV:L.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]
Nahui Mictlan: Golden Sea of Trees Travelogue[]
When U-Olga Marie has a dream where she fights all of the Grand Servants at once, Taigong Wang appears as Grand Rider.[10]
Grail Front[]
Abilities[]
Taigong Wang also qualifies for the Caster class. He claims that had he been summoned in that form he would have definitely been a Grand Caster.[1][12][4] Also pondering about the possibility of claiming the status of Grand Rider,[4] the exact veracity of his claims are unknown. Taigong Wang claims that as a fellow Grand, he has learned a great many things of Noah. Although he may not be good as Noah at building arks, he is still a direct disciple of Lord Yuanshi Tianzun. Taigong Wang is a being who in life stood as the equal of the Xians.[9]
He describes himself as a match for the Twelve Golden Immortals while he was still just a Taoist practitioner.[8] Ptolemy claims that Taigong Wang is a monster no less than Heracles and Achilles.[11] The strongest Beast-hunter even Tamamo Vitch Koyanskaya acknowledges him as such.
Skills[]
Class Skills[]
- Riding (A+ Rank): Taigong Wang can freely ride even Divine Beast class species, but when asked about the dragon kind, his answer is "You're asking for too much!".[1]
Personal Skills[]
- Primordial Art of War (A+ Rank): Taigong Wang is credited with devising and utilizing tactics and strategies before military arts were established as a studiable discipline. Two out of the Seven Military ClassicsWP of ancient China (the Six Secret Teachings and the Three Strategies of Huang Shigong) are authored by him.[1]
- Enforcing the Investiture of the Gods (B Rank): His state as the one carrying out the Investiture of the Gods. Super effective against divinity and demonic traits.[1]
- Philosophy Key (EX Rank): Taigong Wang is a disciple of Yuanshi Tianzun, the supreme being in Taoism, therefore, he's a Taoist. He has a Philosophy Key from the Far East's Philosophy Magecraft, which is completely different from Western magecraft. He uses this Key for what he calls Xian Arts and Fangshi (Tao Arts). He's a figure from the 1000s BC, meaning he's able to access even the Privileged Domains of the Philosophy Foundations, so the magecraft he uses should be called Philosophy Magecraft from the Age of Gods.[1] Taigong's applications of the Xian Arts include teleportation through the Tudun technique,[6] voice-canceling wards,[8] analyzing the surroundings and others' Spiritual Cores,[4][9][8] making himself and others fly,[3] casting Samadhi fire,[4][5] grilling meat without making smoke,[4] limiting one's air space with wind,[3] and much more. The best part of the Tundun technique is that he can compile this spell with over 200 different formulas, so Koyanskaya will never figure out the ins and out of the spell.[7]
Noble Phantasms[]
Taigong Wang's Noble Phantasms are God-Striking Whip, Sibuxiang,[1] Great Demon Sublimation – Investiture of the Gods, and Yuxu Embodiment – Enforcing the Investiture of the Gods.
Development[]
Creation and Conception[]
Taigong Wang was designed by Oyo in Fate/Grand Order. His scenario writer is Hikaru Sakurai in Fate/Grand Order.
He was first introduced as one of ten Servant silhouettes during the Fate Project New Year's Eve TV Special 2020. He was the last of the ten to be released in December 2021. During an interview, the interviewer asked if the silhouette was the recently mentioned Count Cagliostro, but Takeuchi denied the speculation. Nasu mentioned that Taigong Wang's design was "wonderful" and that the character would be released before the end of 2021.[13]
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 1.32 1.33 1.34 Fate/Grand Order - Taigong Wang's profile translated by ComunCoutinho
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 Fate/Grand Order Taigong Wang's Lines
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Tunguska Sanctuary: Anti-Primate Ecosphere, Section 4: Nikitich's Solution
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Tunguska Sanctuary: Anti-Primate Ecosphere, Section 5: A Graceful Yet Mad Lifeform
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Tunguska Sanctuary: Anti-Primate Ecosphere, Section 7: Melted Ice, Extinguished Flames
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Tunguska Sanctuary: Non-Primate Lebensraum, Section 9: Eulogy to the Star of Primates I
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Tunguska Sanctuary: Non-Primate Lebensraum, Section 10: Eulogy to the Star of Primates II
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Tunguska Sanctuary: Non-Primate Lebensraum, Section 11: Advent of Cherishment.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Tunguska Sanctuary: Non-Primate Lebensraum, Section 12: The Only Neat Thing to Do
- ↑ Fate/Grand Order: Cosmos in the Lostbelt - Nahui Mictlan: Golden Sea of Trees Travelogue - Chapter 6: Striker of Burning Flames
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Fate/Grand Order - Grail Front: White Castle by Day/Black Castle by Night, Section 10
- ↑ Fate/Grand Order - Taigong Wang's voice lines
- ↑ Nasu and Takeuchi's 6th Anniversary interview