Takasugi ShinsakuWP (高杉晋作WP?), Class Name Archer (アーチャー, Āchā?), is an Archer-class Servant summoned by Ritsuka Fujimaru in the Grand Orders of Fate/Grand Order. He is summoned by the Mouri Clan in the altered history of Golden Demon Realm ZIPANG in GUDAGUDA Taikou Legend ZIPANG.
Profile[]
Identity[]
A maverick and Meiji Restoration patriot who gallantly entered the scene in Chōshū at the end of the Edo period.
He was a disciple of Shōka SonjukuWP, an academy presided over by Yoshida Shouin. Together with Kusaka GenzuiWP, Yoshida Toshimaro and Irie KuichiWP, he was known as one of the Four Heavenly Kings of Shōka Sonjuku, showing great promise for his future.
He was born into the Takasugi clan, a prestigious family that had served the Mōri clan for generations since the Sengoku era. At first he attended Meirinkan, a feudal domain school, but he found their practices of allowing only samurai to attend, stiff formal lessons, among numerous other niceties, so utterly archaic that he enrolled into Shōka Sonjuku, an academy presided over by Yoshida Shōin, a previous top student at Meirinkan.
Unlike Meirinkan, Takasugi found Shōka Sonjuku, or rather Shōin's classes, stupidly interesting, and he quickly rose to prominence as Shōin's disciple. He also went to Edo to study abroad, but his teacher, Yoshida Shōin, was captured and executed due to the Ansei Purge. This is when Takasugi began to openly speak of overthrowing the Shogunate.
Following these events, Takasugi joined a delegation under the Shogunate and studied in Shanghai. Witnessing the threat posed by the Western powers, he grew even more concerned about the future of Japan and overthrowing the Shogunate. After returning to Japan, he joined the Sonnō Jōi movement and mingled with samurai from various clans in Edo and Kyoto. But even amongst these samurai, Takasugi was an exceptionally unconventional man who committed a numerous amount of radical acts such as setting the British legation on fire.
The Chōshū domain tried to keep Takasugi obedient by offering him a position, but he immediately turned it down. He continued to act nonsensically, ranting that he would fool around for a decade and shave his head. He also stated he would go somewhere far away, but he ended up playing his shamisen and composing songs in his hometown.
Chōshū bombarded the Americans, French and Dutch in Shimonoseki, and promptly got pummeled by them. Frightened by the outcome, Chōshū entrusted Takasugi with defending Shimonoseki. As a result, Takasugi established the "Kiheitai", a modernized militia not bound by social status. However, following some disputes, he was soon dismissed as the leader of the Kiheitai. "Damn clansmen, always complaining over the littlest things."
Anyhow, this and that happened, and Chōshū became the enemy of the imperial government after the Hamaguri Rebellion, continuing to be bombarded by the combined naval forces of four nations in Shimonoseki. "It's over now!" they thought, but for some unfathomable reason the Chōshū clan once again asked Takasugi, who was in prison at the time, to negotiate a peace agreement. However, Takasugi was only too eager to sabotage this peace conference, and so he developed an Ultra C plan to force the Shogunate to pay the reparations instead. At the meeting, Takasugi put on a show by suddenly reciting the KojikiWP and even pretending not to hear about the concession of Hikoshima.
While all of this was going on, the First Chōshū expedition was approaching, and a faction of the Chōshū clan loyal to the Shogunate emerged to try to accept the Shogunate's demands. Takasugi was so enraged by this that he commanded a unit with a miniscule number of men at Kōzanji. As reckless as his decision was to command a unit, Takasugi and his men in a state of heightened frenzy, marched into Hagi and wiped out the faction loyal to the Shogunate. Hence the Chōshū were now unified in its policy to overthrow the Shogunate. The Second Chōshū expedition by the Shogunate was commenced in response to this act. Everyone believed that Chōshū was now done for, but Chōshū, perhaps having had a taste of success, decided to appoint Takasugi as their naval commander. Takasugi then took command of the navy and won a great victory against the Shogunate fleet. This battle's victory undermined the authority of the Shogunate, which in turn contributed to the Meiji Restoration.[1]
However, Takasugi, who had been afflicted by illness, died of pulmonary tuberculosis without ever seeing imperial rule fully restored.
Appearance[]
 Archer Stage 1 in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by TAKOLEGS.  Archer Stage 2 in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by TAKOLEGS.  Archer Stage 3 in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by TAKOLEGS.  Archer Stage 4 in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by TAKOLEGS.  Archer Stage 2 in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by TAKOLEGS.  Heroic Spirit Event Attire: Takasugi Shinsaku (英霊催装：高杉晋作?) in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by TAKOLEGS.  Heroic Spirit Exhibition Attire: Takasugi Shinsaku (英霊博装：高杉晋作?) in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by TAKOLEGS. .png "Heroic Spirit Exhibition Attire Takasugi Shinsaku (full body).png (1.99 MB)")   NPC appearance in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by TAKOLEGS.  NPC appearance in Fate/Grand Order, illustrated by TAKOLEGS. .png "GrailLeagueSprite (368).png (137 KB)"){kind=icon} Archer in Fate/Grail League, illustrated by Keikenchi. |
Personality[]
At first glance, he appears to be a calm, intellectual gentle-looking man, but in actuality, he has a wild temperament and is a troublemaker who is willing to do anything as long as he finds it amusing. At any rate, he is a free-spirited one-man-show of a president who acts independently of other people.[1]
Relationships[]
- Sakamoto Ryouma / Sakamoto Ryouma (Lancer)
- Hahahaha! Shady as always, Sakamoto! Still, fate can be quirky, since I never imagined I'd ever meet you again. Watch yourself around this one, Master. You never know what the heck he's thinking. But hey, if not for guys like him, the world would be a boring place."[2]
- Izumo-no-Okuni
- "Hey Okuni. It's been a while. Huh? We parted on good terms back in the day, but now it's ruined? I have no control over that. Anyway, given the chance, maybe we can sleep in someday? What? You refuse? Hahahaha, that's a shame!"[2]
- Okada Izou
- "Is that you, Okada? Hey wait! You don't need to run. You and I had a grand time at Edo back in the day...with my money, remember? What do you think? Want to paint the town red tonight like we used to? Don't worry about money. Our Master's gonna take care of that!"[2]
- Okita Souji / Hijikata Toshizou / Saitou Hajime / Yamanami Keisuke / Nagakura Shinpachi
- "The Shinsengumi... Because of incidents like the Ikedaya or Hamagurigomon, I'm not inclined to be friendly with them, but I suppose the phrase "we're all on the same boat, enemies and all" comes to mind. Wait a minute. Maybe it might be interesting to call them the Shinsentai and recruit them to the Kiheitai. I might as well strengthen them too... Yep. That sure will be amusing."[2]
- Minamoto-no-Tametomo
- "Is that guy some sort of secret weapon developed by Chaldea? Huh? He's Genji's armored warrior? You mean from THE Genji? I'll be damned. To think that the legendary Chinzei Hachiro was a robot... That's just too amusing. Hey maybe I can turn into a cyborg or something too. I can't? Are you sure, Chaldea?"[2]
- Charles Babbage
- "Who the heck's the guy wearing a steam-powered armor? That's amazing! He's literally a gentleman of steel! I'd love to take a closer look at that armor!"[2]
- Erice Utsumi
- "First and foremost, our nation of Japan started from the high heavens, with two gods IzanagiWP and Izanami standing over the floating bridge of heaven holding the Amenonuboko... What? You have the Ame-no-Nuboko? It's a replica, but a certain girl's carrying it? Hahaha! That's good! I'm gonna have to take a look. I'd like to swirl it around too. Hm? You want to know what my whole spiel at the beginning was about? Well, it was nothing. I just say things like that to spark conversation sometimes."[2]
- Yoshida Shouin
- "Late blooming blossoms, have no reason to wheedle at this point in life. Now they scatter in delight carried by the hometown winds. For I am closer to my revered mentor at Noyama Prison. ...No, never mind. I'm just talking to myself."
Role[]
Fate/Grand Order[]
Event: Shōwa Kishin Project GUDAGUDA[]
Event: CBC2023 Tales of Chaldean Heavy Industries ～Business to Business. From Me to You～[]
Abilities[]
Shinsaku is a talented strategist, using his skills to orchestrate a complex scheme. Despite his lithe frame, he has fully mastered Yagyuu Shinkage-ryuuWP. However, mastering that alone seemed too run-of-the-mill for the likes of him, so he developed a mysterious and strange sword technique that combines a specially made Molotov cocktail and Shinkage-ryuu.[1]
Combat[]
During normal combat, he wields his homemade Molotov cocktails and shamisen blades, and on top of that he even summons and manipulates a miniature prototype model called Prototype Arahabaki, demonstrating his reckless fighting style. While his style is more of evocative of a Rider than an Archer, he claims he's not the kind of person to fit a stereotype.[1]
This combat style was derived from events in the Showa Restoration Singularity, but due to the nature of his peculiar Noble Phantasm and dramatic fate, it became engraved into Takasugi's Spirit Origin.[1] In addition, one of his eyes also possesses an unnamed ability akin to that of a Mystic Eye that allows him to accurately analyze objects that he directs his gaze onto upon uttering the word "analyze". Ritsuka Fujimaru offers to name this ability the "Takasugi Eye" but Takasugi himself declines.[10]
Takasugi claims he doesn't stand a chance against Tanaka Shinbei's Chest.[5] When caught in a sword duel with Okita Souji, he's shown to be able to match her as an equal.[11]
Skills[]
Class Skills[]
- Magic Resistance (D Rank)
- Independent Action (B Rank)
Personal Skills[]
- Hero of the Restoration (Eccentric) (B Rank)
- Extraordinary Prodigy (A Rank): An unfinished masterpiece. A term coined by a certain person describing Takasugi, who shone bright as a glittering star at the waning days of the shogunate.[1]
- Innovation (B Rank): Armament reform. The armaments for one's squad are transformed into the latest equipment of the time. This skill is derived from the Kiheitai, who overwhelmed the shogunate forces using the latest equipment and daring tactics.[1]
- The Yamato Spirit Lives On (A Rank): A phrase from the death poem of Yoshida Shouin, Takasugi's mentor. It's a skill that makes it possible for one to tenaciously rise back up even in the face of terrible adversity. A somewhat unconventional skill, given it involves a sickly man activating Guts.[1]
- Weak Constitution (– Rank): Typically, this skill would count as a demerit, but the words and spirit of his mentor transform it into The Yamato Spirit listed above. "The hell? This Weak Constitution skill sounds like it's here to annoy me. A skill like that should've just stayed with whoever that was in the Shinsengumi."[1]
Noble Phantasm[]
His Noble Phantasm is Super Restoration - Kiheitai. This is an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm that strengthens its allies by endowing them with the necessary skills and equipment according to the war’s situation. Incidentally, the equipment and weapons to be enhanced will become the latest armaments available in that era.[1] Furthermore, as long as they have the will to fight, he can endow anyone with the power of a thousand ordinary soldiers.[3] However, once unleashed, it is a self-destructive Noble Phantasm that rapidly wears down Takasugi’s Spirit Origin and places a tremendous burden on him, so its operational time is short and it becomes difficult to activate again.[1] Mysterious Ranmaru X could block the bullets of Takasugi's Kiheitai soldiers.[6] Lancer Sakamoto Ryouma also states that his Kiheitai cannot stop Oryou.[4]
Extra features:
- Takasugi Monstrous Ray Gun (高杉怪力線照射装置?): The Kiheitai can fire a flash-bang capable of blinding Oryou or Lancer Sakamoto Ryouma. It can be used as a distraction to escape from the battlefield.[4]
Kishin Project[]
The Kishin Project (キ神計画?) was a plan devised by Takasugi Shinsaku during the Showa Restoration Singularity. Its objective was to build Ama-no-Sakagami a new body to replace the one he lost during the Age of Gods.[8] In order to replicate the power of an ancient god,[8] Takasugi transformed the entire city into a giant reactor designed to collect Magical Energy, similar to Mori Nagayoshi's Heroic Spirit Restraint Armor Type A. This was accomplished by dividing the city into six blocks, each with its own Magical Reactor. All the energy they collected would then be fed to YAMATO, the Restoration Reactor in the central town. This drained the life force and magical energy of everyone inside the Singularity. While fatal to most Human citizens, Servants like Izumo-no-Okuni could survive it.[7] It would normally take at least half a day to collect all the mana around the city,[7] however, this was temporarily prevented thanks to Chaldea's servants seizing the six reactors. Nevertheless, Takasugi ultimately managed to gather all the magical energy he needed by increasing the amount he drained from the citizens.[8]
Although the Kishin Project had initially been devised to support Ama-no-Sakagami, Takasugi ended up double crossing him as soon as the former revealed he was willing to betray him. Having already anticipated this scenario, Takasugi redirected all the Magical Energy to Arahabaki, his contingency plan.[8]
Development[]
Creation and Conception[]
Takasugi Shinsaku was designed by TAKOLEGS in Fate/Grand Order.[12][13]
Takasugi was introduced as a non-player character in the 2021 GUDAGUDA event, "Shōwa Kishin Project: Ryouma's Close Call". Despite only be an NPC he proved extremely popular, with many fans on social media lamenting that he wasn't playable. He was made playable two years later, with Chaldea Boys Collection 2023.
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 Fate/Grand Order — Takasugi Shinsaku's Profile
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Fate/Grand Order — Takasugi Shinsaku's Lines
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fate/Grand Order - GUDAGUDA Ryouma's Narrow Escape, Chapter Three: Kihejtai
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Fate/Grand Order - GUDAGUDA Ryouma's Narrow Escape, Chapter Five: The Two Ryoumas
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Fate/Grand Order - GUDAGUDA Ryouma's Narrow Escape, Chapter Seven: Let My Voice Carry to the Stars
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Fate/Grand Order - GUDAGUDA Ryouma's Narrow Escape, Chapter Eight: The Day You Died
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Fate/Grand Order - GUDAGUDA Ryouma's Narrow Escape, Chapter Nine: By My Friends' Side
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Fate/Grand Order - GUDAGUDA Ryouma's Narrow Escape, Chapter Ten: Kishin Awakened
- ↑ Fate/Grand Order - GUDAGUDA Ryouma's Narrow Escape, Final Chapter: Dear Dragon, Race across the Waves of Wadatsumi
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Fate/Grand Order - CBC2023 Tales of Chaldean Heavy Industries - B to B for Me and You, Chapter 2: A Cozy Workplace
- ↑ GUDAGUDA Taikou Legend ZIPANG — Chapter 12
- ↑ TAKOLEGS Twitter 7:30 PM JST · Nov 20, 2021
- ↑ TAKOLEGS Twitter 7:49 PM JST · Nov 20, 2021
