Best Members of the Black Faction in Fate/Apocrypha

Whenever the term "trap" springs up in anime fandom, expect this "Dude Looks Like a Lady" guy to frequently pop up. While not without hype backlash with all his recent popularity (and now, his recently announced inclusion as a playable character in Fate/Extella Link), Astolfo is arguably one of the most notable Servants from the Black Faction.

From my perspective, his energetic and bubbly personality along with his interactions with Sieg made him quite endearing as a character in the long term. As expected from someone like Astolfo, he really cared for Sieg and went out of his way to save his life. Plus, you kind of have to feel sorry for the guy considering his Master Celenike is a complete monster who sees Servants as nothing but toys to abuse for her own sadistic pleasure. It makes me glad Sieg became his new Master.

I'm probably making a bold move considering I put two of Apocrypha's most divisive Servants at the top here, but I enjoyed seeing Frankenstein during her time in the series.

It shouldn't be a surprise if you're a longtime Fate fan that characters like Fran tend to be gender-flipped. However, there were a few things I liked about her. First and foremost, her relationship with Caules was truly one of the more interesting character relationships. I wished it could have lasted longer since Caules treated Fran like no other person had, treating her as a person rather than a monster. This gave Apocrypha a bit of Adaptation Expansion compared to the light novel.

In addition, her twisted past with Victor Frankenstein creating her was tragic, made even more so when she fell under Shakespeare's illusion and was reminded of her dark past with her maker.

Her defining moment of awesomeness would arguably be when she pulled a final gambit on Mordred by trying to take her down with her in her self-destructive Noble Phantasm, Blasted Tree. Trust me, her NP's activation comes in handy during the later parts of the second cour.

For a Servant who's unfortunately been relegated to FGO meme status as "Sumanai-san" for being a bad SR unit, Siegfried is indeed quite powerful in his own right and given justice to his character to some extent in Apocrypha.

A mighty warrior of Norse legend who conquered the evil dragon Fafnir, Siegfried was definitely one of the biggest ace Servants of the Black Faction, even going toe-to-toe with Karna in their first fight.

As for his character, while he unfortunately dies early on (technically, he gives his heart to the main protagonist Sieg and allows Sieg to transform into him by Command Spell), we get a few tidbits of his background. His slaying of Fafnir allowed him to grant his people's wishes, but he never had a wish of his own.

It was truly a tear-jerking yet heartwarming moment when, in his final moments, he realized that by willingly giving Sieg another chance at life, he was able to accomplish a wish of his own: to grant a wish of his own will that wasn't asked for by others.

Chiron is one of the better-treated Servants, along with Caules's Frankenstein, since he happens to be the Servant of Caules's sister, Fiore.

Probably some of his more memorable dynamics are his relationship with Fiore and his teacher-to-pupil relationship with Achilles. For the former, like Frankenstein with Caules, Chiron has a healthy relationship with Fiore, seeing as Fiore treats him as a person rather than just a mere Servant or a tool.

As for Chiron and Achilles, seeing them clash together in a classic teacher vs. pupil rivalry was interesting. It was intense to see the two of them battle it out in the sky within a Reality Marble with a man-to-man fistfight.

Of course, if you have seen the fight, we all know the end result.

Overall, Chiron was a pretty likable Servant for me and probably for other people as well.

What Jack the Ripper is to Reika can easily be what Gilles de Rais was to Ryuunosuke. While the anime doesn't provide much detail about Reika's background (unless you have good inferring skills, you might have to look up her lore in Nasuverse media), Jack's focus as a character is quite mysterious and intriguing, to say the least.

What truly made this incarnation of Jack interesting is that she's not a single individual but rather represents hundreds of poor and even unborn children who were left abandoned and without love in Victorian-era London. I truly felt sorry for what Jack went through based on the illusion she created to showcase her tragic desire to be loved and saved. It makes sense why Jack was so close with Reika in a mother-daughter relationship.

If you've seen Vlad's incarnations from EXTRA and Grand Order, you might be confused as to why Vlad III's form here isn't Berserker-class or why he isn't in his EXTRA Lancer-class form. For me, since Apocrypha takes place in Romania, it makes sense that Vlad appears as the hero king of the people of Romania, regardless of his class.

Put simply, this incarnation of Vlad makes good use of his Badass Baritone, the Story-Breaking Power of his Kazikli Bey, and his effectual leadership of the Black Faction, even as a Servant of Darnic. While Darnic cut Vlad's glory short in a final gambit to take back the Greater Grail (it's complicated), I can never forget Vlad's pure awesomeness in terms of power and leadership. It's a shame that he was forced against his will to transform into the very legend that plagued him and his family name for generations.

For me personally, Avicebron is probably the most forgettable Servant of the Black Faction, either for story reasons or because I have a hard time remembering his name.

Opinions aside, I can see what virtue he brought to the Apocrypha story. While he's as mysterious a Servant as Jack the Ripper, Avicebron does a good job of concealing his true motives. He reveals them in a stunning change of pace when he goes to the Red Faction's side and betrays the Black Faction.

What we see from his true motives are clear and concise: he came from a world where humans suffer and are plagued by hate, so he wanted to create a new world for humanity that is a paradise for all. No wonder he sided with Shirou Kotomine's cause.

Of course, with great betrayal comes more great betrayal. By more great betrayal, I mean Avicebron's Master being revealed to be Roche as the Chekhov's Gunman, who seemed insignificant to the story until Avicebron used him as the core for his Adam's Golem.

Words can't describe how tear-jerking this was for Roche and how much it made me hate Avicebron. Well, at least Mordred and Siegfried (and Chiron) managed to put a stop to this treachery.

And now we have Fiore, sister of Caules. Like Caules, Fiore treats her Servant Chiron with utmost respect and kindness. And by kindness, I mean true kindness.

While Darnic showed respect for Vlad, he was always willing to go behind Vlad's back just to achieve his own goals. In contrast, Fiore is arguably the nicest member of the Yggdmillenia family.

For someone who's disabled as a result of her magic circuits, Fiore is quite determined, being able to stand toe-to-toe with any Master with her special prosthetic fighting machine.

That aside, her relationships with Chiron and Caules are close, especially as both of them care deeply for her. Caules went as far as to have Fiore transfer her Mystic Code to him because he didn't want her to suffer witnessing another death at her own hands, like when she lost her pet dog when she was younger. This adds Woobie points for Fiore and Awesome Points for a brother like Caules.