I'm not scared anymore even though it's dark. You're strong, Berserker. I'm safe if you're there like that.
Gender:
Female
Age:
8 (Fate/Zero and Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA☆ILLYA) 18
Species:
Half Human Magical Girl
Status:
Deceased Alive (Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA☆ILLYA)
Media of origin:
Fate series
Illyasviel von Einzbern is a villainess turned anti-heroine from the Fate/Stay Night series and the main protagonist of Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA☆ILLYA. She is a German aristocrat who participates as a competitor in the fifth Holy Grail War. She is the daughter of Kiritsugu Emiya and Irisviel von Einzbern, later became the adopted sister of Shirou Emiya.
She was voiced by Mai Kadowaki in the Japanese version of the anime, and Stephanie Sheh in the English dubbed version.
Why She Rocks
Incredibly adorable and appealing character design.
Excellent voice acting in both sub and dub.
She has interesting relationships with several characters in the series.
She hates Shirou at first, due to Kiritsugu adopting him; she loved Kiritsugu, her father, and felt that Kiritsugu stayed in Japan and abandoned her for Shirou. However, in the Fate route and Heaven's Feel route, this slowly changes. In the former, the two form a sibling-like bond, and in the latter, she sacrifices her life to save his.
She loved Kiritsugu a lot, since they were father and daughter, but she was only 8 years old when they were separated, so her memories of him are quite scant.
She also loved her mother on the same level as her father.
She considered Berserker to be something of a protector. She loved him tremendously, as if he were actually a part of her family, and is devastated in every route when he finally meets his untimely demise.
She obeys her grandfather without question. It's unknown if she actually loves him in the same way that she loved her parents, or if their relationship is simply constructed based on obedience, because he's the head of their house.
Her death in the Unlimited Blade Works route is effectively emotional, as first Berserker is killed by Gilgamesh, then he forcefully rips Illya's heart out of her chest, and watches her painfully die.
Her death is even better in the Heaven's Feel route, as Illya willingly sacrifices her own life to save Shirou's.
There are two fascinating sides to Illya's personality. On one hand, she's similar to her mother, bubbly, kind, out going, and cheerful, extremely childish. However, she also bears similarities to her father, as she's shown willingness to murder callously when she's angered too much.
Illya is a tragic character, whom is extremely lonely inside due to being abandoned by Kiritsugu Emiya for Shirou, (that's not what happened, but that's what her grandfather told her), the death of her mother, and the emotional disregard by her grandfather, who merely saw her as a tool to acquire the Holy Grail during the Fifth Holy Grail War. She has no friends to play with or family that truly cares about her, and is often times stuck inside of the Einzbern Mansion practicing her magecraft.
Bad Qualities
She doesn't have any route in the original Fate/stay night visual novel, even though she was a great character, and her and Shirou had excellent chemistry.
Her death in the Unlimited Blade Works route is a double edged sword; while it's very effectively emotional, it's also kind of an insult to her character, the way Gilgamesh first killed Berserker, then ripped her heart out of her chest.
