Here we are again, anime fans – time to examine our possibilities for the Anime Holy Grail War Caster class! If you’ve forgotten the premise, then take a second and check out my introduction. The tl;dr is that we’re building a team of seven Servants based on the classes of the Fate universe by selecting characters that fill the role from anime. The classes are Saber, Lancer, Archer, Caster, Rider, Berserker, and Assassin. Today’s article marks the official halfway point in this series.
For the Saber class, Captain Levi fills the role of expert swordsman and leader. Then the Lancer class, requiring the flexibility to provide a threat at close and long ranges finds Pyrrha Nikos as the choice. And last month, the Archer class took center stage with an independence to make plays and Riza Hawkeye sniped the competition.
Today we select a caster. At its lowest common denominator, a caster is someone who uses magic. Magecraft comes in many various forms. Honestly, this class may be the most difficult to judge power levels because of how different each type of magic can be from the last. Casters also generally have a specialization in territory, spell, or item creation. This is how they gain an advantage against the other Servants. They empower a location or concentrate specifically on one spell or fashion a weapon to be a focus.
Spoiler: There will be a few spoilers present. However, I continue to hope that their inclusion won’t turn you off from reading this article or checking out these wonderful characters.
Anime Holy Grail War Caster – Megumin
Megumin is an Arch Wizard. She is a walking personification of the word OBSESSION. Megumin is fond of saying that she “must cast Explosion once a day or die”. All of her level up bonuses are allocated into making her Explosion more spectacular.
Noble Phantasm: Explosion – Megumin only knows this one spell but it is particularly devastating. Its destructive capabilities blow giant craters in the landside. Explosion can easily level castles and vaporize unsuspecting monsters.
Why I can’t pick her: Unfortunately, Megumin exhausts her mana after casting Explosion just once. She is entirely too reliant on her party to keep her safe after her cast. Her one spell may be powerful but isn’t smart to put all your eggs in one basket. If the one Explosion didn’t finish off the target, then Megumin would be helpless.
Anime Holy Grail War Caster – Rin Tohsaka
So, I didn’t want to use the Servants from Fate, but nothing can stop me from bending the rule to use a non-Servant Fate character. Rin is a mage with an extremely rare gift as she is able to employ magic from all five Elements. She is proficient with many types of magic. Rin can shoot cursed bullets from her fingertips and reinforce her body. She is a talented genius.
Noble Phantasm: Jewel Magecraft – Rin specializes in converting magic energy into jewels. Rin can then use the stored energy in the jewel for bursts of power. She is able to do real damage to Servants of great power, even going so far as to take a life from Hercules and counter other high-level spells.
Why I can’t pick her: I feel like Rin doesn’t reach her peak until she has a partner capable of working with her shortcomings. She is a fantastic magus but wouldn’t be the best pick to work in this team atmosphere. Rin has real power that would be a force to be reckoned with but might clash with the other personalities on this team.
Anime Holy Grail War Caster – Eucliwood Hellscythe
Part of my philosophy of life is that the words one uses have power. This is a very real power for Eucliwood (also known as Eu). She is a necromancer from Hades with the power to warp reality with the words she speaks. Eu goes to great lengths to not speak for fear of what her magical words could do to those around her. As a necromancer she possesses a power to raise the dead.
Noble Phantasm: Reality Warp – What Eu says becomes reality. Her power is so great that she wears armor to specifically inhibit her reality warping capabilities. She goes a step forward to only speak in exceedingly rare circumstances. Normally, Eu communicates by writing her wishes on slips of paper.
Why I can’t pick her: It is tough to pick someone who puts so many rules on their power. But it is that power that makes Eu so terrifyingly powerful. She could simply tell an opponent to “DIE” and it would happen. Eu doesn’t trust her control of that power. That inability to have control would be disastrous in this Anime Holy Grail War.
Anime Holy Grail War Caster – Ainz Ooal Gown
Ainz Ooal Gown is the Overlord of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. His power is so great that he is known as the most powerful magic caster in the world. I really just want to link a video to his preparation casting where he activates 28 different spells (actually I will – just watch the first two minutes). His goal is to conquer the world without knowing defeat.
Noble Phantasm: Super Tier Magic – Ainz is the only being capable of using magic reserved for the creators of the world. He uses it only in the direst of circumstances. But having a trump card like this makes Ainz a formidable foe.
Why I can’t pick him: I won’t beat around the bush here, I originally had Ainz as my selection for the Caster class. I find him to be one of the most overpowered characters in all of anime. However, he suffers from a character flaw that prevents his selection. Ainz is a fine leader but he’d struggle as part of the team.
Anime Holy Grail War Caster – Itachi Uchiha
Forgive the liberty I’m going to take here but as far as I can tell genjutsu and many forms of ninjutsu are simply magic dressed in ninja clothes. Genjutsu, at its root, is illusion. It is manipulating the opponent’s chakra into sensing something that isn’t really there. Itachi is the master of genjutsu. Additionally, he could use the “fires of hell” Amaterasu to burn his opponents with unquenchable flames.
Noble Phantasm: Sharingan – This power allows the user heightened visual prowess as well as access to powerful hypnotic jutsus. Itachi is a prodigy at using the Sharingan to its fullest extent. He could craft intricate genjutsu. He could turn genjutsu cast at him against their creators. The Sharingan let Itachi preform the Izanami which locked its target in a never-ending loop of illusion.
Why I picked him: Itachi is probably the most dangerous kind of fighter in this hypothetical scenario. He is a pacifist with power and the discipline to stick to his convictions. War brings the expectation of having to kill. Itachi has the option to take enemies without killing them. Not to mention he is a skilled ninja and infiltrator. You expect to expend resources on protecting a caster, but Itachi is capable of staying safe and subverting expectations.
Anime Holy Grail War Caster – Conclusion
This is the second Servant class in a row where I have had a wealth of options to whittle down to just these few. I wrote about Shiroe of Log Horizon as a magic user in the past. However, I considered Elias of The Ancient Magus Bride (his shadow and thorn magic being unique), Aang of Avatar (the elements being a key part of many magics), and Maou of The Devil is a Part Timer (who transforms human fear into magic and that magic into immense strength).
It was a tough decision. I went back and forth between nearly all of these potential candidates! Who would be your selection for this Anime Holy Grail War Caster class? Did I overlook a worthier possibility? Are you enjoying this series? Please, reach out to me on social media (Facebook – Twitter – Instagram) or leave a comment here! Or come out to see me at Wizard World Chicago August 23rd to 26th. I’d love to gab about anime in person – feel free to use my code OTAKUANTICS for 20% off general admission tickets!
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Saber – Lancer – Archer – Caster – Rider – Berserker – Assassin
