Fate/Zero

Eight years ago in Germany, Kiritsugu Emiya and his wife Irisviel von Einzbern welcome the birth of their daughter Illyasviel. Though Kiritsugu fears he will lead Irisviel to her death in the upcoming Fourth Holy Grail War, she assures him that he is a good man who will fulfill their ideals. Three years ago, the priest Kirei Kotomine learns that he has been chosen as a participant for the Holy Grail War. Kirei's father Risei Kotomine, the war's moderator on behalf of the Church of the Eighth Sacrament, and Tokiomi Tōsaka, another participant, arrange for Kirei to become Tokiomi's pupil in magecraft in order to give Tokiomi an advantage and help Kirei get over the death of his wife. One year ago in Fuyuki City, Kariya Matō visits his childhood friend Aoi Tōsaka and her daughters, Rin and Sakura. Kariya is shocked to learn Sakura has been adopted by the Matō family to be an heir who can use magic, and he is horrified to discover what has been done to her. Confronting his father Zōken Matō, Kariya strikes a deal to implant himself with parasitic worms that will give him the magic needed to participate in the upcoming war. If he wins the Grail, Sakura will be freed and returned to her family. In the present, Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald dismisses and humiliates one of his students named Waver Velvet, who theorizes anyone can be a great mage by hard work and practice, rather than by virtue of their bloodline alone. Waver decides to prove his teacher wrong by stealing Kayneth's artifact, which is needed to summon a Servant, in order to join the war himself. As Kirei, who has now summoned his Servant Assassin (Hassan-i Sabbah), and Kiritsugu learn of each other's skills, they are disturbed by how they cannot know what the other man's goals for the war are. After receiving the scabbard of the sword Excalibur, Irisviel is hopeful that they can summon Saber (Arthur Pendragon), but Kiritsugu worries that Arthur's chivalry will clash with his pragmatic methods. As Kiritsugu, Tokiomi, Kariya and Waver each summon their Servants, Kiritsugu and Irisviel are stunned to see that the summoned Saber is actually a woman.