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So, I just finished Fate/Zero, and since Fate/stay night happened, clearly
Kiritsugu was unable to destroy the grail to end the cycle (as I understand
his intentions to be). However, it seems like Shirou and Saber did the same
thing, but this time without the massive devastation, and it seems like maybe
he succeeded.

Why did Shirou succeed while Kiritsugu failed?

I would also appreciate any links to resources to better my understanding of
the Fate universe regarding the animes' endings.


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question
fate-stay-night fate-zero
Regarding Shirou and Kiritsugu's attempt to destroy the grail


Kiritsugu's wish was for world peace, not just destroy the grail. In a certain
episode (I can't remember its title,but it's the one that flashes back to
Kiritsugu's boyhood) is shown how Kiritsugu believes that peace can be
achieved, (in the example with the boats) by killing the larger evil. Though
he understands that this way isn't possible so he trusts the grail to achieve
it using super-human measures. Now Kiritsugu's wish ended up in a devastation
because by the time he summoned it there were more than one heroic spirits
alive meaning that the grail wasn't omnipotent in order to create world peace
in a super-human way that Kiritsugu couldn't think of. But at that point it
was strong enough to realize his wish at the human-possible level in other
words in what Kiritsugu did in the past. By killing the larger evil, and thus
such devastation occurred


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## The Lesser and Greater Grails

What we see in Fate/Zero and the Fate and Unlimited Blade Works Routes of
Fate/Stay Night is the [Lesser
Grail](http://typemoon.wikia.com/wiki/Greater_Grail#Fuyuki), this is just a
vessel to summon the [Great
Grail](http://typemoon.wikia.com/wiki/Greater_Grail#Greater_Grail) which is
hidden beneath Fuyuki. so long as the Greater Grail exists the Wars will
continue.

> Why did Shirou succeed while Kiritsugu failed?

It depends on which route you take in Fate/stay night.

## Kiritsugu's plan

He knew that he wouldn't be able to destroy the grail for good. After the
Fourth War, Kiritsugu knew that the war would begin again and [planned for
that](http://typemoon.wikia.com/wiki/Fuyuki_Holy_Grail_War#Fourth_Holy_Grail_War)

> Kiritsugu had planned to demolish the ritual as of the proper scheduled time
> of the Fifth Heaven's Feel by arranging for the physical collapse of the
> Great Grail System before the originally estimated date. The process
> involved utilizing stocked dynamite and the manipulation of ley-lines to
> ensure a severe localized earthquake in the targeted area within thirty to
> forty years of the Fourth War.

But this plan failed as there was a build up of Prana in the Greater Grail
that was not spent after the Forth War because of how it ended. In the
previous 3 Wars, it would take roughly 60 - 70 years to build up the Prana
again because it would have been spent. However, since it wasn't spent in the
Fourth War, Kiritsugu's plan would have failed to stop the Fifth War (but may
have stopped a Sixth War though).

## Fate/Stay Night - Fate & Unlimited Blade Works Routes

In both of these routes from the visual novel (adapted in the Fate/Stay Night
Anime Series and Unlimited Blade Works Movie and Anime Series), we only see
the Lesser Grail manifest, so Saber only ever destroyed the Lesser Grail even
with Archer's help in Unlimited Blade Works. As such, a Sixth War can still
happen.

However [Lord El-Melloi II](http://typemoon.wikia.com/wiki/Lord_El-
Melloi_II#Fate.2Fstay_night) and Rin (now the proper head of the Tohsaka
Family) return 10 years later to take apart the Greater Grail

> He arrives in Fuyuki and, together with Rin as the head of the Tohsaka clan,
> sets out to completely take apart the Greater Grail. They are opposed by
> members of the Mage's Association wishing to retrieve it instead, leading to
> great turmoil of the same magnitude as the Grail War. His side eventually is
> victorious, and the Greater Grail is completely dismantled, marking the
> conclusion of the Fuyuki Holy Grail Wars.

## Fate/Stay Night - Heaven's Feel

This time we don't see the Lesser Grail. Rather, Shirou comes to the Greater
Grail in order to destroy it to prevent Angra Mainyu's birth and to save
Sakura, while destroying the Lesser Grail would have done nothing. Depending
on your choices in the route, there are 2 ways it ends.

**Normal End**

> Shirou defeats Kotomine and sacrifices himself to uses one final Projection
> to destroy the Greater Grail. Sakura waits for him in the Emiya Estate
> because of their promise and grows old before passing away.

**True End**

> Shirou defeats Kotomine but he is about to die before Ilya, wearing the
> [Dress of
> Heaven](http://typemoon.wikia.com/wiki/Third_Magic#Dress_of_Heaven), arrives
> and assumes the role she was created for and uses the Greater Grail and
> closes the gate, sacrificing herself in the process. The final scene is told
> by Rin 2 years later. She is called to Trail at Clocktower in London because
> of her actions in the route, but Zelretch intervenes and she spends the 2
> years in London before returning to Japan. She also reveals that before
> closing the Gate, Ilya used the [Third Magic, Heaven's
> Feel](http://typemoon.wikia.com/wiki/Third_Magic), to save Shirou's Soul,
> which was later found by Rider and put into a Puppet Body made by Touko
> Aozaki.

* * *

Now since you are asking _"regarding the animes' endings."_ , I should point
out that the Heaven's Feel Route, at the date this answer was posted
(10/9/2014), has yet to receive an adaptation, however there is a series of
Heaven's Feel Movies planning to come out yet currently we don't know what
ending they will choose to go with. that aside, apart from reading the Wikia
you'd need to get the Visual Novel (and Translation Patch if you want
English). In the link to Lord El-Melloi II, there is a citation note to
[Fate/complete material III: World
Material](http://typemoon.wikia.com/wiki/Fate/complete_material_III#Volume_III_-
_World_material), which to my knowledge is only in Japanese.

With that said and done, from just the anime (Studio Deen's anime and move +
ufotable's Unlimited Blade Works series), **Shirou and Saber had only
destroyed the Lesser Grail just like what Kiritsugu and Saber did previously**
, and a sixth war was a possibility. However, other material will explain how
the Greater Grail is later destroyed/dismantled/shutdown.


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