From an outsider's perspective, Sieg's situation is quite pitiful.
You can't necessarily say he's the least popular protagonist in the Type-Moon universe, but he's definitely absent from the fan-favorite rankings.
One of the biggest criticisms fans have about Sieg is the inexplicable romance between him and Jeanne.
From start to finish, "Fate/Apocrypha" constantly hints at Astolfo being the heroine, yet somehow Jeanne ends up in a relationship with Sieg?
In truth, Sieg and Jeanne's romantic subplot isn't inherently flawed from a conceptual perspective.
The original plan for "Fate/Apocrypha" (FA) was as a game, and Sieg was designed as a player surrogate character. That's why he was made into a "nameless homunculus"—to enhance the player's sense of immersion.
If FA had stayed a game, Sieg (the player) embarking on an epic adventure and ending up with Jeanne would have been perfectly fine.
In fact, Japanese RPGs that don't let players romance the heroine often get criticized with lines like, "What the hell?! I want a refund!"
But everything changed when FA transitioned from a game to a light novel and anime.
Fans went from identifying with Sieg as participants to viewing him as mere spectators. Naturally, they weren't thrilled about some random pretty boy waltzing in and winning the heart of the Holy Saint.
And on top of that, Higashide wrote Sieg and Jeanne's romantic scenes in a rushed, lackluster way—almost like he was checking off boring daily quests.
Especially the ending, where Higashide deliberately added insult to injury: Jeanne becomes a "husband-watching stone" on the planet's reverse side, clearly an attempt to mimic the "Last Episode" of FSN with Shirou and Saber. Instead, it only further enraged fans.
Jeanne fans were unhappy, feeling their goddess had no reason to fall for some pretty boy.
Astolfo fans were equally disgruntled, seeing their adorable character sacrifice so much for Sieg, only to watch Sieg run off with a "vixen."
As for Sieg fans... well, is that even a thing?
The only person who seems genuinely pitiful is Kinoko Nasu. Not only did Higashide butcher the lore, but Nasu also had to step in to patch it up.
Fortunately, Nasu is no stranger to shouldering the blame.
Back during the development of Fate/EXTRA CCC, the game team preemptively created an animation of EMIYA (Nameless) projecting Excalibur. This forced Nasu to hastily explain it away with a line about "a degraded replica that barely suffices."
Ever since then, Nasu has been stuck on the "fixing inconsistencies" treadmill.
Higashide must have noticed this and decided to leave the mess for Nasu to clean up.
After all, they're good pals, right? Higashide makes a mess of the lore, and Nasu smooths it over—perfectly normal, no? Besides, who told Nasu to be too lazy to write himself?
Type-Moon was undoubtedly aware that Sieg's character had issues. Just look at how normal he is in the FA crossover event in Fate/Grand Order.
Shinji, however, doesn't care whether Sieg is well-written. He's more concerned with whether his movie script will resonate with audiences.
When forming a party, you naturally have to pay attention to team composition.
For now, Shinji has already decided on the key characters. Aside from the protagonist, the antagonists are also set.
The big boss is, of course, the Amakusa + Semiramis duo, with Vlad III acting as an early-stage opponent.
On the protagonist team, Jeanne is joined by Mordred as another key combatant, with her Master, Kairi Sisigou, providing team support.
And, of course, the protagonist team needs someone to liven things up. For this, Shinji unhesitatingly chose the lovable Astolfo.
"What's up with this 'adorable Astolfo' thing?"
Looking at the cast list Shinji proposed, Arturia couldn't help but be puzzled.
Knowing Shinji, there was definitely something fishy about this choice, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"I thought he was a French knight? Not exactly a big name. Is it okay for him to be such a central character? And why is he labeled as some sort of mascot?" Arturia asked.
"Although he's not super famous, the role fits his personality perfectly. Even an idiot couldn't mess it up... probably," Shinji replied, hesitating slightly toward the end.
"So, why a mascot?"
"It's just to lighten the mood in the movie—comic relief, silly antics, that kind of thing," Shinji explained with a grin. "I originally considered using Spartacus for this role."
James Gunn's Groot in Guardians of the Galaxy and King Shark in The Suicide Squad had left a deep impression on Shinji.
Properly executed, these "ugly-cute" mascots could be more popular than the main characters.
However, if Spartacus were used, Shinji could already foresee his arc ending in self-sacrifice for the protagonist, which might overlap with future FGO plotlines. So, Shinji decided to go with the adorable Astolfo instead.
Who could resist a cute trap? Even more so, a rationally evaporating cute trap!
"I actually thought about including you in the movie initially," Shinji said, glancing at Arturia, "but that would mean dealing with your father-child dynamic with Mordred. The runtime's already tight, so let's skip any weird subplots."
"Of course."
Arturia nodded emphatically. She wasn't keen on confronting Mordred, either.
How should she put it... It felt awkward.
Though Arturia had experienced plenty in the modern world and somewhat realized she'd messed up her parenting, all parents seem to have an instinctive stubbornness about never admitting fault to their kids.
So, Arturia decided to ignore Mordred altogether.
"That child hates me anyway. If I ignore her, she'll probably ignore me too. Just stay calm," Arturia told herself.
Shinji had no idea about the King of Knights' ostrich-like mentality. Otherwise, he'd have immediately summoned Mordred to watch the drama unfold.
Originally, Shinji had planned to use Shirou to replace Sisigou. After all, Shirou and Mordred were said to have excellent compatibility in the official lore.
But then Shinji reconsidered and decided against it. Since he was set on expanding the Fate universe, he resolved to resist indulging his personal tastes and opted for an entirely new cast of characters.
By leveraging two Arturia-faces to draw in fans and popularity, while telling a completely fresh story, he aimed to deliver something truly refreshing for the audience.
"However, why is there still one empty spot in the protagonist team?"
Looking at the cast list Shinji had prepared, Arturia was still puzzled. "Based on your usual style, Master, you'd definitely give a female protagonist a male counterpart with a similar amount of screen time, wouldn't you?"
"Well..."
Shinji hesitated. He couldn't very well admit that the original male lead, Sieg, felt redundant in his current draft.
But Arturia, misunderstanding Shinji's expression, confidently "figured out" his reasoning.
"You must be trying to break new ground in your script, Master. You don't want to just keep recycling old tropes and risk boring the audience, right?"
"As expected of Master, always striving for self-improvement."
"That's exactly it..."
Grateful for Arturia's rationalization, Shinji quickly nodded in agreement.
"So, Arturia, do you have any suggestions?"
Shinji wasn't really expecting a solid answer. He was just hoping for some general input to help refine his script.
"Amakusa as the male lead? Amakusa as the male lead..."
Arturia's initial reaction was surprise, followed by contemplation.
Her comment sparked an idea in Shinji's mind: maybe this could work.
It wouldn't just be about making Amakusa Jeanne's romantic interest for some love-hate dynamic. That was unnecessary—Amakusa's canonical pairing with Semiramis was non-negotiable.
Instead, Shinji could write Amakusa as secretly infiltrating the protagonist team early on, temporarily aligning himself with them.
The reasoning would be simple: Semiramis needed time to complete the aerial fortress. During this period, Amakusa could blend in with Jeanne and the others, subtly misguiding and exploiting them to buy time for Semiramis.
Once the protagonists, with Amakusa's "help," defeated Vlad III, Amakusa could reveal his true colors and become the final boss.
This approach had its advantages. It saved the time required to develop Amakusa as a character from scratch, freeing up space for more dynamic battle scenes.
Amakusa wasn't a traditional pure villain; to make his character compelling, significant effort would be needed to flesh out his ideology and motivations. By having him join the protagonist team early on, Shinji could give Amakusa ample opportunity to showcase his philosophy and dreams, making his betrayal later more impactful.
"The only problem is, the script would need sufficient foreshadowing. Otherwise, Amakusa's sudden betrayal would feel jarring. And his interactions with Jeanne would have to be carefully balanced..."
If their relationship leaned too heavily into camaraderie or tenderness, viewers might misconstrue it as romantic. Then, when Amakusa betrays the group, the audience would perceive it as terrible writing.
"I could deliberately emphasize ideological clashes between Amakusa and Jeanne, making their dynamic more adversarial... Jeanne clearly has the more upright stance."
With this thought, the director began jotting down notes in his notebook. He outlined everything from their ideological differences to the contrasting ways they act.
To highlight the contrast between the two Rulers, their personalities and actions needed to mirror each other in all aspects.
"Hmm, this works! Arturia, you've been a huge help."
Feeling a strange sense of accomplishment, Shinji put down his pen after finishing his notes.
"Thank you, Jeanne," he said with a satisfied nod, deliberately teasing Arturia. "You've inspired me greatly."
"Master! I'm Arturia!"
The Knight King protested indignantly.
"Got it, Mordred."
"Hey!"
Arturia's glare turned sharp.
Shinji rested his chin on his hands, once again striking the classic pose of Commander Gendo Ikari.
"You'll need to get used to it, Arturia. Soon, you'll see many people who look exactly like you."
"There's no way that many people could look like me. It's not like we're all related by blood or something."
Unwittingly, Arturia had just raised a major flag.
<+>
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