True Name: Ishtar
Class: Archer
Source: Ancient Mesopotamian Mythology
Region: Mesopotamia, Uruk
Gender: Female
Alignment: Lawful Good
Height: 159cm
Weight: 47kg
Scenario Writer: Kinoko Nasu
Character Illustrator: Shidzuki Morii
Character Voice: Kana Ueda
Appearance in Main Works: Fate/Grand Order
Parameters
Strength: B
Endurance: B
Agility: B
Mana: EX
Luck: A
Noble Phantasm: A++
Class Skills
Magic Resistance: A
Nullifies spells of Rank A or below. Modern magi would not be able to wound her with magecraft.
Independent Action: A
The ability to remain independent for a while even when rejecting the Magical Energy supply from one’s Master. As she has A Rank in this, it is possible for her to remain materialized in this world for a week even if she is without a Master.
Goddess’s Divine Core: B
A Skill that expresses one being a perfected goddess since birth. It has the effect of preserving the absoluteness of the mind and body. It mitigates almost all mental interference, prevents the body from growth, and prevents the figure from change no matter how much calories are absorbed. It is a composite Skill that comprises the Skill Divinity. As she is a Pseudo-Servant, it results in the rank stopping at B.
Personal Skills
Shining Great Crown: A
A Skill that imitates even Authorities. A Shining Great Crown that expresses one among the many Authorities of the goddess Ishtar, bringing out various effects.
Mana Burst (Jewels): A+
An increase of attack power, done by adding excessive magical energy to one’s weapon. Originally, Ishtar’s divine energy is practically almighty since she can manipulate it with complete mastery, but perhaps due to the influence coming from her possessed vessel, she became unable to accumulate magical energy on anything but jewels for some reason. It is a powerful Mana Burst (damage intensification) Skill, but because there is the necessary process of charging the jewels before shooting them, its effects will be exhibited after 1 turn from the Skill’s utilization. It is somewhat difficult to use.
Manifestation of Beauty: EX→B
The formidable charismatic nature one has as a Goddess of Beauty. A power to captivate others. Despite being in a state where it can only work as possession, it already exceeds the domain of men. Naturally, it should be a composite Skill (gauge absorption, curse, Skill sealing) that works with a powerful seduction effect as its core, but the restriction effects towards others were removed due to the strong inclination of the human possessed by her, and it essentially became a simple Charisma Skill. (Originally, it is EX Rank, but it has fallen to B.)
Noble Phantasms
An Gal Tā Kigal Shē: Mountain Range-Shaking Firewood of Venus
Rank: A++
Type: Anti-Mountain
Range: 999~???
Maximum Number of Targets: ???
An Gal Tā Kigal Shē; it means “from the great heavens towards the great earth.” In Sumerian Mythology, it is the most “devastating” and “atrocious” deed that Ishtar carried outーーーーfrom her anecdote of trampling down and annihilating the Sacred Mountain Ebih, which was revered and feared even by the King of Gods, “simply because I am displeased with it.” Ishtar forced her way into Mount Ebih, increasing her heavenly might with each step, and in the end, she grabbed a hold of the mountain range’s summit and thrusted her spear into the heart of the leyline, causing the Ebih mountain range to collapse. Another name for this is the Jabal Hamrin Breaker.
While in the middle of her Noble Phantasm, she warps to Venus; however, this is not the Venus in the outer space of the modern era’s, but rather, the Venus in the outer space during the time of the age of mythology. Afterwards, grabbing (the concept of) Venus and loading it onto her bow as a bullet, the Venus Blaster shoots this Venus that had been turned into a bullet towards the Earth (surface), and from another person’s perspective, it casually warps into the modern era’s airspace through the utilization of displacement magecraft. The mountain range that was a nuisance to others, even to the Earth and to Venus, is accordingly destroyed by this Venus.
Gugalanna Strike: Bull of Heaven
Rank: A+
Type: Anti-Army
Range: 1~99
Maximum Number of Targets: 400 people
Temporarily summons the “Bull of Heaven”, viewed as the greatest and strongest Divine Beast that was once dispatched to destroy Uruk on behalf of the goddess Ishtar. The “Bull of Heaven” appears in the skies and pulverizes the ground with its very large hooves. Large destruction is done similar to a meteorite falling down (meteor strike). It looks like a shining sky is falling down. It is as if the sky is blanketed with the Morning Star emitting a beautiful light, but it is actually a large golden hoof coming down to pulverize everything that is in the space between the sky and the ground. The attack deals a large damage, regardless of friend and foe, and temporarily bestows a rank down effect (heavy pressure) to one’s entire status, but only Ishtar herself does not receive any of the damage and effects.
When releasing the True Name, there are words being spoken similar to the ones spoken when utilizing a portion of the “Authority” possessed by the (original) source of the goddess Ishtar, but in any event, one of her Noble Phantasms is exactly the same. Because it does not work as the materialization of the physical Bull of Heaven, it is also possible to employ this Noble Phantasm while confined by the space called “the indoors”, all done without destroying the structure. In “Fate/Grand Order”, it is not used because of some existing circumstances.
First Pronoun: watashi
Second Pronoun: anata / ** (without honorifics) / (only when in front of public residents) Master
Third Pronoun: anata-tachi
Personality
Active and extroverted. The goddess of war and good harvests that lives according to her own whims without being a slave to her own fixed position, all while having high intelligence and pride. She loves beautiful things, hates ugly things, and the things she desires are the things she absolutely takes hold of in her own hands. Even though she is smart, she is impulsive, and sometimes leaves with an unthinkable reckless abandon. In myths, Ishtar is commented by Gilgamesh as thus: “Inanna? Isn’t she the most annoying goddess in the world!? She will destroy something that certainly doesn’t need to be destroyed, and she will also create something that doesn’t need to be created!” If Ishtar becomes ostentatious in this world, then surely in that way, she will invite chaos simultaneously.
The root of Ishtar’s personality does not have any changes even when materialized as a Servant. It cannot be helped that Rin, who is the possessed vessel, almost has the same nature as Ishtar’s as well. However, there is one thing that Rin has that Ishtar doesn’t. That is “patience”. Rin is a hardworking person who is not negligent in her trainings even though she is a genius. She knows patience, which appears to be giving a little influence on this Ishtar. Incidentally, Rin became independent after losing her father when she was very young, while Ishtar behaved like a spoiled child up to the very end towards her almighty father.
She is the exact opposite of Kongming (Zhuge Liang), who is identical to her by being another Pseudo-Servant, in that the human personality, the basis of the possessed human, does not come out to the surface. Ishtar thinks and behaves as Ishtar to the very end. Although she thinks to herself “Is it because I am just being a destructive god?”, Rin’s innate goodness is mixed in with that creed as this Ishtar, and the following changes were made:
- I must be the most beautiful → (If there is someone more beautiful than me, I will strive to become more beautiful then)
- I’ll kill anyone who opposes me → (If I made someone cry because I went too far in killing someone, I would rather stop then)
- I’ll tolerate anyone who is faithful to me → (I will lend my power only in proportion to the faith you have in me)
Openly like this, Ishtar’s cruelty is held back, and it at least becomes “Ah, I became just a little higher than usual” when assessing this as Rin Tohsaka. Also, Ishtar herself is not conscious of Rin being her possessed body. “I am myself. Whatever human this possessed body was, is now the goddess Ishtar herself. Think of it in this way. Instead of saying this human was taken over by Ishtar, it is rather that suddenly on one day, she became Ishtar as well.” Although it openly sounds like she is making light of Rin’s human rights, it actually means the exact opposite. Ishtar recognizes that “if Rin Tohsaka is Ishtar, then it means Ishtar is Rin Tohsaka, regardless if it is from something like whoever is on top, to whichever one of them accepts this current state of things.” Although she will absolutely not say this.
To say it in a few words, a “Tohsaka of Light (yet a devil)”.
Motivation/Attitude towards the Master
A human worth teasing. Although she thinks of herself as someone celebrated, she will not do things such as looking down on someone given that there is Rin’s basis. She comes into contact with the Master with deep affections and friendship, although simply as “a toy worth teasing.” However, as their bonds deepens, the virtue of taking care of people that she has since the beginning and her emotional weakness (of completely emphasizing with someone) works against her, and they grow from “a toy worth teasing” into “my cherished contractor, whose future is worth watching over.”
Dialogue Examples
“Ouch!!... Those cruel eyes… they unexpectedly shot up from the ground… Though, it was good luck that I suffered less damage than what I had thought I would. Since my usual high-handedness (actions) are also good for thisーーーーW-What are youーーーー!”
“I am not doing that! A Master freely using their Servant, just as I thought it would be! Such things like a goddess’s responsibilities or human logic, I wanted to come on board without those sorts of involvements! Gear, go and give it to them!”
“WーーーーWhat’s that luggage, and when did the storm lapis lazuli get in there!? A crown? By some chance, is that… not the seven-jeweled crown too!? There’s nothing to worry about with these jewels being used for magecraft if it is just this… Lies… eh? That one gave me this!? A god!?”
“I will not say things like, I lied midway, right? *panicking* My eyes have become dizzy, calm down me! And Ishtar (me)!”
“So it’s like that. Although it is a provisional contract, Ishtar has become a Servant of Chaldea. You do not think I am boring, so since that’s the case, I’ll ask you for a favor. Please treat me favorably, ok? ☆”
Historical Character Image
Ishtar is the goddess of beauty, lust and discord in Sumerian Mythology. Her Sumerian divine name was said to be Inanna, and that name is actually her older name. Ishtar is her Akkadian divine name. It means “The Mistress of Heaven”. A goddess of Venus, a goddess who governs over the good harvests that brings prosperity to the people, and even a goddess who rules over war and destruction, she is a great goddess who, among the goddesses, was presented with many rights and Authorities from the gods. In Sumerian Mythology, she plays an active role as a dynamic goddess and as a goddess who is like the heroine of a story, possessing various anecdotes. Particularly among them, a famous one is her feeding the city of Uruk to the “Bull of Heaven”, seemingly an anecdote that caused the city to be on the brink of destruction.
At any rate, she is a whimsy deity that is free and uncontrolled, and it is said that she has many lovers, irrespective of them being from the domain of men or from the domain of the gods. She is a deity who was perfected as a deity, one who usually took control and command of things. There is no compromise. The motive for bringing out the Divine Beast onto the Earth was said to be the result of Hero King Gilgamesh of Uruk having not responded to her temptations.
Role within the Game
In “Fate/Grand Order”, she has materialized as a Pseudo-Servant by possessing a human. Since Ishtar is egotistical, she behaves without paying any regard to the possessed human, but her nature is receiving a big influence from the human that was possessed. Originally, Ishtar is both deeply compassionate and cruel, but because the personality of the possessed human is more virtuous, her cruelty has retreated to the bottom of her heart, and her good side appears to have come out ahead of it.
In Chapter 7, she appeared as the only living Sumerian deity. By becoming a Pseudo-Servant, she manifested on the lands of Mesopotamia, attentively watching the Seventh Singularity and the future of humanity. Although she says she is attentively watching them, she is watching over them while letting out an evil sneer. “Well then. I wonder if the humans will survive this, or will they be destroyed?” By chance, she happens to see the protagonist persevering as a mere human being while losing their Servants, being a favorite among those she teases, and temporarily links a contract with them. In the end, she proves to be a literal “Goddess of Victory”.
She is always floating lightly because she is not the “Goddess of Earth”, but the “Goddess of Heaven”. The main weapon of her choice is the “Boat of Heaven Maanna”, which is both an airship and an enormous bow. Maanna is the boat of the gods that soars across the Mesopotamian World, and it is also an interstellar teleportation stargate (gate) that connects between Earth and Venus, but because she is a Pseudo-Servant, except during the occasion of using her Noble Phantasm, its warp function is sealed. While called a Mesopotamian deity, her image is like that of an invader flying in from Venus to attack the Earth.
Also, it is a digression, but regarding the battle against Ishtar in one section of the Seventh Singularity’s Tenth Chapter, she had a Passive Skill called “Broken Lapis Lazuli Necklace”. Because it is broken, its original effect becomes the exact opposite (Noble Phantasm damage reduced by 30%). Ishtar herself realizes that negative effect, but daringly wears it. Even if it is for this reason: “It is still beautiful, and I wanted to flaunt it; plus, if I think about this inversely, even if it starts to act up violently and flare up, I am not going to suffer damage because I am already suffering from its debuff, right?” Or so she thinks. But she ignores pointing out that she had used her Noble Phantasm, which caused it to act up violently in the first place.
Connection with Characters
Gilgamesh
After losing all the money he has on hand through gambling, he returned back to his home to find his storehouse of treasures burning, and for the finishing blow, while he was still broke, his debt was being collected after the break period he had implored the collector for had just ended, and he died!
Enkidu
In the middle of its journey, its vehicle’s engine stalled and even its cellphone had a flat battery, so it wandered around without any decent food too, before in the end, it finally arrived at a diner, only for zombies to infest the place, and it died!
Ereshkigal
A Tohsaka of Darkness, huuh?...
Artemis
I hear that person is a deity of Greece? I guess she’s a robot?
Comment from Illustrator
Although Ishtar’s picture was finished up to total completion on one occasion, I felt that “Hmm… Somehow, I have a feeling that this isn’t it”, so I continued overtime work on this even in spite of the picture being completed already; the appearance of my state of being is like saying “Since that drawing is already accepted, it’s fine, it’s fine”, but I went as far as continually dismissing that inside me, and then, I got to accept my drawing, saying “… if it’s this… yeah” after making my third rough sketch, so it was that drawing of Ishtar that I immediately pushed to replace with.
Since the first picture was a hard picture to draw because it fluctuated when I became tense from mental strain, I recalled wondering if it was good. If it is said that, 'as a result of Ishtar being a deity who rules over war, comparatively anything can properly be a reasonable Class for her', it then becomes a strained interpretation of an Archer as well; although, she is a goddess, so I took into consideration a weapon with a form that can work similar to a bow, and I remember wondering boldly what can be something more fascinating for an enormous Noble Phantasm she can carry in her hand. However, that weapon that can work similar to a bow turned out to be something unexpected, “I’ll make that as Maanna, ok?”, and this Maanna was added to the setting afterwards.
By the way, the coloring of Maanna references the gold and blue colors of the Ishtar Gate. And then, the earrings references a statue of Ishtar. And finally, speaking of the image of Archer regarding Rin Tohsaka… I added a loincloth to her first look. Although she has a lot of skin exposure, considering the Mesopotamian culture and the nature of the goddess Ishtar, this seems to show more skin in this way… right…? I did not think she would have screen time later on in the summer as well… yeah.
Originally Posted by Zork Knight
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