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Elkidu: Understanding the Human Weapon and Masters’ Reactions in Fate/strange Fake
Elkidu from Fate/strange Fake represents a fundamentally non-human existence that defies conventional character archetypes in anime and gaming. Through analyzing viewer reactions and comparative character study, this article explores why this artificial being generates such profound fear and fascination among audiences.
What Happened
Fate/strange Fake introduces Elkidu, a character whose nature as a “human weapon” has sparked significant discussion among fans and analysts. Unlike typical non-human characters in anime and games who struggle with their humanity or possess emotional depth, Elkidu operates entirely outside human moral frameworks. The character’s interactions with other servants and masters reveal a being fundamentally devoid of human empathy or moral conflict, existing purely as a tool designed for specific purposes.
Why It Matters
Elkidu challenges conventional character design philosophy in anime and gaming. Most non-human characters—whether divine beings, artificial constructs, or supernatural entities—are written with some connection to human emotion or moral reasoning. Elkidu’s complete absence of these qualities creates a unique case study in how audiences respond to truly alien consciousness. This character design reflects a deeper understanding of mythological concepts, particularly Mesopotamian deities, which operate outside human moral systems entirely. Understanding Elkidu provides insight into how creators can depict genuinely non-human perspectives without resorting to familiar emotional frameworks.
Background
Fate/strange Fake is a light novel series written by Ryohgo Narita, with anime adaptation by A-1 Pictures. The series features Elkidu, a servant based on the Mesopotamian mythological figure from the Epic of Gilgamesh. In the original mythology, Enkidu is created as a companion to Gilgamesh. Fate/strange Fake reimagines this character as a pure tool—neither human nor divine in the traditional sense, but rather an instrument of will without independent moral agency.
The character’s creator, writer Urobuchi Gen (known for Fate/Zero), applies a distinctly different approach in Fate/strange Fake compared to his previous work. While Fate/Zero reinterprets existing Fate mythology through a more realistic and brutal lens, Fate/strange Fake pushes further by exploring the psychological nature of genuinely non-human consciousness.
Key Points
- Elkidu’s Fundamental Nature: Elkidu is not human, divine, or seeking humanity—it is purely a tool created to achieve specific objectives without moral hesitation or emotional conflict.
- Absence of Human Morality: Unlike other non-human characters in anime and games, Elkidu lacks any internal moral framework. It will eliminate even childhood companions without hesitation if deemed necessary.
- Unique Bond with Gilgamesh: Elkidu and Gilgamesh recognize each other as “the only one”—a relationship between two non-human entities who understand each other’s fundamental alienness from humanity.
- Mythological Design Philosophy: Elkidu embodies Mesopotamian divine concepts where gods operate outside human morality, similar to how humans show no compassion toward natural phenomena.
- Deepening Understanding Increases Fear: Unlike typical characters where understanding breeds empathy, comprehending Elkidu’s nature only reinforces the realization that this being possesses no human consciousness whatsoever.
- Rarity in Character Design: Among hundreds of analyzed anime and games, few characters achieve Elkidu’s level of complete human-consciousness elimination while maintaining individual agency.
Comparative Character Analysis
Elkidu occupies a unique position within character archetypes. Three primary patterns exist for non-human characters in fiction:
Pattern One—Seeking Humanity: Characters like Saber from Fate/stay night or Kaworu Nagisa from Neon Genesis Evangelion are non-human but actively seek human connection or understanding. They experience internal conflict about their nature.
Pattern Two—Transcendent with Emotion: Gilgamesh from Fate/Zero represents beings that transcend humanity while retaining emotional capacity—pride, anger, joy. They possess moral agency even if it operates on different principles than human morality.
Pattern Three—Complete Alienness: Elkidu represents a third, rarely achieved pattern: non-human, not seeking humanity, and entirely devoid of human emotional frameworks. This character type appears in fewer than a handful of works across hundreds of analyzed titles.
Even the Sibyl System from Psycho-Pass, another example of non-human consciousness, maintains systematic logic that humans can theoretically understand. Elkidu, by contrast, makes individual judgments that operate entirely outside comprehensible human reasoning.
Viewer Reactions and Interpretation
Fan responses to Elkidu reveal consistent patterns of unease. Comments such as “The more you understand this character, the more you realize it has no human heart” appear frequently across discussion forums. Another common reaction notes the disturbing ease with which Elkidu would eliminate childhood companions if circumstances demanded it—a decision made with complete emotional detachment.
One particularly insightful viewer comment states: “When discussing the battle with Enkidu metaphorically, it represents humans challenging nature itself—and we don’t show mercy to natural phenomena.” This observation captures Elkidu’s essential nature: the character functions as a force of nature rather than a moral agent.
The relationship between Gilgamesh and Elkidu generates additional commentary. Viewers note that mutual recognition as “the only one” between two fundamentally non-human entities represents something dangerous and alien. This differs fundamentally from relationships between human and non-human characters, where understanding bridges the gap. Here, mutual recognition only deepens their shared alienness from humanity.
The Relationship Between Gilgamesh and Elkidu
The bond between these two characters deserves particular attention. Gilgamesh, despite his arrogance and cruelty, retains human emotional capacity—he experiences pride, anger, and connection. Elkidu, conversely, recognizes Gilgamesh as the sole being it understands, not through shared emotion but through shared non-humanity.
This relationship inverts the typical dynamic seen in Fate/stay night between Saber and Shirou Emiya. In that relationship, a non-human being attempts to understand a human. In Fate/strange Fake, two non-human entities recognize each other’s fundamental alienness. Gilgamesh understands Elkidu as the only being that comprehends his own non-human nature. Elkidu, in turn, recognizes Gilgamesh as the sole entity worthy of its singular loyalty.
Mythological Context
Mesopotamian deities, unlike Greek gods or the Christian God, operate entirely outside human moral frameworks. They simply exist, like natural phenomena. The Fate/strange Fake creative team demonstrates deep understanding of this mythological concept through Elkidu’s characterization.
This design choice reflects intentional creative philosophy. Rather than imposing human moral understanding onto a non-human character, the creators allow Elkidu to operate according to its own logic—a logic that remains fundamentally incomprehensible to human observers. This approach honors the source mythology while creating a character that genuinely unsettles audiences through its complete alienness.
Why Elkidu Generates Unique Fear
Most character development follows a pattern: deeper understanding leads to empathy and connection. Audiences come to sympathize with characters as they learn their motivations and internal conflicts. Elkidu inverts this pattern entirely. As viewers understand this character more thoroughly, fear and alienation increase rather than decrease.
This occurs because understanding Elkidu means accepting that no human framework applies to its consciousness. The character is not evil—evil requires moral agency and choice. Elkidu simply is, operating according to its design without moral consideration. This fundamental difference generates a unique form of horror: the realization that one is attempting to understand a being that operates outside all comprehensible human reasoning.
Insights and Implications
Elkidu represents a significant achievement in character design precisely because it resists the temptation to make non-human characters relatable through emotional depth. Most creators, when depicting non-human consciousness, add human emotional elements to ensure audience comprehension. The Fate/strange Fake team resisted this impulse, creating a character that remains fundamentally alien despite its individual agency.
This choice elevates the series’ exploration of what defines humanity. By presenting a being that possesses intelligence and decision-making capacity while lacking any human moral framework, the work implicitly argues that humanity is defined not merely by consciousness or intelligence, but by specific emotional and moral capacities that Elkidu completely lacks.
The character also demonstrates how mythological concepts can enrich modern storytelling. By grounding Elkidu in Mesopotamian divine philosophy rather than contemporary science fiction tropes, the creators achieve something genuinely unsettling—a character that feels ancient and alien precisely because it embodies pre-human moral frameworks.
Future developments regarding Elkidu’s potential acquisition of human characteristics remain uncertain. Whether this being could ever develop emotional capacity, or whether it will remain eternally alien, represents the series’ central unresolved question about the nature of consciousness and humanity itself.
