Fate Series: Kirei Kotomine (INTJ)

Most of the information here came from Fate Zero. Although, his behavior in the other series appeared consistent with this conclusion.

Ni:

“For as long as I remember, I have spent my life in search of a single thing. I’ve devoted every moment and endured great pain for it, but all of that has come to naught, yet I sense that the answer to my question is closer to me now than it has ever been before.”

“The formula that yielded this strange unsettling answer should exist somewhere as a greater clearer principle one can understand. No, not should it must. I must question. I must search. I must dedicate the remainder of my life to fully understanding it.”

“This isn’t nearly enough. Yes, it is true that my life of questions has finally found its answer. However, the problem solving process itself was skipped over, and the solution was just simply handed to me. How is it that I am supposed to accept all this at face value?”

Kirei leads with Introverted Intuition. He searches for the meaning behind everything, and the underlying pattern. His struggle in life is an inability to understand his own desires and purpose. He ends up in an endless pursuit for an answer, jumping from one thing to the next when he realizes it won’t lead to the answer he seeks. He studies many categories of magic as a result. He tends to try to hone in on other master’s motivations for the Holy Grail War and reads into their behavior, attempting to use that knowledge to defeat them. He ends up fearing Kiritsugu greatly due to his inability to understand him, and fixates on him, believing he’ll find the answers he seeks if he can learn to understand Kiritsugu. This could be Ni tunnel vision. Kirei considers joy itself a sin, due to the unfortunate fact that everything he desires is sinful. This generalization is indicative of Ni.

Kirei also has a tendency to bend the rules and dabble in gray areas to the point that if what he was doing was defined, it would probably be against the rules. He plays dirty, if it will increase his chances of victory. For instance, he fakes assassin’s death and takes refuge in the church. He also utilizes two servants in Fate Stay Night. Kirei also tends to mentally play things out to their final conclusion. Upon hearing what Kiritsugu’s wish for the Grail would be, he instantly states that that would mean the destruction of humanity, because a lack of conflict is impossible otherwise. Of course, it’s also easy to point out Kirei’s tendency to philosophize with Gilgamesh, and the fact that he’s prone to using indirect manipulation to get what he wants.

Te:

“Conflict is intrinsic to humanity. To eliminate it completely would mean the elimination of humanity itself. As an ideal, it’s totally futile… nonsense that a child would spout.”

“He’s never shown any passion, for anything at all in his life. He believes in absolutely nothing. He has no deep desire, no wish of any kind to be granted a man like that.. why would he put his life at risk to get the Holy Grail?” – Kiritsugu

“Wake up! Can you hear me woman?”

Kirei is cold and blunt. He has a generally commanding nature, that is not so overt to be considered dominant. He doesn’t tend to command others unless he has to, preferring to operate from the shadows. However, he has a generally rigid demeanor, speaks in absolutes, and does not struggle to state his opinions bluntly. He freely admits to lacking both ideals, desires, and passion, which is a struggle that aux Te users can be prone to. However, Kirei is still very goal oriented and ambition driven as Te users typically are. In his search for answers, he has absolutely no problem doing what he must do in order to achieve his objective, and has few moral boundaries or personal standards tying him down. He initially appears somewhat halfhearted in his efforts during the Holy Grail war, having no personal desire for the Grail himself and merely proceeding out of duty for the church. He seems more driven later, upon realizing that through the Grail he might find the answers that he seeks. This eventually leads him to betray Tokoyami, a mage whom he had been supporting up until that point, and fully commit himself to obtaining the Grail for himself.

Fi:

“I freely admit it. I am a man that is empty and desolate inside.”

“Kiritsugu Emiya, I shall grind your ideals to dust right before you, along with the Holy Grail you long for.”

“No, Kiritsugu Emiya is like me. He is alone and empty inside, understood by no one. He must be.”

Kirei understands very plainly who he is and readily admits it, in spite of his lifelong desire to know why he is that way. He has clear moral opinions, being show declaring certain things ‘indecent’ and joy itself to be a sin. Kirei is also very loyal to the church, and fulfills his duty. As many low Fi users, Kirei gets pleasure out of crushing other people’s ideals. He also spend a large portion of Fate Zero relating himself to Kiritsugu and vice versa. He even struggles with the idea that Kiritsugu might not actually be like him later on. This tendency to want to relate others back to yourself is commonly found in Fi users.

Se:

Kirei tends to avoid being at the center of things and direct battle. He spends a lot of his time operating from the shadows, which is standard for inferior Se users. He only directly involves himself when it seems absolutely necessary. He gets himself admitted to the church for safety via trickery, and issues commands to his assassin’s from there for a while. As also mentioned in the dominant Ni section, his tendency toward indirect manipulation, is also indicative of inferior Se, since he’s controlling others through a means that is not open and physical.