>>279661445
Shirou's character in HF is that he redefines what his ideal is while staying true to himself — that he never changed from being the boy never quits and never gives up who tried to jump those poles, that he simply exchanged one impossible goal for another. The point of the juxtaposition between Shirou and Rin is precisely that he continues to strive to save Sakura despite knowing it is impossible, whereas Sakura doesn't. Shirou never believed in saving everyone, he was driven by guilt and he latched unto Kiritsugu's ideal because the only way he could feel happy without being guilty was making others happy. Part of Archer's criticism is itself that Shirou is a hypocrite who arbitrarily decides who ought to be saved and who not, prepared as he is to kill his enemies. Shirou knows not everyone can be saved, he merely reflexively tries to save everyone before him to atone for his supposed sin and to die in such a way as to give meaning to having lived when so many died. HF builds upon that dynamic explored in UBW by emphasizing how Shirou denied his humanity and convinced himself he did not desire human happiness, but he could not deny his humanity or extinguish it; he only remained sane because of the company that Taiga and Sakura gave him. The entire point of the reveal about Sakura is precisely that he finally realizes that fact.
The point with Kiritsugu conversely is that he was a retarded faggot who drove himself mad because he justified the most sociopathic utilitarianism for the sake of a completely idealistic goal, and he broke down the moment he realized all his sacrifices were for naught. The absurdity of the juxtaposition between Kerry's superficial maturity and pragmatism with his inner childishness and incompetence is the point of the character.
