Subaki

"I'm no good at getting help when I need it. That's the problem with seeking perfection. You always feel like you have to do everything alone."

- Subaki in a support conversation with the Avatar

Subaki (ツバキ, Tsubaki in the Japanese version) is a playable character in Fire Emblem Fates on the Birthright and Revelation routes. One of Sakura's personal retainers, Subaki seeks perfection in all that he does in order to uphold the legacy of his family. If he achieves an S support, he will bear a daughter named Caeldori with his spouse.

Subaki is voiced by Takamasa Mogi in the Japanese version and Walden James in the English version.

Profile
Subaki was born into a family belonging to the upper echelons of Hoshido, one that is renowned for having served the royal family for generations. Following the footsteps of his ancestors, Subaki is thus instated as one of Princess Sakura's personal retainers.

Birthright
Subaki makes his first appearance in Fort Jinya in Chapter 7, where he, alongside his fellow retainer Hana, aids Sakura in tending to the injuries of wounded soldiers and citizens. After receiving news of a Nohrian invasion that has broken out near Fort Jinya, Subaki is engaged in a squabble with Hana, during which they argue over the superiority of their usefulness on the battlefield. Shortly after their quarrel is broken up by Sakura, Subaki accompanies his liege, Hana and the Avatar out of the fort to stage a defence.

Subaki subsequently aids the Avatar's effort to put an end to the age-old conflict shared between Hoshido and Nohr.

Conquest
Subaki only appears in Chapter 22, where he, alongside Sakura, Hana and Yukimura, stages a defence in Fort Jinya in a bid to halt the Nohrian invasion. When engaged in battle by the Avatar, Subaki will reveal that in spite of their betrayal, Sakura has continued to hold nothing but the highest opinion of them. He then quietly vows to personally defeat the Avatar in order to end his liege's sorrow. Despite the best efforts of both Subaki and the rest of the Hoshidan army, they are eventually defeated and taken prisoner.

When Hans starts executing prisoners, it is mentioned that Yukimura, Sakura, Subaki and Hana were fortunately spared from Hans' wrath. It is unknown what happens to him afterwards.

Revelation
Subaki first appears at the end of Chapter 8, where he and Hana pursue Sakura after the latter wordlessly departs from Fort Jinya to ally herself with the Avatar's cause. Upon catching up with her, he immediately expresses relief before proclaiming that he and Hana will always support her in all the decisions that she makes.

Subaki subsequently aids the Avatar's effort to put an end to Anankos' machinations.

Paralogue
In Paralogue 13, Subaki reunites with his daughter Caeldori after not having seen her for ages. While in the midst of catching up with her, Subaki is summoned by a Hoshidan soldier to the Riverside to aid in quelling an enemy attack. Caeldori attempts to follow her father, only to be stopped as he urges her to remain behind for the sake of her safety. She later defies Subaki's orders, entering the battlefield and leaping into the fray to aid him. Following the conclusion of the battle, Subaki fawns over his daughter's achievements, expressing praise and admiration. Upon hearing her narrate details on the post-battle activities that she has engaged in, Subaki begins to feel inferior to her, mentally resolving to push himself in order to prevent her from surpassing him.

Personality
Subaki is a self-professed perfectionist, a fact that primarily stems from the legacy of his family's traditions, ones that have conditioned him to strive towards achieving perfection in all that he does. As a result of this, Subaki is known to be very demanding and even unforgiving towards himself as he works tirelessly to meet the harsh expectations that he sets for himself. This has in turn caused him to have the tendency to engage in self-reproach whenever he commits "offences" that he feels make him appear weak and imperfect in the eyes of others. During such occurrences, Subaki is known to lapse into a state of flustered distress as he attempts to rectify his shortcomings.

In spite of the excessive nature of his hardworking spirit, Subaki never draws attention to himself, choosing instead to hide his efforts from the notice of others. As a result of the attitude and behavior that he adopts towards others, Subaki can come across as being more obnoxious and arrogant than he actually is.

He has the cleanest hands in the army. His birthday is February 7.

Base Stats

 * -|Birthright Chapter 7/Revelation Chapter 8=

Conquest Chapter 22 - Sakura

 * -|Normal=


 * -|Hard=


 * -|Lunatic=

Xenologue 20 - Heirs of Fate 6: Lost in the Waves

 * -|Normal=


 * -|Hard=


 * -|Lunatic=

Growth Rates
Class:


 * 55%
 * 40%
 * 20%
 * 60%
 * 35%
 * 45%
 * 45%
 * 25%
 * }


 * 55%
 * 40%
 * 30%
 * 60%
 * 35%
 * 45%
 * 45%
 * 25%
 * }


 * 55%
 * 35%
 * 20%
 * 55%
 * 35%
 * 40%
 * 45%
 * 20%
 * }

Max Stat Modifiers

 * -1
 * 0
 * +2
 * -2
 * -1
 * +3
 * -1
 * }

Supports
Romantic Supports
 * The Avatar (Female)
 * Azura
 * Felicia
 * Mozu

Hoshido

 * Hinoka
 * Sakura
 * Kagero
 * Setsuna
 * Oboro
 * Hana
 * Rinkah
 * Orochi

Nohr (Revelation)
Other Supports
 * Selena
 * Nyx
 * The Avatar (Male)
 * Saizo
 * Azama
 * Hinata
 * Niles (Revelation)
 * Caeldori
 * Shigure (if Subaki is his father)
 * Kana (if Subaki is his father)

Standard Sets

 * }

Friendship Sets

 * -|Birthright/Revelation=


 * }
 * -|Revelation=


 * }

Partner Sets

 * -|All Routes=


 * }
 * -|Birthright/Revelation=


 * }
 * -|Revelation=


 * }

Special Classes

 * }

Base Class Set
Subaki boasts decent growth in Skill and HP and has middling Strength and Defense. Unfortunately, he suffers from low Resistance and oddly, a poor Speed growth, an unusual trait for a Sky Knight unit. His Personal Skill, Perfectionist, increases his hit and avoid rates by 15 points whenever he is at full health. Unlike Hinoka, whose growths resemble those of classic Pegasus Knights and has stronger growths across the board, Subaki can occupy a defensive niche that is unusual for his base class. In tandem with Perfectionist's avoid bonus, Subaki's middling growths in HP and defense can mold him into a passable dodge wall, granting him the ability to absorb physical hits more reliably than most of his allies in Birthright. However, he still is vulnerable to Bow/Yumi wielding units so mindful awareness of those units will minimize the risk of his death. His ability to wield naginata provides him some additional defense from the weapon's innate stat bonus. His base class offers two skills: Darting Blow and Camaraderie. He can utilize Darting Blow defensively by preventing his enemies from doubling attacks on him whenever he needs to initiate combat. Although the healing bonus from Camaraderie is only slight, it can help prolong Subaki defensive presence in the front lines.

One of Subaki's promotion options is the Falcon Knight class. As a Falcon Knight, Subaki gains a slight increase to skill growth as well as weapon access to staves and rods. Combined with his decent skill growth and Perfectionist's hit bonus, Subaki's newfound rod access allows him to accurately provide offensive support role through status ailment rods, such as Silence or Hexing Rod. The Falcon Knight class offers two skills: Rally Speed and Warding Blow. Rally Speed allows Subaki to switch to a defensive support role whenever necessary. Warding Blow somewhat patches Subaki's poor resistance and encourages him to attack magic-users at a greater frequency. Overall, the Falcon Knight class extends Subaki's versatility, but it does not necessarily highlight his strengths.

Subaki's second promotion option is the Kinshi Knight class. As a Kinshi Knight, Subaki gains a moderate increase in his skill growth at the cost of reduced growths in his weaker stats. He also gains weapon access to bows and yumi. The class offers two skills: Air Superiority and Amaterasu. Air Superiority syncs well with Perfectionist and considerably increases Subaki's combative capabilities against flying enemies, enabling him to reliably wall, bait, or even attack physical flying units (bar other Kinshi Knights). Amaterasu nicely complements Camaraderie and encourages Subaki to play defensive roles in close proximity to his allies. Overall, the Kinshi Knight class plays up Subaki's strengths and expands on his defensive capabilities, especially against flying units.

Secondary Class Set
Subaki's growths may be better suited in his alternate class set: the Samurai class set. Compared to his growths as a Sky Knight, Subaki gains increased HP and skill growths. He gains weapon access to swords and katana while losing access to lances and naginata. Switching into the Samurai class also notably removes various weaknesses associated with the flying and beast attributes. The Samurai class offers two skills: Duelist's Blow and Vantage. Duelist's Blow syncs very well with Perfectionist and Darting Blow, and it encourages Subaki to take on an offensive role in addition to his role as a dodge wall. Vantage may help Subaki in a pinch, especially when he has lost access to Perfectionist bonuses.

One of the Samurai's promotion options is the Swordmaster class. As a Swordmaster, Subaki notably gains 10-point increases to critical hit rate and avoid rate. The critical hit rate bonus syncs well with Subaki's decent skill growth, allowing Subaki to activate critical hits at a satisfying frequency. The Swordmaster class offers the Astra and Swordfaire skills. Thanks to his aforementioned skill growth, Subaki may see Astra activation at a greater frequency than others, and it further augments his offense. Should Subaki's career class carry a sword, Swordfaire will add a sizable bonus to his damage output. The Swordmaster class effectively utilizes Subaki's skill growth and provides various offensive assets that play up his strengths.

The Samurai's second promotion option is the Master of Arms class. As a Master of Arms, Subaki gains increased growths in HP, skill, and defense. Additionally, Subaki gains access to lances, naginata, axes, and clubs; granting him effective control over the weapon triangle—which entails opportunities to exploit weapon advantage for additional hit and avoid bonuses. The class grants offers th Seal Strength and Life and Death skills. Seal Strength greatly complements Subaki's physical and augments his ability to serve as an effective physical wall or physical attack bait. Because Life and Death compromises Subaki's defenses for increased damage output, it does not fit well with his defensive playstyles. Overall, the Master of Arms class greatly highlights Subaki's stronger stat growths and helps solidify his defensive capabilities.

Friendship Classes

 * Saizo - Saizo gives Subaki the Ninja class set, entailing the Master Ninja and Mechanist promotions. Compared to Saizo, Subaki has a much high Health growth, but is either lacking or matching Saizo's growths in the other stats. From the base class of Ninja, Subaki gets access to Locktouch and Poison Strike; while Locktouch is very situational due to the decline of locked chests and doors later in the game, meaning that it can be switched out for better skills, Poison Strike is a consistent and deadly skill that Subaki can bring back to other classes to equip in his arsenal. In the Ninja class, this skill helps boost his lacking Strength growth by doing damage even if his attack does none. For promotions, Master Ninja offers a small boost to Resistance, while Mechanist provides a boost to Health, Strength and Luck growths, while sacrificing some Skill and Speed. For skills, Subaki stands to learn Lethality and Shurikenfaire in the Master Ninja class; while Shurikenfaire is only useful if you intent to keep Subaki in a shuriken/dagger focused class, Lethality is a useful skill due to Subaki's Skill growth being quite high. From Mechanist, he can also learn Golembane, which mostly helps in PvP and castle battles due to the decline of Mechanists and Puppet/Stoneborn enemies, and also Replicate, which is a risky skill due to the fate of both Subaki and his replica being tied together, meaning that you need to take extreme care of him to make sure that he doesn't die.


 * Azama - Azama gives Subaki the Monk class set, entailing the Great Master and Onmyoji promotions. Compared to Azama, Subaki has a higher Skill and marginally higher Defense growth, but lacking or matching Azama in his other growths. From Monk, Subaki stands to learn Miracle and Rally Luck; Miracle isn't too useful due to his below average Luck growth, but can help in a pinch if you use Luck Tonics or Goddess Icons on him, and Rally Luck can help Subaki if you intend to put him in a supporting role rather than attacking, which is ideal due to Azama filling in the attacking role well due to his high Strength growth. For the two promotions, Great Master provides a boost to Health, Strength and Defense growths, while sacrificing some Magic, Skill and Resistance, while Onmyoji trades some Strength, Luck and Resistance for a boost to Magic. For skills, Subaki can learn Renewal to replace the Camaraderie that he learns in his base class due to it's more reliable and potent healing effect, and he can also learn Countermagic to make up for his abysmal Resistance growth. Onmyoji provides no useful skills to Subaki; Rally Magic can work if you want him as a supporting role, but Tomefaire is of no use to Subaki unless you intend to keep him in a tome/scroll-oriented class.


 * Niles - Niles gives Subaki the Outlaw class set, entailing the Adventurer and Bow Knight promotions. Compared to Niles, Subaki has higher Health, Skill and Defense growths, but lacks or meets Niles in the other stats, especially Subaki's abysmal Resistance growth. For skills, Subaki first learns Locktouch, which is useful only for chapters where there are locked chests and doors; it can be abandoned later for better skills due to the decline of locked chests and doors. However, he also learns Movement +1, which is a skill he can bring back to any class due to it's versatility. For promotions, Adventurer trades some Strength and Skill for a boost to magic, while Bow Knight gives a boost to Health, Skill and Luck growths, while sacrificing some Magic, Speed and Resistance. From Adventurer, Subaki can learn Lucky Seven and Pass; Lucky Seven helps on the first seven turns by making it easier for him to dodge and hit, but is primarily useful in PvP and castle battles due to most chapters later on getting shorter and shorter; also, Pass can be useful for getting behind enemy lines and, stacked with Movement +1, can make Subaki very slippery and hard for the enemy to surround. From Bow Knight, Subaki first learns Rally Skill, a supporting skill that can be abandoned if you don't intend to keep him as a support role, and after learns Shurikenbreaker to help deal with Master Ninjas, who are known for their high Hit Rate and Dodge Rate.

Marriage Classes

 * Female Avatar - Female Avatar gives Subaki whatever class she gets from a Heart Seal.


 * Azura/Felicia - Both Azura and Felicia give Subaki access to the Troubadour class set. The base class of this class set gives Resistance +2 and Gentilhomme skills. Resistance +2's function is its namesake. Gentilhomme helps female units with taking damage and dealing it. The Strategist class gives Subaki the Rally Resistance and Inspiration skills. Rally skills on Subaki aren't good for him as he fares better as an offensive unit. Inspiration is a buffed Gentilhomme which helps for male allies. The Butler class gives the Live to Serve and Tomebreaker skills. Live ot serve isn't useful on Subaki. Tomebreaker makes sorcerers trouble with hitting Subaki.


 * Mozu/Setsuna - Both Mozu and Setsuna gives Subaki the Archer class set. The Archer class gives Skill +2 and Quick Draw. Skill +2 is a good pick up if Subaki is struggling slightly with hitting opponents and Quick draw adds 4 damage when initiating combat. The Sniper class gives the Certain Blow and Bowfaire skills. Certain Blow grants hit rate +40 upon initiating an attack. Pair this with quick draw to make Subaki's clubs devestating. Bowfaire is only useful when Subaki is in a bow wielding class, which he probably won't be.


 * Hinoka/Oboro - Both Hinoka and Oboro give Subaki access to the Spear Fighter class set. The base class has the Seal Defense and Swap skills. Seal defense lowers the enemy's defense by 6, recovering 1 per turn. Swap lets Subaki switch placement with an ally. The Basara class offers the Rend Heaven and Quixotic skills. Rend Heaven is a great skill that works best against hard hitters. Quixotic is a risk vs reward skill which will drive away the cautious players but bring in risk loving players. The Spear Master class offers the Seal Speed and Lancefaire skills. Seal Speed lowers the speed of an Enemy by 6, recovering 1 per turn, which helps if a unit has trouble doubling. Lancefaire gives +5 when attacking with a lance/Naginata. This works when Subaki is in a class that can use lances.


 * Orochi - Orochi gives out the Diviner class set.


 * Rinkah - Rinkah gives Subaki the Oni Savage class set. The oni savage class gives Subaki the Seal Resistance and Shove skills. Seal Resistance isn't particularly useful for Subaki since he fares bether in physical classes. Shove can save a ally from being killed from a mistake. The Oni Chieftain class gives the Death Blow and Counter skills. Death Blow grants crit +20 upon initiating combat. Pairing that skill with high crit weapons can result in incredible kills. Counter works off of physical damage, but considering Subaki is more of an offensive unit, it isn't so optimal. The Blacksmith class, outside of possibly picking up random weapons, gives Lancebreaker. Mono lance users can find it impossible to hit Subaki.


 * Nyx - Nyx gives Subaki the Dark Mage class set, leading to the Sorcerer and Dark Knight (Awakening). From Dark Mage, Subaki can grab Heartseeker and Malefic Aura; Heartseeker can make it easier to hit enemies with high Avoid by reducing it, but only if they are adjacent to Subaki, and Malefic Aura increases the amount of magical damage enemies within two spaces take, which can be useful if you intend to keep Subaki in a magic based class; otherwise, it can be useful if you put a magic user near him. From Sorcerer, Vengeance can be useful if he has taken high amounts of damage, and is up against a high HP enemy; Bowbreaker can also be acquired, and is extremely useful if you intend to keep Subaki in the Sky Knight class set, as they take bonus damage from bows. From Dark Knight, Lifetaker and Seal Magic can be gotten; Seal Magic can help if Subaki suffers from low Resistance, as it reduces the amount of magic damage dealt by an enemy; Lifetaker is a useful health recovery skill, like Sol, and if Subaki can reliably deal enough damage, Lifetaker is an extremely useful skill as it will likely keep his health full.
 * Sakura - Sakura gives Subaki the Monk class set, which is also provided by Azama, so read above for the summary.
 * Selena - Selena gives Subaki the Mercenary class set.

Description

 * Perfect Expert
 * Sky Knight of Hoshido who aims for perfection. One of Sakura's retainers. Appears in Fire Emblem Fates.

Base Stats
Rarity:

Fates

 * Subaki/Fates Quotes

Heroes

 * Subaki/Heroes Quotes

Possible Endings
Subaki - Mr. Perfect (完璧主義 kanpeki shugi lit. Perfectionism)
 * After Ryoma assumed the crown, he named Subaki chief of the pegasus knights. As expected, Subaki served with a perfect record, and always kept a close eye on Lady Sakura.


 * Subaki and Avatar (Birthright)
 * Subaki was appointed chief of the pegasus knights and served with a perfect record. Avatar was hailed as a hero, working alongside her spouse to spread peace worldwide.


 * Subaki and Avatar (Revelation)
 * The two spent the rest of their lives together. Avatar ruling as the wise Queen of Valla. Subaki adapted quickly to royal leadership and became a great source of support for his wife.


 * Subaki and Azura
 * Subaki was appointed chief of the pegasus knights and served with a perfect record. There are few records of Azura beyond her marriage. She remains a historical mystery.


 * Subaki and Felicia
 * Subaki was appointed chief of the pegasus knights and served with a perfect record. Felicia gave up her career in the service industry for the military, ultimately becoming a commander.


 * Subaki and Hana
 * Subaki was appointed chief of the pegasus knights and served with a perfect record. His wife, Hana, continued to serve Sakura, brightening all of their lives with her infectious optimism.


 * Subaki and Hinoka
 * Subaki was appointed chief of the pegasus knights and served with a perfect record. His wife, Hinoka, became general of the Hoshidan royal army, and the two remained together always.


 * Subaki and Oboro
 * Subaki was appointed chief of the pegasus knights and served with a perfect record. His wife, Oboro, worked hard and eventually was able to reopen her late parents' tailor shop.


 * Subaki and Rinkah
 * Subaki was appointed chief of the pegasus knights and served with a perfect record. Rinkah's fiery personality ensured her husband's life was not boring, and they loved one another well.


 * Subaki and Sakura
 * Subaki was appointed chief of the pegasus knights and served with a perfect record. His wife, Sakura, dedicated herself to helping the underprivileged, and the two worked happily together.


 * Subaki and Selena
 * Subaki was appointed chief of the pegasus knights and served with a perfect record. After marrying, he and his wife, Selena, disappeared from records. They likely lived happily ever after.

Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)
Subaki is illustrated in the trading card game with the following cards:

Etymology
Tsubaki is the Japanese word for Camellia. Depending on the language, this can have different meanings:
 * In the Victorian Language of Flowers, White Camellia carry the meaning of 'Perfection' and 'Loveliness', which Subaki's personality and good looks could be based on.
 * In the Japanese Language of Flowers, known as Hanakotoba, Red Camellias mean "in love" and "perishing with grace", probable allusions to his kind yet proud personality. In contrast, Yellow Camellia mean "longing", a possible nod to Subaki's desire for perfection.
 * In the Edo Period, samurai would disallow Camellia from being planted in their homes due to the Ochitsubaki, or "fallen Camellia." The fallen Camellia flower represented the samurai's duty of beheading outlaws; this may be represented through Subaki's secondary class tree being Samurai.

Trivia

 * Subaki is the first playable male Pegasus Knight in the Fire Emblem series.
 * Subaki was voted the 16th most popular male in Nintendo's official Fates character poll.
 * Subaki is one of only two playable characters in Fire Emblem Fates whose English voice actor remained unconfirmed until the release of Fire Emblem Heroes. The other is Siegbert.