The first thing I need to say before giving my opinion is that I did take a substantial break in between watching the first and second seasons. I just recently finished the second season and was blown away by the stellar animation that Ufotable manages to consistently put out in everything they do. From Demon Slayer to the Fate franchise their shows are filled with clean animation and stunning fight scenes.
But here goes nothing this is my review of Fate/Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works. I’ll start with a quick summarization of the plot. UBW takes place 10 years after the events of the Holy Grail War that took place in Fate/Zero. It follows the characters of Rin Tohsaka, heir to the Tohsaka mantle, and Shirou Emiya, adopted son of mage bounty hunter Kiritsugu Emiya, as they enter the Holy Grail War.
UBW is only the second part of the Fate franchise that I have watched initially starting with Fate/Zero. I truly enjoyed the first of the Fate series Fate/Zero and the way it set up the characters and the plot of the show. Despite being centered around the same basic idea, The Holy Grail War, there are significant differences between the shows. The most evident one is that UBW has 2 main characters whereas Fate/Zero rarely felt like there were one or two characters that the plot centered around. This style in Fate/Zero played to its advantage greatly whereas it may have hurt UBW, making sense that the writers took this approach.
As for the anime itself, I originally thought the show to be boring. The main plot was moving too slow for me to really care about any of the characters hence why I took a break in-between seasons. The second season is really what hooked me. Once I had decided to pick it back up again it had me locked in. The reveal of Archer’s character as well as the full reintroduction of Gilgamesh’s character absolutely left my jaw on the floor every episode. I feel like both Rin and Shirou’s characters were more fleshed out in this season as opposed to the first and that the way they felt more attached definitely added to the experience of the show. The subtle romance between the two also added to the way they played off each other and the story’s progression. The final epilogue episode allowed everything to be wrapped up nicely, though I wouldn't be opposed to seeing a sequel (I believe a visual novel sequel has yet to be animated). I also plan on watching the Heaven’s Feel movies soon because the animation, from what I’ve seen, goes even beyond what Ufotable pulled off in this show. But aside from that, Shirou’s unbreaking will and Rin’s wit and prowess make for an excellent pair that elevates the show beyond its stellar fight scenes. The villains seemed somewhat lackluster though. Gilgamesh was interesting to see fight and his character but his backstory was not fleshed out more than the myth unlike Saber or Archer’s. Caster had a bit more of a backstory but still nothing that allowed her character to truly shine. However, overall, the show held its own with its phenomenal story telling and main characters.
Overall rating: 9/10
