![Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/S/sash/4FyxwxECzL-U1J8.png)
Visual Novel Rating: 8.1
Anime Rating: 7.9
The Visual Novel was Solid. The Unlimited Blade Works route carried improvements over the fate route like fewer flashbacks and faster pacing. It also had more action than the first route and a serious twist I never saw coming. However, it also had narrative flaws that the first route didn't have. UBW had plot conveniences for Shirou near the end Example: Archer projecting rho aias just as Shirou is about to be hit by Ea when archer was supposed to be dead (something not explained in the VN they didn't tell us he turned into spirit form after fighting Gilgamesh and fed on spirits in the Einzbern Forrest to survive). And of course Shirou always seeming to survive with the power of willpower only being able to fight because saber's sheath is inside him. Shirou's character dev was tiny in this, and Rin isn't a multilayered character like Saber but despite this, it's an improvement over the first route.
The anime though made good and bad changes. The good consisted of things like adding a backstory to Medea's master, showing more Illya backstory, clarifying Kuzuki's backstory, etc. The bad: removing Shirou's monologues which made him look even more stubborn now without reason. Adding plotholes, the biggest one that comes to mind is: archer summoning UBW in his fight with Shirou when he isn't supposed to have the mana available to do this. And removing explanations Ex: the random high jump scene in S2 ep 10 that was not explained in the anime, (it was the first time Rin took notice of Shirou and admired him). The anime also made rin too "tsunderey". Like any adaptation, they sped-run certain aspects but it was largely 1-1. People's complaints about this are semi-valid because of how it was adapted but many don't understand that UBW is one part of a 3 part franchise. Everything and everybody won't be explained in one route. It is complementary to the other routes.
Anime Rating: 7.9
The Visual Novel was Solid. The Unlimited Blade Works route carried improvements over the fate route like fewer flashbacks and faster pacing. It also had more action than the first route and a serious twist I never saw coming. However, it also had narrative flaws that the first route didn't have. UBW had plot conveniences for Shirou near the end Example: Archer projecting rho aias just as Shirou is about to be hit by Ea when archer was supposed to be dead (something not explained in the VN they didn't tell us he turned into spirit form after fighting Gilgamesh and fed on spirits in the Einzbern Forrest to survive). And of course Shirou always seeming to survive with the power of willpower only being able to fight because saber's sheath is inside him. Shirou's character dev was tiny in this, and Rin isn't a multilayered character like Saber but despite this, it's an improvement over the first route.
The anime though made good and bad changes. The good consisted of things like adding a backstory to Medea's master, showing more Illya backstory, clarifying Kuzuki's backstory, etc. The bad: removing Shirou's monologues which made him look even more stubborn now without reason. Adding plotholes, the biggest one that comes to mind is: archer summoning UBW in his fight with Shirou when he isn't supposed to have the mana available to do this. And removing explanations Ex: the random high jump scene in S2 ep 10 that was not explained in the anime, (it was the first time Rin took notice of Shirou and admired him). The anime also made rin too "tsunderey". Like any adaptation, they sped-run certain aspects but it was largely 1-1. People's complaints about this are semi-valid because of how it was adapted but many don't understand that UBW is one part of a 3 part franchise. Everything and everybody won't be explained in one route. It is complementary to the other routes.