So let's get the baggage out of the way first. Fate: UBW initially seems like it will fall victim to several stereotypical tropes, but it quickly outgrows them. One criticism I've often heard leveled against UBW is that it is a harem anime; it is not. Very early on, several girls seem like romantic interests (possibly due to the many branching storylines of the original game), but it moves on from that scenario *extremely* quickly. Another problem (that I didn't think was overly serious) is that certain things don't get fully explained, and you just have to taken them from granted. Given the way that magic works in this world, I was able to accept there were just things that I didn't know; so I didn't find these moments to actually impact my enjoyment.
There are other criticisms that I think have more merit, such as an over-reliance on the Damsel in Distress trope. In an *attempt* to be fair, men are also captured and held hostage in this anime; however, I don't think it's truly equal in that sense. Whenever a woman is captured, the shadow of sexual violence rears its head; this is not the case for when men are captured. On top of that, there was one case in particular where I found it hard to believe the girl couldn't actually free herself, which makes the fact she inexplicably *didn't* seem even more contrived and problematic. The capture and treatment of these female characters comes very, very close to lowering my score of this anime, and if it is a deal-breaker for any other viewer, I think that's completely justified--it normally would be for me as well.
However, there is really one reason and one reason alone that I, personally, can't rate this anime as anything less than an "outstanding": *it inspires me*. It makes me want to be a better person. It makes me want to go out and live life. And I cannot tell you how rare that is for me, and who I am, with the media I consume. Not only in anime--in movies, TV shows, books, and games; in all the stories I am told, I often feel so much: pain, sadness, joy, and love. I am easily moved by media, but of all those emotions I feel, I am *almost never, ever* inspired. These stories rarely let me feel hope. The fact that UBW was able to elicit that emotion from me, when almost nothing else can, makes it utterly unique among the things that I have experienced.
However, I do not expect everyone to feel the same as I do. So here are some other, less personal selling points for this anime!
UBW's plot is intense. It has some twists you'll see coming, and plenty you won't. The stakes always feel appropriately high--sometimes because of the body count, but other times simply on a personal level. The production values are always through the roof, even by today's standards. Its animation is phenomenal, particularly in its fights scenes--UBW has my *personal* favorite combat sequences of any anime, including Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen.
However, the greatest thing this anime has to offer is in its characters. Almost every single character is well-developed, which is a remarkably fresh breath of air. I am not simply referring to "backstory"--rather, each character has a strong and distinct personality without relying heavily on stereotypes or caricatures. It is said that the best and most realistic stories are the ones where *every* character believes that they are the main character and acts accordingly. In reality, everyone is the main character of their own life; so it follows that realistic fictional characters should be primarily concerned with their own life stories, too. That is how Unlimited Blade Works plays out from start to finish, and I loved every second of it. Every single character's actions are based on their own goals and motivations, and nobody... NOBODY... acts as if they are a secondary character. This anime has, without a doubt, the single most true-to-life characters I have seen to date, regardless of genre.
If you want a well-thought-out, intensely personal anime, filled with characters that are so realistic you'll feel like you could run into them on the street--punctuated by extremely epic fight setpieces and a few good twists--this is what you've been looking for.
