Now then, in a vacuum, Fate/Apocrypha is a good show. It has its flaws, but it also has several strong characters, some very good fights, and a great soundtrack. Some if its sound effects are overblown and poorly mixed, some of the animation grows inconsistent in the later shows, and the story starts strong but takes a different and poor turn towards the end. That being said, it is overall a solid 7/10 show.
What might be Fate/Apocrypha worst crime is how much potential it leaves on the table. It has the best field of servants in the Fate series and a possibly intriguing storyline of Mage's Association vs. Rogue Mage Clan. If it went this way and focused on different characters, this show could have been a 9/10, maybe even a 10/10.
Let's start with our two main characters: Joan of Arc/Jeanne D'Arc and Sieg. The former is one of the most famous females in history whose possible character arcs are burned to ashes and replaced with a terrible romantic subplot. The latter is a walking Saltine character without the salt. Sieg is an active hindrance to the story. Removing on him and focusing on Servant/Servant, Servant/Master, and Master/Master relationships would have improved the show tenfold. On top of that, he drags other characters down: Ruler, Rider of Black, the main antagonist, and others.
Sieg also lacks in personality. While his character arc is "homonculus trying to learn and understand humans", the way he develops is very poorly done and results in a character who is uninteresting and about as fleshed out as a thousand year-old skeleton. If he was removed and the story focused more on Ruler trying to be an impartial judge to the Third Holy Grail War while trying to keep both sides from wreaking havoc on non-mages, it could have been so much better.
Aside from Jeanne, there are other characters who should have been fleshed out or focused on more. Mordred and her Master are the two best characters in this show, but they don't get a ton of screen time. They could have been the stars of this series and improved it so much. Rider of Black has potential to be a great character beyond "cute trap", but his development is largel halted by Sieg (surprise, surprise). Lancer of Black could have been an amazing dark protagonist or antagonist, but he doesn't really get enough time in the show to be truly great (which is a shame considering who he is). Even Archer of Red and Rider of Red had a great relationship side-story going that doesn't get enough time to develop. It's unrealistic to think every character and potential arc could have been covered in 24 episodes, but the ones they did choose to focus on are some of the weakest possible.
Overall, Fate/Apocrypha is perhaps the most disappointing anime I've ever seen despite being good. This show's potential is there, but it will unfortunately never reach it since it isn't a three-route story like the original Fate/stay night. If you can watch it while ignoring the potential plot lines being drawn in your head, you might enjoy this show a great deal. If you can see the raw potential this show doesn't tap into, it's going to hurt for the last six or so episodes. And remember, prior knowledge of the Fate series is a must. This show won't hold your hand explaining what Masters, Servants, Command Spells, Holy Grails, Greater Grails, and other Fate-specific subjects are.
