Awesome / Fate/stay night [Unlimited Blade Works] Abridged

It may be more comedic and much of the cast may be less badass, but as with any Abridged Series, there's plenty of proof Unlimited Blade Works Abridged can be just as awesome as the source material.

There will be unmarked spoilers ahead.

Episode 0: Speak the Devil's Name

• His entrance alone gives Lancer one. In UBW, Archer is confident of his chances against Lancer. In this version, Archer outright states that Lancer is going to kill him.
  Archer: He's pretty much Irish Hercules, Rin!
• Archer delays Lancer and him fighting by trading banter, even as he freaks out, even fighting Lancer to a standstill despite outright admitting Lancer will kick his ass.
• Lancer, believing that Satan may actually be standing before him, gives a Badass Boast that really puts the "Heroic" in "Heroic Spirit."
  Lancer: From what I understand it should be impossible to summon a Servant in the Holy Grail War with the identity of something as powerful as a Fallen Angel... but, if the Devil truly does stand before me, it's my duty as a hero to take action!
• The first appearance of Saber is just as awesome as in canon, but it's even more awesome due to Archer's response to Saber being an immediate complete panic.

Episode 1: The Bae Cometh

• Taiga recalling her ambition to become a kendo champion.
• Shirou threatens Shinji. It doesn't go anywhere due to Shirou's kindness, but if it had, he could kill Shinji.
• Of course, the real main event: Shirou finally summons Saber.
  Shirou: When I was young, the previous version of me died in an accident. I was saved by the most valiant act of heroism I could ever comprehend. I'm never letting that feeling go. I'm never letting it die! Even if my body dies, the image in my mind of that hero will live on! As long as I'm here, I'll be the vessel that becomes that image! And save everyone in front of me!
  Saber: At your behest... I have been summoned!
  Lancer: You've gotta be kidding me!

Episode 2: Burr-Zerr-Carr

• Saber and Berserker fighting one another to Immigrant Song by Led Zeppelin.
• Archer unleashes Caladbolg against Berserker with a one-liner of epic proportions. Also, he almost kills Shirou in the process.
  Archer: I cannot give you hellfire, Rin... but allow me to show you the might of a hero who has seen... Hell.
• Kirei and Gilgamesh having a discussion. Notable for the fact that Gilgamesh is a Deadpan Snarker and keeps the Awesome Ego he had in canon.
  Gilgamesh: Um, Kirei, I don't like the tone you're speaking to me in right now... you filthy mongrel.

Episode 3: Going Going Gorgon

• In a surprising example, while Kiritsugu's marble rant is funny, it's pretty universally agreed it captures the tragedy of his life perfectly.
  Shirou: Did marbles hurt you?
  Kiritsugu: No, kiddo. I hurt me. I also hurt marbles. I feel worse about the marbles.
• The fact that Rin had a total of sixty-nine traps set up to kill Shirou, ranging from the school to Shirou's home to even the Dairy Queen he likes.
• Shirou, in a hilarious moment that defies typical anime tropes, rejects the offer of touching Rin's boobs in exchange for letting her in the room to kill him.
  Rin: If you let me in, I'll let you touch my boobs!~
  Shirou: And then you'll kill me!
  Rin: It'll be totes worth it!
  Shirou: No! It will not!
• Rin delivers a brutal "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Shirou, pointing out his Crippling Overspecialization and lack of prowess as a mage in comparison to her. Despite all this, Shirou responds that he will not let her hurt anyone else, and responds with his own speech, declaring that no matter what, he would rather be incompetent than give in to letting her kill people.
• After Shirou attempting to empathize with Archer despite his open intent to kill him, he finally calls him out for being a dick, complete with a Call-Back to Kiritsugu's speech.
  Shirou: Oh, my god! Did someone hurt you?
  Archer: Marbles hurt me!

Episode 4: Ideal Archer

• Archer and Shirou verbally go at it, and it is a sight to behold.
  • First and foremost, Archer mocks him about his dead parents.
  Archer: Oh-ho, wait! Shirou Emiya doesn't have to worry about parents... does he?
  Shirou: (Sounding genuinely shocked) How did you-?
  Archer: How many have you been through now? Three total? You never did get a mother in that second set.
  • Next, Archer calls him out on his self-righteousness about being the sole survivor of the previous Grail War.
  Archer: Keep going. No, really. Tell the Heroic Spirit ripped from his duties to serve as a tool for a teenager in a war he doesn't have any stake in how tragic your life is. Speak up, though. It's hard to hear over the sound of the Earth trying to erase my existence on a constant basis.
  • Shirou, of course, is entirely willing to shoot back, delivering a retort of his own. He calls Archer out on what he's determined is the truth: Archer plays the role of a villain, but he's not as bad as he tries to make himself seem.
  Archer: There's not a thing you could say that could hurt me.
  Shirou: Yeah? How about this? I think you're a good person!
  • Him cementing it by telling Archer he's pissed at Shirou because Shirou is successful at what Archer failed to do. Considering the end of the route? He's completely right.
  Shirou: You take one look at me, and my dream to become a hero reminds you of what you aren't!
  • Finally, Archer confronts Shirou with the idea that saving anyone in front of him is a bad idea, pointing out that if Rider were trying to kill him, he would still try to save her. He tries to argue his stance, but it's clear Archer has gotten through to him.
• Upon Shirou's declaration that Caster will "feel the wrath of Shirou fucking Emiya!" who should come in but Archer, lamenting the choice of words he came in on.
• Archer tells Caster she's going to die penetrated by projectiles, screaming. Caster wraps him in a spatial distortion bubble and mocks him about how he plans to kill her using arrows. Lo and behold, he brings her down using his swords as projectiles, breaking the spatial distortion bubble.
  Archer: Prepare to feel the unbridled wrath... of Shirou fucking Emiya!
• After a Wounded Gazelle Gambit, Caster takes a tiny amount of time to come back fine, with Archer even pointing out there was no point to finishing her off because she was on a mana wellspring the whole time.
• Archer shuts Caster's ambition to kill more innocent people down by pointing out that he knows to kill her "boy toy" at school, using his knowledge of this war to deal with her.
• Archer's "Hitler question" speech is interrupted by Shirou having enough of his shit and going to punch him. It doesn't work, unfortunately, but the sentiment was still a badass one.
• Archer delivering his Wham Line and attacking Shirou, except it's a bit... different this time around.
  Archer: Maybe you're right, Shirou. Maybe you are my Robin. You do remind me a lot of Jason Todd.
• Sasaki effortlessly enraging Archer, and the two dueling. Better yet since it's set to EMIYA from the original work.

Episode 5: Combat High

• Rider snarking about what an utter fucking idiot Shinji Matou is, even as she does his bidding.
• Kuzuki arriving, and killing Rider, a Servant, being just as badass in canon. Notably, his otherwise silly overdramatic tone is played completely straight in this scene, making Shinji a whimpering mess in under a minute.
• Rin interrogating Shinji.
  Rin: Alright, aqua locks! Let's start over. I call this routine: Bad cop, worse cop. I'm both!
  Shinji: I... don't get what you...
  Rin shoots the wall right by him.
  Rin: Sorry, that was bad cop.
  Shinji: Not worse cop?
  Rin: Worse cop wouldn't miss.
• Archer wins an argument with Rin, leveraging over her head that she only has one Command Seal, and hence can't force him to agree. Rin actually goes over to consult Shirou because she has no idea what to do when she loses an argument.
• Shinji rushes off to the church to complain to Kirei. While at first uninterested, Kirei realizes it might be fun to recreate the previous war, assigning Gilgamesh to Shinji.
• Gilgamesh verbally dominating Shinji, calling the Crest Worms disgusting and perverse, and then immediately making it clear he intends to kill Zouken Matou, which would, if he's telling the truth, (Which he insists he is) clear up the Fridge Horror that comes with not doing the Heaven's Feel route.
  Gilgamesh: Now show me to your grandfather, so that I may dispose of him and your revolting penis bug magic in one fell swoop.
  • For bonus points, the subs as Gil is putting Shinji in his place? They call him "THE ACTUAL MASTER."

Episode 6: Teacher, A Lesson

• Kuzuki managed to deduce that Saber was probably a Servant due to the simple oddness of having to call a young girl "King".
• Kuzuki utterly destroys Saber, Rin, and Shirou in quick succession, before telling Shirou the solution to his dilemma about who to save is that he saves no one.
• Shirou finally pulling out his iconic Heroic Resolve, and delivering a speech to Kuzuki, finally accessing his powers and projecting Archer's weapons. This is set once again to EMIYA.
  Shirou: Trace... on.
• Shirou and Kuzuki's duel, set to Red Sun. Culminates in Kuzuki praising Shirou, noting how proud he is of his enemy.
• Archer hilariously freaking out upon realizing this timeline is almost completely unlike his.

Episode 7: Water Over the Bridge

• Taiga passive-aggressively calling out the long-dead Kiritsugu when visiting his grave.
• Caster managing to finally claim Baeber by completely outplaying Rin and Shirou, ultimately winning the episode with no struggle.
• The end of the episode features a subtle, but very poignant moment of Rin showcasing some MAJOR Adaptational Intelligence: While she doesn't say it outright, it's clear that Rin has pieced together Archer's true identity long before her canon counterpart.

Episode 8: Caster Away

• Archer and Rin deduce that Kirei is probably still alive. Archer's immediate suggestion? Carpet bomb the temple. Take out Caster, Kirei, Kuzuki, and Saber all at once.
• Two random civilians verbally deconstructing Shirou without even trying.
  Little Girl: Mommy, why is that sword man bleeding so much?
  Woman: Because he doesn't have a sense of his own limits and compulsively has to help others, sweetie. Now come along before he offers you candy.
  Little Girl: I hope his journey nears its completion!
• After a series of being an Adaptational Wimp, this episode sees Archer finally reveal his true hand, betraying Rin with a brutal speech about her flaws, managing to keep herself and Shirou from being killed by Caster and having prepared the further steps in his plan.
  Rin: Archer, I can't let you do this. If you turn to her side, I'll use my last Command Seal to—
  Archer: Then do it! Don't waste my time trying to intimidate me, girl. If you've got it in you to command me to kill myself, then shut your mouth and put me down! I'm not interested in watching you work up to another smart move, only to back down when the hardest part is in front of you. You can't tolerate me? Then fine! Do it!
  Rin: But—
  Archer: That's what I thought. Maybe one day you'll grow up to become a decisive, powerful mage, but right now, the difference between us is like night and day. I'm squashing this spider once and for all.
• Something has to be said for Archer's sheer audacity in his joining Caster, starting with approaching her and coming face-to-face with her. Caster starts mocking Rin and prepares to take Archer as her own Servant... until Archer states he has no wish and has amnesia. When she becomes skeptical, Archer just looks her dead in the eyes and says that if she's that inclined against having him, he could always just kill her. Caster wisely recruits him.
• Shirou trying to save Rin at the temple despite the odds being so far against him.
  Shirou: Later, you can chew me out. But right now, it's big dumb hero time!
• Caster murdering her old master after seeing that he was killing orphans for Mana in an utterly well-deserved display of brutality. Archer himself is really hoping she ate his soul.
• The story of how Kuzuki became what he is: After snapping a man's neck reflexively and stealing his identity, he literally had no idea how people talked, as an assassin. So, when he stumbled into his new line of work as a teacher, he tried to be normal but couldn't due to his overdramatic style of speaking. Nonetheless, he managed to get hired as a drama teacher despite his disturbing ways. Eventually, Kuzuki just went with it and embraced his role as the creepy drama teacher.
• A moment for Taiga, of all people: Kuzuki Souichiro, master assassin and Servant-killer, was sent to observe her because she was considered too dangerous by his organization.
  Kuzuki: My superiors claim that if she were dropped on a third-world country, aimed to destroy them, she would kill one third, inspire one third, and teach the other third... math.
  Archer: Ah.
  Kuzuki: Math is dangerous in the wrong hands.
• Archer explaining to Kuzuki his evidence-brought conclusion: Kuzuki is a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. While it's just funny at first, Archer producing a solid argument toward the coldhearted assassin as to why, despite his intimidating nature, his actual role is protecting Medea and letting her retain her emotional issues is analytical and entirely correct.

Episode 9: Babylon Mile

• Shinji somehow pulling a Bare-Handed Blade Block on Leysritt, who has Rank B strength, making her 40 times stronger than a human. An annoyed Sella repeatedly tells him to just give up and let Leysritt kill him, but he holds her halberd in place long enough for Gilgamesh to show up.
• Shinji's arrogance causes him to walk toward the seemingly-killed Heracles. After a moment of hesitation, Gilgamesh tells him to stand right there.
• The sudden cut from Ilya describing her and Heracles' shared backstory to the fight between Heracles and Gilgamesh... capped off with a badass vow from Ilya and the sudden blasting of "Red Like Roses, Part II".
  All I had to focus on was finding Kiritsugu's son, and making sure he knew... my dad can beat up his dad. (Heracles crashes through the ceiling, accompanied by the music kicking in).
• Gilgamesh is VERY on the ball this episode, gleefully demonstrating the hammy villainy we all love him for. And even with that, Heracles does NOT disappoint. In his final moments, he once again shatters the Chain of Heaven, and it’s made even clearer that this final act Scared Gilgamesh SHITLESS. Judging by the smile on Illya’s face, she lasted long enough to enjoy it as well.
  • Gilgamesh wasn't just scared shitless, he had a gigantic grin on his face.
    Gilgamesh HOLY SHIT! I ALMOST DIED!

Episode 10: All Aias On You

• Medea defeats Rin in magical combat, boasting that Rin's 100% isn't enough to defeat her. Rin counters that of course her 100% isn't enough, because Rin is always at 100% and Medea is used to it, and proceeds to defeat Medea with 1000% Unlimited No Chill (aka magecraft-enhanced close-quarters martial arts, which Medea is basically defenseless against due to being a classical mage with no physical martial training).
  • On that note, Archer's stealthy assist is just as cool, both before and after we knew he was helping. After having goaded Lancer into using the thrown version of Gae Bolg, he blocks it by conjuring Rho Aias. Aside from displaying himself as an absolute Determinator by taking all the recoil from each layer of his shield breaking, he later reveals that the mana fed into it was not from his mana supply, instead feeding it Medea's mana. This, therefore, allowed Rin to take her down, and showed just how much of a schemer Archer really is when he needs to be.
• Rin and Saber forge a new contract in a bout of Xanatos Speed Chess, allowing them to fight Archer on even terms.
  Saber: My pledge to you is a simple one: That you and I shall fuck up all the bitches.
• Saber manages to put Archer in his place without even trying.
  Saber: Archer.
  Archer: ...Shit.
• When asked for last words by Saber, Archer exploits her sense of honor and the fact that Talking Is a Free Action to deliver "The Reason You Suck" Speech and hide what he's actually doing: Finally using his Reality Marble to drag Saber into Unlimited Blade Works. All while "EMIYA" plays in the background.
  Archer: Rin, you had once commanded me to drag Lancer into Hell. Do you want to see what that looks like?