Awesome / Fate/Apocrypha

• The Prologue: Fake Black Saber vs Red Saber, unleashing their Noble Phantasms.
  Twilight and crimson lightning raced out and crashed into each other. The two streams of light, like surging waves with simply the purpose of destruction, attempted to swallow one another. It was the most unlikely scene possible in the history written by man. It was a clash of two deadly Noble Phantasms, from two heroes who were born in different eras and flourished in different lands. Light filled the space and annihilated everything in the surrounding area. The golems and skeletons crowding around them were overcome and faded into dust.

  Everyone who witnessed this majestic, unrelenting scene swallowed their breath. The space filled with Red and orange seemed as though it was declaring the end of the world. However, all stories must have an end. The light that had only swelled began to calm, and disappeared like specks of dust. The ground where the two had stood was a tragic sight to behold.

  Imagine a butterfly spreading its wings. Such a mark had been carved into the ground. It was the trace of an explosion, so enormous it could be seen even from far up in the sky. How many would be able to believe that such a trace was left behind by the slash of a sword? It was certain that a new legend had been born today on this land. The impossible clash between the legendary holy sword and the anomalous demonic sword gouged out the earth.
  • If it hasn't set in yet how different this Great Holy Grail War is going to be compared to previous Fate series thus far, here's the anime version of the prologue.
• Karna's first battle with Siegfried is this in spades, with both parts being tough enough to have the fight that started in the middle of the night last to daybreak. Karna deserves a special mention here. While Karna was capable of wounding Siegfried (albeit lightly, and those wounds were quickly healed by Gordes), Siegfried was utterly incapable of doing anything but barely scratching Karna's armor.
• Astolfo saving the Homunculus from death, even fluking out his would-be captors and bringing him to Chiron, who heals him.
• Vlad III and Darnic's fused form taking on six servants on their own and basically forcing a draw. This is even more amazing when considering the fact that Vlad III had just lost his Romanian fame-boost and the advantages that Demonic Defender of the State brought. There was also the fact that the six Servants in question were being empowered by Jeanne herself.
• Mordred and Sieg crumbling Avicebron's Adam with a dual Wave Motion Sword attack in the form of a simultaneous Balmung and Clarent Blood Arthur.
• Shirou Kotomine being able to spar with Achilles.
• According to the anime, turns out the reason Arturia was forced to use Rhongomyniad against Mordred was because Mordred knocked Excalibur out of her hands. Possibly the first time we see Arturia ever being disarmed in the entire franchise.
  • Arturia gets one immediately after when she responds by pulling out Rhon and shishkebabing Mordred before she can blink.
• Vlad III's speech as the Red Faction moves onto the castle to attack.
• The fights between Vlad and Karna, Atlanta and Spartacus, and Achilles and Chiron are a spectacular feat to behold.
• Astolfo putting up a pretty decent fight against Mordred, despite being roughed up from Semiramis's attack. Also, after Mordred calls Siegfried's Heroic Sacrifice lame and insulates how dumb it is to die for their ideals, Astolfo gets pissed and tells her this.
  Astolfo: I won't deny it, but I won't tolerate anyone making fun of him. Especially not a loser punk like you!
• Jeanne tanking an energy blast from the Hanging Gardens of Babylon like it was nothing.
  Jeanne: Don't think this much can stop me.
• Sieg, Astolfo, and Frankenstein's Monster all taking on Mordred, only for the Saber of Red to get the upper hand and utterly stomps all three of them; incapacitating Fran for a moment, and seemingly killing Sieg. When she gets a heads up that Fran might not be down for the count by Kairi, Mordred is taken by surprise by Berserker of Black, who stops her movements, and prepares to use her Noble Phantasm, Blasted Tree, with a little help from Caules's final Command Spell. Fran tries to take Mordred with her, but sadly, only succeeded in damaging about a third of her armor due to Kairi using his own Command Spell, which impressive in of itself.
• Sieg, who is Not Quite Dead, comes back as Siegfried, and prepares for a rematch with Mordred.
• In the anime, Vlad gets an additional one. After being forcibly becoming Dracula, and being fused with Darnic against his will, he still struggles against him. He even goes so far as to impale his own feet to prevent Darnic from moving towards the grail, which allows Shirou Kotomine time to finish him off. When Vlad swore he would make Darnic pay for his treachery, he really meant it.
• Mordred making a Big Damn Heroes right after Kairi ordered her to retreat... just to behead Celenike who's in the middle of making Astolfo betray his code of justice, kill Sieg, and taking pleasure for it. And all while Mordred was acting utterly casual about it.

  Mordred: (To a just-decapitated Celenike) Shut Up.
  (Sieg watches on in shock, as Celenike's headless body drops...)
  Mordred: Carry On. (Casually walks away...)

  • This action also saves Astolfo's existence, by allowing Sieg to forge a new pact with Astolfo and become his new master.
• Reika was able to spot Atalanta's reflection in a nearby car's mirror, even though they were far apart and in a fog. Then she takes an arrow to the chest meant for Jack, and reassures/empowers her Servant in her final moments, remaining calm the entire time.
• Episode 20 is chalk full of this as Ruler and Chiron fight the red faction Servants on top of airplanes.
• Episode 21 delivered even more, basically Achilles revealing his Noble Phantasm which stops time except his chosen duel opponent, which is, by the way, is Chiron. Then they had a MASSIVE bare-handed duel that's also well-animated just as it is intense, breaking down even the interior of the plane they were on. One might expect that Chiron, being on the "heroic" side, may triumph... but no. Achilles won, impaling his fist right on Chiron's chest, killing him. Combat-wise, Achilles has proven himself superior to his teacher...
  • But not war-wise, because in death, Chiron revealed that his Noble Phantasm has been there all along since they're fighting on open-air and the Sagittarius Constellation was right up there, sniped right next to Achilles' own heel, depriving him of his immortality. Chiron loses the fight, but he wins the war overall.
  • Astolfo shows his worth as a Servant when he shows the full power of his Noble Phantasms; by remembering the name of his book, it becomes strong enough to block an attack from the Hanging Gardens, which previously Semiramis used to blast him out of the air, and his hippogriff lets him hold his own defensively against Karna. He also manages to destroy all of the Hanging Gardens' defenses, forcing Semiramis to come finish him off herself.
  • Mordred saving Astolfo from Semiramis... by crashing the plane she was piloting right at her, forcing Semiramis to cast a shield to protect herself and Astolfo (since he was near her).
• The entire sequence of Sieg (as Siegfried) vs Karna. There's no words that can do it justice, just watch.
• Achilles overall gets a Dying Moment of Awesome. After getting his immortality deprived as above, he goes on to have a duel against Atalanta and in the process having both of them killed, but also restored Atalanta's sanity and somehow preserved her more heroic image. While it's overall sad, you've got to admit that dying to save his crush, cradling her until her last moments, all without regrets, is one way to say 'going out with a bang'.
• Mordred and Kairi working together to fatally wound Semiramis at the height of her power, even if it costs Kairi his life and Mordred her chance at the Grail without her Master.
• The fight scene between Shirou and Sieg in episode 24, which has arguably some of the best fight choreography in a Fate anime so far. And this short exchange between the two of them:
  Shirou: I don't have a grudge against you.
  Sieg: I do.
  • Also in that episode, Gilles taking up Jeanne's flag and using Lumonsité Eternelle to defend her and Sieg to give Jeanne time to activate La Pucelle. This is the real Gilles, the one that fought alongside Jeanne during life, before despair at her death drove him bonkers. Instead of some creepy serial killer, he is a noble knight and a loyal friend. Shakespeare points out that he shouldn't have any combat ability at all yet he protects Jeanne as long as she needs.
• There was also Sieg speech when he hears Gilles mention there's no good in the world
  Sieg: You're wrong. Despite my short life, I've witnessed various things. You can refer to the world's system as evil. A system that a single person can't stand against to. Good and evil depends on the side you're on, that's the truth. But, most humans possess good will! It might be sad, but making a mistake on that path isn't a sin! I'm weak, and I'll make mistakes for sure. Even still, I want to keep being myself for those who helped me when I needed it the most. So, please don't say that goodness doesn't exist in this world!
• La Pucelle looks incredible, and it is such a fearsome weapon that Shirou sacrifices his right arm without hesitation in a desperate attempt to stop it. He needed to create a freakin' black hole with help from the Greater Grail itself and even then he couldn't stop it entirely.
• At the end of the series, we have the winner of the Holy Grail War, Astolfo. This champion of chivalry continues doing what he does best, traveling the world looking for people to save.
• Special mention goes to Caster of Red aka William Shakespeare, who, (to date) becomes the only servant in the Fate-verse to make it through a Grail War without so much as suffering a single injury on his person, enter a fight with Jeanne d'Arc (and not lose) and get exactly what he wanted from the whole event from start to finish. This despite being the weakest Servant (in terms of Stats) summoned in the entire War. He finally dies only because his Master Shirou died, but even then, he receives the most peaceful and painless death in the entire war. To put a cherry on the top of this, he even manages to finish his new story before he disappears, fully satisfied (aside from a brief lament on how he would have liked to be the main character).