History Anime / FateStayNightUnlimitedBladeWorks

* AsideGlance: [[http://i.imgur.com/T1tsjUW.jpg Lancer gives one while teasing Rin in Episode 16.]]

* BattleBallgown: Saber's combat outfit.

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: Rin comments that she should have been Saber's master instead of Shirou because she doesn't believe he's fit to be her master. Later in the series she [[spoiler:eventually does become Saber's master, but only thanks to Archer's betrayal]].

* BridalCarry: Rin has Archer carry her this way in cases of emergency.

* DemotedToExtra: Sakura, at least in contrast to the Fate route adaptation [[spoiler:which hints at her connection to Rider following Rider's demise]] and ''Heaven's Feel''. It's okay, though; she has the movies.

** [[spoiler:Gilgamesh]]'s strategy when fighting Berserker is pretty straightforward: keep your distance, whale on him from afar, and use your anti-divinity unbreakable chains if he gets too close. Berserker putting up a good fight? Expected. Berserker nearly landing a blow? Expected. Berserker [[spoiler:coming back from the dead outside his Noble Phantasm, breaking Enkidu, and almost killing Gilgamesh]]? Not expected. It marks one of the few times in the entire Franchise/{{Nasuverse}} that [[spoiler:Gilgamesh]] is surprised by something.
*** Particularly notable as he wasn't even phased by that in the original VN.

* FieldOfBlades: [[spoiler:Unlimited Blade Works.]]

* GoryDiscretionShot: In episode 14 when [[spoiler: Gilgamesh beheads Sella]].

* HairOfGoldHeartOfGold:
** Saber plays it straight...
** ... but [[spoiler:Gilgamesh]] is an aversion.

* IHatePastMe: [[spoiler:Archer]]'s reason for [[spoiler:wanting to kill Shirou. Archer is a future version of Shirou who tried to live as a "Hero of Justice", only to be betrayed and killed for it. So, he'd rather see a past version of him dead than repeat the same mistakes]].
* IWasJustPassingThrough: Archer offers this explanation for saving Shirou from Caster to hide his true motive. [[spoiler:Archer wants to keep Shirou alive until he can kill him himself, hoping that the resulting paradox would erase himself from existence.]]
* ImColdSoCold: Illya said this when she's dying.

* InSeriesNickname: Goldie for Gilgamesh.

* KnockbackSlide: Most of the fights feature at least one instance of a character's feet sliding across the ground as he or she blocks a blow from an opponent.

* LoveConfession: [[spoiler:Shirou]] gives one to [[spoiler:Rin]] in the first episode of the second season.
* LuminescentBlush: Rin usually has one [[ShipTease thanks to Shirou]].

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: In the season 1 finale Shirou uses one of his Command Seals to stop Saber from attacking [[spoiler:Caster since she has Taiga hostage and he is afraid she will kill her. Doing this stops Saber from moving long enough for Caster to stab her with Rule Breaker, removing Shirou's rights as a master, and turning Saber into Casters Servant.]]

* NonIndicativeName: Archer is more inclined to use swords than bows, a fact which Lancer {{lampshades}}.

* OfficialCouple: Shirou and Rin. Episode 25 more or less proved it.
** [[OfficialCouple Official Triad]]: Shirou, Rin and Saber. By Alternate Sunny Day ending.

* PsychoticSmirk:
** Archer gives one when he snipes Berserker [[spoiler:and hopes to get Shirou in the process]].
** Illya gives one when talking to Rin in Episode 3.
** Caster gives one when [[spoiler:Kuzuki lets her go wild]].

* RedOniBlueOni: Rin and Saber.
* TheReveal: [[spoiler: Archer is an alternate-universe copy of Shirou, who, after the events of the War, become a Counter-Guardian to defend Earth from itself. He feels his life is a waste, and that by murdering Shirou, can make it so that he never existed in the first place.]]
* RevengeByProxy: Seeing as Illya can't do anything to Kiritsugu because he's been dead for years, she decides to make Shirou suffer in his place.
* ReverseGrip: Archer sometimes holds his swords like this.

** Illya was originally a [[NonActionGuy non-combatant]] in the VN, relying on Berserker for protection. In this adaptation however she's a fighter on her own right and capable of a more powerful magic than her mother Irisviel.

* ShellShockedVeteran: Shirou, after the hellfire that appeared ten years ago.

* ShirtlessScene:
** Shirou gets a couple.
** So does Issei in Episode 9.

* SmugSmiler: Rin, Caster and Lancer epitomize this.

* StepfordSmiler: Shirou. Mitsuzuri points it out when she notices he never really laughs.
* TheStinger: Episode 7 has an after-credits scene.

* SwordAndSorcerer: Shirou and Rin have this dynamic. [[spoiler:Kuzuki and Caster]] are a villainous example.

* TheCoatsAreOff: Shirou gets rid of his new jacket in Episode 20 returning to his classic look.
* TheLastDance: [[spoiler:Assassin is revealed to still be alive during the FinalBattle however, due to Caster having been killed and his status as an incomplete Servant, he only has until dawn before he completely runs out of mana and disappears. Therefore he decides to have one final duel with Saber before he completely disappears.]]

* TimeSkip: The majority of Episode 25 takes place 2 years after the end of the Holy Grail War

*** Which is especially ironic, considering how many near-death experiences Rin gets into by not keeping Archer with her.

* {{Tsundere}}:
** Rin obviously.
** Rather hilariously, Shirou towards Rin later on. He sometimes is even more of one towards her than she is to him. Yes, he out-{{Tsundere}}s one of the [[TropeCodifier codifiers]] of the trope.

* WingdingEyes: Saber gets these eyes in Episode 12 when she sees the lunch Rin made.
* WizardDuel: Rin and Illya engage in one while Saber's busy with Berserker in the third episode.

* CatSmile: Taiga sports one of these in Episode 11.

* ExponentialPlotDelay: A point often brought up by the detractors of the series is that the pacing seems to get slower as the series progresses. The story moves briskly in the first season, but the second will have entire episodes of only moving the pieces into place for an upcoming battle and singular yet extensive plot developments. Archer spends an episode monologuing about his motivations [[spoiler:before his fight with Shirou, and the battle itelf lasts for an episode and a half]]. Episode 23 consists of the MainCharacters sitting around a table discussing strategies to defeat the BigBad [[BleachedUnderpants before the not-sex-scene between Rin and Shirou]].

** As with the original anime adaptation of "Unlimited Blade Works", the mana transfer scene between Shirou and Rin is [[BleachedUnderpants censored]], complete with magical blue dolphins.

* {{Retcon}}: When the anime shows Saber performing the action she regrets the most she's wearing a dress. In the original visual novel she was wearing trousers.

* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Sakura's hair and eyes are the same shade of purple, Taiga's are the same shade of brown, and Shinji's are the same shade of blue (or at least very close).

* {{Polyamory}}: The series ends with the True Ending, where [[spoiler:Saber's role is described as more "mother/guardian-like figure" and she eventually [[IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy steps aside]] to Shirou and Rin's happiness and fades away after she fulfills her duty as their Servant and finds peace]]. However, there is also the Blu-ray exclusive Good Ending, where [[spoiler:Saber stays with Shirou and Rin as the latter's familiar, and all three continue living together -- implicitly as mutual lovers.]].

* PointOfDivergence:

* ForWantOfANail: In the beginning of the ''Fate'' route, Saber severely wounds Archer during their first confrontation outside Shirou's home, which puts him out of commission for much of that route. ''UBW'' splits from that path by having Shirou use a Command Seal to stop Saber before she injures Archer, which in turn allows Archer to take a far more proactive role in the events of the Holy Grail War.

* AdaptationExpansion: Aside from the references to ''Fate/Zero'', there are scenes exclusive to the anime that never ocurred in the original visual novel. As the visual novel assumes you have already read the ''Fate'' route, it often doesn't bother to retread unnecessary ground regarding characterization and exposition in the later routes, making some of these additions necessary for this anime to be an effective standalone story.

* TheBerserker: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Berserker]]. Illya even explains that Heracles is such a reknowned hero that he could have been summoned in any class but he was specifically summoned as Berzerker because the Madness Enhancement makes him stupidly strong, if harder to control.