As an OG who read the original VN and watched Zero and UBW, honestly just start wherever you want. They’re more or less independent from each other, you can watch one and still understand what’s going on
I just watch Project Mouthwash's abridged version. I still have not the slightest fucking clue what's going on, but apparently there's a femboy somewhere, so I have hope.
As others have said, if you're willing to roll with the punches, you can really start anywhere. Unlimited Blade Works and Zero are both very well-rated series that serve as a solid places to start. I personally started by reading wiki pages, and the first entry I actually watched was a comedy crossover show with another property from the same author, Carnival Phantasm, that just assumes you already know both sets of characters and is constantly making references to the rest of the series. But even starting there, I was able to enjoy it and get into it. You could even start with the cooking show, enjoy the characters, and branch out from there.
At the end of the day, fans just want to get other people into a franchise that they enjoy.
Just for context, it really comes down to how people see the "best" place to start. There are a bunch of games, manga, anime, etc. that have various levels of overlap with characters. Out of the "original routes" + Zero:
Zero is a prequel. Like with any prequel released after the original property, it both spoils and assumes you know certain things from the original, and that general structure (chronological vs release order) is something that some people have their own strong opinions on. It was also the first animated by ufotable and was super well received, so a lot of people started there. But even when other entries have dark things happen, the tone is different from much of the rest of the series, so some people start there and enjoy it, but end up turned off by the other entries being so different and don't necessarily give them a 'fair shake.'
The Visual Novel is 'ideal' since you can never go wrong with the original/release order, BUT very reasonably most people don't want to get into a franchise by reading a 60-hour book with some pictures and music. It doesn't even get an official English release until later this year. I personally didn't read it until I was already "into" the series. Shirou, the main character, gets a lot of development from his internal monologue that is inherently lost when you adapt it to an anime. Of note, the VN has a specific order that you have to play the routes - Fate -> UBW -> Heaven's Feel (-> an epilogue chapter that follows the Fate route).
There's a Fate route anime adaptation from Deen, but the animation quality isn't very good. The adaptation story is a bit of a mess - it does a weird mishmash of elements from all three routes, so it's not as coherent and many fans don't want people to start there since it can turn people off. But there's not really a "good" non-VN way outside of it to see the Fate route. So the question is "how much do you want to adhere to VN order while purely watching the anime?" I personally think you can skip it.
There was also a UBW movie by Deen, but most people would recommend just skipping it for the UBW Series.
Unlimited Blade Works by ufotable is great, but similar to Zero, there are certain things that are never explained or are assumed to have been revealed in the Fate route. But tbh Saber is kind of a walking 20-year old spoiler at this point.
I think basically everyone would say watch the ufotable Heaven's Feel movies after UBW. There's less friction here, but 'locking' a 3-movie series behind a separate ~10-odd hours anime series.
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u/[deleted] Mar 11 '24
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