Best Fate/Stay Night Characters

Saber truly earns her name as the King of Knights. She's strong, noble, loyal, kind, beautiful, and stands her ground for her own ideals and dreams.

I am the bone of my sword.
Steel is my body,
And fire is my blood.
I have created over
A thousand blades.
Unknown to death,
Nor known to life.
Have withstood pain to create many weapons.
Yet, those hands will never hold anything.
And so as I pray,
Unlimited Blade Works.

He is the most interesting character in all his incarnations. It's frustrating that the main character is just him but younger. I'd rather know more about a battle-hardened Shirō with lots of life experience.

Badass, awesome design and character concept, and a complex identity. He really challenges many people's views on who is truly a good character, especially in the UBW route.

Other than being the typical (yet amazing) tsundere, Rin's intelligence really makes me appreciate her. In my opinion, she's the best love interest of the three because the love story doesn't feel forced and is pretty subtle, making it overall believable. In the end, this is a war, and winning the war should overpower any love story. Overall, she is very lovable.

Shirō is easily the strongest character in the Visual Novel, in my opinion. His development through each of the routes leads to an overall understanding of his character and the VN's themes of heroism. He's the man who fought for his ideals, with the impossible dream of uniting with his love. He's the man who continued to fight for his ideals even after seeing where the path would lead him and fully understanding the hypocrisy of those ideals. He's the man who gave up on his ideals, his naive dream, in the hope of saving the woman he loved. His story will forever echo in my heart.

Kiritsugu is without a doubt the best main character in all the Fate anime series. He has more personality than any of the other main protagonists. He is more ruthless, yet good and sympathetic, than most anime characters. In the end, he was betrayed by his very ideals, but by trying to make up for it, he became a better man. All the while, he used logic and skill to win fights, sharing the spotlight with his allies.

Almost every other main protagonist in Fate lacks this depth. Shirō has a less dynamic and relatable personality than Kiritsugu. Shirō holds the same beliefs but chooses actions that put himself and others in danger. Shirō only survives due to luck and plot armor. He remains practically the same character from beginning to end, forcing his ideas down everyone's throat. However, he never lets others practice the ideal of being a hero of justice, as long as he's around.

So, if all my reasons hold some truth, shouldn't the Mage Killer be a better character and ranked higher on this list than Shirō?

Gotta say, Kirei Kotomine makes for quite an awesome villain. In Fate/Zero, I loved how his character motivation was complex and not just straightforward, and how his character shifted from being a neutral figure to a badass, Black Key-wielding antagonist.

Without a doubt, the most complex and likable antagonist in Fate/Stay Night. He is the toughest master and the most ruthless.

Illya is easily the best girl of all time for me, with no competition. Nothing has ever made me cry as much, or really at all, as the end of Heaven's Feel because of her. It's really hard to go into why I love her character without spoilers for HF.

She's one of the few characters in the series who has her backstory explored. Her strong bond with Berserker is touching as well.

Gate of Babylon - also known as the best Noble Phantasm, in my opinion, ever. Gilgamesh is a jerk, but he's an awesome, badass jerk.

Fate/Stay Night anime-only viewers might get confused by her route (Heaven's Feel). Be sure to watch Fate/Zero.

There's an upcoming movie trilogy called Fate/Stay Night: Heaven's Feel where Sakura Matō is the main heroine.

It's too bad she doesn't have much of a role in the Unlimited Blade Works route of Fate/Stay Night. I am heavily anticipating her more active role in the upcoming anime movie adaptation of the Heaven's Feel route.

She's one of the best and most complex antagonists in Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works.

When he saved Illyasviel from those wolves that one snowy day, it was not because of Illyasviel's command, but rather of his own free will. He may look scary on the outside, but on the inside, he is actually kind and willing to protect his master.