The memes around Fate were especially annoying for this. Anything but a "dated" entry, I guess.

I think fate is a fair one to struggle with because not only is it a complex franchise, none of the Fate anime are even close to perfect. Zero tells an interesting story but you have to put up with Gen Urobuchi and it spoils parts of Stay Night. Stay Night is the classic, but calling the original anime dated is an understatement. Unlimited Blade Works (Ufotable) is very shiny and a lot of fun, but I think it's less interesting and more straight up shonen.

I started with Zero, and I feel it was a good way to start, but a lot of people disagree.