Ranked #753

Accel World

So... the chubby main character is bullied in school and was soon introduced to a new world(video game) and will aim to become the best! How exciting?
Although we could summarize this anime this way, but its like saying Code Geass is about a high school kid trying to kill his dad after he got superpowers. There's simply more to it.

The first thing about this anime that really appealed to me was the atmospheric building. Eyes were everywhere, no matter where the main character went, somebody is around him. Since Haruyuki is quite a loser himself, he really hated to be around people, although most people weren't really noticing him. This could be the one of the best way to tell us that our main character is a complete loser in the real world but he is great at video games.

Rating:
My rating for this anime looks REALLY subtle, there are really no huge up and downs and it's mainly because almost every aspect of this anime has something special about it.

Story 8/10
The story of this anime is actually quite creative. Although the concept of characters being able to go into different worlds isn't something completely new, the idea of turning this amazing but over-used concept into a basic setting where everyone is capable of doing so due to technology is actually more amusing than I expected.
The main character has something and someone that he wants to protect and will probably want to become the strongest because of that which is really nothing new, but this overly simple motif actually adds a very inviting feeling to this anime.
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Animetography(cinematography for anime)10/10
This is one special thing I really want to add to this review! Usually this component simply blends in with the art and sound part of an anime; however, this component of Accel World really appealed to me.

I was really worried about the third episode of this anime. Since I read the manga of Accel World, I knew that there will be really large conversations and almost no fancy special effects involved at all, but the third episode did not disappoint me at all. The first half of the third episode is basically a conversation between Haruyuki-kun and Kuroyukihime sempai. They used "direct link" to talk to each other meaning that they do not need to actually speak. This is something only anime could produce the most effectively because a 10 minute conversation will show tons of expressions and the characters and show their expressions in a better way if they did not need to open their mouths all the time. The quick cuts was also an important component that really made this part interesting. The "camera"(not that anime really have cameras) is constantly moving and only stops when an important expression is needed to be made, which mean tension also keeps building up. The shadow decreases once the two agrees on their commonality and goes on to discuss about another topic. This conversation ended up being very interesting due to the tension building and the sudden but subtle release of tension. Of course, thanks to the original creator of the light novel, the contents of this conversation was the core of keeping this part interesting.
And HAHA! now we know that Accel World is not just another fancy battle + special effect anime that people will skip the boring episodes and just watch the cool fights.

Since the main character of this anime does lots of reasoning throughout the anime, the varieties of positions that the main character is composed in also helped make the story a lot more interesting.
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Art 9/10

The art in the real world(especially school) seems very bright, even to an uncomfortable extent since school is a very uncomfortable place for Haruyuki. The real world is also drawn with a really subtle feel which contrasts with the world in the Brain Burst program. The Brain Burst program consists of more shadowy places and feels very surreal since all the colors of the real world is altered and everyone in there has a specific color to them. Yet, the Haruyuki finds the accelerated world a more inviting place for him.
( I can BS about this stuff for years but the best thing about the art is still the character arts!)

The character art for this anime is very nice. Every important character in this anime is drawn in a very detailed fashion, but not detailed enough that characters start to look annoying. The illustration for the two main female characters that have appeared so far is astonishingly good. The cute illustrations of Chiyuri fits her character really well, her avatar in the school network is also very appealing. And Kuroyukihime sempai is just AMAZING! Her illustration, especially her hair and her school network avatar fits her prominent position really well. She is definitely my favorite heroine of spring 2012!

Just the illustration itself for the main character, Haruyuki, looks promisingly negative and I really hope they could make a better illustration for the main character. But let us all ask ourselves one question :"Is there a better way to illustrate someone who is only good at video games and is a complete loser in reality who also feels really bad about himself than a short and fat kid with stupid-looking eyes?" My answer is definitely NO"

Sound 9/10
OP is ok~ it feels quite unique but to me, it does not sound quite great. I loved the ED, it sounds pleasant to the ear and it fits the feeling of the anime really well.

The background noise+music for this anime is great. The background music changes many times throughout the long conversations between Haruyuki and Kurohime. The background music is definitely what makes the long conversations interesting and even, at times, make simply talking feel very cool and exciting.

The voice actors are very professional and dedicated. The voice actor for Haruyuki is Kaji Yuki, who is a great voice actor for those "I dunno what to do next but I need to protect ___" characters. (Example: Ouma, Shu from Guilty crown, Amata Sora from Aquarion Evol and Issei from High school DXD). Chuyuri's voice actress also fits her cheerful and cute tone very well. What amazes me the most is the voice actress of Kuroyukihime. This is the first anime that this voice actress got a major role in, yet, she fits the character really well and her skills are very dedicated and developed.

Character 9.5/10 (lots of this section is already explained in the art and the sound section)
The motif for the actions of the major characters in Accel World is very simple, they simply hang on to one thing and all they do is for completing that task and usually, this becomes a downside of an anime because it's overly simple. However, in this case, I think this feeling is exactly what this anime needs.

So far, the character development speed for most of the characters have been very slow since we are still being introduced to some of the important backgrounds of the characters, but the characteristics of all the major characters is already very clear.

Enjoyment 10/10
One episode of Accel World goes by extremely fast, leaving me craving for more.
In general dedicated humor + romance with beautiful heroines + Great action is just great! But more importantly, I don't think we really need a reason to enjoy an anime. Accel world is one of the most enjoyable anime I've ever watched and that is all the reason I need to give this section a big 10/10!

Overall 9/10

I really want to give this anime a 10/10 because I simply love it, but generally speaking, 9/10 is where this anime is at since there are a few things that could be done better.

I would recommend this anime mainly to battle or sci-fi lovers, especially the type that loves mental battles. But I also want to recommend Everyone to watch this amazing anime! Believe me, this anime will be enjoyable. I cannot guarantee that everyone will love this anime, but this Accel World will definitely be a waste of 25 minutes.
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Accel World. Wow.

Let me be honest here. I went into this Anime expecting it to be just the usual Shounen, Sci-Fi, Action, Garbage that's marketed toward teenage boys these days. And in a sense; it is. But it does so perfectly.

In the sense of Story (so far that is) Accel World takes a basic plot premise and massively expands on it. I see no holes, I see no deus ex machina, I see no excuse for the writers to shove in an extra battle or character death or fanservice shot. Everything looks planned out, everything looks structured; it looks like Accel world is heading in the exact direction it needs to go.

In the terms of it's Genre and it's Target Audience; Accel World succeeds. It plays to it's strengths; it doesn't try to be original; and in the act, it ends up being so. I see Accel World as an example of what we could have got if Guilty Crown or Mirai Nikki weren't train-wrecks.

Won't comment much more now; will leave room for the next few episodes. read more