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Let me tell you something as someone who watched and enjoyed the TV series that aired in 2015: Assassination Classroom is a great series, that is wildly enjoyable. I would highly recommend watching the series (linked on the MAL profile). I would watch this special episode if you can't get enough of the series.

Okay so this was made before the series and it essentially is a shortened version of episodes 7 and 8. Personally, those are some of my favorite episodes in the series, so this special is appealing.Anyway, lets begin:

STORY: 7
Good old Assassination Classroom. This is a great arc that has good pacing ... and (although predictable) a decent story line. The series is very humorous, which actually provides most of the twists.

ART: 3
Actually this is the worst part about the series. The animation is very pathetic and has pretty much nothing working for it. Granted that reflects the budget. Despite how poorly made the episode is, the characters are still distinguishable and recognizable.

SOUND: 4
I'll just come out and say it: most of the voice actors are all wrong and the acting is pretty weak, especially Koro-sensei. The sound effects are fine, but not notable. The series lacks any noticeable sound track.

CHARACTER: 9
The cast of this anime is fantastic, not matter how you spin it. The anime doesn't do a very good job at helping the characters come to life in that the animation and voice action is bad, but the characters as a whole reflect the greatness seen in the anime. This arch is very nice and touches on most of the cast for at least a little bit. It is also great how side characters (like Red Eye?) get enough screen time to develop and become likable.

ENJOYMENT: 8
I actually liked watching this special. Seeing how the series started is interesting to me as a fan of both the anime and the manga. As I said before, this is one of my favorite arcs, and you can see how much it improved when comparing the 2015 TV show to this.

OVERALL: 7
Okay so I weighted some of the aspects more than others. my statement on this would be "A fun watch if you are a fan of the series!"

This series is by no means an amazing masterpiece that will blow your socks off into another dimension. At the same time I think this anime has some good qualities that make it worth the watch.

Sound: 7
It's a singing anime so there are a ton of songs in this series. Although some songs aren't all that great, some are pretty enjoyable. Sadly, these songs actually added to my enjoyment of the series in a rather shameful way. Most of the transitions between singing and real live is so ridiculous, its comical. The transitions just fail terrible, making it pretty hilarious.

Art/Animation: 6
I've seen better and ... I've seen worse. It really isn't special or spectacular in anyway. I do like however that the characters dancing is drawn instead of done with CGI. It adds more life to the characters. The character designs are also decently unique and it is easy to tell all of them apart.

Story: 6
I'm not even going to try to make this sound better than it is. The story is pretty cliche, but still stands on its own in some peculiar way. Although the events are somewhat predictable, they don't come out of nowhere. Foreshadowing is actually present in the series, which seems to be some foreign concept in anime nowadays. That being said, the series has no innovative storyline. It isn't a bad typical story, but it is quite typical.

Characters: 8
The shining star of the anime would have to be its characters. They are a pretty fun cast and everyone grows on you. I have to commend this series for paying attention to character development. Yes their development is subtle, but it is very logical and smooth. What I am really trying to say here is that the character development does not come out of nowhere. I like how the series is built on relationships between characters, and doesn't try to be so typical in that area. Especially as the series comes to a close it is easy to see that Starmyu has taken plenty of time to make each main character pretty special. Also, shoutout to Kuga (quiet guy) for being the best mom!

Enjoyment: 8
This would have to be one of the guilty pleasure animes that I have seen. I acknowledge how cliche and stupid so many of the moments are, but at the same time I had a pretty fun time watching this. Sometimes the sheer stupidity of the series had my laughing out loud. If you don't want to watch a tragedy, this is the way to go.

I would recommend this series to people who generally like this kind of series: almost all male cast, a little bit dramatic, lots of ships, ridiculous events, cute characters, and lots of singing.

When I first watched Sword Art Online I loved it! But once I thought more about the plot and development of characters, I felt SAO really fell short of what it could have been. Despite its issues, I still think SAO an enjoyable anime to watch. Please knowledge that all of this is my opinion :)

*Note: I have excluded sound but I will agree that it is great!*

Characters
There are only really three new and important characters introduced in the second season, them being Sinon, death gun, and Yuuki. I'll start with Sinon. She is easily my favorite character of the entire series and her ... development (throughout the GGO arch) was fantastic. She is one of the only truly interesting characters from SAO in my opinion, and I found her to be incredibly unique. Her development in the first part is unrivaled by that all the other characters. Sinon drives pretty much the entirety of the show, as Kirito is useless as ever. Death Gun is also a pretty great character, and I consider the concept of his character to be stronger than the execution of his motives. I really liked how they set up the illusion of Death Gun being just a single person, and the way the mystery played out was done well. The boy (no clue what his name is) has in interesting complex and relationship to Shino (aka Sinon). Sadly, Kirito got pretty much no development for the rest of the series. The second part of the season was terrible in terms of development for side characters (literally only Yuuki and Asuna got some development). Yuuki was introduced and I honestly didn't care for her at first, actually I never really cared for her. Although the premise of her character is unique, her personality was quite bland and incredibly common. Her development was pretty good, but it sent the pace into a whirlpool of inconsistency. I liked that Asuna finally got some development, despite the effect it had on the season as a whole. There was much better character development this season, but only for specific characters. All the side girls were ignored throughout the season, which I found stupefying. Even Sinon became a mute member of Kirito's harem-wannabe thing, which somehow undid a lot of the greatness Sinon's character built up in the first half.


Art & Animation
The animation is pretty much on the same, awesome level as the first season. I have no complaints in this area. I would like to talk about the one new aspect that was introduced in the second season: GGO art. I actually love the darkness of GGO and how it contrasts the style of Alfheim (and SAO) completely, yet is somewhat similar to the way real life is depicted throughout the series. All in all, the art was great and saved the anime at times.


Story
Similar to last season, this season suffered horribly from inconsistent pacing. GGO had a medium pace, which I enjoyed most of all. From there, the pace took a sudden rise in the random and completely out of place Excalibur arch, which was a show of the great animation and pretty much nothing else. After that, the pace hit something like a brink wall. All of the sudden the story decided that SAO is a slow slice of life anime with a bit of gaming. Although I would not have minded a spin off, OVA, or separate season of this arch, because this arch made no sense in the context of the season. While I'll admit the character development of Asuna and Yuuki was well done, it doesn't really fit when you put it up against the GGO arch. The GGO arch is easily my favorite of the series. The premise of the story actually makes sense, as it presents the issue, the protagonist's opinion of the issue, the solution in theory, and the resolution of the issue. Although it is not a very unique structure, the details in the arch help to make it new and different from other series. The skipping between real life and the game was well done (in both arches, although especially in GGO arch), and I liked the how the arch came to an end. I also liked that the OP level of Kirito made so much more sense. He struggled with working a gun and actually has to base all of his strategy off his sword skills.This seems much more realistic and opened doors to improve upon Kirito's development. The second half of the season was much more inconsistent in both pacing and character development. First of all, there was pretty much no premise in going to get Excalibur, as that previously (terribly weak) antagonist just kind of asked Kirito to do it without much reasoning at all. Secondly, the execution of the arch was terrible. The entire fighting scene only took about 10 minutes, which is less than one entire episode. It is just stupid to have a super hyped arch in the series if it is just rushed over and butchers the set pace, while simultaneously adds absolutely nothing new or interesting. The transition between the incredibly quick attack arch and the Yuuki arch was not smooth enough and resulted in a bizarre feel from the wack pacing. The Yuuki and Asuna arch was interesting enough in terms of plot and I don't really have too much to add because there really is nothing much to add about it.


Season Overall
I really loved the start of the series, and felt that Sinon, Death Gun, and the GGO setting were interesting additions to the series. Despite these great new aspects, the series ruined itself in the second part of the season. The Yuuki arch was a pacing disaster that had it's moments, but was a train wreck in many ways. The horrific dialogue and lack of character development ruined the potential of the anime. Again, you see all the side characters from SAO. They get to fight a little, but otherwise get no new development. As much as I wanted to really love this season, it failed to pull through in the end.

Quick note before I begin: All parts will be graded and then added up to make up a final score out of ten. I will grade out of sound, animation, story, characters, and personal enjoyment. I'm sorry if all this seems vague, but I have not watched this anime for about two years. Also there is no selection to rate the story here, but I will add it in here anyway.

Better way to read the review: https://sloaneranime.wordpress.com/2015/12/01/review-the-legend-of-legendary-heroes


Sound
I'll start with sound. I am a fan of both of the openings, although I think the second one is my favorite of the two. Both endings are also ... very elegant and calming, and the first is my favorite. The sound track is more or less typical of kingdom animes such as these, but at the same time that is not a bad thing. The various, sometimes very gory sound affects are just okay, not amazing. The voice acting is good. I think I watched the series in dub, and the voices fit well. I watched some clips of the sub and that also seems to be well done.
Score: 1.5


Animation
Next up is the animation. When considering how to grade this, you have to take into account both the art style and the age of the anime. Since TLLH is an older anime and was made in a era of transition (between digital background/effects and draw), the background is pretty bad most of the time. I’m not going to say it is better than it is… The art style is pretty typical, but fits the content and style of the anime quite well. The effects for Ryner’s special ability do not disappoint.
The depiction of death is dealt will in a way that is pretty brutal, but certainly not as brutal as it could be. I find it to be somewhat artistic, although some may consider it a form of censorship. The normal fight scenes are decent. I like how a lot of it is drawn (including horses might I add!) The animation overall doesn’t take away from the anime, but actually makes the anime better. Despite it’s age, the animation is solid.
Score: 1.4


Story
The storyline of TLLH is not the most clear, but still magnates to keep it together. The premise itself is not very unique, but the progression throughout the series is what helps to differentiate the anime from others. Also the synopsis given on MAL gives the series absolutely no justice. Despite this, the story itself is well developed, especially by the characters. The paths that the main characters follow make sense, and the flashbacks flow smoothly with the main story line. On the other hand, some of the side characters seem to be poorly worked into the anime (they would seemingly appear out of no where). Overall, the story is not very memorable (obviously), but the series makes up this in other areas.
Score: 1.2


Characters
I think the characters are easily the strongest part of the anime. The main characters are incredibly well developed through a combination of flashbacks and influential events. First I will talk about Ryner, the holder of a legendary power called the Alpha Stigma. Ryner is a somewhat atypical main protagonist. He is seemingly unmotivated, yet possesses a great deal of skill for the magical arts. Ryner is unique because he fears his power more than any other character in the series. I think Ryner is one of the stronger leads in anime, as he carries the series very nicely and maintains his unique character. Ryner's past with Sion and journey with Ferris are the main focus of the anime. Sion is a (more or less) childhood friend of Ryner's. The two of them make a pack, agreeing that Ryner would do all that he can to help Sion take the thrown and dominate the country. Sion is a very calm and collected character. He is also very loyal to Ryner's, and saves his life on a number of occasions. Sion also helps bring Ryner and Ferris together. Ferris is somewhat blunt, but also pretty sweet deep down. Ferris is a sword wielding badass with a passion for dango and a unique past. The low-key romance between Ryner and Ferris helps TLLH to have light and humorous moments amongst the action and death filled moments.The side characters are also pretty enjoyable, and don't steal the show by any means. I like the red haired right hand man to Sion, Claugh. I also like the pink haired guy with the big sword, Riphal. Raven (Miran) is also a very interesting character, as he is caught in between his loyalty to Sion and Ryner. The antagonists of the series are forgettable, but serve their role just fine overall.
Score: 1.7


Enjoyment
My personal enjoyment of the series is one that is greatly influenced by nostalgia, as TLLH was one of the first anime I have ever watched. I really liked the contrast between the military, magic, and adventure sides of the anime. I only wished that the ending was finished off a bit better.
Score: 1.6


OVERALL SCORE: 7.4

Overall, I would recommend the series to fan of action, supernatural, fantasy, and military.
I would consider this a must-watch for fans of Kingdom animes. Another great Kingdom anime is Arslan Senki.

When I first watched Sword Art Online I loved it! But once I thought more about the plot and development of characters, I felt SAO really fell short of what it could have been. Despite its issues, I still think SAO an enjoyable anime to watch. I am going to be reviewing both the first and second season separately. Please knowledge that all of this is my opinion :)
It has been quite a while since I have watched the actual series so I am sorry if some of the details are a little off.

JUST A NOTE: I have excluded sound (it was good just ... not much to say) and my enjoyment level of the series is clear if you read about it :)


Characters

This is an area that SAO fell very short in. Despite some interesting designs and concepts, I felt like most of the characters were very poorly developed. In both SAO and Alfheim the characters (with exception to Kirito, Asuna, Suguha, and maybe Yui) hardly got any development past first impression. I was disappointed that side characters hardly got any screen time or development throughout the 25 episodes, which could have greatly improved the series. For example, Klein could have been a great character, and I would have loved to have seen an arch featuring Klein and his clan/buddies. Instead, his character was abused and he was pushed to the side as being some sort of weak comedic relief. Even though he appears in multiple episodes, Klein hardly has any dialogue. This is also true of the other characters, like dragon girl and sword smith girl. They have no essential role in the story, despite how much they are advertised in the opening. Throughout the series, only Kirito and Asuna had some good development, and even then the series mostly focused on developing their relationship instead of developing them as characters. Yui actually has a role and purpose in both parts of the first season, which I actually liked, although her role seems to shrink to almost nothing at times, as her dialogue disappears. Overall, the characters had an interesting base, but for the most part, they were never really developed and suffered from the main protagonists domination of screen time. I also want to mention the poor and little dialogue that the side characters got. The antagonist (creator of SAO game) was actually a character that I enjoyed the concept of. Sure I find it a little stupefying that he made the game to close to no reason, but I believe that something about that aspect of his character sets him apart from the rest of the cast. Although he was a technically a weak character, I enjoyed him because he is unique to the series. The second antagonist (guy who wants to marry Asuna) is simply a horrible bad guy. First of all, his motive is weak and without a strong emotion. Second of all, he is not likable in the slightest. To make a successful antagonist, the character needs to get at least a little bit of development. Some great antagonists like Meruem from Hunter X Hunter and Tsukishima from Tokyo Ghoul are able to be likable to the viewer because they have both a motive and development. Nobuyuki (I had to look up his name) is a trashy antagonist with zero appeal to the viewer.


Art & Animation

I actually believe that the art style and animation are the things that saved this anime. If the series had terrible animation, there would not be nearly as many fans of the series. All in all, there is not much to say about the art, other than it is very well done. Much of the scenery is beautiful landscapes of the lovely worlds of SAO and Alfheim. I think both give the anime a very video game feel, while also matching the animation itself. The character animation is quite fantastic. The fight scenes in particular are close to jaw dropping. I think that the art and animation are the strongest parts of the anime.


Story

The main pitfall of the first season as a whole is that the pacing is far too inconsistent and results in weak character and plot development. The SAO part of season one was actually enjoyable, despite some of the problems with character development, as well as some other problem that I will dive into momentarily. The story of the SAO arch is actually quite innovative and was executed in a decent way. I think the series could have been significantly stronger is the SAO arch had encompassed the entirety of the first season. If the producers had expanded the first part, there would have been more room for side character development, without milking the show. The major downfall of the first season was the large contrast in the pacing from episode to episode. The SAO arch did a decent job at keeping the pacing more even, but the Alfheim arch was a mess. In the SAO arch, there are some episodes that are significantly slower than others, but in general the pace keeps it together. Despite the strong first half of the anime, SAO takes a turn for the boring and average in part two. Part two, for lack of better words, is a disaster. Although I'm not a fan of incest, I thought some of the development with Suguha/Leafa was actually good. With exception to Leafa, the rest of the series is incredibly weak in comparison to the original SAO arch. First of all, Kirito is ridiculously overpowered, as he never dies (is this right?) in all of the Alfheim arch. Somehow Kirito is able to just defeat players that have been playing Alfheim for years right when he starts. Kirito's overpowered character makes a lot more sense in SAO because he was one of the trial people for the game. I really hate this part about the Alfheim arch. Yes, Kirito got his stats from SAO, but the fact that he is head and shoulders ahead of everyone already in the game detracts from Kirito as a character. The pacing in the second part was also a mess. Some episodes there is a (weak) attempt at deep dialogue. The ending was actually satisfying, and tied up the lose ends in a decent manner.


Overall

I would have loved to see more development of the characters while they were actually in the game, fighting for their lives. Instead, most of the details not concerning Kirito and Asuna are rushed over, resulting in the SAO arch to end just after the halfway point. I felt the series could have been significantly stronger if the producers had expanded the SAO arch to encompass season one. The Alfheim arch fails to uphold the potential of the anime. The terrible pacing and lack of side character development really affected the quality of the anime.