I really dug the story. Or the premise at least. The whole VMMORPG thing really appealed to me. Not only because I like to consider myself an avid MMORPGer type person. But it also really helped to present the story in a somewhat realistic way. I really got into it. I personally didn't have any qualms during the SAO arc at all. Next to the seemingly dispensable "heroins" that kept appearing. That I thought, was an issue.
I do agree with most of the other reviewers that the ALO arc was a little all over the place. It had lost a little of what I had found appealing in the first arc. That sense of wonderment and awe that I found my self feeling time and again whilst Kirito spent his two years in Sword Art Online. But despite all that I still found myself having a great time watching this anime.
That's what it really comes down to. I've read what other people have said in regards to SAO and I agree with a lot of the points that have been presented (including the negative ones) But what this anime came down to for me was how much fun I was having watching this. Yes, it is over-rated, Yes, it was over-hyped. But you know what? I lost myself in the world, I lost myself in Sword Art Online. Maybe a little even in Alfheim as well. And to me, that's what matters in the end. How much damn fun I had whilst I got to watch this Anime.
