Mar 6, 2015
SAO II is a worth sequel to SAO. Not as good, but a worthy sequel. I'll try to give some objective views on why I think it deserves a high score, but also why I don't think it deserves a top score. Heads up though, if you didn't like SAO, you won't like SAO II.
Story: 8/10, Characters: 8/10. Both arcs features a new main character, and both of these perform excellently. They have some major character development, and they often get most screen time. However, this does neglect the development of Kirito and Asuna.
The plot in itself is generally great, but it suffers
...
from some pace-issues in the later half of arc 1. They simply used flashbacks too much. However, both arcs are ultimately good, and I especially enjoyed the endings. They focus on a lot of issues in the real world, like trauma, and they've made some great stories out of it. Gungale was a nice step in another direction, so we got some variation on the environments and the action (guns!). It was also great to see more use of the side-characters in Exalibur.
Art: 9/10, Sound: 8.5/10. The art is really beautiful, and it's cool that they have one arc in a science-fiction world, and one in a fantasy world. This gives them to opportunity to show off different environments, which they do. Characters are colorful and vibrant. The OPs and the EDs are excellent, but the OST is not as memorable as the original SAO, and it reuses some of the themes. However, they've made some great tracks for Gungale.
Enjoyment: 9.5/10, Overall: 9/10. If you didn't enjoy SAO, you won't enjoy SAO II, since it's not as good. If you did like SAO, watch it. Note, this anime tips between 8 and 9 for me, but I enjoyed it so much I gave it a 9.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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