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Welcome there fellow anime lover and/or gamer to my review of the popular show Sword art online. I will try to point out some reasons on why you should (or should not) watch this anime with as less spoilers as possible. But first, let me tell you that I'm personally a gamer so our opinions could differ. That said, let's go!

It is the year of 2022, by which, humans have created a technology known as FullDive, in which every person can get inside a game and control the player as if themselves are in the game. All they have to do is put a helmet-type ... machine known as the NerveGear on their head and order the game to start. A new genre of games called VRMMOs (Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online) has been developed, and the first game to develop is - as the title states - Sword art online. Our protagonist, Kirito, a hardcore gamer and former beta tester jumps into the game for another time (it's not his first time inside the game as he was a beta tester) and as the first day inside the newly released game ends, he, along with the other 10.000 players finds himself trapped inside the game. You might be thinking by now that they could just simply remove the NerveGear off their heads and they would be back to normal life. Here's the catch though! In case the NerveGear is removed from a person's head while it is operational it also damages the brain, thus the person CAN'T leave the game. The only way for the NerveGear to be deactivated is by clearing the game, which isn't as easy as it sounds... The second catch is that if you die inside the game, you die in reality as well AKA: NO RESPAWNS!

Story:
The story divides into two halves: The SAO half and the ALO half. The first part got me HOOKED. It did have a lot of filler though and that made me lose my interest, but then I got interested again as the story progressed. While it is rushed, you will most probably like it. It is filled with emotionally intense moments, intense action-filled scenes and the whole twist made me want to watch the second half like crazy.

Now for the second half:
[SPOILERS] The second half takes place after the game has been cleared, where our protagonist dives in a second game in order to save his beloved one. [/SPOILERS]. While it wasn't NEARLY as good as the first half it did drag me, but what really disappointed me is [SPOILERS] that our female protagonist turns into a "Princess in distress" situation(explained later in the characters section)[/SPOILERS]. This alone made watching the second half less than pleasing...
Score: 7/10

Characters:
In terms of characters the show was less good than I originally thought. The whole cast consists of 2 main characters and later a two more (the first one got me pretty pissed off...). There is our hardcore gamer and solo player protagonist Kirito, wishing to protect his friends from any harm, all while fighting on the front lines and contributing to clearing the game. Then there is our main female character Asuna, a strong warrior joining a guild and fighting on the front lines, and then there is Yui, an AI character that helps Kirito and Asuna in various situations and later on acting as a navigation pixie in the second half (This is the part that pissed me off...). In the main cast, the final character is Suguha, Kirito's sister.

During the first and the second half the development is minimum to non-existing, as the story is fairly rushed and displayed in a really quick way, all while many side characters jump in (and out) of the show and not leaving their "footsteps" behind. Needless to say, this made them easily forgetable.
Another thing I need to add, as I said in the Story section, is that our female lead turns from a strong warrior who would really fight whenever it was necessary to a "damsel in distress" situation. She becomes really weak and cannot do anything in the situation she's stuck in. This ruined the experience even more for me...
Score: 4/10

Art:
In terms of art, the whole show is crafted really well and could even be called a masterpiece by some people. The atmosphere is really well made and suits perfectly the scenes, all along with good animation during the fight scenes.
Score: 9/10

Soundtrack:
The OST was really fitting for the whole show, covering all scenes with good music. The first OP was really well made along with the second ED, and got me to remember them even after I finished the show.
Score: 8/10

Recap:
While the story did start well and progressed well, the presence of the side characters and the non-existing development of the main characters made the whole experience pretty boring. While there were good parts that got me hooked on my couch, the most part was pretty boring and didn't give me a good feel after finishing an episode. If you are a gamer though, you will pretty much like the whole plot. In terms of enjoyment it did give me a nice feel and made me forget about the filler episodes. I would recommend it, truth be told, but not as much as some other series.
Score: 6/10

Hello there fellow anime lover, and welcome to yet another review of the REALLY hyped anime called Highschool of the dead (or HOTD for short...). In this review I'll be pointing out why you should (or you should not) watch this, but before I start let me say one thing: If you don't like high-end ecchi animes then this series is NOT for you. That said, let's get on with it.

HOTD is yet another one of Japan's attempts to take on the "zombie fighting" scene, this time following six survivors as they try to... well... survive through the apocalypse. Does it remind you of something? ... I don't know about you but it sure does remind me...
It all starts when one day an infected person (which we don't know how it got infected) knocks (literally) the door of a highschool and bites a teacher. Then, guess what... An apocalypse breaks and in about an hour or so half the city has gotten infected!

Story:
In terms of story, the whole series is nothing out of the ordinary. 6 survivors trying to survive as the whole virus spreads and more and more people become zombies. While it is good at the first half (till the sixth episode), it then starts to get more and more (and more) of a high-end ecchi rather than an apocalypse. This killed the mood for me, as the story at that point suddenly got into the ecchi side, without leaving room for the apocalypse to really shine, as a zombie fan would expect.
While the story is good till the first half, then it starts having many plot holes and twists, with many characters breaking out of nowhere and joining (and later leaving) the group of the initial 6 survivors and helping them. All of this happens in only 6 episodes (the second half), which makes the story REALLY undeveloped with no room for any development character wise, but I'll get into that later... If the whole high-end ecchi thing got tossed then it would be a great anime action-wise.
Score: 5/10

Characters:
In terms of main characters, the whole group of the six survivors consists of 2 guys and 4 girls. While the initial cast was interesting in terms of personalities, then (at the second half) becomes what you would expect of a high-end ecchi, where more and more (and more) skin is showed. All of that happens within an episode and thus lacks of proper development. While some characters do develop, it is still not enough.
In all that, let's add the sudden appearence of side-characters who "help" (and some even go against) the group, which again lacks of proper development and leaves way too many holes.
Score: 4/10

Art:
The animation is one of the pros if you want to watch the show. It is smooth and detailed, and covers all the action in a good way. The shading is done well and the whole atmosphere is good enough for the whole apocalypse. Nothing more, nothing less!
Score: 8/10

Soundtrack:
The soundtrack is the second pro of the whole show and it adds perfectly to the action and the atmosphere of the apocalypse. The opening and the many endings are well done and fit perfectly into the show. If I was expecting something whenever an episode would end, that was one of the many ending songs.
Score: 9/10

Recap:
While HOTD has a really strong promise as an anime, it then fails to achieve the title of "Great", simply because of the whole twist into a high end ecchi. It IS good if you want to watch some zombie slaying, all with a great atmosphere and a great soundtrack (and if you want to take a look at some boobs...), but if you expect a story well developed and a good cast, you will be disappointed eventually.
Score: 6/10

Makoto Shinkai, the up-and-coming movie director known for his stunning visuals and bittersweet stories makes his appearance for the 4th time in his career with Garden of Words, a bittersweet love story of a teenager who falls for an older woman, and I gotta say he delivers it pretty nicely.

The story follows Takao Akazuki, a 15 year old teenager wishing to become a shoemaker. One day, while skipping school he meets an older woman named Yukino, with which he later falls in love. The whole concept is NOT original, as I have seen it many times on the TV, the theater and by reading books, ... but it is delivered pretty good with solid character development and solid storytelling, combined with emotional moments which make this movie worth watching.
Story: 9/10

Now let's move on to the other important factor with anime making, the ART!!! If you have seen Makoto's previous movies you will have surely noticed that the graphics are outstanding. This happens again in this movie with the graphics being beautiful and the animation wonderful, making it hard for other movies to compare to it. The shading is amazing, the colors are outstanding and in this sector it can be considered a work of art.
Art: 10/10 (I would give it more if I could...)

In terms of character development the movie is solid! The emotions are portrayed beautifully and the whole development is realistic.
Char. Development: 8/10

Let's get on with the bad part... Ladies and gentlemen, the OST! In terms of OST I can say I've heard better... REALLY better... The music doesn't stick out in any part of the movie, making it easily forgettable after you've watched it, however it is good in the emotionally intense scenes.
Soundtrack: 7/10

In conclusion, the movie IS worth watching as it combines amazing visuals with solid storytelling and will leave you with an emotion of melancholy when it's finally over. Story-wise, it CANNOT be compared to it's older brother: 5 centimeters per second but it is good at it's own way. I do recommend it if you're looking for a great love story and I also recommend it due to its animation being one of the best I've seen in quite some time.
FINAL SCORE: 9/10