Jan 10, 2013
Let me start off by saying this review is based almost ENTIRELY on part 1 of this anime (which is the first 14 episodes). After reading all the reviews posted on here about SAO I felt that I needed to write one (and my first mind you) to clear the slate about what others have said. Could the anime have been better? Of course, but for what we got I think it was extremely enjoyable.
Story: I give the story an 8/10 simply because this is the first anime of this kind that I've seen and LIKED. I think the thing I liked most about
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Kirito in this is that he was a beta tester and a beater and to me that made him stand out above everyone else and really take the role of that hero and made the story revolving around him a lot easier to understand and enjoy. When I was watching this anime with my friend the way he described it was this anime is an anime of feels. Heavenly feels one second then sad hellish feels. Which for the most part is true. The anime story keeps you guessing as to what is going to happen next, what boss is going to be found next, and what rare item somebody is going to die over next. Also I should really bump this up to a 9 because of the marriage in this but you'll see that when you watch it. NOT IF, BUT WHEN!
Art: Overall the art wasn't anything extraordinary however what gave it such a good feel was that in the game gear changes and throughout the anime their gear look also changes. And you know what's the best part? Kirito doesn't wear a gay ass orange jumpsuit! He wears a manly mans Black coat that only proceeds to look more badass as the anime continues. On top of that the art work really captures the feel of the RPG and the players within. But truly the most outstanding feature is all the costumes and the work and design put into them.
Sound: I gave sound a 6 which probably isn't fair because when I'm watching an anime RARELY do I pay attention to the sound track in the back that happens to be playing. And if I do then I soon forget about it. So in light of the fact that I'm not going to go back and rewatch episodes just to tell you if the sound is good you're just going to have to trust me when I say it doesn't suck.
Character: My god what can I REALLY say about the characters? Despite all the flaws to this anime's storyline the character development makes you completely forget all about it. I LOVED the characters. Let me repeat this. I LOVED THE CHARACTERS IN SAO! The main hero was a hero. Asuna was rude and (forgive me for saying so) bitchy in the starting episodes. Distant from kirito and everyone else. However seeing her and kirito slowly start to come together made my heart melt and made me appreciate and love this anime so much. Besides these two main characters the side characters are lovely as well. Whenever they'd show kirito's friend the blacksmith (forgive me for no name) I loved it. Because not only did the designers have the main characters develop they had the side unimportant characters develop too. If you were to see another character again you can guarantee that they would have different armor and perhaps an altered personality due to the game. Lovely in every aspect.
Enjoyment: 8/10 overall. Really the thing holding this back for me is the part two of this anime and the fact that they made them scaling 100 floors to beat the game such a small part of the anime itself. I would have loved to see this be made into an 80 possible plus episodes showing the difficulties and trials on the floors with some fillers on some of the more interesting floors. However what they didn't do with the anime isn't going ot make me drop my score for it. An easy solid 8 if I've ever watched one.
Overall: An 8. To those who are saying this anime isn't that great blah blah blah. You can all go back to watching your Naruto and bleach animes. This is a unique one of a kind heartwarming show that deserves to be watched. If you don't like it after episode 3 then stop watching but I can almost positively say you will want to finish it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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