Main protagonist and a whole lot of other people are playing this game called Sword Art Online with a twist that if they die in the game, they die for real. The only way for everyone to leave SAO is beating the game.
Story 6/10
The concept has been done before and honestly people who have been rating this show a 10/10 with comments saying "OMG BEST ANIME EVURR NOTHING LIKE IT!!!" I have to say shame to you and to go watch more shows before rating this story a 10/10. In fact the only reason why it probably gets such a high rating from other is because it's fairly new and that the art is nicely done.
Other than that, I wouldn't bother giving this a second thought. The characters were presented poorly and there wasn't much to look forward to since it follows the formula of protagonist has a problem, they try to solve problem, and then solves the problem. Nothing wrong with that of course but after the first couple times seeing it happen over and over with no real change it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Art 6/10:
I would of liked more contrast on the character looks; most of the main/side characters seem to mesh together into one clump and not have real distinction from one another. In fact if it weren't for names I would probably just call them main character number one and main character number two or the chick with long orange hair. Still the colors and surroundings went well together and that should get some credit.
Sound 5/10:
There wasn't any music that really got distinction to make it stand out that made me want to look it up and listen to. I could honestly watch the entire thing without having sound and still have the same feeling about it.
Character 1/10:
Having watched halfway I already knew this guy was not going to have any character development whatsoever. He was great at everything he did the first time around and everyone either loved the guy or hated him. There wasn't much that made any character stand out or want me to root to win.
One of the things I hated about Kirito is that from start to finish on the show is that he hasn't made any real progress as a character. He stays about the same the whole way through, even with the losses he makes in game. Halfway through watching the show I found myself rooting that Kiritito lose a battle to just to watch him grovel and cry so at least I can watch his goody to shoes suffer a bit for being great at what he does.
Enjoyment: 5/10:
It wasn't something I could really say "Wow can't wait til the next episode comes out!" but it was also one where I didn't drop because it wasn't awful and was already halfway through it. I found myself doing things constantly while I was watching it such as pausing it halfway to watch a different show or leaving it playing while cooking/eating.
Overall 4/10:
Overall, it was something that helped time passed by. It had a decent enough story/art to want to watch through all the way and have some enjoyment watching. Unfortunately it's also something I will never bother watching over again. There was nothing memorable about the anime at all and the character development occurred as often as Kirito loses a battle.
