I would actually love that, but that's not the point. I guess my biggest disappointment is that it could have been so much more. There were many places they could have taken this too, and yet the hit the ground shortly after the series started.
Story - 5/10
Story-wise, I hated everything after the first couple of episodes (1-5), and it slowly got worse as the episodes progressed, and if it was only S1, this would have got a 7.5, not 6 on my list.
Why?
Well for one, there is no sense of time. By episode 3, two years have past....... SO what happened in those two years? Did they wander around like lost sheep playing the game? Did something bad happen. Honestly, tell me, what happened in those 2 years?
Then we have the pacing. This is kinda non-existent. Let's look at one of the things it was "praised" for, it's romance. Not that I hate romance, in fact that cold have been one of the series most interesting parts, and I generally enjoy it in "RomComs" (Romance & Comedy). So, mind telling me how in 1 or 2 episodes, Asuna literally fell head over heels for this guy named Kirito? Where was the development between the two. There was, sadly to say, little. It happened so fast... that we basally don't know what happened.
Then she wants to marry this guy...... You have gotta be kidding me. It funny, as they say this was one of the best points of SAO. This all happens in one episode.
Step away from the romance, season 1 had decent pacing at most, put they probably should have stopped it right there. They just put pointless things.
Could we learn about the world? No.
Could we learn about the guilds? No.
Could we learn a bit more about other characters who aren’t our main protagonists? No.
Just watch one guy, running around this fantasy world, hooking up with every girl he meets, and who all for some reason fall in love with him, and then only stay for one episode at most, before disappearing. And then in season 2, it just gets rid of most of them. So, I must ask, what was the point? What addition were they meant to add to the story? They add one interesting male character, but he is quickly swept away, to come back later for another episode, and then he disappears again.
So story wise, don't expect anything but a mediocre generic story, unless that's your thing. I wonder if any body even bothers reviewing the script of each episode. It has so many plot holes, don't even other to count them.
Art : 8/10
A bit more work could have been done on it, but overall, I was fairly happy with it. Fluid animation, good art work. Some of the skill effects were generic, but still looked nice.
Sound : 8/10
Once again, I have no problems with the sound. It was a nice soundtrack, and the opening for season 1 was pretty nice.
Characters : 3/10
Possibly the most disappointing aspect of the whole show. I hate Kirito. There are just so many problems with him, and his character is so badly created.
-He too OP. WOW! He has some special powers that easily take down a boss that's well um.... beating them around for a bit. I mean seriously, every time a challenge comes by, he jumps over it by gaining some mysterious powers. And he takes this boss down with one shot. No body is going to be that lucky.
-SPOILER-
-No character development. He doesn’t really change until he leaves the game at the end of season 1. And then he stays the same for season 2. So there is a little bit of development.
-SPOILER-
Then we have the other ones. Asuna starts off great, and I had high hopes for her. BUT then she meets Kirito, and all this slowly disappears. Another reason why I hate him. His character dragged down everyone else, and she becomes a "maiden in distress", not even appearing in the second season where she is imprisoned. They, for the most part shelve her.
Yui is an example of decent character development, I actually liked her character through out the whole series. She slowly develops a felling of happiness as Asuna's and Kirito's adopted child. This was good, and the path to getting to that point was well paced. I wish the same could be said for the rest of them.
And then there is his sister, who is one of the main characters in season 2, when they are in Alfheim Online. While she was a bit annoying, I had no problems with her.
I won't bother naming the rest, as they are truly supporting characters. They appear for an episode or two, and then disappear. But I would be more interested to know what happened to
-Klein
-Heathcliff
-Silica
-Lizibeth
-Sachi(spoiler - she's there for one episode, then she dies)
These people were there and then shelved. And I liked every one of them better then Kirito, buy seriously, what happened to them?
Final Verdict:
Story : 5/10
Art : 8/10
Sound :8/10
Character : 3/10
Enjoyment : 5/10
Final Score : 5.8/10 (that’s an average based on the above scores.)
Wow, you know they say when your unhappy about something, get it all out by writing it. This certainly helped. Sword Art Online could have been so much better, and yet they dug themselves into the ground. You want to know what I wanted from SAO, then check out Log Horizon. It's everything SAO could have and should have been, and I'm enjoying it quite a bit. It's got me more interested in 3 episodes about it then SAO did in all its 25 episodes.
So if you have time to waste, or you want to see how an anime in this genre can stuff it self up, the watch it. Other wise, you should cross this off your list.
