Characters: 4
Ok i am going to be frank here, compared to the eight other animes that i will be writting about this upcoming week, the overall main cast in this show is incredibly week.
Kirito/Kazuto- The main character of SAO is, surprise surprise, your generic male protagonist with all of the trimmings. Seemingly stronger than every character in anime. Manages to attract the love of every female character he meets, and has ultimately no bad traits or emotions what so ever. Seriously, the producers succeeded in making this guy so generic that i actually cant criticize them. This was obviously there goal and they succeeded. They gave him a minimal backstory with minutes of flashbacks, and blatantly made it clear that this is just ur generic protagonist. Goal succeed. He did not help yet the anime.
Asuna- Main heroine for part 1 of SAO. Very controversial character in the sense that you either love her as a string heroine (for the first half of the story atleast), or you find her incredibly annoying due to her constant nagging (that also end though at the end of the first half). Minor spoiler here but she becomes a supporting character in the second part of SAO. Don't get me wrong, you still see her... for about 20 minutes in part 2, and she still has a huge effect on the story, but any characterization given to her in part one of SAO goes down the drain in part 2.
Leafa/Suguha- Main heroine for part 2. Probably the only dynamic character in the story. Don't get me wrong, she is horrifically annoying in her first 3 episodes, but she really does change into a strong, very dynamic character. Some minor spoilers here (i really cant describe her without giving away some minor stuff), allthough the characters wont figuere it out till the end, it is revealed almost right away that Leafa is Suguha, Kirito's sister. Which creates a really intriguing relationship. I gotta give the produvcers credit for that, very original and i actually like how it played out.
Story for part 1: 9
Action for part 1: 6
Story for part 2: 7
Action for Part 2: 9
SAO was primarily advertised as an anime that would involve characters having to adapt to life in a virtual world, as well as provide an equal amount of action. Notice the word equal, it never was equal.
Part 1: The story for the first part of SAO basically delivers what you were promised. The aspects of players being forced to adapt in a virtual world. However, the action completely subsides after episode 3, and while some of the side stories were decent, i found the timeflow to be horrifically fast paced and to many extents just rushed. For a setting where everyone is connected, you would see a character once, and if they were lucky you would see them for maybe 5 more minutes after that episode. With that being said, there were two episodes in this arc (after episodes 1-3) that completely stood out as episodes that easily lived up to the hype that the general public had originally set. Those episodes were episodes 10 and 14. Episode 10 virtually came out of no where compeltly suprised me, and episode 14 was the midseason finale (end of part 1). Both of these episodes were well written and if the rest of the first part was written like those two episodes, this anime would easily be a 10, but its not because episodes 4-9 and 11-12 virtually ignore every aspect of action and several episodes throw poor plots at the viewer. Such as two teenagers awkwardly becoming the parents of a computer program. You know there is that movie "her" coming out which focuses on some loser falling in love with his cell phone. (surprisingly wasnt that bad) I am convinced they stole that part from SAO because Kirito and Asuna literally develop a parental relationship with a computer program.
Part 2: A lot more easier to describe with minor spoilers. Asuna is kidnapped. Kirito must save her. Leifa and the computer program accompany Kirito, abandoning virtually every supporting character made in SAO. The plot is extremely random and you will not be able to predict a single episode.While it may seem like im severely criticzing this arc, i actually found the suspense to be queite enjoyable. While the plot of the first arc was a lot more complex and what the producers had promised us, i found myself more compelled to watch the next episode at the conclusion of each episode in this arc. Along with that i did appreciate the fact that this arc had a clear main antagonist, and i enjoyed his crazyness.
The "controversial" final episode (very minor spoilers so don't worry)- A lot of people bashed episode 25, the finale. Those people could please shut up. The true, brutal, climax and ultimate ending of SAO is episode 24. Episode 25 is an aftermath episode. Episode 24 is the big memorable episode and is the ultimate end to the series. Episode 25 is the epilogue, i don't get what the problem is. There is nothing bizarre about it. The producers just wanted to use a whole episode to make closure, rather than just giving closure in the final 5 minutes of the show. I appreciated this primarily due to the fact that episode 24 was written quite well.
Art: 10
Exceptional Art. While i will start setting my expectations alot higher for 2014 animes (as i now expect every anime to create art that is a 10), i found some of the visuals to be stunning.
Sound: 10
Just like the art, i found that voiceovers to be exceptional.
Overall: There are definitely alot of pros and cons and after finishing the whole anime i can honestly say that you should watch this. The only reason why i am saying should and not have to is due to the fact that its polar opposite 2013 counterpart, Log Horizon (same virtual reality setting but features politcs instead of action) has impressed me alot more especially with its characters. With that said i found this to be extremely enjoyable. It just a good chunk of the episodes arent particularly memorable. I would rate this slightly above an 8, and in tterms of letter grades would give it a B+.
Top 5 Episodes:
5- Episode 20
4- Episode 3
3- Episode 10
2- Episode 24
1- Episode 14
Animes that will be completed and reviewed in the upcoming week:
Tomorrow- Tokyo Magnitude 8.0
Following Tokyo Magnitude will be Eureka 7: AO
Then Elfen Lied
Following that will be K- Project
Then Another
Then Darker than Black: Gemini of the Meteor
And finishing the eight days off is Fate/Zero ( i have seen the first 21 episodes and it has blown me away, so baring a bad ending, expect praise for Fate Zero)
Thank you and I hope you enjoyed this review
