I'm very sorry about this, but I just felt like I couldn't write a decent review without including some spoilers.
So, let’s get straight to it. Starting off with the story element.
The story of SAO is one that I believe I have seen too many times before. The element of being trapped in a game is about as commonplace as the ‘Battle-Royale type’ genre, if you could call it that. Nevertheless, the story is somehow able to remain fresh, full of interesting plot points and ‘twists’ (well, not exactly, but I don’t know what to call them). In general, it was an interesting plot.
Unfortunately for the anime, there are numerous points which manage to bring it down.
Firstly, there are numerous time jumps. While portraying a whole two years of game may be a little long and unneeded, just skipping them from one episode to the next draws away from the story line, hinders character development, and left me confused many times, to say the least. The worst part is that time jumps continue to happen throughout the anime. Like, seriously, read the dates shown on the screen or die.
There are numerous (small) inconsistencies in the anime as well, not only related to the time jumps, such as Kirito’s sudden changes between solo and working with a guild (especially near the start). And at the end, when he suddenly gets to use ‘ID Heathcliff’. Completely out of the blue. Or when Suguha (Leafa) doesn’t know that her brother’s alias in SAO was ‘Kirito’. Like, EVERYONE knows that!!! Nothing too bad, but not good either.
Another thing which seriously bugged me was that (and here is the spoiler) in an anime called ‘Sword Art Online’, only half of the actual anime is happening in Sword Art Online! Honestly! Not that I have any problem with ALFheim (or whatever) Online, I actually like the concept more than Sword Art Online, but why call the anime ‘Sword Art Online’?! It seems relatively unfitting.
Random Kirito quote:
“I’ll bet on my virginity-“
Wow, Kirito. What a deep and meaningful start to a sentence you have there.
To conclude with this story element, the romance, in particular between Asuna and Kirito. I feel like this really brought the show down by a lot. While it is seemingly realistic and has the good element of a mutual feeling of love, it is soooooo soppy. As far as I am concerned, Kirito meets Asuna, forms a party, then leaves to be a solo player as he usually is. Two years later, he’s working a little with the Knights of the Blood Oath, and on polite terms with Asuna. Then, less than a month later (or so it would seem, the time jumps probably made it longer), they’re talking about marriage, subtly *cough cough* (not really) implying to each other that they want to get married, then kissing before getting physical and actually marrying each other. (Me: Come ON guys! You’re like sixteen!)
Oh well, I guess Kirito can’t bet on his virginity anymore. Too bad…
And then there are those scenes where I’m banging my head on the table because of the “If you don’t come back I’ll kill myself” dialogue. So cheesy.
(Extra note: Did anyone notice that at the end when Kirito’s trying to kill Sugou and pictures of Asuna as well as what the guy did to her flash through his mind - the last picture, which really sets Kirito/Kazuto off, is that of Asuna smiling the morning after they made out?!)
I have mixed feelings about the second part of SAO, ALFheim online. On one hand, I really like the concept of it and I liked that it continued the show (since I didn’t really want it to finish), on the other hand, it is a little out of place in an anime called Sword Art Online (as I mentioned earlier). It is also so similar to SAO. Now, whether this is good or bad is debatable. On one hand, it is good because they are both within the same show, so something completely different would be even more out of place. On the other hand, it is too similar in the sense that the concepts are pretty much exactly the same, there is the same kind of ‘villain’ who is controlling the game, etc. It’s like two virtual reality games which are exactly the same. Not much for originality. It did have a few good points like promoting character development and such. Meh.
Art… Hmmm… It wasn’t the best but I actually liked it a fair bit. Not my favourite, though. Scenery was very nice, characters were decent… Nothing amazing but very good nonetheless.
Music was pretty, and I would like to say abundant, since it is often playing, but the battle theme is always the same. Not that I have anything against the battle theme - it actually sent pleasant tingling sensations up my back - but I do wish they would have had more music. Way more. There was such good potential. Eh, in all, it was good. I guess.
On to characters. Looking back now, I realise that the character development is actually quite decent. Even characters who don’t get much time on screen get an acceptable amount of development. However, despite this, I haven’t actually developed a favourite character, which is a rarity and a very negative point. Special mention goes to Yui, though. She made me squeal repeatedly and wish I could hug her.
I really, REALLY hate Kirito, though. Firstly, just after the group has defeated the first boss and he is called a ‘beater’, he suddenly becomes all cold and somewhat villian-like. But I’m willing to let it slide.
Kirito is such a stereotypical hero, and that’s what I hated about him. Of course he defeats both games, I mean it would be stupid to let someone else do so, right? (sarcasm). He attracts girls like moths to a bulb, and although you could say he stays loyal to Asuna, it’s still very annoying.
The other characters were good, I actually quite liked Kayaba Akihiko in the end, despite the fact that he was technically the antagonist. The first antagonist, at least.
However, there are frequent personality changes which seem out of place. Yes, different situations stimulate different emotions, but these changes… No. Just no.
And…
That’s all I can say.
Overall, this was a good anime. While the story itself wasn’t the most original, it was still very pleasing. The character development was good, but the hero was sickeningly stereotypical. Some inconsistencies here and there. Despite my somewhat poisonous review, I actually enjoyed this anime immensely and hated sleeping because it was a time where I could not keep watching.
Story: 6.5/10 (would give 7.5 but romance and inconsistencies brought it down by 1 point)
Art: 8/10
Sound: 7/10
Character: 6/10
Enjoyment: 8.5/10
Overall: 7.2/10 (rounded to 7)
A/N: I apologize for all the parentheses and decimals. I think this was the hardest anime to rate yet. XD It was also probably the most 'personal' in the sense that I was making a live commentary whilst watching it and felt it would be interesting to include at least some of it into my review. Again, please comment, comments are loved and appreciated!!
