Reviews

Okay so this anime has a very good setup and premise, as well as good visual and audio design. The way they handle the menu interactions as well as game exploits is all very engaging. What is not very engaging, however, is the filler they spend most of the first arc on. In every single one of these one-shots, Kirito (the main character and a very bland person) meets a girl who invariably falls in love with him (even his female cousin during the second act). In addition, the pace of the plot kind of speeds up and slows down in a really annoying way. Perhaps the highlight of the series (at least for me) was in the final episode when the antagonist, a grown man, grabs a knife in real life and ambushes Kirito (a teenager) in a dimly-lit parking lot. It serves as a stark contrast to the virtual action present in the rest of the series and is quite frankly hilarious.

Final recommendation: Watch it, if only for the good art and world design. If you can't get past a lousy story, do not watch this anime.