Art: 8
Sound: 8
Character: 5
Enjoyment: 6
I realize that these scores may bemuse the majority of those who decide to view this review, however, I have solid basis for such conflicting ratings in particular areas.
For many people, the thought of venturing into the realm of mysticism, and virtual reality which is a video game, grants a long-awaited fantasy for many gamers, which I can personally relate to. Adding a tinge of fatality into the mixture made the plot all the more teasingly attractive– Unfortunately, some major issues with character development, and rising action posed a significant toll on a what would've been, magnificent production.
Kirito is most definitely a good protagonist, a little too good, which stunted my initial issues with him. Sword art online, with the solid and exciting plot, would lead one to believe that some sort of team collaboration should be incorporated to escape their untimely demise. Quite the opposite happened, actually. It became a sort of one-man show, as every character merely possessed a glimmer of the lime light in the few minutes after the opening theme, before Kirito, sopped up the the remaining episode. Each difficulty the characters faced, left them helplessly relying on their knight in shining armor to save them, or perish in an attempt to make tragedy a highlight. This only made the side characters seem dull, or better yet, unnecessary, which also drew away from Kirito's character, since the viewer could probably guess who would come out victorious.
Leading me to comment on the laughably bad villains. It speaks for itself.
The most enjoyable, part of the series was the romance. Which ironically was foiled by the shoddy harem created from every girl met on these adventures, falling into a hopelessly unrequited love with our dear protagonist. Asuna was a very good character, I just wish she had more screen time.
I'll end this on a high note. The art and music were undeniably outstanding. It would've been nice to showcase more character animation, besides Kirito's.
Not a bad anime, the structure and details were there. Overly simplistic in character development, and relationships.
