Plot: This is the hardest to talk about without getting spoilery which I dont really in this review. Lets just say the story is a big meander, it hooks you in with the first 2 episodes but then has infamous time jumps that dont make sense. Like at the episode 2 Kirito says hes going solo but at the start of episode 3 hes just joined a guild and is LEVEL 40 WHAAAATTT??? where did this come from. Writers help? This kinda kills the pacing pretty badly.
The show kills any chance of plot development to make way for harem which sucks. The romance is very forced and very poorly written. They go fishing near the end cos why the fuck not we've got the community tied up in a knot and have a creepy relationship as a mother father daughter unit and then all of a sudden some guy says lets just skip to the end, they fight and thats it over. Really? Well SAO was disappointing but not horrendous. ("uh sir its not over theres still 11 more episodes). OH GOD NO!
Then the fucking alfheim arc and my god its BAD its in my top 5 worst things ive ever seen in my life. Everything bad about it has been said and I agree with it all and I despise it too.
Characters: By far the biggest flaw. Kirito, our main hero, lacks any kind of development, even the deaths of people hes close to he forgets until its convenient (see episode 14) and he is the same person from episode 1 till the credits roll at episode 25. You would think this traumatic experience of being in that game for 2 years would affect him but no because hes fucking Kirito.
Asuna is neglected completely and goes from quite a cool character to boring tsundere and damsel in distress for the entire second half of the god awful alfheim arc.
Loli girl is boring, her actual trope is the tentacle scene from episode 4 and its unbearable. Lisbeth is boring and wasteful. The villains make no sense. "Yes I created this game where people die because I forget" COME ON why dont you tell us writers; and the 2nd villain is about as intimidating as a 35 yr old fairy (which is exactly what he is). Leafa and her human self 'ahem' are boring and just there for fanservice.
Art: SAO is surprisingly beautiful too look at with my favourite being in episode 7 with a stunning landscape but is quickly ruined by bad dialogue and stupid writing. I like Asunas costume design. The boss fights are nice too look at but are boring because Kirito is so overpowered any chance of feeling any tension is killed off immediately.
Sound: the soundtrack is not amazing with the only stand out track being the first opening, Crossing Field, which got me excited for the show and then it actually started (ugh). Its replaced by a crappy 2nd opening however. Quite depressing. Thank you creators of SAO.
Enjoyment: Although it seems like i despise this show (well the 2nd half in particular) the aincrad arc I kept watching as I just wanted to see them get to floor 100 and see what happens but that second arc is unforgivable and even avid SAO fans I talk to admit that its a terrible arc.
Overall: Sword art online is overhyped. To say this is the best anime of 2012 is quite depressing as Psycho-pass came out the same year. The aincrad arc is heavily flawed and boring. The fairy dance arc is an atrocity and should not be viewed by anything on the planet. Music and animation are good.
Now depsite this I give it only a 3/10 (which is still very bad) because even though its not a very good show it at least gave some people a segway into the anime genre and that can only be a good thing, right? I would have preferred something else like Death Note but oh well. I would only watch SAO just to get in on a discussion or something and share your opinion and just to see what you think. But if you are an avid fan of anime I would avoid SAO.
