Even worse than that the show moved at such a break neck pace I'm surprised I didn't catch whiplash from it. The pacing was brutal and character development suffered because of it. The show introduced so many characters and we would only see then occasionally. Most of them seemed great but outside of a few brief appearances we never learn more about them. This made believing in Kirito and Asuna romance difficult. It just happened so fast and the show expected us to just accepted a character we hardly know is his soul mate.
That is rings me to the second half. It was entirely pointless and creepy! The return to the real world, his sister/cousin crush, and the vaudeville villain ruined the show. First off they skip over the real world ramifications of the game. We hardly even hear anyone talk about what happened. I mean 10,000 people were trapped for two years and it's basically swept under the rug. We never really see any characters recover from the order at. When I first watched SAO I was hooked. The premise had been done before but that didn't stop me getting in the show. I figured Kirito could grow to be an interesting considering his position in the world. But the show never gave him any true obstacles to overcome. He was literally perfect or things just worked his way. I mean him trying to be a loner so he wouldn't have to see others was ok. But after a few episodes he was so overpowered he never had to worry. He was paper thin as a character. Even worse than that the show moved at such a break neck pace I'm surprised I didn't catch whiplash from it. The pacing was brutal and character development suffered because of it. The show introduced so many characters and we would only see then occasionally. Most of them seemed great but outside of a few brief appearances we never learn more about them. show just skips ahead two months. The second half could have death with them recovering and making their love work in a world that they don't know anymore. That would have been amazing. But I digress.
Then the whole sister/cousin plot line was beyond uncomfortable. It just comes out of no where and makes no sense. We barely know Sugu and she's just trusted into the forefront. Every time she was on screen with Kirito I cringed. They could have taken her character is a completely different direction. Maybe making her a little sister desperate to make a bond with the brother she has become distant with. That would have made her presence make more sense and 1000 times less creepy.
But by far my biggest issue with the show is Sugo! He's horrible as a villain and character. Firstly how did he make a game that uses a newer nerve gear and get people to play it? No one in their right mind would use anything like that after the SAO incident. Secondly why would he announce his evil plans to Kirito? Why not just marry her and continue your plans in secret. For a genius he seems extremely stupid. And I don't even want to get started on the final show down. I was angry but couldn't stop laughing it was laughably bad! They should have just had he get run off and kept that outrageous melodrama for something else.
I'm not trying to be overly critical of the show. In all honesty I wanted this show to be great they just wasted the chance. I would have loved for them to just slow the pace and let all the characters grow and maybe did a new arc in a second season. At least they'd have a roster of characters we know and care about to keep us hooked.
