SAO is one of those series that I thought I just really disliked at first, and then realized it had transcended into complete hatred. This should go without saying, but I will say it right now: I do NOT hate or dislike people who like and enjoy this anime. I have nothing against them. I actually understand why this anime is held in such a high regard and even hailed as something of a masterpiece. But this is a series I find far from a
masterpiece.
So to begin with the story, I’m going to come out right now and say that I’m not a gamer. I’m not here because I’m really into gaming and I’m upset about the mechanics of SAO or any of the technicalities. But even people who are die-hard gaming fans have probably taken notice that this isn’t the best representation of good gaming story. Let’s find out why this story just doesn’t work.
If you don’t know the story of SAO, I’ll say right now I’m surprised. But I also trust that you’re intelligent enough of a person to read the synopsis, so I’ll spare you the time. I found SAO’s story to be pretty generic and awfully predictable. Now, there’s nothing wrong with this, but it does leave a very bland aftertaste on the viewer. But I really wasn’t into it. There wasn’t any intensity or moments when I thought the characters were in real danger (we’ll get to them in a minute), and it’s kind of… weak. I can go on and on all day about how the Fairy Dance arc was painful, but I’m just going to sum up my basic reaction to the series in one word: boring. That’s right. And this problem occurs not only from the lack of tension, but also the fact that this series has no substance. Now, I’m not saying that a series needs to be deep or thought-provoking to be interesting. Not at all. But the depth of what the viewer is left with resembles what a middle schooler might come up with. The last and biggest part of what I want to say about the story are our two arcs. The first arc was just really dumb. It broke its own rules that the game had set, there was a whole clutter of ideas, and the timeskips really didn’t help. I can’t really blame the actual writer for this, because part of this issue does come from its adaptation from the light novels. The author, Kawahara Reki, originally wrote the main story’s arc, then had several separate light novel stories put out detailing Kirito’s side stories with some of the other characters he encountered. However, the anime adapted both story arcs at the same time, and, well… those filler episodes are kind of a snoozefest. The second arc of the story, Fairy Dance Arc, is just painfully boring. I’m not saying that Aincrad arc wasn’t, but I don’t recall it being as dull and uninteresting as this one. This is based off of the fact that Fairy Dance stretched out for far longer than it needed to. The story insults my intelligence, and while I may not be a gamer, there are some things in this series that left me just wondering “… what? That’s so dumb!” Yeah, folks. There are some pretty dumb moments in this anime. You can count on it.
Okay, so if the story was pretty bad and honestly rather dull, then the characters must be more promising, right? Wish I could tell you otherwise.
SAO really adds salt to the injury of a story it’s created with its characters. Again, I don’t care if anyone out there really likes these characters. Kirito’s your favorite hero? Totally cool. Asuna’s the best heroine ever? Fine with me. But these are some of the dullest, most boring characters I’ve ever encountered. Really.
Let’s begin with our two main protagonists: Kirito and Asuna. Kirito is everything that a boy wants to be: the tough, cool, dark, loner guy who gets all the girls. Too bad he’s incredibly bland and so unengaging. Kirito would have been forgettable if I hadn’t seen him absolutely everywhere that people said the word “anime” and the fact that I remembered him for being so bland. Kirito is a Gary Stu in its finest form. He even gets a guy to fall for him. No joke. To be completely honest, I don’t hate Kirito because he was despicable or frustrating, but because everyone hails this guy as the best person ever, and he really contradicts his own “personality”. Possibly the only character trait going for this guy is the fact that half the stuff he does in the series doesn’t even make sense. And we can’t forget how incredibly overpowered he is. I don’t really mind this, but if being overpowered is a character’s only character trait, then, well… I don’t know what to tell you. You haven’t satisfied me in any way.
Asuna is just a little better. I hold her to a slightly higher standard because I thought she wasn't quite as bad as Kirito. She’s nothing exceptional, and much like Kirito, she has absolutely no character development and is honestly quite boring. But I kind of liked her character design, and then is the fact that she’s the only character who appears to say anything that makes any sense at all. But she’s just as uninteresting as Kirito. I won’t lie, there were times when I believed that their romance did actually kind of work. But it does collapse in on itself because there’s not much buildup and the romance isn’t really developed. However, it was sort of cute at times. Not the worst aspect of the story, but just as underdeveloped. And it was better than Kirito’s little romances with all the other girls in the series. However this does not excuse Asuna from being dull and really a lame excuse for a “strong” character. Not satisfied with her.
I’m going to make it brief with the side characters. They’re just ok. Yeah. Nothing noteworthy, and truth be told, I only really remembered them because they’re on the cover of most of SAO’s posters and they even get their own little clips in the opening. But they just hop in and hop out. Realistically, the story could exist with Kirito, Asuna, and maybe the two villains, and I bet the story would end the exact same way. I feel like I should tough on Suguha, but she served only to drag the arc out, and her character arc was so predictable. There’s no purpose to it. The love triangle she tries to create will never exist because Kirito is always going to be with Asuna, and I almost felt bad for Suguha because she will never be developed. Not to mention that she was really boring and painfully unnecessary. Oh, and we can’t forget the fanservice she brings to the story, because that’s really her only purpose. But there’s a lot of fanservice in the Fairy Dance Arc anyway. I’ve managed to turn a blind eye to fanservice, especially when it doesn’t contribute anything to the plot, but the more I watched this, the more uncomfortable I felt, like this was made for someone several years younger than me. And this doesn’t just go for Suguha, but for all the female fanservice (because that’s why most of them are here, even Asuna at times).
The villains aren’t intimidating by any means, and they don’t bring any tension to the story. But of course, our two main protagonists are so awesome, there’s no way these guys could ever pose a threat. They’re forgettable. Nothing memorable about them. Heck, the first guy even forgets his motivation. He says so himself.
The sound in this anime is ok, but nothing too memorable. Nothing atrocious, though. The openings were kind of catchy, but the only reason I remember either of them is because they’re everywhere, just like everything else in the series. The one thing I will give credit to this series for is the fact that I kind of liked the second ending. It wasn’t moving or anything, but it was sweet enough.
The art style is alright, but it's definitely not one of my favorites. The backgrounds are pretty good, though, and it looks like a world I would want to explore. It’s a shame we never do. However, if anything is to hold this art and animation down, it’s the fight scenes. They really aren’t all that well choreographed, and the tension is really drained from them, because we know our two main characters are going to make it through to the end.
I gave this anime a few liberties before, but SAO is one of those series where the more I think about it, the more I think about how I dislike it. Just to say this again, just because I hated this series, does not mean that I hate people who enjoyed it. Nope. Nada.
One thing I do want to say is that I don’t hate this series because it’s popular. Yes, the hype does damage the experience, and it is everywhere. I hate this series because I find the writing to be horrible, the characters atrocious, and I really didn’t enjoy it. I do take pleasure at ripping into this thing with my review, but I really don’t want to get into any fights about it. I can’t stand this anime, and I think it’s an insult to my intelligence and was a waist of my time. If you like it, cool. Whatever. But this anime won’t be getting any love from me. Overall, Sword Art Online is boring, dull, and has a painfully uninteresting and characters that are cardboard cutouts of their own tropes. A nice 1/10 will finish this off for me.
