If you are new to anime, then you might find SAO entertaining but somewhat disjointed. If you are a jaded veteran, you might be seriously annoyed by its huge flaws and its perhaps undeserved popularity.
But if you are beyond jaded and cynical about cynicism, than maybe there's a small chance that you will experience the show as I did: a beautiful requiem of simpler times when the good and the brave discover themselves and triumph against great odds. It is a story of passion and love and friendship and all that cliched stuff that eventually comes full circle to once again mean something real and concrete.
Give it a try. Stop if you hate it. But for those of us to whom it speaks, SAO is a glorious celebration of life and an experience that I will not forget.
