Plot: 4/10
With such an intriguing premise and a great first episode, one would think that it could only improve from there. However, the anime goes downhill from that point and honestly gets really confusing. I found myself frequently stopping the episode I was currently watching to make sure I didn't skip an episode, until I realized that the anime went through insane time skips that just didn't make any sense. During one episode, Kirito would be on one floor (the game he's in consists of 100 floors, or levels, that the players must persist through one at a time in order to complete the game.) with a group of allies and then the next episode he'd be like twenty floors higher with an entirely different party, and it really confused me. Also, I thought that it would have been better to simply remove the second arc, ALFheim Online (ALO), an issue I'll discuss later, and replace it with episodes that connected the primary story and added some crucial details that would have made it more understandable. The conclusion of the first arc was decent with the final boss fight and all, but I felt that it could have been better if the developers put more time into the episodes. Next we move on to ALO. I'm probably in the minority, butI actually liked Alfheim better than the SAO arc, but I believe that Sword Art Online as a whole would have been a much more successful show if it cut out the ALO portion, saved the material for the second season, and expanded further on the SAO section of the anime, which would have given ample time to further develop the characters and fill major plot holes. But the developers decided to combine the two arcs, and we were left with an unfulfilling anime that had the potential to be something much more if done properly.
Sound: 7/10
Although it was nothing spectacular, SAO was able to deliver a decent set of opening and ending themes as well as a nice soundtrack by one of my favorites; Yuki Kajura. The best song would have to be Crossing Field, SAO's first opening, which is definitely a catchy and upbeat tune. The song's vocalist, LiSA, has an awesome voice and really makes the song enjoyable. The voice acting was alright, however it was just too bland.
Art: 8/10
The art is probably the best thing that the show offers. Beings that it takes place in a fantasy RPG world, I expected there to be some vibrant colors, exquisite scenery, and well choreographed battles, and SAO, for the most part, delivered. My main issue was that I felt that the characters had rather basic designs, but it didn't take away too much from the art of the show.
Characters: 4/10
The characters are, to me, what really held back the anime. Most of them were incredibly dull with hardly any real personality, although some did stand above the rest.
Kirito- He's the hero! He gets all the girls! He gets the coolest equipment! He saves the day! Everybody loves him! This pretty much sums up who Kirito is as a character. Now don't get me wrong, these traits are not necessarily a bad thing. However in Kirito's case, he's ABSOLUTELY FLAWLESS, which makes for an incredibly dull character. He's completely overpowered in SAO, and he simply doesn't lose. I honestly prefer a character who has some flaws, which to me makes them more interesting and relatable as characters, thus making the show more unpredictable and intriguing, since viewers can't be absolutely certain on the character's actions. Kirito can still be a badass at times, but his actions are so predictable. Plus every girl that he so much as glances at instantly falls in love with him, which leads to rather dull relationships. To put it simply, Kirito is boring because he's Just. Too. Perfect.
Asuna- To be completely honest, I really can't stand Asuna. Mainly because she serves no purpose save for being Kirito's primary love interest who is head over heels for him as well as being a damsel in distress for the entire second half of the anime. She started off alright in the first arc. Asuna was shown to be a powerful fighter and a force to be reckoned with. However later on she transformed into a mere housewife cooking for Kirito and lived to please him. Eventually I started getting extremely annoyed with her actions, and her relationship with Kirito got incredibly dull really fast. And to sum up her performance in the ALFheim, let me just say that she sat in a cage doing nothing practically the entire time. That's literally all she does.
Suguha- In my opinion she's the most complex character SAO has to offer, and I found myself liking her the most. Suguha honestly was the saving grace of ALO for me. I liked her development and how she struggled with her relationship with Kirito, knowing that they weren't really siblings (although still cousins) and how she attempted to overcome her attachment to him by developing a romantic relationship with an individual she met in ALFheim who ironically turned out to be Kirito, thus complicating matters for the girl further. If I recall correctly, she eventually overcame her predicament and came to terms with her cousin's relationship with Asuna. Suguha's struggle was definitely interesting, and like I said, it was essentially the only positive point I found in ALO.
Yui- She is an AI (artificial intelligence) unit and Kirito and Asuna's "daughter." They call her this because Yui views them as parental figures since she had lost her memories when the pair first encountered her, and because the couple was there to assist Yui in her time of need, she referres to them as parents. Even after she regains her memories, she continues to act as the daughter of Kirito and Asuna, thus completing their happy little family. I feel that Yui's sole purpose was to bring the two protagonists closer in their relationship and inspire feelings of emotion from viewers towards the characters from heartwarming interactions between Yui and her parents. Did it succeed? To some degree yes. But I can't help but feel that she was primarily used for filler, and she faded out as the story progressed.
Other- Some of these characters, such as Silica and Lisbeth, actually had potential to be good support characters. However their roles were cut significantly short, and they barely received any screen time. They both only got one or two episodes dedicated to them, and then after that they were completely shoved aside and became nothing more then mindless zombies who blindly stumbled through life with nothing but there desire for Kirito in their minds. I did like Klein, but he gradually became completely overshadowed by Kirito. But seriously, who wouldn't? *sigh* So now I don't even remember what I liked about him in the first place. The villains were absolutely horrendous characters. The first didn't even remember why he trapped hundreds of unsuspecting individuals in a video game *cough* lazy writing *cough* which essentially made everything that transpired during the first half of the anime utterly pointless since the primary antagonist didn't remember anything, which, if he did, could have given viewers an understanding of why SAO was created. The second villain was simply a disgusting pedophile who was excruciatingly annoying and was a terrible antagonist in every way. They're both so pathetic. All other support characters just aren't even worth mentioning.
Enjoyment: 6/10
Even with all of it's flaws, I still found SAO to be somewhat enjoyable. Being a huge gamer, I enjoy when a show explores the possibilities of future gaming, and SAO did a decent job at it. The idea was poorly executed, but it was still enjoyable to see all of the different weapons, locations, and character designs, and some of the battles were interesting to watch.
Overall: 5/10
SAO truly had the potential to be one of the greatest anime I've ever seen, but its hollow characters, glitchy transitions between episodes and poor execution drastically hindered SAO's development. I feel like I'm being rather lenient by giving Sword Art Online a five, but what can I say, SAO was still enjoyable to watch even with it's countless flaws. Well, thanks to everyone who actually spent time to read this unnecessarily long review!
