STORY: The story is a relatively simple plot to follow at first. Thousands of players are testing a new Virtual Reality MMO, and get trapped in the game. If they die in the game, they die in real life. Instantly, threat is established and it seems as though the story is off to a good start. However, this is where things start to fall flat, in more ways than one. Pacing is inconsistent throughout the show, with several time skips of varying lengths, often times confusing the viewer and forcing them to readjust to the sudden changes. I will not spoil anything, but each episode feels like the viewer has to go back and make sure they didn't skip one with how often time skips occur. As for the plot, it starts to go downhill as soon as they take the focus away from the main story to focus more on episodic experiences, and it takes away some of the dire feel of the situation. As for season 2, to sum it up in a non-spoiler fashion, the viewer is treated to a sub-par villain with a situation that's far less dire than before, so the sense of danger that at least was felt in the first half of SAO is no longer prevalent, and it feels tacked on just for the sake of elongating the plot. 3/10
ART: One plus I can give to the show is that the art style is relatively nice to look at. The animation is high quality and the backgrounds are pleasant, and it looks as though enough effort was put in to at the very least make the anime visually appealing, but that's all there really is to say about it. I've certainly seen better, but it definitely doesn't look awful. 7/10
SOUND: Similar to the art style, the music is relatively nice, but rather forgettable. There really isn't much to say about the music at all honestly, considering just how forgettable it is. It'd be one thing if any of it stood out in a good OR bad way, but it's rather bland in some places and rather decent in others, so there's really nothing that special about it. 4/10
CHARACTER (Minor spoilers, I'll do my best to keep it vague): In my opinion, this is where SAO takes its biggest hit. The cookie cutter plot was one thing, but the characters (or lack thereof) just have no redeeming qualities throughout the entirety of the show. Let me start off by saying there is practically no supporting cast. The story revolves around Kirito and Asuna (and another character to an extent, Yui). Minor characters are brought in briefly and then pushed aside, only brought back on occasion for fights or a quick cameo scene. I could perhaps forgive this if the main characters weren't so bland! I hate having to say this about a character in a show, but Kirito feels so bland. I'm not going so far as to say he's perfect, but he feels as though he has no flaws. He's smart, incredibly skilled, popular with many women (despite it being said that he's not good with talking to people, particularly women early on), and he never really changes or develops as a character. I won't spoil anything, but he's simply not written in a way that allows for the viewer to relate to him on any level. He's also inconsistent; one moment he'll be an emotional wreck, and the next scene he'll be back up on his feet with no problem right away. The same can be said for Asuna, the female lead. She starts off as an independent, strong willed character, then just a couple episodes in she completely does a 180 without any sort of indication as to why she would change as a character. I wish I could say the villains were at least written well, but the first antagonist of the show has non-existent motives, and the second antagonist is so cookie-cutter in that he's written specifically to be unlikable so that any sane viewer would hate him with ease. That does not make a well written villain. It feels lazy and uninspired, like the rest of the characters in this anime do. 1/10
ENJOYMENT: I really tried to give this anime a chance. Despite how south it seemed to go merely 10 episodes in, I chose to keep watching, hoping it would get better. Unfortunately, it did not. Even when death was a constant risk in the first half of the series, this show never gave me any reason to care if any of them died. The second half of the show brings in an awful subplot involving Kirito's cousin who is attracted to him, which just has no real reason to be a part of the show. It feels like it's there to be there, while the rest of the show just feels boring and like they just needed to get this finished. I didn't enjoy this, and found myself consistently questioning the directions in which it was going, and not in a good way. 2/10
OVERALL: Just about anything bad to be said about this show has been said before, so I'll leave it as simple as this. It was hyped so much, and disappointed me so much in the end because I was expecting a grand adventure, and it left me feeling like I'd just wasted my time. When it comes to seasonal anime like this, there are always going to be those who enjoy it and those who don't. If you want something pretty to look at and don't care about plot, and don't mind weakly written characters, then just maybe you'll enjoy this a little. However, if you're like me and you have a fondness for well written characters that you can relate to, and an engaging story that will keep you excited start to finish, I would definitely NOT recommend this anime to you at all.
Final Score: 3/10. Interesting idea, but poorly executed. I would not recommend watching it.
