Before i give the actual review, let's see why this anime is hated so much.
Sword Art Online is not hated because it is bad, because it is not bad at all, the reason it is hated is because it is overrated as hell. This, in my opinion, is the most overrated anime ever. However, just because it is overrated doesn't mean that it is bad.
Now the review:
Sword Art Online, season 1, can be mainly divided into 2 arcs, Sword Art Online and Alfheim Online arcs. The anime begins showing us a futuristic world where the first virtual MMORPG, Sword Art Online has been successfully created. Kirito, the main character, was one of the beta testers of the game and therefore knows his way around the game. The game mainly consists of a dungeon sort of place called Aincrad which contains a hundred floors. At first everything seems to be fun and all but by the end of the first episode it is revealed that the players cannot log out of the game and the only way to escape is to beat the game, clear the hundred floors. Also, if anyone dies in this game, they die in real life.
This arc lasts for upto 12 episodes. Then is the Alfheim Online arc, telling whose plot might spoil the first arc.
The story is kind of ok, it is about how Kirito meets other players, among whom is his romantic partner Asuna, how they struggle to advance to the upper levels of Aincrad.
The good things about the anime are its animation, its soundtrack and its enjoyment factor.
There is no major character development. The mc is an overpowered Gary Stu named Kirito, who happens to be an expert in virtual sword fighting. The pattern for the female characters kind of keeps on repeating, they are kawaii little girls who meet Kirito some way or the other and somehow fall in love with him.
Mind you, the overall rating is not based on character development or art or sound but is solely based on the enjoyment factor.
All in all, SAO is pretty enjoyable but if you care a lot about character development, story and whatnot, it might not be your cup of tea.
