They vehemently defend that SAO is one of the best anime of all time, and even the slightest bit of criticism one makes of SAO is met with hostility.
I perfectly understand that SAO is a very popular anime, but popularity isn't an accurate gauge to judge if a show is good or bad or worth watching.
The fact remains that SAO has numerous problems, and it manages to take a concept which had so much potential to be deep, but it disregards potential plot points in favor of harem and romance.
--The Story--
In SAO, virtual reality has progressed by leaps and bounds, so much so that the virtual reality MMORPG, SAO is a highly anticipated release. With the NerveGear, players can control their in-game avatars with nothing more than a thought. So basically it's like the Matrix. Kirito and 10,000 other players soon find out that they are trapped within the game, and in order to be released, they have to beat the final boss. If they die in the game, they die in real life.
Such a plot has so much potential to explore ethical dilemmas, the state of humanity, political plot points, and such, but SAO quickly disregards such lofty and deep plot points in favor of romance and harem. Very quickly the main plot point is put on the back burner in favor of turning Kirito into a Gary Stu.
Got a problem? Kirito will solve it with conveniently acquired skills and abilities, and he will get all of the women in the end, adding to his virtual harem.
This kind of Deus-Ex Machina hand-waving is what makes the plot horrifically bad, and frequent plot points are brought up then quickly ignored or hand-waved, or explained by Ass Pulls.
Inconsistencies within your own fictional canon can be forgiven if it happens once or twice, but if they happen regularly, it quickly reveals itself as a absent minded plot.
--Art--
Having said my piece on the "plot" of SAO, I should point out that there is one good thing about this anime, the art is actually pretty good. The animation is overall pretty good, and the characters are designed well artistically.
However, the quality of the art quickly drops off during the last few episodes, where action sequences are still shots for like 3 frames, and then almost stuttery animation.
--Characters--
The characters of this anime only compound the problems with this anime. Kirito is basically a nothing protagonist otaku and Gary Stu, able to solve any problem with Deus Ex Machina gained abilities, and he has poorly written lines that try to come off as deep and thoughtful, but end up very bland and boring.
SAO goes out of its way to tell you that Kirito is the manliest of all men, who's able to swoon the ladies by rescuing them. I can understand that a woman might fall for her savior, as that's a plot point in many a show, but it happens every episode. So much so that each episode is a game of "Guess Which Girl Develops Feelings for Kirito?"
It's not the fact that Kirito always wins, that's not the issue, it's the fact that we're shown he's only a good fighter because he uses brute strength, and nothing more. Implausible fencing powers? Check. OP for no other reason? Check. Gary Stu? Check.
Frequently in Kirito's fight scenes, he shows nothing other than brute strength. No strategy, no practical thought, never takes advantage of other's abilities or insight.
While it may seem that I'm bashing on the Attack! Attack! Attack! trope, I'm not, as there's a manga I love that has a main character with implausible fencing powers, and fights with brute strength. That's Berserk. However, unlike Berserk, Kirito shows he's a one trick pony, fighting with nothing but swords and bashing at a boss till their health depletes. Unlike Kirito, Guts shows tactical strategy, ingenuity, and willing to use anything within his power to gain an advantage in a fight. Kirito is as far removed from this as it's possible to be, and what's more, Kirito shows no redeeming character qualities.
Mind you, he's not a villain, he's just not relatable at all, at least in my eyes. He shows no intelligence, no insight, and we're given no information about Kirito at all, unlike with Berserk, where full chapters are devoted to Guts' personality and backstory, and his redeeming character qualities.
Asuna is even worse. I wish there was more things for me to criticize about Asuna, but she shows even less personality than Kirito, other than being a textbook Tsundere.
There is one character that I liked, who I think was intelligent, showed good writing, and had redeeming character qualities, and he showed himself to be the most competent character in the whole anime. And that's Agil. He treats the game as a death game, and sets up shop because he knows that eventually someone will clear the final boss, and since the bosses don't respawn at all in SAO, you can hide in the safe zones and wait it out.
Agil shows himself to be more competent than anyone else in the entire damn anime. But one character is not enough to save the anime.
Suffice to say I found nothing redeeming about this anime aside from the art and the supporting character Agil.
Overall, I'd say this was one of the worst anime I've seen in a good long while, but is it the worst anime I've seen? No. School Days and Mars of Destruction have more problems, but SAO is one of the worst anime I've seen.
Overall, it gets 1/10 from me. Mostly because the plot is nothing but a light romance and harem that happens to take place within a virtual reality video game, in lieu of great potential plot points SAO could have touched base on.
There's better anime out there that are more worth your time.
