This review is only based on the first 15 episodes, the rest is garbage. This show really sparked my love for anime, while I was trying to get into anime.
Story: In the near future, Virtual Reality MMORPG are the starting to come out. MC was a beta tester for Sword Art Online, which during the first release, the players are unable to log out and then if they die in the game, they die in real life. So now the objective for them is to clear all 100 floors so they can beat the game and log out.
Art: This show has a lot of good fight scenes, the artwork I think is well done.
Sound: English subbed is better than dubbed. While watching it in English dubbed, Kirito (MC) comes off as a douchebag. Probably just lost in translation, but in Japanese the character interactions are more natural.
Characters: Kirito and Asuna are my favorite duo. This is just based off the first 15 episodes since after that they butcher Asuna's character. Their chemistry is natural and amazing. There is a legitimate concern for them while they are trapped in the death game. There are times where I sat at the edge of my seat wondering how everything would work out.
Enjoyment: I rewatch the first 15 episodes on a regular basis. About every 3 months or when I am stuck inbetween shows. But I swear after episode 15, it isn't worth watching.
Overall: The show was mind blowing, absolutely amazing and then it gets butchered. It sucks, they could have ran the show for 50 episodes just on the death game and I would have gladly watched it. But leave it to the makers of SAO to butcher everything they make after about 20 episodes. They go off on random ass plot tangents that add nothing to the story or characters.
