I am writing this review now, because I've attempted to finish this anime four times, and failed all times. And never will again, try.
For a lover of adventure-fantasy animes, this anime is an insult. Why? The adventure I was looking for, wasn't there. Yes, the art is good, the places are good but I expected an ADVENTURE. I expected them to go places and kingdoms but no. Sadly, I didn't feel any adventure in it, though the settings change.
The action I saw in this anime was the blandest. Fight scenes made me yawn. There are no strategies whatsoever, unlike the games we play in. Kirito just ran toward the enemy and TA-DA! He wins. Because he wield dual swords suddenly, in the middle of the fight, with apparent no reason why. Just because.
The story, I didn't get it. I mean, it's there, but somewhere along the way, it just appeared to me that the anime is just a big show of FANSERVICE. Nothing is happening. The pacing is so horrible. The expositions are so weak. Characters who you thought were introduced as smart, apparently needs someone to blurt the information out before they realize it.
The characters are non-existent. They all exist just to cater to what the audience wants to see. Male audience. Kirito is just a tool for the guys to project themselves into, and the female characters were every man's dream. I was so confused about their characters. How could I possibly love characters if they don't have one? I would have loved if the writers made an outline. The character fluctuations are intense as hell! One episode, Kirito's a badass, the next, he is so weak. And then suddenly, with one hit, he kills a boss who almost killed him with one hit just because a "Dual Sword" menu appeared flashing on his right side. How amazing...
And because they don't have solid characters, there were also no character progression. They just fluctuate.
I was so stressed watching this anime that I had to drop it. I didn't enjoy it, at all. For an avid fan who loves adventure and fantasy and action, for an avid fan who tries to see the good in every anime, for an avid fan who just tries to enjoy the anime and criticize less, this is the worst anime ever. I couldn't handle it. It destroyed everything.
It had a good something at the start, but somewhere along the way, it ran off road, then off the cliff, tumbled down onto some rocks on the way down, and died down before reaching the ground.
I was so disappointed, to the point that I have to write this review.
