Let's start with the weakest aspect of SAO; the characters. Most of the characters besides Kirito and Asuna either lack sufficient screen time, development, or interest. While Kirito is overpowered at times, he isn't that overpowered as his abilities are only exclusive in the game and is a regular human in the real world who will probably die. It is true that he does have a few a**pulls, but its somehow okay for other anime protagonists such as Yugi Muto to have a**pulls? While he is accused of being a "harem protagonist", he is completely unaware of the feelings that the other female characters besides Asuna exhibit for him nor does he fall in love with them. Asuna, while starting off as a strong character, becomes a damsel of distress in the series' second half. And there is a DISTURBING scene involving her and the villain of the second half. At least she becomes useful after getting rescued. It would be great to see more of Klein in the anime as he would have been a decent comic relief character. The "villain" of the first half was alright but he has a vague motive of why he trapped so many players in the game. The villain of the second half was a total joke. He has a sensible motivation of researching captive players but he has a creepy and weird motivation that involves Asuna. He was also a weak villain as well and gets defeated easily. And people say that MCU villains are "bad"? In all, the characters are pretty bland at best but not the worst.
Moving on to the story, it has a rather promising premise but it isn't what it seemed. I would say that the way the story was executed is why many hate it. But the whole concept of "being trapped in a virtual world" has been used many times in media such as Tron and .hack so it isn't that special of a premise. While I did enjoy the first half of the series and executes some of the psychological aspects of being trapped in a virtual world well, it has glaring flaws. The biggest gripe that I had was the pacing which went faster than Barry Allen. It jumps within a year or so in just a few episodes, which leaves out the development of Kirito's skills and his romance with Asuna. The pacing also leaves some plot holes. The structure of the anime is jumbled as the premise is followed for the first 3 episodes but then goes off into some side stories which are not really relevant to the premise before going back around later episodes in the first half. However, I did enjoy some of the side stories. While I did enjoy the romance between Kirito and Asuna, it was honestly rushed. I did not enjoy the second half as much as I did with the first half since it becomes a generic "save my bootycall" story and the villain was whack. However what saved this second half was a decent fight scene between Kirito and Eugene. Other than that, the second half isn't worth watching. There is some controversy over the "incest" in the second half but the "incest" is only one-sided and it would only be true incest if Kirito confessed his feelings to his sister/cousin. But other anime such as Oreimo actually has incest but everyone seems okay with that? Overall, the story has faults but its alright.
Moving on to the main positives, the animation and music are pretty well done. The designs of the world and characters are very great looking. I can pause at certain scenes and say "Man this is beautiful." The great artwork really makes the fight scenes look breathtaking and adds to the intensity. The music has different tones to match with certain scenes whether it be a fight scene, a sad scene, or a calm scene. Some of my favorite tracks from the OST are the ones with piano pieces.
Overall. Sword Art Online isn't as great as people think it is nor is it as bad as others think. It is a beautiful yet flawed anime with some interesting sci-fi concepts that is entertaining watch with some popcorn.
