RATING: 3 – bad.
STORY: We did not forget the obligatory café info dump & rape scene.
I do not research upcoming shows, or the names behind a project, often I don’t even read the synopsis; the only entries I may recognize are the title and the studio. After several weeks I learned, that apparently some big shot was working on the script, thus GGO is already a much better anime. Nope, I do not see any improvements. You don’t believe me? Let’s play SAO-Bingo.
I am asking for an overpowered main character, do we have one overpowered protagonist somewhere? Bingo! LLENN is abnormally fast and small compared to everyone else. Plot armor, is plot armor a thing? Bingo! LLENN’s first tournament or Pito’s headshot are nothing but plot armor. Next is an obligatory rape scene, can we see some questionable content? Bingo! Molesting dead virtual bodies is a critical hit for me. Finally, I offer café scene containing info dump! Bingo! But wait, it is not just a scene, it is an entire EPISODE. BINGO!
Not only does the show wander aimlessly until the obligatory café info dump episode, it also manages to tell nothing of importance afterwards. This anime is just a slow tournament arc void of any narrative and filled with underdeveloped caricatures. Not to mention that GGO as a game is made even more boring and dumb.
CHARACTERS: Kirito is a better main character.
Initially, our main character, Karen, was looking for means of escapism, because she has a complex concerning her height. This trait is the only integral point in her characterization and together with the whole escapism theme quickly loses any relevance after first episodes. Motivations are nonexistent. I already mentioned plot armor, so moving on to the antagonist, Pito.
She is a good player and nuts. That was fast.
The support cast is just as amazing: we have a group of middle school girls, who want to improve their teamwork in a virtual game by fighting against militant squads doing their training in GGO. Makes sense to me. Moreover, there are friend B and friend M. All the other side characters are morons, as players and as human beings.
ART & ANIMATION: Pink loli in a brown desert.
At least the original SAO had some above average visuals and several well-made action scenes, thus could be discarded as popcorn entertainment. SAO:GGO fails to deliver even this much.
Some characters models cater to moe fans, others look like failed experiments; there is no cohesive art style shared among anything. Backgrounds consist of unimpressive desert, forest or grey urban areas. Animation is present, interesting or engaging action is not.
SOUNS: Average.
Background music as well as OP or ED are average, not even one track stands out in any way, good or bad. Original voice act is anime 101.
Honestly, pretty much every anime is better than SAO:GGO, even the original SAO stands above this mess. Just go watch something else. If you value it higher than the original, because some big names were working on it, take off your bias glasses and look again.
