Feeling a surge of power to withstand vapidity of another young-lad-oriented anime, I decided to check out legendary Sword Art Online.
Yes, it was bad. But I thought it would be much worse.
Story: 5 / 10
Utterly generic details but a surprisingly coherent overall plot. SAO is not a infinite money generator (or at least it was not at first). The story here is existent, it is progresses steadily with each episode, has a clear beginning and clear end, has a nice flow, a few twists and even features character personalities changes. It also does not emphasize action but strives to be versatile. Good “on paper” but terrible in realization. Unfortunately, struggles of Kirito in virtual world are plain and unoriginal thru and thru. Each specific encounter, each specific scene, each specific line of dialog and, oh God, even each specific animation sequence is ostensibly taken from “that very same” Japanese bucket of templates. Funnily, it is so generic that it is not even bad. It is just... drab.
But here comes few pleasant surprises. First: people die… kinda. Bloodlessly dissipate into cute particles but still die. It adds some slight seriousness to transpiring events. Second: there is no hard work. Even better: protagonist is overpowered almost from the very beginning. Willpower is still present though. Third: romance.
No premises say that the core of Sword Art Online is actually romance. The story about Kirito and Asuna love is done so smoothly, weaved so gently into pointless wandering around cliche world that it becomes the only element that brings enjoyment from watching. I may be biased because the last time I saw a proper romance anime was years ago but still I don't quite recall any *action* anime about *romance*. And I definitely can’t name a multi-genre anime where romance progresses throughout the story in believable way. Beautiful.
Art: 3 / 10
Weakest suit of SAO. Color palette is insipid. Total absence of any special touch in design: ordinary shadows, effects, animations, decorations, costumes - everything. Did they even try while drawing or simply borrowed some first year art student’s notebook and copied everything from it? Character designs are especially horrid with their flagrant unremarkableness. RPG world is a setting where fantasy can run wild: miraculous attires, fabulous locations, grandiose contrasts. SAO offers nothing of the sort. What you can get is dozen of characters wearing the same costumes and faces as in any other RPG anime and several monotone regions inspired, probably, by Windows XP default wallpaper. Ah, yes, ridiculously incongruous fanservice is present too.
The other art disaster is battles. Sword Art Online, RPG about clashing swords, could have been a dream playground for fighting animation maniacs. Or brilliant strategists. A-1 Pictures had no such people, sadly, so combat scenes deliver nothing in particular. (A sigh maybe).
In anime, art is often the component that can makes you forget about other negatives. In SAO it is the opposite. Art here does nothing but reminds you how miserable everything else is.
Sound: 7 / 10
From sound I require only two things: do not repeat and fit. Do not repeat means do not play same cheap melody over and over again. Fit means do not break the mood with inappropriate music. Both requirements are met. In fact, soundtrack of SAO is dramatically diverse, featuring various styles and instruments. SFX and voice acting are qualitative enough not to raise questions.
Characters: 4 / 10
Secondary characters are direct copies from “Complete guide to character stereotypes” textbook so they will not be even mentioned. Concerning protagonists.
Kirito is a king of typicality. Your regularly Japanese protagonist. Hero-savior. Let’s iterate through such character traits. Tries to help every passing stranger? Check. Always put others before himself? Check. Never tries to bother the same others with his own problems? Check. Ever considers himself a worthless creature? Check. For unknown reason attracts multitudes of people(girls)? Check. Lacks any believable personality drawbacks? Check. I got used to such specimen a long time ago but the problem with Kirito that he is *nothing* but these characteristics. When you take a renown template have some decency to put at least a drop of your own imagination into it. Speaking in generic phrases about generic topics with monotone voice and zero plausibility - blatant example of “bad acting” in anime.
Asuna saves the day. Diverse character with color and touch. Withdrawn yet cheerful, fearsome yet gentle, strong yet dependant - these contrast is what makes her memorable. Her portrayal is multilayered, progresses smoothly throughout the story with simple but meaningful steps. Especially commendable the way how she gradually opens up to Kirito and a blend of her warrior-like conviction and feminine genuity. She acts in some cliche ways, of course, but it never overshadows the sheer beauty of the character.
Enjoyment: 6 / 10
As I wrote before, the mystery about SAO that it does not really causes hatred or anything. It is simply average. You will probably watch it with quite easily and even enjoy some of the moments. I personally enjoyed romance but was very frustrated with art.
So if you have seen every other RPG themed piece of art out there and want more - go ahead, SAO should be eatable. I would still recommend to tune down your expectation though.
Overall: 5 / 10
Predictably generic but with some surprising moments. I do not regret but I will forget.
