Personally, the main reason why I watch SAO is to see the relavance of the 'Virtual World' and the 'Real World'. SAO Did a great job, -or at least it did in the first few episodes- of conveying the message 'If you die in the Virtual World, you die in the real world.' SAO II Had roughly had the same vibe with Death Gun, but then it strayed into.. nothing.
The story after was so incredibly boring, with no life-threatening scenes and the added fact that it is the last parts of the season. They might as well have increased the duration of the Phantom Bullet Arc and made a special of what took up half of the season. The only reason why it is a seven and not lower, is purely because the Phantom Bullet Arc gave a piggy back ride on the whole SAO II.
