First off, I agree with what most people say here, that the premise of SAO is very interesting and that the concept wasn't executed as well as it could have been, but it still did a satisfying enough job to keep me hooked. I watched the first 10 episodes in one day and still wanted to keep watching. I did feel somewhat cheated out of a lot of potential episodes though because they kept showing seemingly random interactions/side plots with other characters in the world of SAO instead of actually showing the battles and the progression through the floors.
Once the second arc started [with the fairies], though, I sort of lost interest in it. The reason I was watching in the first place was for the game of SAO and the principles of that game.
As for the characters, I really liked them and even though the relationship between Kirito and Asuna was kind of rushed, I still found myself thoroughly enjoying their screen time together. The supporting characters are also likeable and added to the humor.
Overall, I'm going to keep watching SAO all the way through because I'm invested in the characters, but I hope that the story improves in the upcoming episodes.
