Story: Alright, alright, I know, plot was nonexistent, pretty much that is. The idea was actually not that bad, people stuck in a MMORPG where if they die there, they die in real life. Not that bad, huh? Well they kinda slaughtered it. I'm gonna give them some brownie points for being able to fit some what of a good story line in the first and last few (at least they attempted to go back on track, too many side adventures) episodes. Any one who watches this anime normally comes out saying it was rushed, which it was. In 14 short episodes, they tried to fit in a story, romance, action, adventure, etc. and did an alright job but went way far off focus on everything and put all effort into useless side adventures. This entire idea, being trapped in a game of death, could have been stuck in 50 episodes, making the anime much better by far in my opinion. There are points where are MC (I'll get to him later) is on one floor and level, then the very next episode is at least 15 floors up and probably an extra 20 levels at that! Where the hell did levels 50-70 go? I'll bring up Character Development in a second because that has a lot to do with how quickly this show moved on. Oh yeah, if you can't handle some cliche lines and actions, I'd suggest getting away. There are parts where I couldn't handle some things, along with some WTF? moments. Episode 2: Guy dies rather than taking a simple healing potion... WTF? Take that stuff and get back up! Then Kirito takes blame for what happened with the beta testers and becomes a beater, which is quite heroic, because if you actually look into the contexts, he's saving all the other beta tester's asses (What he said isn't true, he's just trying to help his fellow BT from getting harassed). Back on the story, oh wait, we can't go back because we have to stick in 10 episodes of side stories that get in the way. There are way to many! Characters that never make a needed appearance are added and waste the precious time this anime needed! C'mon man! Get it together and go beat some bosses in your spare time! As much as they wasted time, some of the adventures were nice to see, but also extremely weird at the same time, its a jumbled mess, that's what it is.
Overall: 5/10 Anime was really rushed, not enough time put into it at all, side stories aren't really needed. They tried, tripped, fell on their face, but get some points for a good first 2 episodes and actually attempting to do something at all. Everything smashes together and becomes a mess.
Art: Scenery in this. Wow. You gotta admit, it's pretty impressive. Good views of landscape, mountains, tress, lakes, sun, most large scaled views are quite nice.They actually are calming and peaceful in my own opinion. But in terms of the art animation, it's a bit iffy. At moments, people bodies seem disproportional and not really fit to themselves. Sometimes, I think I've seen duplicate characters, there's no individualism, like everyone sorta looks the same exact way. The only other thing are the battle scenes. Sometimes I hate them, sometimes I love them. I've seen elongated limbs and awkward body positions that don't seem quite right. Sometimes there are shot screen battles, but really aren't as bad as people say they are, most of the battles are actually really good with somewhat smaller details that would even make them look slightly mediocre. Other than that, the battles are epic, intensified looks, nice looking attacks, that don't really look repetitive at all, and a general satisfaction feeling to see them, appealing to the eye.
Overall: 9/10 Excellent scenery, but at a couple of moments, things just look weird but aren't very noticeable.
Sound: Music is amazing, well timed, and if you actually listened somewhat, just normal sounds are sharp and not very dull or boring.
Overall: 10/10 Good stuff, makes you feel rather than just hear.
Character: Oh boy, here we go. Kirito! Rather than what you've probably heard, he's quite likable if you're accepting enough. Alrighty, now if you don't know what an introvert is I suggest you look it up because here's a very good example of one! Quite, somewhat socially awkward, doesn't really always know what to say at given times, but holds a lot of anger and heart inside of him. Like some introverted people, if you unleash the beast, well you might just be screwed. If you can understand his position, you will understand Kirito. He's a solo player, but just because of that does that mean he's going to just let people die? No he's a good person, and in that world, it's pretty much life or death, so it's easy to see his good intentions. Here's the issue: he doesn't really seem to have any flaws, none, zip, zero, nada. Along with his partner Asuna, they're perfect teenagers. Kind, good, smart, helpful, anything that sounds good, you got these main characters. Also bring in the fact he gets pretty much anything he want, ehh things aren't really complicated for our MC here. Well yeah, they tried to make things seems difficult with the "I don't want you to die" and "I don't want to leave you" or even the "Lets live together forever, but we need to save everyone from this game", but it didn't really fit in as a real major conflict. Now, Asuna is a whole different... actually exact same thing as Kirito, strong, powerful, except she's an extrovert and is more of a leader. But nonetheless they have the same ideas and plan implied into them, be good to others, become stronger, win the game. I must say, I really didn't want to complain about the characters much, they were nice, good, nothing really wrong with them, so by themselves they are pretty good. Oh yeah, Character development. None whatsoever. Everything just went too quickly and, ugh... it's no fun to see everything move that fast.
Overall: 8/10 The characters aren't that bad, just a bit too perfect with little development.
Side Characters: Well I think they deserve their own section so here it is. First of all, development isn't too much of an issue here. These guys aren't that important but add just a little to the story. Sachi, Silica, and Lizbeth aren't really needed at all. Sachi does eventually motivate Kirito even harder but still not necessary. Silica only eased his pain about his sister. And Lizbeth, well she didn't do crap. The stupid part is that they all fall for him eventually, but not more of the love a first sight, but more gradual, which is better, but still, they all started to like Kirito. Lizbeth when she met Kirito was probably a better addition to the story than a Liz that liked him. Of course, Kirito being who he is, even the watcher of the anime wouldn't expect him to always be on the lookout for a girlfriend. Now on the plus side, we got Agil, Klein, and look at that, even Heathcliff. Agil added another dimension of friendship which tags along nicely with Kirito's attitude. Klein has somewhat of a humorous attitude that is displayed nicely with the story, which loosens up some tension. Heathcliff looks immediately like a leader, and it is easy to see his strength. All three of these side characters add appropriately to the story, and all seem fairly stable and easy to connect with while the three girls don't make much of a difference, but it is noticeable. (No, I'm no sextist, it's actually what I think)
Overall: 8.5/10 Not really as bad as everyone says, side stories not needed, but most of the side characters add nicely to build Kirito.
Enjoyment: Trust me, there may be a lot of things to point out that are somewhat to really bad, this is a good anime. It's nice, if you can emotionally connect, you'll enjoy it, there's no real reason not to like it. It is quite addicting, and very nice to watch and is appealing to the eye. If you can't adapt to things quickly or can only take your time, this isn't for you. But if you can follow a story where ever it goes and actually appreciate what it is and how it works, this is one of the better anime out there.
Overall: 8/10 It's not for everyone, but I would recommend it, its a fun thing to watch on occasion, and if you are new to anime, this is a fun and exciting starter to see, not something a major critic should watch and contemplate over.
Final
Story: 5/10
Art: 9/10
Sound 10/10
Character: 8/10
Enjoyment: 8/10
Overall: 8/10 Nice anime, needs more time to get everything in motion and should have took more time, that's the main reasons for its faults really. The only thing that kills it is the story, but if you can appreciate the show in itself, it actually if one of the better anime you could find. Not for extreme anime critics, but appealing to the eyes of almost all others. I would recommend Sword Art Online, I personally enjoyed it, although it isn't perfect, it's still a very good anime.
*If I see anything that should be added or fixed, I will update this, as well as add things as the series carries on*
