As of writing this review I believe SAO (Sword Art Online) has been one of the most hyped Anime of the year, (Atleast the second Half of the year.)And I'll give u the bare truth of it all. ---> Does It Live upto the Hype??? ->Answer:- Not even Closely. :|
The story revolves around people getting trapped Inside a Virtual reality Online MMO. A wonderful concept, though I believe not exactly a new one. Still, that is a somewhat thought provoking concept.
When i started watching the series, by the time I reached episode 3, I was more or less Bored.. YET not bored enough that I completely stopped watching the series.
By about Episode >5 I realised that the story was gonna gonna be extremely cliche and that the story wouldn't have much value. Still I strived on.
The Good News is that, this wasn't a bad decision (IMHO), as when it reached episode 15 and above the story became much better. Uptil this point the character development was at its best -Shallow. but then nearly every parts of the story became better. Though the art Palette change was a bit disappointing.
So now lets start with the rating. (Rating out of 5)
Story: **.* (2.5 stars)
- Horrible at first. Completely Shallow Character Development. Though the concept is pretty nice. Note that for those who have no clue of what an MMO is, may find the topic also pretty bad and will be confused about a heck load of stuff, that is mentioned or assumed obvious. But one the + side the story does pick up. (and I'm personally Hoping that the story line continues to improve). Fillers are there, but not too annoying , so i give that a pass.
Art:- ****.* (4.5 stars)
Highly Beautiful art. Superb Palette choice. 4.5 Only because somehow I'm allergic to giving a full 5 rating, and also because I was a bit disappointed about the light change in Phase 2 of the anime... The generic Castles in the air in every MMO has been depicted very beautifully, and the general feel of the anime is very nice.
Sound:- **** (4 stars)
Sound works has been really nice. Songs are amazingly good, and the BG sounds are well timed and adds some well needed depth to the story, and Haven't been a nuicanse even once.
Character:- *.* (1.5 stars)
Dreadful character development at the start of the anime. Thankfully it improves a hell lot (NOTE:- Comparatively) once u hit around episode 15 or so. Still, not particularly awesome as of writing this. (+ the start drags the points down quite a bit).
Enjoyment:- ***.* (3.5 stars)
Even though i did say the story was kinda bad and the the Character development was Pathetic, still I guess the story was good enough that, not only did i watch the entire thing (as of what has been released), But now I got a new thing to add for every Saturday/Sunday.... A guilt pleasure I suppose, but the improvement in story does help.. Though i have a feeling the amazing art is what pulls me to this.
Overall:- *** (3 stars)
The Beautiful art and the fact that I enjoyed it (I'm not really sure how and y i enjoyed it, I just did). Gives this Anime a rating of Fair/Good.The story as of now has been completely cliche /predictable. but it is still a beautiful fantasy ride. So watching it isn't a complete waste of time.
NOTE :- There are Oodles of Fan-service. For those who like it ->Have fun.
For those who hate it -> ITS THE PLAGUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! >:|
