Story - In the year 2022, a new type of technology called the Nerve Gear is released and allows fans of VRMMORPGS to enter the game like never before. Enter our main protagonist Kazuto Kirigaya a.k.a. Kirito.
That is just the basic plot, but from here on out the antagonist of this world Kayaba Akihiko entraps the players of SAO until they can clear all 100 floors.
After SAO is over Kirito has to enter another VRMMORPG to save his girlfriend Asuna who has been trapped.
Characters - Let's start with Kirito, he has no depth to him, he is a plain character who makes these promises to save everyone and yet he can't keep them.
Asuna is the other protagonist in SAO and after an episode or so, herself and Kirito fall in love and eventually get married. In saying that she has no back story to her, it was not mentioned why she entered SAO in the first place. Aren't back stories important in animes so that we can relate or feel more for the characters?
Sugu/Leafa..My main complaint with the series. She enters when Kirito enters the world of ALO (ALFheim Online) and she has got to be the worst character of this year or worse. First off in the real world Sugu and Kirito are cousins, in the virtual world they aren't aware or she isn't aware that Kirito is her cousin so she starts to develop feelings for him. For the first couple of episodes in ALO, it mainly focuses on her and her bitching and whining that she loves someone that she can't get. Anyway, the whole Sugu loving Kirito thing and when she said "Do you only have love for her"? That was just a huge facepalm moment and when she finally does put together the pieces (cos she was too dumb to figure it out earlier on) she blames him, then has another bitch and cry.
There are other characters (side and major) and I didn't really touch on the other criteria, but seriously this anime gets way to much praise and I just wanted to rant on my hate for Sugu.
Enjoyment - I was hyped for this anime before it's release and was extremely disappointment. The music is probably it's only saving grace so to speak. The ending was also crap.
