In my review of the most talked and viewed anime of 2012, that word is the short version of my feelings for this show.
Sword Art Online (a.k.a SAO) is an anime adaptation of a Light Novel with the same name that was released in 2009. The author of the novel is Kawahara Reki, who is also known for writing Accel World, another popular novel that received an anime adaptation earlier than SAO. Judging from works, Kawahara always use games as the center subject of his stories.
The anime itself is directed by Itou Tomohiko and the studio behind the show is A-1 Pictures, known for other well-known adaptations such as Kuroshitsuji, Fairy Tail and Ao no Exorcist. While I’m not familiar with most of their works, it quite safe to assume the show is in decent hands.
Let me get one thing straight. I’ve played a few MMO’s in my younger days and currently play sometimes when I’m bored (And the last MMO I played was in 2011). In all of them, I was like Kirito, a Solo Player. I rarely teamed up with a guild, joined a party or talked to anyone (Mostly because players prefer the internet language, which I don’t understand very well). The only difference between me and him is that I was never among the best. The highest level I achieved in an MMO is level 40, while Kirito have top marks like it’s genetic. MMO games are a lackluster to me now due to the amount of hours spent on just leveling up and boring questing.
However, I was drawn back to that world when I watched my first episode in a small anime convention that showed the first four episodes. I was enjoying it and it was something I’ve never experienced (I have not seen .hack). I decided to take a dive into this new world and returned to the surface with something to share the world with.
PLOT:
My reason for watching it in the first place was because of the concept. When I found out that the story was “A virtual reality game turned into a real life death game”, it caught my interest. Not only that, but the world was solely created to satisfy a sadistic scientist who wanted to play god for real (That was my impression of the introduction). The first episode game me a good impression and a determination to see more of the show. From that point forward, I was really enjoying myself.
But that did not last. It has been discussed by hardcore and casual fans alike where the story started to fall. The most common one is episode 3 to episode 7, because those stories were side stories in the original light novel series. If it’s true or not matters little, since the main storyline isn’t any better. If the side stories were hated for being about random sh*t, then the main one does not deserve more praise. To me, both the filler and the main story are equally as bad that I almost thought they were the same thing. And when things get a bit more exciting after a mini story with little purpose was done, the story decided to end there. How things turned out was a bit unexpected, but it felt forced at the same time. It was like the writer was in a hurry. If the original story was longer, I might’ve not criticize it as much as I did now.
What made it somewhat worse was that the second half of the story focuses on an entirely different plot and concept. The appeal of the original concept was lost when the story decided to be about something else and forget why many viewers started watching it in the first place. This would’ve worked better if it was a sequel to the story (like a second season) instead of being a part of the same season. That’s the ALO arc for you.
But the reason why the story fails to become what many wanted to see was because of how messy and poor the execution is. The amount of time skips, side stories and how short the main story was proved that the writing of the story is in fact quite bad. I learned from classes about movies that a story has a specific structure to work. While I will not go into detail due to the fact it takes forever, I’ll just say that SAO follows that structure poorly. It’s like it’s missing a pillar somewhere around the end.
Personally, I loathed the cheap drama and the Deus ex Machina. The drama was so laughably predictable in a narrative sense I felt unmoved, even when the story gave me its saddest scene. The Deus ex Machina was used so often that it made me think that the creator ran on limited imagination when this was made.
And of course, my number one question was unanswered through the entire series. I assume you all know, but if you don’t, I’ll just say “f*cking Kayaba”.
CHARACTERS:
Believe it or not, the true reason why Sword Art Online falls flat for me is the characters we have followed through the whole story. Within the community, there are a fair amount of love and hate for them. Or to be correct, there are a fair amount of love and hate for Kirito or Asuna, because nobody cares about the rest. What there is to know is that SAO have quite a share amount of characters, and since the game is focused on an MMO game and not an RPG, it’s only natural that there are so many people to know about. Sadly, this anime does not succeed to get a high score in the character section.
Let’s start with our lead characters:
Kirito (a.k.a Kirigaya Kazuto), the main protagonist is described as an average kid with socialization problems, except that is not true. While it is shown, it’s only portrayed when secondary character Klein is shown. To everyone else, he has no problem at all. That is beside the point, however. In the anime community, he is either a lovable badass or a hated Gary Stu. But what’s problematic about him is not only because he’s a perfect hero, but his character in general. Besides the fact he is designed like every other generic harem male lead, Kirito’s reason for hitting the trash can is because he has no true identity.
His entire personality is based depending on what scene is being played. If the scene requires him to be stupid, he is stupid. If it requires him to be smart, he is smart. If he needs to be a badass, he is badass. The idea is that there is nothing about Kirito that identifies him, at least not as an individual. This could also be because of how he is portrayed as some boys want to be and becomes a wish-fulfillment type of character. All the character traits that are given to him are what defies a guy as perfect and at the same time, deny him any other traits. This doesn’t give him a strong character identity, but it rather makes him a prime example of a Gary Stu character. In other words, his character is so scattered and unbalanced that I can’t even call him a character of a story, but rather a visual novel protagonist with a voice and eyes.
Asuna, the main heroine shares the same problem, but on a different scale. While Kirito has little character to speak of, Asuna has too much of it to have an identity. When we first saw her, she was a quiet and mysterious person in the corner who rarely speaks till her face was shown. Next time she appeared, she was a tough leader with a cold personality. Next time, she became a Tsundere. After that, she was a scary lady. And after the event that… screw it, you know what I’m talking about. The distinctiveness of Asuna does not exist.
Every personality she uses is just different fetishes for the general otaku community to obsess over. And it works, because there are a f***ton of fans that adore her. Because of her multiple of personalities, I don’t even know what part of her makes her so appealing to others. Not only in the real world, but in-universe, everyone seems to be after her butt. In SAO, she is more of a prize than an ally to her guild, and Kirito fights them to claim said price. Her character becomes less chaotic later in the series, but then she is just and only the main love interest that relies on Kirito all the time and it pisses me off.
Now, if the fans of her comes to my door and points out that she can kick ass, I simply reply “Bullsh*t”. While she can pack quite a punch and is one of the most powerful players in the game, she never had a moment to shine. When an important fight is on screen, she is either a decoy, a distraction, a helpless damsel or a meat shield. Not only that, but Kirito takes all the credit in every fight, making her more of a motivation pet rather than a fellow comrade in arms. It’s quite clear she is only a fighter because it attracts more attention and making her more appealing to female viewers (which doesn’t always work). The fact that a female character can fight doesn’t automatically make her a good character.
Oh, I hear “what about Suguha?” in the background, but I’ll keep it short. I’ll be honest and say I was interested in her when she appeared. I did not expect a good character since the ones before didn’t do their job, but her relationship with Kirito in the real world made me hope for something I’ve not seen in anime for so long: a brother and sister relationship with no incest. But of course, I got slapped in the face by the show and it laughed it’s a** off when my hopes were broken. It was nice to focus on someone else than just the “Twilight v2” couple, but she didn’t create a strong impression and felt like just another collection of Kirito’s harem. The only point I give her is that she tried to stay away from him because they were siblings, but adding incest at all still did not change my everlasting hate for its enormous presence in modern anime. Yes, I know they are in reality cousins, but we all know it’s just an excuse to get away with it.
But aren’t there more characters? There are, but they are so irrelevant to the story that might as well be replaced by rocks and it wouldn’t make much difference. The Sword Art Online icon that is used on this site would give you the idea that the story focused around these people, but the truth is that only Kirito and Asuna matter at all. Every other character appears briefly and sometimes only show up in one episode before disappearing. Next time they appear, a minute cameo is all they can achieve. There are also those whose only purpose is to die, and it becomes so obvious in time that it’s not even funny. It’s a shame, because I wanted to see more of the side characters and learn a bit more of them. However, it felt like the series resented me for it and told me to focus only on the main characters (which I genuinely disliked). It was very frustrating, since I’ve always have hated that type of character treatment.
ANIMATION:
Unlike how I criticized the two catagories above, I can honestly say that the animation is quite good. While not so amazing that you get eyegasm by just looking at it, it’s above average and can be called stunning, if you willing to give it that much credit. When action is used, the movement is quite fluid and action packed, making these moments never boring and suspenseful. The usage of CGI is also quite well done and is used in a way that it blends in with the environment. This is mostly helped because the setting is a game, but it feels like a part of the game when it’s used. Even CGI haters can’t really criticize its existence. The background and setting material aren’t as impressive, however, but it’s quite safe to say it’s good enough. While it cannot hope to be compared with Ufotable quality, it at least above something completely unimpressive like Naruto.
One thing that the animation can be criticized for is its habit of using shots that has no movement. It’s mostly used during large crowd sequences, which is somewhat understandable. It’s not the first anime to use them and it’s not a prime example of an anime that uses it all the time, but it’s something to think about.
Oh wait. There is also a bit a fanservice as well, and anybody that knows me knows that I loathe anime that takes that route. However, it does not appear so much or get in the way when something serious is happening, unlike something that uses it so much that it’s annoying like High School of the f*cking Dead.
SOUNDTRACK:
One thing I cannot badmouth about is the music of the show. In the anime community, just knowing that Kajiura Yuki is doing the music automatically means win. I can’t blame them, because her work in one of my favorite shows of all time still impresses me to this day. Unfortunately, even she can't save the show. While the soundtrack was very good, it was not her best work. Many are forgotten and I only remember a few, and it’s mostly because they were repetitive. Still, the songs did fit the scenes when it was used and were quite pleasant to listen to. This is not Kara no Kyoukai or Fate/Zero material, but it’s good enough to stand on its own.
The opening and endings did not however do as great. All four were quite generic and obvious for a title like Sword Art Online, but they aren’t obnoxious in any way. They in fact are quite fine. Personally, I found Opening 1: Crossing fields quite catchy, despite how average it is. So I can’t say anything really negative about the songs that were picked for this anime.
FINAL VERDICT:
The only way I can describe SAO in no more than five words is that it’s bad, but looks pretty. Not all of it was dreadful and some episodes were quite good, but when looking at the larger picture, I can’t accept its popularity or love that has been given to it. It might look good, but the things that keep a show together (Story and Characters) can only be described as awful.
Story: 5
Characters: 3
Animation: 7
Soundtrack: 8
Enjoyment: 5
Overall: 5
However, I will not discourage and tell you to not watch this anime, despite my low rating of it. It still quite possible to enjoy this series if are looking to watch something simple and average. Just don’t expect the next big thing or anything amazing. This is not for those who want something thought provoking or something original. And if we are going to question its popularity, let’s just say it was luckier than better titles of 2012.
Now that I think about it, Sword Art Online works perfectly as a visual novel. It already has a generic protagonist and a harem of all type of girls involved. In fact, I’ve heard that the game “Sword Art Online: Infinity Moment” is just a dating sim game with gameplay. Are you guys sure this story was meant for a Light Novel?
