I won't get into too much detail on the plot, its at the top of the page for you, but the condensed version is a bunch of people go into a game that they can't get out of. If they die in the game, they die for real, and the game is very, very difficult.
Story: 8
I really liked the story. It had the familiar tastes of the .hack series with the horrible melodrama aftertaste. Make no mistake. It's not perfect, they're are plotholes, and they don't explain everything. The thing about this show is it's character-focused, and on only a few specific characters at that, and anything outside of that focus doesn't really get alot of time infront of the camera. Personally, this worked for me as I'm more a fan of watching one character do his thing (so long as I like the character) instead of a show having a bunch of characters that are all cliched stereotypes anyway.
Art: 9
Not much to say here, the animation was one of it's big selling points from the very beginning and it didn't disappoint me in the least. Fluid, beautiful, and fun. The action really was great to watch.
Sound: 7
It's yuki kajira who is good, and I can't complain but to be honest I didn't really notice it too much. Some of her past work has left me feeling as if her songs had "made the moment" and though I can't say I didn't like it, it certainly wasn't her best. Still, it was good and didn't take anything away as far as I'm concerned.
Character: 8
I really liked the Main Character Kirito. It's refreshing to not see some twerp "coming into his power" or training for 50 million episodes with each battle he barely seems to escape the same way he did last time. He's confident, powerful, intelligent and.. well, I won't give anything else away but I'll just say I could have watched him for days and not had a moment of annoyance with him.
The main girl Asuna was good, I really liked her too. The dynamic she brought to the show I felt help offset kirito, two people that both act distant from people but for 2 completely different reasons.
Enjoyment: 10
That's right, I enjoyed this show that damn much!!! Actually.. I really enjoyed the first half at a 10. The second half, which for whatever reason they don't call the second season, wasn't as enjoyable in my opinion and I'd probably rate it at a 7.5. We'll get to that later though. I watched this show in it's entirety in one night and I loved it. It had the perfect story pacing, character focus, and nice twists to keep me impatient enough to follow the previous episode with another. It had the perfect amount of drama, action, and romance so that you never really got tired of any of the 3. No melodrama, no 3 episode-long fight scenes, and no awkward 'looking into each others eyes then getting shy' "oh look, a cloud, I'm gonna run away now"
Overall: 8
The show isn't perfect, it's not the best piece of fiction ever, but it does deserve some credit. Alot of what is in the show goes against the norm, things that don't normally happen in an anime. From the romance to the emphasis on feelings and characters and yet it doesn't drown you in the melodramatic sorrow that .hack did; this show took some risks. Alot of people say there's little character development for the minor characters and alot of plotholes but that was a choice they made because the knew that those things weren't as important as spending time on the main characters/point of the story. Could they have done a better job then what they did: sure. But I still really enjoyed what they did do, and among all the ecchi, weak MC, lame wait 26 episodes in a romance anime and you MIGHT get a kiss.. it was a very nice breath of fresh air.
PS! I said I would mention it and here it is. My love for the show exists from episodes 1-13. The second half was only enjoyable because it tied into the 1st half and I recommend it for anyone that liked the first half but if you see the first half and didn't like it.. you don't really need to bother with the second half.
