Let's just say that I was hyped for SAO, it was about video games, a wicked twist, and every enjoyable aspect of a good MMORPG. Now where it falls (and it falls straight into hell, through every level of hell, and into the void) is through the development of the plot and characters.
As a serious Sci-Fi anime, it needs to have realism to immerse the viewers in watching. Every plot hole in a serious Sci-Fi anime, detracts from the anime itself. After watching SAO, I would say it has enough plot holes to satisfy every horny teenager in the world and more; except for the fact that these holes are big enough to suck in our entire universe. The anime doesn't make sense scientifically, nor do the characters react in a way that normal people or gamers would.
FOR EXAMPLE SPOILER(many people don't die of natural causes: lack of water, food, muscular dystrophy etcetc, and even if they got to a hospital, can they really hospitalize that many people within 2 days(water) and for that long?)
Now the reason why I've decided to stop watching this anime is the amount of cheesiness in SAO. I like a small amount of cheese in my anime just like how I like cheese in my pasta. But, the amount of cheese in the anime is like walking into my favorite most legitimate Italian restaurant: Olive Garden, then having the waiter/waitress continuously grate cheese onto my pasta until the entire restaurant is filled with their highly exclusive aged Parmesan. The love interest is cheese, the lines they say is cheese, the fight scenes are cheese, the cry scenes are cheese, the friends are cheese, the traps are cheese. Pretty much everything is so obvious and overused in SAO that it is impossible to say that SAO is original and keeps you on your toes. There are way too many times that the main character's health goes to tip minimal that it becomes a common non-thrilling occurrence.
FOR EXAMPLE SPOILER( The female was crying over Kirito being all "boo-hoo you passed out for a few seconds I thought you died..." Please plebeian, we both know that if someone dies they shatter into a gazillion dust bunnies and also we both know you can see his bloody health bar indicating he is clearly still alive(even though this anime shouldn't be)).
SO IN THE END, EVEN IF YOU DIDN'T DECIDE TO READ THIS FAR OR SKIPPED TO THE END: IT HAD POTENTIAL, DROPPED THE BALL, COVERED THE PLAYGROUND IN GOOEY CHEESE, THEN I WALKED AWAY. IF YOU ARE GOING TO WATCH THIS, BEING A FAMILY SIZED BAG OF CHIPS AND AN EMPTY BAG OF EXPECTATIONS.
