The story. I dont know why many people say it's unoriginal. I think it's very original. Sword Art online is about a teen who get's trapped in an MMORPG along with thousands of other players. To escape from the game, they must clear all 100 floors. I understand anime like .hack already used the plot being trapped in an MMORPG, and animes like Ixion saga and Btoom have the trapped in a game concept. However, sword art online, takes this, along with the concept of leveling up,in game stats, armors and weapons that boost those stats etc. and takes the story to the next level. Like i mentioned earlier, this anime gained its popularity thanks to its first 2 masterpiece episodes. They were perfect. I could not have asked for more. This is where the show began its downfall. In episode 3, the show meets its first timeskip(3 months i think) In episode 7, it meets another(2 years) The number of timeskips is ridiculous and does not help improve the story in any way. Oh, but thats just the beginning of it. I cant write any spoilers, the second half of SAO is what really shoots it down. ALO,The writers completely shoots the concept of SAO out the window and introduces a new game... . Ill sum up ALO in three words. "What the hell" Im not saying the story arc 'is terrible or pathetic, It just does not fit in the series. Perhaps it might have be a decent anime on its own, but not fused with SAO.
The Art and Animations blew my mind. They were so...AWESOME! If i had to describe it, I would say its animations is on par with that of FATE/ZERO 2nd season.
The Sound is good. Not great but good. The 2 openings are both pretty catchy and the series does offer a dozen of epic battle music, but there are animes out there that top this one in terms of epic battle music, so it's really nothing new.
The characters in the first half are... badass. Kirito, known as the black swordsman, solo player, one of the strongest players in the game. Asuna, known as the Lightning Flash, Vice Captain of the Strongest Guild in the world. The two main characters completely OP, OP to the point where Kirito could defeat a boss all by him self( usually takes over 30 players to beat a boss) In the second half, Kirito 's still the same but THEY LOCK ASUNA IN A FREAKING CAGE. What? shes a caged bird now? Shes the FREAKING VICE CAPTAIN of the STRONGEST GUILD. She had such a powerful image and is now a like a fly stuck in a spiderweb. They messed up big in character, thats all i have to say.
There are many people out there who believe SAO has too much romance as an action anime. Sorry, but I have to disagree. The anime does a great job with the first several episodes in character development, that led up to the romance between kirito and asuna. I understand there are other girls who fall for kirito, but i dont think its enough to make it an harem anime, I mean, they appear for literally 1-2 episodes. The romance is centered around Kirito and Asuna. One word to describe the romance is "cute" Yeah, thats it.
Despite all of these flaws, the enjoyment level was still high. Each episode made me want to watch the next. I finished the 25 episode series in 2 and a half days. Overall, with all the flaws here and there, i would give this anime a 7.5, rounded to an 8. The flaws are definitely present, and is easy to see them. Even so, the enjoyment level, as well as the great art and animation makes up for it.
