Anime 11757 Sword Art Online Reviews Filter Check 1

I don't really want to go into too much depth, but I'd like to give an overview of the series and give my opinions it. If you haven't noticed yet there are many negative reviews out there for this anime, and while many of them bring up some pretty fair points, I think some people are being a bit too harsh on it. Let me explain.

Yes it's a popular anime, yes it has flaws, no it's not perfect, but at the very least in my opinion it is enjoyable. The pacing is off, the beginning particularly feels rushed, there were moments where I thought ... I skipped an episode because of the time skips which made it difficult to really connect with any of the characters in the beginning, and there were some less than stellar instances where it felt like the anime was trying to make me care but failing hard.

Some characters felt to be completely forgotten throughout most of this series too. For example in the beginning we are introduced to a character named Klein who is quickly pushed aside after the first episode and barely seen again and doesn't really make much of an impact at all on the story later on. This seems to happen a lot throughout this series where there might be some emotional moments where a character dies, or something dramatic happens but there is really no emotional impact from it, and the main character seems to not really care that much about it or it doesn't really effect anything significantly.

I really felt this series shined from around episodes 4-13 and I wish they would have kept with that pace instead of rushing an ending midway and throwing something new at us. The second half just felt completely unnecessary and forced.

Pushing the negative aside, I found the overall theme and atmosphere of the series to be great, and being an avid lover the MMORPG genre obviously a lot of things in this series appealed to me. I really enjoyed the idea of being stuck in a game that was impossible to escape from without winning and having real consequences, it really made everything much more dramatic and meaningful in the story. Sadly this quickly goes away midway through the plot.

If I had to pick two of the best things this anime did well for me it would probably be the animation and soundtrack. They both were really well done, and honestly without them being as good as they were this series would have gotten a much lower score from me, and when I say I really enjoyed the soundtrack I mean that I loved it, it was superb.

I think what it really comes down was just the fact that I enjoyed watching it. I can look at the flaws and pick the anime apart pretty easily, but those flaws never really stopped me from enjoying this anime.I really do feel though that it had a lot of potential to be a top tier series, it just made far too many mistakes. Looking at it objectively I simply cannot give this anime higher than a 7. It was good because I found it to be enjoyable, but it wasn't great or amazing.

At the end of the day I watch anime because I want something that will entertain me and keep me interested, and I feel that Sword Art Online did a good job at accomplishing that.

Sword Art Online was one of the most hyped up animes of Summer 2012 and has probably the widest range of scores I’ve ever seen. Does it live up to the hype? Read on to find out! That being said, skip to the consensus (TLDR) if you don't want to read blocks of text! :D Please do not send anything overly negative to me; polite and constructive criticism is always appreciated.


PLOT:
The Good: Man, they really went for a lot here. The light novels themselves were actually more action/adventure focused, something that doesn’t happen in the anime. I’m going to do my best not to give ... any spoilers, but essentially, the anime Sword Art Online aims to be a love story of epic proportions, where their relationship will experience highs and lows ranging from boundless joy to aching tragedy. Straight up, if you don’t like the main characters, you probably won’t like this anime. That’s how most love stories work. However, if you’re like me, and you absolutely adore the main characters, then this anime is definitely for you! Sword Art Online additionally does a brilliant job of easing us in to the massive, awe-inspiring frontier that is Aincrad. The concept of this anime -- being trapped in a strange, exotic new world and living in it -- is a dream that we all have had at one point, and it's fascinating to see it being unveiled before our eyes.

The Bad: At the same time, however, the execution has been done terribly. Lots of fans/first-time watchers – me included – felt that Kirito and Asuna were not given nearly enough character development. It’s hard to root for someone that you barely know or hate. Another problem lies in the pace. The side stories were rushed, no doubt about, which is bad because they offered interesting insights into Kirito and Asuna’s relationship and personality. At the same time, you can't really justify having two episodes of precious anime time being given to the side stories, and they honestly aren't as interesting as the main plot. Something else that irks me about Sword Art Online is how it suffers from deus ex machina. That is, it'll solve really big situations with just dumb stuff like "it's the power of love" or "strength of will trumps everything". However, other amazing shows (Harry Potter, Clannad) have done similar things, so it's whatever.

CONSENSUS: 7/10. Sword Art Online attempted to create a love story of epic proportions…something that they partially succeeded in. Although they eased us in beautifully in the start, undeveloped characters, a rushed storyline, and miracle syndrome make it lose quite a bit of its impact.


ARTWORK:
The artwork in this anime can be summed up into one word: inconsistent. The sceneries are drawn very well and have a wide variety (ranging from icy snowcaps to flowery meadows to beautiful cities…), and the characters are done beautifully (a nice contrast to the stupid body proportions in Code Geass or the crazy facial expressions in Fate/Zero), but it gets stupidly bad during the battles. For some strange reason, instead of treating us to a smooth action sequence, we instead constantly gaze at character still shots. It’s really frustrating when you know that the battle sequences could have been amazing!! Background animation is probably the most inconsistent part in that it gets really bad in towns but great in landscapes. I really don’t know what to think. I think the animation of this anime is something that really sets it back from some of the great animes, and I’m hoping it gets better in the future (especially the battle scenes, they can really make those a lot more enjoyable to wach).

CONSENSUS: 7/10. Battle scenes are very badly animated, and backgrounds sometimes are drawn very sloppily. However, the sheer scope of sceneries in this anime is a delight to see.


MUSIC:
The music is incredible. Yuki Kajiura is one of the biggest names in anime music, and her music is absolutely astounding. So far, the music’s been perfect and set each mood beautifully. In particular, the battle scene music. Oh my god. I found myself humming it when I was eating breakfast, just a testament to how well done it is. As for the OP/ED, they’re really generic. They’re being done by LiSa, who’s done so many OP/EDs by now, but they don’t really stand out…in a good or bad way. I don’t know, I think Yuki Kajiura’s music makes up for any disparities here though.

CONSENSUS: 9/10, Music is great and going to be developed by Yuki Kajiura, the person who did Fate/Zero and Madoka Magica. OP/ED are generic, but that’s not a bad thing.


CHARACTERS:
The characters are ridiculously hit or miss. Kirito is pretty much your perfect, flawless teenager. That’s going to be a deal breaker for many of people upon knowing that. Many people like their protagonists to have flaws, to be more humanlike, more down to Earth, and having a character that’s flawless frankly drops a lot of the realism. I would like to argue that the alternative of having a whiny protagonist that doesn’t do anything is a lot worse though (Guilty Crown, I’m looking at you). The same lies for the female protagonist, Asuna, our main character’s love interest. Frankly, the relationship just came together too easily. Asuna also has the privilege of being practically perfect in every single way. No really: she can cook, she’s incredibly beautiful, she’s good at swordfighting, she’s dedicated, and she’s a tsundere (personally I love tsunderes). The side characters and the villains lack depth as well. Can anyone else picture how much more interesting this anime would have gotten if Sugou was initially some good guy that Asuna begins to fall for...only to be someone rotten in the inside? Instead, we're treated to a generic villain who literally doesn't have a single good quality.

CONSENSUS: 6/10, Main character Kirito isn’t absurdly annoying like A LOT of other main characters, but he does get what he wants a little too easily. Side characters are overly generic and get far too little time. Same with Kirito and Asuna, we needed more time for their development!


THE BREAKDOWN: It's a great anime if you like Kirito and Asuna, but if you don't, you might as well watch another anime. The anime itself suffers from various flaws -- plot holes, shoddy animation, undeveloped characters -- that prevent me from giving it a high score. Still worth a watch though, if only so that you can rant about how good or bad it is on the forums after each episode. 7/10!

(+) The light novel for this anime is incredibly well done (#1 rated light novel on MAL).
(+) Incredible nostalgia for any MMORPG gamers.
(+) Music is stellar, designed by the best.
(+) Anime gets a lot better after episode 8.
(+) The landscapes are absolutely beautiful...one of the benefits of making the anime set in a fantasy video game.
(+) Tons of people to discuss this anime with since it's popular; since it's polarizing, you get some very interesting arguments too.

(−) Characters not developed thoroughly enough.
(−) Anime may be rushed in first few episodes.
(−) Suffers from very poor animation in some the fight scenes and in the background (budgeting).
(−) Insertion of side stories before main plot may cause some viewers to lose interest.
(−) Anime suffers from miracle syndrome (occasionally will solve problems with a miracle).
(−) Causes you to waste time talking with people about the latest episode of SAO, whether you hate it or love it.

A brave young hero. His beautiful sidekick who becomes a love interest. Dual wielding swords. A world in chaos. Lives at stake. All seem so cliche, why would I even think to watch this? I made the right decision to. I know there is alot of controversy over this anime currently so I, naturally, must enter my two cents to defend and be realistic about this hot commodity anime of 2012:
*As spoiler free as can possibly be*
Story:
The story is indeed EXTREMELY rushed. While the ideals and thoughts behind the initial plot are absolutely outstanding and completely unique and original, the SAO anime timeline leaves little ... room for the storyline to blossom. As a 21 year old, I found it fairly childish at times yet still enjoyable. I feel as though younger people wouldn't appreciate the underlying plots which the plot holes failed to fill and give way completely to imagination. As a biased idealist, I give the story an 8/10 because the idea is there, the timeframe wasn't. But I guess that's to be expected in today's anime industry.
Art:
The art is visually stunning and appealing. The colors draw the viewer in and the scenery is the hook. The entire landscape of Aincrad is a feast for the eyes. On the flipside, some of the fights scenes were choppily done in comparison to the beauty of the backdrops. The boss details, especially the Skull Reaper, were phenomenal and several shots were created in a very different, unexpected perspective, adding additional interest to the episode's events. So that's an A++++ to colors and imaginary vision and a B to combat scenes to make a 9/10.
Sound:
Yuki Kajiura. Need I say more? 10/10. Absolutely outstanding and completely relevant and appropriate for the anime. The music truly makes the anime and hooks the viewer emotionally.
Character:
Kirito is your typical boy hero destined to save his love interest and destroy a corrupt system. Sure, seems pretty unoriginal. However, I connected to Kirito more than I feel many do. The episodes that seemed like fillers served as ways for us to get to know Kirito and his imperfections and taught us to let them go. While the anime completely fails in terms of side characters with failed attempts of Klein and Egil, the main characters are given enough spotlight to give the viewer a general consensus on their personality, actions, and values toward the Cardinal system of SAO. Asuna is a fantastic heroine at the beginning, immediately winning all the hearts of all male viewers and becoming a role model for young women. But as the anime progresses, the anime took a completely different direction in her character than I expected. While Asuna possessed so much strength and leadership, the anime fails to show this as it continues on, letting her slip into the whole damsel in distress role, especially in ALO. I truly felt the connection between her and Kirito and their desire to protect each other but their characters, as well as their love story, need more depth. 8/10.
Enjoyment:
I can't lie. I truly enjoy this anime. I have such a vision of it in my head that I feel the storymakers truly intended to get across to all viewers. Whilst the anime is lacking in depth, can be corny/childish/predictable, and is unreally rushed, it provides an entertaining feast for the eyes and ears and even for the heart from episodes 8 and on. I can't deny this one a 10/10 because I truly enjoy it.
Overall:
I have to give this anime a 10/10 wholly due to the fact that I can truly envision its perfection if it could be given more time. The character ideas are there, the unique and individualistic views are there, the fantastic composer and visual settings are there. It has the correct recipe, but the incorrect "bake time". Putting aside my bias, it should probably deserve a generous 9/10 due to plot holes, rushed timeframe, and incomplete character development.

Here's to hoping episode 25 will be a successful completion of an anime that could truly use a cherry on top of the sundae. The fandom will be on the edge of their seats and...so will I. I can't help it, this anime is my guilty pleasure.

I first came across this anime as a recommendation from a friend and I have to say, while the initial idea of the story seemed interesting, I was somewhat hesitant to begin the series due to the addiction factor that came with an uncompleted series. Having completed the 11 episodes in just about a day, I can truthfully say I was completely hooked and craved for more.

Ill admit, the pacing of the story initially shocked me. The sense of time passing through this story seems rapid and jumps without warning at the beginning of each episode. However this can be forgiven as the first ... few episodes of every anime is set mainly to develop a stable environment in order for the main story to begin. Although half of the episodes so far are used to develop a "harem", none of the characters stick to him like glue and each of their relationships reflect a key problem in this virtual world.

Because of the rushed story, the character development is equally afflicted. The build up of power and sense of progression that we see in mainstream anime titles such as Naruto and One Piece are skipped, leaving a sense of disappointment. This is partly due to the original author of the light novel series in which this anime is adapted from which skips to stage 74/100 of the game. To be honest, from a more personal view I am quite content at this kind of structure, with the side stories creating the setting, followed up by diving into the romantic aspect of the anime. The characters themselves are likable and they creators try to avoid the obvious stereotypes by adding slight complexities to their characters.

The animation and musical choice were appropriate to say the least. They did not stand out too much but the artwork style fitted in with the context of the story although some of the animations could have been a lot smoother. The music however was executed perfectly. I could have sworn I had heard a few melodies from the long lost games in the past because they just seemed so generic. This of course is a positive factor and helps make the world of Aincrad more realistic as a game.

The beauty of this story is not drawn from the characters, story, art or sound but it is the clear presentation of a fantastic virtual world. The onset of nostalgia which many will experience is an alluring factor, but the introduction to this new world and it's system is so clearly explained, one does not have to have experienced previous MMORPG to fully enjoy this series. SAO plays on our dreams and fantasies while at the same time question the obsessive nature of games and whether our actions in games reflect upon real world situations as well. Truly a unique mix of sci-fi and fantasy with an overwhelming romantic theme.

*Just because I am not experienced with reviews nor have I watched too many anime titles I am not afraid to give this anime a 9 which I believe it deserves

“A person is very strong when he seeks to protect something.” - Heathcliff

Sword Art Online; a show loved by many, yet perceived as one of the worst series ever created by a lot of people. The show certainly wasn’t perfect, but it was far from being bad, and I think a lot of the hate it receives is unfair, because it’s just people trying to point out every single little flaw and turn it into something huge.

Story: (7 / 10)
SAO is effectively divided into two large arcs, the first one being what the series was basically “advertised” to be; people are stuck in a game, ... and have to beat the game to be able to leave. Now, because this arc spans quite a long period of time, two things appear which are worth noting.

The first one is the slightly “weird” pacing off the show. At times you will see the characters being on say, floor 20 in one episode, and in the next they’re on floor 40, which could easily make you think that you just missed an entire episode. This is not the case, and this was apparently a big problem for some people, and I do agree that the series could’ve benefitted from expanding the first arc to play out over a course of 25 episodes, simply removing the second arc (we’ll talk about this soon). I personally didn’t have much of a problem with the pace, as each episode’s actual content was more than enough to keep me interested, and while it’s not really an appropriate excuse, it may be worth noting that the story plays out like this because that’s how the novel was written...

The second thing is that quite a lot of the episodes in the first arc are not always about directly trying to clear the game, and as such many of them may very well be seen as fillers. These episodes will often be Kirito (the series’ protagonist) helping players of lower level (or anyone else in distress, for that matter), or simply spending time with his friends/loved ones.
I think it may come as a surprise to some when this series, which you probably thought was gonna be all action-packed and all, turns out to spend so much time on the relationship of two young players, and how they adapt to this new world.
The show has enough action and fighting scenes to make up for having this slower paced, more SOL-esque section, which I thought was pretty good, nonetheless.

Moving on to the second arc, this is where the story sort of... drops a bit, so to speak. There are some major changes between the two arcs, and it changes a lot of the “core mechanics” around which the first arc was based, as well as replacing the majority of the characters, and basically nullifying that same feeling of danger and suspense the first arc poses.

That’s not to say the story couldn’t be interesting and well-written anyway, but it really has nothing on the previous arc... While I didn’t really dislike it as much as many other people, I certainly found it less entertaining, but to me, the rest of the series more than made up for this part.

Art: (8 / 10)
If nothing else, the art in SAO is simply great. I liked the artstyle, even though it’s really nothing special, as well as the character designs. The animations are fluid most of the time, and the fighting scenes are very enjoyable, and well done if you can overlook the very tiny flaws which present themselves.

During some scenes, at certain points in the fight (like when someone gets hit), there’ll often be either a very short scene consisting of just a still picture, or a very slowed down scene, to really emphasise that someone did actually hit something. It’s not really a big problem though, as the still pictures are barely shown for any time, and they do look very cool, and I think this all comes down to people nitpicking to find more stuff to complain about.
The rest of the fighting scenes look totally OK, and the use of “sword art” adds a nice tone to the frames, so to speak.

Sound: (9 / 10)
The music was also a big plus, in my opinion. The soundtrack is all-in-all pretty great, with a lot of songs both fitting for the more intense fighting scenes, as well as the more “rom-com”-styled parts. The two opening themes, “Crossing Field” by LiSA and “Innocence” by Aoi Eir, are both more upbeat and fast-paced songs, while the two ending themes, “Yume Sekai” by Tomatsu Haruka (the VA of Asuna) and “Overfly” by Haruna Luna, are both slower songs, which is most often more fitting for ending themes.
I think all of the songs fit the series (and their respective arcs) rather well, and overall there’s really no problem with any of the songs from the series’ soundtrack.

The voice acting isn’t amazing, but it’s good enough, and manages to convey the feelings and messages that wants to be conveyed, so there’s really no problem here either.

Characters: (8 / 10)
One of the most common complaints I see about SAO is “the characters are terribly written”, and I feel like I completely missed this aspect of the show. I actually liked most of the characters, and the ones I didn’t really like that all that much were often the bad guys, so you weren’t really supposed to like them either, which I guess would make them well-written, in a way...

Kirito, our main character, was one of the few beta players of SAO, and this serves as an important plot-element, as he basically knows most things there is to know about the game, making him a very powerful player. At first his primary goal is more or less to just survive, but as he spends more time in Aincrad and starts caring about the people in this new world, his views changes, and soon enough he’ll be the one sacrificing himself and helping out people in need.

Even though many of the side-characters had rather little screen time compared to other characters (mostly one episode each), they were all very likeable characters, and there was never really a moment where I just wished the episode would end already, so that I didn’t have to see more of this horrible character.

A lot of the interaction between the various characters served as a sort of “comic relief”, which was nice, and the relationship between Kirito and Asuna is definitely all but “poorly written”.

As mentioned earlier, the majority of the characters are replaced during the second arc, and because of this I never really cared about the new characters all that much. They just didn’t have enough screen time or impact on anything to really allow me to relate to them, or make any sort of connection.

Enjoyment: (9 / 10)
I first found out about SAO through some random Youtube video mentioning it, and then looking at a quick summary of the plot. Because of this, I really knew nothing about the series except for the fact that it was set in a game world, and a friend had told me that the second half was a major disappointment.
Maybe it was because of my “ignorance”, or lack of hype about the show that made it so enjoyable to me, but I really didn’t have a problem with anything which people generally complain about. Sure, the second half is slightly worse, but I certainly don’t think it’s enough to mark the series as “bad”.

Conclusion:
If you’re looking for a super serious show about the struggle of 10 thousand people stuck in a game, trying to beat the final boss and avoid death, then this show might not be for you. However, if you’re fine with the aforementioned concept acting as more of a “ground layer” to the series, and having a slightly more light-hearted tone to it, based more around character interaction than just awesome fights, then this may be for you (if you can overlook the flaws and the changes in second arc).

Pros:
+ Cool concept (even if it wasn’t executed perfectly).
+ Very likeable characters.
+ Very good art.
+ Pretty awesome fighting scenes (most of the time).
+ Superb soundtrack.
-----------------------
Cons:
- Weird pace during first arc.
- Major changes in second arc, makes for a slightly worse second half.
- Very minor “annoyances” during fight scenes.

The story revolves around Kirito, a young boy who is trapped in a virtual game, where gameover equals the highest penalty: the actual death of the player. Many people might wonder why the novel itself received so much attention. Certainly, the story is not really new to the trend nowadays but it was somewhat ahead of the curve when it was first written in 2002. A well-written plot combines with actions and refreshing romance elements, and put altogether into a fantastic MMO world which can only exist in our imagination – these premises alone are enough to melt the soft hearts of many readers, thus ... raising its popularity. As the story goes by, there are many things to be amazed by creative minds of the author as he successfully portrayed the beautiful world of Aincrad.

So, to the anime part:

--- Story ---

As a novel reader, I always seperate adapted products (including manga, anime, visual/light novel) into 2 type: the ones which have potential to be good, and those that do not (or has a lower chance of success). In most cases, visual/light novel adaptions hardly tend to be as great as its origin. Sadly, same goes for SAO

SAO well started at two first episode, which could hold the potential to be good as many decent light novel adaption. But as the story goes on, it begins to show a lack of comprehensiveness in plot.

For example, "Red nose reindeer" is a side story in volume 2 which contains a lot of developments and touching scene, as well as deep inner thoughts of the main character, was crammed into the length of a single episode. Despite that, the episode was well delivered, the lack of minor details was acceptable, because audiences were able to feel the tragedy that this episode wanted to portray. However, Episode 4 was a huge disappointment - instead of delivering the regrets of Kirito by highlighting on Silica and Pina relationship like in the LN, the episode was half-heartedly written, and Silica was only a mean to be used. Episode 4 technically ignored Kirito's feelings as he seeks for salvation by saving Silica and her trusted partner. Unnecessary fan services, loli stereotypes fed the audience and ruined this episode, even though it was not supposed to be fun to begin with. For example, Silica could have used her time thinking about Pina, instead of worrying about her appearance in front of Kirito.

In the following episodes, the anime felt like an episodic series, when random stories happened, most of which were hardly related to the main plot. "They were only side-stories" is the perfect excuse for poorly written plot up to this moment, but even so they could have done the side-stories better. That said, the anime still has some positive points which attracts audiences, especially new comers. The plot is interesting, the world of Aincrad is animated realistically on-screen, and the sweet romantic moments between Kirito and Asuna are heart-warming to watch.

Score: 7.0/10

--- Characters ---

Kirito is first introduced as a lone wolf, an unsociable young boy with great gaming skills. We can see that his character was well developed from the start, with his turning from a solo player into a cooperative player by joining a guild. He began to familiarize with the guild members and share their experiences, joys, and sadness. Then he met Sachi, a girl with an open heart, and gradually realized how important his existence was to others, and figured out his true purpose in life. It would’ve been good if the anime had continued down that road. But instead, he was then built into a cool "black swordman" character, aimlessly traveled around Aincard with unclear purposes and did whatever he wanted. To sum up, as the story progresses, Kirito seems to have less depth as a character than he once had in the beginning.

Asuna truly is the most easily-favorited female character this season: Possessing tsun characteristics, a good-looking figure, excellent skills as a player and even great cooking skills, she’s a perfect female partner which can hardly be found in most anime nowadays. But what she still lacks is the screen time to show her romantic feelings for Kirito. She has been in relationship with Kirito for a long time, but with the limited length of an anime episode, it feels like their romantic developments were forced and unnatural. Aside from that, she is portrayed as a energetic, lovely and easily embarrassed girl. Her interactions with Kirito are interesting and somewhat entertaining, relaxing to watch in the whole series. (Oh and it could be considered one of the main reasons to keep audiences watching the show).

Other minor characters have made their appearance as well, but they haven’t present any special traits because of inadequate screen time. Nevertheless, there are a few exception:
Sachi is the shy-type girl who was introduced in episode 3. Just looking at her makes everyone wants to hold her dearly in their arms and protect her. She was one of the few characters that I wanted to stay longer, as one single episode was not enough. Lisbeth is also one of my favorite girl in the show. With her lively traits, she gives Kirito a hard time to deal with and also holds the feelings and antics of any normal girl: filled with happiness when she is in love, smile beautifully when she gathers enough courage to confess, and cry silently when she has a broken heart.

Score: 7.0/10

--- Art works/Animations ---

A-1 pictures are doing a good job adapting SAO into an anime. The sceneries are beautifully drawn as they portray the realistic world of Aincrad, and most of its details seem to fit with what I have imagined when I was reading the novel: from the cloudless blue sky over the vast greenness of the grass field that Kirito always lies on, to the sight of the forest stretched to as far as the horizon, or the barren wasteland in some of the dungeons.

The colors are bright, but seems unrealistic like Code Geass, or any similar shows which use a same type of colour for each single part on character's body, except there were some shaders which varied to different colours when the lights reflect on. And another thing I do not like, is that having familiarized with art works from novel, I found the art styles to be a little annoying cause it came from the same character designer with Working! (Shingo Adachi). All the characters are somewhat having the "same face syndrome", the term describes for itself when every character tends to have similarity in faces, just by changing hair styles and colors to make them look different.

The battle animations are not very good either, they put up some good battle scenes at first, with smooth animation and lots of frames in a single scene. But all of that quickly became disappointing in several of the subsequent episodes, as there were no actual action scene at all, except some of what can only be called "slideshow battle sequence". Nevertheless, when it came to important scenes which requires actual action, they showed some high-quality action sequences. So to conclude, the animation was quite hit-and-miss, but some of its problems are understandable as they can be considered typical ways to reduce budget in anime production.

Score: 7.0/10

--- Music/Sound ---

SAO has a dream team of music/sound production, the famous musician Yuki who composed theme song in Kara no Kyoukai, music in Fate/Zero, Pandora Hearts and many more. Just only her name affirms the high quality of music in SAO. But that alone is not enough, Sho Wanatabe ( Madoka theme song composition, F/Z) also joined her forces. And to top all that, they have LiSA, who is well-known for the works in F/Z and AB!, performed the OP for SAO. These prominent musician make SAO one of the best this season in terms of music quality.
Score: 9.0/10

Enjoyment

When I heard they were going to cram 4 volumes into 25 episode, I knew that the potential for SAO adaption to be as flawless as the original was minimal. [As I've experienced, there are always lack of details, poor developments, several plot holes which affect the flow of story, due to the limited length that any adaption has to face with]. Keeping that in mind, without having any expectation, I watch the anime for its own merits, I enjoy what the adaption has to deliver. Sometimes when they failed to do justice to a scene I like, or leave it out of the script completely, I would feel sad, but I understand that each adaption has its own circumstances, and we - the audiences - have to bear with it.

Score: 9.0/10


---Conclusion---

I know my review is long, but I will appreciate if you read it to the end. I want to say for all those who have dropped the show: give it a few more episode cause the story will be much more interesting and touching in the next couple of episode. It's a bit hasty to drop it right now.

===============
Story: 7/10
Characters: 7/10
Animation: 7/10
Sound/Music: 9/10
Enjoyment: 9/10
-----------------------------
Overall: 8/10



Note: there will be an update when the show is finished.

Right, so i planned to finally update this after finishing all 25 episodes.

As it stands, SAO is one of those anime that either sucks you in enough for you to overlook some of the glaring flaws, or puts you off. And despite how much I enjoyed the anime, it definitely had huge flaws.

The story itself had a great premise; this is the reason how people are drawn into the anime. Players are trapped in a VR MMO, where death equals death in real life. Because of this, it's a survival test; there are some who would do anything to live, others who help out ... other people to live, etc. This is the setting that drew me in, that allowed me to enjoy the anime itself.

Speaking of the story, I must note that the two arcs held different enjoyment values for me. Without spoiling much, the first arc captured me to the point where I went through most of the arc in a day, eagerly waiting for the next week's episode. The second arc, though, was a bit less enticing.

However, where the setting shone, the characters... sort of fell. Rather, the development. The plot itself was fine, but the main problem with the characters is that they were too perfect. At a certain point, the two main characters Kirito and Asuna became "perfect", in the sense that they had no real "flaws" left. Ironically, this becomes a flaw for the series itself, because the characters end up becoming a bit flat.

On the other hand, the animation of the anime was great. The fights were well done (though full on fights were a bit scarce). The main part i enjoyed was the effective portrayal of an MMO. The menu screens, hp bars, all of that made SAO feel like an actual MMO. You could say it's to be expected, but it was great nonetheless.

The sound was great as well. The first opening, Crossing Field, stands as one of my favorite openings. Perhaps I just like LiSa's songs ( I loved Fate/Zero's opening as well), but I felt it fit the mood of the first arc well. The rest of the music fit well with the story- a gallant theme for the courageous moments, a tranquil theme for the calmer parts, etc.


And now for the bias, the part I talked about earlier. I enjoy anime, and I enjoy MMOs. As a result, SAO just clicked for me. I could look over the character development issue, because the settings enraptured me. If it wasn't for the setting of the plot itself, this anime would really only be a 7 at best. But because the story was so engaging for me, I loved the show, enough to feel the enjoyment of a 10/10 even though there were huge flaws.
For the sake of others who don't have such a preference like mine, the score I'd give it is obvious lower than a 10.


SAO will forever be one of those hate/love animes. It was one of the most hyped anime of the year, and despite its slight disappointments, it well deserves watching if you enjoy the premise of the story itself.

As the most hyped show in 2012, Sword Art Online is known to be one of the most argued show that exists. With one side saying its the best thing ever, and one side saying it's complete shite. Nonetheless, onto the review.

Story: In the year 2022, technology has advanced so far that people are able to put themselves into a virtual reality via a helmet which can transport people into a virtual realm. This has led to the development of one of the most anticipated games, Sword Art Online. With 10,000 people being allowed to play this game, everyone who has ... a copy begins playing, and exploring the new virtual reality, until a few minutes after playing, the creator of SAO, Akihiko Kayaba comes in and tells the 10,000 that they are not able to leave the game until it is cleared. This is all going great for the people in said game till, and I quote from our main protagonist, "If I die in the game, I die in real life!" And the story ensues from there. From the way the story is set up, great things are expected to happen as the first 3 episodes are gripping and exciting, brimming with pain and misery from being in a game. That is, until the story decides to go into side stories for about 5-6 episodes. In the later half in the show regarding a game called Alfiem Online, or ALO, well, yeah. The arc itself is about fairies, which I'm personally fine with. The execution and the premise of it was horrible in the least. Let's just say the pacing isn't exactly THE best thing to come out of SAO.

Characters: First up, is Kazuto Kirigaya, or Kirito, as his username entails. As a shut-in who focuses his time mainly on playing games, (sounds familiar, eh?) Kazuto doesn't show much interaction in the beginning of the show since he is a solo player and a loner. It isn't until a tragic accident in episode 3, that changes Kazuto forever, urging him to finish the game as soon as possible. Beyond that, well, nothing else happens. If I was to explain him in the later episodes, I would phrase it as an overpowered player who really could care less about anything other then his girlfriend. Yeah. Next, Asuna Yuuki. As the main female protagonist, she is shown at the beginning to be a strongheaded and focused player who ends up becoming a powerful player thanks to Kazuto's advice. Although, as the series progresses, the badass attitude that she has early on, develops into well, a needy girl who needs her boyfriend to live. Then we have the rest of the "main" cast such as Kazuto's "sister" Suguha, the loli Ayano (Silica), the blacksmith Rika, (lisbeth), the comic relief Ryotaro (Klein), the AI child Yui, and the awesome mace wielder, Agil. Beyond that, we have a whole cast of side characters that get about 20 minutes at most of screen time which have no worth in mentioning. (Figure out the antagonists for yourselves.)

Animation and sound: Animation is a huge plus for this anime. With extremely detailed characters and beautiful scenery that looked like it was painted by Shiina from Sakurasou, SAO has some of the best animation quality to ever exist in anime ever. Another great thing is the fluidity that existed within SAO's battle scenes. From seeing the sword skills and the fantastic fight scenes, SAO truly has some of the best animation ever. For music, SAO has great tracks as well. Quoting only a few of the wonderful selections are "Crossing field", "Innocence", and my personal favorite, "Swordland". The 3 of them serve there purposes as the openings and the battle music. All of them sound great and the opening animations themselves look fantastic. (Except for the dub's rendition of the opening.) As of the making of this review, SAO has crossed over into english and the dub is well, adequate. While the majority of the voices do match very well with the characters they are put into, Aniplex really screwed up on a select few. The most prominent one is Asuna. To me, Asuna's voice in the dub sounds like a 9 year old and it irritates me how she sounds really, really whiny. I sincerely wished they recasted her. However, the voice actors do portray emotions when they speak in certain scenes, and that's commendable considering that many dubs have fallen quite flat.

Personal enjoyment: Regardless of how much I butchered this show to its very core, SAO to me, was enjoyable to watch. If there are any MMORPG players out there, I would highly recommend this, seeing as how the anime is basically based in an MMORPG world. Though the plot was complete crap in development and pacing, there was something keeping me to watch more of it. Like seriously, I couldn't stop watching this. Because of that, I'm in the half-n-half camp where I like SAO, but it could be better. With all the potential that it had in the first 3 episodes, it's a shame how badly executed it was later in the episodes. If I was to change this show, I would say to completely get rid of the whole second arc and focus solely on the first arc for 2 reasons. First, it's called SAO, not ALO. So getting rid of the second arc would make a lot of sense due to the anime's namesake. Second, is character development. Because there is a 2 year gap between the first half and the second half in the first arc, expanding the first arc to 25 episodes rather then 15 would make so much more room for character development. Kazuto and Asuna's relationship was very rushed, and the expanded amount of time could make their relationship more meaningful then it was. Also, because SAO's concept was so much better then ALO's. So, if you are an MMORPG player, this is an anime for you!

Little note: Just because my profile pic is Kazuto, does not mean that SAO is the best thing ever. I simply loved the character design. Hell, I even based my own character off of him.

Sword Art Online is an either hit or miss anime. With the whole idea of depicting a future where the games you love can have real life consequences, SAO had alot of potential to illustrate real life conflicts we are currently facing with our boom in technology. However, it definitely only used a fraction of its potential, that I feel like could have been alleviated by making more episodes that could cover up many of the plotholes it fails to explain, with the story and characters being especially fragile.

Story: The storyline of SAO could be summed up as very jumpy and inconsistent. The first ... season was filled with a bunch of characters that the main character, Kirito, had to interact with on his journey to beat SAO. Despite them feeling like fillers, I really enjoyed them, and how they were representative of potential future interactions in MMORPGs. I found the relationship between Kirito and Asuna to be especially touching, and definitely the best part of the series, despite it being little cliche. The series did annoy me with its random time skips and inadequate explanation of the game's mechanics, but for 25 episodes, I realized that they definitely made a good effort at it.

Although the first arc of the series maintained a fast and pleasant pace, the second half of the series really tries to divert your attention to something entirely different from what the first half established. The entire ALO arc just felt very forced, and definitely slowed down the pace of the anime, taking a sharp turn away from the development of the two main characters in the first half of the series. I am probably not alone in my opinion that the ALO arc just felt no sense of urgency, that the SAO arc created. The last few episodes just felt significantly less motivated than they were for the SAO arc, and in the end, just felt like the characters were taking a game way too seriously. While the first half may have been one of my most lovable animes, I feel like I need to separate it from the second half, that just displays one of the biggest dips in quality I have ever seen in anime.

Art and Sound: There were obviously very high production values involved in the creation of the anime. The battle scenes and scenery were definitely one of the highlights of the show, with lots of details and vibrant colors. The soundtrack was also very good in my opinion, with several amazing battle/piano soundtracks, in addition to some of the best OP and EDs I have heard. The characters had extremely well made designs, which probably contributed to an overwhelming number of SAO cosplays.

Character: I can honestly say that if you do not like the main characters, this is not the anime for you to watch. The personalities of the characters are pretty much the only things they have going for them. Most of the characters are quickly forgotten after a single episode, after (I know this sounds harsh) serving their purposes as sort of a side quest. Despite that, I found two of the characters to be very lovable: Kirito and Asuna. The greatest reason I continued watching was because I wanted to see where their relationship led them, and after the heartwretching emotions I felt towards the end of the SAO arc, I anticipated an equally or maybe even better conclusion to the series. However, the inclusion of the sister's relationship just seemed very irrelevant and out of place, and towards the end of the series, felt like it added unnecessary drama that contributed very little to the emotional impact of the series, and only created extremely awkward situations. The ALO arc completely took away from the relationship that was very well progressed and built up in the SAO arc, and despite how much I loved Kirito and Asuna's relationship in the first half, I found myself forgetting the emotions I felt as I watched through the second half.

SAO is a great and fun anime if you simply just try not to think too hard about its flaws, and try to relate to the characters. While I feel many of the haters of this anime have their points, they are missing the real point of any anime: the enjoyment and emotional aftereffect they feel after it is over. Despite having a weak and inconsistent storyline and fickle and unnecessary character development, SAO was honestly a very enjoyable watch if you focus more on the adventure, and put yourself in the shoes of a character in the series. SAO will definitely strike a chord in the hearts of people who have known how great the adventure and thrill of playing a MMO can be. SAO translates those desires to anime form, and brings out some of the very best experiences you could possibly have in a future that may include virtual reality.

This is my first ever anime review so don't hate if it's not perfect. I find it really funny that none of the reviews for this anime are above 5. People like to hate I guess. I think this is definitely one of the best animes ever made and doesn't deserve all the hate that it gets.

Art: 10
Everything in Sword Art Online is beautifully done. The art is AMAZING. Every scene has amazing backgrounds and the character designs aren't lacking in the least. The battle scenes are so well that it doesn't look choppy or like the producers just wanted to get through the scene. ... They put just as much effort into each scene to add to our enjoyment.

Sound: 8
OST is amazing and that's it. No need to go in depth because the music fits so well with the show and with each and every scene. Not to mention the OPs and EDs are both amazing.

Story: 9
The part that bugs me the most is when they say that this has a boring plot/story. HOW BLINDED CAN YOU BE? The characters are trapped inside the game of Sword Art Online and if they die in the game, they die in real life. There is no way that this plot point is boring. We follow the male protagonist named Kirito who was in the beta test for the game. He is outcast from everyone else due to that fact and therefore becomes a lone wolf. Each episode of the anime came with suspensions and excitement. You never clearly knew what was going to happen until it happened (unless you read the light novels). I will admit that the second half of the anime became a little bit more predictable but was enjoyable for me nonetheless.

Characters: 7
The characters in Sword Art Online feel like real people for the most part. They interact with each other like real people and have EMOTIONS. They aren't bland but all there emotions come from their feeling of being frightened because at any moment they could die. They are trapped inside a game where they can't get out and if they die in the game, they have no future. They face this challenge with either bravery or cowardice. The characters are really easy to like and you want to them to beat the game and to head back to the real world. You know that with each coming episode that they may die, giving you the need to attach to each character for the time you see them for you don't know when they will be gone. The romance between the characters is amazing as well. Best since Clannad in my opinion.

Enjoyment: 10
I loved every episode and couldn't wait each week for the next episode to come out. That new episode each week made the top 5 things I need to do each week. 1. Breathe 2. Eat 3. Sleep 4. Watch the next episode of Sword Art Online 5. School. I was deeply saddened when the series came to an end. It was one of the best experiences I have had. I can't wait for a season two. I know they are going to have one because how could the producers leave us now when Sword Art Online is definitely one of the most popular anime to date.

Overall: 10
This anime is one of my favorites and I doubt there will ever be a fantasy/romance anime that can be better than this. Each episode was an experience for me. It wasn't just another anime to pass my free time. Everything from sound to story made this anime really enjoyable. This show definitely doesn't deserve the hate it gets from reviewers. I recommend this show to everyone I can, especially people who like Romance and Action.

Ok... Finally finished SAO, and this is an edited review.
Before I start this, people there will probably be many who may disagree, but also agree, but before that, I just got to say that this anime is probably one of the most spectacular anime I have seen in many months, or even year. Aside from that, there are people who hate this anime for whatever their reasons are, and those who love it and think this is a masterpiece.
I believe that most people considered this an amazing anime, i wondered why at first but ever since i started the first episode, i just couldn't ... stop until the latest episodes that had aired. (the anime club i'm in decided to watch this anime) i basically though this was like .Hack, but it was much better in every quality aspect (my opinion, you have the right to disagree.) everyone who likes games and Is an otaku Should, or maybe Need to watch this. Now what I'm going to review and write is my own opinion so... you know... :3

Story: 10
Even though i say this, i don't COMPLETELY think that it's the best in the world. In fact, I think that some part of the story of SAO is moving very fast, or even abrupt. The main reason why I said this (my grading) is because of my personal favorite genre. Adding action, game, romance, adventure, some fantasy, but I kinda believe that someday in the future it maybe possible, and only Some slice of life to it. The timing is just right also. Instead of making us sit there and wasted like 30 eps so the main character could lv up, they just skip the little things and go to the main things, which keeps viewers, like me, excited and mostly on the climax. SAO is pretty easy to follow. It's not some sort of complex anime, like Durarara where you skip back and forth between the present and the past, and not really anything to think about, so the viewers who dislike using brain power probably will like this. So yea... that's why I rated SAO as 10 for the story. Not much side tracks so you should be able to enjoy it much much more than many others. I actually thought at first that SAO would probably be like other typical anime where it will get boring sooner or later as you continued to watch, but it's, in my opinion, the complete opposite. The genres, however, did slightly change. If I'm not mistaken on this one, I would say that the first arc had a slightly more action than the second arc, but the second have more romance and tears of joy instead of tears of depression and sadness.

Art: 9
Yea.... will people these days are pretty good, and better than in the past. They got more Waaalaaa to the art now, so i don't really think there's anything to say. One thing that really stands out are the emotion that the characters are giving in the anime. The face clearly expressed the situation and the motive they have. It has feeling that could be expressed without words, and that, for me, is really impressive. The movement, the face, the shadows etc. really fit in and there's pretty much nothing to complain about. I could be wrong, since the story pulls me in, and I don't have that much energy to pay attention much to the art. I gave SAO's art a 9 instead of a 10 is because sometime, I feel as if the characters expression are sometime over done, and can be seen with a little too much emotions. Just my opinion of course.

Sound: 10
I especially like this anime because the sounds are great to listen to, and it feels smooth, reeling me in more to the anime. The background fits in to the environment nicely, surrounding SAO and makes this anime more realistic and natural. What excites me the most is how they used the sounds, making the anime sounds much like you're watching a game, or better yet, making you feel as if you Are in it.

Character: 10
The characters are very nice. Not boring, not annoying or anything that just makes you wanna smash whatever is in front of your eye on to the little PC or device you're watching from. I experienced it before. Not sure if anyone of you guys have, but anyway... Since I now have completed SAO, I can see that the characters are the same whether they are in the game or in reality, and what that mean is, if Kirito is perfect then, he will always be perfect now, although that's a debatable matter. Romance anime have the type of crying that I would say are annoying, phony, and irritating to my ears. For SAO, I could really grab on to them and kind of interact with it, as in, the reasons of why they are crying the way they do or take hold of the situation and imagine f I was in their place, which really matches on how I would feel. This of course is based on who you are, and your personality. Those who just love seeing their friends, or just anyone close to they suffer or die would definitely disagree with me on this one. Romance anime usually have people crying about useless things, but SAO made a lot of senses in the timing of when the character should be happy, sad, angry, or derpy.

Enjoyment: 10
Nothing to say here, since I mostly put the enjoyment rating the same as the story. It's good to have something to enjoy, and I've been waiting so long for these kind of anime to come out. Although this anime has the time in the story where you Cannot help but tightens your fist as hard as you can, since the scene are unbearable to watch. YOU ALL KNOW WHAT I"M TALKING ABOUT. HOW DARE HE TOUCH, AND SNIFF ON HER EXCELLENCY?!

Overall: 10
I'm sure that not everyone will agree with me here, but at least everyone could agree with Some thing I typed down. I personally think that SAO is very emotional from the beginning to the end, and that is really just what I think. I've seen many who does not seem think that way. Well then... I would gladly say that this is one of my favorite anime. Of course there are others which I seem to enjoyed as equivalent as SAO. I hope this help anyone who are planing to watch this someday.

I can see why so many people hate this anime. In fact, I sometimes wonder why I even liked it so much. After giving it some thought, I've come to a conclusion. SAO haters, let me explain to you guys why so many (including me) liked this BLATANTLY BAD anime.

As I look back on SAO, the story was pretty bad. The one dimensional main character shits on everyone. A harem was built in two episodes to be left without further development for the entire series. The main girl, a fierce-tsundere-turned-helpless-princess has no development either, apart from being raped a couple times. WHY did i like ... this then? WHY are there so many SAO fanboys (like me) who give this anime endless, seemingly undeserved praise?

Look at it from our perspective. Most of us are gamers, bad at socializing, so we isolate ourselves in our gaming/anime worlds. Without girlfriends.

THen comes along Kirito, who perfectly fits in our mold: gamers, bad with people, without girlfriends. And this guy-- hes a badass. He shits on everyone, his dick is a vagina-magnet, and he defies the admins because hes a badass, and thats just how it works.

Asuna is the seemingly perfect girlfriend. THough she has ZERO character development, she: 1. is hot 2. is an awesome gamer too who 3. also needs saving like a damsel in distress and 4. MAKES KIRITO SANDWICHES. Come on, every guy wants a girlfriend who he can say "make me a sandwich" to. So while to you, cultured anime watchers who can see through these 4 points, Asuna is a walking pile of cliches, to us fanboys she is PERFECT. SHE MAKES SANDWICHES. PERFECT.

So, back to my point: SAO is a people pleaser. Though it has good art and sound, it has a bad storyline, bad characters, too many cliches. But it's still a people pleaser. And it pleases lots of people (like me). We are nerds who don't know any better and fall into the role of Kirito--who, due to his one- dimensional nature, anyone can fit as. We fall in love with the pile of cliches, we enjoy our undeveloped harem, and we watch as Kirito shits on everyone. And in the end, we enjoy the anime, worship it on forums, argue with the haters... etc.

Ultimately, SAO is a blatant people pleaser. As an anime noob, I fell for it, like the other fanboys, i enjoyed it, and it became one of my favorites. The more experienced anime watchers saw the cliches, wondered "why the fuck do these people worship SAO???", posted their valid opinions, and were labeled the "haters". Here lies the controversy in Sword art Online.

Sword Art Online:

(This is my first review using a new rating system. If you want to see how this system works, check out 'about me' in my profile. Enjoy!)

Sword Art Online is a gamer's dream come true. Sweeping the masses by storm last year, SAO has quickly become one of the most popular anime in recent years. This is probably due to the fact that many anime enthusiasts also happen to be gamers. However, this show has just as many haters as fanboys, so does this show meet up to the hype? For me, as guilty as I may feel saying it, it's a definitive ... yes.

Story 7/10:
Sword Art Online is about a gamer named Kirito who, along with thousands of other gamers, gets trapped in a virtual reality mmo. To go along with this, if you die in the game, you die in real life. The only way to get out of the game, is to beat all 100 floors of the game, a task that could take years to achieve. Like I said, the concept of this show is tailor made for gamers, and much of the language used is suited for those accustomed to gaming language. With these thoughts in mind, I was hyped to start this anime. However, the first 4 episodes of this show are very poor. The pacing is horrendous, and I strongly considered dropping it during these episodes. After these are out of the way though, the story blooms into something much greater. Basically once Kirito starts spending more time with Asuna, the show starts to become more focused. A split focus between the romance between these characters, and the ultimate goal of beating the game. From episode 4 to 15, the show completely had me under its spell and got me completely hooked. These episodes also really dove into the physiological standpoint of how being trapped in this world for years can effect you. After these episodes, the focus of the show completely shifts. Not that this shift was bad, in fact I really loved the latter half of the series, however, I can see many people being disappointed in the shift the show takes. The concept for this show's plot was fantastic, and besides the first 4 episodes, I loved its execution as well. Admittedly, yes, there are plenty of plotholes, completely blatant flaws in some logic, and the explanation for many key events can be awful at times. Things like this don't really bother me personally, but I know for many people it ruined the show for them, so if that kind of thing gets to you: beware. It definitely wasn't perfect, but I thoroughly enjoyed the story, more than I probably should have. I leave the story with a very good 7/10 because even though there were flaws everywhere, they mostly didnt bother me and the story was great in MY opinion. However, I can completely understand someone giving the story aspect of this show a score MUCH worse.

Art 9/10:
The animation, worlds, and characters are all beautifully on display in this anime. The settings of this show are widely varied and beautiful, excellently presenting an mmo-style world in anime form. This was a world that I honestly wanted to be in. What really made the art from this show a masterpiece were the battle scenes. The fights were fluid, and gorgeous. A vast array of battle animations and actions were on display, and the big boss battles were utterly enticing. I really haven't seen an anime before with such an expansive world, and such beautiful action animations.

Sound 8/10:
As far as music goes, Sword Art Online had a great overall OST. The opening "Crossing Field" is personally one of my favorite opening songs in history and is catchy as hell. The music during the scenes all fit the scenes very well, and were definitely more memorable than most soundtracks that I've heard. The voice acting for the show was good as well, although I'm no expert in the world of Japanese voice acting, and 9 times out of 10 pick the dub over the sub when available. It's gotta be a plus though when I can emotionally attach to characters when I don't even understand what they are saying without reading subs.

Characters 7/10:
Kirito is what every mmo player secretly wishes they were. A black wearing swordsman who absolutely overpowers everyone he faces. Include that he "unintentionally" gets every girl he meets to fall in love with him, and he is the perfect image of what gamers wish they were. This is a slight problem though, because his lack of flaws can make him seem a little one dimensional. For me, it wasn't a huge problem though because like I said, he is an ideal character, which is a joy to watch. It's true that the characters do lack development, some even seemingly regressing instead of progressing. Kirito seems to run in circles with his development, and Asuna does anything but develop. However, the real strength in the characters is the relationship between Kirito, Asuna, and another character that I will avoid due to spoilers. The relationship between these 2 was very stereotypical of a romance on the surface, but for some reason I found myself REALLY caring about it, and hoping that everything would end up happy for them. Unlike the individual characters, the relationship they had DID develop, and was touching to watch. I guess what made these 2 seemingly flawed main characters stand out, is just the fact that they were very likable. They aren't characters that you can really say you hate, you may shake your head or laugh at some of the things they do, but you can see that their intentions are clearly in the right direction. So even thought they really lacked development and in Kirito's case were overpowered, they were still very likable. The side characters were another story though. They seemed to have little to no purpose, popping in and out of the show at random moments. Some got no more than 1 episode of screen time. This made the side characters very insignificant, even though the weren't necessarily bad characters. All in all, there are definitely a few shining characters, but many of the side ones hold this category back from being anything better than "good."

Enjoyment 9/10:
I enjoyed the $#!+ out of this show. Admittedly, I really didn't care for the first 4 episodes. I even told a friend "If this show was half as good as its opening song, then I would love it." But after powering through these episodes, I slowly started to change my perspective, and ending up loving this show. The whole concept was brilliant, and the way they dive into the psychological and moral aspects of the characters trapped in this world is great. Between the battle scenes, plot twists, romance, and gaming references, this show was ridiculously enjoyable to watch.

Recommendation:
I can't say for sure you will love this show due to the divided audience, but I definitely recommend you give it a chance because you might like it as much as, or even more than me.
Stream it! +.1

Overall 8.1/10
Sword Art Online was a true joy to watch. With a brilliant concept, the show for the most part delivers wonderfully. Although the first 4 episodes weren't the best, the show picks itself up and delivers quite the adventure. The hype surrounding this show is well deserved, and I can't imagine someone who plays any sort of rpg to dislike this show. It absolutely has its flaws and inconsistencies, but I was able to look past them and can confidently say that Sword Art Online was a great show to watch.

The Verdict:
Fantastic concept that for the most part delivers. A wide array of appeal, but especially for those who enjoy the fantasy genre and gaming.

Pros:
+ Fantastic concept
+ Knows its audience (gamers)
+ Touching character relationships
+ World and animations are beautiful
+ OP is one of my favorites

Cons:
- Less than stellar first 4 episodes
- Plenty of plot holes/poor explanation
- Lack of character development
- Drastic plot change could definitely disappoint some people

If you liked Sword Art Online, then watch....
Fate/Zero:
Mainly because they are both action oriented and the main characters are sword wielders, I also needed an excuse to recommend Fate/Zero lol.
Accel World:
Most people who have liked SAO like Accel World as far as I know. Both are themed around virtual reality games, and both are set in the same universe.

8.1/10 - Great

Sword art online, now what can I say that hasn't been said yet? Well, after reading through the reviews of this anime, I can tell that the reviewers seem to have mixed opinions about this it. The scores given to this anime are all over the place, ranging from 1 to 10. I am one of those people who really are enjoying the it, and I have reasons for them too. Now, at this point, it is quite clear that this anime has a very fast pace, which has turned quite a few people off toward this anime, but I don't really think that's fair, ... because as of this point, there are only 10 episodes out of 25, so it's too early to judge. Even with the pacing issues, I still really enjoy it, and I really only notice the fast pacing in a selected few episodes, and those were side stories. Now, I've read the LN. Now I know that the LN is a better experience, however I was very impressed with the execution. Though a few episodes had pacing problems, it was only the side stories, when the anime reached the main plot, the pacing felt MUCH better. Now, I know that a lot of people criticize this anime due to its pacing, but also with its characters, plot and cliches. I don't tend to nitpick on cliches, because I don't see a reason to, if we always nitpicked about cliches, then that will just take away the enjoyment of the anime.

Story:
Now, first let's talk about the story. I really like the story, even though the whole virtual reality concept isn't new, the feeling of it just separates itself from those others. Basically, there is this new game called sword art online, which is the first virtual reality game made, and of course, people are extremely eager to buy this game. Around ten thousand people have bought this game, and are trying it out, including our MC. So, the mc just entered this virtual world, along with the other 10 000 people, but then they realize that this game, there is no logout button. After that, they learn that they can not only can they not logout, but a death in this game will result in a death in real life. Now the story may not sound like much, it actually is very deep when you look at it. To me, it feels like the game creator wanted to this game like real life, because the concept is something like real life, except for stuff like item drops and other RPG elements. This show also includes quite a lot of psychological elements to it. The normal person would think that in this situation, everyone would freak out and go insane, now that is true, and it was inplemented into the anime at the beginning, so I don't understand people saying this is unrealistic. Because this is a virtual reality, it is quite like real life, except with RPG stuff, and these people are all gamers, so of course over time, they will adapt to this new world. The story is pretty much that, because the majority of the story is character interactions. Well, being trapped in a virtual game for 2 years, of course there wouldn't be much else to show but characters and their interactions with eachother.

Characters:
Now, it may not say this, but this anime is defiantly a harem, as a lot of girls seem to take a liking to the mc with their time spent together. Most of the harem stuff is from the side stories, but that's to be expected. The main story however mainly focuses on the romance between 2 characters, which is nice. after reading the reviews, I find people lacking the enjoyment of the characters, which makes sense, because of the fast pace kind of affecting the character development, but I still think the characters are very likable and have so much more depth than what other people say about them being one-dimensional. So the mc is pretty much an average guy in real life, but ingame, he is a badass solo player who is probably one of the strongest players in the game. Now, that has to due with him being a beta tester. Since he played the game before, he knew where the good places are for grinding exp. many players despise him due to him being a beta tester, so they give him the title "beater" now as you can probably tell, this guy doesnt fool around,mwhen the game master announced the part about not being able to logout, he quickly gets over it and moves toward his goal. Which also explains his success as a player, since I don't think he spent his time fooling around during the beta test like some others. The character interaction is very well done. He pretty much solos everything because he doesn't want to feel responsible for the deaths of his teammates. Also in episode 3, it pretty much explains why he solos stuff, he joined a guild, and lied about his level so it would be more likely to except him, but I also think he did that so he could fit in more, so he didn't feel so different from them. He made friends with people in that guild, but he was a beater, so the title came back to bite when his guild fell for a trap and all died. After that, he felt if he told the truth, he could have warned them, since they would know he has more experience about it, and so he begins to feel guilty. Also when he tries to get the revive crystal, he tells people he has to fight by himself, or else if someone else dies in the process, there would be no point. I really think the characters are very deep, and I don't like to complain like others how he is so overpowered, and appears to get girls all over him, even though this game contains mostly male players. But remember, the mc has a good personality, and it perp is way of dealing with difficult situations that made him so powerful, so I won't complain about that like people who blindly watch the show and complain.

Sound:
One word, "AMAZING" I really love it, the soundtracks fit this medieval setting perfect, and the music playing during boss battles makes it sound epic. Also the opening theme is very lovable. I also love the sound affects like when they charge the swords.

Art:
Beautiful, they set the virtual setting very nicely, and the character designs are very good, what more do I need to say?

Enjoyment:
I really enjoyed the anime, and many others have too. I tend to overlook those common complaints, and I really think it is more enjoyable when you think about the story and characters more, because there is much more logic than when you just watch with your eyes.

All in all, a very good series, and I definitely recommend it!

While this anime isn't perfect, it sure as hell isn't no where near as bad as what people have been saying and expressing in their reviews. It's not the perfect anime that some people make it out to be either, but NO anime is perfect in that regard.

Story- The story isn't something unique, the whole "If you die in the game, you die in real life" scenario has been done before, but does not having a unique story make it any less impactful or good? The answer is no, take a look at something like clannad where the story in a sense is very generic, ... boy meets girl, they fall in love, and then something tragic happens. Certainly not a unique story at all, but look at how impactful it was, I've honestly never been that torn up over something in my entire life. What makes a story good is not necessarily being unique, but rather how the story impacts you. Will you remember these characters or certain scenes months or even years down the road? Will it be something that impacts you in a certain way, or make you realize something about yourself? The answer is yes to all of these questions. Don't get me wrong, this anime has plenty of faults, and it pains me to say that because this anime could have easily been a 10/10 and made it's way into my top 5. It had so much going for it, and yet it felt extremely rushed in the first couple of episodes, some characters weren't around long enough to even care about, even when certain scenes made it clear that you were suppose to care. It's hard to care for a character when you've really only had an episode or so to get to know them, it's certainly alot less impactful in certain areas than what it was suppose to be. Then in other areas it's extremely impactful and has done things that I personally haven't ever seen done in an anime, a few scenes in particular. This is why i'm so on the fence about this anime, some scenes were so wonderfully done, and other scenes fell extremely short of what they were going for. Even with it's faults this anime is still an 8/10 for me, at the beginning it was registering about a 4/10 for me, but then the anime picked up and really started showing it's charm, how amazing it could be and just how much potential it had. I was definitely happy watching this anime and it was certainly not a waste of time like most people seem to say it is. After the first couple of episodes of this anime and the way things seem to be going you might have a general idea of where things are going, and you couldn't be more wrong. It's alot more morbid than you would first believe, and the ending scene of the "first season" just shows how morbid of an anime this can be at times. It also a very romantic anime, it one of the best couples I've seen in a long time. The story starts off slow, then really starts to pick up after the first couple of episodes, and I mean really pick up. It's a wonderful, yet morbid and sometimes loving story that I think people look over because of it's very obvious faults at the beginning.

Art-The art style is really good for the most part. All of the weapons, armor, and environment seem very much like something that you would find in a traditional mmo. All of the fight scenes are animated very well, nothing more to really say.

Sound-The musical scores hit where they are suppose to, whether it be fast paced music for fight scenes, or something soothing and mellow for a sweet scene. The opening and closing songs are really quite catchy and match the atmosphere of the anime very well.

Character- The characters are really well done, for the most part at-least. As I said in the story section, some of the characters aren't well fleshed out all that well, it's not that they where wrote badly or anything, you just didn't get to know them at all. You can't really feel any sort of emotion towards someone you know hardly anything about. The main characters however are done really well. Kirito and asuna in specific are wrote very well. You see them grow throughout the anime and learn from their mistakes. Their personalities even change for the better and they grow as humans. They seem very organic and very much alive for fictional characters.

Enjoyment-My overall enjoyment at the beginning was very minimum, besides the first episode. The first episode really draws you in, but then it gets very jumpy the next couple of episodes and makes it feel like you where missing whole out on alot. It even feels like some episodes where missing or something. After a rocky start things start to pick up, and it starts really showing off it's charm, and naturally you start enjoying yourself more. It had really enjoyable fighting scenes, and really touching emotional scenes.

Overall-Overall this anime could have been alot better, but at the same time it was alot better than I had originally though it would be. The way people are writing and talking about it make it seem like it's one of the worst things ever composed, almost like it's an abomination that should not be seen by human eyes, for fear of blindness. Sure it had some issues here and there, but overall it's a very well done (albeit rushed in some parts) anime. It had some really emotional and rather awesome scenes that I will definitely remember for years to come. Some of the scenes with kirito and asuna are just amazing, I don't see how people can talk so bad about it after witnessing such scenes. It might not have been perfect, but it definitely was a overall well done and entertaining anime. If you are wanting to watch a really good action anime, with a rather unique romance side to it then I reccomend this to you. You definitely won't be disappointed.

Have you ever played an MMORPG? Sat down in front of your computer, logged into a virtual world, and then realize that the next time you got up from your seat was 5 hours later?

If you ever had this kind of experience, I can say with 90% certainty that you will enjoy SAO. On the other hand, if you have had little experience with online games, you may not be able to truly appreciate SAO.

-Story: 9/10 -
When I completed the first arc - Aincrad, SAO was still ongoing. Unable to wait, I went ahead and read the entires series by Reki Kawahara. On the basis ... that the anime is directly adapted from the light novel series, I can only say that the story is excellent. From start to end, SAO is able to capture the best elements of MMOs(leveling, questing, guild-forming, raids etc), and combine it with a realistic and entrancing vision of a futuristic game based in the floating castle Aincrad. With regards to the adaptation itself, Aniplex is able to piece together the main plot as well as the SAO side stories to give a reasonable chronological recount of the events that transpired in Aincrad. Of course, the adaptation has its flaws, mainly with respect to the development of the relationship between the two main characters.

Alfheim Online, the second arc, brings the perspective back to the real world and is an excellent follow up to the first arc.

-Art: 10/10-
The art stays true to the style shown in the light novel series. The coloring is done in a very satisfactory fashion that does justice to the vibrance of the virtual world. The lines may be over-simplistic but then that can be easily overlooked as an aspect of anime itself. In terms of animation, there is no sign of having too many stills that give a 'cheap' feeling to some other series, and the action sequences are very captivating.

-Sound: 10/10-
The voice-acting is good, although I sometimes feel that the protaganist's voice is overly soft and calm at times. The prolonged battle cries in certain scenes may also be slightly exaggerated, but that is indeed the way it was depicted in the light novel, with the multitude of "Uwa-ah-ah-ah!"s' and such.

-Character: 6/10-
As I mentioned above, the length of the anime is far too short to flesh out the characters. Especially with the inclusion of basically all the Aincrad side-stories, the love-story in the light novel that Aniplex had hoped to bring out in the animation had gone awry, and indeed does not feel right as many others have already said. With the conclusion of these two animated arcs there is also a justifiable feeling that the main character seems like a deux-ex-machina with not enough human qualities. To me, though, this is still better than the psychologically insecure/self-deprecating/extreme-sociopath/extreme-chauvinistic main characters in other animes that I will not name.

-Overall: 9-
At the end of the day, even though I knew exactly what is going to happen having read the light novel, I was still able to finish all 11 episodes of the second arc in one sitting. My advice if you are planning to watch the anime is to just enjoy the action sequences and the vibrant virtual game worlds, and not to expect too much in the way of character development. If at that point of time, you are still able to enjoy SAO, then I highly recommend the light novel series by Reki Kawahara.

I will update the review once the anime is finished, or when the anime gets to an interesting point/development

Sword art online is probably the most anticipated anime in this summer season, and it maybe the best in my opinion. Although there are a lot of critics saying that the anime is no where as good as the light novel series, but with 25 episodes its hard to focus on everything especially if the novel is up to its 10th volume, but who knows there might be a season 2.

Story 8

The story follows Kirigaya Kazuto with his game alias "Kirito," a "solo" player that was part ... of the beta in the game and his journey to clear the 100 floors, being part of the squad that is always on the front lines he is well known, and is called the black swordsman due to his clothes. His adventure leads him to meet many different kind of people, each one changing a bit of Kirito maybe in the future he would no longer be a solo player? i'll have to wait and see=P.

There are massive leaps in the time line such as in the first 2 episodes their like on floor 1 or 2, but in the 3rd episode there on 20 something? and Kirito is around level 40. It makes it really confusing because you don't really know what happened between, it would have been cool to show Kirito levelling to be honest, seeing it will probably remind the days of when i was levelling on a MMO. plus the fact that they don't continue on after each episode kinda sucks coz theres none of that cliff hanger feeling =/ but i guess i haven't exactly finished the anime yet so who knows it might occur in the future its only just begun, but i heard that the massive time leaps happen in the light novel as well. Although only side stories has only been released, the fact that i find them pretty good already hopefully the main story will be amazing as well.

But to be honest what i think makes this story amazing its how you don't really get bored when your watching the episode or at least you don't lose attention, it constantly engages you, its kinda the feeling you get when watching Full metal alchemist brotherhood where you cant help but keep on watching.

Art 8

Being released in 2012 it'll be surprising if the animation was bad. The character designs are very well done in this, the female characters kinda remind of some characters from guilty crown such as Asuna quite similar to inori as in the face not the hair style and stuff. The background is absolutely amazing, with so much detail, looking at some of the background will truly astonish you. The fight scenes are pretty cool, although there is little magic or skills involved despite this being a MMORPG, you only get to hear the skill name you don't really see it in action, the sword fights are pretty cool i think there pretty well animated i like the way when people disappear they kinda disintegrate, plus i like the way the monster/players are cut as well and i like what they do with the menu really makes it feel like a game.

Sound 9

The opening is pretty well done, the song is pretty catchy and is sang by LiSA who i find pretty good, she did the opening and ending for Angel Beats! and the Girls Dead Monster songs she also sang the opening for Fate/Zero. The opening video hardly spoils anything only showing characters and very little bits of fight scenes unlike some anime opening video's which spoil a lot for you like Shakugan no Shana... I quite like the OST in this anime, it really set the mood in some of the sad scenes/fight scenes it draws your attention more towards it. Especially the fight scenes it makes it more exciting to watch, and its one of those things where when you hear the OST again you will remember the scene.

Character 9

I quite like the characters in SAO, Kirito is your typical lone wolf that when something bad happens he takes it really personally, in real life he didn't really socialise much with the outside world, so being in a game that completely reflects your life its kinda hard for him to interact with other players in the game. Probably one of the reason why he is a "solo player" although not the only reason, other reason include bad experiences during the game, such as deaths and etc. Although it's pretty interesting to watch when he helps people out despite being a solo player.

Asuna is one of the few pretty girls in SAO and to be honest a girl in an MMO is not very common, she also fights in the front lines aswell, with the title "flash" that she gained due to her skill lighting fast attacks. Her personality provides plenty of comical moments, she's basically an innocent teenager, that gets easily embarrassed when topics around relationships come up or when embarrassing things happen, you can probably image what kind of comical scenes will come up cant you =P. I think SAO focuses on the relationship between Asuna and Kirito, although its not completely clear yet as only 6 episodes are out, i am definitely a fan of Kirito X Asuno =P.

I'm not completely sure if the characters currently introduced are side or main characters due to the fact that they only appeared once, but each female character seems to basically fall for Kirito and affects his mental state somehow whether in a positive or negative way.

Enjoyment 9

For me personally this Anime really pulls me in, I really like each fight scene that occurs, especially the ones where Kirito is basically completely overpowering every monster/player. The side stories are pretty good, even though there sides it feels like they play a big role in the main story in terms of character development. Each time there's a romance development between Asuna and Kirito I get really excited, they haven't really done much yet but I really want them to be together they work so well together =P. Its kinda similar to the feeling i get when Touma and Misaka from To Aru Majutsu no Index have romance developments xD.I can't really comment on the Main story yet as it hasn't actually started yet =/

Overall 9

Currently I am absolutely loving SAO mainly because of the fact that its an anime about an MMORPG =P, it has everything that you can ask for from a fantasy action adventure anime. I think everything is done to a high standard, and theres not much you can ask for except maybe less time leaps and more character development but the anime just started so theres not much i can ask for. This is the view point of someone who hasn't read the light novel so i can't really compare the 2, but I heard that the anime doesn't follow the light novel completely or leaves little bits out? who knows even without reading the light novel i think this is still pretty good. Hopefully with episodes about the main story starting soon SAO will become even better and maybe become of those unforgettable animes such as Clannad or Code Geass.

Story: Kiyrito is an average cool guy sleeping in his room when suddenly everything starts to shift around him and he's transported to a magical digital world filled with monsters and weird ppl. Then a big robe man appears and tels Kyirto that he has to kill the 100 demon princes to get back to his wordl. It's pretty intrsting stuff for reals.

Characters:
Kyrieto is a really cool and totally not lame guy. He enjoys playing the video games and he's really kawaii. Many pedophiles in Sowrd Art Onlinne think he's a girl cuz he's so kawaii and they want to have sex with ... him. It's a little weird, but watevs.

Klive is one of the pedos who thinks Kerrytu is rlly kawaii.

Big Robe Guy Ahikro is the bad guy in the story. He looks pretty lame to be honest...

Art: The title has art in it, so obv it's good lol o__O/ but rilly it's pretty anime and good.

Sounds: There weren't many sound but from what i herad they was pretty good and fitted the mood realy well.

Overalls: 10/10, good anime, another great anime from Kishumuto, great job guy.

When I first read the synopsis for Sword Art Online I was enthralled to see that there was going to be a show that featured video games as a major theme and actually looked promising. Once I began watching this, my excitement quickly turned to disappointment. The general premise of this series was great but as that being its only strength it would not standout among the more matured anime viewers. I believe the targeted audience for this anime was teenage gamers, boys to be more specific. The male protagonist is someone that all teenage boys yearn to be; invincible, charismatic, the center of all ... attention and the prowess to get the girl. I'd say that the writer used this to his advantage to attract a large audience, who doesn't love a hero with the ability to stop anything in his path, right?

The general story-line of Sword Art Online isn't bad, it's just how it was delivered. Locked in a prison of virtual reality where as the only escape is to beat the game without dying or pay the cost of losing your actual life in the process. After the first story arc ended the series took a major turn for the worse. Plot holes became more severe than the regular. A good example of one would be that on several occasions characters would die without actually dying in person. Just the point being of how events would happen without getting an explanation when they were needed was a general theme to SAO.

My favorite part of the series by far was the art and the animation. In the world of Sword Art Online every level of a dungeon had a different theme, ranging from endless fields to frozen waste lands. Just the detail that would be put into these locations would leave you struck in awe. The animation has been some of the best I have seen as well, with fluent motions from the characters I would enjoy the fight scenes with great attention. As for the sound and ambiance of it, I thought that it was well done. Monsters would make sounds that you'd think they'd make and the sound of clashing swords was as realistic as it could be.

As for the character development in this show there was evidently none if barely some at all. The male protagonist stays the same throughout. As for the female protagonist she makes one major change then stays sticks with it for the rest of the series. The villains never seemed to really pose a serious threat to the main character and in that being so I couldn't develop a hate for them, no matter how dastardly they may have been. I noticed on several occasions during the show that there were some really heart wrenching moments but I just couldn't get into them because of the fact that I had no emotional attachment to any of the characters in the scene. I believe if they would have took the time and had an episode or two dedicated to letting the viewer get to know the main characters a little more then perhaps I would have shed a tear or two.

My enjoyment for the series came to its peak during the fight scenes, just that feeling of excitement during a fast paced battle really kept me at the edge of my toes during the whole show. My least favorite part would had to have been when there was an emotional scene solely because I could get into it. I was thrown for a loop on some of the twists and that made me happy but that only happened a few times, besides that, the show was quite predictable and would make an episode boring to watch if I already anticipated what the coming events were to be.

Overall Sword Art Online is not necessarily a bad show, the reason being that this is such a controversial issue is that the series was over hyped leaving incorrigible fans pitted against people that had their hearts set on letting the world know that it isn't as great as people think it is. With that in mind, remember that we watch anime to be entertained, not to fight about which is better or worse. In conclusion I would like to state what I believe to be the worst and best points of the SAO in my opinion; I would consider the story arcs and ending to be one of the more cliche alternatives I have seen in a while but the atmosphere during the scenes made up for it a bit. The main character was too well liked. Plain and simple. If he were to have had a rival or someone to push him around some then he probably would have developed more as a good character. The best part by far was the art, looking at the landscapes really made this show more enjoyable for me and hopefully for others as well. Lastly I would recommend this to those that have just started watching anime, after watching so much people start to get picky and notice little things more and more so you should enjoy this while you still can.

SAO is one of the most talked about animes this year. It gets hype, it gets love, it gets hate. It has its upsides, but it has its downsides too. Don't come to Sword Art Online expecting deep meanings and though provoking arcs, its an anime that you can very easily watch with your brain turned off. And there is nothing wrong with that if you come to the table expecting as such. Not every anime has to be some deep, philosophical master piece.

Story(5): Again, the story doesn't provoke much thought. It opens quite well, and the time skips were rather well played in ... my opinion. While Kirito was alone, all he did was focus on getting stronger. You don't need a weekly update on his progress with that. The side stories were a bit rushed, and seemed completely irrelevant. After helping these women (who's names I can no longer remember), he simply went on and never talked to them again. From what I can pick up, Kirito doesn't interact with a whole lot of people on a personal scale. It surprises me that he never got mail from them or things of that nature. The story really only makes any sense halfway through the Aincrad arc.

Art(9): Being set in a video game wonderland, the artists were set free to draw big, flowery landscapes and ye olde towns under a big blue sky. Being able to ignore the laws of physics also made for a few well drawn backgrounds, such as numerous floating islands. It's an artists wet dream.

Sound(8): Personally, I never picked up on any repetition or stale music. It was either so underwhelming, or the tracks they used match the situations almost perfectly. (I'm siding with the latter of the two.) The detail of the sound work, from the player's menus to sword clanging to the rumble of bosses was great in my opinion.

Character(6): I can't lie, my tsundere sense was tingling about 6 or so episodes in. The reason my character score isn't lower is that I'm a sucker for character development, no matter how stereotypical or expected. You have the quiet, confident guy and the harsh, tooseriousforyou girl, do the math.

Enjoyment(9): Simply watching the anime the first time through, I was watching my clock every week for the next release. I couldn't wait. Regardless of how lackluster or ill thought out things may have been, I enjoyed the anime, and in the end that's all that matters. Reading other reviews I do see some flaws, but they don't affect how much I liked SAO. If you enjoy video games, and you enjoy anime, you WILL enjoy SAO, it's almost guaranteed. But just to reiterate, don't expect a masterpiece of plot and story. You kinda need to just blindly enjoy it for what you see.

Overall(8): It isn't the best anime ever, but it is by no means the worst. The action scenes were well played out, the art was amazing, the sound matched perfectly. The story and characters are a little bland, but that is the case for many animes. My overall score is 8 because my enjoyment score was 9. Regardless of any flaws anything has, and this goes for the entirety of life, if you enjoyed it, it was worth it. And being an avid video game player and anime watcher, this seemed like a great anime for me, and it was.