Review of Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale

Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale This movie is a mixed bag; fans of the series to this point will enjoy this. If you hate the series, avoid this. People who think the series is just average, may have a good time if they enjoy action and solid art. Characters - 5/10 The unoriginal characters are written at the same level as their anime counterparts. Kirito and Asuna are given the most attention, and the others are on the sidelines (because their arc is over). The main two aren’t give much growth either, but they do go through a challenge that is unique to the series up tothis point.

Animation & Art - 6/10
There is a slight improvement to both the animation and art from the rest of the series, but it doesn’t seem to really change the overall impact of the presentation. This movie is just an extension of the story, but technically is fine and serves its purpose

Story - 3/10
Parts of the story were solid, mostly during the buildup. The rest was a chore to get through. Most of the plot points aren’t worth mentioning, and the new spin on the VR game world just didn’t make much sense. It replays the Aincrad Arc in a way, but with the mortality being only in the final part. The villain was cookie cutter. I did enjoy Yuna’s story, but it was pushed to the side and not really built upon. She’s just another character that died in SAO.

Action – 7/10
The action was really fun in this movie. Some of the best fights, up to this point in the series, are in this movie. Although, they’re just eye candy with Kirito or Asuna doing some final move every time. However, the final fight was a headache. The scenes were to quick and convoluted, none of the movements were smooth and it was hard to tell what was going on.