Review of Sword Art Online

There are many anime where the Eastern and Western perceptions are very mismatched. Sword Art Online (SAO) is one of the greatest examples of this. A stalwart, heavyweight franchise in the medium in Japan is seen by many in the West as the most controversial anime ever made, mainly due to its status as being one of the progenitors of modern power fantasy stories. In this review, I give my take as to that circumstance as well as my general opinions on the anime. The first season is the most popular point of the series, but is also the most controversial. So let's begin. Of course,SAO spawned the popular meme of ‘if you die in the game, you die in real life’. As the synopsis suggests, that is the point of this story and it is a very interesting premise. The mantra the creator of the game gives is that the game SAO ‘is a game but it is not something you play’. It is such a simple phrase, but at the same time, packs a lot of meaning regarding the tones of the story. In this first season, there are two distinct arcs. After a very impactful first few episodes, the overall narrative slows down for the sake of some world building and character development before suddenly going in an initially unexpected direction with its drama and romance. There's action to boot, but it ends up taking a back seat to the more dramatic beats. After a while, it becomes clear that the main themes of the story are more than just about clearing the game. It would be more accurate to say it is never really about that to begin with. What the events of this story serve as is a backdrop for exploring deeper implications of reality from a psychological and philosophical perspective and how people and social relationships are affected when those perceptions of reality are put through rigorous change. The journey along the way attempts to bring a lot of focus on social dynamics, both those amongst the main characters and across the SAO player base as a whole, creating a sort of social commentary that the anime unfortunately does not develop enough. A lot of interactions and thoughts that are meant to be provoking end up feeling lackluster. There’s a lack of intensity and surreal urgency in the direction to really drive home those elements. The first of the two arcs is not very coherent and ends too abruptly and the second is hindered by poorly executed tropes. For some, these tropes are the tipping point that creates a lot of the negative perception today while for others, including myself, they are simply points of contention that come with the territory the series gets into. This is an example of the overarching issue with this anime is that many of the story's actually interesting ideas do not get enough time spent on them.

Outside of some odd writing approaches, SAO also has noticeable issues in its characters. This is most true of Kirito, the main character. At his core, he is a soft-spoken introvert who struggles to make friends, mainly due to family issues, which is not an issue on its own, and is even something of a staple trait in modern power fantasy MCs. The issue is that he just feels hollow, a common trap of said power fantasy MCs. A lot of the deeper nuance needed for his character progression is just not there (especially when compared to the novels). He is made into too much of a 'good guy' in his mentality too quickly (in the novels, he comes off much more pronounced as an anti-hero type of character and it takes longer for him to soften up to people around him). The same goes for his mannerisms (in the novel, he's a bit less mildly mannered and talks a lot more trash). His experiences in Aincrad and the people he meets along the way bring so much change for him, but the above issue is why this change is not felt enough by the viewer. That combined with how often other characters cite him as an inspiration leads to this improper balance that makes Kirito seem like a flat character. Then there is the ‘he's too overpowered from the start’ point. Power fantasies are already the type of stories where mileage varies depending on the mindset of the viewer, so there’s really no avoiding that. At the same time, however, there’s nuance to that circumstance here that places it above many similar stories. To give an example, in the novels, Kirito talks a lot about what being strong means to him and why he chose to become strong at the expense of acting the way he does in regards to other people. While that topic is brought up in the anime, using a longer form of exposition similar to the novels would have greatly helped building up his character in that regard. This idea is another example of the anime not doing enough to get to the meat of the story.

As for the rest of the characters, it is a mixed bag. The main girl, Asuna, is consistently near the top of 'best girl' lists around the internet and rightly so most of the time. She does come off as too perfect at times, but she is able to move independently, and has her good moments and developments. That said, be prepared for her to unnecessarily and idiotically be done dirty. In terms of side characters, a lot of them come off as superficial and a little tropey, but they could also be worse. Of course, it goes without saying that majority of the other characters are girls cause *anime*. The side character introductions contribute to the episodic pacing of the first arc and for the most part, the ways in which they are introduced are memorable and enjoyable. Unfortunately, every single of those side characters that is a girl meets the same unfortunate fate of being reduced to a pseudo-love interest after their 23 minutes of fame. This leads to a harem-but-not-really situation that massively detracts from letting any individual side character really stand out on their own. Though that does become an annoyance, there are certainly far worse-written harem situations in anime (and I certainly enjoy a well-written harem story any day of the week). The issue here, however, is that the superficial interactions of any sort of harem do not fit in this type of story in which its strength is delving into the deeper aspects of the character dynamics and relationships. The characters themselves are pretty likable for the most part though, so that made it all a bit more bearable. The other guy characters in the main cast are all pretty cool but again aren't really anything special. The quantity-over-quality approach does give a decent variety of interactions and dynamics between Kirito and the rest of the main cast, but this aspect does not reach its full potential due to Kirito's shoddy characterization and the surface-level approaches to the other characters.

All of the negatives above accounted for, SAO is still near the forefront in terms of its story beats and core ideas for two unique reasons. The first is the effect of the characters’ real lives on the story. In many isekai stories, which some do consider SAO to be one of, the main character is summoned to another world and that's just simply that. A lot of times, those characters even take on quite different personalities. Staying true to one's real self in a world where reality is foundationally redefined is one of the bigger themes here, helping to keep things grounded and giving the characters a generally more realistic feel in certain aspects. Though character backstories are common, the question of "What happens to the characters after they become un-isekai'd?” only seems to be brought up in theory and conversation and hardly ever put into practice. SAO differs there, choosing to confront said question head-on, especially in later seasons. The second reason is that it is hardly ever the case that an entire main cast is isekai'd and experience it together with such a similarity in circumstance. Not just the main characters, but the entire SAO player base, 10,000 strong, is confronted with the same foundational problem, and each character is defined by how they approach that issue. People coming together with their different approaches and mindsets to face that issue is a very interesting concept that unfortunately only comes off as three-quarters baked in this anime.

The strengths of this anime appear in the audiovisual elements. Aincrad itself, though leaning a lot on generic fantasy motifs, looks good for the time. A1 does a good job with portraying the grandeur of Aincrad and the variety across its floors that we viewers actually get to see. At the same time, though, it also feels like the viewer definitely doesn't get to see enough of it, given how it looks on the outside. The fidelity and detail are also good for the time, but not anything amazing. The action bits, while lacking any true sakuga or impact typical of a battle shonen, are smooth and exciting enough given that the action is more or less secondary. The color contrast between the virtual and real worlds is a relatively generic effect in the present day, but it works well here, especially given how well-balanced the color and lighting are in both palettes, and is actually a pretty innovative effect for the time. It also matches well with the theme of game-versus-real-life. The same approach is noticeable in the character designs, though most of the designs themselves also lean on more generic motifs. While some virtual characters look like real world counterparts, there are others that look vastly different. Gaming in real-life is similar, with how people can choose to look like themselves or like someone completely different, so including that facet helped give a natural feel to the designs.

SAO is also good in its sound design. 'Crossing Field' is one of the most popular anime openings of all time, and rightfully so. The OST is also very strong, with many hardcore fans of the series considering it its greatest strength. The sounds of action sequences, from sword skills activating to the clashes of swords themselves, are just as fulfilling as the sights of them. Voice acting is also mostly good, particularly from the girls, with many at-the-time future heavyweights of the likes of Haruka Tomatsu, Ayana Taketatsu, and Saori Hayami tapping in. There is one particular flaw in the voice acting, though, that being Kirito's performance. It is actually a pretty solid performance, but the casting is not a good fit. It is puzzling as to how they could cast Yoshitsugu Matusouka, a man with one of the widest ranges in the business (even true at that time given his other performances around then) and have him not use it. A character like Kirito’s likely will not be using the furthest extent of the range to begin with, but the direction just goes too far the other way, with him a lot of the time sounding too soft. Kirito's characterization is the biggest flaw of this anime and the voice performance did little to save that flaw.

In the end, all of SAO's controversy is well deserved, considering its missteps with the story and frustrating character direction. This anime serves as a very drastic example of ‘what could have been’. At its core, the concept of SAO is an intriguing idea and the novels actually tap into that. That said, for how critical I am about this (mainly coming from the perspective of someone who really enjoys the finer details of the novels), this is still a good anime. The physical viewing experience is quality; it is a pleasure to look at, and only slightly less of one to listen to. The story, even with its flaws, has some really interesting and unique ideas at its base that don't get enough TLC put into them. While the greater approaches to characters are also head-scratching at times, the individual characters themselves aren't bad, main character aside, just a bit simplistic in writing. I would not call this anime a must-watch based on any sort of merit though. Even still, SAO is still very relevant today (the LN is still ongoing and tops charts when new volumes release) and there are too many stories, for better and for worse, that take inspiration from it. Thus, I would generally recommend it, mainly just to have an opinion of it, based on both the good and the bad it does, with how both sides of that have contributed to its popularity today, and the impact it has had on the medium over 10 years later as one of the OG power fantasy stories. In addition, some of the later seasons are properly good. The source material LN is the more definitive experience of the franchise though, so if you end up becoming interested in the general ideas here and don't mind reading, I'd recommend that over the anime as the best way to experience this story.