Review of Sword Art Online

People who watched Sword Art Online can effectively be divided into two more or less uniform groups. The first being those who hype up this show to a ludicrous degree and claim it's one of the best things they've ever watched, won't stop talking about it, etc. Secondly, you have the unique snowflake non-purpose hipsters who will spew out five generic paragraphs about how horrible SAO is and how you should feel bad for watching it because it's the worst anime to disgrace their screens at its mere mention. I'm here to represent the "middle ground" between these two extremes. Simply put, SAO is not the bestthing I've ever watched; far from it. How ever, it's also a far cry from the worst. Let's take an in-depth look at each categroy to see why I feel this way. As they say in the show, "Link...start!"

Oh, keep in mind, I will refrain from including Sword Art Online II in this review aside from a few minor comparisons I may need to make.

Story:

I'm sure you all know the basic premise of SAO. A major MMORPG with full VR controls is released in the not-so-distant future of 2022. Everyone is having fun with it on launch day until they realize they can't log out. The game's creator appears to tell everyone that this is intentional and the only way to return to the real world is for someone to beat the game's main bosses. Attempting to exit the game any other way will fry the player's brain in the real world, and dying in the game will result in the same effect. Cue our main protagonist, Kirigaya Kazuto (known by his online gamertag, "Kirito") setting out to be the first to save everyone.

Now, like most other Toonami faithful, I've watched .Hack, so the whole "dudes playing an MMO" thing isn't new or mindblowing to me, but even so, it seems like it'd set up for an interesting story. What we got instead was... a bit different than you'd expect. The story shoves most of the other cast aside to focus solely on Kirito and his various exploits. Though the show has its fair share of episodes/scenes full of action and making actual progress, there are an equal amount of segments that amount to introducing a new female character and having them instantly drop their panties at the sight of Kirito. Okay, not literally, but they do all fall for him at first sight, and it gets old fast.

There are also a lot of scenes that are just talking and it comes off as needless fluff. There are also a good number of seemingly needless timeskips early on that got me really confused. Therefore, a lot of people tend to complain that SAO has awful pacing. While I agree that it isn't the best, you also have to look at the fact that it's only 25 episodes. The slower-paced scenes will come and go before you know it, and one way or another, progress will be made in due time. The second arc focuses on a different game entirely and again, feels a bit unnecessary, but it wasn't unwatchable.

If I can praise anything here, it's the idea of the game itself. All the mechanics such as sword skills and switching seem very interesting and could be applied to a real game. I'd love it if someone actually made an online game out of SAO with its base mechanics. Watching this is what got me back into MMOs.

Art:

Most people will agree that the art and visuals are one of SAO's stronger points. Structures and landscapes are beautifully drawn and almost breathtaking to look at at times. Many of the game bosses are unique in design and cool to look at. Many of the fight scenes are masterfully animated and I felt like they were almost on-par with the likes of DBZ. It's particularly cool when Kirito, Asuna, Klein and the gang team up for a major battle and fight in sync.

I don't have many complaints here honestly. The characters themselves are drawn just fine, but most of them weren't incredibly eye-catching either. Ingame equipment such as Kirito's signature coat have unique designs compared to real MMOs.

Sound: Another strong point. There was hardly a single piece of music in the entire show that I didn't enjoy. The main opening, "Crossing Field" was one of the better ones in the soundtrack, and if you watch all the way to SAO 2, you'll hear the ending theme "Shirushi" is downright beautiful and tugs at my heartstrings.

The voicing on the other hand... is a mixed bag. Normally I'm a staunch defender of English dubs, but this one definitely has its flaws. Kirito is voiced by Bryce Papenbrook (Eren Jaeger, Henry) who seems to voice every male anime protag the same. Many lines meant to be taken seriously during critical moments come out as cheesy and borderline humorous. No offense to the guy, but he could've at least tried to sound different here. On the other hand, I enjoyed Kirk Thornton's performance as Klein.

Character:

Now we've reached what is sadly this show's weakest point. A good chunk of this show's cast has, to quote a friend of mine, "the depth of a CapriSun container". Our main hero, Kirito, is unfortunately the worst example. Kirito is a completely flawless hero who can overcome every obstacle the story throws at him without breaking a bead of sweat. He will win every battle because he's Kirito. I don't like to use the term "Mary-Sue" because it feels like dumb terminology made up by elitist fanfiction writers, but if you must, that's the best way to describe him. He gets every girl, all the best gear in the game, and at best, might pretend to struggle before he miraculously succeeds time and time again. And unfortunately this is the guy that will be hogging the spotlight for most of the adventure.

Kirito definitely has his moments, but they're few and far between his flawless victories and this guy alone is the reason many people dislike SAO. The main female character, Asuna Yuuki, isn't much better, but she's also a more "fun" character, for lack of a better term. Without a doubt, my personal favorite character in the show is Klein. He's a "noob" player Kirito meets and befriends on the first day and shows up several times as the show progresses, getting stronger and forming his own guild. He's got significantly more to him than Kirito, and though he does get to participate in several major battles and do his part, he's mostly shoved to the side in favor of our main hero. He gets slightly more of a role in SAO 2 and I can definitely appreciate that.

I didn't have much of an issue with the villains but I also don't have a lot to say about them. Kirito's sister Suguha wasn't very interesting to me and that's all I've got to say. Yui is the standard "Moe" character and probably my least favorite. Most of the other cast honestly isn't onscreen long enough for me to say much for either.

Enjoyment:

At the very least, I can say I had fun watching SAO. I watched it in just a few sittings while I was ill and there weren't too many parts that made me outright want to turn it off and drop the series altogether. The visuals I mentioned earlier definitely pulled things together a bit better. Other than my earlier complaints, it's a fine anime for those looking for something short.

Overall:

In conclusion, Sword Art Online is at the very least, decent. I feel like too many people view it in extremes, as either the best or the worst. Obviously I don't expect everyone to have the same opinion as me on it, but this isn't a show that people should be negatively criticized for enjoying. It's fine as something to watch "on the side" if you have other shows you prioritize more. If this show had a better protagonist, I think it'd get a lot less hate.