Review of Sword Art Online
Sword Art Online is anime that often gets a bed rep, a lot of reviewers trash on it. SAO is in no way perfect but to the average anime viewer its a nice dip in the water for any one new to anime. - Im Kinda biased about SAO because it was one of the first anime that I watched, and what got me into anime in the first place. At the time i was really into fantasy and RPG's so the show was like the holy grail for me. I loved the first 12 episodes so much and found my self rewatching them all the time.I loved the sound track and how alone Kirito was, maybe that was my cringe middle school self but I still loved the show.
Which is who I fell SAO is really for, the average anime viewer. The show is easy to pick up and binge, with a plot that is easy to follow that has a dark theme to it. This is one of the shows that I recommend to almost every one thats asks for an anime to watch. When you brake it down the plot has holes and it's easy to trash on the poor writing and cliches that it follows. But the show has charm that makes me come back to every once and awhile.
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Now putting my criticism hat on let's take a look at the shows flaws. First things first, the beginning 12 episodes felt rushed, there is not nearly enough world building to get a full sense of what enicrad really was. SAO only shows a handful of floors and locations making the game seem small. Kirito and Asuna don't have a lot of screen time together, we only get about 3 episodes of them hanging out and then they're the shows main romance. I found my self not liking how the first half of season one ended, sure the fight was cool but I would have preferred more time in the game.
The Fairy dance ark or part 2 of season 1 is dog trash. I liked that Kirito was trying to save Asuna from SugÅ, but thats this seasons only redeeming quality. The whole incest plot line was wack, and doesn't really make sense to plot besides to add a girl to the harem. Same thing with Alfheim online there is pretty much no world building in this game, the show just throws you in to the world.
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SAO is an overall okay show, it's once that almost anyone can enjoy. Anime fan or not it still one of most influential anime to date.