Review of Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale

TL;DR: You'll probably like it if you liked the first half of season 1. A comprehensive "should I watch it" guide can be found at the end of the review. Score justifications: Story - 5 The story makes use of AR, but really, it's just the same old formula. I don't think a ton of people watch SAO for a super cohesive, smooth story. However if this is you, I really don't think SAO is the right anime for you to watch. The story is there mainly to make lots of cool stuff happen. If I got a penny for every plot hole in the movie, I couldbuy a Rolls Royce. The plot is there to create convenient scenarios for characters to develop. Don't read too much into it.

Art - 8

The animation is awesome. As expected of SAO. It contains a ton of action packed into two hours. It's really satisfying to watch, especially if you liked the first half of season 1.

Sound - 10

I gave it a 10 because Yuki Kajiura is amazing. Yuna was also really good; reminds me of Index's Endymion movie. There is singing in this movie, and it is just great. I do believe, however, that some people would penalize the sound because Kajiura's "samey" problem appears in some OSTs. Some people might not like it, but I really love Kajiura so I don't particularly mind.

Character - 7

The villains as usual had motivations that made just barely enough sense to go with the plot. However, if you watch SAO for Kirito x Asuna this movie is for you, man. Many old and new characters make appearances in the movie. Don't expect the old characters to develop too much, however.

Enjoyment - 9

I wrote about a ton of flaws in the above paragraphs, but really I don't particularly mind any of them. I went into the movie with the mindset of "forget the plot holes, don't expect developments of characters other than Kirito and Asuna". The movie itself was less flawed than I anticipated. The fight scenes were awesome, some scenes were heartwarming, others were dramatic, etc. There was a lot I personally liked about this movie. If you go in with the right mindset, I'm sure you'll enjoy it too. Of course, if you're going in looking for the next Star Wars, you'll be sorely disappointed.

The "Should I watch it" Chart:

As promised, here is a way to pick whether or not you should watch this show. Do you:

- Hate incoherent plot?
- Abhor nonsensical evil motivations?
- Detest inconsistent characterization?
- Despise Yuki Kajiura's music being the same thing over and over again?
- Loathe Kirito as a character regardless of what he does?
- Feel disgust for Mary Sue characters?

If you really feel strongly about any of these things, forget this movie, it's not for you. In fact, just forget the series, man. On the other hand, if you're on the fence, do you like:

- Cute romantic scenes? (uwa~~)
- Yuki Kajiura's awesome signature music?
- Idols? (singing!)
- Awesomely cool long sword fight scenes?
- AR environment transformation scenes like in the PV? (they're cool right?)
- Dramatic storytelling that doesn't make much sense but is enjoyable nonetheless?

If so, watch the movie.

Overall Score: 9

My overall score is 100% based on enjoyment. If it's enjoyable to me, I can't care less about anything else. This might not represent the feelings of everybody, but then again, I'm not trying to do that.

My rating represents how I found the movie. If you are instead reading this to see whether or not you should watch the movie, please refer to the "should I watch it" chart or the TL;DR instead.