Review of Sword Art Online
Sword Art Online is the highly popular 2012 anime by A-1 productions. The basic premise is that a virtual reality MMORPG, called Sword Art Online, has basically trapped all of the players inside, as there is no way log out safely. Story: The story for this anime is rather typical, save for the twist on episode 15 of the first arc. It is about a very skilled player, previously a beta tester, named Kirito. It details the journey through the gauntlet-boss style 100 floor game, leading up to the finale of the first arc in episode 15. The story is average at best, being predictableyet never boring. The second arc, however, was well below average. The pacing was sloppily done, the story itself didn't make a whole lot of sense, pulling a lot of deus ex machina's on the viewers. It definitely took a nosedive after episode 15.
Art: The art style itself is very A-1ish. It is well above average, but nothing amazing. The show has a bright color pallet, bringing out the fantasy side of the show. The animation is top notch, although the fight scenes are very sparse through the end of the first arc and the beginning of the second. But trust me, when they come, they are great.
Sound: People like to praise this show's music, saying it is one of Yuki Kajiura's best works; however, I disagree. The music, while being good, is no masterpiece. Both openings are catchy, but barely above average, and the OST itself is good, but only average for Yuki Kajiura. The dub is okay, doing what it needs to do. It is definitely not great, and I would recommend the sub over it any day.
Characters: The characters in this show were rather archetypal, making their actions rather predictable. Kirito is some sort of invincible Jesus-level gamer who never loses. Asuna is textbook tsundere. The other girls are so forgettable, that they aren't even worth mentioning. All the characters are so underdeveloped that it pains me to even talk about them.
Enjoyment: For me, this was the high point of the show. After all the shortcomings of this show (and trust me, there is no shortage of those), I still thoroughly enjoyed all 25 episodes.
Overall: This anime suffers from one thing: bad writing. At some points, it feels like it wants to be deep and edgy. At others, it feels like it wants to be a lighthearted slice of life comedy. At others, it wants to go all out balls to the wall action. The list goes on with this one. I feel like the premise was great, but the execution was very poor, making for a rather mediocre show. Good music and animation, great fight scenes, but it feels like its written by a middle school boy trying to be edgy. (Sort of like Mirai Nikki)
After watching this, I would recommend 2 animes:
Log Horizon: This one has the whole trapped in a video game premise going on, but it has much better writing and better pacing.
Fate/Zero: I recommend this one for the fantasy feel, the great fight scenes, and the great music.