Review of Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale

When I heard this movie was focusing on augmented reality as opposed to virtual reality (like every other SAO story so far), I thought it was going to be a step down, but it ended up bringing a breath of fresh air to the franchise that I didn't think was possible. The plot was very interesting, but the execution was merely average. They could have done a lot more to bring more meaning to the emotions they were trying to make the audience feel. I feel like its greatest strength is also its biggest weakness; it caters specifically to fans of the show. I say it'sa strength because if you like the show, you'll definitely enjoy this. It's a spectacle of clanging swords, and brightly coloured, loud, and epic fights bigger than anything in the show. It's got all those endearing character dynamics and clichés, too. However, if you haven't consumed any of the preceding media, a lot of the backstory elements (and even present story elements) will be lost on them.

Best parts:
- The enhanced animation looks amazing
- THE SOUND. MY GOODNESS, THE SOUND DURING THE BATTLES IS JAW-DROPPING
- The fanservice scene that is essentially hentai