Review of Sword Art Online

How exactly does one go about reviewing what is likely the most hyped as well as the most hated show this season? It's not easy, that's for sure. Some of you may remember my previous review of Sword Art Online, when it first came out. For those of you who don't, let's just say it was anything but...positive. I wrote what was meant to be a troll review, intended to make fun of the folks who hyped up this series when the first episode aired. It was snarky and heartless, but it was directed more towards those reviewers than the show itself. To be honest, I wasn'tsure what to expect from this show either. I know a part of me wanted this to be really, really bad. But strangely, whatever expectations I had for SAO in the beginning have completely disappeared by the end.

Before I begin, I have to point out that Sword Art Online is extremely flawed in numerous ways. That I can't deny. However, sometimes it's not simply the technical things that make a show worth watching. If I were to review this show with complete objectivity, it probably wouldn't get much higher than a 6. But I find that I just can't do that. Why? Because this show, somehow, has found its way into my heart.

Story: 6
The story is mediocre at best, and absolutely absurd at worst. Although the premise of a fully immersed virtual reality is appealing, it isn't very original, nor is it always executed well. I found myself questioning the mechanics of the two virtual worlds several times, and finding no comprehensible answer. The plot is often riddled with holes, and even if you were to ask me now, I couldn't tell you exactly what the point of many of the events was. Quite honestly, the first quarter or so was dreadfully boring. The side stories weren't very engaging, and there was no real sense of danger for much of the first arc. However, I began to fall in love with not the plot itself, but the world it created. I was never interested in MMOs until I watched Sword Art Online, and it was the whole idea of living in a virtual world where anything is possible that really got to me. I could never see myself at the frontlines clearing floors and battling monsters like Kirito and Asuna, but I could see myself as the old fisherman, peacefully living out his life as if taking an extended vacation. It wasn't the story itself that got to me, but the romanticized notion of an endless virtual reality. I suppose that's escapism, but then again, isn't that the core of this series?

Art: 7
The art in this series was based off the SAO light novels, so there isn't much I could say here. I rather liked the character designs, and I always thought Kirito had a suave look to him with the head-to-toe black. Pretentious? Extremely so. Cool? Definitely. The fight scenes were not as well-animated as I would have liked, but again, this didn't really detract from the story. The best scenes, in my opinion, were of the opulent, beautiful buildings and cities in both of the arcs. The lake house during the Aincrad arc and the neutral areas in the Alfheim arc were breath-taking, and I once again felt a longing to live there myself. All in all, the art and animation was decent. They weren't phenomenal, but they were well done and nice to watch.

Sound: 8
What more can I say? This is Yuki Kajiura, the Goddess of Anime OSTs. Sure, this wasn't her best work. I much preferred the music in Madoka Magica, or even MaiHime. However, the beautiful, haunting choral melodies and the rich orchestral pieces were still good enough to garner a solid 8 from me. In terms of voice acting, everyone seemed well-suited for their roles. I never read the light novels before watching this, so I didn't have any preconceived notions of what the voices should sound like. But I never found a single voice to be grating or "off", so I suppose everything is good in that department as well. Overall, the sound was great.

Character: 6
Unfortunately, this, along with the story was where we run into some trouble. The protagonist of SAO, Kirito, is your textbook Gary Stu. He's decent-looking but not gorgeous, with his own personal harem of pretty girls. He's compassionate towards his companions, and loves his girlfriend unconditionally. He's incredibly powerful, somehow able to pull off ridiculous feats at the swing of his sword. His amazing ability to defeat just about anyone and anything is never fully explained, other than the fact that he spent all his time playing online games and he used to train in kendo. Basically, he's a self-insert character with godlike abilities, and from the moment the show starts, you know there isn't a single character who would be able to overpower him. However, I found it very hard not to like him after awhile. Is it not reassuring to know that the main character, the guy you're rooting for in the story, will always prevail? To me, that lifts a huge weight off my chest while watching the show, allowing me to not have to worry about whether or not it will have a happy ending. And I like happy endings, dammit. So regardless of how contrived Kirito's invulnerability was, I couldn't help but be sold by his "strength" and "power". I suppose Asuna needs some justification too, right? Well, to be honest, Asuna was too many different things all at once. She was tsundere, strong on her own, and perfectly capable of defeating her enemies, but she was also a hopeless romantic and later on, a classic damsel in distress for Kirito to rescue. Undoubtedly, Asuna was the "perfect girl" as deemed by the author of this series, and this left her in a bit of an identity crisis after awhile. But despite all this, her love for Kirito was real; more real than any affections the other female characters had for him. You could argue that Suguha loved Kirito very deeply as well, but her love for him never made sense. He was in a coma for two years, and no matter how you looked at it, he was related to her. And for a love to be truly real, it has to reciprocated as well. The romance between Kirito and Asuna is something that will always have a place in my heart. It was cheesy and irrational at times, but it was beautiful and uplifting all the same. In the end, it's simply two people in love, and that's one of the most heartwarming scenes you can imagine, regardless of the time, place, or situation.

Enjoyment: 10
I feel like I'm taking a huge leap here by giving this series a 10 in this particular category, but I believe I must. When I let my brain process this series, it's obvious that SAO has countless problems. There are so many things wrong with how this show was executed that I couldn't even begin to describe them, and even as I enjoyed it, I took note of these things. However, when I watched this, it wasn't my brain that responded, but my heart instead. I felt genuine empathy for the characters, and I was fully engrossed in their exploits. I was somehow able to ignore all of the glaring flaws and instead concentrate on the message of the series, which is surprisingly hopeful. It no longer mattered to me how haphazardly the story was developed, or how awkward the pace was, or even how absurdly overpowered the main character was. I absolutely loved every moment of this show, even as I think back to the first few episodes where nothing really happened. Sometimes, it's the essence of a show that gets to you, not the individual little things, and that's exactly what happened to me here. I give this show a 10 for enjoyment, not because it was intellectually stimulating or incredibly innovative in anyway, but because I loved watching it and I won't be able to stop thinking about it for a long time.

Overall: 7
I can't possibly rate this a full 10, of course. Every series has its faults and its merits, and despite the fact that I could overlook the flaws in my own enjoyment, I can't just pretend they don't exist. But if there's anything to be learned from a show like this, it's that sometimes emotional investment is worth a whole lot more than a perfect story with deep characters. Sometimes, in order to find a show enjoyable, you just have to go out and enjoy it. Thus, Sword Art Online gets an 7 for being the best badly-executed self-insert fanboy-pandering show I have ever had the pleasure of watching.