Review of Sword Art Online
I'm being incredibly generous with my rating here. I started watching this anime, despite the many controversies I overheard about it online, upon hearing it was aligned along the lines of virtual reality. Story: 6/10 A 6 out of 10 is viewed as 'fair' which, I have to say is what I originally thought when I first watched the anime. The first episode set the scene quite nicely however, it paled in comparison to pilot episodes of other shows. This idea of being trapped inside a video game has been overused for decades but this was one of the first I had seen it being used inan anime. At first, it was enthralling to watch Kirito, our protagonist, suffer in this 'real' world and become accustomed to his surroundings. The characters (the ones that were introduced in the first episode) were... a little realistic? However, it became clear there was nothing really driving the story (other than the man behind the whole being stuck in the game in the first place) and soon you'll become bored as Kirito continues life (in a somewhat mundane fashion). I have to say, as soon as Asuna was introduced, it all fell apart from there. The ending of the season with the fighters at LEVEL 75 (not 100) and soon having to face the reality that they might never escape, almost saved the show if were not for the fact that the 'boss' decided to fight them anymore even if they hadn't reached level 200. From that point on, the writers of this anime was trying to continue the franchise desperately but naturally that is difficult when Kirito has already escaped the game. So what do they do? Have Asuna kidnapped. Of course, anime often undermines woman and presents them as pitable however, in this case it was ridiculous. The idea of Asuna being kidnapped went against her originally brave demeanour from when Kirito first meets her and it becomes clear the writers went against her character and followed the damsel-in-distress trope.
Art: 5/10
A 5 out of 10 is viewed as 'mediocre' which I must say fits this very well. This anime ought to have been beautifully drawn and empowering in terms of video games however, it was screwed over by sloppy writers who clearly didn't think before they did anything. Half the scenes mirror each other but are drawn in ever so slightly different ways and there's no real satisfaction I normally recieve when looking at well-drawn characters. By the end of the first season, I was disappointed in the writer and animator's skills. They could have done so much better and portrayed the very realistic terms of virtual reality but nope, they just didn't.
Sound: 6/10
Considering the fact that this show revolves around something as interesting as video games, meaning that the sound of gunshots and screams were naturally a normality in the anime, it failed to comprehend it. The voice actors lacked something that ought to have made the show more audibly and visually good. Asuna's character was... I'm sorry... a dud. Actually, scratch that I'm not sorry. Her voice actor could have done better, there's no need to make every single female character a high-pitched boobed cariacture.
Character: 4/10
Here's where is gets juicy. A 4 out of 10 means 'decent', perfect to describe this. Yes, there are some who might argue it ought to be lower however, when I say 'decent' I mean the characters were barely good. Some were 'poor' of course, perhaps deserving a 3 but in terms of an average, I would have to raise it to a 4. And I'm being very kind here.
Asuna is simply used to draw out Kirito's bravery and impressing qualities, portraying him to be the saviour. She could have been much, much better. It's rare when animes get an empowered, video-gaming teenager like her. She could have held her own however, our first meeting of her already shows us she is meant to be Kirito's love interest and nothing more, nothing less.
Kirito was screwed over more times than I can count. His character arc fell apart several times, especially when he wishes to settle down with Asuna despite the fact that he is a TEENAGER. A video-gaming, goddamn nerdy teenager. It's like the writers just abandoned everything and made him out to be the best person in the entire world. Kirito, you could have been so much better.
Words can't describe my somewhat passive hatred against Yui. She's a dramatic device thrown into the mix for diversity perhaps because the writers were getting bored of the trash they were making. Personally, I find her quite lame and redundant, used to try and draw together a 'family' in this cruel virtual world.
Klein, whom I actually liked a bit because of his comical attitude, becomes a side character later on, originally used to make Kirito less of a loner in the first few episodes before we meet other characters. His friendship with Kirito was almost actually nice, if it were not for the fact that they just seperated and went on different paths because the writers wanted a more romance-driven plotline.
Enjoyment: 5/10
I gave up after season 2, fed up with the trashy and poorly executed plotlines and character arcs. This was an anime that could have risen to the top with a better storyline and personalities for the characters. This was the second anime I've ever seen I could likely be harsh due to high expectations but from what I've heard, no one think this show is above a 5.
Overall: 6/10
Fair.
If you're video gamer like me and enjoy plotlines like that, maybe watch the first season and give up after that. Other than that, don't watch this anime unless you want to have an enduring rage against poorly written characters and terrible unrealistic aspects of video gaming and virtual reality. Thank you!