Review of Sword Art Online
Sword Art Online When I came across this anime whilst randomly looking for another show to watch, the synopsis caught me. I am a gamer and enjoy RPG, so naturally I quickly developed an interest to this series. The first several episodes caught my attention and the premise that you were trapped in the virtual world and in order to survive meant immersing yourself in this reality had me fascinated. The action scenes dropped my jaw right down to the floor and kept me wanting, wishing and anticipating for more action. Sadly the story, the plot and the characters lost their purpose and solid direction. Ifound myself becoming less interested in the dialogue/plot and more anxious for another boss fight.
Character and Plot Development. (3) The first four episodes created the atmosphere and struggles with the terms/challenges of survival within a virtual setting. It had that high danger element (killed in the virtual world = death IRL), gaming terms, boss battles and the development of a dark, mysterious plot. Later episodes developed odd time skips, episodic and pointless missions and a romance/partnership that though cute and at times innocent on the exterior, yet on the interior was childish and forced. Kazuto, the male lead embodied the hopes and dreams of all male gamers and fangirls by being good-looking, attracting every female gamer in this reality, every girl gamer needing his help and being overpowered beyond belief. Asuna, the female lead also embodied the hopes and dreams of all fanboys and female gamers by being cute, innocent, a bad-ass (when she wanted to be) having great cooking skills (literally) and needing being the perfect girlfriend. Whilst this annoyed the shit out of me thinking of this lazy-ass method to create these characters. It can also be mentioned how astute this series is in reaching its target audience by tempting us with our guilty pleasures and images of the ideal "gaming" life. (This sounds really sad) By doing this they've diminished the danger element and discarded the interest in the plot as you are addicted to the ideal of the gamer identity, not the individuality of the character or the story unfolding.
Art, Sound and Action. (9) Clearly the best aspects of this anime. The music is grand and epic in emotion creating the drama and struggle during a boss battle. Eye and ear gasms, truly a wonderful spectacle complimented by the wonderful art. A particular feature that really impressed were the use of colored highlights from sword power-ups and attacks, adding to the feel of a environment. May this series an enjoyment to watch.
SAO is its own worst enemy. In the quest for the perfect anime, they created lead characters with unrealistic traits and little individuality; a plot underdeveloped and rushed and the demise of its danger element (demeaning its survival needs). But it does get some things right, like the action (its boss fights), use of gaming terminology, music and art style. SAOis worth a watch but should not be taken seriously as it is a B-grade action flick. If you wanted a solid story and characters, it may not be what you are looking for...