Review of Sword Art Online

(WARNING. I CANNOT GUARANTEE THIS IS SPOILER FREE) Okay first off let's talk about the story! It's set in a near future where virtual reality gaming exists and when this new game "Sword Art Online" comes out, on it's debut the log out button has disappeared and people are trapped. The only way to get out is to clear all 100 levels of the game and beat the boss. First impressions? I thought it sounded pretty cool! Virtual-reality gaming has always been a dream of mine, also the whole idea of being trapped in that game and then having to clear it sounded like an interesting idea. However whenit gets down to detail (including the characters) it felt a little dull and the plot twists in the story seem a little predictable and there was nothing fresh to be seen once you settle into the flow of it.

But on the other hand, the pace of this anime was really good. It wasn't too rushed and it wasn't too dragged out.

Now moving onto the characters.
The main characters, Kirito and Asuna, both REALLY REALLY REALLY annoyed me. Mainly at the start and towards the end. Also they were very annoying in between.
I felt the story was TOO MUCH about them two. I mean yes. They are the main characters but there was no space to breathe because they were both being shoved down your throat.

Another character who annoyed me is Kirito's little sister and Leafa who appears in the 2nd half of the anime, but I guess this is because it's hard to except someone who wasn't there originally. I found them both terribly annoying and I couldn't warm to them.
Okay at one point I felt sorry for Leafa because of something. But even then I was thinking "Yeahhh.... Still don't like you."

However other characters were actually quiet likeable! (I'm pretty fond of Lizz and Klein).
It's actually a shame other characters aren't featured enough in this anime so I felt like they were a waste of good characters.

I felt this way especially for Klein! At the end of episode 1 it felt like Klein would play a MAJOR role in the anime. However he was only seen just every now and again not really doing anything but killing off some monsters with Kirito.

Same with other characters, there is this build up which makes you think you'll see them more, but no... Just no...

As for designs, I thought they were really good so there isn't anything to say here.

Now the art.
Animation was questionable at times...
Notice the first opening when Asuna is walking. It looks rather.... Weird.... Just... Weird... There are a few weird animating problems unfortunately.

I thought the art style was pretty good and it suited the story and the characters.

Now for sound!
1st Opening theme tune was really good! I've got it saved on my mp3, I thought it really fitted the anime well and it was well performed.
The end tunes and the 2nd opening didn't feel as special.

Voice acting was done really well in my opinion!
They sounded natural and none of the voices sounded awkward.

Overall it's a pretty good anime, but I'm not sure it's a "master piece".
There wasn't really anything that got me excited but I was happy enough to continue watching~!