Review of Sword Art Online
Sword Art Online is a disappointing anime; a pony among a herd of horses, if you will. There’s so much right with it, yet so much wrong at the same time. A lot of people don’t like this show, but I think they dislike it for the wrong reasons. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot to dislike here, but people tend to focus on aspects of the show that aren’t actually all too bad, just because they’re on the surface - instead, the underlying issues tear at the viewer without them even realizing. First off, the MC. A lot of people seem to hate Kiritofor some reason; I think a lot of people see an isekai protagonist and just assume they’re gonna be overpowered, but that’s not the case here. I actually don’t mind Kirito at all - I think he has a compelling backstory that makes him a suitable MC for the occasion, and compared to most MC’s he’s actually quite unique. He has reasons for his power, but the problem becomes that those reasons stop being good enough. Sure he’s a beta tester, but how the hell does he get his dual wielding thing? And furthermore, how come we never see any other beta testers. You’d think that if being an early access player would give Kirito such an advantage, surely his fellow beta testers would also have that same advantage. Him being practically unkillable makes the premise that if you die in the game you die in real life nonexistent, and so Kirito just isn’t the right fit for the show.
Speaking of which, we rarely ever see any major characters die. The concept of the show is actually really good, contrary to popular belief, but without constantly fearing that death it doesn’t really do anything for the viewer. If there are any character deaths at all, it instead falls on background characters or characters we the audience were just introduced to. By the end of the first cour, the entire fear of death thing is completely gone, and doesn’t return in any form until the much better 2nd season.
The plot in general is just a mess. Nothing interesting happens after the first few episodes, and the supporting cast is weak with one exception, which I’ll get to. People who like SAO just like it for the cool concept, but it just isn’t executed well at all.
The one good aspect of SAO is certainly Asuna. I like that the show makes Asuna more skilled than Kirito, a trait we don’t get to see used very often but is appreciated nonetheless. Kirito being as strong as he is leads to him feeling very disconnected, but Asuna constantly has to work for her strength. Unfortunately, her character is replaced with [i refuse to say her name, its kiritos cousin], a much worse female supporting character and the entire show falls apart alongside her introduction.
If you have to watch SAO, I advise you skip the 2nd half and go straight to SAOII, which is a much, much better show. Would not recommend this first season aside from as context for that 2nd season.