Absolutely loving this anime!! It's my best SAO season yet. And the season that follows it (Underworld) is bloody awesome. For this season, the series takes a darker tone and is SOOOOOO well animated. The story builds up well and loss is actually felt. The new characters and world area good mystery that are slowly explored and experienced as the story progresses. Nothing feels rushed and each person is given their own time to grow and individually shine. Lots of gore!!! So, if you can't deal with that, avoid this season A long story cut short, it's the best SAO yet.