Review of Sword Art Online
Sword Art Online is one of those animes that a lot of hardcore anime fans will tell you is mainstream and terrible but then there are also a lot of dedicated fans to the series. SAO is not the best anime, but that does not make it a terrible anime. It is enjoyable and I made my way through the series within a few days so I must have enojyed in some respects. --STORY 6/10-- One thing is for certain, the first arc is better then the second. With the first art actually taking place in SAO the fight scenes are really cool and I felt aninterest in the storyline. The second arc takes place in a different game which I already thought was a strange thing to do but then it also completely changes the way I see the characters and their situations. They most likely could have just ended the series after the first arc and somply not shown the second at all and I think that would have been a much more powerful and thought-provoking story.
--ART 9/10--
The art in this anime is quite beautiful. The characters look cool, the fight scenes are well animated and the colours are all very bold and pretty. I really did like the overall look of this anime.
--SOUND 8/10--
Much like the art, the sound in this anime was interesting and well done. It suited what was happening during the scenes and could make what would actually be quite a boring part during the sometimes dull plot an interesting scene.
--CHARACTER 5/10--
The characters I think were probably the most annoying part about SAO for me. Kiritio is a basic and bland protaganist and I know it is so that the viewer can put themselves into his position whilst watching the anime but that does not mean he has to have as bland of a personalilty as he is shown to have. It was also annoying how OP he was just because. There was no specific reason as to why he was such a good player and although people will argue it is due him being in the beta or being solo, other characters that were also in the beta were still not as OP as him (sorry rant over). Asuna was a really interesting character I found especially in the beginning of the first arc. I liked her throughout the rest of that arc as well but then in the second arc everything I liked about her (how she was such a badass) was taken away and she was put into a position of a damsel in distress who needed to be saved. If she could have retained some of her qualities from the first arc through to the second she could have remained a much more interesting character.
--ENJOYMENT 7/10--
Even though there were many times I sat there thinking to myself 'why was I watching this', I can 100 percent see why so many people enjoy Sword Art Online. I myself cannot deny that I did enjoy watching it and doing my dance to the opening.
--OVERALL 7/10--
Overall, this was a fun and enjoyable story (throughout the first arc at least) with sometimes annoying (a lot of the time) characters and a pretty predictable plot but as I said, it is still able to be watched and liked. I suggest you watch it yourself and build your own opinion as this is an anime everyone who has seen it has their own very distinct opinion on it so go make your own.