Review of Sword Art Online

What has prompted me to write my first review on MAL? It is none other than this 'gold piece' of anime SAO aka Sword Art Online. It is not a hidden fact that SAO is one of the most controversial anime in existence with its fans and critics as much divided as the rich and the poor. In fact, there are as many reviews and comments on it as there are stars in the sky. Its criticism mainly lies in its bland characters, incoherent plot, unnecessary and filler-like episodes, deus ex machina etc.I will outright state that its characters being bland or one-dimensional is not the major flaw of SAO. It suffers from far greater faults and I will try to present fresh opinions on it. In my opinion, there are two major facts responsible for SAO being what it is-a deplorable piece of anime-which I shall state subsequently.
Before my analysis, I will succinctly rate SAO's various components as:
Story: 1
Art: 8
Sound: 8
Character: 1
Enjoyment: 2
Overall: 3

As previously stated, SAO possesses two major flaws, namely inconsistency and incompleteness. These two are responsible for ruining what could have been a brilliant anime. They are endemic in the whole anime and present in its every aspect, whether it be the plot,setting,characters and even the occasional deus ex machinas.
Inconsistency is what defines SAO. We have a taste of it in the early episodes itself, when countless facts and rules of the virtual game are either completely sidelined or conveniently forgotten. The story begins with a dark theme, replete with despair, and having a potential conlict for survival. What we get in the end is detestable rom-com and slice of life claptrap. The author could have chosen atleast one theme and remained faithful to it; but instead it is all poured into one resulting in a half-baked and incoherent story. What is worse is the fact that we have to juggle between these themes throughout the anime, having intense action at one time and then cozy vacations in the next episode, like what?
This inconsistency does not extend only to the storyline, but also to the characters. The MC Kirito is all bold,brave,charming and strong at one time and becomes a wimp,melodramatic and feeble in the next moment, all for no apparent reason. Similar is the case with Asuna, the other MC. In the beginning, she had a certain boldness and sharpness, but later on became the cliche tsundere, 'cute' character. The worst fact is that they seamlessly interchange between these contradictory traits without any solid reasons, thus creating absolutely unlikable and shallow characters.
The other serious problem with SAO is that it had immense potential which it not only failed to realise but also threw it away in the bin, which I deem as the flaw of incompleteness. The premise, setting and plot had actual value but instead of exploring and developing it the anime wastes the majority of time in filler-like episodes completely unrelated to the story. Neither the myriad rules of the game are explained properly nor the story proceeds in a chronological well-defined manner. Heck, they could have showcased the stages of the game and contributed to the world-building but alas, it was not to be.
The worst came half-way the series in the form of the notorious deus ex machina episode and another game called ALO. Wait, what?! This was the pinnacle of nonsense. The author not only ended the already underdeveloped SAO world in the most despicable manner possible midway (like they didn't even care for it in the first place) but also created a more trashy version of the game. This was the end of the line for me and honestly I barely completed the remaining series, filled with worse tropes than before.
The only redeeming features of the series were its visuals and soundtracks, which actually did not redeem the series for me.
My recommendation: If you want an anime with pleasing aesthetics and something that gives joy to your senses, you can give it a try. If you hope for something else or for something more, refrain from it.