Review of Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale

So borrowing an analogy from a friend, SAO Ordinal scale is like Swiss cheese. Many holes but delicious/enjoyable nevertheless. In typical SAO fashion, we are given an amazing concept and world. But it is populated by average characters and driven by a messy plot. However what makes Ordinal scale different from normal SAO is that there is a movie budget and amazing insert songs by Kalafina to support it. So in a way, Ordinal scale plays to SAO's strengths which is its animation, sound and world building. A bit of spoilers but when the final boss was introduced, it emulated the exact feeling when you facethe final boss in a game.This compounded with the score by yuki kaijura and the sheer size of the cinema screen made this scene larger than life and one of the most hype scenes in anime. And this movie is filled with moments like these which made the entire cinema roar.

SAO ordinal scale does come with its downsides. However since this is SAO, that is to be expected. The same cast returns and that includes the extras who play no other role than for moral support for our heroes. Additionally the plot is like Swiss cheese to no surprise.

But in the end, SAO Ordinal scale is a movie I can safely recommend to anyone who has watched and liked SAO. Also watching it in the movies is the only real way to get the full experience out of the film as some of the set pieces put even Ufotable to shame.