Review of Sword Art Online

Story Sword Art Online is an anime that has stood the test of time surprisingly well, just 5 years after this anime came out it has spawned a sequel anime and a motion picture film which came out in 2017 called Ordinal Scale. The one thing I found about that film is that everyone liked it as well, which surprised me, since this anime… well the story isn’t so good. And immediately off the bat, the most noticeable problem with this anime is its random pacing. The series starts off pretty well, introducing you to the characters at a pace which is pretty normal for mostkinds of anime, especially Isekai anime. Kirigaya (aka Kirito) and all of the other people logged into SAO at the time have been trapped in the game, and if they die in the game, they die in real life. Kirito we also come to find out is a master SAO player, being in the beta since the beginning and knowing virtually everything there is to know about SAO. This is all just the first three episodes or so, give or take some minor tweaks here and there. But after these initial episodes SAO’s problem of bad pacing really starts to show. Characters like Asuna are just pushed to the side in favor of building up these secondary characters which have no real meaning to the story or plot later on in the first 12 episode arc. Obviously these characters are featured in the second season somewhat, but I felt this was a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” situation anyways. Does the show not focus on these characters to instead push forward the main story thread, or do we add these character in for that added effect in Season 2.

I don’t blame them for the decision they chose here, but it can’t be denied that these episodes focusing on characters like Asuna’s Sister (which are not important to the series) was a little too much, and in the end made you feel like you wasted your time. They had no real tangible bearing on events in the anime, sure you can say some of them gave our characters items, but in the end they more or less focused on them romancing Kirito, when you know damn well Asuna was going to be the character they chose. Honestly it all just came off really amateur to me, and short sighted. But continuing on with the pacing, for the rest of the show it’s built around Kirito and Asuna’s adventures together trying to clear all of the towers to somehow make it out of this game. This is where the show really keeps it together and has a cohesive set of characters that are both somewhat dynamic, just enough to keep you hooked, and a pretty straight forward motivations. These episodes are the most enjoyable, and memorable parts of the series more or less.

The parts I really enjoyed about SAO all really stem from them being trapped in this game, it gives the sense that these characters only have one like, and that in turn makes for a very compelling progression for the story. I think something good that stems from this is the relationship between Kirito and Asuna. And okay, sure I get it, I hear your complaints about the arc where they hang out at a cabin, and we’ll get to that in a moment. But Kirito and Asuna’s relationship, I feel progresses at a natural and smooth rate that leaves the viewer feeling satisfied. There is no wait at the end for the big kiss, and there is no shyness around these two characters that keeps the relationship from naturally progressing to extend the series even more. The relationship peaks very early on in the series, and because of this, the viewer doesn’t have to wait until the end, they get that now, and because of that Kirito and Asuna’s characters become so much more important. Kirito and Asuna now have something to live for, and that makes them all the more compelling and human. And trust me, making these characters feel more human, I’m all for, it’s another nitpick of mine, but this series has some pretty robotic characters.

Moving on, the cabin arc is atrocious like I said, it introduces a character that basically lets them cheat in the game itself in many ways. And boy do they introduce that character terribly too, and I can’t say a lot of that because we don’t have enough time to even go into that character. But let me say this, she’s an awful boring and cringey character. Moving on the series pacing ramps up and basically hastily ends the series as we know it 12 episodes in, in a very awesome fashion may I mind you, but still feeling somewhat lackluster. There was no proper build to these final moments, and because of that I felt it was unimportant. Like they had all of the answers all along, and that everything would of course end they way they did, because simply for the fact they’re our main characters. There was no surprise the way it went down, sure it was cool to see in such a dramatic fashion, it was compelling as you were watching it. But that facade slowly went away as you simply just thought about it. Why did this happen 12 episodes in? There must be something better right?

Well the rest of the series is a total and absolute mess and a dumpster fire. Asuna is trapped in a game called again, and they can take her helmet off… yet the game was shut down. This is an EXTREMELY huge plot hole right here. In the beginning they went out of there way to mention on several occasions that if they clear the game, they’re all released. Yet Asuna was never released and awakened… why? Because don’t pay attention that’s why. The show now opts to dangel our main female heroine in front of us like a trophy so that Kirito has something to fight for. But guess what, now there is no romance in the series, so let’s have Kirito’s sister fall in love with him, because incest is cool guyz. And before you mention it, I know they’re not blood related, but it’s still incest. It’s still your sister, do you people have no standards? But the series basically ends with a whimper and a thud rather than ending at episode 12 like it should have. This last half, there was no reason for it to exist at all, it was a complete what of your time, and if you’re going into SAO for the first time, I strongly suggest skipping this part and going straight to the last episode.

Characterizations

Now moving onto characters, the show fumbles somewhat here. First off, every character that’s not Kirito and Asuna may as well be a waste of time. The main villain, the guy who started SAO, isn’t even that important, at least he doesn’t feel important. I believe this is simply because the show is so revolved around Kirito and Asuna at virtually all times, that it really needed to just be these two characters journeys, rather than his sprawling story with revolving characters that they tried so hard to make you care about. Let’s take for example Rika Shinozaki… I’m sure you remember everything she did, right? Right? Exactly, and by the way, she helped make Asuna’s sword and upgraded Kirito’s sword. But I didn’t remember that because she wasn’t important like all the others.

But let’s talk about the lady killer, Kirito. Described as being a lone wolf gamer, he gets literally all dem chicks. Seriously, Kirito in this series gets an incredibly amount, possibly a never ending source of anime babes, and they all love him. He’s also a beta tester, and because of this he knows everything about SAO. And because of this, I’m kinda left wondering why he didn’t do more in this series, and why he had such trouble with certain monsters, but ya’ know, don’t pay attention. Kirito in basically every situation in this anime is calm and collected and knows how to deal with every situation that he may encounter. Because of this I feel his character becomes almost unrelatable if it were not for his relationship with Asuna. It just feels like he never grows or becomes stronger and remains static throughout. Because of this, I absolutely hate Kirito. He comes off as a complete asshole several times throughout the series as well, which really just makes me question why they did this. I’m all for character being evil, but when you’re MC is portrayed as the perfectly good character that fights for his woman and stuff, and then you have him be a complete self absorbed asshole… well that lets me know to never take this character seriously.

Asuna on the other hand is this girl who is basically matching Kirito in skill in some aspects. She’s known for being very quick in combat, and because of this she finds a home in one of the strongest guilds in SAO. She’s also used in the second half as a trophy in a way for Kirito to come and save. She’s literally in a freaking castle at the very top while some generic bad guy who is trying to marry her in real life locks her away and sexually harrasses her. And let’s talk about that, how in the hell is this guy trying to marry Asuna when she can’t even consent? I know that arranged marriages are somewhat common in Japan for wealthy families, but it doesn’t make sense to me. Why keep her locked up in a game and in real life unconscious just so Kirito can come and save her? Why not let her out of the game and marry her anyways? Isn’t it already established she’s being married against her will anyways? Also this whole thing is completely ignored at the end too, so why the hell is this even a major plot point in the series second big arc? It’s almost as if they had to artificially inflate the series so they could get 25 episodes. Ya’ know what, earn the 25 episodes, what about that?

Art

Art for every A-1 Picture that has anything more than a shoe string budget looks amazing, always. And this is no different in this anime either, we have insane art design from this anime that even 5 years after its initial release looks incredible. Immediately from the start I noticed how modern the aesthetic is for the real world and how well it blends into the game worlds fantasy setting. Small things like Taverns and Blacksmiths populate the world, and the cobblestone streets and brick buildings help make the aesthetic come to life. But as well, one of my favorite things in SAO is the world for Elphenhime which is in the second arc. This one is more of a setting akin to something you’d see out of Middle Earth in terms of fairies and monsters. The setting also calls for vast amounts of forest that surround the hub city which gives the feeling that’s it’s a city that’s hidden away in this massive VRMMO.

Character designs are the second best thing about this series though, hands down. While I’m not going to go crazy over Kirito, as his is generic, I will let that slide. As every other character here is extremely well designed. Asuna Yuuki has a fantastic design which makes her look both intimidating and at the same time something to please the… fans if you get what I’m saying. But even the worst characters that aren’t Kirito like Suguha and Heathcliff look fantastic as well. You can tell A-1 really wanted to make this anime the looking anime from that year. And honestly without a list off the top of my head of anime that came out that year, I am inclined to at the very least say it is indeed a very good looking anime.

Animation

Maybe not exactly the most well held of aspect, the animation at times can show its age. Being from the year 2012 it’s populate with the random panning shot to save on budget, which to me is inexcusable. I absolutely hate panning shots for anime that’s not comedy. To me it’s just absolutely lazy to implement it when you’re A-1 and have enough to fund 25 episodes. And look what came out of this anime anyways, it’s a classic anime whether you hate it or not. It took the world by storm and has since made bucket loads of money, so the excuse they didn’t know it was going to be a success to me isn’t good enough. There is a reason there are people who forecast these sort of things in business.

Continuing on the fight scenes in this anime are pretty well made, solid to say the least about them. The first major fight where we meet Asuna in the series is a good example how the worst the series can do, and that’s still a very good scene with lots of great action. The pacing for it is just incredible to see, they don’t really rush any fighting in this anime, and opt to let it build up and have a climax right at the time you’d want it to happen. Things flow naturally in terms of this in every other aspect I think as well. I could name a million nitpicks, but that would diminish the overall quality of this product, even with lazy panning shots.

Score

Now onto the reason most of you probably even give a damn about SAO, the score. And how do I put it, this score is freaking amazing. Probably in my Top 10 anime scores of all time, right up there with Cowboy Bebop, DBZ, and Evangelion. The score here is done by Yuki Kajiura, and she breaths life into this world and story. Yuki has also done anime like; Princess Principal, .hack// Series, Fate Series, and Erased. Being very well known for her amazing scoring in anime, she continues to deliver with this series. The last battle in episode 12 for SAO was an incredible scene because of her score, this whole series is basically carried by her score to at least something watchable. Scenes that on their own are either badly voice acted or just terribly written seem to be brought to life because of Yuki’s incredible score and her ability to seemingly sell any scene. Honestly there is nothing more to say on the score than that, at this point you should get out there on spotify and listen to it right now. Or on Youtuber or wherever you can listen to it. Hell, to me this is a score you should pay money to physically own on Vinyl.

English Dub

The English Dub… well it’s not good, but it ain’t bad either. It’s easily the most notable part of this show that didn’t age well. A lot of lines are stiff and have just awkward delivery. I’m not sure why this is, as this was a pretty decent cast with great voice actors. But somehow the dub here just fails to do anything for me, and for a majority of people. When I first watched this series though, I actually quite enjoyed what the dub offered, then again this was before I had gotten into anime fully like I am now. This was SeaTactics who was 19 and before this maybe watched Attack on Titan, now I’m much more into the workings on things like these. Honestly though, this dub is still completely watchable, it’s not the worst, but it’s not something you should expect great quality from.

Final Rating: 5/10