Review of Sword Art Online
Right, so i planned to finally update this after finishing all 25 episodes. As it stands, SAO is one of those anime that either sucks you in enough for you to overlook some of the glaring flaws, or puts you off. And despite how much I enjoyed the anime, it definitely had huge flaws. The story itself had a great premise; this is the reason how people are drawn into the anime. Players are trapped in a VR MMO, where death equals death in real life. Because of this, it's a survival test; there are some who would do anything to live, others who help outother people to live, etc. This is the setting that drew me in, that allowed me to enjoy the anime itself.
Speaking of the story, I must note that the two arcs held different enjoyment values for me. Without spoiling much, the first arc captured me to the point where I went through most of the arc in a day, eagerly waiting for the next week's episode. The second arc, though, was a bit less enticing.
However, where the setting shone, the characters... sort of fell. Rather, the development. The plot itself was fine, but the main problem with the characters is that they were too perfect. At a certain point, the two main characters Kirito and Asuna became "perfect", in the sense that they had no real "flaws" left. Ironically, this becomes a flaw for the series itself, because the characters end up becoming a bit flat.
On the other hand, the animation of the anime was great. The fights were well done (though full on fights were a bit scarce). The main part i enjoyed was the effective portrayal of an MMO. The menu screens, hp bars, all of that made SAO feel like an actual MMO. You could say it's to be expected, but it was great nonetheless.
The sound was great as well. The first opening, Crossing Field, stands as one of my favorite openings. Perhaps I just like LiSa's songs ( I loved Fate/Zero's opening as well), but I felt it fit the mood of the first arc well. The rest of the music fit well with the story- a gallant theme for the courageous moments, a tranquil theme for the calmer parts, etc.
And now for the bias, the part I talked about earlier. I enjoy anime, and I enjoy MMOs. As a result, SAO just clicked for me. I could look over the character development issue, because the settings enraptured me. If it wasn't for the setting of the plot itself, this anime would really only be a 7 at best. But because the story was so engaging for me, I loved the show, enough to feel the enjoyment of a 10/10 even though there were huge flaws.
For the sake of others who don't have such a preference like mine, the score I'd give it is obvious lower than a 10.
SAO will forever be one of those hate/love animes. It was one of the most hyped anime of the year, and despite its slight disappointments, it well deserves watching if you enjoy the premise of the story itself.