Review of Sword Art Online

Can't wait to take crap because I didn't rate SAO low enough but here goes: The story to Sword Art Online is tricky to judge because the arcs are so different. Instead I'll break it down. The first arc of SAO is the arc that got millions of people hooked and is the reason it has a cult following. And I will say that I thoroughly enjoyed the first 10 or so episodes. After introducing one of the most anticipated concepts with a strong first episode, SAO became an episodic adventure anime dealing with the world inside a death game. While it is not original inexecution with the many tropes it perpetuated, the first arc was an enjoyable action/harem anime. (7/10)

The following arc is where SAO really starts to break down. Without spoiling anything, all intrigue that the action and plot had held were lost due to the lack of a plot device that was essential to the first arc. The dialogue became painful and if you are tired of anime hinting at incestuous relationships then this is not for you. (1/10)

Next come the characters. They aren't very good. Not only does this anime sneakily morph into a harem, but the harem doesn't even get the benefit of usefulness. It still comes down to our protagonist as the only character worth forming a party with, and the only one who shows any depth at all. And don't even get me started on the NPCs...

The production quality of SAO is about the only great aspect of the show. The music was great, the first OP was catchy, and the art looked awesome during the fight scenes especially. The soundtrack was even good enough that it could smooth over many of the rough patches by accentuating what little emotion the show tried to bring.

In order to account for anomalies that don't fit the 5 categories I will make an adjustment as well. On the positive side, while it is a stereotypical harem/action shounen, it is probably one of the best in that genre, at least from a production standpoint. On a negative however, the show absolutely nosedived in the second half, and turned a concept I was highly interested in into a taboo.

In conclusion I still enjoyed many aspects of the anime and would actually recommend this to any anime fan, if for no reason other than to formulate an opinion so that all can join in the SAO debate.

Story: 4
Characters: 4
Sound: 9
Art: 8
Enjoyment: 7
Overall: 6