Review of Sword Art Online

Spoiler warning: This was my first anime. Or, one of them at least. I can't remember. The point is, I was around 10-12 years old when I first watched it, and there are generally two main things that take up a pre-teen boy's brain. Video games and hot girls. SAO had both, so it was good enough for me. In fact, by my standards as a beginning weeb, the show was amazing. It was all about living in a fantasy MMO for two years; fighting monsters, leveling up, and being followed around by a sexy girlfriend and a harem of other cute chicks. for ten yearold me, this was like, the ideal anime.

I kept watching after the Aincrad arc though, and even beginner weeb pre-teen me could tell when the show started to get REALLY bad. I stopped watching shortly after I finished the B.O.B arc and never looked back. In my mind, SAO was a once good series that had fallen to shit.

The more involved I became with the anime community though, the more I figured out that the entire series of SAO in general is frowned upon, and I kind of accepted that it was a genuinely horrible anime, and moved on to watching good ones.

Recently though, I have been watching a lot of Mother's Basement on YouTube, including his critique on SAO. as horrible as he made it seem, I kind of wanted to rewatch it to see if it was that bad. I got more invested in it, scenes from the anime were popping up in my recommended, and it wasn't long before I bit the bullet and started a rewatch.

So I will be reviewing each arc individually and going over its strengths, its flaws, and everything in-between with the budding question in mind: "Is SAO really that bad?"

Aincrad

Before I get into what I think about this arc on a more detailed level, I just want to say upfront that this is probably the best arc in the entire series. Surprise surprise, the best Sword Art Online arc is the one that actually has Sword Art Online in it. This should've been a standalone series that ended after this arc. That would most likely allow for a much more dramatic ending. But because of the series' massive success, they just had to make more. Anyway, I'm getting kind of ahead of myself here, more on this kind of stuff later.

The series starts out pretty solid, and the premise is fuckin' sick, one of the best in anime. Both 10 and 16 year old me was engaged throughout most of this arc. The setting of the death trap video game can lead to many interesting situations and some very good storytelling when it's used to its full potential. The series really shines in episodes like Red-Nosed Reindeer, and the two-part murder mystery one. Unfortunately, both those episodes I named are early episodes, and the story is only used to its full potential about half the time. Later in the arc, they go easy on the killing because I guess the author wanted to keep his precious characters alive, but that's not what we want at all! We want more episodes like the tragedy in Red-Nosed Reindeer when Kirito watches his guild walk into a trap and get picked off one-by-one. More of the lifeless look in Kirito's eyes as he tosses Klein the revival item and says "Use it on the next person who dies right in front of your eyes."

But Kawahara decided to switch the focus to Kirito and Asuna's relationship, which is alright I guess, but also stupid shit like other girl crushing on Kirito even though we know he's not gonna end up with anyone other than Asuna, which brings me to my biggest complaint of Sword Art Online: KIRITO IS TOO DAMN PERFECT AND HE'S BORING AS NAILS. I often found myself literally shouting at the TV whenever he rushed in like a big damn hero and made all the girls swoon over his heroic actions: "HAVE FLAWS! PLEASE JUST HAVE ONE GOD DAMN FLAW!" I'm pretty sure the only time we see Kirito lose at all in the entire arc is in the duel with Heathcliff, and we learn later that that match was match was rigged because Kayaba had immortality activated. At first it at least makes sense why he's good at the game. He was a beta tester and he put a lot of time into grinding and just getting powerful. but then he starts doing some bullshit like hacking into the mainframe and turning Yui into an in-game item, or learning how to dual wield, and by the way, why can't anyone dual wield? Why only Kirito? If it's physically impossible to hold two swords in your hands at the same time, then that's just shitty game design.

But anyway, I'm gonna switch gears back to the killing off characters thing. Like I said before, they stop doing a lot of it towards the end of the end of the arc, and focus on other bullshit that I don't like instead. In fact, Mother's Basement made a really good video on when exactly he thinks SAO turned into a bad show, and he thought it was when Yui was introduced, because the in-game item thing shows that Kawahara doesn't have the guts to kill off his characters, and an important character doesn't die again until I think four arcs later, even though the entire third arc is a LITERAL MURDER MYSTERY. WHERE NO ONE WE CARE ABOUT DIES.

Back to the shortcomings of the first arc. They put way too much focus on characters that are boring and I generally don't care for like Yui, meanwhile interesting characters with an actual personality like Klein are sidelined. I used to joke around with my sister, who has also seen the show, that there should be a spinoff of SAO called Sword Art On-Klein. But stupid name aside, I'm kind of serious about that. I genuinely think that Klein would be a better protagonist, because any character would be better than Kazuto goddamn Kirigaya. Imagine SAO from Asuna's perspective. That would be fucking awesome. Asuna is my favorite character in this arc, although I think it would be Klein if he wasn't criminally robbed of screen time. In our hypothetical Asuna series, we could kill Kirito off for her character development or something, and then make her the main character of the next five arcs. with just one small idea, I have envisioned an idea for a story that is LEAGUES better than the one Kawahara created (But don't quote me on that and say lEt'S sEe YoU cOmE uP wItH sOmEtHiNg BeTtEr! obviously I'm not going to write an entire story). Anyway, you'll noticed that I said Asuna is my favorite charater in THIS ARC, even though she is a main character throughout the entire series. I am aware that she plays an important roll in the Fairy Dance arc, but... well...

OK, I just got back from a good, long cry, because I just remembered how Fairy Dance did our girl dirty, but now I think I'm ready to write again. What should I talk about next? Oh. I guess there' the finale. I have mixed feelings about it honestly. When I first watched it I found it kind of rushed. It seemed like the show was hyping up for an epic final battle on the 100th floor against Kayaba's big scary robe guy form from episode 1. So the sudden reveal on floor 75 that Heathcliff was really Kayaba the whole time felt like something that Kawahara just made up on the spot, and honestly he probably did, but during the rewatch I thought it actually kind of worked, since the game had already been going on for two years, and everyone was already sick of it, so when Kayaba offered Kirito the chance to clear the game early in a duel with him, he took it. The itself though was actually kind of stupid though, I guess I also have mixed feelings about it. Heathcliff ends up killing Kirito, but then Jesus-Kun ends up coming back from the dead just to land that final hit on Kayaba before "dying" again. Then, Kirito is teleported high above castle Aincrad where he is reunited with a "dead" Asuna and a "dead" Kayaba. And this is where I thought about how amazing the ending would be if these characters actually died here. It would be beautiful, romantic, poetic. The two lovers sacrificed themselves so that the surviving players could finally make it back to the real world, and they really were together until the very end. But nope. Gotta make five more arcs, a movie, and a spinoff show for that sweet, sweet cash money, so let's have Kirito wake up in the hospital while Asuna remains trapped in a different digital world being held captive by the BIGGEST FUCKING PRICK ANIME HAS EVER SEEN. Don't even get me started on that asshole. I do think the final scene of shriveled up, long-haired Kirito waking up and limping through the hospital looking for Asuna was pretty sick though.

Story and characters aside, let talk about the animation and OST for a second. SAO's animation is absolutely stunning and full of eye-candy, and that's something that's never changed about it. SAO has never been an ugly show. The OST is also pretty solid, even though it's nothing super memorable. The opening is easily one of my top ten ever though, Crossing Field always gets me hype (YUMEDE TAAAAAKAKU TONDAAAAAA KARADA WA DONNA! FUAN! MATO! TEMO! FURIHARATTE IKU!). A lot of times the OST and animation helped me get through some of the story beats that weren't too great. Does this mean I condone prioritizing flashy animation and music over good characters and stories though? fuck no! I'm just saying, credit where credit is due.

So as I wrap up my thoughts on this arc, I think instead of a bunch of arcs that come after this, SAO should've been a standalone show about, well, SAO. a 26-episode season devoted entirely to SAO itself, or maybe even two, would've been entirely possible, what with all the time skips in between most early episodes, plus the 25 highest floors that were never explored before the game was cleared (And this is a pretty random place to sandwich these thoughts in, but since when the fuck do you beat an MMO? and Since when the fuck do only 10,000 people ever buy a game this advanced and massive?). But at the end of the day, I thoroughly enjoyed SAO's Aincrad arc, even though this review might not have made it seem like I did because of all of the long rants. And just like I did when I was 10 or 12 or whatever, I found myself fantasizing about what I would do if I was in the game, if I Had logged in on that faithful day. Because that's one of the biggest parts of SAO: It's made to make you fantasize, and once you can accept that, you can learn to enjoy it for what it is. That's the reason Kirito is so boring. He's a self insert like Bella from Twilight (But somehow ten times worse in my opinion). The point is, it's fun to think about living in the virtual world, forming a guild with your friends, and then probably dying because you're not THAT good at video games, but hey at least you tried.

You know what's not fun to think about though? The thought of some rich asshole holding your girl hostage at the top of a tall ass tree, and you have to fly all the way up there and fight him, accompanied by your sister who wants to fuck you. But I haven't rewatched the Fairy Dance arc yet, so I'll save that for another time. For now, Aincrad gets a 7, maybe 8 out of 10.

BUT WAIT. This review isn't over just yet. I have to talk about something that I've refrained from talking about up until now: SAO abridged.

Many a weeb is familiar with the concept of abridged anime on YouTube. basically just a funny parody of an anime dubbed over with unprofessional voice actors. I usually don't get too much into abridged anime, I think a lot of times they miss the mark with some very cringeworthy and not funny at all humor. But I can say with 100% seriousness that SAO abridged is so much better than actual SAO. It's the only abridged series that I'd recommend to someone who hasn't seen the real anime, just think of it as a dark comedy set in a fantasy world, sort of like the show Galavant if you've ever heard of that. For you see, every character that I didn't like in the actual show is made more likeable and more human, every character that I already liked is made even better. Kirito is a cynical asshole anti-hero who becomes traumatized over the death of Sachi and triggered over the phrase "your fault". Throughout the series, he develops from a sad loner who acts like a jerk every chance he gets and takes advantage of people into a genuinely good human being with close friends who actually cares about people. Asuna is made even more badass, like in the equally hilarious scene where she kills Kuradeel by faking him out and making him beg for mercy just to finish him off and mock him ("I don't want your blood on my hands!" "Really?" "NoOoOoOoO!"). In the original show, Jesus-Kun Kirito saved Asuna from Kuradeel by fucking punching him to death. Obviously, this alternative is much better. This is of course, the only abridged anime that I deem absolutely fucking hilarious. Take that scene in the regular anime where Asuna thinks Kirito wants to have sex with her so she takes off her clothes right in front of him, and then he admits that he only wanted to spend the night. Even pre-teen me knew that Kirito had dun goofed. I MEAN SERIOUSLY, HOW DUMB CAN YOU BE? SHE CONSENTS, SHE'S SOBER, AND SHE'S SO FUCKING HOT, JUST PLAY ALONG WITH IT YOU ABSOLUTE FUCKING MEATHEAD, is along the lines of what we both yelled at the TV during that scene. I'm not gonna spoil what happens during the abridged version of that scene, but it's much more satisfying and it's hilarious. I guess the dynamic between Kirito and Asuna is just much more interesting in the abridged version. They play off of each other really well, and they have a lot of arguments.

I guess if there's one thing you should take away from the review, it's that you should watched the abridged version. Anyway, it's time I wrap up the review for real this time as I prepare for the most painful four hours of my life as I rewatch Fairy Dance, but at least I'll have a good chuckle watching Fairy Dance abridged after.

Fairy Dance

I've done it. I rewatched Fairy Dance. And after all that, I have to say, it wasn't horrible utter dumpster fire, just kind of dissapointing. It's definitely a step down from the last arc, and it has many huge flaws, but I feel like for the most part, it's just ok, with maybe a couple of things that are pretty good about it. But I haven't actually said any of my real thoughts on this arc yet, so I should stop rambling. I definitely have surprisingly few thoughts on it though, so this review will be shorter than the last one.

I will start off by saying that this definitely didn't need to exist. The last arc tied things up pretty well, so it sucked having to watch the next episode and see the whole "Aha, you thought the whole SAO thing is over but it turns out that Asuna and three other players are still comatose and some rich jerk named Sugo is gonna marry Asuna. It was just really nice to have that sense of resolution at the end of the last episode. The way I see it, there are two types of sequels. The type that builds on the continues story of the original material and thickens the plot, and the type where some new threat emerges after our heroes live happily ever after at the end of the first thing. That second type of sequel is commonly made after a series that just wrapped up was so successful and popular that there was demand for more, and nine out of ten times, it sucks.

Let's talk about Sugo for a sec. I think I speak for everyone who has seen this show ever, if they even made it as far as Fairy Dance, when I say this: fuck Sugo. On one hand, he's already one of those villains that's written to be extremely dislikeable, like Umbridge from Harry Potter. But on the other hand, he's just a stupid, one-dimensional, cartoonishly evil villain with a generic motive (Although I'm not saying Kayaba's a much better villain than him, because Kayaba LITERALLY FORGOT WHAT HIS MOTIVE WAS, which is some bullshit I probably should've brought up in the last review, nice cop-out Reki).

And then there's Suguha/Leafa. I WOULD say that she's a pretty decent character. But there's one, painful thing that I hate to watch every time. That's right ladies and gentleman, it's time to address the elephant in the room: THE GOD DAMN INCEST. The incest was somehow worse than I remembered. I remembered the case being that Leafa had fallen in love with Kirito in ALfheim Online, and was crushed to find out that the one she was in love with was really just her brother, but in reality it was the other way around. Suguha fell in love with her her own damn brother, and she was crushed to find out that the person in ALO who reminded her of him and wasn't related to her actually was him. Fine, I know they're not biological siblings, but they are biological cousins, and that's also weird. Incest aside I guess Suguha's a pretty good character, and she grows as a character, getting over those feelings for Kirito and bonding with him over their love of VR gaming, AS FRIENDS AND SIBLINGS. I especially liked that scene where they danced with each other in the final episode, it felt like a nice wrap-up for the very painfully awkward arc between them. I gotta say though, and this doesn't actually have anything to do with the actual anime, but I really enjoy Suguha' character in SAO abridged so far. She's a Snarky, ruthless jerk who even gets on Kirito's nerves, but she's secretly a nerdy roleplayer in an online game. They even cut the incest! hallelujah! I'm excited to see where the series goes with her character.

Kirito himself actually surprised me in this arc. A lot people blame Fairy Dance for completing his transformation into Jesus-kun, and I can kind of see why, but I found the opposite to be true. Sure, there still wasn't much going on for him this arc in the way of character development, but we got to see him fail. He went into ALO thinking he'd be naturally good at it after being the most powerful player in SAO, but he ended up struggling with it a lot and being a noob. Leafa had to help him with a lot of stuff and explain things to him, and she acted a lot like Kirito did whenever he teamed up with a less experienced player in SAO. And of course, he suffered that absolutely humiliating defeat when he tried to solo the World Tree, which was a very stupid decision that I'm not sure why he made, but it was at that moment he realized that maybe he wasn't as powerful as he thought he was and he shouldn't have underestimated the game. It's true that Kirito should've been more traumatized by SAO being back in a virtual world, but I found at least one pretty good example of that during the bridge fight (which was pretty sick by the way) when he said something like "I'm not letting another party member die again." I think that could've been a reference to Sachi and the Moonlit Black Cats.

So Kirito was ok this arc, but still kind of boring. You know who I really had a problem with? Asuna. Fucking Asuna. God, her role in this arc as the damsel in distress has got to be one of the biggest character nerfs in anime. With her locked up in a cage at the top of the World Tree, she can't play off of Kirito or any other character, and Kirito is left with Leafa, a much less interesting character. The worst part is that they try to sexualize her suffering like in some sort of porno, I mean come on, tentacle monsters? seriously? And hey, at least Kirito rescuse her at the end so she can be along side him in the next arc right? No! God forbid! every character in the next arc except for Kirito is completely sidelined in favor of new ones! Asuna might never be as cool as she was in the first arc again!

The story of Fairy Dance was a little weird, I just felt like the pacing was off. It also could've been made a lot shorter, but they had to add in that completely useless subplot about the feud between the nine factions, that took up several episodes (But Kirito vs. Eugene was at least a kind of cool fight). For the most part, nothing that I really liked happened until the two-part finale.

Kirito's fight with Sugo within ALO was complete bullshit of course, just like his fight with Heathcliff, plus there was more of that rapey stuff with Asuna that I hated. However, the whole final episode was one that I enjoyed. That intense showdown between Sugo and Kirito in the hospital parking lot with a real fucking knife was a direction I didn't think the series would go. Kirito and Asuna finally meeting within the real world as we see the their SAO avatars smiling and holding hands in the reflection of the window felt like a really nice wrap-up to the two arcs, the SAO incident had finally ended (But let's be real here, it should've ended 11 episodes ago). Then we get to see the gang, now including Suguha, just chilling together in a bar living their normal lives (Although it doesn't really make any sense that they all live so close to each other). But then there's the whole world seed thing. You'd think after those two traumatic events that happened within a VR world, Kirito and his friends would just take a break from all that gaming and just enjoy the real world, but Kawahara wanted that cash money so he needed to provide a reason for the next four arcs, movie, and spinoff show to happen. Oh well.

In the end, Fairy Dance had some good, some bad, and a whole lot of mediocre, so I'd give it a 5/10. I'm keeping this review listed as 7 though, for the Aincrad arc. Anyway, if you've read this far, and you're even on the SAO page on myanimelist in 2020? What are you doing? Go do something else.