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Favorite anime:
1. Kuroshitsuji (Black Butler)
2. Mushishi
3. Gankutsuou: The Count of Monte Cristo
4. Yuri!!! on Ice
5. Space Brothers
- Created By KyraChan
Sword Art Online (Season One) Review
Hey, look! It's a review! It's on the right day, too...
Edit: After some contemplation, I decided that I hadn't exactly given SAO its deserved score, so here's my rescore.
Plot Summary
Kirito has been an avid gamer for quite a while, when he buys the new visual reality MMORPG game Sword Art Online. Soon after logging in, however, the creator of the game captures everyone in there by erasing the "log out" button, and the only way out is to defeat all 100 levels in the game. Oh yeah, and if you die in SAO, you're dead for good.
Story
With an amazing premise, Sword Art Online takes it and... kinda ruins it.
The first part of it (those who have seen it know that the anime is separated in two clear parts) does... okay, with a few good episodes in the beginning, then throwing in a bunch of time skips, switching the would-be focus from the action to the relationship between Kirito and Asuna, which is a double edged sword. Despite not actually having any clear relationship development, it definitely feels developed, but at the same time, it takes away from both the amazing action and past emotional aspects.
Also, about the first part, though I do agree that there should have been more action, I do think some of the non-action parts were actually done really well (i.e. the fishing part) because it shows that more is going on in this world than just fighting. Besides, it helped to reinforce the idea that just because something happens online, doesn't mean that it doesn't affect you in real life.
As for the second part, this is where it does go downhill plot-wise. Both the relationship between Asuna and Kirito and the action elements are almost pushed aside, in favor for a lot of... flying...
Also, this is where the whole harem thing really starts kicking in, which I find obnoxious, especially because there is no clear reason why all these girls fall in love with Kirito. Also because this wasn't meant to be a harem anime, it just... happened...
All in all, despite its good aspects, I found the plot of Sword Art Online much to be desired...
6.4
Characters
Most of the characters in SAO don't last for more than one episode, so they have little development. However, the ones that are in multiple episodes don't get a whole lot of development, either. The characters that were interesting either die early on, or are barely ever seen.
And sure, Kirito himself had a backstory, and I'm sure it was heartbreaking at all, but considering I don't even remember much about it, it definitely signals that I didn't really care, especially since after telling the backstory, they never really tie it in to the actual story itself.
To add to the fire few characters actually do anything important, other than Kirito. Most of them hang back, aiding a little in Kirito's quest but leaving most of the heavy lifting to him, adding to his already Mary Sue-ish character.
4.3
Animation
Despite generic character designs and a good amount of fanservice, SAO still manages to be absolutely beautiful. No one can deny the quality of the animation.
9.2
Music
The music of SAO does its job pretty decently by adding to the atmosphere without overpowering the plot. However, there are very few songs I would listen to outside of the anime itself.
The first opening is pretty epic, as well as the second.
Endings were good, too.
7.7
Overall
While beautiful animation and decent music make it an okay watch, there are plenty of anime with better stories and characters, so why not watch those?
Half Moon
6.9
Other
*hides from the bullets being shot at me for giving SAO such a low score*
End
