How Many Episodes Are in the Complete Series of Sword Art Online
Synopsis
In the year 2022, virtual reality has progressed by leaps and bounds, and a massive online part-playing game chosen Sword Art Online (SAO) is launched. With the aid of "NerveGear" technology, players can control their avatars within the game using nothing but their own thoughts.
Kazuto Kirigaya, nicknamed "Kirito," is among the lucky few enthusiasts who become their hands on the beginning shipment of the game. He logs in to find himself, with ten-thousand others, in the scenic and elaborate world of Aincrad, i total of fantastic medieval weapons and gruesome monsters. Nonetheless, in a barbarous turn of events, the players before long realize they cannot log out; the game'south creator has trapped them in his new earth until they consummate all 1 hundred levels of the game.
In social club to escape Aincrad, Kirito volition now take to interact and cooperate with his fellow players. Some are allies, while others are foes, like Asuna Yuuki, who commands the leading group attempting to escape from the ruthless game. To make matters worse, Sword Art Online is non all fun and games: if they die in Aincrad, they dice in real life. Kirito must adapt to his new reality, fight for his survival, and hopefully break gratis from his virtual hell.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
Background
Related Anime
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Reviews
Apr 6, 2014
25 of 25 episodes seen
| Overall | four |
| Story | iv |
| Blitheness | 8 |
| Sound | eight |
| Grapheme | 1 |
| Enjoyment | 3 |
--The review contains pocket-size spoilers--
Since I've seen a plethora of scores of 10 for this show, I thought I'd write what I feel is a more than realistic review for this show. Sword Art Online is more or less the equivalent of a fanfiction in it's writing and quality. Whether people desire to overlook it or non is up to the individual, simply I believe it fails at the fundamentals for writing a good story. This review volition go into details as to my opinions on why I feel this way.
1) Story - This is offset major problem is the prove. Let'south starting time from the beginning shall we. The first arc consists of 14 episodes. The first two episodes are honestly pretty good and prepare the plot of the show that should follow. You're introduced to the chief characters and it shows mmo mode of play. I mean with 2 episodes that are amazing, surely what follows will exist more of the adventures of the master characters and these mmo boss fights...right? Wrong. What follows are 5 completely irrelevant side character episodes and unnecessary terrible time skips that ruin whatsoever sense of a story the start two episodes set up. And so due to some illogical reason, we're now downwards to 7 episodes to tell the rest of this story. Yet doable right? Right? Incorrect over again. The series wastes another 2 1/2 episodes on pointless filler garbage. So in that location you accept it over half of outset function of the story has nothing to do with the overall plot. Well what about the other episodes y'all ask? The remaining "plot" episodes are filled with deus ex machina in its purest form. Even the finale of the beginning flavour makes absolutely no sense. This isn't a fantasy world, it's a freaking video game, you can't accept miracles here. So that concludes my issues with flavor 1, which the majority of SAO fans consider to be the best part....Yeh you lot heard me, the 2d part is fifty-fifty worse. ii) Art - The art is fantastic. Colorful characters, bosses (the few we see), and settings are all here. It'southward easily worth an viii. 3) Sound - Once more fantastic. Nil incorrect with information technology at all. viii. 4)Characters - Hither nosotros go...This is easily the worst part of the series. I'll separate the chief characters and lump together the non and so main characters. Kirito/Kazuto - The main character of this show is the epitome of the current definition of a "Gary Stu". He has no personality whatsoever. He is practiced at everything he tries for no reason. He's an amazing player, an super sleuth, a ladies human, and a master hacker. You proper name it, he can practice it. There's no reason given for this other than he'south but that good. Girls all love him, guys desire to be him, and villains are jealous of him. He likewise solos MMO boss fights...yeh wrap your head around that one. Side note - I often see people claim they love this show because they're hardcore gamers. I have to say equally an avid gamer myself I notice this show to be insulting. Unless you've hacked or cheated , I don't understand why you lot're content with a character who does. Side notation over. Asuna - The main female lead/most blatant waifu grapheme always. Asuna is introduced as a strong player who can stand up on her ain with Kirito, that is for the first couple episodes. In one case she reappears she barely does anything other than cook for Kirito. That'southward right, her donkey stays in the kitchen, while Kirito does all the important stuff. In part 2 she does absolutely null...seriously. She again has no original personality...textbook Tsundere. Yui - This character is terrible in all senses of the give-and-take. She'southward walking deus ex machina, nothing more. This grapheme should be hated by whatever gamer, since she's a cheat device, who adds nothing to the story. Villains (small spoilers) - There are 2 major villains in this series and they're both terrible. The first one forgets his motives for doing everything in part 1 and the part two one is so comically evil he tin't even be taken seriously. Other Characters/ Who the hell cares - The female person characters all want to have sex activity with Kirito and have no personality past this. The male characters don't get to do anything because Kirito hogs the bear witness from everyone. That's really all at that place is to say nigh that. Suguha - This is Kirito's sister. She honestly has layers and was a plus to the evidence in my opinion. I don't know why she'southward in this show, she doesn't belong in information technology... So yeh, Gary Stu and Waifu - these characters are pathetic (1). v) Enjoyment - Needless to say I didn't enjoy information technology. Poor show (iii) 6) Overall - This show has so many fans, and I really don't know why. Its plot is rushed and terrible. Its characters so flat, it'south nigh funny...almost. Its romance is highly misogynistic and terribly developed. I felt insulted watching this, and don't understand how any could like this show. Even Gamers.
Without going into spoilers, the 2nd part of the serial takes place in a different setting, with a mostly new cast aside from our main hero. This part of the series probably deserves the honor for most unnecessary story in the history of anime. This arc is pretty much a mario game. Our hero must save the princess in the castle. Not really much to say almost it. Oh yeh deus ex machina finale hither too...oh and in that location's an incest subplot...for some reason. This concludes the plot section. I think I'm being pretty generous with a iv here.
Feb 26, 2013
25 of 25 episodes seen
| Overall | 7 |
| Story | 6 |
| Animation | viii |
| Sound | 9 |
| Graphic symbol | 6 |
| Enjoyment | 8 |
I don't really want to go into too much depth, but I'd like to give an overview of the series and give my opinions it. If you haven't noticed yet there are many negative reviews out there for this anime, and while many of them bring upwards some pretty fair points, I think some people are being a scrap too harsh on it. Let me explain.
Yes it's a popular anime, yes it has flaws, no information technology'southward not perfect, but at the very least in my opinion it is enjoyable. The pacing is off, the beginning particularly feels rushed, there were moments where I thought I skipped an episode considering of the fourth dimension skips which made it difficult to really connect with any of the characters in the showtime, and there were some less than stellar instances where information technology felt similar the anime was trying to make me intendance but failing hard. Some characters felt to be completely forgotten throughout most of this serial too. For example in the beginning we are introduced to a character named Klein who is rapidly pushed aside later the offset episode and barely seen again and doesn't actually make much of an impact at all on the story later on on. This seems to happen a lot throughout this series where there might exist some emotional moments where a grapheme dies, or something dramatic happens but there is really no emotional affect from it, and the main character seems to non really care that much most it or it doesn't really event anything significantly. I actually felt this series shined from around episodes four-13 and I wish they would accept kept with that footstep instead of rushing an ending midway and throwing something new at usa. The second one-half just felt completely unnecessary and forced. Pushing the negative aside, I found the overall theme and temper of the series to be nifty, and being an avid lover the MMORPG genre obviously a lot of things in this series appealed to me. I really enjoyed the idea of being stuck in a game that was incommunicable to escape from without winning and having real consequences, it actually made everything much more dramatic and meaningful in the story. Sadly this quickly goes away midway through the plot. If I had to pick two of the best things this anime did well for me information technology would probably be the blitheness and soundtrack. They both were really well washed, and honestly without them being every bit practiced as they were this series would have gotten a much lower score from me, and when I say I really enjoyed the soundtrack I mean that I loved information technology, it was superb. I think what it actually comes down was just the fact that I enjoyed watching it. I tin can look at the flaws and choice the anime autonomously pretty easily, only those flaws never really stopped me from enjoying this anime.I really do feel though that it had a lot of potential to exist a top tier series, information technology just made far too many mistakes. Looking at it objectively I merely cannot give this anime higher than a 7. It was proficient because I constitute it to exist enjoyable, only it wasn't not bad or amazing. At the end of the solar day I lookout man anime considering I want something that volition entertain me and proceed me interested, and I feel that Sword Art Online did a good task at accomplishing that.
Oct 12, 2014
25 of 25 episodes seen
| Overall | 2 |
| Story | 2 |
| Animation | 7 |
| Sound | seven |
| Graphic symbol | two |
| Enjoyment | 5 |
One time upon a time, in a land far away, there lived a brave young male child. He was the all-time swordsman in the country and the manliest man of all. He overcame countless trials with little try and won the hearts of many off-white maidens.
Yes, it'southward time for Sword Art Online, the origin of many angry rants.
The premise doesn't sound too bad. Ten thousand players of a virtual MMO are trapped in the game and forced to complete information technology to escape, except that death in the game leads to decease in real life. Just recall well-nigh it: this could be a tragic story of struggle where death is backside every corner. A story of sacrifice and despair. A story of alliances and expose. A story of the struggle to retain humanity in front end of incommunicable conditions. ...But why have any of that when y'all tin can take romance and harem? That's correct; the survival game is but for prove. Don't expect deep interpersonal or political conflict. Don't wait psychology or moral dilemmas. Don't await tactics or heed games. Actually, don't await witty dialogue of any kind. And that is the biggest problem with this show. It is bankrupt in substance. It'due south by and large just bromidic romance and harem, with a bit of action here and there. There isn't much thinking involved. A few plot holes I could forgive, but if the show isn't nearly anything worthwhile, there isn't much to do. What makes this problem all the more credible is that the premise promises something entirely different than what it delivers. The show has thrown its hands upwards in the air and said, "We don't care." And so why should the viewer? Information technology doesn't help that the testify has grown infamous for glorifying its protagonist, who in the eyes of many has become the epitome of a Gary Stu. He can defeat anything, he can solve whatever problem, and he gets all the girls. Information technology's almost like this show was meant to be a propaganda slice in his favor. Story: 3 The commencement ii episodes are decent, building up the premise. Nosotros are introduced to the protagonist Kirito and the concept of the death game. Soon enough, nosotros are told that a month has passed and 2 k players have died offscreen. ...Await, not even a short montage or anything? Apparently not. Anyway, these two episodes are pretty much the but decent ones, and then savour them while you tin. The 3rd episode begins to show more serious problems. We are supposed to class an emotional bond to new characters in a few minutes, and we have to go through over-the-top malaise over irrational actions. But in that location is as well optimism in the air; of course we can revive someone whose brain has been fried, right? What follows is an abrupt leap to harem and romance antics. The next few episodes are near various girls suddenly falling for Kirito, frequently the same twenty-four hours they met him. This typically involves uncontrollable blushing, fanservice, and people acting Tsundere. You probably get the motion picture. Information technology doesn't assist that many of these episodes have a very filler-esque feel to them. The main plot ‒ if you can call information technology such at this point ‒ takes a backseat in favor of these random new girls. The girl called Asuna, who quickly becomes the token love interest for Kirito, has at to the lowest degree met him before, but there is however very little buildup to their relationship. Unless information technology took identify offscreen. You see, some other matter that becomes very noticeable is the pacing. In that location have been timeskips of months between episodes. This wouldn't be a problem if these snapshots contained all the events that were critical to the story, only it's obvious that the author has picked rather tedious events out of all the possibilities. Why is it that thousands of people dying is covered in a few lines, while we have to sit through hours and hours of romance and harem? I hate to be beating a dead equus caballus hither, but it'southward unavoidable because information technology comes upwards again in just about every episode. Past now, it has besides become obvious to the viewer that Kirito is invincible to the signal of tedium. He has a level higher than anyone, the best equipment, and a seemingly endless pool of abilities, but nigh importantly he e'er wins. There is sometimes faux tension, sure, but you lot know he will survive anyway. You can simply breadbasket so many clutch survivals earlier y'all start rolling your eyes. The residue of the story arc involves Kirito and Asuna hanging out in the countryside to spend their honeymoon. They fifty-fifty adopt a girl to portray a typical happy family unit. The problem is that their relationship is actually non that interesting. But "dem feels"! Nah, sad. I have a centre of stone. This is followed by a sudden confrontation with the main villain, which Kirito wins because the ability of love conquers all. And past that I mean the power of dearest conquers the programming of the game. Well, okay, perhaps there was some "power of love" clause in the lawmaking somewhere. It wouldn't surprise me at this bespeak. Predictably enough, melodrama ensues. Tears, promises of love, etc. You lot tin can probably imagine. At least now we're done with this show, right? No, recall again, that was but the good part. There are actually 11 more episodes left, and the journey takes us further downhill. Nosotros enter some other game, this time without the death aspect. Before we get to the plot itself, fifty-fifty at a glance this idea brings up a few problems. The harsh reality hits you faster than you can say "cashcow." This second arc feels completely unnecessary. It has been tied into the original story with an overly convenient plot device for no apparent purpose other than stretching it further. At least know to quit while you're alee. But no, they but had to drag this evidence through the mud to rip apart any shred of dignity it had left. It doesn't help that at that place is no death anymore. While this makes the slice-of-life content more fitting, information technology also removes the established selling bespeak of the show. The change is as well sharp, and the deviation in tone is also jarring. If you lot desire to make a slice-of-life of ordinary MMO players, exercise it from the beginning. Now, for the plot itself, and it isn't pretty. We go straight to a Mario game, past which I mean saving a damsel in distress trapped in a cage. And that isn't a metaphor; she is quite literally trapped in a cage. Add tentacles and incest to the plot, and you have a winning combination. The incest aspect is provided by Kirito's sister Suguha, who also provides additional fanservice. At least now the pacing is less erratic and there is seemingly less development taking place offscreen. It's just too bad that there is also very little meaningful taking place onscreen. There are some new characters and even an ingame state of war going on, but it'southward all so irrelevant to the main story that it's hard to maintain involvement. Long story brusque, Kirito beats the second villain with the help of more than deus ex machinas. There are also more tears, promises of dearest, etc. So at present we're done, right? For now, yes, only there's still season two to wait forward to. Setting: This is technically part of the story category, only I really think it deserves its own section hither. You lot come across, the very foundations of the setting make no sense. People in Sword Art Online are too oftentimes acting similar they are in a normal game, not in a life-and-death scenario. For instance, why is in that location so much resentment towards beta testers who have greater knowledge of the game? This isn't a competition; the faster someone beats the game, the faster everyone gets out. And, similarly, why are beta testers reluctant to share information? Are they then worried near other people using their newfound abilities to impale them for no reason? Look, you lot can't have both a casual piece-of-life of MMO players and a grim death game at the same fourth dimension. Option one. This casual mental attitude becomes more pronounced later on when it becomes obvious people are wasting tons of time with unproductive quests, romance, and just hanging around. Kirito himself spends time on seemingly useless sidequests, and Asuna spends time cooking for him. Come up to think of it, why has Asuna wasted points on a useless skill like cooking in the first place? Are these people even trying? And why are so many players dying when towns are safe zones? Are they stupidly rushing into high-level dungeons? I suppose so. You run across, for a grim decease game it certain is hard to die in SAO. Bosses won't respawn, and then everyone can advance forward, even weak players. Going from boondocks to town is besides easy enough with teleport crystals. Well, okay, at that place is that problem of challenging people to a duel while asleep, but that can't take out so many. There is no lack of critical resources considering you can hang out in the safety of towns indefinitely. Sure, exp and money are limited considering the regeneration of monsters is express, which is foreign game design itself, but they aren't necessary if you stay in boondocks. At to the lowest degree, the show never implies that they are necessary. Oh, and for the record, I'one thousand treating the bear witness as self-contained and ignoring the source material. So why practice they die? I'd put my money on rushing stupidly into dungeons because we get to come across one notable example. Permit's imagine you establish yourself in the following situation. Earlier yous and your club are almost to enter a high-level dungeon, you lot acquire that one of them lied about his level. Knowing this, y'all realize y'all are underleveled and likely to end up dead, while fugitive death and alert the others would be every bit unproblematic as staying in boondocks. What would you practice? Would you A tricky ane, I admit. We are too introduced to groups of player killers. Sounds good until you realize this isn't a normal game. At least, I thought it wasn't, but it looks like some people didn't get the memo. In a state of affairs similar SAO, there should be no reason for these killings. This isn't Danganronpa, where the main signal of the premise is that you tin only escape by killing someone. This is a game where it makes the well-nigh sense to team up and shell the game. In that location is no prisoner's dilemma; cooperation is the best program and whatever sensible person would go for it. If you lot impale someone hither, you only get some coin and equipment. While information technology may help you beat the game a little faster, odds are that information technology will only hurt your chances of survival overall. Just off the superlative of my caput, a few reasons: Actually, does the equipment even assistance that much? Kirito seemingly uses the same equipment for long periods of fourth dimension, even so he is practically invincible. On the other mitt, he does say that equipment tin can be worth many levels, and then did he get the best stuff for himself so fast? Is it strange game pattern or cheat codes? It's anyone's guess. Of course, if y'all have petty involvement in chirapsia the game, killing other players makes more sense, if only a little. I suppose getting more money tin help you lot obtain some luxury items, but is information technology worth the risk? The implied reason is that they are killing people for laughs, just why did then many murderous psychopaths decide to log into this MMO on its opening day? Is this some kind of stab at gamers, saying that they are unable to distinguish between real violence and fake violence? Maybe, or the writer forgot that this isn't a normal MMO. Once more. Then is it a legit program to stay in the virtual world for the remainder of your life and give upwardly on getting dorsum to the real world? If so, it would explicate a lot. While the range of pastimes in there is smaller than in the real world, maybe there is enough for some people. The pick between staying in relative happiness in a virtual world and risking your life returning to the real world could have been an interesting ane. Unfortunately, their bodies are deteriorating in existent life, which makes the choice very one-sided. For some reason, Asuna has to point this out to Kirito considering apparently the state of his existent-world trunk had never occurred to him over the course of ii years. Yeah, good job, Kirito, you sure were fast on the uptake. Lying down on the grass and having a carefree nap doesn't audio so smart anymore, eh? Finally, why are virtual MMOs still legal later on the SAO incident? Sure, the new hardware is supposedly safer, but the previous death trap must accept equally passed through "strict" government examination, so who in their correct mind would trust them? And even if we assume it is prophylactic, since when has people's hysteria hinged on facts? People fright new engineering science fifty-fifty when it's harmless, let alone when a massive incident like this happens. There would exist mass protests in the streets in favor of banning them. Characters: ii Y'all may have noticed that I have just mentioned three characters by proper name then far. For another show, this might be because the bandage is and then vast that in that location is no time to become through them all, just hither it's rather that there are very few characters worth mentioning. Kirito, and by extension Asuna and Suguha who are defined by Kirito'southward character, hog practically all of the screentime. Everyone else gets thrown under the bus. Girls only exist to fall in dearest with Kirito, and males but exist to be junior to him. The villains in particular simply exist as fodder to the guy. Kirito: I have barely touched on Kirito'southward personality. Well, blame the show, not me; it should at least exist willing to come across me halfway. Nosotros know very petty about him, other than being invincible and inexplicably skillful with the ladies. Essentially, he is the manliest homo on the planet. That'south pretty much all he is. Even his dialogue ends up pretty bland. There are no witty insights, no clever jokes, no expert word games. Much of his dialogue consists of saying that the earth is a virtual ane, explaining game mechanics, wishing to save anybody, or loving someone forever. The sort of stuff you'd expect from a cardboard cutout hero in a situation like this. It can be a facepalm-worthy experience to witness girl afterward girl falling for Kirito like nothing, often the same day they met him. The show endlessly drills into the viewer that he is the sexiest human alive... for some reason. I become that rescuing people can give you points in their eyes, but come on now. I can but assume there is a hidden manliness stat and his black jacket comes with a +999 boost. Every bit far every bit his invincibility goes, the win streak past itself isn't the biggest problem. The problem is that he always wins through animal forcefulness. That is to say, his character skills and stats. There are no tactics worth mentioning, no psychology, no politics, no thinking whatsoever. He will just go out there and pull off his generic action hero stunts. Sure, developing those skills and stats may have required some tactical thinking. Maybe he has optimized his skill tree or has amazing grinding strats. In theory. We see no hints of it. It all happened offscreen and offscreen doesn't count. I'm sorry, it just doesn't. To add insult to injury, some of Kirito's abilities are completely forgotten later on. I'm sure that health recovery thing would have come in handy whatsoever number of times. And when fifty-fifty his skills and stats aren't enough, he is saved by plot armor at the last 2nd. It's as well a mockery of MMOs in the sense that Kirito is able to solo raid bosses. And he is able to attain a level college than anyone despite playing solo, supposedly because he doesn't have to carve up the exp. His most unique ability is revealed to exist... *drumroll* dual-wielding, which nobody else is immune to do in this game. This doesn't sound like any MMO I know of, or was the thought to portray a player with god-mode cheats on? I'1000 seriously thinking that the evidence would accept been a lot more tolerable if Kirito alone had been replaced by ane of the side characters. It withal wouldn't have been a masterpiece or anything, only at least the Gary Stu accusations could take been avoided. Asuna: She is nigh as banal in personality as Kirito. She is besides portrayed as fairly powerful for no substantial reason but of course nothing compared to him. As time passes, her most notable trait becomes being a textbook Tsundere. ...Well, that was fast. Moving on. Suguha: As mentioned earlier, her main part is providing fanservice and a tacked-on incest subplot. It's simply another element thrown into the plot for cheap shock value, if anyone is all the same shocked by incest in anime present. Villain #one: The first villain barely appears, and his motivation for trapping the players is vague, to say the least. He basically did it out of personal involvement. He wanted to create a virtual earth where death has meaning like in the real one, only as for why he was interested in the idea, he forgot. Err, alright then. Moving on. Villain #ii: The second villain is pathetic and a disgrace to antagonists everywhere, coming across as a cartoon villain who does evil things for the sake of existence evil. The conflict hither is portrayed as completely black-and-white, simply in case someone had sympathy for the guy, as unlikely equally that is. His main focus is essentially raping a asleep girl. And that is over obtaining tons of cash, presumably in the millions. If he had left the girl alone, he probably would have got away with it, so for all intents and purposes, he chose raping a girl over millions in cash. Talk about priorities. Come to think of it, information technology's already ridiculous that the family of the asleep girl is planning to accept her ally the guy. I hateful, she is in a coma. As in unconscious, unable to state her own intentions, etc. Where are child protective services when you need them? Thankfully, the law disagrees, so they tin't utilize for an official spousal relationship. Instead, he'll be adopted past her family equally their son in spirit... Wait, what? Furthermore, his sheer incompetence is mindboggling. He openly explains his evil plans and his security is practically at Dr. Evil level, up to entering a cloak-and-dagger keycode in plain sight so that the prisoner tin see. Thankfully the government and his company are as incompetent and are not monitoring his inquiry group closely despite its reliance on infamous technology used in SAO. Are these the aforementioned people who deemed the new tech rubber? If so, I'd like a second opinion. I wouldn't trust these people to operate Angry Birds, let solitary a virtual MMO with potential wellness risks. Art: seven So this is where the money went. The backgrounds look squeamish but cheap fanservice scenes not and so much. Sound: 7 Not too bad either. The soundtrack and opening and ending songs work pretty decently, and the voices are as well alright. Enjoyment: 5 Funnier than I was expecting but for the wrong reasons. At that place is something earnest about how the show is trying to portray escapism and man relationships, but it falls merely brusk plenty to create a dissonance. Overall: iii Watch it to witness the writing yourself. Simply more importantly, past watching the testify you lot tin better understand the reviews or, improve yet, write 1 yourself.
a) Record a bulletin in advance, knowing that you wouldn't last long, or
b) Stay in town so that y'all wouldn't get killed in the offset place?
1) If people offset killing each other, it evidently increases the risk of dying yourself, both in retaliation and spontaneously.
2) Killing people reduces manpower needed for chirapsia the game, and the distrust that follows will arrive even slower. Y'all could only kill useless low-level players, only they probably don't have much money or skilful equipment to brainstorm with.
3) There is the risk that you will land murder charges if you lot escape from the game and officials find out.
December 31, 2012
25 of 25 episodes seen
| Overall | 3 |
| Story | three |
| Animation | 8 |
| Sound | 6 |
| Grapheme | iii |
| Enjoyment | 6 |
Once in a while, there comes forth a title (exist it movie, volume or anime) that takes the audience past storm, sweeping numerous off their feat, leaving several with a bad aftertaste in their oral fissure and making a few pass the work off as 'average' or 'mediocre'. Online communities, forums, chat rooms and every other nook and corner of the internet known to man plough into arenas of debates, discussions, fanboyism/fangirlism and flaming. It's apparent that when something is pop, information technology doesn't always go to bath in praises. With the acclaim, comes a sheer amount of criticisms. Also, it goes without saying that popularity doesn't necessarily equate to quality. Sword Art Online, abbreviated as SAO from this bespeak on, is no exception. SAO, the anime adaptation of a series of light novels of the same name by Kawahara Reki, has been the much talked about show of the Summer and Autumn 2012 seasons, and taking into consideration the incredible hype surrounding it with reviews of mixed sorts, it's likely to stay that way for quite some time. Keeping in mind the vogue of MMORPGs and the demand for something 'captivating', the team behind SAO attempts to bring an enticing work to the table by executing the intriguing premise of 'players trapped in a VRMMORPG where decease equates to expiry in real life and the only way out is to articulate the game'. Unfortunately, SAO fails at many levels which is a shame because when the anime kicked off with the highly anticipated get-go episode, all seemed well and it gave the vibes of something truly worth spending your fourth dimension on merely so it does a flip and from this point, things become awry. And here nosotros have it— one of the most controversial anime of the contempo years. Before proceeding with the review, let's get one affair straight. I have non read the original source material— the light novels, that is. Hence, I'g not going to draw whatever comparison betwixt that and the anime. With that out of the way, let'south keep the ball rolling. SAO on the surface has a adequately interesting premise, no incertitude, and it's executed well to some extent or and so did it initially seem. The very thought of a large number of people logged into a VRMMORPG with the intention of embarking on a virtual reality adventure just only to exist struck with utter horror as they're faced with the shocking truth of the game has been put into effect quite satisfactorily in the first episode. It's pretty much what I'd call an splendid start. Nevertheless, SAO effortlessly manages to ship all my expectations and enthusiasm down the drain for it takes the show merely an episode or two to reveal its true colours followed by the disappointment information technology has in store. So, what goes wrong? Well, many things. Following the Great Commencement, the first arc decides to take a detour and invests on a few episodes dealing with side stories in which our protagonist Kirito gets acquainted with 1 girl per episode and ends up rescuing her from a jam. This is precisely why I like referring to this agglomeration of side stories equally 'episodic harem' wherein the principal heroine of the story and Kirito'due south love involvement Asuna is assumed to be constant and the other girls are variables. Now this isn't necessarily a bad matter. Even so, these side stories have very little to zilch to contribute to the series as a whole. Admittedly, they equip the viewers with some clever, lilliputian details here and in that location regarding how the game world works just they inappreciably take any begetting to the overall plot. The primary goal of these filler-like episodes appears to be that of giving our hero clad in blackness an opportunity to flaunt how much of a chick magnet he is and how he has it all that takes to exist the coolest dude in this world made upwardly of zillions of pixels. To boot, the characters (read: beautiful chicks) that announced in these episodes take absolutely no substantial part to play in the story subsequently on. 'Side' characters indeed. And SAO knows how to effectively sideline them. When the arc finally gets itself back on track, it's only natural to hope that the show volition now take something worthwhile to deliver. Notwithstanding, that isn't the case. If anything, some astringent cracks begin to announced as very soon the focus of SAO is the romance between the two leads which is, in one word, cheesy. At this bespeak, opinions are divided. The romance aspect, for some, tin be highly-seasoned while for others, information technology can be a major turn off specially if they don't like the characters involved. Information technology all comes down to personal preference. However, personal preferences aren't a convincing excuse by any means to overlook the fact that the story, world building and everything else take a backseat for the sake of allowing the two leads to be lovey-dovey in the properties of gorgeous sceneries. When the arc does manage to divert its focus on to some 'serious business organisation', things look skilful for a while merely with a rather unimpressive ending, the offset arc concludes on a pretty bad notation in my volume. So begins the 2nd arc which, to be edgeless, is a letdown over again. The second arc or the ALO arc is fix within ALfheim Online, a VRMMORPG successor to SAO. Kirito logs in with a mission to rescue his wife (Asuna, duh) from the clutches of an archetypical antagonist who is a disgrace to all the villains in fiction nosotros have come across then far. This arc showcases some actually center candy visuals merely that's pretty much its only redeeming bespeak. It doesn't have anything much going on except for a few climactic action sequences now and and then with intense battle music playing in the background that terminal only for a while. Not to mention, in that location's another girl added to Kirito'due south harem. And then the hilarity ensues. The manner in which ALO is brought to a shut is appalling to say the least and at the aforementioned laughable because information technology doesn't hesitate to use the much notorious plot device dues ex machina, ruining whatever hopes there were for the final confrontation with the villain. The poor conclusion could be excused if it was handled more cleverly and assuredly but a breathy ass pull is by no ways satisfactory. If anything, it only proves that the writer faced a dead end and was unable to remember of annihilation ameliorate and artistic, and expected the audience to swallow down whatever he could come upward with, no matter how downright stupid it is. Among all the other things, the most hands noticeable flaw without a dubiousness is the execution of the plot itself which is all over the identify. It doesn't accept a genius to figure out afterwards a couple of episodes that SAO suffers from poor pacing and inconsistency. Information technology appears to be highly indecisive as to what exactly it wants to practice and how to get it done. This is by and large evident in the first arc which is incredibly rushed at many parts. In that location're timeskips and the adjacent thing you lot realize is that the characters have already cleared quite a lot of floors while keeping united states of america, the viewers, in the dark. This makes the plot disjointed, prevents any sort of correlation to the win-or-dice state of affairs that the characters have been put into and gives everything the feel of information technology being nothing more than a piece of cake. The struggle for survival and a sense of urgency are hardly felt even though the lives of the characters have been said to exist literally at stake. The episodes dealing exclusively with the lead couple taking some fourth dimension off for a 'vacation' and subsequently ending up building a virtual family can farther make one wonder: Why are they then carefree when they're supposed to chalk out plans to shell the game and make a quick escape? To put it in other words, the arc has a tendency to go off rail. It lays downward for itself one thing but ends upwardly doing something else altogether. Information technology'southward uncertain as to whether to make itself come up beyond as a story of survival set inside a VRMMORPG or every bit a fluffy love story. In due course, it decides to juggle with both but doesn't get either of them rightly done. Not to mention, when the state of affairs demands it and the author goes out of any artistic ideas to move the story forward, the characters' actions are made to contradict the established game mechanics and the but reasoning that'southward provided for such miracles is 'where there's a will, at that place's a way, and there're times when truthful love and determination can overcome whatsoever obstacle in the game'. Now, for those who look for substance in any given story, it'due south almost a fact that no amount of fanservice, eye candies, self-insertion or guilty pleasure factors can perchance compensate for a substandard storytelling. Yet that'south what SAO tries to practise. It brings in all the aforementioned elements to sugarcoat its sloppy writing. On the whole, there're no sincere efforts fabricated to incorporate details that would contribute in some fashion or the other to world building or characterization whatsoever. While the poor quality of the writing is the key factor, the other aspect that contributes considerably to the mediocrity of the bear witness is the characterization. Simply put, SAO'due south characters are bland. Substantially, the show has its focus on only two characters: Kirito and Asuna. The others are just there; mere devices to move the story forwards. And a few have nothing to contribute to the plot at all. For instance, the ones featuring in the side stories. Let's talk about the protagonist Kirito first. An unsocial, reserved yet headstrong player who knows how to go things done his fashion and is determined to shell the game. That'south basically how Kirito is portrayed in the beginning. At this point, he seems like a good riddance from the generic wimpy male leads that have become so much of a commonplace in anime. A proficient principal grapheme who knows how to deal with things is something refreshing to witness once in a while. Unfortunately, the impressions didn't last for long. In desperate attempts to make his character more 'highly-seasoned', Kirito is depicted as a 'perfect' being which leaves his character with piffling plausibility and much insipidity. Thus, he serves equally a mere cocky-insert character for wish-fulfilment and at the end of the day, at that place'south nothing 'individualistic' about him. Gary stu is probably what describes his character the best, and if paired with the Mary sue of the show, we get a lead couple that seems to have been cut out straight from a tacky romance fanfiction. Yep, when I mentioned 'Mary sue', I was referring to Asuna. Asuna as the female lead is as stereotyped as they come. Much similar Kirito, her grapheme is heavily arcadian. She's pretty, pop, kind, caring and every other homo wants to have a slice of her. Oh, and did I mention her cooking skills that level up with each passing day? After all, her foremost duty is to cook for Kirito and testify how much she cares for him. While initially she's portrayed as a potent, independent female actor with a tsundere-ish attitude, it doesn't take her long to make a transition from that to a sad damsel in distress, requiring her knight in black robe to come to her rescue whenever she'due south in a bind. Kirito fighting her guild leader to earn her some time for honeymooning is laughable to say the least. It before long becomes apparent that she doesn't take much of a function other than serving as the honey interest of the protagonist and being the object of fanservice now and so which might be successful in pleasing the male audience somehow but that alone can't brand up for her badly written character. In fact, the other female person character the show cares to put the spotlight on likewise ends up becoming the target of fanservice but doesn't take annihilation else going on for herself. If you haven't guessed information technology already, I'm talking about Kirito's beloved imouto. Throughout the first arc, the writer must accept had been itching to include a dearest triangle in the story but couldn't detect a potential candidate to get the job done. Every bit the first arc comes to a closure and the second arc begins, he grabs the opportunity, puts Asuna behind the bars (so that she's not an interference in what he's attempting to exercise) and introduces Suguha, Kirito's cousin sister. The sole purpose of creating her character, information technology appears, is to make way for a generic beloved triangle and melodrama. Suguha loves her cousin but tin't practice anything about it because he loves Asuna. That'south the biting truth. Hence, she looks up to a certain someone she happens to befriend within ALO and hopes that he'd be able to sooth her aching heart. Still, she gets trolled… badly. This, in plow, leads to more than drama that's somehow supposed to be centre wrenching but it isn't. The remaining cast consists of two antagonists, both declining to make any sort of impression though the one making his debut in the second arc tin be a good comic relief at times, and a bunch of side characters that wouldn't have had made any departure even if they hadn't existed. The lesser line is, the characters of SAO are a one-half-baked lot devoid of any depth or development. They could've perhaps turned out to be interesting if they were more fleshed out only who cares about that as long as they appeal to the intended target audience? Onto the technical aspects now. In the section of visuals, A-1 Pictures does a pretty good task. Within the game, the vast tracts of greenery, the beautiful cities during the night, the castles… they're all a pleasance to behold. The animation is besides well-handled for the near part. Initially I wasn't much pleased with the character designs merely they gradually grew on me, and I personally notice a few characters like Asuna, Heathcliff and Lisbeth to exist very well designed. The music is composed by i of the most renowned composers in the anime manufacture, Yuki Kajiura. While the soundtracks aren't bad by any means, none of them stand out much except the one that plays during combat/intense scenes. In fact, that's the simply track that tin exist heard playing most of the fourth dimension in the entire show. A few other tracks, though they aptly fit the scenes they're played in, are easily forgettable. The same applies to the opening and ending themes. Zilch groundbreaking in that location. I'thou a fan of near all of Kajiura's works and if compared to her previous works, SAO'southward music is lacklustre to say the to the lowest degree and and then much so that information technology's hard to believe Kajiura is the composer to begin with. To wrap upwards the review, SAO had the potential to exist something good but that potential goes downward the bleed due to poorly executed plot and bland characterization. It starts off in a satisfactory mode but goes downhill thereafter. Withal, it can be an entertaining ride if one keeps their expectations depression and swallows downwardly whatever it has to offer without questioning annihilation. One of the reasons why SAO has been a letdown is the anticipation the majority had for it prior to its airing but that'south justified since the lite novel series from which the anime is adapted is one of the most popular ones out there. [Edited on March xx, 2017]
He's a guy with a heart of golden.
He has an 'ideal' girlfriend/wife.
He's admired by those around him.
He can 'unintentionally' brand every other woman adore him, romantically or otherwise.
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Source: https://myanimelist.net/anime/11757/Sword_Art_Online
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