when this series aired, I was very hyped, because for the first time, there would be an anime that would tell the tale of us MMORPG gamers. But I was very disappointed.
Story: Gamers were imprisoned inside a game called Sword Art Online, and in order for them to get out, they must defeat all 100 the stages with bosses that are also powerful.
the sypnosis was, in my opinion, interesting. and that was all. It was just interesting. When I watched the first 2 episodes. it was good, enough to make me watch another episode. But as I go further with the show, it became dull. and became unbearable to watch after the first part of the show.
let's go into detail: i watched the show to see the struggles of MMORPG gamers trapped inside a game. It kept me hooked because I wanted to know what they would do. Will they form an alliance? Friendships? Party? Defeat a stage Boss? How?
They did. But in a negative way that would affect the main character in a negative way that would also affect the show in a much more negative way.
I don't mind having an MC that is pessimistic, actually, I even welcome it. But his pessimism ruined the show. I didn't get to see the things I wanted to see and enjoy.
Art: the art is decent. Clean actually. it's not something to be remembered or to be forgotten just better than the average because of some action scenes which are practically cool and nice to watch and characters that were cutesi-ly drawn ( imo ) ( I guess this is where all of their money went XD )
Sound: OP's and Ending's were Ok, they fit they story. the sounds give off the vibe of being in a fantasy world. Voices were good too.
Character: Now, this is were it all goes down.
Kirito: So perfect. Powerful. His development were mostly off-cam. Pessimist. dull. Can't relate to. Gary-stu.
Asuna: for me, she was one of the most promising characters. she was the kind of heroine I'm looking for after watching so many anime they have shitty heroines. she was strong, intelligent, has leadership qualities. but everything became crap when she fell in love. SERIOUSLY.
actually, that's all I know about her. I didn't even know anything about her likes and dislikes. she was practically a moving cardboard character that was wasted.
Suguha: Put incest in a fantasy world with wings, melodrama that are very trivial and you'll have this crap fanservice. a chocolate wrapped in gold but once you taste it, it's just full of crap.
other characters: characters?! oh! they were just their for the convenience of the story!
Enjoyment: well I enjoyed it while cursing everything that's bad about it.
Overall: it had a promising story but they crumpled it and threw it on the trash can. watching this show will make you take an interest in it, wonder why all are such a jackass just because someone's a BETA tester ( they should actually worship him ), think when will the MC get his ass going, then will fall in love and blah bah blah. the first part of the series ends.
then there comes the second part: it was literally unnecessary for it to have a second part. It didn't have any connection to the plot anymore! it was all just for the sake of FANSERVICE!
at the very core: SAO is a story turned love story turned incest turned princess saving and turned playing again.
( and the worst of all, there's a second season, oh, also a third season! )
