Anime Review: Sword Art Online

In the year 2022 the virtual reality game Sword Art Online has been released to the public who play the game by wearing the Nerve Gear which allows them to enter the fantasy world. Kazuto Kirigaya (who goes by the username Kirito) was a beta tester for SAO and is one of thousands of players who purchased a copy of the game. However soon after he enters he and the other players are trapped in SAO by it's creator and must complete the 100 floors of Aincrad to free themselves but it does not end there.

SPOILERS. I guess I shall start off by saying that as a hardcore gamer the idea of SAO really appealed to me when I first heard of it, I'll even go as far as saying that I wouldn't mind being trapped in SAO like Kirito lol. Because the first half and second half of the first season are set in fantasy worlds to me the anime kind of felt like a cross between World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy, however what really surprised me was how serious the entire anime was overall. Death plays a major role in the first half of the season so while this anime may seem colourful and fun in the description it really is a matter of life and death for the players. Then there is the second half and Kirito has to deal with some serious problems in the real world and the stuff in Alfhiem with Asuna and the 300 captured players deals with a lot of torture, mind control and potential taking over the world. I'm defiantly not saying that this is a bad thing because major consequences and a realistic tone despite it being about trapped in a game was something I wasn't expecting.

I do really like the settings for the first half and second half of the season because they both come with their own rules and experiences. Aincrad, as I mentioned above, is a death game and that issue is addressed a lot and through different ways; for example Kirito watches a lot of people die which drives him to become stronger and protect everyone but there are also insane players (Laughing Coffin) that ruthlessly murders other players. Then there is the levelling system which is an important factor for strength, there is the lack of magic so the game relies completely on melee combat and there is the 100 floors that must be conquered to finish the game. However what I didn't like was the pacing while the anime was set in Aincrad because months would pass in between each episode and the whole two years the players where stuck there is done in 14 episodes when the whole 25 episodes could have been dedicated to it (we could have seen more bosses or see Kirito go one quests for his massive funds and equipment which where all done off screen). As for Alfhiem it was quite different from Aincrad in a good way because we got magic, a new growth system and warring races of fairies. However because of Kirito's mission to save Asuna the warring fairies isn't addressed as much as I would have wanted but we got to spend some time in the real world which is something different from the SAO arc.

As for the character Kirito is a really likable protagonist; sure he starts off as a loner and a solo player and still mostly stays that way at the end but the majority of this anime (like 90%) of it is through his perspective and through all of his trials and experiences you get to see him grow as a character. What I really liked about him is that he is portrayed as this really invincible character because he is so good at games, he is a superior player to everyone and he knows it (he probably represents the unfair level system found in most MMORPG). The second protagonist is Asuna and she is a great, strong female lead for this anime and I really like the chemistry between her and Kirito and watching their relationship grow. However what I didn't like is that during the second half of the season she is this constant damsel in distress who gets caught in tentacles and is almost raped which is a real let down after she kicks a lot of ass while in Aincrad. There is Kirito's cousin Suguha who is a major character for the Alfhiem arc who mostly takes the place of Asuna and while she is likeable enough her feelings for Kirito created one annoying (and in my opinion unneeded) love triangle. Finally there is the secondary antagonist Sugo who takes the form of the Fairy King of Alfhiem and while we know his motives more than Kayaba the guy is a completely unlikable, perverted ass. Sure his master plan his kind of dark and elaborate (though generic for a villain) but he comes across as this whiny brat, I really did not like any of his perverted scenes with Asuna and there is no good or redeeming qualities about him whatsoever. There are a lot of secondary characters but I'm not going to go through them because of the rushed SAO arc they barely get any development and may only get one episode focused on them and that's it.

As for the animation what can I say; it looks absolutely specular! In my opinion probably the best looking anime that there is because there is no flaws in it at all. The worlds of Aincrad and Alfhiem are just really beautiful, well thought out and is full of bright colour which is in contrast the to death game that they are playing, while the real world is kind of grey and flat which like above I think is done on purpose to maybe show how the virtual world is better. Since the animation is just perfect the fight scenes are just so epic such as the bosses or Kirito's duel wielding and facing off against human foes in both games. Another thing that links with animation that I like is the interface they made that comes up in both games to inspect a character's skill, items etc. however it is not explained in much detail. For example we barely brush the surface of blacksmithing and equipment in Aincrad while in Alfhiem character creation was just random, we don't know how exactly a skill is increased and the not much Elf races is explored. Finally the soundtrack for the anime is just spot on; from the fights to great first opening and the perfect English voice cast!

Overall I highly recommend this anime for fans of video games and fantasy anime who want to see spectacular duels. I realize though that it is not for everyone because of it's rushed plot, that Kirito is too OP a character and that secondary character barely get any development. 

SCORE: 8/10

Highlights: Kirito and Asuna are great characters
                   Perfect animation which leads to some awesome fights
                   Really like the detail which is put into both games
                   Kirito's whole adventure through both games is just so great

Let - Downs: The time in Aincrad was just so rushed
Asuna not as good in the second half/Suguha forcing a love triangle on us/Sugo was just a bad villain
Especially in Alfhiem the mechanics of the game is barely touched upon/ secondary characters barely get any development

Anime Review: Sword Art Online

Back now with another anime review and this one is about an anime I have recently watched and one that I know is really popular; Sword Art Online. Now I know you are probably tired of reading this next part again but I have to say it; there will be SPOILERS, especially near the end as Iwant to go on a rant about a certain part of the anime.

The anime is about a young teenager named Kazuto Kirigaya (Bryce Papenbrook), also know as Kirito, an avid gamer of MMO games and has recently purchased the most recent and most popular game on the market; Sword Art Online. Unlike typical MMO games this put you right in the virtual world by providing the gamer with a special helmet which allows him to control his avatar in the fantasy world. Shortly after entering the game however Kirito and the thousands of other players are transported to the beginning area where the creator of the game Akihiko Kayaba (Marc Diraison) appears as a massive hooded figure. He tells them that all of the players have had their log out option removed and that they are trapped forever within this virtual world and that if you die he your real body dies. However there is a way to escape and that is by clearly the games one hundred floors each one becoming more and more difficult and having its own boss at the end. Even though Kirito is trapped in this world like thousands of others he has an advantage that only a few have; he is a Beta Tester (Beater), someone who has played the demo version of this game before its release meaning he has advanced knowledge of this world. Kirito puts this to good use and we follow his adventure of trying to reach to the hundredth floor.

Now I really like this story because like the anime Btooom! this is based on video games but unlike Btooom! the action and feel of this is more fantasy than realistic. This is shown with its typical MMO elements like monsters, guilds, item drops etc. Overall this kind of reminds me of my favourite RPG series Final Fantasy in some ways and that is a really good thing in my book. However one thing that did bug me in this however was the pacing of this anime because in between the episodes there are massive time skips, the players have even spent two years in the game before we reach episode ten out of this twenty five series and they also skip a lot of floors and boss battles as well. I know they could not show every floor and every boss but it is really off putting, a more detailed reason for this I will explain further down. Another thing I liked about it is how it tackles the theme of death so many times because unlike normal video games you cannot use another life, in this if a person dies they die for real.

As for the characters most are really great; the main character Kirito may be a bit of a loner because he does not join guilds but he opens up a lot as the series progresses and he is such a badass because of how good he is at this game. The main female lead, Asuna Yuuki (Cherami Leigh), is great as well because like Kirito she is one of the best players in Sword Art Online, even becoming second in command of the Knights of the Blood Oath, the most powerful guild there is. She is also Kirito main love interest eventually becoming his girlfriend and even his wife in the game. There are also plenty of others characters these two come across throughout the series, each with their own stories and skills and most I have found to be very likeable.

The animation is excellent throughout the series, I do not think there is a single time that I did not like it, and the battles are so well done; the movement is really fluid and fast paced. However as for the music there is really none that I found that stood out much. Not that I am saying that soundtrack is bad because it is really good and suits the settings and mood well.

IN DEPTH SPOILERS NOW

Now if I was to end this review here I would say something like ‘This is one of the most epic and unique ones I have seen and has instantly became one of my favourites’ unfortunately I won’t be saying that because after episode fourteen in this anime it take a massive turn for the worst. Episodes fourteen onwards introduces another antagonist, Nobuyuki Sugou (Todd Haberkorn), who is one of the worst anime characters there is. I find a good villain is someone who the audience can like as well but there is nothing like able about him at all, he just irritated me with his story, attitude and plan to marry Asuna. A very disappointing villain for the second half of the series which is a shame because he is voiced by one of my most favourite English voice actors. Another pain is Kirito’s cousin, Suguha Kirigaya, who is in love with him and is just really annoying about it; I just could not stand her at all.

Another thing that bugged me about the second half is that it is set in another MMO which has fairies, it looks like an interesting world but far just not as good as the Sword Art Online world. The reason they move to this world is that Kirito finds a way to beat the game in episode fourteen on floor eighty five and they have just beaten a floor boss that almost killed all of them. I was really excited to see what the other floors where like, their bosses and the ruby palace that was on the hundredth floor but NO they skip all of that so they can go somewhere else for the second half.

That is what I was going on about with the pacing of this anime; if it where up to me the two years they spent in Sword Art Online would take all of the twenty five episodes and the second half would not exist at all.

Another reason I did not like it was how serious the second half was compared to the first; there may have been the threat of death if they died but it was really fun to watch. Examples of this was when Kirito meets Silica (Christine Marie Cabanos) a beast tamer and they try to find a way to resurrect her defeated pet dragon or when Kirito and Asuna go on their honeymoon and they help that guy fish a monster or when they have an adopted daughter. Sure it is not like I want the anime to be all warm and fuzzy but it had a light hearted tine the second half lack, I mean the last fight has Nobuyuki Sugou trying to kill Kirito with a knife in the real world, not exactly an epic last fight for something that is supposed to be a fantasy game anime.

In the end I was massively disappointed with how this anime ended, if it was just episodes one to fourteen I would have been happy but no it had to be longer and because it has those more episodes I can not even watch the first half anymore without being reminded of the second half. This is a real let down for me because the first half was SO GOOD and would have been really high on my list of favourite anime when I get round to making one. Overall all I can really only give this anime just over half in the score because I only like just over half of the story.

SCORE: 6/10