Overhatred

Sword Art Online (light novel)

Available on Manga Store

Do you think SAO really deserved all that backlash?

Yes

Jan 12, 9:36 PM

#51

RcAges

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Apr 2014

I wouldn't call it a "masterpiece", but it's very obvious that a majority of the hate is just bandwagoning. You can tell because people will parot whatever some YouTuber says, but they you can check and see what else that person likes and it can be shows that have similar issues to SAO.

Hell, you even see it within the franchise itself. Season 1 of Alternative: GGO took a nosedive in writing quality in its last 3 episode, but people will say it's better than the main series.

It's why I've just decided to form my own opinion on things. Screw other people's opinions. I knew this was nonsense when Gundam fans told me Wing was good and Seed was bad, and it ended up being the other way around for me. (Except for Endless Waltz, that was pretty good.)

Jan 12, 10:49 PM

#52

Saimatsu_Fan

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Sep 2021

1117

SAO isn't perfect or anything but it's funny how it's overhated

many shows have the exact same " issues " it has and they don't get hated as much

you hate it because of the incest ? well MT and chivalry of a failed knight and no game no life have that, yet they don't get as much hate

you hate the rape scenes ? again do i have to bring up MT and Berserk being super liked even with the controversy

you hate how Kirito is OP ? who isn't in any mainstream popular isekai or battle shounen ? and Kirito isn't even that OP, in S1 he only wins because some Characters let him win, in S2 he needed Sinon's help and in alicization he needed Euguo and Alice 's help, and he literally stays 21 eps Like a vegetable doing nothing in the WOU arc

you hate it because it's not a " good video game " ? it was never about that, that was just the setting for S1 and the first half of S2, SAO is about VR and how characters interact with it, it was never about videogames

Jan 12, 11:03 PM

#53

Irshiki

Offline

Apr 2022

316

I voted "yes" because I enjoy it, of course there seasons I don't like, but today it is a vast franchise with many seasons, many movie, many videogames, someone can find something they like.
Plus, I don't really know how to hate a series, too much effort, when I don't like something I say I don't like it and then I go on, can't spend the rest of life spreading hate over an animated series.

Jan 12, 11:36 PM

#54

B2Reviews

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Jul 2020

Overhated. I agree some parts don't shine as bright as others for varied reasons, longer projects will eventually do that anyway. After the GGO arc it seemed like it was either lengthy filler or another show and that took me out of the moment. But overall, it was a good anime. Art style was bright and pleasing. Story premise was intriguing and pulled us in. Soundtrack was banger. Dub actors nailed it. And it was so well received a group of content creators added dark humor and fan nostalgia for their abridged series. It's one of very few modern titles that I've rewatched and for my all-time favorites, it's definitely top 20 (10-15). I still have to finish Alicization and I look forward to more Gun Gale spinoff.

Jan 12, 11:45 PM

#55

TEOKXNG

Offline

Oct 2019

Your anime taste is terrible, sao genuinely isn’t good. I can understand you liking it when you’re a kid but if your brain developed and you still think it’s good idk what to tell you

Jan 13, 1:10 AM

#56

AnimeTheOVA

Offline

Oct 2019

Overhated? Yes, a good show? Debatable. I watched this show around 2 - 3 years ago, so mind you, I know full well of all the isekai/vr game tropes that have come out since. I then went on to read the novels after binging all of the anime and 3 movies.

With that aside, I feel like the show definitely has some problems, especially during the fairy arc, but the show never adapted a lot of the things from the novels.

We always see Kirito as a bad ass getting all the chicks, but the show never dives into how Kirito suffers from the inside and his internal monolouges. As a by-product, we get ppl thinking Sao is just some anime to fulfill the audiences fantasies, which is not the case at all, but influencers like The Anime Man did think so. Which led to more bandwagon until it became cool to hate on this show.

Basically, the show suffered from cut content and snowball effects from some influencers like Joey The AnimeMan, not liking the show.

Jan 13, 7:38 AM

#57

demonaman293

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Aug 2022

287

alicization is a thing which can't be defeated by any anime in this game genre

Jan 13, 7:50 AM

#58

Mayumai

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Mar 2021

No, is it bad? yes, but is the worst anime of all time? no, some parts are decent, some are pure trash, but over all it's just below mid

Jan 13, 7:58 AM

#59

PeripheralVision

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Mar 2013

3659

I think it was horrible but I argue that it really did not deserve the level of vitriol. I can understand it being a symbol or prime example of several trends in anime that many fans may not like, but I think this is a bit too uncharitable. I also think the hatred may have been too personal.

Though controversial opinion, I do think Alfheim is overrhated even by fans, and I think Aincrad was overrated and actually the worst of the two in many ways.

Say what you will about Suguha, but at least within the anime adaptation, the story actually tries to develop and characterize relationship between her and Kirito. Asuna on the other hand is barely a character. Regardless of whatever constraints characterized the writing of the Aincrad arc, numerious timeskips just destroyed its own interesting premise.

Sure, why start out with the Black Cats arc and the premise of being locked in that world only to dedicate several hours over several to a bullshit romance that has not been adequately developed? Why bother with all the interesting and dangerous stuff if you are going to ignore it until the sudden finale? The result is still a bad arc, regardless if you blame Kawahara or the limits of whatever he was under.

PeripheralVisionJan 13, 8:03 AM

Auroraloose's Aurorasimp

Jan 13, 8:29 AM

#60

Sage_Otaku

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Feb 2022

here's the thing sao does some good things but alot of bad things. I still enjoy aincrad even though the end of it was bad. kinda the same with gungale the middle and end was good but that beginning was really slow. alfheim is ok but not good and I didn't enjoy mother's rosario. BUT ordinal scale to me is my favorite thing to come out of sao I enjoyed that beginning to end. ordinal scale brought me back to enjoying sao again and I watched some of the first season of alicization and really enjoyed it without any complaints thus far. so I'd still recommend sao for people that are wondering wether to watch it or not but just bear through the bad cuz the good is really good especially after mother's rosario. oh also I'd recommend to watch sao abridged as well as I applaud something witty entertainment for fixing alot of the mistakes like what team fourstar did with dbz

Sage_OtakuJan 13, 8:37 AM

Jan 13, 1:51 PM

#61

Eleacock202

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Nov 2024

Im watching SAO for the first time. Season 1 is pretty decent, not a masterpiece. Id say an 8/10. Im 3/4s done with season 2 and its not as good but not terrible, so 7/10. I dont know why I was told this show gets so much hate, I dont think it deserves it from what Ive watched.

Jan 13, 2:47 PM

#62

Notshane

Offline

Jan 2015

TL;DR: SAO doesn't deserve hate. It has many things going in its favor, but writing does take a nosedive for much longer than it should. Hating anything is difficult, really. And you can find things to enjoy about the more disliked anime. It feels the most easy to hate an anime where you can perceive a genuine lack of effort from those involved.

Unfiltered Response:

Production value is great. Animation can shine. Music is excellent and used well in almost every scene. Many anime have a problem with bloated, misused soundtracks that probably grab 3-7 pieces of music at best from an album of a couple dozen, so it's nice to see when a studio remembers they have more to work with. Not to confuse this statement with saying said soundtracks are bad in other anime. Simply misused. Though I will admit it's impressive to compose unironically bad music for one. They're often mediocre at worse.

Writing in the first season of SAO remained consistent for a while at the first half, well minus the people having an unusually calm "everything is all good" attitude too quickly. Other than that, it felt fine. The safe zone episode was executed pretty well, but it was a checkpoint for what essentially became the fruits of its downfall in subsequent episodes.

Nothing more to say that either the extremist or rationally critical takes haven't already. But I can't say I "hate" it. I feel like people misuse those strong, emotive words too often and it leads to these fallouts between the fandom. Even if I purposefully try to think of how many anime I love or hate, it's not a ton.

Heck, there are some where I really enjoy specific things about them, even if I do feel letdown overall. Like the aforesaid soundtrack appreciation and I even have some anime I really didn't enjoy watching where I still go back to their music, sometimes having better soundtracks than the anime I do enjoy watching. Or sometimes the atmosphere is great, even though the story is poor, and some scenes age far more gracefully than others.

If I were to really sit down and try to think about it, to truly hate something entirely is pretty difficult. I can definitely express heavy disappointment in concepts with wasted potential, which tends to happen a lot more these days. But that doesn't automatically mean I "hate" that particular thing.

I have a feeling once you can tell the creators behind a product clearly didn't care about it as the consumer, only then could you truly begin to hate it. This is interpretative in many ways of course, but maybe good examples would be "My Sister, My Writer" with its very poor production and staff feeling concerned even working on it, as evident by the hidden credits message. Or "Ex-Arm" which really speaks for itself.

Jan 13, 2:59 PM

#63

EBTW871

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Jun 2024

Zarutaku said:
First 2 seasons are mid, but Alicization is awesome.

Yeah, totally agree with you.

Jan 13, 3:30 PM

#64

thewiru

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Feb 2014

2390

Why are people defending Alicization here?
The anime is OK, >>>EXCEPT<<< for Alicization, which sucks BADLY.

Jan 13, 5:28 PM

#65

DrakoakAnime

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Sep 2024

this is just as dumb as the people that over hate on it. Just the other side of the spectrum. the show was pretty mid even at its best points. I really enjoyed the first half of the first season. never in a million years would have called it a masterpiece though or the best show ever made lol that's just insane

Jan 13, 10:45 PM

#66

AwesomeAli2832

Offline

May 2022

315

It’s overhated, like come on, do we need to see any more SAO hate in 2025? Fairy dance arc is heavily underrated and gets too much hate, some people just don’t have media literacy and don’t want to pay attention, that arc gets hit with so much misinformation/disinformation, blame those anti-SAO anime YouTubers for making it worse. Season 2 is great with Sinon’s story and Kirito’s own troubles while trying to rid of the threat in GGO, 2nd half of season 2 is incredible and emotional. Season 3 and beyond is really great as well. SAO has so many fans in the West and Japan, the haters are an irritating vocal minority.

Jan 13, 11:08 PM

#67

razivix

Offline

Sep 2024

i actually enjoyed the first season and the ggo arc a lot. alicization was really good too, though parts of underworld did bore me a little. i think a lot of the hate is just bandwagon.

『I reject everything you've said, and I embrace everything you reject.』

≡

Jan 14, 4:30 AM

#68

OmniQuz

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Sep 2024

season one sucked and season two was mediocre. alicization was great

Jan 14, 4:40 AM

#69

Spunkert

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Mar 2023

2910

Maybe not the worst thing ever made.

But that still doesn't change the fact that this anime wasn't good.

Jan 14, 6:38 AM

#70

Incieal

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Jan 2017

I think SAO suffers from it's own potential, the premise of most arcs is great, but the storytelling, world building, and characters have always in every arc felt like a let down and the fact that it had so much potential makes that feeling feel even worse.

I would still definitely call it overhated with the caveat behind all of the unreasonable criticisms there were legit criticisms.

SAO was the Nickelback of anime.

Jan 14, 7:32 AM

#71

T3NLTD

Offline

Jul 2021

143

No, I don't think SAO was good as a whole.

At the same time, I don't think it was that bad. There's worse stuff out there.

Jan 14, 7:41 AM

#72

Kwanthemaster

ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ

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Aug 2014

7030

It's pretty obvious that it's been overhated if you just look at the score drop. Around the time that the show finished it was at an 8.39 (https://web.archive.org/web/20130114220414/https://myanimelist.net/anime/11757/Sword_Art_Online). Now it's at a 7.21. Has any other series on MAL had just a dramatic score decrease over time? There are things to critique (especially the second half), but the meme of it being the worst anime ever is really undeserved, especially when you compare it to all of the isekai we see today.

Jan 14, 7:42 AM

#73

Battlewarrior

Offline

Mar 2017

removed-user said:
Another example of why a show can be a masterpiece, no matter the bad ratings or reviews people write. This show is even more relevant now than it was back then. I've realized people just follow the bandwagon when it comes to popular stuff. They either turn into contrarians or hypocrites, hating on things they don’t even understand why. SAO doesn’t deserve the hate or bad reviews it got. It’s one of the best shows ever made. You guys feel the same way?

Honestly think that most of the backlash comes from the mix-up of spikes and dips in quality within the story. The action never lets up so for some people, it stays good the whole time, but people who are paying attention to the writing probably felt whiplash from the second arc of S1 and the whole show gets a somewhat deserved cursed self-insert harem aura from them on, but personally I had something to enjoy from every arc and thought that each arc had more variety in what it had to offer than any other show like it, despite the general theme never changing.

Jan 14, 8:55 AM

#74

KenaiPhoenix

Offline

Oct 2022

722

I personally think that SAO is one of the greatest story ever made told really REALLY poorly.

They will handle some topics like really good, and other will be like so ridiculously bad or nonsensical that is no wonder it can throw people off. And on the characters that suffers a lot fo this direction is Kirito: he is (imo) a really relatable and compelling character, but he is always put on situations that make him feel like a below average MC, like for example the whole "golden dick" aura that has every single girl fall for him or how he is always OP in everything he do and out of nowhere (I have read it is more explained in the LN).

Jan 14, 10:08 AM

#75

Vaturna

Offline

Feb 2023

495

Sword Art Online's story always felt pretty weird: It starts with an incredibly iconic premise, but it only last for 14 episodes and then turns into "evil CEO wants to rape your wife" and "cousin sister has a crush on you" while playing other games that are no longer SAO.
Not that all the hate was necessary, but SAO definitely made itself a very easy target (especially since it was so popular)

I'm glad I checked out SAO for myself despite what I heard about it. I really enjoyed Fairy Dance (even though I'm not really into the NTR stuff), and everything after that just got even more sci-fi, even more thrilling and even more heartfelt. The original Aincrad actually ended up becoming one of my less favorite parts of SAO.

Jan 14, 5:56 PM

#76

aLotQuestion_

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Dec 2014

2614

If only there is little to no romance, and it shouldn't be the main focus on the content throughout pretty much every season.
Also, there isn't a need for harem either, LOW.

Signature removed. Check your inbox

Jan 14, 6:33 PM

#77

LegendsTrev

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May 2020

It’s definitely overrated but it’s definitely just ok

Jan 14, 10:40 PM

#78

StewedBeefHaunch

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Oct 2020

209

Wow another post from the infamous removed-user. 560000 posts and counting. This guy is a ragebait forum terrorist that seemingly no one can stop.

Jan 15, 1:15 AM

#79

Flick_on

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Nov 2018

Honestly when I see how its the most despised anime , while also it having an extremely large fanbase despite makes sao feel distinguished. I agree that's in terms of Impact and Iconicness and how somewhat unique SAO is, it's a mastepiece
Sword Art Onlines Legacy of critique in anglo-forums is being a centipede of slander
The discrepancy of its hate-base and fanbase just highlights how one side don't even understand it or just diconnected from it( tbf thats many anime). In 2025 still talking about its duped by its marketing (is just bot stuff)
Many botty critiques saying it has flaws and plot-holes loses value, when they don't know what its trying to do,
not to mention doesn't mean much when many series that have the same ick stuff and they are not that hated
Also there's not much consensus between the arcs (different people emphasize different section of the anime), except the first which is extremely overrated
You can't really talk really about sao since The Narrative-well about it are completely poisoned (seeing the threads response , especially from this piromsyl retard). I don't think you can even like sao thoroughly casual anymore.
You think the haters talk about a complete caricaure of the anime. when they comically emphasize the harem (which is extremely disjointed), people don't call konosuba or bunny girl senpai harem constantly

The casuals opinion of sao is probably the most emptyheaded and contradictive you're gonna encounter,
they gonna overrate the shit out of aincrad also overstate its importance
Connect it to Isekai (low-intelligence centipede imo), as if it's not completely different and if it came out in 2025 would be a subversion, meaning it just ages better )
Gonna hype up emptyheaded slop like shangri-la frontier or log horizon in relation to it
Completely simplifies everything (Character, themes , plot) about it to the point of mispresenting it and then talk shit about it, is allergic to giving it credit (saying anything good about it), when again is a leagcy of it becoming this enigma.
Dont care for whats happening in the anime or the character and say they like it anyway for the clout.

I don't think I need to mention that the hate-culture of it has been exhausted years ago, Remnants remain (general shallow sentiments, Abrigded mouthbreathers) still exist but not by much anymore and a big aspect was the comical overhatedness was overexaggerated and they seemingly hated everything about it(Yoshitsugu) and the mere mention of it ignited a riot

Jan 15, 8:32 AM

#80

Gantz613-EXIT

Offline

Dec 2018

148

I’ve seen 550+ separate entries on this site and I can say that I genuinely enjoyed the first two seasons of this. It’s not a masterpiece but I would definitely say it’s worth the watch.

There’s so many other series now trying to copy the initial success SAO had, so they must have done something right?

Also I didn’t watch any further than those two seasons but I plan to!

Jan 15, 8:51 AM

#81

JoeChip

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Feb 2024

1494

Reply to Flick_on

@Flick_on

It's time you go outside and have fresh air.

Jan 15, 6:25 PM

#82

Gordito_Kawaii

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Jul 2022

I like SAO but calling it a masterpiece is a bit much. It's a competent 7/10 anime. I think the only reason it gets so much criticism is because it popularized the oversaturated Isekai craze and because there are people out there that like SAO to an obnoxious degree.

Jan 15, 7:56 PM

#83

NirvoshType13

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Oct 2022

The first season of SAO could have been done differently, but honestly the story arc makes it what it is. I think some people just like to jump on the hate bandwagon.

Jan 16, 4:27 PM

#84

Eminett

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Nov 2022

I hate this show, yes it’s garbage.

Jan 16, 11:35 PM

#85

rodolf30

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May 2022

It’s a good show with questionable moments and outdated character mindset. The anime butchered Kirito’s character and turned him and other characters into cardboard cutouts. The Light Novel is far better. And SAO season three was great.

Jan 18, 8:12 AM

#86

MsSalamence

Offline

Oct 2022

Everyone obviously has their own opinions on anime. We can watch the same exact show but experience it completely different.

I certainly DO however feel like SAO got waaaay too much hate.

For me I absolutely enjoyed the anime from start to finish. Some seasons of it were better than others but as a whole it’s definitely a fun watch.

Jan 18, 10:02 AM

#87

official_brown

Offline

Jan 2021

2344

When it comes to anime I think people don’t understand that a show can be really liked by the watcher and understand it’s not objectively good or bad. I think SAO is really great and thus I rated it high. But I do think it is wildly overhated by people that will rate similar anime extremely high. It’s just one of those anime people trash on. But weebs are weebs, do we really care too much about what people on MAL think, not really.

The right mindset when watching an anime is hoping that it will break your top 10

Jan 19, 5:13 AM

#88

Shinuki_n_Reborn

Offline

Jun 2013

684

It's absolutely top 3 of most overhated anime i ever watched, and i know pretty well how things can be overhated in this community but SAO case it's just ridiculous, i watched this the first time in 2014, after all the hype calmed down and blah blah blah, and it was....good, it's a good anime, so i was just perplexed by the hate this series gets for literally no real reason other than maybe becoming too big? Feels like people just want to feel smart or different by saying it's shit when they have legit worse stuff in their list with higher scores, it's no masterpiece but any person that actually says this is one of the worst anime ever is just 100% braindead.

Jan 20, 3:45 PM

#89

MarkDragon99

Offline

Sep 2024

Sword Art Online is not as bad as people think, Just because they say "Wow, it's web dating" No, it's also because it falls into the isekai category, What is people's prejudice against Isekia? I honestly don't understand These people must have some problem, right? It's not my opinion, but they can't be attacking the anime just because it's Isekai. Look, if it was a style that you like like Shounen, which is a type 1Well known, And then how do you react if the person attacks him intensely, With anger?sad? That's what I say Respect to be respected, so stop with the prejudice With Sword Art Online or better known as COOKING SALT🇺🇸

Sword Art Online não é tão ruim quanto as pessoas pensam, Só porque dizem "Uau, é namoro na web" Não, é também porque se enquadra na categoria isekai, Qual é o preconceito das pessoas contra Isekai? Sinceramente não entendo. Essas pessoas devem estar com algum problema, né? Não é minha opinião, mas eles não podem atacar o anime só porque é Isekai. Olha, se fosse um estilo que você gosta como o Shounen, que é um tipo bem conhecido, e aí como você reage se a pessoa ataca ele intensamente, com raiva?triste? É isso que eu digo Respeito para ser respeitado, então pare com o preconceito Com Sword Art Online ou mais conhecido como SAL De Cozinha🇧🇷

Jan 22, 6:18 PM

#90

KinkyKong64

Offline

Dec 2020

Honestly think it is overhated but it is objectively bad dont get me wrong. But i still love it :D

See All Discussions

Poll: » Sword Art Online Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Nasty001 - Jul 4, 2012	958	by trunks81 »» Feb 12, 5:18 PM
Poll: » Sword Art Online Episode 3 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Jul 21, 2012	750	by KenichiDesu »» Feb 12, 12:06 PM
Poll: » Sword Art Online Episode 14 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Oct 6, 2012	1304	by Fernandexs »» Feb 7, 3:23 PM
» Kirito Art apexvoid - Feb 2	20	by PoisonedSandwich »» Feb 3, 6:01 AM
» My plans for rewatching SAO after dropping it ( 1 2 3 ) KitsuneZoro - Nov 16, 2024	105	by KayShawn258 »» Feb 2, 8:08 PM

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» My plans for rewatching SAO after dropping it ( 1 2 3 )

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