Mar 3, 2022
Hello, everyone! Welcome to my review of Sword Art Online (SAO). I heard some negative criticism from some of my friends, but I thought I'd give it a go. Here's my review.
Story/Enjoyment (7/10): Alright, hear me out: SAO is good, but I can't write this with a smile on my face, because damn, this had potential to be presented and solved in a much cleaner way, instead of the mess we were given (those who have watched it will know what I'm talking about). The initial premise that's explained in the synopsis is great: it creates a tense feeling that immediately pulls you in and
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makes you anxiously expect how it will unfold. Then, the problems begin to show up in the poor pacing (which includes a quick succession of character presentations and exclusions) in the first few episodes, then, just when you think it gets better, the final 10 or 11 episodes try their very best to make you as uncomfortable (not necessarily in a bad way) as possible. However, there are plenty of positives, though: SAO gives you an exceptionally emotional ride in a lot of different ways: it's romantic, dramatic, shocking and gut-wrenching, all in one, so yeah, not bad for such a controversial series, huh?
Art (8/10): Not gonna mess around here, SAO looks great. It's beautifully drawn, with gorgeous scenarios and crispy fights, along with fairly well-drawn characters. Not much I can say other than that, they're genuinely good. Plus, we shouldn't ignore that this was made 10 years ago, yet the visuals look like they belong to some show made last season, for example.
Sound (8/10): The OST is one of the major positive factors of this anime. Each situation, no matter if it's delicate, lively, tense, epic or even dramatic, has (at least) a fitting theme, further immersing you in this virtual world and providing a good basis for the emotions the story tries to convey. If I had to point something out, I'd say Kirito's theme (Swordland), despite being absolutely fantastic, and maybe one of the best in the series, is a bit overused, as you might notice once those epic battle scenes start popping up in quick succession.
Character (7/10): Like I said earlier, SAO has a big problem with its characters. I get it, the author probably wanted to showcase the diversity of people Kirito met along the way, but there's no way a viewer can create an emotional bond with a character if their screen time is no longer than an episode or sometimes half of it, so, when something bad (or seldom good) happens to them, that impact is largely minimised, which is a massive pity. Other than that, overall, the cast is okay, not much to say about anyone in particular (except for Yui-chan, best supporting character!).
On a final note, SAO was quite a roller-coaster ride, and, although it had its lows (and deep ones), the highs (e.g., the epic moments) made the experience enjoyable for me, deserving, for me, a final grade of 7/10.
Thanks for reading!
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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