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When I finished SAO not long ago, I was, I must admit, very confused. I'd just seen an anime full of faults and holes and yet I found myself being entertained beyond my expectations. I've been searching for a way to best describe that anime and how the hell is it possible to like something with so many shortcomings so much, when the perfect thought hit me whilst chewing on a burger at some obscure booth near a bus station.
SAO is exactly like a cheap cheeseburger. You know it's nothing special and that most of the ingredients' quality is questionable at best, yet the huge ... amount of good sauce they add drowns everything else out and, as long as you like the sauce, you find yourself enjoying every bite and licking your fingers clean.

If you haven't stopped reading my review despite of my rather cheesy (heh heh) metaphor, I guess you won't mind me sticking to it while I get to the bottom of things and write a bit about each of the aspects of the anime

1. Story - the meat: 6

SAO's plot makes me think of someone getting a really fine chunk of beef, nice and juicy... and then not really being able to prepare it well. I loved the idea for SAO even before I started watching and some of the plot twists that happened later on I found very involving... but there were just too many shortcomings and a great potential was, for the most part, lost. The pacing was very chaotic, the romance motif was nauseating at times and the introduction of the second arc was incredibly cumbersome and just seemed forced. Thankfully, it got a bit better after the initial "shock" and in the end I guess it wasn't a bad arc (I found Sugu's story to be surprisingly touching), but still it could've been executed better. Bottom line is, SAO's story was like an apetizingly looking patty with good taste, but chewy and with plenty undercooked spots.

2. ART - the bun: 10

Just like when eating a cheeseburger, the first thing you sink your teeth into when watching an anime is the art style... and SAO's art style is really, really good - fresh from the bakery. The background scenery is breathtaking, the character designs - interesting and the fight scenes - beautifully animated. This is the only aspect of the anime I honestly have no issues with, which I guess is a good thing but then again, if the best part of your burger is the bun, you might as well just get yourself a peanut-butter-jelly sandwich instead.

3. MUSIC - the cheese: 9

Like delicious cheese that melts and seeps through the rest of the burger, the music in SAO is truly spectacular. It might not be anything extremely ambitious from a musical point of view, but then few anime OSTs can be called true masterpieces. What the soundtrack should do is make uplifting moments more uplifting, touching scenes more touching and epic fights more epic. SAO does a really good job in incorporating the music into the action and it plays a huge part in building the represented world of the game and well, basically, if the main theme didn't have you swinging a non-existent sword while Kirito was kicking ass then, well, you're probably lactose intolerant.

The opening and ending songs were very fitting to the anime as well (I particularly enjoyed the second ED) and the VAs also did a great job, so in terms of music I have little complaints. Even if you don't like SAO, you gouda at least admit it has a good soundtrack.

4. CHARACTER - the veggies: 4

Oh man. I don't want to go into rant mode, so I'll just say that the characters, for the most part, are like a bunch of frozen vegetables with hardly any taste quickly thawed and carelessly slopped into the burger. OK, they're not impossible to like, but all it takes is to chew on them for a little bit longer to analyze them more and they fall apart, mostly being water.
Seriously though, the characters are definitely SAO's weakest point. I didn't read the light novel but I've heard that the anime really waters their personalities down. (Yeah sorry, I'll rant for a bit, please bear with me) The main character, Kirito, is your typical quiet yet OP protagonist who struggles with many personal issues. He's the type of character that's meant to be so likable and relatable that there's hardly any interesting personality in him left. That can be sort of overlooked, I mean in an adventure anime that concentrates mostly on entertaining the viewer, that kind of character usually works, but what really irks me is that nearly every female character in the anime has a thing for him, which is annoying. That brings us to Asuna, the main female character or, as I like to think of her, waifu template. Quiet and badass at first, like Kirito, later on she becomes quite the opposite when she falls for Kirito and turns into a hopelessly love-struck plot-device girlfriend which hardly suits her character (I don't even think that's a spoiler, with both of them being arguably the most popular anime pair. If it's a spoiler, forgive me... but really, it's obvious from the first moment). Also a character that is possible to like... but hard to appreciate.
I could go on about each and every one of the characters, but that would take to long. Basically, the characters have little depth, the second antagonist is evil to the point of being ridiculous (he literally licks up someone's tears at one point, I'm not even kidding), the secondary characters - interesting, begging for some character development and much more likable than the main cast (at least for me. And at least Liz) - appear and disappear at the writers' whim and it may be hard to get attached to them for some viewers. Basically... yeah. The only character that I'd say got a decent amount of development and depth was Suguha in the second story arc. Her and Kirito's relation, though I had doubts at first (you'll see what I mean), turned out to be really touching. Sugu is basically a slice of fresh and juicy tomato among the watery main characters and not-yet-thawed secondary characters.
Bottom line is, the anime would arguably be more entertaining with no characters at all c:

5. ENJOYMENT - the sauce: 9

The secret ingredient, the sauce that the SAO cheeseburger is literally swimming in is what makes it worth checking out... and what made me love it.
Like I said at the beginning... SAO has it's faults. Quite a few of them. But if you like adventure, action, romance and comedy and begin to watch SAO with an open mind and not expecting the best animu evar... you'll find it hard to really hate it.
It's just... incredibly fun to watch. You might roll your eyes or facepalm a few times during the entire series (especially during the fanservice moments), but the story is involving, the fight scenes paired with the music simply epic and the whole anime, that big greasy cheeseburger, incredibly satisfying.

If you've stuck through this entire gastronomical review, you have my respect and thanks. If you're here, please allow me to just add my personal opinion: I don't care if an anime has mediocre pacing, characters lacking depth or cheesiness. I want animes to entertain me, to suck me in, to make me cheer on the main character while they destroy their enemies to save the one they love. SAO did just that. I have my issues with it, but I still love it. And so might you, so disregard everything both good or bad you've heard about it (though if you do, then technically this review is pointless D: ) and just give it a go and see for yourself.

When I started watching No Game No Life, I didn't really know what to expect. I didn't ever plan to see it, hell, I didn't even know it existed and was airing (I'm still not used to keeping track of new animes coming out). Thankfully, though, my friends told me about it somewhere around episode 7 and after I got convinced and caught up with the episodes, I had the great pleasure of watching it as it was aired, getting sucked into the story, holding my breath and uttering screams of protest at the cliffhangers with the rest of the Internet community... and basically just ... having tons of fun watching it.

I've been wanting to write a review of NGNL for quite some time now, but I decided that I'll only do so when it finishes. While I am very much part of the hype surrounding NGNL, I wanted to wait and see whether the writers manage to finish as well as they started and keep the anime entertaining and clever till the very end. I can with pleasure say that they indeed did a great job, and while it is definitely not free of faults, I have many good things to see about this anime.

Pardon for the incoming wall-of-text. But that's just how I roll.

Note: I didn't read the light novel on which NGNL is based, so I'll just review this anime regardless of the LN.

Enjoyment/fanservice: 9

Normally, this section would be the last in my review, as it should be, but in the case of NGNL, there is something that must be said at the very beginning: NGNL fanservice level is off the charts. Ecchi moments are plentiful, cute animal girls as well in the last few episodes, basically just a dream come true for Sora, the lead male character. However, what is extraordinary, is the way in which the writers make it work. I mean probably not everyone will agree, but for me, personally, fanservice usually serves little purpose, but in NGNL, it was always done in a clever way and it always felt like not one wink from the creators, but two: first one for "Hey, here's something for ya" and the second one for "Yup, we damn well know this is blatant fanservice, but just watch us do it with style". Especially in the glorious episode 6 you can see how they manage to justify so much with the plot.
And of course it's still fanservice, nothing more. But the creators never go too far, one of their favorite things to do is to tease the viewer with something that seems like the oh-so-cliche incest theme, only to turn it into a huge joke a few seconds later. Basically, the writers seem to be having as much fun as the viewer, both pleasing and teasing him. It definitely is one of the main things that makes this anime extremely enjoyable... and I'm seriously not talking about just the jiggly boobs, believe me, as a still single male I tend to stay away from echhi for sanity's sake, but it's just the way in which it's done. So even if ecchi is not your thing, give this anime a chance. If anything, it's just a perfect humorous addition to an anime that is... perhaps surprisingly, so much more.
Of course, since I started with enjoyment, I need to highlight the most prominent aspect of the anime: games. In an anime where everything is about games, the whole idea could've just collapsed if the games were just your run-off-the-mill games, but thankfully the games the main characters' find themselves playing are always original and unique takes on well-known games and are plenty of fun to watch. Especially when the genius-gamer mode gets switched on.

Story: 9

Frankly, I haven't seen enough animes to be one to talk about originality and interesting concepts. I'm pretty sure games and gamers are quite a popular motive in the anime/manga industry. Regardless of that, however, I think the story of No Game No Life has a fantastic concept - I mean two siblings who are absolute masters of games but hate real life getting transported by a childlike god of games into a fantastic world where literally everything is a game? How could a perfect setting like that go wrong?
Well naturally, it could have. Quite easily, as many great ideas can get wasted. But thankfully the writers made sure to keep up with the pace they set themselves and not only did they make sure to keep the story interesting until the very end with various twists and turns, they also managed to entertain me heartily with unique games the characters played - and the usually mind-blowing strategies that came with them. I have to admit that the ending of this season was not as spectacular as I had hoped, but it wasn't bad either and it did directly suggest a season 2 coming, so I'm not going to go complaining about it.
One issue I had with the story is that sometimes the train of thought of Sora or Shiro got hard to follow and I needed to rewatch some moments to fully grasp what's going on in their heads. Also, the further the anime progressed, the more far-fetched the main characters' genius mind abilities became and even for a completely unbelievable setting like this they were a bit TOO unbelievable. But those were rather minor faults.
Some might complain that the pacing was uneven - there is some truth in that. The fast-paced episodes, which were usually about the main pair playing a grand game against an opponent were usually intertwined with slower episodes which set the stage. But personally, while it was noticeable, I don't necessarily think it was a bad thing, especially since the slower episodes gave us interesting backstories, progressed the characters' relations and, like I just mentioned, set the stage for the action-packed games.

Art: 8

I gotta admit, when I first saw NGNL, I really didn't like the rather clashing color palette used to depict the fantasy game world. It seemed too sweet yet at the same time too aggressive for the eye. But maybe it was just because I simply wasn't used to colors as bold as these in animes (that's saying something, isn't it?) and it was a bit of a shock, because with time not only did I get used to it, I started to grow very fond of it since it proved to be a huge asset of making the game world seem like, well, a game. Also, it went with a quite unique style (I especially enjoyed the different shapes of eye irises according to race) which made all the intense moments even more intense... and the cute things even cuter. So in the end, while it slightly scared me at first, the art became one of my favorite aspects of this anime in the end.

Sound: 8

The soundtrack was good. On one hand, I can't remember any memorable themes from this anime, but on the other hand that's not necessarily the point of OSTs. Because what the soundtrack should do (and it did in this anime) is just play in the background, helping build up the atmosphere, quicken up the pace in moments full of action and setting up the right mood when things got serious for a moment.
The opening was quite decent, but personally I preferws the ending. The ending was quite different from the rest of the anime, I'd even risk saying it was quite touching, but still both the OP and ED fit the anime very well in my opinion.
The voice acting, while not something absolutely mind-blowing, was also good. I think the voices fit the characters very well and were pleasing to the ear, so the VA will surely not get in the way of you enjoying the anime

Characters: 8

As in most animes with 12-13 episodes, there is relatively little time for building relations and character development and such is the case here. We don't see much (if any) character development or relation progressing, but then I wouldn't say it's really something that's missing in this anime. The characters are an entertaining bunch, they interact with each other well, giving us both hilarious and touching moments, keeping the story involving. The supporting characters, while not extremely complex or original, are still given some interesting backstories and traits that make them important parts of the story.
However, it's the main protagonist duo that really got me really attached to this anime. While, as I mentioned before, the creators tend to joke around and tease the viewer by adding some brother-sister lovin' jokes here and there, in reality Sora's and Shiro's relationship actually strikes me as very deep and even moving. They are literally everything to each other. They spent their entire childhood together, hiding themselves from society and becoming the legendary unbeatable "Blank" gaming team together and it is quite often emphasized how important they are to each other. Not only in comedy, but also in some touching moments. Especially one episode (about which I can't say much for the sake of not spoiling it to anyone) explored their attachment to one another and for me it was one of the best, if not the best, episodes of the anime. Especially since it was paired with a mind blowing solution to a game, naturally.


So to sum up, NGNL is quite an unique anime. It has a great setting and an interesting plot, it brings plenty of enjoyment with it's games and hilarious fanservice. It has it's faults as far as the story is concerned and I guess quite a few people will find the cliches and fanservice tiring, but I personally enjoyed it immensely. While I don't think it's current standing on MAL's top anime list is really deserved (but isn't that always the case when hype is up), I definitely think it's something every anime fan should at least check out. And if you don't like it, at least check out episode 6 because that truly is something.

So yeah, I highly recommend it. Just don't watch it with friends unfamiliar with anime nearby, or if they peek at your screen at the wrong moment you'll have a hard time explaining how this anime is, after all, not about boobs and that it is just "part of the game they're playing" ;P

Cheers!