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Sword Art Online is what I would define as an anime that has marked anime history in my opinion.
Though the story may not be original (I mean, sure .hack// already took the idea of a virtual reality MMORPG that kills it's players way before SAO), it has made its spot as onf of my number top anime of all time. I've been a fan of SAO since the light novel and I appreciated how the anime stayed true to it's story line and didn't modify everything to make it more appealing to the viewer (Though the light novel was way more than appealing enough so ... no modification was required anyways). Heck, chapter 16.5... If you know what I'm talking about. :3

Animation:
The animation was what I'd define as top notch. The fighting scenes felt smooth and were always exciting to watch. Never did I feel bored watching these awesome action packed fighting scenes because the movements flowed so well. The lighting up when a character was charging a skill, the epic skills themselves actually in both Sword Art Online and ALfheim Onine were flashy and cool to watch.

Music:
The opening has gained a spot in my heart as one of the best anime openings of all time. Just by listening to it with the animated sequence that accompanied it at the end of episode 1, I knew this series was going to be epic. The battle music was also great and well composed to match the moment.

Characters:
Each character has it's own unique personalty that made them likable or hate-able, depending if they were the protagonist or the antagonist. In almost every SAO episode, we are introduced to a new character and even if their appearance is only an episode long, they still play an important role that makes the story move on. In the ALO arc, a new set of characters was introduced but they are as lovable as the SAO ones. So much shipping..

Storyline:
As mentioned earlier, this anime isn't the first of it's kind, but it honestly surpasses by a long shot it's predecessors (Maybe cause the animation is better due to technology advancement? I did enjoy the .//hack series very much though.) In 14 episodes, Sword Art Online has showed most of the important moments of the novels and I felt like I was reading parts the novels as I watched a new episode of SAO every Saturday. Same with the ALfheim Online arc.

Overall:
Sword Art Online was very satisfying and the story was great, I wished in lived in 2022, a time where NerveGears allow people to dive into the world of their game of choice, SAO in my case and I wouldn't mind being stuck in the game world and risking my life, because that's what makes it thrilling and makes me want to surpass myself in order to survive. Without any risks, any game would be so dull.

Rating:
Even though SAO was absolutely amazing, it still has things that could have been improved and so it can't get a perfect score.

5 Centimeters per Second is an anime movie I would define as breathtaking. There aren't any amazing fighting sequences (due to the fact that this is a romantic movie... And yes, I watch romantic movies.) Although the characters are plain and simple, the storyline, the music, the scenery is simply breathtaking. This anime made me shed manly tears because I could relate and it was simply amazing.

Animation:
The animation of the characters is nothing special, just people moving. But then again, they couldn't make them do anything special either, it's just people living their ordinary lives.
On the other hand, the sunrise, the amazing rocket launch, the ... animation of the scenery is smooth and beautiful.
All taken into consideration, The scenery animation compensates for the plainness of of the character animation. Definitely some good animation.

Music:
Oh god, the music. The timing is perfect, it fits the moment. The subtle slow and quiet piano beginning that turns into an intense and loud piano as the scene hits it's climax is a great touch. The ending music, if you read the lyrics, is really touching. I could once again relate to the song and it is really representative of the whole movie.
Favorite song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97CzSEuRqW0

Plot:
The plot is straightforward with a few twists. It is separated into three parts: the younger years (Cherry Blossom), the teenage years (Cosmonaut) and adult years (5 Centimeters per Second). Revolving around how a relationship evolves through years and separation, this story tells the tale of the relationship between Takaki Tono and Akari Shinohara, with a few side characters. Simple, but that's what I like best. It fits in hour and I'm glad it was only 1 hour. If it were to be more, I would have bored myself to death.

Characters:
Plain, nothing to say, really.


Rating:
This movie was overall extremely satisfying despite the simple characters. But because of the characters, I can't give this anime a full 10/10. So I give this a 9/10! I'd highly recommend it to anyone into romantic sobby sad story stuff and to everyone else in general!