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Hey~ Looks like everyone's writing a review for SAO, so why not jump on the bandwagon? There will be some spoilers in the review. Just skip over to the overview if you don't want to read all the other stuff.

This anime probably gets a 7:2:1 ratio on its enjoyability. What does that mean? Well, out of let's say 10 people, 7 are going to absolutely love this and will wait each week for it. 2 are going to start out all hyped up, but will be disappointed somewhere along the way - but they'll still watch it. And the remaining 1 will drop the ... series somewhere along the lines.

One of the biggest problem this anime really has is that people are/were too hyped up about it. Many went into it feeling anxious and curious, as if they were expecting it to be something like they've never seen before - and came out disappointed. Majority, however, went in excited and went out even more excited.

I, for one, really love Sword Art Online - not because of the anime, but because of the Light Novel. So I highly recommend the LN for those who left somewhat disappointed with the anime to the Light Novel since you can "connect" to the characters a bit more. Among the complaints, one of them is the time skip. Ep 1 ~ 7 is just a cluster fu*k of time skip. Of course, you don't have to worry about that in the LN as the LN is 'In Medias Res'. The anime producers obviously wanted to do 2 things with the time skips. One, make the anime longer and two, make the viewer able to empathize with the main character, Kirito, a bit more. This didn't work out quite well as many people wanted to see more of the stories in between floors and not just floor skips throughout the entire anime. But what can you do? The stories had to fit somewhere and it could only be the beginning.

Let's break it down with Pros & Cons now, starting with Pros, then Cons, then analyze:

PROS:
-Very nice graphics even in the 2012 standards.
-A very good example of "action romance" anime.
-Badass main character / heroine
-Wincest...?
-Harem... -ish
-Adventure-ish
-Original
-Nice sounds (OP/Ending/Soundtracks/Voice Actors and Actresses)
-Much better overall when compared to some other available anime choices you probably have

CONS:
-Time skips can make you feel left out / disappointed
-Badass main character / heroine
-Too much romance (depending on your taste)
-Things feel rushed
-Makes you question what the characters' existence is for (like Silica's)


Alright, let's begin analyzing.
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There's almost nothing to complain about the art. It's nice to look at - the characters are very well done (although the faces look distorted sometimes) and the overall "world" is in very high graphics.
Almost nothing to complain about the sound either. The OP is nice for both seasons and so is the ending. The voice actors and actresses did a fantastic job. Even the scenes with crying involved is very well done. I hate it when the crying voices seem so... unnatural.

Off to characters.
The main character is very... over powered. You either really like it or don't, but of course the main problems, arguably, is that no scenes of him actually getting stronger is shown - which also is either to your liking or isn't. The heroine is also very overpowered - but mainly serves to make the MC, Kirito, look more badass, since he'll have a cute girlfriend by his side. The 2 main characters will be either a hit or a miss for you, with of course, 7 being a definite hit, 2 maybes, and 1 NO. I don't really like this labeling of characters as "main" or "support" since their role definitely changes throughout the SAO series. Suguha for example is definitely a MC in the ALO arc, but reverts back to support in the other arcs. Kirito is the MC in almost all arcs except Mother's Rosario and Asuna is a support in GGO arc.

If you watch the anime, you'll probably think "whatever happened to that one girl Silica? She was literally there for just 1 episode even though her character design made it seem like she'll stick around". Well, she's a character used in later arcs and she literally has no appearance whatsoever in SAO and ALO so there you go.

You technically need 3 girls to make a harem, but technically 4 (as of now) likes him even though only 2 are leading roles in the anime. So harem is there... and of course, wincest.

Let's head on to Story.
The story is a very debatable topic. The story was written way back in 2001 or something when the author, Kawahara Rek,i didn't even think about publishing it so he just put things to his tastes. You either like it or you don't, but it's definitely more on the romance side of the whole "action romance" theme than it is to action - so the synopsis probably tricked you.

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Overview:

You'll probably enjoy this anime if you don't go into it thinking it'll be a masterpiece like you've never seen before.
If you ARE hyped up about it or have read the LN, you'll probably leave being disappointed.

You should really watch this mainly for the romance between the two MC, especially since it has nice sound and graphics. Action is really just there to provide story so things develop more shounen style.

If you really want to get more into the actions or the characters, you should probably read the Light Novel (watch the first 7 ep though since the LN starts at ep7). You'll be able to empathize with the characters better and you'll find the LN MUCH more satisfying than what the anime presents. Really, the anime should be more of an Eye-Candy. The Light Novel will be your steroids.


Thanks you for reading!!

Unlike the actual series, I've heard a person say "It cracked me up" before I watched it. I was speechless. In a good way.

Story: 8/10
....LOL... that's all I can say. Wasn't expecting much of a "story" from an 1 episode OVA anyway, and after watching the last couple episodes of the actual series, this was AMAZING. I was laughing the whole time.

Art: 9/10
9 like the review I wrote for the actual series for the same reason. Art is always good but this one had MUCH more fan-service; and who doesn't like fan service? I'm a fan!

Sound: 7/10
No new music or anything... just the same ... as the original series. But the voice acting was good if anything :P

Character: 8/10
Unlike the main series, this OVA actually had sane (... wait... what am i saying) characters.
Scratch that, characters were weird in both, but the characters were weird in a good way this time!

Enjoyment: 10/10
Like I said... i was LOLing the whole time with a hint of ROFLMAO. I seriously wasn't expecting it to be an episode filled with sex jokes lol

Overall: 10/10
I didn't even know time was passing by. I just couldn't help but write something about this OVA (since I wrote something on the main series).
It was... so funny...

If the main series of 12 episodes were actually this OVA related series, I'm pretty sure it'd be much more fun lolz

11 Eyes... I started watching this anime on my iPod Touch without the slightest idea what it was; But the first episode drew me in with the art style and a promising story as well as romance (which i like). I was wrong. Terribly, Terribly wrong. Even as the series was moving on... I was wishing for a happy ending with the main character and the heroine living happily ever after with a kiss. Boy, was I wrong.


Story: 5/10
The first episode was great, it really was. And some of the elements in the whole anime was also something that was in my taste - the ... special abilities and the main character's eye, etc (shows why I like Code Geass so much o_o).
Then... it.... just... got... depressing.
The main heroine... failed... I'm sorry. She turned from this cute, moe girl into this weird, hysterical maniac and the main character was oblivious the whole time;;
SERIOUSLY, WHAT WERE THE PRODUCERS THINKING??

Art: 8/10
The art, for one, was superb (which it should be or else the whole series gets like a 1). The anime I guess was meant to be one of those Moe animes - which I'm fine with (actually, I'm VERY happy with) - and there were some fan services (and I was served quite well).
The art for both girls and boys are done quite well.

Sound: 9/10
The OP and the ED is also quite good and the scenes that go with it aren't the lowest grade either. The OP and ED was something I could listen to anytime.
Also, the BGM used in the anime was quite amazing and matched the scenes (sort of). If you've watched it, you'd know it. That tune just gets stuck into your head (the tune that comes in when they move in the Crimson Night) - you know the Bam-Ba-Bam Bam-Ba-Bam Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-bam x2. It sounds dramatic... idk O-O

Character: 4/10
Now if I'd only watched the first 1~3 episodes, I'd be like "I'll give this a 8~9 anytime" but NO. Sadly, I had to watch the whole thing including the parts where the cute little girl becomes School Day-ish (We all know who I'm talking about).
Also, the main character can get really frustrating because of his stupid resolve which is just "I want to protect Yuka" - which Yuka becomes.... whoops no spoilers...
All the other characters, too, were done poorly... though depending on how you look at it, you can like them (I liked them as well). BUT, the only reason why this whole character thing is a 4 is because of the execution of their role. Dead People. Get it? No? Maybe 'Crazy People' would also work. Hmm... still not enough? One word, 'Depressing' would sum it up.

Enjoyment: 6/10
Now this was one of those anime that no matter how bad it was done, you kind of are sucked into it (probably cuz of the art... idk). I found myself watching this anime without much (if any) moments of bored-ness.
Honestly, if this anime had an happy ending, without all the characters just dying here and there (which I should've seen coming considering the main character was stabbed in the stomach and his sister commited suicide), then it would've gotten at least an 8.

I don't really regret watching this show... I just regret that I didn't realize this whole show was a troll show...

Now in response to the top 2 reviews I've just seen, which were both putting the anime down, I made this review which will hopefully be up there to replace one of them to show positive/negative aspects of the show.

Story 8:
Alright I will be honest and say that I was not expecting the story to be what it was. It was BETTER than what I expected and if you have read the two and watched it, you will agree with me. The story was honestly good in my opinion especially since it was what I was looking for when I was trying to watch this ... anime - A action focused anime with some romance. Maybe I'm influenced to like this anime by the fact that they used Jewel-like rocks and I'm a sucker for pretty looking gems :D
Also, the story is very good with how it starts out and there is a good rising action to the climax as well as a good resolution although they could've ended the anime with a kiss or something :P
One thing I've noticed for myself while watching this anime is that I've never skipped over a part of felt bored at one part. If I haven't particularly skipped a part, that means there weren't any super cheesy parts, and I hate cheesy parts xD

Art 8:
I honestly have no idea what the art can get below a 8 because I thought it was fantastic. Take Ruri for example, she's hella cute :O The fight scenes look pretty good with nice effects and everything and it's easy to tell what's happening in every scene.

Sound 7:
I'm not counting the OP and ED of course but I will say that they weren't the best, and not the worst. It is true that they use a lot of the same track for the scenes but they match the scenario pretty decently.

Character 9:
Alright honestly, I loved the characters mainly the heroine. She was cute - both in art and the way she acted. The main character, Alma, was pretty decent too. One thing I mainly liked about him is the character development I saw in him - which given a 12 Episode anime, was very good. The butler, meh he's not bad; the maids... they're a bonus :O
Also, all the other characters were decent looking and as for the fights, they had high quality too.
If I had to say something, the antagonist of the story was the worst part I should say.

Enjoyment 9:
I. ENJOYED. IT. PERIOD. and I matter, therefore, it is good.

Overall 9:
Umm It is true that I have never given any anime/manga I've read below the rating of 5~6. Mostly because if I've read it, then I've liked it and I'm quite generous in rating them. But this anime was actually quite good - surpassing my expectations. Depending on what you were expecting when you began the series, it might be a little different, but as for me, I loved it.

I first read the manga version of these way before it ever came out as an anime. The first 8 chapters, which I could find at the time, were very intriguing for me and when I heard that this will be an anime, I was very excited. I wasn't disappointed.

Story:
As far as the story goes, I think it is as well as it could be put with a 12 episode anime. The idea in itself is very interesting and for all you vampire/zombie fans out there, this is a pretty good choice. However, I think the highlight of this series was not the story but ... rather the art.

Art:
The art was one of the higest quality I've ever seen. The only reason I'd give it a 9/10 is because I didn't like how the tips of characters with long hair had different color, which I think was an original touch but did not appeal to my taste. Other than that, the art was fantastic. The color, the effect, etc. it all was appealing to me.

Sound:
The sound was pretty good as well. The opening and ending, wasn't the best but wasn't the worst as well. That aside, the background music fit each scene though they were using almost the same track for most of the time.

Character:
The character is surprisingly cliched yet a bit different. We have our normal main character who is popular to his girls, and has a bit of perversion. Then we have the main heroine, who is actually not what most heroines would be. She is cutesy around the main character (the guy she likes) and is cold towards others, which I think was a nice touch. Next we have our usual childhood friend of the main character, who serves the purpose of jealousy as well as some role at the end. We also have the sub main character, who is arrogant and calls himself a "genius" and is of course, popular to all girls in his school. Then we have his partner, a loli, who happens to get quite a lot of panty shots from the very first episodes and does all the normal childish stuff.

Overall:
Overall I definitely think this anime is worth a try, mainly if you want a romance anime rather than an action-focused anime. The art is great, the story is fine, and it's all good!