Sword Art Online, or SAO, is an anime about a teenager named Kirito, who joins millions of other players in the MMO, Sword Art Online. While in there, the players are informed that they cannot leave the game, and if they die in the game, they die in real life. This anime is a fantasy to all fellow nerds and geeks who wished they could be IN the game. However, for the characters, this is a matter of life and death.
Kirito is the main protagonist in SAO. He decides that he will be the one to beat the game, and save everybody in the game. He is very intelligent about how MMO’s work, and giving him an advantage. He becomes known throughout the game as the The Black Swordsman, due to using one-handed sword skills, no shield, and the Cloak of Midnight. The world of SAO is made up of floors, each one being more difficult than the last. There are 100 floors.
On the first floor, he meets a girl named Asuna, who later, becomes his love, and his wife in-game. As their relationship develops, you become attached to that relationship, as it distracts from the fact that they are stuck in an MMO. Kirito and Asuna’s relationship provides some comedy relief, which is a very well-placed element in this series.
Even a few of the filler episode seem important, as we learn about Kirito’s mindset about topics, how to handle situations, which in turn, causes us to care more about him, and his cause to save everyone in SAO.
The english voice acting in the series is amazing. Bryce Papenbrook does a great job as Kirito, and Cherami Leigh does a spectacular job as Asuna. Even the side characters are voiced well! The series length is perfect, as you realize how long they are stuck in the game. The ending is amazing, and tugs at the heart strings, on the borderline of wanting to cry, and wanting to squeal with joy. Due to these elements, and almost no flaws whatsoever, I give Sword Art Online 5/5 Lukes.
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Yo! What’s up Cameron!! Its Jonathan!! I’m about to tell you 5 reasons why SAO 1 is trash. (No, this is truth, not blasphemy)
1.Asuna.
While she is a main character, once Asuna married Kirito, she lost both her personality and skills as a character. She was always mostly “Kirito-Kun!”
2. Fast Pacing.
We always like fast pacing in anime, but there is a limit. SAO 1 skipped SO much content in it’s 24 episodes,especially in the Fairy Dance Arc. When animes leave out content, it can leave HUGE plot holes.
3.Romance.
My OTP is Kirito and Asuna, but that is sort of hard when romance is shoved down your throat for the entire series. If iwanted romance, I would go watch Kaichou-Wa Maid-Sama.
4. The Harem Train.
The harem train is where useless characters come to die. After Silica,Lizbeth, and even Leafa had their development, they were eternally cursed to say, “Kirito-Kun” this and that, like a broken record.
5. SAO 2 is way better.
SAO 2 takes place in the Gun Gale Online Arc, where our second main character, Sinon, is introduced. This series has better pacing, animation, and even gives useless characters roles in the Calibur Arc.
That is it for me. Be sure to read this thouroghly, Cameron.
See ya!
You bring up some good points, Jonathan. However, I have to exclude the fifth reason entirely, since the review was only about SAO I. I did not include anything SAO II because I have not finished it yet. However, I can completely agree with reason number three. Romance was such a heavy theme in the anime that the moment after they both die in SAO becomes almost meaningless. However, you can’t help but have some feels when he wakes up and starts saying her name. I completely disagree with the second reason. While it was fast-paced, and it did skip months at a time, it never actually left plot holes. It came back to side characters like Liz for brief moments, just to show what they had been up to. Also, when SAO is beaten, all players that are still alive are awoken, so they are alive, pot hole-free. I can’t agree with you on the first one. As she might be borderline obsessed with Kirito, she does sacrifice her life for him. That shows more about her personality than anything she does in the anime, besides taking care of Yuui.I understand that. But, plot holes don’t matter when it all is well and done in the end. Just because it leaves something out, doesn’t mean it’s a plot hole. If it is crucial to the story, then yeah, but it all does wrap up at the end. They all wake up, Asuna and the others that haven’t died wake up, the plot still goes smoothly throughout the series. Also, even though the series did leave out a few things, I do not necessarily count them as plot holes, since the storyline still runs smoothly throughout the series.
Thanks for replying, Jonathan! If you want to discuss it more, leave another reply!