Aaron's Review: Sword Art Online Pt. 1

Okay, so this show has people split between loving it or hating it. Sending hateful messages to each other and starting flame wars in YouTube comment sections. That being said…here’s my review of it.

Guys, Gals, & Non-Binary Pals, this is Animated-Aaron’s review of ‘Sword Art Online’. Pt. 1: (Episodes 1-14)

!The Plot!

In the year 2022, an online virtual reality game called ‘Sword Art Online’ hits the market and a stream of players log on for the first time. Among them is Kazuto Kirigaya (Kah-zoo-toe Ke-ri-gah-ya) under the screen name “Kirito” (Ker-e-toe). Like the thousands of other players, he finds himself unable to log out meaning he’s trapped. The game’s creator informs them that they are stuck there until they can clear the 100 floors of the game. And because the game is linked to each person’s brain waves, if they die in the game, they die in real life. So it’s up to Kirito to become stronger and beat the game. 

!The Story!

Okay so the synopsis of the series has been done in TV episodes where the characters enter their games and so on. But just because something has been done before doesn’t mean it’s bad when it’s reused. It’s only a matter of how well they use it. So the question is: does SAO use it well? The answer is yes. 

The series makes the presence and weight of death very clear. What I like is that they don’t show a character dying in every single episode in order to do so. In the first couple of episodes, they make it clear that anyone is capable of being axed off when entire parties of people die. If it’s not by the bosses in the game, then it’s by rogue players. Afterwards, the show doesn’t give favor to anyone. Except for the main character. 

Kirito has received an award that many heroes in anime have on their shelf. The ‘overpowered character’ award. To make a long story short and without spoiling anything, in an m.m.o.r.p.g, you’d want to team up to achieve the level that Kirito has in the game. The issue is that he’s a solo player. The excuse the anime gives is that he was a beta tester so he had knowledge of the game before anyone else. The issue is, he still barley struggles in the boss fights and has abilities nobody else has. 

Suspension of disbelief will be your best friend while watching this. 

!Characters!

Speaking of the characters, I only found myself caring about the main characters Kirito and Asuna. That doesn’t mean the other characters are bad, I just found them to be…forgettable. I remember one side character named Agil because he’s a rational guy that helps Kirito every few episodes.

Another character named Klein occasionally shows up and gets stronger every time I saw him. But when he’s gone, I don’t miss him. Lisbeth is where Kirito gets his second and custom-made sword. But she doesn’t leave any more of an impact than when she first appears. You see where I’m going with this? The only characters I decided to care about were the ones that appeared regularly. Not to mention, the characters that had development. 

 Kirito as stated, is a solo player that, while being a nice guy, can be an obnoxious dick at times. When a group of people find out he was a beta tester, they hound him for it. His response back was basically ‘Yeah, what of it? It’s not like you can do anything about it.’ He will most likely think as he’s fighting seeing as he can just plow right through most of his obstacles. So, I can see why people don’t like him, but he didn’t bother me all that much.  

Asuna, the most well written character, is a ‘tsunadre’. I did an editorial on why I dislike most tsunadre characters so I’ll leave you with why I like Asuna.

At the start of the show, Asuna was just a rookie playing a ‘VRMMORPG’ for the first time. All of sudden, she can die in real life if she dies here. So it makes sense that as she got stronger, she developed a ‘No BullSh*t Accepted’ attitude. This doesn’t mean she’s a ‘tsunadre’ all the time. 

As the series progresses, she softens up and opens up to her rival/boyfriend Kirito.

!The Show!

The action scenes do have a level of intensity to them. This is because the tension in the scenes are so high from death being a constant presence. The characters don’t just rush into battle. You see them plan and strategize before going into dungeons and it had me one the edge of my seat. Now, not all episodes are full of violence. The relationship between Kirito and Asuna is well played. Depending on how you look at it I mean.  

Mid-way through this part of the show, there’s a break from fighting and violence just to focus on Kirito and Asuna bonding. It’s pretty sweet and works to the shows advantage. On the other hand, they just pumped the breaks mid-arc to turn into a romance.

!Summary!

So I know that there’re people who hate this show and find it overrated, and while I understand how they came to their conclusion, I’m sorry but I loved what I saw. I’m not claiming its ‘Citizen Kane’, but I do think it’s worth watching. 

!Grade!

Sword Art Online (Part 1): B 

Final Word: It’s a simple, fun show to watch. 

 What’s your opinion?