[Sphire]

SAO has gotten a bit more interesting since they went back to the main story for me. That said some stuff seems to have happened fast. True, we knew about Asuna and Kirito since the beginning, but to not see more of that romance build up is a shame. I guess the show doesn't consider that too important [mod edit: removed novel comparison].

Now I just gotta accept they really like each other, but it doesn't make me feel invested into the characters or their relationship (feels disjointed when they're fawning over each other). Kirito, from being a loner to then 'giving his life to protect Asuna' all just doesn't move me much.

Some of the rest was a bit cliché, like having an enemy within the guild and Kirito being down to the last sliver of health yet again. At least they killed the dude, although the hand cut was exaggerated when it has no lasting effect. Having not seen something like that before made it look weird, but perhaps that'll come into play some other time. Other than that though, it seemed like an arc ending so just have to wait for more interesting things to occur/get back to the main plot.