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View Poll Results: Sword Art Online - Total Series Rating
Perfect 10 46 21.70%
9 out of 10 : Excellent 42 19.81%
8 out of 10 : Very Good 40 18.87%
7 out of 10 : Good 36 16.98%
6 out of 10 : Average 29 13.68%
5 out of 10 : Below Average 5 2.36%
4 out of 10 : Poor 7 3.30%
3 out of 10 : Bad 2 0.94%
2 out of 10 : Very Bad 3 1.42%
1 out of 10 : Painful 2 0.94%
Voters: 212. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 2014-07-12, 22:39   Link #121
Parousia
Senior Member
 
 
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Philippines
Watched it all in one go, so my impression in the anime was great because the story about the two games ended the way i liked. Although I didn't expect that S.A.O. would end in floor 75 and for ALO, I was happy that Sugou got what he deserved. And it was great that the special episode lasted for 1hour and 40 minutes.

My only problem with the anime was, they progressed so fast in clearing floors that it made me feel like I missed one or two episode(s).

In all, I gave it a 7 over 10
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Old 2014-07-19, 20:15   Link #122
Elazul
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Age: 34
Well, finished watching this series recently, so here are my words:

Spoiler for My thoughts::
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Old 2014-08-19, 03:52   Link #123
Countbuffalo
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Join Date: Jul 2014
Watched the entire series in the course of pretty much a day, My impressions with it were, well, I have to say I loved the part that actually was Sword Art Online, but I had difficulty watching ALO, Mostly due to Sugou, call me sensitive, but the character disturbed me so much I found it difficult to watch, especially the bit at the end with what was pretty much molestation.

I give Sword Art online (episodes 1-14) 8/10, my main problems with it were pacing, the introduction of a character and then their death at the end of the same episode was an occurrence that happened too much. We never really saw most of the characters outside of their own episodes, such as Silica or Lisbeth, who only really had one episode of screen time. Really, If it had been 25 episodes in Sword art online, then that would have been better.

I don't know how many people would agree with me, but I loved the entire romance plotline, I really liked Yui as well, There were very few characters I wasn't a fan of in Sword Art Online, ALO is a different story...

I think if I rewatched the series, which I probably will, i'll watch episodes 1 to 14, maybe 25 for a bit of closure.

Might be a bit off-topic. But how's Sword art online II? Hopefully it revisits some old Characters (Not Sugou)
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Old 2014-08-29, 11:55   Link #124
dotdotslash
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Join Date: Aug 2014
Overall Impressions

Stumbled on the first season on netflix a little while ago. Given how silly the summary they had sounded, I almost didn't watch, but I am quite glad that I did. There are lot's of issues with the story, especially the majority of the second arc as well as the anime version of the final battles. So, while I think there were problems, it was still a really enjoyable show.

Spoiler for Contains some discussion of light novels:
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Old 2014-09-27, 05:15   Link #125
Irenicus
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Age: 34
Oh, my.

I remember watching this the first time "real-time," with the rest of the audience at Animesuki, enjoying the highs, the lows, the angry criticisms, and dodging more spoilers than Kirito dodged monsters and girls, until episode 15 when the shifting of the arcs and the introduction of the new villain lost my interest.

In preparation for jumping into SAO Season 2, I returned and semi-marathoned this show over the course of a week or so.

It is indeed one of those shows that are simply so much better when watched in long sessions. While you could say that with many anime, the benefits are strongest with series that are plot heavy, dramatic, and inconsistent with great highs and insufferable lows, i.e. SAO.

The lows are indeed many, and mentioned plenty of times in this thread. Inconsistencies, pacing issues, plot holes, missed opportunities, questionable romance and the harem aspect (though I like Sugu a lot), a worthless sociopathic rapist villain for the second arc (which I find utterly repulsive -- as the author no doubt intended -- but also poisonous to the overall quality of my enjoyment), and so on. So many stories untold, many say, so many chances to glimpse into human nature in such desperate straits, so many angles left unexplored. Ignoring what was or was not in the source material, the first arc has the kind of premise and flow that could have and perhaps should have been extended to twice the length with ease. From that standard, it could not have been anything but a disappointment.

However, I can easily agree with those who rate it highly, clearly not out of objectivity but for how much they enjoyed it. After all, I very much enjoyed it. From the palpable terror of the first episode to the deeply satisfying reunion of the last, there was much to savor. There were little vignettes of life in a virtual world, some with shocking emotional impact; there were great battles delivered to inspiring music, the kind that, in-story, leave behind legends; there were, yes, cute girls, and there were periods of rest, relaxation, and romance. There was a great villain in the enigmatic scientist and mass murderer. There was even a different world, a much more liberating than the first at first glance, with its own lively history and community which the hero steps into as a stranger with a mission, yet also, in the end, a broken, inferior world, put in place by people who did not care enough to craft its center (though apparently revived to its proper splendor in a later version). All of these adventures are delivered through the focus of a character who is clearly a fantasy fulfillment, but also a highly charismatic one in his melancholic way.

So yes, I agree, it could have been so much more. But what we have I just love.

This is an anime that got going, after all, with a very definitive statement: a magnificent scene where, having discovered the ruse and grasping with his mortality and the terror to come, the hero charged out of the first city in a frenzy, roaring for life. I will survive, his roar screamed. I will live. It doesn't matter where you are coming from as an audience, at that moment no one could possibly miss the point, or be at least a little moved. Or a lot.

/////

Now I'm doubting myself whether I should join in the fun with SAO 2 or wait until it ends, given how much more I enjoyed the first season watching it at my own pace.

Last edited by Irenicus; 2014-09-27 at 05:35.
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Old 2014-09-27, 18:37   Link #126
dotdotslash
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Join Date: Aug 2014
The first arc of season 2 should wrap up next week. You could always watch that en-mass and then wait for the rest to finish.

Overall, it's a really fun series, and I do think that it does work well watching the episodes en-mass.
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Old 2018-09-17, 19:17   Link #127
Akito Kinomoto
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Peek-a-boo~

I commented on this thread already. But for as many times as I've rewatched Sword Art Online, this anime has never fallen below a grade of C (numerical ratings are skewed and letter grades have useful ubiquitous meaning). Reki Kawahara wants to make science fantasy regardless of whether he knows how unfit a science fiction setting is for what he wants to do

Characters are a different story. At times, what he pens in for them are things he thinks the audience will like. Those one-and-done female characters in Aincrad who fall in love with Kirito in a short time frame. It plays into the harem aspect. Or a particular scene where Kirito just wants to spend the night with Asuna, and Asuna thinks he wants to sleep with her, and comedic cringe ensues. At other times, Kawahara is telling the story he wants to tell and the difference in passion is usually clear. Genuinely hot moments between Kirito and Asuna that play on intimacy and not gratuity, moments of calm with the locals where they're completely at peace. Perhaps the development leading to this romance isn't his strong point. The care he puts into the romance itself, is

Kirito has hax moments. Hacking the terminal to preserve Yui when this capability lacks set-up. Willing himself against death in the 2nd fight with Heathcliff. Being bailed out against Sugou by Kayaba. That's not the same as being overpowered, nor is he actually overpowered

It's important to examine his boss fights
1--Illfang the Kobold Lord: the raid itself was doing most of the work. Kirito and Asuna stepped in when its HP was low, and Kirito simply finished it off
2--Nicholas the Renegade: Kirito is implied to have solo'd the boss. A Floor 35 event boss. Kirito had long passed this floor
3--The Gleam Eyes: the only boss Kirito solos. Even then, he needed Klein and Asuna to buy him time. This is the only "at parity" fight we see him carrying everyone else
4--The Fatal Scythe: Yui had to bail out him and Asuna
5--The Skull Reaper: Kirito did not solo this fight. Everyone was putting in work
6--Guardian Knights: Kirito did not solo this fight either. It's likely he was carrying the battle more than he was vs The Skull Reaper, though

his other fights to examine
1--X'rphan the White Wyrm: he didn't kill this thing. He picked up its Rare Drop and then left
2--Titan's Hand: he didn't need to dodge their attacks. Games with outright leveling systems are unfair that way
3--Heathcliff: a little stronger than Heathcliff when both are at full strength. Kirito is in an exhausted state in their 2nd fight, and lost. Tied at best
4--Salamanders: Kirito's only egregious fight in SAO (or ALO in this case). The save import data would not suffice to explain his proficiency in illusion magic
5--Eugene: Kirito needed to borrow one more weapon to win this. On a side note, starting here and going forward into SAO II and Ordinal Scale, dual-wielding has turned into a power-up for Kirito, not his default state
6--King Oberon: Kayaba bailed him out of this

Kirito is strong but far from being able to do everything. His story arc in Aincrad is about avoiding other players to avoid the guilt of being unable to protect them. As time goes on, his mood gradually lightens as he learns to open up and trust in others as they come to trust in him. Any time he flaunts his power, it's a ruse. In any moment of honesty with people he's comfortable with, he makes it a point to stress he has no real power. He doesn't. He doubts and curses himself, but grows into the hero because he has to be, and it's that desperation that informs his compassion as he expresses his misgivings over killing even NPCs

Then the story reaches ALO. Kirito has a clear goal: save Asuna. Unfortunately, Kawahara is more focused on developing Leafa/Suguha's feelings for Kirito/Kazuto. Kawahara is sensible in how he approaches this, adequately reflecting the tug of war between Suguha's feelings as family and Leafa's feelings as a romantic interest. The scene where Kirito and Leafa learn who's behind the other character is visceral. The culmination of Suguha's jealousy, longing, resignation, happiness, hesitation, frustration, and honesty all coming through. The way the scene is shot being so untheatrical

Meanwhile, Asuna in ALO has become a damsel in distress. This in itself wouldn't be a problem had the framing around her circumstances changed. The way it's presented, Sugou treats Asuna as his main goal while his plan to change people's memories through VR technology and experiments on the last SAO players who had not been logged out, becomes a secondary goal. The importance of these motivations need to be flipped and Asuna's importance to Sugou greatly reduced; Asuna becomes a "bonus" to accompany Sugou's bigger plans, Kirito is made to look smaller when his driving force is tertiary to the villain, and accompanying Sugou's bigger plans would be his obsession with surpassing Kayaba, and in turn creating the preamble for Kayaba to help Kirito at the end

Kawahara is confused on writing his villain and clear on wanting to tell this story for Suguha. Kirito gets lost in the shuffle. He helped Leafa with the Salamander problem because even in this moment of urgency, he is not someone who can let his friends die, death game or not. The compassion informed by his years in Aincrad won't let him do that with a clean conscious. When Kirito is "in-mode" for saving Asuna and then has his focus broken, all too often, by comparatively trivial nuisances, it is NOT a good look for him. It causes Asuna to oscillate into a secondary goal for Kirito. It calls into question how much he really cares for her. The sad part is, he clearly does. They're the most important people in each other's lives, which is why it's nauseating that Kawahara messed up Kirito this much

ALO is not flawed because Asuna is a damsel in distress. ALO is egregious because IT DIDN'T UNDERSTAND KIRITO. Kawahara. Didn't get. Kirito. HIS OWN CHARACTER. WHAT THE ACTUAL F--

I don't hate ALO as much as I used to. It's a compelling Suguha story trapped inside a confused Kirito story trapped inside whatever drugs Sugou is taking. Aincrad is a solid story arc though. What it wants to do shines through what it thinks audiences want, but ALO is being carried by Suguha if there ever was a secondary character to take that role
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