Total newbie on SAO here, the hype might have been right after all.
Spoiler for Now, this is podracing!:
While there was nothing that could be called mindblowing, this episode nailed it all perfectly: the feeling of wonder as a fantasy world is now real and before your very own eyes, the joy of being back after getting to taste a slice of heaven, the urgency of the situation, and of course, the idiots trying to abuse rule 64 (I think it was 64). Nice touch there, GM
I'm liking Kirito already. You can yell Gary Stu all you want (and I know people will), but I like having a strong, confident main character much more than the other option this particular LN author gave us
And hey, he already has a bro, that's awesome.
Now all's left (to me, at least) is wait to see if Asuna lives up to expectations as well.
Also