ehalcomb: Sword Art Online and Sword Art Online II || Review

When I first started getting into anime I was all about Sword Art Online. It came about in a time of my life when I started getting really into video game worlds and the concept of VR was incredible to me. This show was what I had wanted. My favorite things combining into a concoction of action and adventure that I just couldn't put down. At least, that's how I felt for the first three episodes then the downhill slope of bad writing, plot-holes the size of New Mexico, and bland character arcs started being handed out like Snickers in a the candy store on 1st Street. In short, Sword Art Online is terrible.

I don't find the initial set-up of Sword Art Online to be bad at all. It may not be the most innovative concept ever but it felt like there was effort put in right off the bat. The show presents itself very well in the first two episodes. The problem that the players face is instant and troubling, and their reactions seem genuine enough that, if dealt with better down the line, could've resulted into interesting character arcs and motivations. The first episode is really good at establishing the point of the show: Players are stuck in the game and will die in real life if they die in-game so the players want to, naturally, get out of said game. Simple, easy to understand, and intriguing. The second episode in any anime is usually used to set up character personalities and motivations. SAO also does this pretty well. Asuna is a mysterious bad-ass who is great in a leadership position and Kirito is a the best player we've seen because of his past as a beta tester of SAO, in a previous build of Aincrad, but can be a jerk because of his want to to be a sort of 'lone hero.' Naturally, these two personalities clash. In the third episode, however, everything that was interesting is thrown out the window for stupid, inconvenient side-plots that don't mean much to the overall story. This is the problem I have with SAO. Sure it looks pretty and handles it's beginning well but it lacks any progression to any character, setting, or theme that it can conjure up and quickly forget about. Early on in the series there is a plot about Kirito wanting to be a loner because his previous guild was all killed before his eyes. Seems fine and could be used a motivation for his personality but instead is quickly forgotten about and doesn't make any sense because he was like that before this plot thread even occurred. Asuna doesn't even have motivation. It hints once that she has a troubled home but it is never capitalized upon in order to have her character learn anything. All of those points don't even matter in the grand scheme of the show because the piece of the puzzle that bothers me the most is that SAO has a complete disregard for attempting to make a strong female character. This is all because of Kirito. In the first season of the show and much of the second Kirito is an unstoppable powerhouse with no flaws. Every single female character he meets ends up being saved by him and soon after integrated into his harem of stereotypes. I would at least mind it less if the girls he saved at least had personalities, instead of hobbies which SAO mistakes as hobbies. Later on in the series there is also a sentient AI character introduced known as Yui who's only purpose is to be an exposition dump in the second arc.

Speaking of the second arc: Alfheim is one of the worst written and paced anime I have ever had the chance to witness. Characters are introduced at random, the characters who have personality never get to develop because Kirito is always saving them in moments where they should grow stronger, and worst of all Asuna a literal bird in a cage that is waiting to be released by her savior, Kirito. How the second half of SAO treats its main female character and the only female character with any personality is downright disgusting. He is also the worst antagonist of the entire franchise thus far with really no reason for his action rather than wanting to marry a comatose Asuna and generally being a terrible person. Kirito's sister (yeah he has a sister now because plot device) is also terribly developed with a cliche anime arc of "I love my brother because Japan" storyline. 

The third arc and most of the second season of Sword Art Online starts out surprisingly interesting. The new MMO that he travels to named Gun Gale Online has a great atmosphere and feels surprisingly alive... for the first two episodes. After this point it follows all the terrible tropes that the first arc of SAO set in stone. It does have a few good moments, however. For example, the new female lead named Sinon has an interestingly tragic backstory. Unfortunately, the show doesn't use this to expand her character at all because Kirito is constantly getting in the way with all the saving lives he does because he is the embodiment of Video Game Jesus. The villain starts out interesting and threatening but quickly becomes predictable and unforgettable. It was also about this time in the show where I started to realize a very strange trend in the franchise. This is that every single time exposition needs to be explained it takes place in a cafe or bar or any place that served food. Once I noticed this it annoyed me so much that I even dropped the show for about three months. Like I said before, this arc does have some good moments. In the second episode, for example, when Kirito faces Death Gun for the first time he freezes up and has a panic attack about his first time killing someone is SAO. This was really good and gave some much needed conflict with his character. Unfortunately this is rarely brought up again and when it is in the last few episodes of the arc he seems already past it without the viewer seeing any progression. At least the second season left an impact, though a disgusted one. This arc is just completely forgettable. 

The next arc, named Caliber, is short, sweet, and stupid fun. That's it. No point to it. No character development. Just a quest in Alfheim. I do appreciate that Kirito's guild was showed working together efficiently but there was no development to any of the characters. 

The last arc in Sword Art Online II, named Mother's Rosario, is the best I've seen the show work. It isn't great by any means but it is good and does a whole lot right. Right off the bat Kirito is no longer the main character but rather Asuna which I've wanted since the Alfheim arc. He just isn't an interesting character and finally we get to see Asuna progressing as a person rather than a trophy wife for Kirito. Her relationship with the new swordsman Yuuki is very strong and fun as they have great chemistry. The other characters in Yuuki's guild, though not exceptionally deep, are also fun and each have somewhat of a personality. This one arc of six episodes is better than all the other 33 episodes that we had gotten up to this point. 

Sword Art Online is an extremely broken anime with only a handful of things going for it. Sure the music is nice and the visuals are very good but the story falls apart constantly, the characters are lifeless and have no drive, and it can even be offensive. 

Sword Art Online is broken beyond repair.