Could this be the best Sword Art Online manga yet? It’s certainly off to a good start and I’ve been waiting to have action like this. I’ll have a review for the series up when it’s finished so hopefully it can stay strong!
Overall 7/10
The first Sword Art Online show had started off as an all star but quickly turned into a trainwreck. This one doesn’t crash and burn in such a way, rather it suffers from a myriad of issues from the get go. The sequel just seemed to have lower standards across the board. I still can’t call the show good as a result, but we do get some nice fight scenes. This series has 3 arcs, but most of the review is spent on the first one, as it is the longest. Get ready folks because there’s a lot to bash here! That being said, this still manages to beat season 1!
Kirito doesn’t really want to go on dangerous virtual reality missions anymore. Why would he want to do this after nearly dying right? Well, things change when the government makes contact with him regarding two pieces of important intel. Someone has been terminating players in the new Gun Gale game. Kirito quickly reminds the agent that it’s impossible to injure a real person from a video game. The agent agrees, but he wants Kirito to investigate a little anyway. Kirito heads into the game and things get personal when he finds out that this “Death Gun” character may be a Sword Art Online survivor. Can Kirito really take this guy down or will his long break from playing shooters come back to haunt him? Granted, Kirito finds a beam sword, which greatly helps him in the battles.
Meanwhile, there’s a new character in the mix. Her name is Sinon and she intends to win the big gun contest so that she can get over her fear of those weapons. It’s an intriguing way to cure her fears although I do see the logic in it. Still, it’ll be very tough to win the contest when Death Gun and Kirito have also entered to complicate the situation rather dramatically. Kirito is and always will be known as the ultimate gamer so he’s not going to just let Sinon win when there’s still a job to do.
One gimmick that the anime decided to use for this arc was for Kirito to be in a feminine designed avatar. Another character makes it clear that it’s still a male one so that’s good for Kirito, but he still manages to look like Lucina and decides to mess with the other characters a bit. It’s rather unnecessary if you ask me and I missed his standard design. Kirito’s normal design is just so cool that you didn’t need to mess with it.
This does lead into the animation angle a little. The first show’s animation was top notch. Some of the best animation in the business and it was at a theatrical level. Every episode felt like a movie. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case in this show. It looks good for the most part, but it never comes close to looking like the first show. It still keeps the theatrical feel to an extent, but there are episodes where the budget is noticeably low and the quality really falls. Most of the fight scenes aren’t very exciting and that’s why we always need Kirito to save us. If it’s an action scene from Sinon, you can expect the animation to not be all that great. The anime uses more shortcuts and simply feels a little more like a cash in sequel. It’s rather unfortunate.
As for the soundtrack, it gets completely lolstomped by the original. Disclaimer: it’s not a bad soundtrack. Sword Art Online II still does the world proud and I like the battle theme. It also reuses a lot of themes from the original to help itself out. That being said, you won’t be blown away like you were with the first show. It’s sad since more techno music would have been appropriate for this season, but we only got a few really good tunes. Again, that’s impressive for the average show, but it’s not enough to even come close to topping the original.
While this show doesn’t explode like arc 2 of the original, we get another similar villain. The show seems to be obsessed with this kind of plot. The heroine even gives up once again temporarily and while Asuna had no choice, but to stick around, this other character has no excuse for this brief hesitation and lack of will power. It’s pretty unacceptable. Moreover, the show also has more fanservice than the original. I won’t say that the original completely avoided this trap because it most certainly did not, but this show was more frequent with this issue. Sinon’s costume isn’t terrible and it’s certainly no Satana, but the camera always zooms in on inappropriate angles, which makes it bad.
I’ve always felt that the costume is not much of an issue. You can have a character with Power Girl’s costume and provided that the camera plays it straight and never focuses on the gap, then it’s basically fine. For example, Harribel’s costume never seemed all that bad. Kubo quickly made this an issue by having her super form make it worse, but in the manga there was never any attention drawn to it (Besides the cover) so it was easy to just ignore. The anime completely shuts down that escape option and it’s pretty disappointing. We’ve also got random scenes of Asuna in the bath and the show continues to show why the quality of the original arc will never return. It’s just another thorn in the show’s side.
Finally, before getting into the positives let’s tackle another negative. The show takes itself way too seriously this time around. As a result, the show makes Kirito, Sinon, and most of the characters look bad at different times. Gone are the days when Kirito was completely fearless and picking fights with anyone who crossed his path. He is petrified when Death Gun shows up and constantly freezes up during the series. He nearly cries during a few different moments and while he initially took the Sword Art Online experience pretty well, his personality regresses rather seriously in this title. The show is really trying to appear to be very deep and emtional when it really isn’t. One of the reasons why the original Sword Art Online was so great (Arc 1) was because it was very happy and chipper despite the stakes. The stakes were raised and things got serious in the climax, but it adapted accordingly. The whole plot with Death Gun just feels forced and rather out of place.
Likewise with Sinon. You could have whole episodes about her shaking in front of a gun and reminding us of her origin story. (Which honestly wasn’t even that traumatic considering that she saved everyone in the shop and became a bit of a hero. The whole thing was also super unrealistic since the mother didn’t appear to be pleased, but anyone would be glad to have their life spared and the villain defeated. Sinon should have been looked up to by the masses. It just didn’t make sense) Cut the drama Sword Art Online and let’s get back to what made the show good.
As for Sinon as a character, she was decent at first. It’s quite sad that one of her very first scenes involves a guy trying to hit on her, showing once again how sad this show has become. Still, in Gun Gale, she is a tough warrior who has a great reputation. She wants to destroy Kirito in the competition for betraying her trust and puts up a good effort, but I can’t stand her human form. It’s probably the worst from all of the Sword Art Online protagonists and it makes it very hard to root for her. It was simply too much of a contrast and is basically like Homura’s form from her origin days…if she had no character development and never gained any strength of self or conviction to make the hard calls. Sinon is decently good with a gun, but is virtually useless in close combat situations. There’s no way that she would have done very good had Kirito not been around.
As for Kirito, he’s still the epic character that we remember from the original show for the most part. He manages to drive something that is almost impossible to drive within seconds and constantly pulls off hype moments like nobody’s business. He even beats a speed challenge that had never been beaten in the history of the game. I feel like the author tried to make Kirito as extremely awesome as possible and it was definitely a good move on his part since that’s why I like Kirito. He’s basically the ultimate character and never loses. How can you not root for him? Well, there are actually a pair of reasons that I can think of.
For starters, he finally made the decision to have a girlfriend in the first show. You all know what I think of the many flawed romances in media, but for the sake of argument, let’s say that this is an okay decision. In that case, then he needs to make this clear to everyone, but when introducing Sinon to the gang, he referred to Asuna as being merely a friend. That’s just terrible writing and really seems out of character for Kirito now that he’s not a free agent. He should have stayed as a free agent, but since he didn’t, he’s got to play by some new rules now. Also, Kirito looks uncharacteristically weak during the final fight against Death Gun.
Due to the true identity of Death Gun, we learn that he’s actually pretty weak and that Kirito should own him rather easily. Instead, Kirito is actually getting wrecked in the close quarters fight. Gun vs Sword would be fine, but it’s a sword battle so Kirito should have the massive edge. The fight makes no sense and is just very frustrating as the writers clearly have no idea on how they should handle the show anymore. It all comes down to the author of course and I feel like he’s losing his grip on the show. Correction, he already lose his grip on Sword Art Online and I feel like the anime are going to continue to stay in the negative zone. It’s too bad since the show always has the potential to be an 8 or a 9, but it simply can’t live up to that.
For example, if we go to the pros for a second, let’s look at the technical merits of Sword Art Online. As I mentioned, the animation is still pretty good for the most part. The soundtrack is very good as well and the fight scenes are great. They pale next to the original SAO, but shine when compared to the average show. It still feels like a movie and Kirito makes for an amazing main character. However, the fanservice, repeat of the Fairy Dance Asuna plot, and the uncharacteristic moments from the main characters are what really hurts the show in the long run. It just can’t survive these negatives and I feel like the author will just keep on making these mistakes over and over again.
Aside from the main arc, there are two minis that are included. The first one is a quick mission in fairy world as the heroes try to get Kirito a new sword. The animation hits an all time low in this arc and there’s really no point to it. The heroes face some monsters and then they head home. It’s fun to see the whole team together again, but it also makes them all look a little bad as they have a tough time facing off against some monsters. Still, I’ll admit that it’s a little nostalgic and Kirito’s back to his real design so it wasn’t all bad. Klein also got a bigger role, but it’s not much of a role and he’s just around to make Kirito look good. He wasn’t needed as a result since Kirito always looks cool.
The final arc tries to be even sadder and more dramatic than the Death Gun arc and fails miserably. Asuna meets a new fighter named Yuuki, who is supposed to be the strongest swordfighter of all time. She even defeated Kirito. (lol) Asuna agrees to help Yuuki and her team beat a boss in the fairy/SAO merged game so that their names can be engraved for all of time, but will they be able to accomplish this before another team shows up? Well, this arc did have 1 really good moment. Kirito shows up to fend off dozens of teams of players and manages to slice apart a magic blast. That shouldn’t have been possible and led to a lot of hype moments for Kirito, which is always a blast. They hint that Kirito still lost in the end, but it was still a great entrance and probably the best cliffhanger in the entire show. It was an awesome moment. We also got some good fight scenes like Asuna vs Yuuki and Yuuki vs Kirito. I remember the fights only being all right in terms of animation, but it was still nice to see. There was just a lot of plot hax everywhere and I still don’t buy Kirito getting beat, but I’ll just mark it down as him deciding to hold back to spare Yuuki’s feelings. Yuuki was in a difficult position after all and Kirito’s a nice guy so letting himself be defeated is the least that he can do.
If the arc had been played straight with a lot of action and cool moments, it would have been great. Instead, we get some drama between Asuna and her mom as the subplot and the main plot is also bogged down by the drama. For Asuna and her mom’s plot, you could think of it as a classic case of being in a Star Wars discussion. (Epic way to drag the name into my review for more clickz) While everyone is debating whether or not Episode VII or Episode V should be known as the greatest in the series, you’re off to the side shaking your head since you know that Episode IV is the way to go. Why is this relevant? Well, Asuna and her mom are both wrong in their debates.
I was on the Mom’s side for part of it. I agree that Asuna clearly has no idea what she’s doing and she’ll probably regret not having any aspirations or deciding to play video games for so long while she’s abandoning her real world connections. Video games are clearly epic and should be played for at least 20 hours a day, but it starts to get in the way of the real world. Still, the mom decides to give her more arranged dates and has a very old school way of thinking which is completely outdated and makes her look bad. As for Asuna, she looks terrible in the debate the whole time since her answer to everything is that she’ll be okay as long as she’s with Kirito. It’s pretty naive and sad, but she’s right that being paired up with some random joe is even worse and marrying based on social standings is not the U.S. way unless you’re a celebrity. Still, in the end, it’s hard to be invested in the plot.
May as well put this out there now, Yuuki’s a better character than the rest of Kirito’s allies combined. Unlike Asuna who always wavers and went from being a strong female lead to a character who has literally switched game positions to be more of a healer, Sinon who used to be a strong female lead and then had a dose of the real world, Klein…who is Klein, etc; Yuuki’s a strong fighter who never gave that role up. Her abilities were at a high level and she was a determined character who could have easily been the lead heroine in another title. She has the right attitude when teaching Asuna that sometimes you have to fight back against the bullies instead of letting them step all over you and your politically correct demeanor. It’s a shame that due to circumstances she won’t be a main character. She was also needlessly cryptic about the whole thing, but I suppose that she still made a good decision. After all, otherwise she would have to have a long conversation filled with tears and drama from the other characters so maybe it was for the best. Of course, she didn’t count on genius level Kirito being able to track her down from anywhere on the planet. That’s Kirito for ya though.
This series of Sword Art Online may have been bad, but at least it was still epic. Arcs 2 and 3 weren’t, but they were basically the side show bonus stories in the anime as Gun Gale was the main focus. (Alllllll though, if the series had just been Arc 3 or Arc 2, maybe the show could have gotten a solid 6) The first arc still feels like a nice movie event despite it not being quite as professional as the original. It has sown the seeds for future arcs so I’m sure that this villain organization shall return soon. The laughing coffins (And their recycled flashback that appears maybe even a dozen times during the show) will be back and in full force. Hopefully they end up being good villains and hopefully Kirito isn’t depowered since he should wreck those guys with ease.
Overall, Sword Art Online II feels like a cheaper, cash in version of the original. However, it doesn’t tank quite as horribly as the first show so it still gets the better rating. It’s a bad anime in the end and can’t cross the halfway mark so I don’t recommend it. I’d sooner recommend Attack on Titan actually so if you want a more intense anime with the same English Dub voice actor for the main character, that’s the show to check out. Or Blue Exorcist as well. For Sword Art Online, I’d recommend just watching the first arc of the original show and then pushing the rest of the series to the side. It’s simply not worth the time and who knows how the next SAO show will turn out. It may just be on a downwards slope that will keep on sinking and sinking as time goes on. No matter what else happens though, the series will still have Kirito and that means that it always has a chance.
Overall 4/10
It’s time to head back to Aincrad with this series. Seeing as how Arc 1 is easily the best part of the SAO franchise, it’s good to see it again. Unfortunately, the series is already heading into the fanservice trap, which is regrettable. If the series can stay away from that it should be okay, but if not, it’s game over! I’ll have a review for this once the manga finishes. Overall 5/10
The infamous arc has returned as I can now see how it is handled in manga format. That being said, there’s really not much you can do when this is still based off of the same arc that was in the anime. The Asuna subplot still destroys the manga, but either way it was not a solid title. Kirito is still hardcore and one of the more intense protagonists out there, but he can’t hold a whole series.
This arc takes place after Sword Art Online and Asuna never actually made it to the real world. Kirito finds out that her mind has been trapped in another game and he sets off to save her. He has to hurry because it will be too late once the main villain goes through with the wedding. With no time to spare, Kirito must make it to the World Tree and complete this game as soon as possible. To do this, he’ll need the help of his sister, Suguha. Suguha is masquerading as a being named Leafa in the new game and neither one knows the other’s true identity. Drama and tension fill the air as they embark upon the new quest.
Well, this arc basically destroyed the Sword Art Online franchise once it was written into novel format and then adapted into the TV show. Seriously, the author just forgot that the series could have been good and naturally it spilled over into the manga world. The franchise should have ended with the actual Sword Art Online arc, but alas…it didn’t happen. Let’s launch into the various negatives here as it’s a sad read from start to finish.
For starters, the manga thought that it was a good idea to add more emphasis to the fanservice factor in this title. Not a good start. Just about every scene with Suguha has some fanservice in store and naturally the Asuna subplot contains this as well. This guarantees that you will be wincing throughout your reading and we’re just getting started. This is already the sign of a bottom tier title eh? The anime version actually didn’t have too much fanservice for this arc, a few scenes, but not as bad as the manga. I guess we just went from bad to worse.
Another bad subplot is the fact that Kirito’s cousin becomes infatuated with him. The fact that they’re only cousins is supposed to be reassuring, but it’s not as the subplot is still terrible and completely unnecessary. At least Kirito basically just denied Suguha and went to Asuna in the anime, but here he tries to be more open ended about the whole thing. He doesn’t return the feelings at all as Asuna is the only person for him, but he still didn’t just tell Suguha to move on as he should. Either way, it’s just another part of the train wreck.
The biggest problem with the arc though still lies in the Asuna subplot. The villains just go way overboard and it’s too extreme. Asuna is held against her will for quite a while and the main villain is sadistically in love with her money. In the real world, she can’t move so there’s nothing that she can do to stop the arranged marriage and the villain abuses his power in the virtual world. Kirito basically has to watch as the villain messes around with Asuna and that’s when I knew that it was game over for the title. That kind of plot will always be a big no no in any title and the fact that it happened in Sword Art Online is just terrible. It’s the main reason why the franchise is essentially dead to me. I’ll always like the first arc, but you simply can’t wash away a stain like this from the title. Whenever I think of Sword Art Online, I’ll always remember this arc. The main villain isn’t the only one who messes with Asuna as he also has two lackeys who are just as demented.
It’s too bad really since the manga had some promise otherwise. Kirito’s still a hardcore main character and we do get some nice action scenes. Kirito goes up against legions of humanoids in the final battle and he also has a nice fight against the big fire general. He does a lot to save Asuna so he certainly puts in the effort. If we took out the fanservice, the Asuna subplot, and the Suguha subplot, this could have been a really fun series. That being said, you can’t just take those things away as they do comprise a rather large part of the arc and it’s why I have to give this title a fail/10 in the end. It simply couldn’t manage to actually be a good story.
The art is better than the first series for what it’s worth. It’s just not worth all that much since the series was doomed from the start. It’s three volumes long and the final volume is pretty thick so it’s closer to 5-6 volumes in length. The arc doesn’t need to be rushed as a result although a rushed pacing would likely have helped the series in this case as it could have dwelt on the negative things a little less.
There are more characters of course, but not many more and there’s not much to say about them at this point. Suguha is essentially impossible to like and the same goes for the main villain. Asuna doesn’t really get a role at all aside from being a damsel in distress, which is sad. So…yeah, this review’s definitely a short one as are most of my 0 star films. One day, they’ll make a Superman comic/movie/something that will be terrible and thenI may have a long negative review at the ready…or it could still be a short one if it’s just that sad I suppose. Either way, the important thing for these titles is to at least cover the negatives and since the mild positives were evidently not enough, they’re barely worth mentioning.
Overall, if you ever wanted to know how a manga with good fight scenes, good art, and a good main character can end up being terrible, this is the manga to check out. However, I highly advise against checking this manga out. You should avoid it like a Mouse evading a Lion. The positives that the manga has are simply overshadowed and this will certainly go down as one of the worst manga titles out there. At least, from the ones that I’ve read. This rivals Black Bird as they’re both really down there, although this is likely a tad better than Black Bird…maybe. It’s like comparing a double cheeseburger to a Mc double at Mc Donalds. They’re more or less the same thing, just packaged differently. Looks like .Hack will be the big virtual reality series once again. Take a big glass of water and then watch Yugioh 3D Bonds Beyond Time. It’s the best thing to do after reading this manga.
Overall 0/10
Sword Art Online is one of those Mega titles that we shall never forget. For better or worse, it’s basically ingrained in society at this point. I started the franchise out with the anime before checking out the novels and then the manga. This actually doesn’t bode well for the manga since the designs are pretty different and I consider the anime to have the true ones. That being said, I like to think that I wouldn’t have been crazy about the art either way. It’s a decent take on the show, but I think it could have been better.
In case you are not familiar with the plot, I shall quickly explain it. Sword Art Online takes place in the future and virtual games are all the rage now. One in particular is called Sword Art Online and it is the first big MMORPG. Everyone is hyped and resident computer whiz Kirito decides to buy it. Suddenly, the players become trapped in the game and they can’t get out unless they complete the title. 2 years later, the story begins as Kirito must try to become the best. Can he really do it as a solo player or will he end up joining Asuna’s (Main heroine) group? Only time will tell!
The actual plot always sounds great no matter how many times I write or hear about it. You simply can’t beat a good sci-fi plot like this or not very easily. Being stuck inside of a video game is a concept that appeals to me in part because it sounds like it would be a fun experience in real life. (To an extent of course) I think that it might be a missed opportunity for the series that they quickly skipped the first two years, but we still get a lot of cool moments so it still works.
The main problem with the series is that the art isn’t very good. The characters just don’t look like themselves and it’s like they’re half chibi. If you’re going to make the characters tiny you’ve got to go all the way or leave them in their normal size. It can also be hard to follow some of the fight scenes although the art gets better as the series progresses in that respect. It’s still pretty below average though. It’s hard to say if I would have liked it more if I had read the manga before the anime or not, but it’ll just be one of life’s mysteries. Either way, I doubt that I would have called it anything above average.
The characters are pretty in character since a lot of the dialogue is almost word for word from the novels/anime. Kirito is still as hardcore and intense as ever. Aside from his unnecessary and disheartening one night stand, Kirito has proven that he has what it takes to be the main character. He doesn’t back down from a challenge and he’s pretty confident in his abilities. That’s why the art always gets me. He just does not look tough! He looks like a kid and his serious scenes just don’t come off as cool as they should this way. It’s not the character’s fault, but the art.
Asuna also makes for a good heroine. She’s probably in the top 3 highest leveled players in the game and her speed is certainly good. She is lacking in attack power as seen in the boss fight, but she always gives it 110%. The one night stand also hurts her character development, but luckily that’s pretty much the last that we’ll see of that. Klein is one of Kirito’s old pals (AKA, they met in the game for like 5 minutes) and he’s actually pretty decent. He’s a nice guy and he actually doesn’t hold it against Kirito that Kirito left to be a solo player. Klein ended up reaching a decently high level himself so it makes you wonder how things would have been if Kirito had stayed with the party. He’d probably be a little lower leveled, but Klein’s group would be higher leveled than they were. Ultimately, Kirito made the right decision, but who doesn’t like hypothetical situations.
The main villain naturally gets to appear since he locks them in the game, but don’t worry…he has plans for them! He’s a pretty good fighter even if he cheats sometimes, but he does fight with just his talent in the end so we know that he’s for real. He’s decently cool and easy to root for. They try to play him off as a sympathetic villain by the end, but it still doesn’t work considering how high the casualties were. You can’t really forget that, but he is still a pretty neat villain. His plan was also intriguing, but I think that the final boss would probably be too much for the heroes.
The speed at which this manga goes is very quick, which can be a good or bad thing. You really breeze through the arc since there are only two volumes and they have a whole lot to adapt. Some scenes are simply breezed over while others are long enough to essentially match their alternate (Novel/Anime) versions. The pacing works for this series although I wouldn’t have minded stretching it out to 3 volumes and extending some of the fights. You can never go wrong with longer fights since they just add to the overall epicness of the series.
In the end, there are to real negatives to this story aside from the one night stand. There’s also a dicey moment that doesn’t make a lot of sense where Asuna falls out of a portal and Kirito essentially panics. That was pretty sad, but at least it’s an extremely brief scene thanks to the pacing. Those two faults are there, but that’s not a whole lot so you may wonder why it didn’t crack the classic 7 rating. Well, the art keeps it from that. Art is more important in comics/manga than in any other medium except for maybe TV shows. (It’s just not typically an issue there) Bad art can overpower good writing just like bad gameplay can override graphics in a video game. That being said, it’s still a good manga, it just could have been even better.
Overall, it’s ironic that this version gets a higher score than the anime even though the anime does a much better job with arc 1. Ah well, it is still a pretty fun premise to play around with and the art may have taken away some of the enjoyment that I could have gotten from it, but there was still enough to go around. Kirito makes for a good main character and there are several fight scenes here. Since this is basically two volumes merged into one, it’s also a pretty nicely sized volume that should last you long enough to really be worth the value. I recommend it to anyone that wants to see a classic fantasy RPG or for anyone who wants to see a cool main character.
Overall 6/10
After reading the first book in the series; I can safely say that Sword Art Online is off to a good start. Kirito is still pretty good for the most part and the concept of the franchise is still great. We’ll see if the series can keep it up and I shall have a review for it when I have finished reading all of the books. Overall 8/10
Odds are that you’ve heard of Sword Art Online if you have any interest in anime. Before Attack on Titan came along, it was basically the most hyped anime to come out. It went viral instantly and suddenly everyone knew about it and really enjoyed or disliked the anime. It’s only natural that I would see it at some point and the plot sounded like a lot of fun. The show got off to an incredible start, but the ending was incredibly awful. Time to see what happened!
The plot revolves around a kid who goes into an virtual video game by putting on a headset. It’s like the Oculus Rift, but a tad more futuristic. Once he enters the game; Kirito realizes that he cannot get out. The programmer decided to get rid of the log out function and the only way to escape this place it to complete the game. If a player died in the game world, then they will die in the real world as well. Luckily, Kirito played the Beta version, but will that be enough for him to complete the game on his own? Either way, the rest of the players will be trying to head for the goal as well and the minions are not unlimited so they may have to fight for EXP. Let the games begin!
Arc 2 takes a different route as the SAO nightmare is not over. Some of the players never returned and Kirito is forced to head into a dangerous video game in order to tie up loose ends from the first arc. He’s going to do whatever it takes to make things right again and he is helped by his sister. Kirito and Suguha do not know that they are teaming up in the virtual world and just assume that it is a stranger. (Despite Kirito not even bothering to change his real life design from his online one…) No matter, they just need to complete the game!
During these two arcs we still manage to have some time for filler and the pacing can get a little rough. While some episodes may technically not be filler in the first arc, they definitely feel that way. We get a multi parter about a mystery that wasn’t very interesting and we even take time to see Kirito take a day off from saving the world. There’s also a random quest so that Kirito can get a new sword. Some of these plot points come back in a big way and others don’t really need to return. It can also make the story a little harder to follow because the timeline keeps jumping all over the place. Episode 8 may take place after 6 but before 7 and it boggles the mind. It can be complex in a good way, but it can also feel a little out of place. Kirito will be mopping the floor with everyone in one episode and then getting beaten up with ease in another.
Kirito is a pretty good character and his voice actor in the english dub did a terrific job. It’s easy to root for Kirito because he’s such a noble character and he always wants to help. He does have some iffy moments that detract from his coolness such as his ungraceful effort in helping Asuna get away from her bodyguard and the whole romance angle seemed to take him down a few pegs. He’s typically at his most hardcore when he’s alone. He was awesome during the first few episodes and he was pretty likable in Arc 2 as well. He’s pretty unforgettable and he finishes the show looking pretty good. He’s not going to be the greatest protagonist out there, but he’s good enough.
Asuna can be a little disappointing in this show. I’ve heard that she’s a whole lot better in the novels so I guess we’ll see about that, but her role in the anime isn’t great. She gets to fight the final boss of Arc 1 in a sense, but she doesn’t do well. She’s a high ranking member in the army, but she still needed help to get away from one of the underlings and we rarely get to see her fight any of the opponents. She has some good fight scenes, but they’re typically just against minions or she’s just supporting Kirito’s attacks. She needed a bigger role and it doesn’t help that her Arc 2 role is pretty sad. So, Asuna isn’t a bad character, but she’s not as tough as I had guessed.
Sugou is terrible and he’s the main villain of arc 2. His picture that’s shown above really depicts how awful he is. The creator of Sword Art Online technically destroyed many more people and basically committed genocide, but he’s still more likable than Sugou. He still had some dignity and humanity left in him. Sugou crosses all of the lines that he can and I’m just glad that the anime didn’t feature any puppies for him to try and kick. He’s pretty despicable and you can’t even appreciate him as a villain. His reasons are all very petty and he’s a very sad person. He single handily managed to drag Sword Art Online down with him towards the end of Arc 2, which shows how awful he is. He may be the worst final boss that I’ve seen in a long time!
Heathcliff is the big general of the army in Sword Art Online. He can fight, which is a step up from most of the commanders that you may be used to seeing. He is an excellent fighter as it turns out and he is one of the only guys who can give Kirito a challenge. I can’t say that I really liked him, but he wasn’t a terrible character. He doesn’t really have honor when it comes down to a fight though and that’s where he loses major points for me.
Skull Reaper and Gleam Eyes are only two of the epic enemies that appear in Sword Art Online. Arc 1 definitely had some fun opponents and I give the anime props for giving them a horror feeling. The backround music was perfect for when Gleam Eyes appeared and Skull Reaper’s design can give anyone chills. I also liked a Phantom that attacked the heroes in one of the episodes and his stats were off the charts. The heroes really didn’t stand a chance against him. It’s rare that we get to see monsters act as big bosses anymore so it was fun to see them.
Suguha is the main heroine of the second arc and I can’t say that she was terribly likable either. In a sense, she’s similar to Asuna in personality, but she’s not as powerful. This doesn’t bode well for her and she doesn’t really get any big fights in the show. She has magical abilities, but they aren’t good against the stronger enemies. She also has a lot of drama in her human form and I could have gone without that subplot. Just tell Kirito that they will have to be rivals and leave it at that. She can fight pretty well in the human world which is good. If not for her subplot, Suguha was actually a decent character. I’m sure that she’ll bounce back for the sequel.
Yui became a main character once she appeared early on during Arc 1. She’s not a bad character although she doesn’t really add anything to the plot. She does provide Kirito with someone to talk to at times so it is a good way to advance the plot without monologing to one’s self for no real reason. Yui has some pretty impressive abilities that help out the heroes as the show goes by. She jokes around a lot with Kirito and friends, but ends up coming through when it counts.
There are other characters that I could mention like Grimlock and Sigurd, but they don’t really feel major enough to warrant their own sections. Even the red haired guy from episode one vanished for a long time before briefly reappearing. Kirito also joined a squad during one of the earlier episodes but I can’t say that they were super likable. They should have listened to his expert advice! (Still an emotional scene though) There are plenty of characters in SAO, but I can’t say that most of them are likable. The bartender is a nice guy and he’s probably the best from the minor supporting characters.
So, what happened to the show? Sword Art Online’s first episodes were awesome and I was probably going to give it a low end 8 or a very high 7. Unfortunately, that’s when the random mini arcs popped up to give us some romance and a really boring mystery. A lot of the episodes didn’t really feel like they had a point. I only liked it when they’d work towards getting up the tower and Kirito’s epic fight against Heathcliff. That being said, it was definitely still a decently high 7. The arc also ended on an epic note and that’s where the series should have ended.
Then…arc 2 came along to blow the show up. If you thought that Guilty Crown imploded towards the end..then you need to see this show to see how you truly mess up an anime. I actually did not mind the beginning of the second arc…for a few seconds. Once the plot started and we find out what Asuna’s fate is…things quickly went down. The villain gets away with just about everything and Kirito can’t stop him. (Which is the main problem. We get that villains are evil because they’re the villains, but we don’t need to see how evil they are. After a certain point, it just makes the villain completely unlikable. I also prefer when the hero is able to stop the villain before maximum damage can be done. In this case, the villain lasted too long and accomplished too many of his goals) Kirito should have brought a camera and sent proof to the police between matches or just knocked him out and locked him up until he can get proof. (I realize that the second option isn’t feasible, but Kirito needed to do something!) Instead, it’s back to the gaming world.
The actual game is pretty interesting and it’s visually better than the Tower from the first game. Flying is a nice addition and Kirito even got to keep his level ups, which means that he’s still very powerful. Unfortunately, that’s when Suguha’s subplot comes into play and we get some plot twists about how related they are. Making matters worse is Asuna’s subplot, which we keep seeing over and over again. We know that she has absolutely no hope, but the anime keeps on showing this to us until it’s burned into our memory. Kirito’s plot was pretty good, but we can’t ignore the subplots.
Things went to ground zero during the final episodes as the main villain got two octopus assistants that were pretty awful. There was also a very unnecessary plot twist about some of the other players from SAO who weren’t able to get out in time. Time to give the show a dark twist eh? How did the police not notice this? Finally, Kirito meets up with the villain and things don’t go very well. It’s time for Kirito to realize how powerless he is and the scenes are cringe worthy. After that, we get to see Kirito’s super rage moment as he sadistically takes the villain on. Finally, the online game ends!!!! The final episode definitely leaves off on a happier note, but Kirito must be crazy.
After those two traumatic experiences..I’d never go into a virtual world again. I don’t know how they’re still legal after those two huge controversies and unless someone needs his help; Kirito should stay in the real world. In that respect; I definitely didn’t care for the ending. I was just relieved that Arc 2 was over. I really hope that no future SAO arc is that bad. The first one was amazing and the second one was downright awful, which means that they basically cancel out as far as the rating goes. Luckily, this isn’t an unusual thing. Soul Eater, Accel World, Samurai 7, Railgun S, Guilty Crown, Naruto (to an extent. Like 50+ filler episodes in a row…..) and many more have suffered the same fate. Sword Art Online’s just happened to be a little more drastic than the average show, but it can always bounce back. The sequel does show a lot of promise and adding guns to the mix could be nice and exciting.
The animation in Sword Art Online is also impressive and you can tell that they put a lot of effort into the show so that it would look good. The fights are always very flashy and exciting to watch and the show feels new. I have a feeling that it’s one of those shows that will never really look old. It’ll age pretty well and 20 years from now it’ll still be able to match up. Everything from the character designs to the backgrounds look very good.
Again, I have to stress how great the fight scenes were. The one thing that I really did enjoy in the second arc of Sword Art Online was the fight scenes. Kirito’s match against the Red group’s commander was excellent and his final battle against thousands of flying minions that came out was spectacular. Arc 1 also had it’s share of incredible fights. They’re some of the highest budget fights that you’ll see out there and they have the right amount of flashiness to coincide with the swordplay. The music just amps up the epicness for these scenes and Kirito is a solid protagonist to root for. All of these factors result in really great action scenes.
Unfortunately, SAO does have some fanservice. It’s mainstream so it’s probably expected that they would add some, but it’s still sad. It’s not a whole lot, but the small scenes to add up. They typically involve Kirito and Asuna or just Asuna. The scenes typically come out of nowhere and some are practically there just so that they can have the stereotypical scene where the main heroine gets jealous. The scenes will likely make you wince, but that’s the effect that they always have so it’s not surprising!
Sword Art Online’s soundtrack is very good. It has some very nice theatrical sounding themes in it. The fight against Glimmer Eyes started with a great theme and even Kirito’s quick assault against the guy with the shield had a good fight theme. There are mainly 2-3 action themes that I liked in the first arc and another 2-3 in the second. The show definitely excelled in this area and the soundtrack deserves 5 stars.
It’s time to finish up the comparisons to Accel World. Now that I’ve finished both, I can safely say that Sword Art Online feels higher quality. They definitely put more budget into it and the soundtrack/animation really show this. That being said; Accel World rules the school when it comes to fight scenes. Nothing can stop Silver Crow’s big fights. They’re fast, epic, and awesome. They’re some of the best fights in anime history and you won’t be forgetting them anytime soon. Combat Animation goes to Accel World. Overall animation goes to Sword Art Online. Soundtrack goes to Accel World. It’s tough, but Accel World takes the slight edge here. Both of them die out in Arc 2, but Accel World’s wasn’t nearly as drastic. So, it wins in Arc 2 and Sword Art Online wins Arc 1. Overall, Accel World wins. Still, Sword Art Online had the better main character, which helps to even the odds. Accel World ended up being the better show for me, but they both do a good job of showing how tough it can be to have games with such high stakes. (Accel World deserves a sequel!)
Overall, Sword Art Online is a tragic tale of an anime that ascended to great heights and then lost itself in the blink of an eye. The soundtrack and animation are terrific and I really enjoyed Kirito as a main character. His english voice actor is currently my favorite as he even passed Ichigo’s. I highly recommend watching the first arc and by then it’s hard to stop without finishing. Just be prepared for disappointment as you start the second arc. No matter how bad and unrelated to the title of the show you may think it is…it’s worse! Getting rid of the second final episode of the series would have bumped the show up to a 6 and just getting rid of the Asuna subplot in Arc 2 would have jumped it to a 7. Ah well, these things happen and I have much higher hopes for the sequel. (Guns vs Swords…the ultimate question!) On that bright note….I’m off!
Overall 5/10
Update. This is the kind of series that gets worse and worse as you remember it. It’s been a little over a year since I reviewed the title and would give it more of a 1-2 thanks to just how bad the ending is. Seriously, this is one show that you Do not want to watch!
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