Sword Art Online... What sorcery is this?

[Ishal]

Seriously, SAO is pretty damn good. What sorcery is this? At a glance it looks like generic tripe, but it's got a surprising amount of depth and the aesthetic, while at first cliche, actually works within the world and anime.

I'm going to need to go back and watch more it to really flesh out my opinion. But so far, it seems to stick a rare balance in anime where it engages in half it's tropes, then subverts the other half.

Spoiler

A particularly good example of this is where Kayaba's identity is revealed as Heathcliff. He states he's the final boss and he'll head to the top floor to reside in the Ruby Palace. Kirito states openly in a meta commentary that it's so cliched, the creator being the final boss. Then the anime doesn't let those events come to pass, the game is cleared in the very same episode. That was unexpected and great.

The other great part is that SAO doesn't miss a beat when it comes to how it treats the goings on in an MMO. The central theme of an MMO is progression, and as the series goes on the players progress through the world of Aincrad and overcome the bosses. It also uses commentary about mechanics to explain certain tropes. Kirito gets ambushed by other players and they can't hurt him because he outlevels them. He just stands there looking all cool while they try and chop him up, then gives the perfectly valid reason as to why it didn't happen. All in TWO MINUTES TIME. Other Shonen anime could take some pointers from this. Looking at you Attack on Titan.

The guilds, solo players, heck... they even got the PvP right with the Laughing Coffin guild. The murder guild. It gets so much right.

I've only just finished the Aincrad arc, and haven't seen the whole series yet. I hope it doesn't get worse. Also, I've heard Gun Gale online is coming out next year. Hopefully that will be decent as well.

But seriously, all I've heard about is Kill la Kill and Attack on Titan. Just... why? This is why I hold the views about anime that I do. Maybe it's just me and SAO is popular, I just haven't heard about it. But it sure seems like these diamonds in the rough are becoming increasingly rare.

 

[Ryotknife]

But seriously, all I've heard about is Kill la Kill and Attack on Titan. Just... why? This is why I hold the views about anime that I do. Maybe it's just me and SAO is popular, I just haven't heard about it. But it sure seems like these diamonds in the rough are becoming increasingly rare.

Because season 2 just...ruins the whole anime. Seriously, don't watch it. I know you might be curious, but season 2 is so bad that it stains season 1. About the only highlight was the fight against the enemy general.

My biggest gripe about season 1 was that Kirito was the broodest mother effer ive ever seen, and yet the women in SOA couldn't throw their panties at him fast enough. I just wanted to beat him with a spiked bat for that. Other than that, season 1 was pretty good. Kirito and Asuna were absolutely adorable as a couple, so much so that I felt like I had to kick a puppy to restore some assemblence of balance back into the world.

 

[Hagi]

Thought it was utterly rubbish.

As mentioned above season 2 is even worse, but I also think season 1 was just bad.

All of just seems to be one giant wish-fulfillment fantasy, which I absolutely despise. Thinking back on the whole series of episode where out of nothing they adopt that little girl and instantly become a happy family is enough to make me nauseous.

Then again, the anime that I personally really like rarely if ever seem to get mentioned whilst the some of those that I really dislike are insanely popular ( looking at you Death Note ). So I guess that'd make me some sort of Anime Hipster, which really diminishes any credibility I may have had... Probably not a good idea to take this post too seriously.

 

[BOOM headshot65]

But seriously, all I've heard about is Kill la Kill and Attack on Titan. Just... why? This is why I hold the views about anime that I do. Maybe it's just me and SAO is popular, I just haven't heard about it. But it sure seems like these diamonds in the rough are becoming increasingly rare.

Because season 2 just...ruins the whole anime. Seriously, don't watch it. I know you might be curious, but season 2 is so bad that it stains season 1. About the only highlight was the fight against the enemy general.

My biggest gripe about season 1 was that Kirito was the broodest mother effer ive ever seen, and yet the women in SOA couldn't throw their panties at him fast enough. I just wanted to beat him with a spiked bat for that. Other than that, season 1 was pretty good. Kirito and Asuna were absolutely adorable as a couple, so much so that I felt like I had to kick a puppy to restore some assemblence of balance back into the world.

I really dont see the problem with the ALFheim Arc. I will gladly agree that the Aincrad Arc was FAR superior , but the second one wasnt some rotten blob of unwatchable like I see people make it out to be, and is still pretty good (<--- entirely my opinion).

As for me, I LOVED SAO. The visuals were good, the fights were great, and I absolutely LOVED Asuna/Kiritio as a couple (and was reminded of my own relation with my girlfriend in alot of ways). The second arc also managed to have a villian that did something that I was glad about because it just doesnt happen enough anymore: A villian that was complete, unambiously evil. Not just evil, either. PURE, LIQUID, SPAWN OF SATAN EVIL!! Which doesnt happen that much these days, and it was great.

Once they dub SAO onto DVD, I will buy that shit without hesitation, and I am very much looking forward to the GGO arc.

 

[SaetonChapelle]

I personally didn't mind the first season, but the second season I found to be GARBAGE. Also, like Ryotknife previously stated, the women in the anime just kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Of course I'm not really into the harem like anime's where nearly every female has the hots for the main character (no matter his annoying flaws). It was a decent show, but I never felt the desire to gush over it.

 

[[Kira Must Die]]

I just finished watching it again in English, and honestly, I like it a lot better now than I initially did, and I like it fine when I first saw it.

It's definitely an anime driven mostly by it's production value, music, visuals, and acting, for if this was done by a much cheaper studio a lot of it would've fell flat. While it's true that it's not exactly the most original anime series ever made, the cliches that it plays with I thought were done pretty damn well thanks to the direction, music, and voice work. Sure, I still have some problems with it, like pacing issue in the first half, some plot contrivance, and maybe a few personal grips. I thought the first half would've been better if given more time to expand upon, as it seems to jump around a lot, then some of the more emotional scenes would've probably worked better. As a shounen anime, though, I thought it was very well done.

I'm actually one of the few people who enjoyed the second half. I at least thought it fared better pacing-wise, it had some of the best fight sequences in the series, and I found the villain entertainingly hammy. While it doesn't have as strong a set-up as the first half, I thought it was a fun ride on its own. If you let yourself open up to it you'll probably have a good enough time.

While the show isn't nowhere near as good as the fan make it out to be, I don't think it's nearly as awful as the haters say it is, but I understand both sides, though. I thought it was very entertaining, enough for me to give it multiple viewings, and I'd gladly give it another watch. Also, I thought the English dub was really good.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Kirito is invicible just cuz, and all the women soil themselves in his mediocre presence, for he is the protagonist. It doesn't do anything new or interesting, and just presents you with an array of soulless, crisp, clean images of every anime character we've seen a dozen times before.

I'm not the biggest fan of either Attack on Titan or Kill la Kill, but yeah, Sword Art Online ain't got nuttin' on those two.

 

[Ishal]

All of just seems to be one giant wish-fulfillment fantasy, which I absolutely despise. Thinking back on the whole series of episode where out of nothing they adopt that little girl and instantly become a happy family is enough to make me nauseous.

See, to me, that gets a pass. It gets a pass because the game is set in an MMO. Normally, I'd be right there with you. But this is firmly set in an MMO and wish fulfillment is part of the game, literally. Though the adopting a child was a bit much, I won't disagree there. I'll likely watch a bit more to see how bad it looks. It seems like they all have elf ears now or something... so ... eh...

Then again, the anime that I personally really like rarely if ever seem to get mentioned whilst the some of those that I really dislike are insanely popular ( looking at you Death Note ). So I guess that'd make me some sort of Anime Hipster, which really diminishes any credibility I may have had... Probably not a good idea to take this post too seriously.

Nah, I get what you mean. I hate most popular anime too. Naruto, Bleach, Guren Lagan, Cowboy Bebop, Hellsing. None of it is to my liking. I'm one of the those people who think Black Lagoon is better than Bebop in just about every conceivable way. So we can both be hipsters together.

I personally didn't mind the first season, but the second season I found to be GARBAGE. Also, like Ryotknife previously stated, the women in the anime just kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Of course I'm not really into the harem like anime's where nearly every female has the hots for the main character (no matter his annoying flaws). It was a decent show, but I never felt the desire to gush over it.

I really didn't pick up on lots of the girls having the hots for Kirito. The blacksmith did, and Asuna did, other than that I can't remember much else. I don't know what harem anime is, really. I doubt I've seen many, and I don't think SAO is, though maybe it just has qualities of one. I'm just amazed I enjoyed it as much as I did. So, I guess I am gushing a bit. To me, while not perfect, it's on a level something like Attack on Titan couldn't hope to reach.

Once they dub SAO onto DVD, I will buy that shit without hesitation, and I am very much looking forward to the GGO arc.

I might just do the same thing. The dubbing of it was what I watched and it was pretty well done. I loved the visuals, art, and especially the music. I found a cover of "Cross Field" the first opening sung in English. It's really amazing. I'm really surprised by how much I've liked what I've seen so far.

 

[Ishal]

Kirito is invicible just cuz, and all the women soil themselves in his mediocre presence, for he is the protagonist. It doesn't do anything new or interesting, and just presents you with an array of soulless, crisp, clean images of every anime character we've seen a dozen times before.

I'm not the biggest fan of either Attack on Titan or Kill la Kill, but yeah, Sword Art Online ain't got nuttin' on those two.

Every anime character you've seen a dozen times before, maybe. He is the protagonist, he is uber powerful, and gets the ladies. It's all true. But this anime deals with it's bullshit in a clever way, that being it's set in an MMO. Where half the bullshit is easily justifiable by that internal logic alone. What excuse does AoT have? Oh right, none.

Of course Kirito is uber powerful, he was a beta tester, and on top of that he did more in the beta than other testers did. He knows the game. He knows where the good loot is, where the powerful monsters are, where to get good items. That's what you need to succeed in an MMO and it justifies his seemingly insane power. Of course he was able to take on tons of people in a 6 on 1 fight, he's 20 levels above them. He gets married to a chick he barely knows at first and they get a house and start to pretty much live happily ever after, because it's a game.

You want new and interesting, I think you'd do better to just check yourself out of the anime scene. Judging by the state of things, new and interesting is not the direction the business is in

 

[SaetonChapelle]

Kirito is invicible just cuz, and all the women soil themselves in his mediocre presence, for he is the protagonist. It doesn't do anything new or interesting, and just presents you with an array of soulless, crisp, clean images of every anime character we've seen a dozen times before.

I'm not the biggest fan of either Attack on Titan or Kill la Kill, but yeah, Sword Art Online ain't got nuttin' on those two.

Every anime character you've seen a dozen times before, maybe. He is the protagonist, he is uber powerful, and gets the ladies. It's all true. But this anime deals with it's bullshit in a clever way, that being it's set in an MMO. Where half the bullshit is easily justifiable by that internal logic alone. What excuse does AoT have? Oh right, none.

Of course Kirito is uber powerful, he was a beta tester, and on top of that he did more in the beta than other testers did. He knows the game. He knows where the good loot is, where the powerful monsters are, where to get good items. That's what you need to succeed in an MMO and it justifies his seemingly insane power. Of course he was able to take on tons of people in a 6 on 1 fight, he's 20 levels above them. He gets married to a chick he barely knows at first and they get a house and start to pretty much live happily ever after, because it's a game.

You want new and interesting, I think you'd do better to just check yourself out of the anime scene. Judging by the state of things, new and interesting is not the direction the business is in

Although I agree, there are various ways show can change this cliche, or modify it. Such a show includes Tiger and Bunny, where the main character is actually not very useful at his job (being a hero) and instead ends up being more of a supportive character, which turns out to be an even more powerful decision for the group. .Hack//Sign (Another show, although older, that deals with the same theme) had main characters who were not "powerful", rather they were highly flawed (the main character being confused and often resorting to violence. Secondary characters being a man who abandoned his family and a child who uses his knowledge of computers to instead hack and cause chaos).

Although these are miners, and I don't expect a majority of shows to turn to this route, it would be nice to see more stories that don't involve the "great and super powerful" main character who is able to perform these great feats. (Along with the "mysterious" girl who is somehow the key to everything.)

Edit: I also want to note I do realize there are plenty of shows that feature examples above. Just I seem to run into more of the extreme powerful main character troupe. If anyone has any other examples I would love to see :3

 

[[Kira Must Die]]

He gets married to a chick he barely knows at first and they get a house and start to pretty much live happily ever after, because it's a game.

I don't know about "barely knowing each other".

Spoiler

What people seem to overlook about their relationship is that the Aincrad arc takes place over the course of two years, and they first meet in the first couple of days in SAO, so their relationship spans several months, or a year, at the least. They have plenty of time to get to know each other. By the time Asuna appears a second time, the two are already fairly familiar with each other.

 

[Ishal]

]

He gets married to a chick he barely knows at first and they get a house and start to pretty much live happily ever after, because it's a game.

I don't know about "barely knowing each other".

Spoiler

What people seem to overlook about their relationship is that the Aincrad arc takes place over the course of two years, and they first meet in the first couple of days in SAO, so their relationship spans several months, or a year, at the least. They have plenty of time to get to know each other. By the time Asuna appears a second time, the two are already fairly familiar with each other.

Yeah that's true, she climbed the ladder of her guild's hierarchy and became second in command. It's true, I forgot about that. The idealic nature of the game world makes things hard to grasp if you don't accept the logic and run with it, I admit, but that's true for most anime imo, and like I said before this one justifies a heck of a lot by the MMO aspect. The fact that they could use in game money to get high class apartments in rich city districts. After playing and MMO for a two year period with grinding and soloing it's content, they were both probably loaded, at least more than others might be.

I agree with you above comment on the aesthetics and execution of the show. That combined with the MMO premise is what made it stick for me. I don't know much about the production value and quality of modern anime. But, to a pleb like me the quality seemed pretty high.

 

[Blitsie]

It was an alright series, it was as darned cliche as an anime can be but they handled it well enough to make things overall enjoyable. Only talking about the first season of course.

I see you clearly didn't start with the second season yet, quite curious to see what your opinion will be on the show after you're done with it. Trust me, its bad, so, so bad.

Spoiler: Season 2 spoiler ahoy

The whole having his sister fall in love with him thing was just...no. They already pushed it by having him basically get an AI that looks like a little girl to lovingly call him "papa" but doing the whole sister romantic love thing as well? Hot damn did it make the series hard to stomach at times with the sister being super awkward around him while the AI scolded him for cheating or whatever.

It should've ended at Sword Art Online if you ask me, heck it actually did end well but noooooo, that need for some extra monies just couldn't be left unsatisfied so now its basically "Go to this MMO because reasons!" with every arc by the looks of it. Meh.

 

[Elfgore]

I can't give a unbiased opinion seeing as SAO is one of my top 5 anime. I enjoyed the Alfiem Arc, unlike everyone else and am hoping to see Gun Gale Online become a reality.

Hell it was so good it let Log Horizon become a thing... and that show is terrible.

 

[[Kira Must Die]]

Spoiler: Season 2 spoiler ahoy

The whole having his sister fall in love with him thing was just...no. They already pushed it by having him basically get an AI that looks like a little girl to lovingly call him "papa" but doing the whole sister romantic love thing as well? Hot damn did it make the series hard to stomach at times with the sister being super awkward around him while the AI scolded him for cheating or whatever.

It should've ended at Sword Art Online if you ask me, heck it actually did end well but noooooo, that need for some extra monies just couldn't be left unsatisfied so now its basically "Go to this MMO because reasons!" with every arc by the looks of it. Meh.

Well...

Spoiler

They were actually cousins, and I believe that in Japan it's okay for cousins to date or marry. With that said, I thought it was done will, or at the least it had more weight to it than other anime that have the same thing (*cough* Oreimo *cough*)

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I thought SAO was incredibly mediocre, descending into complete trash at the end.

The beginning actually started out really interesting, but the more the show went on the less and less I liked it. As others have said, the main problem with the anime is that it just seems incredibly soulless. It's like someone studied exactly how to make a popular anime, and made an anime by committee that checked all the boxes on a list, and in the end it just didn't work for me.

The first season was alright, but nothing to write home about. The second season was absolutely awful with an incredibly boring villain, the addition of the pointless incestuous relationship with the sister, the whole tentacle rape thing at the end, and the return of the adopted virtual daughter who I couldn't stand.

 

[Dansen]

I can't give a unbiased opinion seeing as SAO is one of my top 5 anime. I enjoyed the Alfiem Arc, unlike everyone else and am hoping to see Gun Gale Online become a reality.

Hell it was so good it let Log Horizon become a thing... and that show is terrible.

oh...dear...
I'm sorry but I hope that never happens. Its an even worse offender of pandering than the elfhiem arc.

You think Log Horizon is bad in comparison with SAO? That show has a bit more going for it than SOA. The main character actually has an arc, AN ARC! He is flawed and interesting(in comparison with other recent anime). A master tactician who prefers to support his friends from the sidelines as opposed to being an invincible god tier character(seriously Kirito was so good at the games that he broke them with his presence, wtf). Yet despite his desire to lead he often hesitates; to the detriment of others, why? I don't know I'll have to watch more of the show. Its also done a decent job in setting up the world and believe it or not is bringing in a lot more game elements into play making it feel like its an actual mmo. Sorry if I have offended you, your post just annoyed me a little because log horizon is one of the only two anime this season that hasn't completely disapointed me.

OT: The show has all the pieces needed to make a beautiful and compelling story. It could have really dived in to HEAVY themes. Are virtual experiences any more or less meaningful than those in the real world? How should one deal with the prospect of an unavoidable death? How would you cope after going through such an experience? No doubt the people have expirienced various tramas seeing friends and loved ones die. It probably should have been more of a character story than an action show.

So many missed opertunities, it could have been a classic.

 

[Ishal]

It was an alright series, it was as darned cliche as an anime can be but they handled it well enough to make things overall enjoyable. Only talking about the first season of course.

I see you clearly didn't start with the second season yet, quite curious to see what your opinion will be on the show after you're done with it. Trust me, its bad, so, so bad.

Spoiler: Season 2 spoiler ahoy

The whole having his sister fall in love with him thing was just...no. They already pushed it by having him basically get an AI that looks like a little girl to lovingly call him "papa" but doing the whole sister romantic love thing as well? Hot damn did it make the series hard to stomach at times with the sister being super awkward around him while the AI scolded him for cheating or whatever.

It should've ended at Sword Art Online if you ask me, heck it actually did end well but noooooo, that need for some extra monies just couldn't be left unsatisfied so now its basically "Go to this MMO because reasons!" with every arc by the looks of it. Meh.

I'll likely post another thread about it when I get a chance to marathon it. That's what I can do nowadays. I don't have enough time to just watch it ep by ep. Stuff always comes up and interrupts me.

I'm not expecting anything good by the sounds of things. But it's my general opinion that 90% of anime gets worse the longer it goes on, we'll see...

 

[Elfgore]

I can't give a unbiased opinion seeing as SAO is one of my top 5 anime. I enjoyed the Alfiem Arc, unlike everyone else and am hoping to see Gun Gale Online become a reality.

Hell it was so good it let Log Horizon become a thing... and that show is terrible.

oh...dear...
I'm sorry but I hope that never happens. Its an even worse offender of pandering than the elfhiem arc.

You think Log Horizon is bad in comparison with SAO? That show has a bit more going for it than SOA. The main character actually has an arc, AN ARC! He is flawed and interesting(in comparison with other recent anime). A master tactician who prefers to support his friends from the sidelines as opposed to being an invincible god tier character(seriously Kirito was so good at the games that he broke them with his presence, wtf). Yet despite his desire to lead he often hesitates; to the detriment of others, why? I don't know I'll have to watch more of the show. Its also done a decent job in setting up the world and believe it or not is bringing in a lot more game elements into play making it feel like its an actual mmo. Sorry if I have offended you, your post just annoyed me a little because log horizon is one of the only two anime this season that hasn't completely disapointed me.

OT: The show has all the pieces needed to make a beautiful and compelling story. It could have really dived in to HEAVY themes. Are virtual experiences any more or less meaningful than those in the real world? How should one deal with the prospect of an unavoidable death? How would you cope after going through such an experience? No doubt the people have expirienced various tramas seeing friends and loved ones die. It probably should have been more of a character story than an action show.

So many missed opertunities, it could have been a classic.

How is Gun Gale bad? I've never read the LNs so I only know the premise.

And don't worry bro, you didn't offend me. Different strokes for different folks. I actually will disagree with the main character for Log Horizon not being overpowered, he is. In the six episodes I watched, not one of his tactics failed to bring them victory (As I remember it). Those binding thorns are the very definition of OP. To give it credit though, it did nail the FEEL of an MMO. There are classes and sub-classes and it actually felt like an MMO. SAO I will admit did not feel like an MMO.