Sword Art Online... What sorcery is this?

[Elvis Starburst]

I think this sums it up pretty well.

Spoiler

inb4 Attack on Titan lovers flame me.

THANK you! >.> +1 to this

 

[Dr. Cakey]

I think this sums it up pretty well.

Spoiler

inb4 Attack on Titan lovers flame me.

Attack on Titan was too good for anime fans. They didn't deserve it. That's why it had to escape into the wider Internet and be loved by all.

 

[BOOM headshot65]

And you've chosen to entirely ignore that Klein was present in the room, and that Kirito handed over the Revive item to Klein in episode 2 saying "The next time you see someone die in front of you, us this."

Then how did Asuna live? She had been dead for much longer than 10 seconds, and Kiritio was getting there too. Plus, Klein was still paralyed, so he couldnt have helped them. For my money, I believe there are 2 options for what went down there.

1) Kayaba turn off the death mechanic because he wanted to have a fair duel with Kiritio. Perhaps he also realised that it was the time when the villian was to be defeated by the hero, because he knew that Kirito was the chosen one (remember, he gave the Duel Wield to the person with the fastest reflexes, and he likely knew that this person would be the one to defeat him). So out of a sense of honor and being a grateful loser, he let them live even after they died.

OR
2) Through sheer force of will and love for eachother, Kirito and Asuna broke the game and stopped the death mechanic. It wouldnt be the first time. Just moments before, Asuna had broken an unbreakable paralysis (something Kayaba even said was impossible and left him with a O_O look on his face) to protect the one she loved, and then Kiritio died but then started thinking about Asuna, and DISPITE BEING DEAD killed Kayaba. So its entirely possible they broke the game yet again and lived.

Although I do agree with the rest that you said. Though while I think that Fairy Dance was the worst arc, I dont think it is as bad as people make it out to be.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I think this sums it up pretty well.

Spoiler

inb4 Attack on Titan lovers flame me.

I'd say "likeable characters" is a pretty big stretch for SAO, just like "great animation" is a pretty big stretch for Attack on Titan.

 

[JagermanXcell]

I think this sums it up pretty well.

Spoiler

inb4 Attack on Titan lovers flame me.

In other words RIP two great premises that go no where.
Oh well, back to watching Baccano! for the 42nd time.

As for SAO, 1st season is ok at best. Dub on Toonami is pretty enjoyable but not even Bryce Papenbrook can save Kirito's boring personality.
2nd season is non-canon... what?! Don't act like you wish it wasn't... >_>

 

[JagermanXcell]

Double post, sorry.

 

[Rowan93]

I think this sums it up pretty well.

Spoiler

inb4 Attack on Titan lovers flame me.

It doesn't matter whether the storyline was rushed, it matters whether the storyline was terrible.

Spoiler

It was.

And, on the other hand, if you don't think Attack on Titan has a clear storyline besides killing the monsters, you're not paying any attention. It has some serious pacing issues, and because of those I haven't in my personal experience heard anyone accusing it of being the best anime ever, but there's clearly more to it than killing titans.

 

[shadowstriker86]

hated the whole series, books included. Some of the most wooden characters ive ever seen, and i apologize to any coffee tables that were offended by that comment.

The tragedy of it though was that it shares the same problem as The Purge and World War Z movies: should've just been an anthology leading up to an eventual and conclusive end.

Instead what did we get? Generic hero #28+bronze harem mod. Then they added semi-rape in the 2nd season. Classy. Not to mention the whole gun game story is just a ripoff from an old episode of x-files.

 

[Weaver]

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.

This is exactly the case, sorry. It was really popular when season 1 was airing last year.

that said, Season 2 was just ... not very good. At all.
It should have just ended at Season 1 and the show would have been so much better for it.

Also, I swear Kirito has split personality disorder. There are some times he acts in ways abruptly out of character that makes absolutely no sense and is never explained in any way.

 

[Weaver]

I think this sums it up pretty well.

Spoiler

inb4 Attack on Titan lovers flame me.

This is hyperbolic at best.
SAO has a 8.30 on MAL http://myanimelist.net/anime/11757/Sword_Art_Online and is ranked 200th of all time (155,686 votes).
Attack on Titan has a 8.90 http://myanimelist.net/anime/16498/Shingeki_no_Kyojin and is, unfortunately ranked 9th (116,102 votes).

MyAnimeList is hardly an authority, but there are a lot of people who obviously liked the show. Also, attack on titan has some fucking serious problems with it, but SAO is in no way "widely considered to be the worst anime of all time".

 

[[Kira Must Die]]

And, on the other hand, if you don't think Attack on Titan has a clear storyline besides killing the monsters, you're not paying any attention. It has some serious pacing issues, and because of those I haven't in my personal experience heard anyone accusing it of being the best anime ever, but there's clearly more to it than killing titans.

I actually never noticed any pacing issues in AOT. I thought it was all going by pretty steadily, or maybe I was enjoying it too much to really notice it, or at the least I didn't find anything distracting. I keep hearing about it but never saw it, nor did I hear anyone elaborate on it.

 

[Gigano]

From what little I've seen of it, it offers finely crafted wish fulfillment, delivered to the target demographic through a particularly relatable setting, and nothing more. I for one was particularly impressed that what seemed to be the main female admirer switched personality 4 times over the course of 15 minutes, each one being more stereotypical than the last.

The marketing department did well, and one should certainly indulge in its masterpieces now and then. But these things have little staying power: Few here seem to discuss something like Elfen Lied these days (...ultraviolence perpetuated by and against stark naked girls, you say?! Now that's an emotionally and philosophically engaging series!).

 

[Dr. Cakey]

]

And, on the other hand, if you don't think Attack on Titan has a clear storyline besides killing the monsters, you're not paying any attention. It has some serious pacing issues, and because of those I haven't in my personal experience heard anyone accusing it of being the best anime ever, but there's clearly more to it than killing titans.

I actually never noticed any pacing issues in AOT. I thought it was all going by pretty steadily, or maybe I was enjoying it too much to really notice it, or at the least I didn't find anything distracting. I keep hearing about it but never saw it, nor did I hear anyone elaborate on it.

Even I thought the nine episode Battle of Trost was ridiculous, and the latter half of the 57th Expedition Beyond the Walls arc was kind of stretched out as well, but other than that it moved at a slightly above-average pace. The fact that the slow-paced parts were basically the two most important parts of the entire series kind of magnified them in everybody's eyes.

Also, I don't know if you marathoned it or watched it as it came out. Marathoning it obviously makes the pacing problems melt away.

The marketing department did well, and one should certainly indulge in its masterpieces now and then. But these things have little staying power: Few here seem to discuss something like Elfen Lied these days (...ultraviolence perpetuated by and against stark naked girls, you say?! Now that's an emotionally and philosophically engaging series!).

elfen lied wuz 2deep4me if you know what I mean

Although we do do our share of talking about Studio Arms's masterpiece (?). There just isn't much animoo discussion on these boards, because we are not an animoo board.

Incidentally, does anybody know how Elfen Lied got so popular? MAL lists it as the sixth most-watched series on the entire site. It has neither mass appeal nor was it ever aired on TV (duh), so how the hell did it get to people's attention?

 

[Ishal]

It's a story about MMO players playing an MMO by a person that loves MMOs. You'll find a lot of people that hate MMOs or grinding that claim SAO is rubbish. It's not the best thingin the world, but it's apparent that it's for a niche audience. I loved it personally, thought the first cour was great and the second cour was passable, though Fairy Dance is the worst arc in the novels.

I highly recommend reading the novels OP. They're a lot more fleshed out and getinto the meat of the mechanics of the game and a bit of lore that they skipped in the anime for pacing and time reasons. A lot of people claim Kirito is "broody" but really that's just how he looks when he's thinking about the game mechanics and how to use them to his advantage.

And fuck. He's 15. 15 year olds tend to brood.

Yeah, these were my thoughts as well. I could tell it was made by someone who enjoyed a solid MMO. Now, granted not all MMO's are the same, and indeed many offer different experiences. SAO had enough MMO moments to satisfy me, and it even went some places with the mechanics that I didn't think it'd go, such as with the player killer guild. The show wasn't going to be EXACTLY like an MMO. If it was there would be people standing outside all the boss rooms shouting "LFG!!!" "NEED TANK!!!" also it's highly unlikely for Kirito and Asuna to basically solo a boss like the gleam eyes. The statistics just wouldn't be in their favor. They wouldn't be able to DPS it down or take sustained hits from its attacks. It's HP pool would just be too big for them. But I can forgive these little things.

It wasn't paced that well, true. But I forgive that as well because it didn't turn into something like One Piece that is on its 600th fucking episode by now, or somewhere around there. I'll gladly take the pacing in SAO over the rest of shonen anime bullshit. I'll check out the novels, if they do go more in depth about the mechanics I think I'll enjoy it. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[Ishal]

If you think SAO is some kind of hidden gem, you can't have looked around THAT much. While it didn't become as widespread as Shingeki no Kyojin, it was/is a VERY popular show. It's also been the go-to internet whipping boy for the anime industry being trash since it finished airing.

That was more just a phrase out of my own ignorance of anime these days and what's trendy besides AoT. But we'll get to that...

I don't see how that's the case about it being a whipping boy. I don't agree with that at all, especially not when things like High School of the Dead exists.

I'm interested in why you're so down on Shingeki no Kyojin, though. That's a show I only started watching because I wanted to be able to specifically tell my friends why shounen anime is so bad - and then it was pretty much the greatest thing ever and impressive on multiple levels. It's easily a "top five" sort of show for me.

Shingeki no Kyojin is terrible, no that's too charitable. It's garbage, no still too charitable. It's an abortion. It succinctly displays everything I can't stand about anime ever, and this is why it's so popular.

Before I start, I'll state the obvious that this is solely my opinion. On top of that it's an opinion of someone who doesn't have the highest respect for anime in general, and especially shonen.

Everything about AoT is stupid. It's hard for me to find a place to start, so I'll begin with the characters. If Kirito is just some stock shonen trope filled character, I'll happily grant it. But AoT's characters are no better, and they don't have an interesting setting to pull them out.

Eren: stock angsty hate filled teen with a chip on his shoulder cuz of his mom's death. Protagonist who does stupid stuff w/o thinking and is never in any real danger due to having his power to shift but when he is in "danger" he's saved by

...Mikasa: stock strong and silent type character. Female for otaku pandering and a generic combat machine when it comes to slaying Titans. No emotions so they can be discovered later in a lengthy flashback... because shounen anime. She protects weaker characters such as...

...Armin: Stock wimpy sympathetic plot device who's job is to sit on the sidelines and vomit exposition to the audience in the most pedantic formulaic way possible, because shounen anime!! And when not doing that get attacked or placed in danger to give the other two husks something to do.

These are the same stock trope anime cliches in so much anime, but OH NO!! It's different this time! It's different because the setting is "dark" and "bleak" and "Anyone could die at any minute!" I'm sorry, but that last one just cracks me up. This is a shounen anime, people. The only thing more certain than an obnoxious cast of characters surviving all the way through, or at least til the end, is death and fucking taxes.

Besides, if they kill off the characters, how do they expect to have EPIC FLESH-MECHA TITAN BATTLES??. Because that is what AoT is. Honestly, I don't even like anime that much and I saw this coming a mile away. It's not because I'm super good at reading into things, it's not because I'm super clever. It's because this show is standard shounen bullshit. I'll say it again. Do you really think they would pass up an opportunity to have titan's fight each other? Did you expect them to just fight them from the walls and on horseback the entire time? Jumping around with their cords or whatever it's called? C'mon people...

Unfortunately for how cool Eren is as this pointy eared titan, that "interesting" setting goes bye bye. It's a clever bait and switch. The world seems so bleak and terrifying, hope is pretty much gone. Eren is helpless... until we find out he and a whole bunch of others can turn into titans. That whole bit where the scouting legion returns and walks through the street with 1000 yard stares. The women runs up to them and asks if her boy died for something. The guy breaks down and says no, they're dying for nothing. It's hopeless. LOL JK!! Turns out the scouting legion are filled with a bunch of badasses who are actually really efficient at killing titans... because shounen anime!!!! I'm starting to see a pattern here... hmm...

Going a bit deeper into things not specific to AoT itself, but in other anime as well. Possibly the dumbest thing in all of this the child soldier angle with the protagonists. They're all really young when they join and are still kids when they are fighting the titans. It's something I've always had a problem with, but then again it's a cornerstone of anime and tbh I couldn't be more of a gaijin if I tried. The whole "enders gamification" is and has always been stupid. It's stupid in this, it's stupid in Ender's Game, it's stupid in Gundam (which I actually like) and it's stupid in SAO. But here's the thing, SAO side steps this because it's a video game setting where it's common to find a 15 year old. But in other anime we're just told "They're young!" "they're brains work with machines because blah blah!" it's just never adequately justified. It makes zero sense in most anime and it make zero sense in AoT. Individuals with more experience and cooler heads and years of experience could do a much better job. "But the titans ate them all!" yeah yeah, I'm sure...

But all this has a counterpoint in the character of Dot Pixis. The kids spend their entire time shrieking and caterwauling (except mikasa.. cuz no emotion, cuz designated female combat badass for otakus, cuz shonen anime) then here comes the aged field commander who is just SO in control of the situation he can afford himself little breezy comments. He's there to give the kids and others hope when the writer should have written himself into a corner with the amount of despair and hopelessness he's built up. But of course, Pixis is introduced with a snarky and witty "fuck the establishment" angle because he's obviously going to come running to save the little people. That's his way of being honorable... and it was delivered in such a way that a blow to the face with shovel would have been less forced.

You see, the problem with AoT and shonen in general is that it creates a set of stakes for itself and then casts a set of characters that are to take those stakes far too seriously - and then countweighs that with a team of happy-go-lucky asskickers who laugh in the face of danger.

In between we're presented with horrid comic relief characters like Sasha. Her only impetus in the series seeming to be hunger, but she operates on the same level as the rest of the cast, because shonen anime. All she does is complain about hunger pains the falls out of a chair. Hur dur physical humor.

SAO has it's share of problems. I don't think it's the best thing ever and I haven't even seen the rest of the series, where I'm told it declines. So I'll likely come away disappointed. But it still offered something more interesting than AoT. Shonen relies on it's bullshit ( the tropes ) for fan service and merchandising. SAO portrayed a tolerable level of tropes many of which were explained by the internal logic of the show. That made it bearable. AoT doesn't have that. And if I have to hear that opening song one more time...

So have your friends read this post. An opinion like this seems to be something few and far between when it comes to AoT. I understand while people like it. It has admirable animation and a few really cool scenes. I like the aesthetic of their walled sanctuary. There's just too much crap for me to enjoy it. :/

 

[Spacewolf]

Ok on the top anime list thing people have been putting up Steins gate is currently ranked at 2 is it really that good? I made it to episode 2 or possibly 3 before I decided I had no investment in any of the characters whatsoever and would prefer to watch something else, so does it get more engaging as it goes on.

As for SAO yea it was pretty decent, don't think I would put it in my top ten but it was worth a watch at least.

 

[niknar266]

Ok on the top anime list thing people have been putting up Steins gate is currently ranked at 2 is it really that good? I made it to episode 2 or possibly 3 before I decided I had no investment in any of the characters whatsoever and would prefer to watch something else, so does it get more engaging as it goes on.

As for SAO yea it was pretty decent, don't think I would put it in my top ten but it was worth a watch at least.

Yeah Stein;Gate is really slow to start but brilliant when it starts going unfortunately that is not until about episode 8.

 

[StormShaun]

Sword Art Online ... hmm, that was the anime of last year, this year was Attack on Titan as we all know.
So that is what I thought SAO was in the end, just the fad anime of the year.
This is my opinion too ... just to say. I also think that AoT was pretty bad just like SAO, althought AoT had the moments that just made me go "Damn" and it had a couple of good tracks ... that is about it.

Okay let me explain my opinion of SAO.
The hype gave me high expectations (I know, I should have made my expectations realistic), by the time I got through an episode or two, I found Kirito (The main character) extremely cliche, the loner gamer who has no friends (is also depressed, understandable due to his starting situation) and decided to go off by himself at the start since he was a beta-test/has some skill that others do not. This made him a 'special' character in the world who gained a step above everyone else. At the end of a certain episode he sacrificed his reputation to do something (I forgot). I don't know, I haven't seen it since it was first released.

The other characters were pretty cliche too, most of the girls got like one or two episodes to themselves before getting kicked out of the season until the end. Then there are the forgettable (human) enemies and then there is our main heroine ... Asuna, UUUUUUGGGHHHH ... that is the worst part about this anime, not just Asuna, but the romance part, she is just chucked at us which lead me not caring about her, their relationship, their 'daughter' and soon enough Kirito/the whole series.

I have seen some people even claim that this is a "good romance anime" ... I facepalm at such things, I mean there are such series like Clannad, Lovely Complex and Kimi ni Todoke which have a much better romance story, but there are multiple reasons for that and this post isn't for that.

The story, okay this was the one thing that got me into the anime, it had a interesting premise.
They are stuck in the gaming MMO world and they could die, for me it was a first. I was interested in it and it got me into a couple of other anime that had a similar theme. Plus this made a couple of episodes more interesting ... but Kirito made me think less of them.
Although by the end I just went "Ahh ... well ... that happened." Don't even get me started on season 2 ... season two was just ... bleh.

Sound ... well, the opening wasn't bad at least.

Animation, okay, I do have to admit that it was good and did show off the world of SAO.
For the second season ... lets just not talk about the second season, kay?

... now I don't want to talk about it any further.
But Log Horizon, I think that is a better anime, once more in my opinion ... but that is a whole other topic.

Basically, Sword Art Online (to me) is a below mediocre anime. Full of cliches, a meh story and annoying characters.

EDIT: I feel like I'm going to be stabbed in the butt for this.
Oh well ... STAB AWAY!
I shall get no pleasure from it!

 

[Ushiromiya Battler]

Incidentally, does anybody know how Elfen Lied got so popular? MAL lists it as the sixth most-watched series on the entire site. It has neither mass appeal nor was it ever aired on TV (duh), so how the hell did it get to people's attention?

Probably people like me who found the manga awesome and ended up massively disappointed by the anime.
Funnily enough I feel the same way about Attack on the Titans.

OT: SAO was meh, as a mmo world anime it didn't really feel like they were playing a mmo. Felt like a generic fantasy anime with the same old cliched cast.

 

[Casual Shinji]

Incidentally, does anybody know how Elfen Lied got so popular? MAL lists it as the sixth most-watched series on the entire site. It has neither mass appeal nor was it ever aired on TV (duh), so how the hell did it get to people's attention?

Controversy and emotional manipulation. Dead puppies, anyone..?