…………………………………………………

Sword Art Online Season 1 Review

Sword Art Online is a science fiction adventure anime series that premiered its first season in 2012. It starts off strong, but it ends disappointingly.

………………………………………………….

“Whether here or in the real world,

you can cry when it hurts“

…………………………………………………..

The series takes place in the then-near future and focuses on protagonists Kazuto “Kirito” Kirigaya and Asuna Yuuki as they play through various virtual reality MMORPG worlds. This season started in such an intriguing way that I was blown away by it. It was so immersive in its world building and so instantly fascinating in its high-concept idea that I knew I was in for a fun time, and I was, but that would turn out to be a fleeting experience unfortunately.

Never have I seen a messier show in terms of editing and pacing. Multiple important storylines get resolved within a matter of seconds and even worse you get a sense that the show is moving at a breakneck speed when they decide to basically cut through all the leveling up, which leads to the first half of the season ending abruptly.

I loved the first half and I wanted more of that as the second half was infinitely inferior and I did not care for it in the slightest. The final two episodes were particularly painful to watch with the horrible rape sequence and badly concluded storylines. The first half is worth seeing only. This is where the most interesting world building happens with a lot of great action spectacle and intriguing storytelling. The second half is where they introduce the second game that just wasn’t as interesting as the first.

…………………………………………………..

The characters also needed better development. Kirito is your standard badass protagonist whereas Asuna is fun and likable, but how she and the other female characters were treated was beyond sexist and this is coming from a guy who hates criticism like this, but here it is very valid. The show felt as if it was made decades before due to its insensitive treatment of these characters.

Sword Art Online’s central romance worked, but too often the show focused on it instead of on the more interesting SF elements. The animation is beautiful, detailed and quite polished, perfectly creating this MMO world that felt lived-in and quite remarkably drawn. The show was at its best when it focused on those imaginative elements and at its worst when focusing on anything else. The soundtrack was strong as was the dialogue while the action was pretty good, though somewhat sparingly used. The boss fights were the most interesting parts of the show as was the recreation of all the staples of RPG games. As a gamer myself, this is where I’ve had the most fun with the show and I just wish that the second half didn’t squander that.

…………………………………………………..