Weekly Review: Sword Art Online – Final Impressions

Sword Art Online, or SAO, means a lot of things to a lot of people. The anime practically blew up to the point where at least everyone with a casual interest in anime has heard the name. As popular as it may be, that was also its downfall. Nowadays, any mention of the anime usually comes with a lot of criticism for lack of depth, character development, and flaws. Despite all of that, I still feel that this series is something magical. It may just be my own bias, as it was one of the first series I ever got heavily invested in. Seriously, I’ve watched ดูอนิเมะออนไลน์ it six times (twice sub, and four times dub), and now I’ve just completed the first eight books of the series (which is as far as the English translations have gotten). Of course, after all of this, I’m a little burned out on SAO. Of course, that’s not going to stop my from giving my final impressions on this series that means so much to me.

Just from taking a look at the anime, it’s pretty good. The animation, done by A-1 Pictures is stunningly beautiful, it’s no Unlimited Budget Works, but it still looks nice. The series progresses from arc to arc very gracefully, as you would expect any anime to do. However, the Aincrad Arc, which is the first and by far the most important one, seems way too rushed. I mean, they cover 75 floors in a matter of 13 episodes. It would of been nice to see a little more detail in this arc, or all of them for that matter.

Despite its being rushed, it’s still a better than average fantasy anime for those who like that type. There are plenty of fantasy elements as we follow Kirito through the vast virtual worlds of Aincrad, Alfheim, and even Gun Gale. The problem with this, again, lies in the details. There are minor inconsistency which become more obvious if you watch it more than once. For example, Kirito’s battle healing stat that is only existent for one episode. Every episode thereafter his health never replenishes the way it does in that single episode.