Sword Art Online Review

Sword Art Online (SAO) is a series that started off as a web novel on author Kawahara Reki’s blog. It got really popular and was made into books currently spanning 10 volumes. I will review it as someone who has read every available english volumes (fan translation) so please keep that in mind as you read this.

Ever since I've read the first book I've been a huge fan of this series and it would be no exaggeration to say that I've been driven mad by anticipation for months after this was announced. And now that it’s finally out I gotta say they did an ok job. The animation was well done and from what I've seen the battle scenes (and there are plenty) will be good too. Of course there will always be a scene or two from the books that they need to edit out but so far it’s within expectations.

Now as for the series itself all I can say is that I was blown away. A lot of people have been saying that it’s a .hack// rip-off but I beg to disagree. While they do have similar concepts the similarities end there. SAO has a charm uniquely its own and has delivered content .hack// tried give but ultimately fell short of. Some people might say it’s cliche and I don’t plan to argue the point but that’s not the issue here. It might be filled w/ cliches and tropes but the way the story was delivered was absolute gold. You will really feel for the characters. When one dies you’ll really feel the sense of loss. When our MC gets depressed you’ll get depressed too. When they’re happy you’re happy. In short you can really relate to the characters and fully immerse yourself in the story. The plot point of "death in game" was really well executed and some deaths were truly memorable and will really make you shed a tear or two. It adds a flourish of realism and a level of intensity to the overall plot. And the romance isn’t overly mushy and was actually pretty cute and at times really touching. A great and balanced story line.