Sword Art Online

By: Robert Murphy

It is 2022 and the world of virtual reality and gaming has finally come to a level that all gamers dream about, players can enter amazing worlds and completely immerse themselves into using various rigs such as Nerve Gear. Players from all across the world are excited for one new game in particular that is being release that is called Sword Art Online which is a massively large MMORPG (Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) much like World of Warcraft, where players create and control their own unique characters and explore the world of Aincrad. But things take a turn for the worse as it is quickly discovered that players cannot leave the game, they are trapped in this virtual world by its creator who will only release all the players once the final stage is cleared on level 100. To make matters worse for the players it is revealed that not only are they trapped but if a players dies in the game, they die for real.

Our story follows along one particular brilliant player by the name of Kirito, who has eagerly await the games release like many others but he truly sets to the task of beating the game and making it out alive. Kirito is dead set on being a solo player from the get go, he is shy and timid in the game much like he is in the real world but as the game and the show progresses we see him break out of his shell and interact with the various players of Sword Art Online. The main person who breaks Kirito out of his isolation is Asuna, a female player who gets introduced early on and a person I immediately fell in love with alongside Kirito. The great thing about the show is that even though the players are trapped in a virtual world, the experiences and feelings that are shared throughout the game are very much real and that is ever clear with the relationship between Kirito and Asuna. The two fall in love during the game and it wasn’t one of those BS love stories either, the two were clear with their feelings for one another and they made it happen and that’s why I love the twos characters. And don’t worry folks, as I’m sure some of you may have thought of “well what if Asuna turns out to be a guy playing a girl” this gets debunked at the beginning of the show and all characters are who they are in real life thanks to the Nerve Gear.

Now outside the touching narrative and social interaction, Sword Art Online, comes with an enjoyable amount of action to it. Outside of the generic enemies you’d find in an MMORPG, there are some stellar boss fights that feature greatly designed fight sequences that completely make you feel like you’re watching real game play. Alongside this there are the absolutely beautifully designed worlds that as a gamer make me jealous that they aren’t real and that I won’t have them for nine years but I can wait for them. The environments both on the front lines of battle and off are breathe taking, between the places the players can live and bosses lairs and more, the world is massive and all around what you’d want a video game world to be like.

Now the show isn’t without its problems, for starters the show moves very fast paced and almost feels a little rushed like there is something being left out and the show is based off of a manga and things often times get cut out, so that very well may be the case. My other problem with the show is the sort of second half of the story which feels like an unfortunate turn for such a great show, the second arc is far less action heavy and less of an adrenaline fueled affair. What makes my spine tingle is how dumbed down Asuna becomes, she becomes less of an all-around butt kicking female character and more of a damsel in distress waiting for Kirito to save her. Even the “bad guy” in the second arc isn’t at all that intimidating of a character, he’s more of the slimy and gutless character who is all around creepy to even look at.

These problems aside, Sword Art Online, gave me a thrill that an anime hasn’t in quite some time and introduces a lead as well as a great group of supporting characters throughout the shows span. Asuna and Kirito are easily one of my new favorite anime couples, they knew they loved one another and went for it and proceeded to collectively kick virtual butt together. The video game worlds featured in the story are incredibly well designed, like something you’d see in a commercial for a game and could only dream that it would like that when you started playing. In the end I just wish the show had more episodes but what can you do, I suppose if I want more action to read up on I can check out the manga and continue to re-enjoy the awesome parts of the show over again which aren’t too hard to find.

Good:

-Amazing characters

-Asuna and Kirito are an insanely awesome anime couple

-The world you’re watching literally does feel like you’re watching a video game unfold

-Beautifully designed worlds, characters and action

Bad:

-The story gets a little rushed at times

-The second arc of the story isn’t as nerve racking and is where you may lose touch with the show

Scully Rating: 8.5 out of 10