Sword Art Online, or SAO, means a lot to many people. Anime almost exploded to the point where at least everyone interested in anime heard the name. The more popular it was, the less bad it became.

These days, any talk about anime often comes with a lot of criticism for lack of depth, character development, and flaws.

Despite all that, I still feel that the series is magical. It would just be my favorite, as it was one of the first series I ever invested the most in.

Seriously, I have watched it six times, and now I have just finished the first eight books of the series. Well, after all this, I was a little bit burned by SAO.

Of course, that won’t stop me from giving my final opinion on this series which means a lot to me.

Anime – Total

From watching anime, it’s pretty cool. The animation, made by A-1 Pictures is incredibly beautiful, it doesn’t work for Unlimited Budget, but it looks great.

The series continues from arc to arc very kindly, as you would expect any anime to do. However, Aincrad Arc, the first and most important, looks very fast.

I mean, they cover 75 floors in the story of 13 episodes. It would be nice to see more details on this arc, or the whole story. Check- Demon names

Although it is run fast, it is still better than the usual anime fantasy of those who love that genre. There are so many things to dream of as we follow Kirito to the vast landscapes of Aincrad, Alfheim, and Gun Gale.

The problem with this, too, lies in the details. There are a few variations that become more obvious when you look at it often.

For example, the healing power of Kirito’s warfare exists only in one episode. Every episode after that his life doesn’t fill in the way it does in this one episode.

Despite minor mistakes, and rapid progress, the anime is still opening the way to a wonderful, fun, real world.

Light Novels – All

My anticipation whenever I started light novels was “Books are always better”. I must say, that is still true, but somehow in some of the books. The Aincrad arc is still very short, but we learn why.

The first book was written for a short story competition, and much was decided on it. The author then returned with short stories in the second and eighth books to do just that.

Anime, therefore, is a composite work of books 1, 2, and part 8, which the author acknowledged that there are many inconsistencies.

Honestly, who can blame him? Between books 1 and 8, two or three years had passed. Check- Necromancer names

There were moments of great detail, though. The scenes did not cut the important anime, and worst of all, wrapped up stories.

“Killing in a safe place” is one of the most annoying parts of anime in Aincrad Arc; however, the book is interesting. This book is far more profound than any other anime ever.

For example, the book included some people like Agil and Heathcliff, who have never appeared in this story in anime. Not to mention Schmidt’s personality is completely different from the story from the anime.

It’s the little things like the ones that come together that make books better. The small scenes the anime thought were not important enough to cut, added to the character development.

For example, there is a whole scene with Kirito and Klein that greatly enhances their growth in the story, which has never made an anime. It really hurts.

Honestly, they could easily make Aincrad save the entire 24-season season if they wanted to. If they did, people’s perceptions of the show could change dramatically.

The future

Now I know I’m burnt out now, but there is still a lot of SAO to have. The next arc, Alicization, has not yet been translated into English, so I can’t read it.

Also, with the confirmation of SAO Season III elsewhere in the future, you should bet that it will be based on that Arc.

Well, this raises some concerns for me. Alicization Arc itself as long as the whole series is up to date, which means there is a whole lot of information out there.

What worries me is that they will try to divide us into twelve or thirteen episodes where there may be twenty-four.

The conclusion

SAO is still one of my favorite anime shows out there, though it has its flaws. Thanks to SAO, I found and fell in love with similar stories like Grimgar and Log Horizon. In fact, SAO is the reason why I’m so big on anime in the first place!

I owe a lot to this series, and it hurts me to see people criticize it, but I understand why they do it. It has its flaws, all the shows do.

Deep down in my heart, I truly believe it is a wonderful story that everyone should shoot, at least Aincrad Arc.

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