The year is 2022, and there has been a breakthrough in virtual reality technology. Engineers succeeded in creating a headgear called NerveGear – a tool capable of bringing the user’s consciousness into the world of games. The launch title for this platform was Sword Art Online (SAO). Kirigaya Kazuto was among the lucky group of people who were able to be the first to try out the new product. He eagerly awaited the day of the launch and finally moved to Aincard. At the very beginning, after a brief conversation with another player, he detects a significant bug in the game that prevents him from logging out. His doubts are dispelled after a while by the game developer himself. He summons all players to the main square of the starting city and announces that the lack of a logout option is not a bug. Attempts at manual disconnection by the family will result in the player’s immediate death, as will his death in the Sword Art Online world itself. The only way to leave the virtual hell becomes completing the game.
Table of Content
Sword Art Online (2012) – Audiovisual design
Here there is nothing to debate. A-1 Pictures has shown class in creating Sword Art Online. The animation holds an even, very high level throughout all 25 episodes (aside from a few monsters and some far-fetched 3D elements). At least a dozen times my eyeballs dropped while watching the action scenes, which were executed masterfully. The level of detail was also impressive. Another thing – the design of the characters, especially the female ones. Adachi Shingo and Kawakami Tetsuya deserve a tanker of beer for what they accomplished in this regard. Female characters like Asuna, Sachi, Rika and Yui were really pleasing to the eyes. Their design has something unique about it – it leaves a distinct mark on the memory.
Also, the entire audio production deserves considerable praise. The soundtrack contains plenty of flute or violin parts, which perfectly capture the atmosphere of the fantasy world. Key scenes are watched to the accompaniment of an orchestra, which gives solemnity to the observed events. I usually complain about symphonic, generic playing, but in this case it really suited the whole thing and, above all – was not overused. Of course, the issue of voice actors. Tomatsu Haruka, lending her voice to Asuna. She is the one who gave this character her character, and combined with how it was designed by the previously mentioned cartoonists creates one beautiful whole, and in my opinion, that’s why so many people went crazy about her. Matsuoka Yoshitsugu in the role of the main character also gave it his all – it is to his credit that many of the key scenes had this and not that tone. I could list the people of the cast like this endlessly, but I think there is no need to do so.
Briefly about the plot and characters
Okay, it happened. I finally decided to see what all the fuss was about with SAO – especially since it’s probably the only series that generates such polarized opinions. I won’t deny it – I didn’t quite take a very enthusiastic approach to watching Sword Art Online. That’s why I hesitated for so long. Let’s get to the point, though. Oh, one more point – beware of spoilers, which are clearly marked and hidden. Each spoiler in this post reveals important elements of the plot, so I recommend reading them after watching the series.
At the very beginning of the series, we see a young boy. He can’t wait to finally put on the next-generation virtual reality headgear (NerveGear), which will bring his consciousness into the world of the MMO game. A login sequence ensues and after a while a beautiful fantasy world waiting to be explored appears before our eyes. However, it quickly turns out that the game lacks an option to log out and return to the real world. Soon the game master gathers everyone in the main town square and announces that no one will be able to log out until the game is fully completed. Any attempt to remove the VR system will result in instant death, exactly like death itself in the game world. This is where the red light came on for me – there have been quite a few such ideas before. Nevertheless, after a while I decided not to complain about the very assumptions of how the world works – after all, what matters is how the whole thing is implemented. That’s why we love so much the various topos that have been appearing in anime (or other media) for decades – despite rolling out certain things endlessly, they are still enjoyable and simply enjoyable.
A few initial episodes gave me a general idea of various key aspects, and forcibly I began to ask myself – what are these people complaining about, after all, neither the direction, nor the visuals, nor the world itself (if I – a person who hates MMO games liked it…), nor the characters are all that bad, Sword Art Online was beginning to appeal to me. A lot of interesting concepts appear here, like an AI program to observe the world that breaks out of the administration’s control and begins – step by step – to feel, express emotions and behave like humans.
From the very beginning I had a feeling that Asuna would be the character on which it would depend whether I liked the whole thing or not. This is also what happened. One of the key issues presented in this series was her relationship with the main character. I really enjoyed this motif. The episodes went by – one after another (by the way, I can’t remember the last time I finished a 25 episode series so quickly). The episodes concerning Asuna and Kirito’s vacation were charming. They made perfect use of the entire world built slowly and carefully in the previous episodes. In addition to the interactions typical of a pair of lovers, we were also able to observe other inhabitants of the virtual world who had given up fighting and were leading a quiet life away from the big cities and monster feeding grounds.
Even when it comes to the genres themselves – we’ll find quite a mix here. There will be no shortage of action, romance, mystery, slice of life, comedy and drama. All quite well balanced, so that the world of MMO games does not overwhelm even those who are not fond of this climate.
However, there came one moment where I just got punched in the mouth with a key twist. I simply could not believe that something so good could be screwed up so badly. I quickly realized the reason for the massive rage quit after that episode. The rest in spoilers, which is a terrible idea to read before watching.
Of course, I’m referring to episode 15. For all intents and purposes, the end of episode 14 would have been a really satisfying climax to this series, and it would certainly have received a higher final score on my part. This twist in the form of a crazed pervert wanting to get his dirty hands on Asuna, who has not yet awakened from virtual reality, is literally the worst and most crude idea for a continuation of this story. I lack the words to express how weak it was. Sugou Nobuyuki – of course, he’s the one in question – will definitely find his place in my top 5 worst antagonists of all time. Further events involving Asuna and Sugou only solidified his position. It was unnecessary. The possibilities for extending the series were basically endless. Resorting to artificially inducing aggression against a character clearly intended to sexually harass a heroine most people liked to the point of insanity is simply pathetic.
Although there is a small plus in all this – I liked the idea of preparing a platform for mass manipulation of people.
I’m definitely not surprised at viewers rating the whole thing so low – I, however, no longer easily succumb to such emotions (although after the aforementioned events I was really starting to doubt the point of watching very much) and quickly got hooked on the world presented in Sword Art Online again. The second part was no longer as creative and the world presented was not as impressive as before, nevertheless I still watched the subsequent episodes quite pleasantly.
Contrary to the various opinions I’ve managed to read I liked the plot with Kirito’s sister…. actually not a sister, but a cousin. In fact, it wasn’t even his real cousin. The approach of the creators to the theme deserves credit – there was a bit of drama, but fortunately well balanced and unpretentious – one could even say that it came out very naturally.
The ending itself combined everything I liked about Sword Art Online with what I found absolutely infuriating. I usually get away from using love-it-or-hate-it statements, but that’s exactly what happened here. Although ‘hate’ is too strong a word.
Evaluation and summary
I have a problem with the rating of Sword Art Online. I certainly can’t give a low rating because of one pitiful aspect (even if it was crucial to further events). Here, there were simply too many good features, somehow overshadowing the bitterness left by the antagonist. Starting with the audio-visual design itself (a standout in the series), the creation of the characters, the world and as well as the direction itself. It’s still a piece of really good fantasy with an emphasis on building relationships between characters and their feelings (rather than an overemphasis on MMO elements or combat itself). However, I understand people giving it low ratings, as well as those giving it 10/10.
Ten okropny zwrot akcji i sam antagonista zasługują na tsunami krytyki. Zdaję sobie sprawę jak słaba, żałosna i prymitywna to była zagrywka
Nevertheless, Sword Art Online as a whole – surprisingly – I liked it. My rating is 8/10.
Which translation do I recommend to watch Sword Art Online?
- NyanTaku (EveTaku) or Doki. Whichever you choose of the two, you are assured that the subtitles will be really good. Personally, I chose NyanTaku.
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