Is Sword Art Online Worth Watching?

[Zenophilious]

I've heard good things about it from a few friends, and saw it listed on Netflix, but since I'm going to start college soon, and hopefully get a steady job, I'm not sure how much time I can commit to watching anime, so I want to be sure it's good enough to spend my free time watching.  Anyone watched it, or heard good things about it?

[Mevvrynne]

In my opinion?  Yes.  However just like the majority of the people who have seen it, you will most likely have differing opinions on how well each individual arc was done.

[Darklord Rooke]

Not a fan personally.

 

And from the reactions I've heard, it's a 'love it or hate it' kind of show. I think...

[Life]

Despite the similarish concept I found accel world a lot more enjoyable to watch. If you like the first few episodes of SAO then you will probably enjoy the rest but if not then you will most likely just dislike it.

[FruitsPunchSamurai]

Dunno. I thought it was pretty meh. Like mevvrynne said lots of people have different opinions about it. You should give It a try if you want but I wouldn't go watching it with high expectations.

[Mr. Meogii]

In my opinion, yes but watch it with an open mind. Don't go starting of the series with expectations because that will really put you off.

[Tenkuru]

I personally found it to be a complete waste of time, but you should give it a go. Maybe you'll like it, who knows. 

[Down]

Can't believe I'll be the one to defend SAO here.

 

SAO is pretty good and entertaining. When it aired it had lots and lots of fans to the point where they were being really annoying and overestimating the show but they seem to have vanished.

 

To sum it up;

Main issues you could have with it is the Gary Stu protagonist, and some inconsistencies and lacking in the plot. I'm not a fan of the dialog writing but meh.

Other than that you have some nice action, tension and drama. The OST is really good. It doesn't look bad. The first half in particular is definitely worth seeing.

 

This aside, if you'd prefer another "trapped in a MMO" anime with a really different approach (focus on strategy rather than action, and much tighter universe building), I can only recommend you to watch Log Horizon. It has its flaws too but it really depends on what you're looking for.

[Darklord Rooke]

Can't believe I'll be the one to defend SAO here.

 

Request received: SAO is seeking a change in counsel

[Okami]

Definitely, it's my number #1 unbeatable favorite anime, in my opinion noting is better then it and very few Anime can even come close to it.

 

 

When it aired it had lots and lots of fans to the point where they were being really annoying and overestimating the show but they seem to have vanished.

 

We haven't vanished nor do we overestimating it, SAO is just the best anime ever. And to prove that we haven't vanished, on the MAL 22,786 people have it in it's top 5 witch is more then any other anime out there or at least on the very top.

[Cyrillej1]

yes, especially if you enjoy RPG games.. it definitely gives you that feel when watching it. It also has a nice love story  

[Down]

We haven't vanished nor do we overestimating it, SAO is just the best anime ever. And to prove that we haven't vanished, on the MAL 22,786 people have it in it's top 5 witch is more then any other anime out there.

I knew my invocation spell would be successful

 

And sorry, I don't really trust popular opinion to decide on whether an anime is good or not.

[Darklord Rooke]

*Sigh* I still think Hack//Sign does a better job, but it seems hardly anybody else shares that opinion *glances at Hack's ranking of 2311 on MAL *

[yashasupercow]

Dude,it's worth it.they skip a lot in fairy tale arc but still WORTH IT

[Zenophilious]

Well, at the very least I should watch a few episodes.  I wasn't sure, since some of my friends are into some anime that I honestly think are utter crap, so I wanted to be sure it wasn't something similar.

 

Thanks for the posts, guys.  I'll be sure to mention what I think of it after the first few episodes.

[Okami]

I knew my invocation spell would be successful

 

And sorry, I don't really trust popular opinion to decide on whether an anime is good or not.

 

But this guy is asking for a people's opinions

 

And to put it into numbers from most SAO polls of the days of SAO fans VS haters wars, of the people who watched it:

 

50% absolutely loved it

25% absolutely hated it

25% in between

[sanahtlig]

There's only a handful of decent anime each season (unless you happen to be into moe comedy--there's always plenty of that).  Sword Art Online happens to be one of them.  The first arc is great, the second arc is not very good, and the third arc is good so far.

[Clephas]

People's views on this anime are split wildly.  Since my reasons for liking it seem to be significantly different from other fans of the series, they won't serve as a good reference, but I'll still recommend it to anyone who asks, though I do wish they'd just ended it after the first arc, with no second one or new season.

[Freestyle80]

I agree with Clephas,i enjoyed it in the begining but after they started going in other games it became annoying. Asuna became more or less a useless character then they did that stupid drama with his sister

The new one i havent watched past episode 2 yet,felt like they were pointlessly dragging out everything

[Clephas]

For me, the life and death drama of the first arc, and the realistic way people went a bit bugfuck in that situation, were what made the series great... that and I lapped up Kirito's despair like honey.  他人の不幸は蜜の味

[Nosebleed]

First arc was very well set with the game having real life consequences and that being really well portrayed.

The fights were flashy and entertaining and you care for what happens to the characters.

Asuna is still annoying, but that's a matter of tastes on heroines.

Kirito is your typical overpowered protagonist saving his damsel in distress, his character is really shallow so you either like him or not.

It's a pretty solid arc though.

Second arc lost a lot of things that made the first good, but i liked Suguha more than Asuna so that was better than nothing. However the tension of the life or death drama kind of disappears and the anime turns into a sappy romantic drama which you my or may not like.

In the end it all revolves around Kirito and Asuna.

So, overall, the plot is inconsistent but when it wants it can be at its best with cool action scenes and even interesting story elements, but i believe the true focus of SAO really ended up being Kirito and Asuna's relationship so you should kind of go into it expecting that.

It's not a perfect anime, but you can be attracted easily by its flashyness and maybe turn a blind eye on some flaws.

[Stray Cat]

I agree with Clephas,i enjoyed it in the begining but after they started going in other games it became annoying. Asuna became more or less a useless character then they did that stupid drama with his sister

The new one i havent watched past episode 2 yet,felt like they were pointlessly dragging out everything

 

Basically how I feel as well.  I absolutely loved the first arc to death.  The second one was ok until the end

but I just feel that Asuna got shafted so much that it ruined everything that was built in the first part.

 

 

So I'll give you the advice my friend gave me and I didn't listen to:  "No, you're wrong, there's only 14 episodes.  It doesn't go on.  I don't care what you've read online.  It ends there, trust me. "

[Cythnar]

You're halfway to starting a damn war with this topic. But simply put, is it worth watching?

Yes.

Will it be your favorite anime of all time?

Probably not.
 

[Fiddle]

At the very least, you should watch up to episode ~14 where the first arc has a somewhat conclusive ending. After that, things become a little objectionable.

[douggle]

Its not that great, the first half of the series was pretty decent, but when the story shifts from being about the mmo world and turns into a romance story it turns to shit, Asuna is a shit tsundere