Sword Art Online is an Anime that had one of the most interesting premises that made me really want to check it out. A very good premise can really get someone hooked onto the start of a show but its up to the story and character to keep someone invested all the way to the end. Unfortunately Sword Art Online doesn't do this which does suck because the premise of this show did suck me in right away. 

What is the Premise the show? Well it revolves around a concept that people who play a VR game are stuck inside of the game until they can beat the game. The twist is that if they die inside of the game they will then die in real life as well, adding a bit of suspense to the choices everyone makes. 

Now we follow Kirito as he was a beta player from before the game is released, so he has a bit of a lead against everyone else. He mostly decides to play the game alone, but we get to see what the world is like by how he explores the world and eventually helping out other player who may not be as strong as he is. He even teams up with a few other high level players to defeat bosses that unlock the next level for them so they can get closer and closer to beating the game.

That is pretty much how the first 7 or 8 episodes of the show start out and that is also the only positive things I can say about this show. From this point on the show becomes something completely different and only goes down hill from there. 

What happened? Well very early on we are introduced to a loner character named Asuna, who ends up teaming up with Kirito to beat a couple of bosses in the game. With this they end up developing a liking to each other, trusting one another more so than other players in the game. At some point these two end up having a relationship within the game. This is not a problem but what becomes a problem is that they stop the entire show and plot just to focus on these two going on a vacation within the game. 

Again this isn't a problem by it self but what becomes a problem is that it goes on for way to long. To the point that while watching it you don't even know if you are watching the same show anymore. They even adopt a child AI in the game and they go on a side story plot to find her identity. Now this isn't the point where the show took a dive and turned into a show not worth watching anymore, mostly because it still had some interest in the characters, mostly Asuna, who looking back actually is the best character in the entire 1st season. 

Now from this point on we reach the second half of the season. Which honestly is so bad that its not worth talking about because its been said and explain so much well else where. (check out digibro's video) 

What happens is, around a couple of months after the sword art online incident, Kirito tries to find a way to bring Asuna (who is still trapped in the game) back to the real world. This leads to a whole new game that is no where near as interesting we have to enter into as well as a weird side plot with his step sister that creates this really weird love triangle that isn't worth going into. It becomes the basic plot of saving the princess, expert here its just not interesting. It feels like this was a rushed plot that they had to come up with quick just so they had an excuse to continue the show.  

I said I wasn't going to get too much into the second half, and I won't. To sum it up, its bad, and you shouldn't watch it. 

If I were to recommend this show to anyone it would be for the first 7 episode of the show, but even looking back it makes me question whether a show is worth recommending if I am no recommending the show in its entirety. So on that basis, this isn't a show I would recommend because of the invest you get from the start of the show and the ultimate disappoint that all that investment leads to. 

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