Sword Art Online
Sword Art Online was a pretty popular series when it was running, though I sort of missed out, even on the Cartoon Network run (that Toonami block is harder to stay up for than it used to be years ago). To some degree, I brushed it off because it sounded like just another trapped-in-an-MMO series. .Hack//Sign (and its spin-offs) may have dulled any enthusiasm for the sub-genre right off in my book.
But... it's better than I expected. I actually really like the SAO arc. That first half of the series works pretty well, though I think it might overestimate people's willingness to raid blinding in an MMO where logging out isn't an option and death is permanent. But I do like that it takes this into consideration to some extent. There's a period when it's recognized that players' real bodies are probably being moved to hospitals, since they're essentially coma patients at that point.
Of course, a series like this can live or die by its characters, and the anti-social, loner gamer teen is pretty much the go-to protagonist. Kirito fits the bill without quite (IMO) crossing the line any being painful to watch. He is sort of a loner/gamer-geek, but is also has enough morals to help others and isn't unable to work in a group or make friends (even if he sometimes doesn't realize it and is reluctant to lean on others). I don't mind rooting for him. Asuna is also a good character in the SAO arc for the most part. There's a little of the tsundere relationship at times, but a lot of what's between the two feels more natural than forced. Kirito's influence leads Asuna to become a strong guild player, and later she draws him back out of his solo play in turn. She's also a force to be reckoned with in her own right. Perhaps the best part in my book is their romance develops over the course of a couple years, rather than being an instant thing.
Things take a turn, though, in the AO arc. With the second half of the series, fan service skyrockets, Asuna is reduced to a captive damsel-in-distress, and the series picks up a villain who is perhaps the most creeptastic I've seen in any anime. You still have Kirito, but his sister becomes arguably the female lead and in spite of some similar threads and styles the whole series suddenly feels different. At times, it even gets uncomfortable to watch. But by that time I was still invested enough to want to see it through. The ending didn't blow me away or anything, but it wasn't disappointing either.
It leaves me wondering how the sequel series, which I'll probably watch, compares in tone and feel.
But... it's better than I expected. I actually really like the SAO arc. That first half of the series works pretty well, though I think it might overestimate people's willingness to raid blinding in an MMO where logging out isn't an option and death is permanent. But I do like that it takes this into consideration to some extent. There's a period when it's recognized that players' real bodies are probably being moved to hospitals, since they're essentially coma patients at that point.
Of course, a series like this can live or die by its characters, and the anti-social, loner gamer teen is pretty much the go-to protagonist. Kirito fits the bill without quite (IMO) crossing the line any being painful to watch. He is sort of a loner/gamer-geek, but is also has enough morals to help others and isn't unable to work in a group or make friends (even if he sometimes doesn't realize it and is reluctant to lean on others). I don't mind rooting for him. Asuna is also a good character in the SAO arc for the most part. There's a little of the tsundere relationship at times, but a lot of what's between the two feels more natural than forced. Kirito's influence leads Asuna to become a strong guild player, and later she draws him back out of his solo play in turn. She's also a force to be reckoned with in her own right. Perhaps the best part in my book is their romance develops over the course of a couple years, rather than being an instant thing.
Things take a turn, though, in the AO arc. With the second half of the series, fan service skyrockets, Asuna is reduced to a captive damsel-in-distress, and the series picks up a villain who is perhaps the most creeptastic I've seen in any anime. You still have Kirito, but his sister becomes arguably the female lead and in spite of some similar threads and styles the whole series suddenly feels different. At times, it even gets uncomfortable to watch. But by that time I was still invested enough to want to see it through. The ending didn't blow me away or anything, but it wasn't disappointing either.
It leaves me wondering how the sequel series, which I'll probably watch, compares in tone and feel.
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