Sword Art Online: Any Good?

[Fast]

I recently watched an AMV (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmYvq...6WLbEXR9qU3H2S) that made SAO look pretty cool. However, that doesn't necesarily mean anything so I thought I'd ask the experts: is either the manga or anime any good and if so which one is better?

[Estrecca]

I recently watched an AMV (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmYvq...6WLbEXR9qU3H2S) that made SAO look pretty cool. However, that doesn't necesarily mean anything so I thought I'd ask the experts: is either the manga or anime any good and if so which one is better?

The series is good, but not great. If your suspension of disbelief can take certain contrivances required for the plot to work, it can be genuinely entertaining.

It helps, however, if you like character-focused stuff, rather than an epic quest, since the primary focus of the series is an exploration of inter-personal relations, the reality of actions in a virtual environment and such.

Word of warning: There is a manga, but the original story can actually be found in a series of light novels (11 volumes currently IIRC) which are being or have been fan-translated. The anime follows the two first story arcs (5 of the aforementioned novels, I think) with several episodes picking side-stories, which gives the first story arc a fairly heavy episodic tone.

So... good vs bad? Not as good as Full Metal Alchemist, perhaps as good in its own way as current (manga) Naruto, better than current Bleach (not saying much).

I liked it, at any rate.

[Ghost]

I consider it pretty good, well worth watching.

My one complaint is the somewhat weak storyline. The Aincrad arc is very episodic with huge time-shifts and feels fragmented, like a story that should have been told over several seasons rather than a handful of episodes. The Alfheim arc is a lot more focused, but also feels much more compressed and perhaps slightly rushed. On the other hand, the romance/drama is done very well and it offers some pretty neat (though typically short/straightforward) battles.

So, yeah, it's not flawless, but I did enjoy it very much.

[MKTerra]

The anime is good, but leaves some details out, according to novel-readers. If something looks like a plot hole, it was probably explained in the books.

The manga's art kinda sucks.

[Sabrina_Fried]

I have only watched the anime. I really enjoyed the Aincrad arc, I just wish the time jumps would have been fewer. But I guess they could only show the main character grinding so much before it got repetitive. My main gripe with the Alfheim arc was the ending. I really don't like what they did with Asuna. Mostly because she barely had a chance to do anything at all.

[Ghost]

I have only watched the anime. I really enjoyed the Aincrad arc, I just wish the time jumps would have been fewer. But I guess they could only show the main character grinding so much before it got repetitive. My main gripe with the Alfheim arc was the ending. I really don't like what they did with Asuna. Mostly because she barely had a chance to do anything at all.

Alheim did suffer from a severe lack of Asuna buttkicking, but to be fair, for a "princess locked in a tower" she was pretty proactive and that was really the only reason Kirito got as far as he did.

Also, I really liked the final episode.

[Vidocq]

I think the Aincard arc could've lasted the full season, specially because the race relations and Game of thrones crap Kirito was dealing with in the first half seemed petty in comparison to both the day to day in Aincard and getting Asuna out of that rape cage.

I liked the way it was paced, it centered more in the character development and I really hope for a next season because Asuna and Kirito got almost no screen time together for being a main couple, call me corny but I think that's the heart of the show.