I have an open secret to confess to; I absolutely and unabashedly love Sword Art Online (SAO). Much of the anime community has either already left or has started to sharpen their pitchforks and has rushed to the comments telling me how I have shit taste. Don’t get me wrong, there are aspects of the show that aren’t perfect, and some that I wish weren’t involved at all; for the record, I do not condone sexual violence of any kind. However, the show isn’t nearly as bad as the pundits who are incentivized to trash the series (seriously, watch the first 90 seconds of that link) proclaim it to be. So, light your torches as I tell you about everything I love about one of my favorite anime.
One episode in the early half of the first season that many point to as a weak spot is the Sacchi episode. In this episode Kirito joins a small guild and becomes close with all of his guildmates. The episode ended in the entire guild, including his love interest Sacchi, being brutally murdered in a trap called the Mimic Chest. While I’ll concede that the Mimic Chest was a bit obvious in its presentation, that doesn’t make it any less relatable. Show me any serious RPG player from the last 30 years who says that they haven’t fallen for a mimic chest, and I’ll show you a goddamned liar.
The second half of the first season is a point where a lot of would-be fans left the show entirely, though this was a mistake. The second half of the first season introduces a magic casting system into the mechanics of the game, which introduces an entirely new dynamic to the action portrayed. Many scenes from this half of the season depicted Leefa supporting Kirito from the rear of the formation as she casted healing magic on him from afar. Well, I hate to break it to you, but that is how a lot of these games are played in reality.
The biggest disappointment from the second half of the first season is that there was an under-utilized transformation sequence. Kiritio transforms into a large monster for one battle scene. It was honestly an awesome scene, reminiscent of the old Breath of Fire or Legend of Dragoons games. The only weak spot is that the transformation was never explained or mentioned again. This would’ve come in handy towards the end of the first season when he finally storms the tower at the end to save Asuna.
The first half of the second season wasn’t fantastic from a story standpoint, though at this point nobody was expecting it to be. Even I, the biggest SAO fan that I know of, saw Kiritio’s victory against the robotic cowboy mini-game as a shoe-in from a mile away. That was par for the course. What was the biggest savior for the Gun Gale Online (GGO) saga was the villain DeathGun. His in-game persona was nothing short of absolutely menacing. He was agile, muscular, and capable in close-range combat and was capable of stalking his prey over long distances. He did this all with a persistent demeanor that never devolved into blind rage, thus making him all the more intimidating. DeathGun was as cool as a cucumber, and that was utterly terrifying. His mere presence made Kirito weak at the knees early on in Season Two, which was refreshing to see. All of this capability was wrapped in a Darth Vader-esque veneer, which only amped his coolness to eleven-out-of-ten. DeathGun absolutely slaps as a villain, and no amount of pitchfork sharpening changes that.
Thus bringing me to the next arc of Season Two, in which Kirito and Company revisit the world of Alfheim Online for a special event. The side-quest aura of the arc had an endearing vibe, as did the built-in time pressure. Side quests are an integral part of any great RPG, and I love how this was included. What ultimately wound up saving Kirito and his crew was Klein. Klein noticed a female inmate and he instantly started fawning over her. The females in the party were acting as buzz-kills by stating that freeing her from the cell was “definitely a trap”, though Klein ignored their obvious cockblocking strategic advice. The female inmate wound up being a key to winning the upcoming battle. The fact that a random NPC could be the sole determiner of whether or not the party survived gave this arc a vibe similar to that of the pre-PS1 era Final Fantasy games. Seriously, go back and play the original Final Fantasy if you don’t believe me. This show is closer in line with many older RPG’s than its detractors care to admit.
Taking place after Season Two, but before Season Three in the same universe, is Sword Art Online Alternative. The show focuses on an entirely different main character and storyline, which many critics say was an improvement over the original source material. However, what sealed this spin-off for me, just like Season Two, was the villain, Pito. During the back half of the spin-off series, Pito’s truly sadistic personality came out. She was every bit of ruthless as she was skilled, and the theme that she willingly chose to play the game with death as a consequence was played to great effect. Pito wasn’t the typical depressive suicidal stereotype; instead, she was an absolute thrill-seeker who only felt truly alive when her life was in danger, with a healthy dose of FOMO (thanks to her missing out on Aincrad) thrown in for good measure. Even the pundits who disliked the original series love the spin-off. Seriously, go watch it!
Season Three was, in my wildly unpopular opinion, where the show hit its absolute peak. Yes, you read that correctly, and yes, I’m serious. Much like Season Two, Season Three’s saving grace was its villain, The Pontifex. The Pontifex embodied everything about absolute power that history has warned us about for millennia. Her anti-rebellion tactics have mimicked real-life despots, such as neutering the army and confiscating civilian weapons. She was even willing to ruthlessly mow down he own population (via the Sword Golems) in order to keep her power, which Mao Zedong, Joseph Stalin, Pol Pot and countless other real-life autocrats were willing to do. Years after watching the show, I have an even deeper appreciation for her tyranny because I too have been able to exploit AI bias in order to enslave legions of bots.
The first half of Season Four wasn’t all that bad either. It grappled with the very real question of how life is supposed to proceed after the removal of a violent-though-stable regime. This question, of course, has no easy answers and we could point to any number of real-life examples as proof of how difficult of an endeavor this truly is (Iraq, anybody?). Moreso, the show captured the impending anxiety and fear that comes along with staring down the barrel of an impending existential threat all while trying to rebuild society. That concept has only become more relevant as the war in Ukraine has raged on. The show depicted what’s left of the Integrity Knights from Season Three (who were interesting characters in their own right) and their rag-tag group of soldiers recruited from the civilian populace as they prepared for the inevitable war with the Dark Territory.
Also depicted early on in Season Four was the inner workings of the Dark Territory. This was a real treat because many anime typically show the opposition as a uniformly evil society. However, this wasn’t what The Man Himself Reki Kawahara did. Instead, the Dark Territory was mish-mash of varying factions, only a few of whom actually wanted war. This was in sharp contrast to the propaganda that Season Three indirectly portrayed about the Dark Territory. Several factions were smart enough to realize that war would’ve been an absolute catastrophe (spoiler alert: they weren’t wrong). Chief among the anti-war pragmatists was the head of the Dark Knights, who was voiced by the absolute legend Steven Blum (yes, I prefer anime in my native language…deal with it).
Furthermore, I also enjoyed the Sword Art Online video games as well. Essentially, ever since I started watching the anime, I have always remarked to myself that if I were ever in such a situation, I’d fair pretty well. More egotistically, I’ve dared so far as to say that I’d kick some serious ass if I were in the various servers of Sword Art Online. They are action RPG’s whose simplistic gameplay have only supported my original hypothesis. For the duration of their stories, these games are seriously addictive, and I’d recommend them to any curious fan of the anime. Their mechanics are varied and nuanced, though they can be mostly ignored if you want a Kingdom Hearts style experience as well.
Starting with the first SAO game Hollow Fragment, it answered a burning question that many of those who watched the first season of the anime had asked; what would’ve happened had the game not ended at the 75th floor? The game allows the player to progress through the final 25 floors of Aincrad, thus allowing fans to scratch an intellectual itch. The last three floors start presenting an absolute challenge, and are rewarding once beaten. Players can similarly go to The Hollow Zone if they wish to truly ratchet up the difficulty and explore extra content.
I’d also strongly recommend the game Hollow Realization. The game’s story is essentially a prequel world to the original Aincrad world from Season One/Hollow Fragment, though the world inside the game becomes more and more visually broken the further you progress (again, similar to how the original Kingdom Hearts hosted its boss gauntlet at the end). Upon beating the game, extra content is unlocked in which the player can explore early pre-release Aincrad material, though with a much higher difficulty level. Seriously, pick this game up if you like SAO.
But hey, call me a filthy casual as you drop a dislike on your way out…
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