Sword Art Online - Sword Art Online II

After enduring the struggles of the first season, forcing myself to watch each progressing episode, I made a solemn vow not to subject myself to the second season. Truly, I did. However, as summer approached and the initial episodes of the new season were released, I found myself swayed by the recommendations of some light novel readers who assured me that the storyline in Phantom Bullet would make it worthwhile. So, with blind optimism, I dived into the second season, hoping for a captivating narrative to unfold. And indeed, in the early episodes, there were faint hints that the story might bloom like a flower, earning my praise and living up to its potential. The story had the potential to develop into something great, and indeed it did develop, but unfortunately, it transformed into a repulsive mess, drained and devoid of substance. The plot sluggishly trudged forward at an excruciatingly slow pace, inducing fatigue and lulling me to sleep regardless of the time of day. Despite the initial attempts to create a thrilling experience, I could hardly find even a semblance of suspense or anything else that could keep me on the edge of my seat. Sinon's supposed dark past was revealed to explain her motives and actions, but instead of enhancing the story, it added to the growing heap of nonsensical elements. The absurdity per episode reached staggering levels, not to mention the numerous absurd plot twists that were introduced. Then, suddenly, the grand "resolution" of the whole "mystery" unfolded, and it was so underwhelming that I can't even recall who the main villain was supposed to be in the end. Truly, it was an epic conclusion... of disappointment. And as if all of the aforementioned wasn't enough, the SAO creators delivered yet another dose of nonsensical elements, reaching a point where it left one wondering if this "storytelling" was intended to be a torture device for the viewers. This show shattered any remaining hope and dreams I had for any future stories that would take place in ALO after the seventeenth episode. With a sense of resignation, I watched the final episode, only to realize that I had truly missed out on nothing. In fact, I had wasted precious hours of my life that could never be regained. I can only give it a feeble one-star rating, and that's solely for the decent visuals. No matter what I am not going to watch the third season of this mess. (04.01.2015)

Forded the river and not turning back. Mild boredom gave me the silly idea of bridging the gap between SAO I and Alicization; I knew a more tragic idea would be to merely skip (in a wheelchair) to Alicization, but I waved my hand and internally armored myself with concrete, patience, and meager anticipation. It dragged on like a queue at the only open checkout in a supermarket on Black Friday, but let's say the first half was noticeably less at fault, yet I got perfect practice in Italian gestures and very vehement shoulder shrugs backed up by unwanted attempts to shake my head. Machine guns instead of swords? Okay! Sinon instead of Asuna? No question. Kirito... yeah, Kirito, let's see what you got. So, a good-looking girl? I don't understand the reason, but, uh, fine. Wait, he logs onto a new game for the first time, immediately meets the main character two steps in, and wins a contest no one's ever won? Yeah, that's kind of the "entertaining" gold standard of glorifying this character. Wait, he has to draw his sword to be the only one who can use it in this game? Yeah, he's suddenly the best with it in the whole game the second time he logs in? Of course, I'm still surprised. At least this arc was relatively action-packed, and Jedi Kirito could stand up to the F-quality Darth Vader, because the rest of it was drowned out by the main good guys' soporific outpouring of tales of trauma minor or even minorer, all while frequently documenting Sinona's open boxers. It's simple: as you dwell on something for longer and longer, the viewer's mind automatically relegates that issue to a more pathetic level, even if it had solid initial weight and meaning originally. To end the first arc with a conclusion that totally robs the first season, and under the baton of Sherlock Kirito sucking the solution out of both thumbs like it was his life, I would leave the rating at a weak average. Rumor has it that the second half of SAO drops everything down to the dustiest basement, and here that rule was once again proven true. What I find comical about the whole thing is that the already hellishly drawn out failed emotional blackmail a la Maeda couldn't be stretched enough to fluff up the rest of the episodes, so as punishment we got the totally unhelpful filler of the sword swinging to save the mosquito elephants as a patch. I'm still wishing that the huge theme of real life vs virtual reality could have been better used; indeed, SAO had such a ton of opportunities for that! Instead, we have to settle for the message from kids to their parents that being a total online addict is actually necessary and very useful. As I mentioned, expectations weren't high, but I still can't figure out what's so outstanding about this anime. Will I give Progressive another chance? A weak 2 stars (20.04.2021)