SAO is good?
SAO, despite all of it's shortcoming's, is not as bad as the average joe might first put on. Most enthusiast's of the hit anime aren't immune to peer pressure. They will reason and connivingly persuade you to watch the first 15 episodes as they aren't "that bad". Well I'm here to tell you that they are WRONG, they are equivalently as bad as the rest of the episodes. Comparatively, you could say that this show is terrible when compared to something such as Death note or FMAB, however you could also say the opposite and say that it's the best show ever when compared to Isekai smart phone, or Arifureta. The plots not terrible, it doesn't fall upon many clichés, as well as having lovable characters (mostly).

The first few episodes provide a great understanding as to the situation that they are in and the way people react to the information can be seen as relatable. When faced with the apparent fact that the game you play is now a death game with no escape you would be flooded by a lot of negative emotions, mainly being fear, anger, and hatred, which is perfectly depicted in the first episode of the show. The main character tells a story of how the watcher may want to act in the face of that danger and through that we can get to live that fantasy. The reality of the situation is not lost however as other supporting and main characters provide us with the sense of dread and hatred you may feel with your new reality. The first episode is a fantastic episode, filled with light-hearted moments that are juxtaposed by the gravity of the situation that has occurred. Knowledge surrounding videogames, or even MMO's may help with fully understanding some of the comedy that is used within the first episode, but it's not required in the slightest, and definitely not when moving into the series due to the fact that the way people act is just like normal society. Come episode 2 and we can begin to see where people might see the downfall of the show; it's the beginning of the power fantasy. The episode overall isn't that bad, it gives us some good world building and allows us to feel empathetic towards what our characters may feel. Episode 3 helps to improve our protagonists character. As it shows that he isn't immune to all damage, he is vulnerable to emotional damage. It really grounds Kirito as he began to feel rather distant within the episode, which is destroyed when an emotional moment breaks is impenetrable defence, providing the motive for the upcoming episodes. The next 4 episodes are rather episodic, as they surround side characters that will help with our understanding of the world and the blight that they suffer. Compare it to the real world, and we can see that it's not so different at all. Episodes 8 onwards shift the genres to a romance as the characters are enveloped in a romance that last throughout till they (SPOILERS) beat the game. The 14th episodes do leave something to be desired however, as the antagonist of the story provides a BRILLANT moti... what? he just FORGOT!?

After the game has been beaten our protagonist wakes up in the real world to discover that not everyone has returned to the real world. This includes the love interest Asuna. Asuna belongs to a rich family and is to be married of to the head of the company that has created another MMO, Alfheim online. Our protagonist being the hero that he is decides to save the princess from the evil clutches of the fiancé, yes he's the villain. In doing so he meets a person in game, beknown to him is his sister, and an exciting forbidden relationship starts. The following episodes are rather stupid and only really help build up Alfheim and his sisters character. The last couple episodes of the show is the confrontation of the antagonist with our protagonist the plot holes created within these episodes, as well as some of the choices they have can only be described as a little stupid. When in confrontation, the villain overpowers our hero and is about to do some suspicious acts to Asuna, when out of nowhere Kirito logs into the creator of SAO's account and beats the crap out of the villain. This is dumb and stupid, and possibly ruins the show. Also the end of the show tell's us that they will be re-playing SAO, the game that they played for 2 years straight, the DEATH game again? What the fuuuuuu-

Overall the show is ok. It get's a pass. In our dream world this show would live at the bottom, but the fact that there are so many more shows that I at least would probably rank worse makes this show COMPARATIVELY good. Thought I'd say it's the best show ever? No, what? In the end I would rate it a 69 due to all of that fan service that I conveniently didn't talk about. :)