How Sword Art Online keeps a dedicated following despite its evident flaws

The anime adaptation of Reki Kawahara’s Sword Art Online has had a turbulent ride since its debut in 2012. While it made a big impact on the anime industry with its thrilling action, stunning animation, and gorgeous soundtrack, it also faced criticism for its overuse of tropes, crass scenes, and poorly executed character development. Despite its shortcomings, Sword Art Online has managed to retain a strong fanbase over the years.

The anime’s initial success was largely due to its ability to establish a new phase of isekai, a subgenre of anime and manga that involves characters getting transported or trapped in a virtual world or video game. Sword Art Online stood out from other isekai anime at the time due to its high stakes and breathtaking action sequences. The first episode set the tone for the rest of the series with its impressive animation, beautiful colors, and fast-paced storytelling.

However, as the series progressed, it became more and more infamous for its flaws. The lack of depth in the virtual worlds presented in the show, combined with the constant stumbling into the same mistakes, detracted from the overall experience. The characters’ development suffered as a result, with many of them feeling like they were cookie-cutter people who always needed the protagonist, Kirito, to save the day. While the female cast members had moments of brilliance and could have emerged as strong secondary leads, they were always relegated to the shadows of Kirito’s heroics.

Despite the issues with the story and character development, Sword Art Online has managed to retain a devoted fanbase over the years. Part of this is due to the small charms that the show does have, such as its seasonal reinventions and occasional boosts in animation quality. While it is deceptively sweet and catchy when it needs to be, the show consistently stumbles into the same mistakes.

One of the strongest elements of Sword Art Online is its music and animation. Yuki Kaijura’s haunting classical and electronic sounds perfectly mesh into a fantasy MMORPG setting, enhancing the emotional and heated moments of the show. The voice acting is also excellent, adding to the overall viewing experience. Additionally, the gorgeous action sequences and sprawling city or world shots are a visual treat in Sword Art Online. A-1 Pictures’ usage of computer animation for vibrant color pops and flowy sequences adds a lot to the anime’s action and appeal.

Overall, while Sword Art Online may have tainted its spot in the anime medium with crass scenes and poorly used tropes, it deserves credit for its small charms and impacts. It ushered in a new phase of isekai and inspired a ton of fantasy and game-inspired anime. While it may not have lived up to its full potential, it is still worth experiencing to witness the imbalanced notoriety and see the small charms that helped establish a devoted fandom.

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Kirito, Asuna, Sinon, Leafa, Klein