Sword Art Online

[Yukimura]

Glad this is over, like Kraco I wouldn't call it a good show but I just couldn't leave it alone and actually wanted to see what they'd pull out of their asses next which is a point for it that I can't give to many other shows. I find some interesting conclusions when I compare it to how I felt about Accel World.

I think SAO had a much higher potential for quality than Accel World due to its setting and underlying framework but that SAO failed miserably at living up to that potential in a way I could respect. Accel World on the other hand, handled itself quite fairly decently despite the 'handicap' of its setting and framework. My final verdict would be that Accel World was a better show than SAO due to the better execution and storytelling but that SAO might actually give it a run for its money on the entertainment scale with how spectacularly it failed to live up to the potential (and hype) it had. I would much rather see another season of Accel World than any more of Kirito's incestuous, two-timing adventures.

[DarthEnderX]

So, I just finally got around to watching this series.

The premise of this series would have made an awesome, like, 500 episode shonen series.

This, was kinda awesome in the first season, but progressed way to fast, and skipping most of what would have been considered the interesting parts.

I could seriously just watch Kirito slumming with lower level players and surprising people with how powerful he is over and over and over again.

Second season, I dunno wtf... Just...bleh.

I know this is some kind of manga novel series or something. Is the ending to this different from that, or, what's the deal there?

[Buffalobiian]

The story is adapted from a light novel series, and that series doesn't stop here.

[DarthEnderX]

The story is adapted from a light novel series, and that series doesn't stop here.

Is it accurate to the novels series up to the point that it reaches anyway?

[shinta|hikari]

Pretty much.

[MasterOfMoogles]

One of the biggest differences between the novels and the anime is that you get Kirito's thought process in the books, which obviously explains a lot more as to his motivations and actions. Some of the game systems are covered in more depth in the novels as well.

Event-wise, the differences worth pointing out in the first half:
* Episode 2 comes from a side-story (Aria in the Starless Night) and they cut out a ton of stuff - scenes with Kirito meeting Asuna for the first time, scenes with Argo the Rat, a bit of mystery with someone wanting to buy Kirito's weapon, more scenes with Asuna and Argo
* The blacksmith girl's side story is from her perspective and has some extra wrap-up from when the game is cleared that was cut.
* The murder mystery episode (based on volume 8 - A murder case in the area) plays out a bit differently. They go more in depth into the various systems of the game, Kirito and Asuna do more detective work, there are scenes with Kirito and Asuna discussing the murder with Heathcliff and asking him questions. The scenes were completely cut from the anime because they give away who he is to the reader even though Kirito and Asuna don't know what's up at the time.
* The final battle in Aincrad makes more sense overall, since it is clear what is happening, unlike in the anime where they visualize Kirito imagining himself dying.

For the second half, there are only a few differences I remember:
* A big side event where Kirito and Lyfa explore an underground dungeon is skipped entirely. It is important for some of the side stories, like Caliber.
* In the battle against the angels to enter the tree, when Kirito gets Lyfa's sword, he actually dual wields and chops them up, instead of some absurd charging attack that doesn't make any sense.
*After Kirito fights the guy in the real world, he doesn't just leave him there without doing anything.

That said, if you wanted to continue reading straight from Volume 5, you wouldn't be missing much.

[DarthEnderX]

Nah. I was just curious if they series messed it up so bad that they couldn't continue on doing the rest later if they wanted.

Sounds like it didn't.

So I guess the question becomes if the rest of the series is actually any good?

[Ryllharu]

If you ask those two above, they'll say yes unconditionally.

If you ask people less enamored with the series, they'll say it is just more of the same: Kirito being the ultimate Gary Sue with an endless stream of girls fawning over him. All of the criticisms discussed in this thread are valid ones.

There are some interesting connections to Accel World, as you see the technology used there be developed.

I would say wait for the inevitable sequel anime.

I would also add that the bigger problem is the novels themselves are terribly written. Both Sword Art Online and Accel World. Even translated (and extensively edited), they don't make a lot of sense. There are large portions of it that are only dialogue and sound effects. When you're lucky, you'll get vague descriptions. Anime is really the only way to enjoy the two series.
edit3: Sword Art isn't quite as badly written as AW, upon re-review.

edit 2:
Also, most translation sites (and the official published versions) cut out the terrible sex scene chapter.

[DarthEnderX]

Kirito being the ultimate Gary Sue with an endless stream of girls fawning over him.

I don't actually have a problem with that.

That part of the series where he's basically the indestructible drifter was my favorite part of the series.

[MasterOfMoogles]

If you at all enjoyed the SAO part of SAO, you will almost certainly like volumes 5-6. I will warn you though, you will get more of Kirito being awesome.

Volume 7 is more Asuna-focused and has some interesting bits about using NervGear for medical purposes.

Volume 8 has flashback side stories set early and late in the series - Kirito's first day in SAO after he runs away from Kline, The murder mystery, and the the quest for the greatest sword in ALO - a good excuse to have all of the characters meet up and do something together.

Volume 9+ kind of take the series in a different direction starting a multi-volume arc spanning up to the currently released volume. While it has some interesting parts and interesting philosophical questions, it is a lot slower-paced. I don't like it as much as the original premise or Phantom Bullet. It kind of throws away a lot of the things that have been built up in the series so far.

Not to turn this into a LN discussion, but:
Ryll, I'm curious if there are some LN you think are very well written. I thought SAO was pretty on-par with the rest of the LNs I've seen translated. LNs as a whole seem to be very dialogue heavy and tend to leave it up to the reader to imagine the scenery or actions. I feel like none of them are spectacularly written, but I've been able to enjoy reading them despite that, though.
For reference, I've read: Haruhi, Zero no Maria, Gekkou, SAO, some of Index and Heavy Object (same author, and I really hate how this guy writes sometimes), Fate Zero (Urobuchi is probably the best), Tsukumodo Antique Shop.

[shinta|hikari]

Light novels are generally not well written, and use very simple language. The name pretty much describes that.

SAO was written much like a poor fanfic at the start. It starts getting better as it goes along, and has pretty much settled to a relatively simple but decent narrative style.

I think the Phantom Bullet arc, which comes after the end of the anime, is the best part of the series. It has the best female in the Kirito harem, after all. It also has more Kirito the superman moments, while also providing a darker and weaker side to him as well.

[Buffalobiian]

Further discussion about LN vs anime discussion should be continued in the dedicated LN/anime comparison thread.

I'll leave the current the posts as they are since DE's question was a general one on what else is to come. The resultant answers were just a bit too detailed to be left unaltered here so I've blanked out the spoilers that caught my eye.

[shinta|hikari]

Didn't think general impressions and some vague information of the future novels counted as spoilers. Sorry about that. I consider myself warned.

[DarthEnderX]

Well, thanks for all the information anyway everyone that answered!

[Buffalobiian]

[HorribleSubs] Sword Art Online EXTRA EDITION - 01 [720p].mkv

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Not a bad eyecandy/recap ep with some newer stuff to show us what's coming. It summed up SAO in a pretty enjoyable manner. It highlighted the bits that I mostly care about anyway, even if I have a pretty clear memory of it all anyway.

Sugu's cute and I liked her in ALO-arc, but I must give the final award (Kirito) to Asuna. She's simply the most fitting, given their past experiences and current mature nature. If nothing else, she's Yui's mother.

[Kraco]

The best part of the extra was Klein getting excited about the prospect of meeting mermaids. Klein's VA also voices Sanji in One Piece. That was totally on purpose and bloody funny.

But yeah, the extra reminded me of the fact SAO had some good scenes and ideas even if the bigger picture was so lousy.

[MFauli]

reading some sao-doujin featuring sugu is more satisfying and effecient than warching an hour long special with swimsuit shots :>

[David75]

Regarding SAO's relatively bad execution... well since then you have to admitt we've not had that many shows a lot better than that. It was at least enjoyable, even if I do understand it could have been way better.

[KrayZ33]

has this been posted yet?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0Ghr_rbJmQ

tbh, i'm not really hyped about this

[Buffalobiian]

I personally feel that SAO turned out badly because it set itself up to be all serious and shit, but then those parts weren't executed well enough. When you start off really promising, the disappointment hurts. It's a lot more enjoyable when something starts off bland but becomes interesting/deep. That way you're left wondering how far it could go. When the opposite happens, you're left wondering about how bad it could get.