After discussing Sword Art Online with many other fans and anime bloggers, here is a list of the many issues with the anime.
These include, but are not limited to:
-The pervasive fan service used throughout the series. -Character’s willpower overcoming the video game mechanics. -Every girl being in love with the main character for no reason. -Turning the heroine into a damsel in distress. -Multiple rapey-scenes including one with tentacles. -A bad guy that puts his research lab in a place which the goal of the game was to access. -The main character does not put his foot down and tell other women he’s already taken. -Headset that can fry a human brain made it through the hazard and safety line in a -production company. -The lack of realistic overweight gamer or even parents in the series. -Randomly generated avatars used as an excuse to make the main character look like a girl. -Overly long exposition dumps in cafe’s and restaurants. -Not explaining things like why the main character’s illusions are solid. -How he can used duel wielding ability without abilities. -Why the bad guy isn’t afraid to be found out and why they run when in a hurry at times that they could fly. -The forgotten and over convoluted schemes of the villains.
This is quite interesting as SAO seems to have been quite polarizing for people. Certainly those I know either loved it or didn't particularly care. Personally, I thought it looked like a dot Hack knockoff and so have avoided it (I love dot Hack as a franchise). Good piece. – mattdoylemedia9 years ago
It might be best to pick 1 or 2 specific problems and focus on those, rather than listing every problem you have with the anime. Especially since some, like the lack of stereotypical gamers, or Kurito's appearance, matter a lot less than the series' treatment of women. Just talking about the misogyny, the rapey scenes, the lack of agency that Asuna has, etc, should be enough for a good article. – Winter9 years ago