Back in March Last year I did a review of Season 1 of Sword Art online, with the intention of watching the second season and review that also. Well it has been a long time coming but I have watch that second season AND watched Most of the sequel anime Sword Art Online II and I have to say I am disappointed!
Lets start with the second season of the Original SAO. I am going to say that this was not actually a bad anime, however when comparing it to the awesomeness that was season 1 it juts leaves me feeling let down. To start with the pacing of the animeis off and the story just feels rushed. The events of the first season takes place over the course of a year while the events in the second season all take place a few months after the first season however it all plays out in the course of a single week! The fast pacing also contributes to my second problem with the second season. We are introduced to a number of new characters, however there is very little character development for these characters.
Lastly with the main threat from season one, namely the inability to log out of the game as well as the problem of dying in game means death in real life; having been removed from the show it takes away something from the anime that makes you care less about the outcome, at least it did for me. I liked this second season and if not for the first season this would have been a better review, but it had a lot to live up too and in my opinion failed to do so and just feel a little flat.
Now onto Sword Art Online II. While second season of the first SAO disappointed me, the squeal was even worse. The Gun Gale Online Story in the first season had great potential, it really did, the art was wonderful, the premise of the story was great however it was ruined by being rushed. SAO I Season 2 was a masterpiece of story telling pacing in comparison to SAO II Season 1. Add to this that at the end of that Arc and the beginning of season 2 thee were way to many unanswered questions and I felt like I was left hanging for no apparent reason.
I wish I could tell you that these unanswered question were resolved in the second season however I just do not know as I never finished season 2. I watched about a 3rd of the episode in season two before I finally gave up on the show. My main problem was that I did not feel any cohesive story at all. I felt no connection to the Gun Gale arc except that the main female character from that game followed Kirito back to the fantasy based game he and his original SAO friends prefer to frequent. Not only did I feel a lack of connection to the first season I also found that the second season did not even connect to itself from episode to episode. Giving the benefit of the doubt I will say that maybe this issue was fixed after the point that I stopped watching it, however to me everything just felt like it was thrown together simply to cash in on the popularity the show had up to this point and I just couldn't watch it anymore.
I felt that the Gun Gale Online story should have been expanded on more into the second season instead of the rush job done to it in season one. If they had done that I think I would have found this anime as good as the original but alas it was not meant to be!
Well those as my thought on this Anime, what are yours? Let me know in the comments below. Btw I see that there is a Sword Art Online Animated Movie also that I have yet to watch, so there may be a SAO Part II review in the future.
