A First Impression: Sword Art Online Episode 1

Yes, that is one very tall tower.

Summary:

In the year 2022, a man named Akihiko Kayaba has created a device that allows players to log into a fully functional and entirely virtual world.  The players are able to move about freely with their avatars, and as a result all 10,000 initial copies of the game are sold out extremely quickly.

One of the beta testers, Kirito, returns back to the virtual world when it re-opens again for the general public.  There he meets another player named Klein, and they quickly form a friendship.  After Kirito shows Klein how to play the game, Klein attempts to log out for dinner but discovers that he can’t.  Shortly after, all 10,000 players are teleported to the main square, where an ominous figure descends.

The beginnings of a wonderful friendship.

HNNNNGH the environments in this series

The figure reveals himself to be Akihiko Kayaba, and also the sole game master of the game.  He reveals that he intended for the players to be unable to log out of the game.  The only way to escape is by clearing the game, which requires passing through all 100 floors of a long dungeon.  Also, dying in this world constitutes dying in the real world.  Kayaba is also “kind” enough to give all the players a mirror which reveals their true appearances.

While many players freak out after this revelation, Kirito decides to high-tail it to the next village to gather all the supplies he can, as supplies in the world are limited and will be quickly taken by the other players.  Kirito wishes to take Klein along with him, though Klein refuses as he has his own group of friends that he has chosen to stay with.  After a tearful goodbye, Kirito quickly presses onward, vowing to stay alive until the very end.

This scene… ;-;

Killing wolves like a BAMF

At the very end of the episode, it is revealed that within the first month, 2000 players have already perished.

My Opinion:

This was… an amazingly good episode, actually.

Let me say right off the bat that the animation was LOVELY.  The environments are very fantasy-RPG-esque, but they’re very pretty and interesting to look at!  The music is also reminiscent of fantasy RPGs, which fits because this IS essentially a fantasy RPG.

Of course, nice animation and good music alone don’t make for a good anime.  I’m glad to say that SAO also delivers in the plot department.  The plot isn’t anything groundbreaking, but the delivery at least makes it interesting.  I want to watch more!  I want to know more!  And as long as a first episode leaves me dying to see the next, then I consider that to be a good episode.

Kirito also seems to me to be a pretty decent character so far.  He hasn’t shown much of his personality yet—in this episode he’s still the somewhat generic, all-around nice guy protagonist with a hint of brooding teenager.  But there are very nice, subtle hints about his personality that I’m sure will be revealed in the later episodes; the main one being his incredibly strong will in the face of despair, as shown by the ending of the episode.  I do hope we see more of Klein too, because he makes a good foil against Kirito’s personality (and is just a very likable character overall).

Overall, if you’re looking for a good, long (25 episode) series and don’t mind another MMORPG-based one, then look no further than Sword Art Online.  It is probably one of the better MMORPG-based anime out there, and a pretty darn good series for this season too.

Out of five:

      

Sadly, I don’t think I will be reviewing this.  I know I’m set to be busy by fall, so I don’t really have the energy nor the time to take on a series as long as this.  I’m pretty sure a lot of people have already picked this up to review, so there should be no shortage of reviews out there.

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