After the events of the first season, Kirito is tasked with investigating the murder of several people within GGO, because. Sword Art Online's lacklustre second offering begins with the initially promising (and quickly disappointing) Gun Gale Online, or GGO arc. The little things do add up after a while.
So you will have to forgive me for nitpicking the show to death. There is almost an endless supply of issues to complain about, and while I will not be able to mention all of them (lest this review reach novella length), I also do not believe that enjoyment alone is enough reason to praise an anime. To have a discussion about Sword Art Online is to discuss its flaws. The story could and should have ended after the first arc, but profits seem to speak more than artistic expression. It exists because the author created a successful franchise and thus he needed to keep the fans appeased by throwing more Kirito and Asuna their way. It is a sequel that exists to be a sequel. It's not offensively bad like the first season was (though it does come close at times), nor does it deliver anything to keep the fans particularly excited. It delivers even more of the virtual reality-MMORPG setting and Kirito's usual 'time to save the day and wink at my bitches' attitude, but that's really all it is: 'more'. Whereas the first season was either the song of angels or the cacophony of demons, the second season is the essence of mediocrity. The same cannot be said for the second season of Sword Art Online. And that is precisely why, regardless of which side you stood on, Sword Art Online was likely not the kind of series that could be given a shrug and promptly forgotten. There are the fans who adore the characters and setting and staunchly defend their right to enjoy whatever they please, and then there are the critics who despise everything the series stands for, often going to the extreme of attacking the fanbase and treating the series like it is an abomination forged in the fiery pits of hell. There were some neat ideas hidden in between the mountains of nonsense, and while I can understand why the show was so enjoyable to so many people, in my case, it was like an aneurysm waiting to happen.
The first season was filled with so many issues, both significant and minor, that even watching a single episode was an incredible test of patience. I will not mince words: I am no fan of the series. There are a lot of things that can be said about Sword Art Online, and most of those things are not pleasant.
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