Sword Art Online

Number of Episodes: 25

What Wikipedia Anime News Network says: "The players of a virtual reality MMORPG, Aincrad Online, are trapped and fighting for their very lives. After it is announced that the only way to leave the game is by beating it, Kirito—a very powerful swordsman—and his friends take on a quest to free all the minds trapped in Aincrad."

tTPO says: This series is a pleasant distraction that conveniently takes up the first two major arcs from the light novels the anime is based on. In that respect it is really two shorter series though there is some resolution for both in the final episode. But I get ahead of myself. 

The series really promises and delivers no less than suggested in the blurb above. There are good action sequences, the virtual worlds are imaginitive and well thought out, the pacing is just so, and there is plenty of romantic and non-romantic love (the family aspect of this was a pleasant surprise) between the major players that feels about right, and keeps the harem fan inside me happy. I think it is this latter aspect (the love that drives the main characters) that engenders the rather heated support for this series.

So far as flaws go there is is just a little much deus ex machina for my liking and the triumph of 'will' over just about anything, including programming. I have a number of friends in the IT business who assure me life is not this simple. And the second villain, in contrast with the first (who is actually quite complex), is annoyingly underdeveloped and clichéd. But at the end of the day this is a fairly lightweight affair so you just go with the flow and it's all OK. It's not Neon Genesis. Don't overthink it.

How About the Music?:  OP1 "crossing field" by LiSA is a pleasant but otherwise unremarkable bit of J-rock.  OP2 ("INNOCENCE" by Eir Aoi) is cut from the same mould but for mind has a bit more get up and go. 

ED1 ("Yume Sekai" by Haruka Tomatsu) is a pleasant song reflecting more the romance in the series. Has am easy on the ear modulation just before the prechorus. ED2 ("Overfly" by Luna Haruna) takes the same road but again with a bit more rock. 

Really, there is not a bad theme in this 4.

So how does it end? (Spoiler Free): More than satisfactorily. Major plot threads are all sorted out, even if some of them are a bit silly, and there is still room for a sequel.  

Overall Grade: Nothing really new here, but it does have plenty of heart (and I rate that) and the execution was generally pretty good. B-.