Who doesn't love video games? Wouldn't it be nice fully experience a game as it was real life? Killing monsters, raiding bosses in real time with other players, all would sound cool. But without a logout button and dying in game meaning that you would die in real life? Um... No thanks.
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But that is essentially what Sword Art Online is about. It is an anime about a futuristic VR (Virtual Reality) video game turning nightmare. The VR headsets convert brain signals to the game for the players to control their avatar, making the player's body unconscious in the real world as if they were sleeping.  And without the logout button in the game,  players are unable 'wake up' from the game. The only way out of the game is to clear all 100 floors and defeat the final boss. Think that's hard? There's still more. If you die in the game, your avatar will be deleted forever, no continues. And your brain will be destroyed by the microwaves of the headset in real life. In short, If you get a 'Game Over', 'Game Over' for you in real life too. If you think clearing this game is like a walk in the park, good luck. Because that park would be Jurassic Park where every being would just try to kill you. Well... At least you have items that could keep you alive for a little longer. Or items you might have because everyone wants to survive and are competing for these essential resources.

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Spoilers Ahead!

Turn back now before it's too late! You have been warned.

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The main protagonist, Kirito (Kazuto Kirigaya is his real name), logs into Sword Art Online which copies of it have been quickly sold out on it's release date. The 10,000 players including Kirito, soon found out about the situation they were in. No logout button and only one life, both in virtual and reality. This started the Aincrad arc where the players struggle to clear the floors while staying alive in the process.

 

How Kirito's character develops in the story was something really worth watching. He first started as someone who only cares about himself (as well as his new buddy Klein). He has changed drastically during the boss fight on floor 1 where the raid leader Diavel died. Diavel's last words to Kirito who was attempting to save him was to defeat the boss... for everyone's sake. Those dying words were what changed Kirito's character. Instead of fighting for his own sake of survival, He now fights for everyone else's. After defeating the floor boss, Kirito was branded the name 'Beater' (Beta tester + Cheater) because he was a beta tester for the game and knew how the boss would move. It was a terrible name to bear but Kirito accepted it anyways and played the villain, because if not, the other beta testers would bear a bad name as well. This shows how much Kirito has changed from being selfish to selfless. It is definitely a good change especially when it's as early as episode 2. You wouldn't want a main character who's so selfish that he does not care about anyone but himself. The only problem I have with the change of his personality was that he changed completely after a single conversation. Yes, just one short conversation opened up his mind which is pretty much unrealistic. But whatever, this is anime, where everything is possible. So, yeah, I guess you can be changed in one single conversation. If only real life was that easy...

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Straight after episode 2, we have another heartbreaker, where we find out why Kirito never ever joined a guild willingly. Kirito once joined a guild called Moonlit Black Cats. Hiding his true level, Kirito decided to join them until they could manage on their own. He learned that one of the guild members, Sachi was incredibly afraid of dying. Kirito promised her that he would protect her and not let her die. That was until the guild members decided to go on a quest where they fall into a trap and got ambush by monsters. The members fell one by one due to their low level. Kirito desperately fought his way to save Sachi who was soon killed by a monster before Kirito could reach her despite his efforts. The guild member who did not go with them soon heard the news and committed suicide after hearing it. It was painful to watch Kirito's friends die especially Sachi who Kirito promised to protect. He wasn't able to protect any of them. All he could do was watch them die. It is sad. This episode reinforces the truth of the world of Sword Art Online: If you die here, It's over. This is not just a game, it is all real. I guess life in anime is not that easy after all.

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Kirito soon met a few other friends, and the love of his life. He develops feelings for Asuna (his girlfriend) and married her in game, showing how much they loved each other. They promised each other to see each other again after they get out of the game. Kirito picked up an in game skill, dual wielding, allowing him to use two swords at once. With that he soloed a floor boss while saving a whole army who were about to get annihilated by it. The news of his solo victory was soon spread and he was forced to join a guild after being defeated in a duel by Heathcliff, the strongest player in the game and the guild master of Knights of the Blood Oath. 

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After a deadly boss raid where 14 players died, Kirito realizes that something was fishy about Heathcliff. His HP never went down below 60% (I guessed the percentage based on the HP bar). After a wild guess, it was found out that Heathcilff was in fact Akihiko Kayaba, the game master who trapped all of them in this death game and it was intended that he would be the floor boss on floor 100, the last floor of the game. Heathcliff decides to reward Kirito for discovering his identity which is to offer Kirito to fight him alone. If Kirito wins, the game will be cleared and all surviving players could log out. Of course Kirito accepted the duel, knowing he might not get another chance to free everyone. After a long fight, Heathcliff brought Kirito's HP to zero, meaning he should have died. Kirito refused to give up and used all of his will power and made the duel a draw and it was considered Kirito's win. Kirito wakes up in the hospital, in the real world. He was alive but very frail. It has been two years since he saw the real world. His life was supported by machines, he then remembers the promise he made with Asuna. He gets up weakly and walks slowly down the corridor.

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This arc is the best out of all the Sword Art Online arcs at the moment. The fight scenes were animated greatly and the story was fresh and kind of realistic. Since we are now in a time where VR and AR technologies are advancing, it might not be a surprise where we could soon experience something like Sword Art Online. Let's just hope no crazy developer wants to commit mass murder with a video game. About 4000 out of 10,000 people were killed in Aincrad. That's some crazy death toll! I like how Kirito builds his character and becomes one of the most OP characters in anime history. I even liked how the heart monitor detached from Kirito's body when he got up from the hospital bed. The line of the heart monitor went flat, usually telling that the patient is dead. But in this case, it symbolizes that his life in Aincrad is over. More importantly, he didn't forget about Asuna. There are only a few problems I had with this anime. One being Kirito being too OP and conquering every situation. The other is some of the characters were introduced just for Kirito's harem (not that I'm jealous) not for the story. Let's take Silica for example, even if we take out episode 4, it does not affect the story by much means. And poor Agil (just a friend of Kirito's by the way) who runs the weapon shop only appeared a few times. I believe that characters should only be thrown in for story purposes not just for making the story full of people. But over all, This first arc is one of the highlights in the series and is definitely worth your time. 

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Score: 8/10