One of the about popular and controversial anime series of the terminal decade,Sword Art Onlineis a show that'southward intensely divisive, with fans and critics both being equally passionate. Viewers range from the hardcore advocates who praise information technology as a revolutionary championship in the isekai genre to vocal critics who are completely baffled as to how and why the show has gained so much popularity. Then how didSword Art Online's popularity become so controversial in the anime community?

Sword Art Onlinefollows protagonist Kazuto Kirigaya, a high school otaku who loves video games. After logging onto the VRMMORGP "Sword Art Online" and taking on the avatar handle "Kirito," the immature male child shortly discovers he's trapped in the virtual world with no way to escape. The series follows Kirito and his friends' adventures equally they attempt to escape SAO, as well as other video game universes in the anime'due south afterward seasons. Though the video games modify throughout each arc, the blurring of lines between video games and reality is ever-nowadays.

The anime is based upon a low-cal novel series by Reki Kawahara that shares the aforementioned name. Since the anime'southward release in 2012,Sword Art Onlinehas produced additional seasons and an original movie, with the prove's 4th season currently airing.

Hardcore Sword Art Onlinesuperfans, who've stuck with the serial for all four seasons, praise the evidence's evolution from season to season. Each flavor has improved upon the last, a argument reflected in Season 4's electric current score of seven.73 on MyAnimeList. Plus, since the show's main focus changes every arc, dedicated fans love how the stakes are constantly shifting and raising for Kirito and his friends. Additionally, every bit an isekai,Sword Art Onlinefeatures a number of fight sequences that, fifty-fifty during some of the evidence's weaker seasons and arcs, are inarguably heady to watch and are beautifully animated.

Finally, Kirito's journey as an introvert in the real world to a praised video game hero in the virtual one is a characterization that'southward appealing to a wide range of audiences. Viewers empathize and see themselves within Kirito's story, which may explain why so many fans have stuck with the anime for so long. In Flavour 1, Kirito was introduced as a solitary homebody who didn't take many  friends in real life and spent most of his mean solar day on the computer. All the same, because of his experiences meeting people in video games, his existent-life persona has completely changed. He at present has a huge group of friends (most of whom are cute ladies) and, if he ever escapes the Underworld, has plans to attend a prestigious American university with his girlfriend, Asuna.

While hardcore fans accept a long list of reasons why they've supported the show for almost a decade, critics have also justified their dislike with an as lengthy list of cons.

From a purely technical standpoint,Sword Art Online's earlier seasons suffered from bad writing. The pacing was inconsistent, especially during the anime'south initial arc, "Aincrad." Episodes quickly skipped over months and years, with minimal exposition to make up for the lost time. This was mostly due to the anime's rushed try to comprehend multiple story arcs over the course of 25 episodes in Season 1 and 24 in Season ii. Every bit a outcome of this rushed style of writing, characters had little time and space to develop, leaving many fans critical of their shallow personalities, likewise equally the bear witness'southward general lack of focus.

Luckily, most of these technical issues have been fixed sinceSword Art Online's 3rd season premiered in 2019, and have remained consistent in the currently airing Season four. Despite these technical fixes, there is some other major issue thatSword Art Onlinecritics have been vocally protesting for virtually a decade at present.

Since Flavour 1, every season ofSword Art Onlinehas featured i scene where a female character is sexually assaulted, normally by a male villain character. Viewers have been incredibly vocal about their cloy over the exploitative nature of this repetitive plot device for years at present. But, despite acknowledgment and apologies from Reki Kawahara, even the about recent flavor in 2020 featured an incredibly graphic scene. Combined withSAO's continued inclusion of fanservice-mode portrayals of its female characters, it'due south not a great wait for the popular isekai.

Whether you lot thinkSword Art Onlineis the greatest anime franchise ever made or hate information technology with a passion and can't understand why it'south go a global success, one matter is certain:Sword Art Onlineis a popular show. And fifty-fifty as the show begins to wrap up with its 4th season, it'south articulate that its legacy will remain for years to come.

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