What this blog is for:
This blog series is solely for recommendations as to what to watch. That means the anime you will see here will only be good watchful-able current anime and I won't waste you time recommending bad animes. I may recommend the obvious animes (like parts of Bleach), but the purpose here is to show people new animes that they may have missed and would get addicted to.Sword Art Online
Premise
The premise is simple: a virtual online game called Sword Art Online launches and unbeknownst to the new players, the option to log out has been erased. Furthermore, if you die in the game even once, you will die in the real world. The trailer here will probably explain it further here.
Compared to .Hack//sign
There will be many comparisons of this anime to the late .hack but where .hack//sign was mysterious and slowly developed plot. This anime takes the MMORPG anime genre in a new direction by focusing on the stories within the game play of the MMORPG using concepts and mechanics any MMORPG veteran would be familiar with. Characters here aren't looking to see what the mystery is behind the game, but interested only surviving. You'll see what you expect to see in MMO's, raids, guilds, parties, and pvp. The main character is much more likable then Tsubasa (or Kite for that matter) because he resembles what a real player would probably be given his circumstances whereas Tsubasa seemed like an NPC then a player in an MMO. Really, if you ask me, it seemed like .hack//Sign was an anime that happened to take place in an MMO whereas Sword Art Online is the first real MMO anime. I liked .hack//sign, but I knew it could have been a much better anime and I knew there was more potential and issues that it could have tackled if the writers weren't simply there to promote a game.
Why should you watch this anime and who should watch it?
If you like anime and play MMO's this is definitely the anime for you. Not only is a much more realistic and accurate depiction of MMO's, but it is different from the late .hack//sign in good ways. Most episodes are full of action and the premise itself which involves the entire player base over one person. As of writing this blog, the series has only 5 episodes, but the manga is nearly complete and much longer if you aren't patient.
You should watch this anime because it has a unique and potentially ingenious premise which would deal with the issues within MMO's like loot distribution, player killing, and beta test players. The animation itself is on par or better then .hack//sign and the music is tolerable. While there are some ecchi moments and loli moments as well most of the anime is certainly safe for work or just watching with younger audiences.
