>>1835375Because the anime is very bad. But starts off very promisingly.
In episode one, the omnipresent shadow of death is invoked as a powerful vehicle to drive the story, and helps define the world (with a terribly unimaginative name) of Sword Art Online.
Midway through, author-fantasy starts kicking in.
The series gets weirdly domestic. All of the "strong female characters" are simultaneously demoted to spineless housewives.
The author's juvenile adoration of online games and creepy veneration of the villain (who has murdered thousands by this point) start manifesting fantasy escapism as the focal theme of the story rather than surviving in an unforgiving world.
Cut to the end of the first half, and you have a pretty "meh" ending that still idolizes the villain. But nevertheless, is the ending the series deserved.
Shortly thereafter. Fairies.
The thematic identity of the anime shifts even more profoundly than before. Death is no longer the Heroes' silent companion. The aesthetic changes to brightly coloured fairy warriors.
Worst of all, author-fantasy starts driving the story entirely. The "not-actually blood-related-sister" complex starts to become central to the plot, and Asuna is demoted from Housewife to Damsel in Distress.
Sword Art Online is bad because it is unpolished. Because the target demographic was shounen rather than seinen. Because the Author used the story as a vehicle to explore his personal fantasies. And mostly, because it was so very good for a very short period of time.
For the shorter version, see
>>1835449.
