Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
_Bubassotto_
Yeah... it basically turned into Star Wars meets Call of Duty.
Well, Sword Art Online II is a season that, for me, drops significantly in quality compared to the previous one. I don't think it's terrible to watch, quite the opposite; there are several interesting ideas here and some really fun moments, but I feel the season fails to deliver the same impact the first one had on me.
First off, this is a direct continuation of the previous season and sticks to the formula of introducing a new game, with a new virtual world and new problems that spill over from the game into real life. The concept of exploring different MMORPGs remains one of the series' most interesting aspects, as each game has its own unique identity and allows the story to shift to a completely different setting.
This t…
Read at the sourceCaeruleus_CCXVI
4.5/10 ~ its neither as bad as they say or the hype it originally had...
Honestly I feel like SAO is just the gold standard of how seasonal anime wants to be these days. Kirito, Nerv Gear, SAO, Being Trapped inside a video game but somehow still an Isikai... all of these things are just so woven in to anime these days its so weird to go back and watch what it came from. I decided to watch GGOA:S2 and within the first 5 min I realized I did not remember anything from S1, then I watched S1 again and realized that the gurl with the lightsaber was mentioned but missing, so I looked it up and completely forgot that that was a spin off of SAO, so I rewatched this just to go revisit the past and honestly the only thing good imo that came out of SAO, Gun gale online. The spin off series 'Alternat…
Read at the sourcePositiveeeeee
Completely confused where to start... (minor spoilers and referring to explicit language ahead)
So first half of the season - good? Its pretty cool to see that they somehow mixed CoD WZ into a anime? hahah, but seriously it was a good half and i was really looking forward to this second season from a absoultely amazing first season. And it started out that way, I enjoyed the first half of it, guns blazing, whilst a swordsmen is able to compete with the best.
Story of the LC memebers coming back was also super interesting, and the animation, style, the action, etc. was amazing, truly not a second wasted.
That being said the latter half... Ouch...
To put it short, it hurt to watch, not in a good way, just a cringy annoying latter half of the season. I had to pause that many times just b…
Read at the sourceCaptainSalty
The Gun Gale Arc was semi entertaining and had a decent amount of fun action with some character building for Sinon. Sword Art Online again presents a very unique world for us to immerse ourselves into. As someone who played the Fatal Bullet game, I do believe this is a contender behind Aincrad for the best world this series gives us. As for the substance of the season itself, the GGO part was by far the only real part that felt anything worth watching. Again, the second half is taken up by a filler segment and an uninteresting character story. So the review will be about what's worth mentioning.
What they attempted to do with both Kirito and Sinon sharing getting over their PTSD is interesting to explore, but at the end of the day it's nothing more than the surface level plot point. Kiri…
Read at the sourcechloethehuman11
Being a fan of the series got me really hyped to start watching Sword Art Online II. The Phantom Bullet storyline was especially captivating with its action-packed scenes and interesting introduction of characters. The animation quality and combat sequences were so impressive that I couldn't look away from the screen.
Sometimes the flow seemed a bit off in parts of the story. Certain plotlines didn't resonate with me completely. Like the Fairy Dance arc wasn't quite up to par for my taste. Even though there were some scenes that brought back memories of why I originally fell in love with SA0; on the flip side there were also moments that felt less captivating and somewhat hurried.
Sword Art Online II was a bit of a mixed experience overall. There were definitely some highlights that fa…
Read at the sourcekireikana
Okay, this might have been said many times before, but in my opinion, Season 2 has three arcs:
- First: Gun Gale Online, up to around episode 14.
- Second: Wrapping up the ALO (Alfheim Online) story, until around episode 16.
- Third: Mother’s Rosario, starting from episode 18.
The first part has a pretty touching drama, and the ending is the same. It revolves around a girl trying to overcome her childhood trauma by constantly blaming herself. There are several lessons I could take away, such as:
- Don’t focus on what you’ve done, but remember the reason you did it. Even a child can be considered a hero if they save their mother from a psychopath.
- Sometimes, escaping reality seems like the best option to avoid ongoing stress and trauma, but remember, it doesn’t solve anything. Find someo…
Read at the source0004-1
Art - 7/10 YEAHHH The animation is nothing special in this season, no where near as good as season 1
Characters - 6/10 Honestly, Most of the characters in this season are fine, especially towards the end but Kazuto is still an edge lord mc who acts way cooler than he is.
Story - 5/10 First half of the season is basically star wars, and the second half is definitely better but looking at newer isekai its pretty generic albeit coming at a far earlier stage in isekai history.
OST/Sound Design - Probably going to remove this section from my reviews, because it doesn't really matter but SAO is obviously a big name anime so its got high production quality
Enjoyment - 6/10 The ending of the season is really damn good, just wish the first half wasn't as desperate as it was to give us informati…
Read at the sourceElyshion
Sword Art Online II is slightly better than the first season, particularly due to its first arc which is more interesting than the subsequent arcs. It's a pleasure to follow the series' protagonists, some of whom have evolved, especially Kirito who regains his charisma. Overall, the characters are well developed. Unfortunately, the second arc, Calibur, and the third arc, Mother's Rosario, are quite disappointing. Only Asuna's mother stands out as interesting. The animation and character design continue to evolve and remain pleasing and enjoyable to watch. As for the soundtrack, I love both openings and the first ending. The OST is good. I only remember the first arc for its high quality, which slightly restores 'SAO' in my estimation.
Read at the sourcelarp8
oh ma days man, SAO II is making the mandems livid innit.
Plot/Story and Character: 2.5/10
A 10-year-old probably wrote the entirety of this story. Everything just doesn't make sense. They live in a world where technology is so advanced that they have full-dive VRs everywhere; however, I guess this technology budget wasn't used on anything else other than VRs because the whole Japan doesn't have the technology to track one guy in-game and needs a 17-year-old boy to save the day.
The whole plot revolves around Kirito and this new girl, Asada Shino, so that all the other important/main characters, like Asuna, are simply left behind. Well, of course, they need to do this so that this new girl also joins Kirito's harem, and once she joins in, the show just gives up on them and they lose thei…
Read at the sourceWhe3333
Spoiler-less, TL;DR, fast, simple, and easy-to-digest review:
Guns, Bullets, ...and some unnecessary story bloat
4/10
Animation? Good (++)
First season gave us some hype fights. Now, not much. Still, they maintained the art style and animation quality.
Characters? Meh (-) Some characters fell into obscurity, old and new. The only interesting new characters in this season are the sniper lady and the real-life version of her. That's it. (Klein is still top-tier character plz more love)
Story? Bad (--)
I love guns! I really do love them. I love them so much that I play with them regularly... in game ofc. Sadly, this anime did not give them enough love so I hate this season. World-building is worse. The world of guns does not offer that much. Less hype moments compared to previous season.…
Read at the sourceNevesPT
"Sword Art Online II," the 2014 sequel to the original series, continues to explore the virtual reality gaming realm with a renewed focus on augmented reality and a fresh narrative arc. The story follows Kirito as he becomes involved in a new game called "Gun Gale Online," which centers around gun combat. This season offers a blend of action, mystery, and personal growth.
Viewers are recommended to watch through at least the first arc to fully appreciate the evolution of the storyline.
The standout feature of "Sword Art Online II" is its ability to transition smoothly from the MMORPG setting of the first season to the shooter-focused gameplay of Gun Gale Online. This change injects a breath of fresh air into the series while maintaining its core exploration of virtual worlds. The narrati…
Read at the sourcePeach_Main
Female Kirito is the best Kirito = Phantom Bullet Arc is the best.
Okay, I'll get serious now. Sword Art Online II, an anime that I would not have expected to find when I was getting into Sailor Moon during Summer 2014 since the former aired on the same day of the week as the latter's remake. Since I didn't think the first season was bad, I decided to give this one a go. This one... is also getting the Mixed Feelings treatment due to what I consider to be a near fatal mistake this season made after the halfway point. Like I did for Season 1, I will score each covered story individually and their average will be the final score at the end.
The Phantom Bullet Arc, in my opinion, is one of the most creative ideas I've ever seen for a story. In the virtual reality online game called Gun Gale…
Read at the sourceLinx_0
What you are looking at for Sword Art Online 2 is a mess of an anime.
The whole setup is very random and also drawn out longer than you would want it to, as you will always be waiting for something to happen, watching the next episode, realizing the show is still as boring as ever. The anime’s attempt at keeping you interested won’t work, which is part of the reason why this show as such a low rating.
Like the last season of this show, there is another arc at the end which has little to no relevancy to the main plot of the beginning episodes and is very misplaced. I’m rating this show an overall 6 because it isn’t very bad but I would say if you are a devoted fan of this show, please give it a watch because it is short and is needed to keep up with the future seasons. If you aren’t, dro…
Read at the sourceShirogari
The second season of Sword Art Online is actually pretty good. It has interesting stories and unlike the first season actually bothers with character development which instantly improves the quality of the anime.
This season, like the first season, is not just one stories. It's 2-3 smaller arcs in one season. All these parts are interesting in their own seperate ways. First you have a continuation of the main story, then there's some worldbuilding and after that there's time for character development and an interesting story in its own right. The pacing is fine too and doesn't suffer from the problems of the first season. The important characters remain mostly the same Kirito, Asuna and the rest of Kirito's harem. Kirito develops a bit but still isn't a great character. Asuna, along with…
Read at the sourceResting_Bonfire
Sword Art Online Season 2
For the first time, this season of Sword Art Online has made me watch at least the first arc with interest. The Phantom Bullet arc was far from perfect, but it had a captivating concept. If a more capable writer had taken this on, you could make an entire anime out of the "Death Gun" killer alone. Unfortunately, it's only been barely above average here. This is where Sword Art Online takes distance from its harem concept and presents the omnipotent Kirito-kun in a whole new light. This season is practically all about how 2 teenagers haunted by trauma, face their trauma and confront a serial killer.
It is by far the most interesting season in the entire anime, with relatively fast pacing, divine animation, and decent character building. Unfortunately, this arc…
Read at the sourceKissShotAcerola
Just watch Digimon for a better VR experience. Or just buy a Steam Deck. Or just have a nice dream of shooting up kids. All are valid and better options over watching SAO II.
The story was designed for lonely virgins who've never washed their socks or played an online competitive game. Where's the toxicity, personal insults, and ethnic slurs? It was one of the stories of all time, and Morbius was less predictable than it.
As for the characters themselves, Kirito was the only likeable female character, and the most dislikeable male character. What truly stood out about her was her flat chest, and long hair.
Read at the sourceTarukaja
By the time SAO II starts, Kirito has already been shoved into two games where dying in game means dying in real life. At first, it seems like going in for a third dose would be forced and contrived. But it was surprisingly well done. It makes sense that Kirito would be regarded as an expert in high-stakes video game nonsense, so the authorities inviting him to be part of the case feels natural enough. Regardless of the plot armor that comes later, I think this is a pretty solid premise. On the whole, the plot feels a tighter in this season than the previous one, not that that's saying a lot. Still, it shakes things up in an interesting and self-containted way.
Then there's Sinon, and my Lord, is she a breath of fresh air. She has personality. She has depth. She isn't a mary-sue, but she…
Read at the sourceAwesomeAli2832
It's honestly sad to see people once again continue to shit on SAO II for its "bad character development" and "awful story", and its absolutely ridiculous. The characters and voice acting were phenomenal and amazing, as well as the story, being very thrilling but also emotional at the same time. With Kirito's VRMMO experience, skills, and agility under his belt, he is tasked into diving into GGO to investigate strange deaths. And to make things clear, there is no "plot armor" as people try to shut down the story and make it look like a very bad thing. Kirito's strength, abilities, and perseverance are what kept him alive, and he is a compassionate and caring person, not a "chick grabbing magnet". It took Kirito a lot of effort to get through SAO and he couldn't have done it alone. As Kirit…
Read at the sourceKamden_Crane
No, this review doesn't contain spoilers.
Pathetic compared to the first one. Watched this while ago just now added it to my list, and am making this review. This show was so bad I wouldn't have watched it if I didn't think it might have gotten good 1/10 writing decent animation. How can you make the first one so good then make this piece of trash? First, the villain was weird and made no sense. Second, why was there a rape scene in this, although some might have thought fanservice, this show is supposed to be wholesome in some ways and the scene made no sense. At least the rape scene in the first one was to highlight the sickness of the villain but this one just had slimes who should have no real capacity for libido.
Read at the sourcelamaraptor
Alright if Sword Art Online was starting to lose me in it's second cour, Sword Art II is where my interest completely took a dive off a cliff. It felt like the story was already done and concluded but it just decided to keep going anyway. At the time I hadn't really watched much anime and I didn't understand much of the format of storytelling this is derived from so I was just confused. Don't stories like this have endings? Wasn't their goal pretty clear from the start of season 1? Why are we still here? Why are they still playing the game?
The answer I can give you now, cynically from behind my 160+ days of anime watching I now have logged is $$. Sword Art was selling merchandise like no other and so naturally they have to keep it going indefinitely, even when the story has no natural…
Read at the source
