Anime Recommendations - Zandar Style

Sword Art Online

Before I say anything else, please don't leave just because the first one is SAO, trust me, I have better animes xD.

Okay, okay, I know what you're all thinking: "SAO is soooo overrated, everyone's already seen it, it's just another generic 'stuck in a video game' anime."

Precisely, you're all correct. I know most people have already seen it, but I just had to put it on my list because it was the first anime that I ever watched. Besides Ponyo (great Studio Ghibli film btw, I'll recommend it in depth later).

SAO is generic, but that doesn't take away from the storyline. The romance may be a bit sappy, but isn't all anime romance sappy? There are some epic fighting scenes and a few relaxing, slice of life scenes, if I can call them that.

The soundtrack is nice to listen to and after you finish the first season, you'll start to randomly get the intro song and other melodic tunes stuck in your head. Don't worry, there's a cure: bang your head against a piano until you get the random "chords" to wash away the songs. Okay, maybe don't do that. Unless you're really desperate.

If you're asking yourself, "Wait, am I missing something? What even is SAO?" then I've got you covered! If you weren't asking yourself that, then I don't know what to tell you. Just skip the summary I guess? I don't really care, do what you want.

Summary:
The year is 2022, and gamers have lined up on launch day for Sword Art Online (SAO for short), a hotly-anticipated MMORPG that lets players connect to an immersive virtual reality world with special helmets call Nerve Gear. Kirito is one such gamer who's eager to jump back into action, having spent a great deal of time as a beta tester, and quickly becomes friends with newbie warrior Klien. But soon, Sword Art Online's 10,000 players discover that not only are they unable to log out, the only way they can return to their physical bodies is by beating the 100-level tower's final boss - death in the game means death in the real world. Now, with no one else to turn to, Kirito and the other participants must survive the game as best they can.

I haven't seen SAO II so I can't give an honest opinion on it quite yet. I just get caught up in other animes *sigh* I have a problem.