Some
would even argue that of all of Reiki Kawahara works Accel World actually surpasses
Sword Art Online overall as an anime of this genre and after watching the anime
I sort of get the reason why they said that.
The
story is about Haruyuki Arita an overweight, bullied high school student who
finds solace on playing online games and actually being one of the best at it.
He meets up with a mysterious girl named Kuroyukihime who introduces him to
"Brain Burst" a game only young people can play in order to uncover
the mysteries surrounding the game itself.
The
best part of Accel World is its story elements. The plot isn't forced and has
actual emotional weight into them that I found myself cheering for the main
character with each problem he encounters as the series continue. The plot
twist are surprisingly done well although there is a slight decline in story
quality towards the end but not so much that it's not compelling enough on its
own.
The
characters are interesting and layered that they aren't your typical run of the
mile anime characters. The character Arita is a pretty accurate representation
of online gamers both in his insecurities, lack of self esteem and anxiety. The
way his character develops throughout the series is one of the best part. The
other character like Kuroyukihime are deep well thought off character. And
seeing the other characters develop as well is something very few anime can
pull off even today.
This
is what I think makes Arita a better protagonist compared to the one in SAO. He
doesn't start off as this OP girl magnet character, Arita has to work hard to
earn where he is now falling and getting up every time. Sure the girls sort of
got attracted to him at some point in the series but it's not cringe inducing
as SAO was. He doesn't develop this gameshark like power that suddenly made him
able to defeat the final boss as Kirito did.
The
animation is brilliant and breathtaking specially the fight scenes although the
character design seems a bit too simplistic compared to other anime of these
genre but that's a minor complain on how good this series is in terms of
everything else. Also the excellent music enhances this experience further. Although
I'd preferred if they added more color to the character rather than one toned.
I
also don't like how they designed Akita as he seems out of place from all the
other characters in term of artstyle. This is like a Sailormoon character popping
up at a dragonball anime. Also I don't get the logic of Akita suddenly being
taller when he was thinner in a certain OVA. Sure it's to make him stand out
more but I think this is a bit too much and personally a bit too unrealistic.
There's
also a bit more talking than I think was necessary at some of the episodes.
Sure it's to set up the character motives and such but I think it's a tad bit
too much but that's a small comment compared to how well everything falls into
place. The series 24 episode breezes by so fast that by the end of it I found
myself asking for more.
If
you want to get the full Accel World experience however i'd suggest watching Accel
World: Infinity Burst which ties up the loose ends of the series. Personally I
don't mind another two or three season of this anime.
Overall
Accel World is an excellent anime that should have gotten more recognition than
it currently had. It's not perfect to any extent but it does a lot of things
right that a lot of series of its genre failed so much on. If you're a fan of
SAO than I can't recommend this series enough. This is an anime I'd recommend
to anyone and it's something that any otaku should watch at least once.
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