Sword Art Online - 10

Best episode of SAO so far?  I think so!  Not only do we get to see Asuna in action, but we get a kiss, sex (!!) and a marriage proposal!  This episode made me wonder whether or not the side stories at the beginning were really necessary.  They did a great job at fleshing out Kirito's past with just snippets from episode 3 that I wonder whether or not episodes 2-7 were truly necessary.  I guess we'll just have to see how it ends; if it ends in a way that is satisfactory, then I'll be happy.  If not, I'll blame it on the side stories.  So far though, as someone who has not read the LNs and therefore have no expectations, I'm enjoying this quite a bit.

Sword Art Online - 09

I love badass Kirito and his dual wielding swords!  Hats off to Asuna, played by Tomatsu Haruka, too; I got chills when she screamed and rushed into the battle.

Sword Art Online - First Impressions

I had always thought that the premise of Accel World was a little bit silly - sure, it sucks to lose the ability to play a certain type of game, but it's not the end of the world.  With Sword Art Online, losing does mean the end of the world!  Or, at the very least, your life.  Both light novels are written by Kawahara Reki, so I expected some similarities, but SAO takes it to another level, with the threat of death looming over everyone.  The first episode did a fantastic job setting up the premise and introducing the main character (unlike some other animes...*cough*AracanaFamiglia*cough*).  They controlled the atmosphere well, with the scene shifting from an idyllic plaza to an ominous place with blood seeping out of the sky.  With the set up done well and quickly, I'm looking forward to the next episode.