Disclaimer: I haven’t watched this shit in years. Also, this was a writing prompt so expect some very feeble content.
Lucky for me, I didn’t grow up watching SAO, I only found it much later on in life. That gives me the opportunity to objectively (I mean not really but who cares) talk about the series.
All things equal, the first arc was pretty good. The concept was pretty interesting and the MC wasn’t overly obnoxious. The fights and story were alright and the general feel of the show was decent. I have now run out of positive things to say.
SAO was definitely a solid “I Might as well watch another episode”/10. I barely remember the finer details and mostly just remember the annoying stuff and the broad strokes. The annoying parts were definitely the MC’s relationship. If I want romance in my anime, I’m gonna watch a show with well-written characters and build-up, not this tripe. In general, I disapprove of shoehorning romance into shows where it isn’t really needed. I am biased, so who knows.
Welp I don’t really care enough to try and dreg up previous memories on the subject, but I do know the second season or second arc was trash.