Geek Out Challenge Day 2 – My Most Recent Fandom

For the first day of A Geeky Gal’s Geek Out Challenge, I discussed my first fandom ever. Day two aims to have me discuss the opposite by gushing about my most recent fandom.  At first, I wasn’t really sure how to answer this.  There are tons of franchises that I have fallen in love with over the past year, so figuring out what I have enjoyed most recently is a challenge.  After thinking about it, however, it dawned on me that I’m actually currently falling in love with a new show.  Therefore, allow me to introduce Sword Art Online.

I’m not a big fan of anime.  I don’t have anything against it, but I just never gravitate towards it, primarily because the line between an anime and a JRPG is a thin one, and I would always rather play a video game over watching a new show.  When my husband suggested watching Sword Art Online, I agreed to give it a shot, even though I wasn’t sure it was going to be for me.  After a single episode, however, I was hooked.

Image source:  https://www.swordart-onlineusa.com/aincrad/

The premise of Sword Art Online is that a new MMO comes out that can be played in virtual reality.  Thousands of people log in, excited to give it a try.  Upon booting up the game for the first time, however, players realize that they are unable to log out.  Shortly thereafter, it is discovered that if a player dies in the game, they die in real life, and the only way to log out is to beat the final boss.

As soon as the show’s central premise was revealed to me, I knew I would love it.  The high stakes reminded me of Danganronpa, which is one of my favorite game series of all time.  Kirito, the protagonist, is a fun character to follow, and he’s supported by a varied side cast.  While I am not far into the series, having just finished the first two plot arcs, I’m quite excited to see the rest of the anime adaptations, as well as trying my hand at the many video games.

My love for Sword Art Online goes beyond simply enjoying the plot or characters.  Instead, I appreciate it because of the realization that this has opened some new doors for me.  I now know that anime can be a lot of fun, which means I’m likely to try watching more of it in the future.  There are a ton of anime series that I’ve been ignoring, assuming I wouldn’t enjoy them as much as playing the latest video game release, which means I have a lot of catching up to do!

Have you watched Sword Art Online?  What is your most recent fandom?  Let me know in the comments below!  Thanks so much to A Geeky Gal for putting together this amazing thirty-day challenge.  Take a look at her answer to today’s prompt here!

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.  I’ll get a small commission at no additional cost to you.  Go to Amazon.