Japanator: "Sword Art Online's first episode takes its time and in doing so allows the audience to grow to like Kirito and Klein. Hell, I found myself hoping that Klein wouldn't get killed by the end of the episode due to his role as a secondary character. I think this kind of pacing is going to benefit the show in the long run. A-1 Pictures has done some solid work in the past and if they keep up what they've started here, this could very well be the standout action series of the season." (Anime, Sword Art Online)