Synopsis:
In the year 2046, people use portable devices called Neuro-linkers to manage their daily lives in virtual reality networks. But advances in technology haven’t managed to do away with bullies, and 13-year old Haruyuki Arita finds himself a frequent target. Haruyuki escapes his miserable life in virtual games-until the day Kuroyukihime, the most popular girl in school, introduces him to a mysterious program called Brain Burst and virtual reality called the Accel World.

Review:
Haruyuki Arita is your typical bully target. He is short and chubby with a low self-esteem. Based in the year 2046, neuro-technology has advanced so much that everyone uses a device over their neck called the neuro-link. The neuro-link allows users to access information on demand and allows the user to experience a virtual environment; think Google glasses, but even more advanced. Haru hates himself for being weak, and his only escape is to log into the school’s virtual network and attain the highest scores in the game. With his high scores, he catches the attention of the school’s student council vice president, Kuroyukihime (Black Snow Princess). After some commotion, the vice president introduces a game called Brain Burst to Haru.

In Brain Burst, the world feels like it is in a stand still. But in actuality, it only appears that way for the users, because their senses are being accelerated in the real world. At the end of Kuro-hime and Haru’s meeting, she warns him to turn off his neuro-link from the global net when he is out of school, but of course things happen and he eventually forgets about it. At the end of the first episode, Haru is thrust into the accelerated world as Silver Crow and will have to fight in order to stay in the game!

The result is obvious, as a newbie, Haru is defeated with ease and left wondering what the heck did he just got himself into. What is the point of the Accel World and why was it created in the first place? As the story progresses we discover that Kuro-hime’s goal is to reach the maximum level ten, whereas, the other leaders are content on staying at level nine so that they can rule the accelerated world and continue to use brain bust in their daily lives. The penalty for losing while attempting to reach level ten is severe; the brain burst program will be wiped off clean. So we can understand why some people would happily prefer to stay idle on quest for level ten.

The Breakdown:
Accel World is a good anime, with nice characters, music and an attractive story. The interactions between the characters are great as well. The show has a bit of everything. The romance comedy of Kurohime, Haru and Chiyo. The action of the Accel World battles and the drama of how all this connects and plays out. It is definitely one of the best anime presents you can gift out this holiday season!