"after tossing it into a cage, having it escape and almost be raped by tentacles, before throwing it right back into said cage"
this had me laughing for a while

Regarding the topic, I can understand why many people hate the show but some or most of them are just doing it for the laugh, honestly it is still above most of the anime series that are produced to this date and that means a lot. I personally enjoyed the show despite the flaws, I am a sucker for action anime after all, and SAO shines in that department not to mention they have numerous types of waifus in there so that's a plus for me haha.

And Fate/ Zero is the real deal, probably one of the best anime to date, now I am looking forward to your review of the series (Rider best bro).

Btw do you play Fate/ GO?