It is the year 2022, and full virtual reality has been developed.
Kirito is a player of the VRMMORPG "Sword Art Online". Whilst in the midst of having fun, he and the 10,000 other players logged-in at the time suddenly receive an unbelievable announcement from the system administrator:
The only way log-out is by clearing the game.
Further, getting a "game over" within the game will also result in real death.
Kirito is amongst the first to accept this reality. Foregoing the option of forming parties with other players, he challenges this death-game as a solo player.
These are shows that I have watched from start to finish (sometimes repeatedly) and just absolutely love! While there are many shows I've rated 4+ and loved, these are the few that hold a special place in my heart!
Please note that these are MY personal favorites, not necessarily ones that I would recommend to anyone and would argue are the best shows ever made. There were many shows that I loved that didn't quite make it into this list because they are just too new (need to see where it goes), would not rewatch (or hasn't been long enough to miss it), or just didn't have that OMG reminiscent feel. A perfect example of a borderline show is Avatar: Legend of Korra. I love Avatar and am a huge supporter of that entire line, but I just couldn't include this followup series because I personally felt like it wasn't as good as Avatar: The Last Airbender.