I'll just repeat the comment I made on this article when it was posted months ago.

Noting that SAO and Fairy tail have been ‘wildly successful’ because of their fanservice is sort of doing a disservice to the topic. Both were originally in other mediums to anime, and while a lot can be said for manga often defaulting to a level of fanservice from the start so that the series gets popularity and doesn’t get cancelled (it’s worth, with that in mind, noting how some shows adapted from their manga begin more fanservice-y and then lose that quality), SAO seems to have a following more because of its relatability to a global market (video games, portrayed in a style that doesn’t feel exclusively Japanese) and because the ‘hardcore’ side of the fanbase are ahead of the anime by reading the novels, looking forward to the later arcs that what has been shown so far, since the writer has apparently improved their storytelling over time. One should not overstate or oversimplify the effect of fanservice as this article seems to have done.

I also think it’s vital to note that Ryuko’s embarrassment with her skimpy outfit goes away /completely/ early on in the show. Later on she’s ditching the clothes altogether and going around in a bedsheet. It’s stressed that she has no need to be embarrassed, as people looking at her lustfully are in the wrong themselves; she should be able to wear what she likes. While wrapped in comedy, this is a very sincere and sobering challenge to the fanservice-enjoying viewer – even if the camera seems to be encouraging you to get your cliché nosebleed, isn’t the ultimate responsibility for the sexualisation of women in media always resting with you?