Sword Art Online Discussion Thread

[bear]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

We already know that there is a gap between when you "die" (your HP hits zero) and when you disappear, because we've seen many occasions where people put in last words, and even move their bodies around a bit. We also know that there was a resurrection item mentioned earlier in the anime that allowed you to revive someone for up to 10 seconds after they "died". So yeah, "death" isn't instantaneous. And even after you disappear in the SAO world, it doesn't necessarily mean you brain fries right that very second either (or that it's instantaneous). We can assume that, after Asuna disappeared from the boss room, she was sent to the sky platform, to await Kirito who followed. Perhaps this is because this was all part of the end-game sequence, and they were the designated end-game players... or perhaps it was simply what was set to happen to anyone who is killed by the GM.

Rewatching the scene I have to agree that that was a bad translation and it was Kayaba turning off his immortality. Kayaba only promised that he wouldn't let her kill herself right away. Technically, she didn't kill herself. Kayaba did. If her Net Gear hadn't fried her, then she's still there at the games end so the kill mode may not have been operating. It was never explained how long it was between game death and real death AFAIK. Kayaba also gave her credit for helping to end the game, since Kirito was dead meat at that point.

Finally, it's just a question of whether you have a "willing suspension of disbelief" to accept what happened or not. I do because I accept the premise that Full Dive capabilities and self aware AI exist so other anomalies that would not be possible in today's games could also exist. Your mileage may vary.

[something]

http://yaraon.blog109.fc2.com/blog-entry-12296.html

Ouch. I'm not sure how previous SAO episodes rated on niconico, but 14 definitely had a poor response:

Very good: 35.1%
Somewhat good: 18.2%
Not very good: 9.6%
Not good: 37.1%

I'm guessing at least 100k people watched the episode on nico by the time that cap was taken, and the survey automatically prompts at the end so response rate should be fairly high.

On the other hand, Vol. 5 got solicited and shot into the Amazon top 10, so I think this is a case of a very popular show just being very very polarizing. And probably picking up more than its fair share of people who watched simply so they could give it the worst rating. These niconico scores are becoming really popular to track, so it gets a lot of visibility as a snap-response poll.

Of course, it's only useful at all when the niconico audience is representative of the show's target audience (which it should be for SAO). Still, I think it shows that there's quite a degree of ambivalence among anime watchers in Japan too about how this was handled, so it's not just an east vs west disconnect.

I don't think I've been polarized to one end or the other yet - I'm still just incredibly confused about what the hell SAO is attempting to be. Because honestly I don't even think it knows anymore. Or did it ever? I can't remember the last time I was genuinely confused about whether I should import a show or hate it. Normally, those two things should be leagues apart... Even when Shana III went batshit crazy in the last third after an utterly brilliant first two thirds, I didn't feel nearly this confused.

[Draneor]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

In either case, I think the main objection people have is that it's just not clearly explained, so you're left having to either a) try to figure out for yourself how it could have been possible, or b) just having to accept that the rules can simply be exceeded/broken when it's convenient for the storytelling. Personally it all didn't bother me too much because I liked the way the episode worked from an emotional and poetic point of view (and I can accept the general premise that willpower can override the constraints a program tries to place on your mind's ability to control your body in a VR world), but I do understand why it bothered some people.

I'd largely agree with this (and I did have some hypothesis of my own most of which were negated by animating it). On the other hand, I don't really think it should be the job of the viewer/reader to rationalize why the ending makes sense. Certainly, intentional uncertainty can be fun (I can think of several titles I love which have debatable ending interpretations), but I'm not convinced the ending was intentionally made that way--I think it just fell apart. This is something I believe the anime could have fixed but sadly didn't.

[bear]

Originally Posted by something

I don't think I've been polarized to one end or the other yet - I'm still just incredibly confused about what the hell SAO is attempting to be. Because honestly I don't even think it knows anymore. Or did it ever? I can't remember the last time I was genuinely confused about whether I should import a show or hate it. Normally, those two things should be leagues apart... Even when Shana III went batshit crazy in the last third after an utterly brilliant first two thirds, I didn't feel nearly this confused.

Well, it is a first novel so I wouldn't expect it to be a timeless classic. As far as importing goes, I'd wait for the next couple or 3 episodes which, I'm assuming, pick up the story at vol 3 of the novels. They will probably make the decision for you.

[ookamigirl]

Life coming back to normal for Kirito.
At least he found a new passion in kendo.
Guess Asuna was not as lucky to wake up as well.
Wow! Looks like she's still stuck in the game.
So there is still hope for those two ^^

[FUNiOP]

This is now a very different show. At least for one episode.

Kirito's imouto-but-really-but-still-related-by-blood-so-it's-still-incest-dammit becomes a major character now. That makes sense that she would be once they got back to the real world. It looks like they'll be jumping into another game before long, so I wonder if she'll be playing this time. I figure she'll probably try to chase after her beloved ONII-CHAN as much as possible to prevent losing him for another few years. I guess I should have paid closer attention to the OP for her. Maybe she'll get super jealous and go after Asuna.

We have a clear villain right from the beginning here. I'm guessing he'll be a part of this game as well, to serve as Kayaba's replacement? Kayaba is still out there, so obviously he's going to have to be the one who gets Asuna and the other 300 back in the real world (or however many survive this game, if it has the same stakes). Maybe he'll team up with Kirito and crew against scumbag Koyasu guy. If Kirito only has a week to get Asuna back to the real world to kick that guy in the balls and say "fuck you", this will be a very different experience from the two years spent in SAO.

I wonder if the series will end with Kirito and Asuna getting back to the real world and living happily ever after, or if they'll confirm a second season in the final episode, and set it up for that. There's obviously more story in the light novels. Is there just a different game every volume or two, which translates to a cour each? It seems like they'd stop being able to find believable excuses for continuing that trend after a while. This series tends to surprise me in pleasant ways, so I'm fairly confident that whatever the plot ends up coming up with will be better than I'd guess it would.

New opening and ending songs are fine, although no LiSA level.

[FUNiOP]

This is now a very different show. At least for one episode.

Kirito's imouto-but-really-but-still-related-by-blood-so-it's-still-incest-dammit becomes a major character now. That makes sense that she would be once they got back to the real world. It looks like they'll be jumping into another game before long, so I wonder if she'll be playing this time. I figure she'll probably try to chase after her beloved ONII-CHAN as much as possible to prevent losing him for another few years. I guess I should have paid closer attention to the OP for her. Maybe she'll get super jealous and go after Asuna.

We have a clear villain right from the beginning here. I'm guessing he'll be a part of this game as well, to serve as Kayaba's replacement? Kayaba is still out there, so obviously he's going to have to be the one who gets Asuna and the other 300 back in the real world (or however many survive this game, if it has the same stakes). Maybe he'll team up with Kirito and crew against scumbag Koyasu guy. If Kirito only has a week to get Asuna back to the real world to kick that guy in the balls and say "fuck you", this will be a very different experience from the two years spent in SAO.

I wonder if the series will end with Kirito and Asuna getting back to the real world and living happily ever after, or if they'll confirm a second season in the final episode, and set it up for that. There's obviously more story in the light novels. Is there just a different game every volume or two, which translates to a cour each? It seems like they'd stop being able to find believable excuses for continuing that trend after a while. This series tends to surprise me in pleasant ways, so I'm fairly confident that whatever the plot ends up coming up with will be better than I'd guess it would.

New opening and ending songs are fine, although no LiSA level.

[Damius]

- It’s dead already… after only a couple of seconds.
- Fourteen have died…
- Ok…Kirito is attacking Heathcliff out of nowhere...
- Well, in the end, Heathcliff is Kayaba.
- It’s already the time to fight Kayaba???
- What??? Is Asuna really dead??? That can’t be…
- And Kirito “came back” as a ___?? after being dead… Ok……
- And the game has been cleared…already…
- So Kirito wakes up on a hospital bed. What about Asuna? She needs to be alive…

Why did they take that route… What will happen next exactly? And what about Asuna??? This episode leaves so many questions… And I personally didn’t like this episode at all. But, I’m still curious to know what will happen next.

[stardf29]

Well, the OP promises more Yui (in pocket-sized form, too!), so I'll be looking forward to that.

In the meantime, Sugu is a great not-quite-blood-related-enough-imouto-smitten-with-her-onii-chan character, while Sugou is a total slimebag of the 100th degree.

Preview: Looks like SAO is crossing over with Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita! ...or not.

[strangefour]

Oh right. This still exists. :\

-SYMBOLISM!!1
-The helmets haven't all been confiscated by the government? That's stupid.
-DUDE OP! Spoilers much? Mini Yui is adorable though.
-Ah poop. Once it started I kind of hoped we'd follow Kirito's little cousin as he was comatose in the game for 2 years for the rest of the episode. But nope it's over in a 30 second flashback.
-Kirito is a little too flash and flashy for a kid who should have absolutely no muscle tone left. Atleast Sugu beats him.
-Well that's one good thing. Kirito didn't waste time tracking her down. He immediately found Asuna after waking up. But she hasn't woken up.
-Wait whut? I don't think it's legal to marry a comatose patient in any damn country dude. You're kind of a horrible father.
-Ewwww. Hair sniffing.
-Oh come the fuck on. Do you have to make him cartoonishly evil? WTF! All he needs to do is take advantage of the situation for his own financial gain. He doesn't have to be a whispering cackling fondling mad man for fuck's sake.
-Sugu is rather busty for a 14ish year old.
-Asuna isn't in a coma. She just server migrated to a new game!

After the end of story rushed disaster that was last episode, this one was okay. Not great, barely good. But it starts off on a good foot in trying to forget the writing cluster fuck it's leaving behind.