Sword Art Online - Episode 19 Discussion / Poll
 

Welcome to the discussion thread for Sword Art Online, Episode 19.

The Lugluu Corridor - ルグルー回廊 ~ Ruguruu Kairou

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^ Haha Sugu pingdrum fan.

I still have a lot of troubles with this arc, especially regarding any tension since... it is barely there: the urgency of rescuing Asuna from the EVIL Sugou is basically non existent in this episode (which was actually badly handled by having not subtle scenes between the latter two), and having the overdramatic exposure regarding the strife between the races and Sigurd's scheme doesn't really add anything in the overall plot whatsoever, as it isn't helped when you only have Kirito and Leafa around, with 0 involvement of other parties.

I didn't expect any intense scene considering the premise of the ALO arc, but both the content and the direction/execution have a lot left to be desired, as it is simply flat. It is a bit worse when ALO itself doesn't really have as much "gameplay" exposure as SAO, which makes the battles not exactly engaging, especially when things aren't really that consistent (no actual air battle here, Kirito using a illusion spell that actually make the demon real etc). As a side note, unless ALO is conveniently different than SAO there, pain is actually present, obviously not as intense as it could be IRL (otherwise the slap scene is yet another problem).

I can't say I'm going to enjoy how they will deal with Suguha, since there is flat out no chance for her not to fall in love with Kirito with all the shoehorned attraction she got with him, ultimately leading to an obvious anguish once she realized his identity.

Watched it again, definitely cracked me up when the only survivor from that salamander pk group fist pumped air with himself for the loot he got from his own teammates.

Looks like Kirito going to pull off a Kira yamato and saved everyone in the meeting.

Why exactly are we supposed to care about the machinations of these different races when it doesn't affect Kirito's quest? In SAO this would've been a major development -- war between players, people dying, completion of the game delayed. But here there's nothing at stake except the enjoyment of some players, which pales in comparison to Asuna being locked in a cage by Mr. Rapepants.

Seriously this is like a magical girl delaying her final battle with the Big Bad so she can stop the student council vice president from staging a coup and disbanding the Light Music Club.

Kirito turned to a monster we've seen before in another game.

It was funny when Kirito was looking at Leafa's chest, but was really looking at that bat.

I guess Kirito can't solo on this game when he is outnumbered.

Kirito learning about Spriggans and powers.
These fairy characters do have interesting magic powers.
Leafa & Kirito vs Salamanders.
Kirito's illusion magic was just wow!
Looks like other problems have arisen for Leafa and her kind.

Can't wait for next episode... and GJ Gleameyes!

Hoo-whee, that was a pretty damn entertaining episode. Very nice to see after the past few being overly boring.

Kirito was incredibly badass here. Going up against a party of about 20 or so people with only Lyfa solely performing healing support. His monster form was awesome too, but isn't it supposed to be an illusion? How could he fight in that form then? Ah well, I'm not too concerned about that because it was awesome. Anything awesome I'm willing to forgive no matter how little sense it makes.

And hey, a sub-plot which actually has me more interested than the main one. Guess rescuing Asuna's going to have to wait, and I'm not against that.~

And Kirito brings up that logic of his again. I suppose I agree with it to a point I guess. I mean you wouldn't exactly want to kill someone who is your friend in a game unless it was a friendly duel or something. It's still just a game though, especially in ALO's case.

First time the ALO arc has actually kept me invested. Not sure how long it'll last but I guess I'll see.~

I cracked up at Kirito after he de-monsterfied and was giddy at how much fun he had whomping the enemy troops. Highlight of a fun episode overall for me. :heh:

As usual perfect ep, I just can't get enough of this anime. Just as HS says Sao is still the best anime this season.

At least now we have confirmation that higher level/stats doesn't mean that you can steamroll through opponents, unlike how those bandits in Ep.4 couldn't deal any significant damage. No magic support from Lyfa = dead after a couple more fireballs.

That epic fail from Recon, he already had a good spot for listening to their conversation and didn't need to move out of the corner. If he had just stayed still and made no noise, he wouldn't be Pk'd.

The GleamEyes makes a comeback, too bad Kirito's illusion spell didn't come with a sword. So apparently some spells have possibly different effects when cast with ALO avatars or avatars of SAO players, otherwise Lyfa wouldn't have called the illusion spell useless in combat. Another possibility is that Kirito got simply lucky he transformed into a boss monster:heh:

gotta try salamander next time. i heard it taste like yakiniku :p

Glad I wasn't the only one who saw that.

He is supposed to be the most powerful player in the game after inheriting all his stats from SAO, so maybe his magic was high enough to do that?

The impression I got about the monster spell is that it was still just an illusion. It didn't make him stronger or anything, it just made his attacks and range look different. The main point is that he broke their formation by frightening them, not that it's an overpowered uber-spell. I mean, previously he had only hit the shields, but after he changed he starting hitting them in the back. Of course, that just makes you wonder why they would care if its common knowledge that Spriggans have such a spell. Maybe it was a bigger monster than usual?

It it did actually make him stronger, then it would just be terrible writing. No excuses.

As for the sudden shift to "politics", honestly I have to say that I care more about that plotline than any of the other plot threads in this arc. I mean saving Asuna from the cheesy villain is hardly interesting. And don't get me started on Suguha's doomed romance. This kind of political machination is not entirely realistic for game like this, but that's the kind of thing people wish MMOs were about (as far as I know, only EVE Online has reached this level of conspiracy). Frankly I don't think it's even possible for that kind of thing to happen in a setting like this, since the playerbase is spread so thin among the different races. Especially if some of them are "underpowered" like Spriggans.