Quote:
Originally Posted by Dr. Casey
I'm normally a forgiving person, but... no, Kirito, you shouldn't act buddy-buddy or speak with reverence about someone who indirectly murdered two thousand innocent people. Kayaba's an interesting person, no doubt, but Sword Art Online's death trap nature cemented his status as a piece of crap, and he shouldn't be treated as anything but.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chiibi
....on the other hand, had it not been for Kayaba, Kazuto would not have played SAO, met Asuna, (and the others) or grown as a person. Maybe that's why he said 'Thank you' to him.
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Honestly, both of these views are sort of why I like the "Kayaba as a metaphor for God" analogy (at least if you think of it in the Judeo-Christian sense, and perhaps also like the gods in some ancient Greek comedies/tragedies). If there really were a God that created the universe and you were able to meet him, would you blame him for all the negative things that he "allowed to happen" (and caused either directly or at least by proxy) in the world, or would you thank him for indirectly giving you the life you had? Of course, Kayaba is a person in this story who only played the role of god in his game (and indirectly through the technology he created), but it's still an interesting angle to me. It's also interesting given the way The Seed was placed into Kazuto's hands -- will he want to destroy every remnant of that reality steeped in tragedy, or try to create something new and better (based on the gift he was given of meeting Asuna)? (Well I think we know the answer already.) From the perspective of Kazuto and Asuna, I think the relationship they have with him is "complicated". I'm sure no one condones what he did in light of all those who died based on that decision. But they nevertheless did live in his world and it changed their lives indefinitely. They may do a lot if it could save those who were lost, but would they really want the time back for themselves?
Of course, ALO is a different story, and a very vivid contrast.