[Akka]

Originally Posted by Oroboro

Even if the setting is that of a game, the people who play it are still real people.

I don't see how it affects in any way the "disproportion" aspect, which is still the only real point. Killing some avatar in a game is still trivial comparing to helping someone in real life. I have a hard time to believe this need to actually be pointed out, and even harder time to believe that it STILL need to be pointed out after being explained to death for twenty pages.

And again, try to see things from Kirito's perspective. He's been awake for 2 months already, and Asuna has been asleep the entire time. Her family is marrying her off because quite frankly, the implication is that she'll never wake up. There's no "hope" of someone beating the game to keep them going. No victory condition.

Kirito breaks down, and Suguha tells him to stay strong and keep going. He gets a vague, blurry hope to cling to, and decides to check it out. From a realistic standpoint, the idea that Asuna is being held captive by Captain McRapeypants along with a bunch of other people for mind control research is quite frankly, completely ludicrous and unimaginable. If it wasn't a work of fiction, it's far more likely the only thing Kirito would find there is nothing.

So why hurry?

Sorry, but this is just a pile-up of rationalizations that only happens in anime/movies/series where people try very hard to come up with stretched explanations at why someone is acting in a completely unrealistic manner.

In reality, if someone very dear to you is under something akin to death threat, you don't wander around having fun, because your whole mind is occupied with this. It's just so obvious I'm, again, flaggerblasted that I have to actually point it, and that it doesn't spring to the face of anyone.
I hardly know people who would merrily go party while their daughter is being kidnapped anyway, even if they can do nothing about it and have no hope.

(And if you think this self doubt should've been shown more, well, you're probably right, but it's important to remember most of the ALO stuff is being told from Leafa's perspective, not Kirito's. We get to see him as "Mysterious Brooding Stranger with a dark secret" instead.)

The problem is precisely that he doesn't brood at all, and doesn't seem to be particularly in a hurry.

On that note

Spoiler for Future EP spoilers:

We see Kirito's demeanor completely change the second he actually gets confirmation that Asuna is really there, and he later monologues, blaming his earlier carefree attitude and not taking it seriously as the reason for his failure. So it's not like it goes unaddressed.

Agree, and it precisely highlight how bogus all the rest was up to this point.
Though

Spoiler:

maybe he does monologue in the novel, but in the anime, he doesn't at all, so this part goes completely unaddressed.
Anyway, even if it WAS addressed, it still is far more of an unrealistic and "OOC" moment than anything that could have happened with Leafa if he just told her "sorry, I may help later, but for now I gotta go".