Sword Art Online - Episode 24 Discussion / Poll

[Kokukirin]

Originally Posted by Byakou

Now that the second story arc has ended, it's a good time to reflect on the evolution of this anime. The first ep when we discovered that people were stuck in a game was a great 'oh shit' moment. The anime looked great back then, full of potential. Then for me the story went downhill with the introduction of all the mushy romantic crap between Asuna and Kirito (cabin near the lake), which last far too many episodes. Then further downhill with the introduction of Yui, with the whole mommy and daddy stuff. And then the anime degenerated in the land of generic knight saves the princess held hostage by grotesque villains with shitty character development. Boy, seems like shinsekai yori is the only airing anime worth watching now.

I agree with you partially. The beginning of SAO was most promising, with its unique theme of a virtual world where people actually die. The anime does a decent job of expanding on it at various points, including the panic of vast majority of players, and then the emergence of various factions and guilds, into a resemblance of a society.

But I think the relationship between Asuna and Kirito is also excellent. For a start, it is developed very well gradually. It feels very genuine, which is not common in an anime. They are both very likable characters, so I couldn't help but wish them the best. And in a way, their relationship addresses another theme of the virtual world. Asuna's little speech to the fisherman before they leave the lake cabin, for me, sums up why their relationship is so vital to the story of SAO.

Yui and the papa mama thing can get annoying to some people, including me. But then, if you want to insert an AI character into the story and make her as human as possible, assigning her to have a very close relationship with the two main characters make sense. Is it forced? Yes. But in a way it achieves the objective.

As you can probably guess. I enjoyed the SAO arc very much. ALO though, is another story. The intensity from the threat of permanent death is gone. Some fight scenes are excellent, but the feel is very different from the SAO fights, where players do fight for their lives. The addition of Kirito's sister and the weird situation feel like a needless distraction and fan service. The main quest of saving Asuna is just like a "save the princess" RPG story from the 1980's. Worse yet, for much of the ALO arc, the main quest is more like a side quest that Kirito occasionally remembers to do. It is supposed to be an improbable quest with a very short deadline. I expected Kirito to push himself overly hard, playing long hours in the game to reach the world tree as soon as possible. Overall the ALO arc is very poor compared to SAO, save for a few fight scenes.

[~Yami~]

why.... why NTR scene???? is it really in the novels or that scene is an original idea from anime?

oh yea... too much RAGE moment in episode...
and when Kirito receive that hax-power, I don't really care how he got it anymore.. just kill that Sugou bastard painfully (and Kirito really did!)

the next episode is something I've awaited for since ALO arc starting...

for this episode, despite I really hate NTR, I think I'll still give 10/10 because of Sugou's painful death

[Shinji103]

Originally Posted by ~Yami~

why.... why NTR scene???? is it really in the novels or that scene is an original idea from anime?

Spoiler for Comparison to the novels:

That is from the novels, though I don't think it was as severe there. It's been a while since I read that part of the novels. (ALO arc was never my favorite part of the SAO title either)

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Kokukirin

The addition of Kirito's sister and the weird situation feel like a needless distraction and fan service. The main quest of saving Asuna is just like a "save the princess" RPG story from the 1980's. Worse yet, for much of the ALO arc, the main quest is more like a side quest that Kirito occasionally remembers to do. It is supposed to be an improbable quest with a very short deadline. I expected Kirito to push himself overly hard, playing long hours in the game to reach the world tree as soon as possible.

We had this conversation a few weeks ago, so I won't regurgitate it all, but I do think that -- despite the overall themes being finalized in this (and probably the next) episode, Suguha's arc on the whole was at least a "main quest" of this arc. The story with Asuna is part of the main overarching story of SAO, but this set of episodes focused primarily on Suguha for the most part, and she's the main character being explored. Of course, that particular story arc concluded for the most part last week, and now we are back to concluding the overarching story. I can see how some may see it as a distraction (partly due perhaps to not liking the character or the theme), but I personally think that does the arc a disservice.

And the other thing is that it's important to keep in mind that the "save the princess quest" (as it were) only really became a quest for real once he confirmed that the photo wasn't a fake or something totally different entirely. Until that point it was, at best, a long shot that could have been anything. (And, knowing what we know now, it certainly wouldn't have been beyond Sugou to create a replica of the girl he's obsessed with -- reproducing "smell" and all. She's much more a doll to possess than a real person anyway, except for his being turned on by her cowering in fear before him.) I think there's a bit of "what we know in the audience" vs. "what the characters believe in the story" going on throughout this entire arc (until the end where everything begins to converge).

This isn't trying to dismiss your dislike of the arc by any means -- my saying all this won't make you or anyone else like it, and that isn't my goal -- but just a different perspective.

[Chiibi]

Originally Posted by Kokukirin

But I think the relationship between Asuna and Kirito is also excellent. For a start, it is developed very well gradually. It feels very genuine, which is not common in an anime. They are both very likable characters, so I couldn't help but wish them the best. And in a way, their relationship addresses another theme of the virtual world. Asuna's little speech to the fisherman before they leave the lake cabin, for me, sums up why their relationship is so vital to the story of SAO.

YES. Thank you.

Originally Posted by Ryousha

I was expecting Saber's Excalibur. Oh well, can't have everything the way we want

I was expecting THIS Excalibur



.....okay, so that was a lie.

[NoemiChan]

Originally Posted by Chiibi

I was expecting THIS Excalibur



.....okay, so that was a lie.

Yeah, shove that guy's nose unto Sugou's gut!!!

[Ryousha]

Originally Posted by GenjiChan

Yeah, shove that guy's nose unto Sugou's gut!!!

Don't forget to set Pain Absorber to zero.

[miroku2192]

Originally Posted by Ryousha

Don't forget to set Pain Absorber to zero.

Can you not use my avatar >.>

edit:
i was like "wait i commented? oh wait a second"

[Ryousha]

Originally Posted by GenjiChan

Yeah, shove that guy's nose unto Sugou's gut!!!

Originally Posted by miroku2192

Can you not use my avatar >.>

edit:
i was like "wait i commented? oh wait a second"

I actually found it on a imgur link my friend sent me, but sure!
Was thinking the same thing in earlier threads, haha. I liked that gif too, oh well.

[Conan-san]

Just thought of something, wouldn't Dio have to be the one who created (or seen over the process of making) Asuna's ALO Model? Woudln't that mean he'd be able to futz with the clothing settings however he liked?

[Krono]

Originally Posted by Kokukirin

It is supposed to be an improbable quest with a very short deadline. I expected Kirito to push himself overly hard, playing long hours in the game to reach the world tree as soon as possible.

Um, you do realize that when the left the Slyph city, they played about 12 hours straight, right? Started between 3-4 in the afternoon, and logged out between 3-4 in the morning. Only took a very short break for dinner.

Otherwise he was limited by his guide's hours of availability.

[Izayoi]

That NTR bit was too much but to be expected after the tentacle rape scene. I am just questioning what kind of audience SAO is aimed towards now. Clearly, I can't watch this with a younger sibling or something... The whole series has definitely became more disgusting as it progressed.

[Polarpew]

creep Sugou is creep NTR scene ftw
he was doing funky stuff to Asuna when Kirito passed out

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Conan-san

Just thought of something, wouldn't Dio have to be the one who created (or seen over the process of making) Asuna's ALO Model? Woudln't that mean he'd be able to futz with the clothing settings however he liked?

It took me a minute to figure out who the heck "Dio" was...

But yes, I certainly imagine that Sugou was involved in choosing her clothes to fit her role as the Fairy Queen. And there's little doubt in my view that he could have designed them such that he could do what he did with them. After all, he had made (unwanted) advances towards her countless times. Hard to imagine he hadn't planned for what he could do.


On a mostly unrelated note, Sugou made a callback in this episode to something that the two lab assistants said a few episodes ago, about the "kinds of faces NPCs can't make". We probably don't want to know what sort of weird "fun" he's tried to have with them (but no doubt they disappointed him, because programmed fear is fake; the irony again of his desire to control human minds/emotions... the act of forcefully controlling them may be a thrill to him, but the resulting lack of free will is a turn off).

Originally Posted by Izayoi

That NTR bit was too much but to be expected after the tentacle rape scene. I am just questioning what kind of audience SAO is aimed towards now. Clearly, I can't watch this with a younger sibling or something...

I don't think it's being shown as either as a good thing or being "glorified"; it's an evil thing being done by a villain. It's definitely not going for "kinky" unless you see it that way (I don't at all), and I don't think the show is trying to appeal to "people who like fictional rape". So I think you probably could watch it with certain younger siblings (depending on the age), so long as it's clear to them that what he's doing is evil and wrong. It don't think the actual sexual content, as it were, is particularly worse than previous episodes. (I guess I'd rate the show maybe 15+ due to all the various themes and content issues. The violence here is probably at least as troublesome as the perceived sexual content.)

Perhaps I'm not being sensitive enough in this regard, though.

[Ryousha]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

I don't think it's being shown as either as a good thing or being "glorified"; it's an evil thing being done by a villain. It's definitely not going for "kinky" unless you see it that way (I don't at all), and I don't think the show is trying to appeal to "people who like fictional rape". So I think you probably could watch it with certain younger siblings, so long as it's clear to them that what he's doing is evil and wrong. It don't think the actual sexual content, as it were, is particularly worse than previous episodes.

Perhaps I'm not being sensitive enough in this regard, though.

Just imagine living with your parents and watching the episode when your mom walks in your room. Giant misunderstandings would occur.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by Ryousha

Just imagine living with your parents and watching the episode when your mom walks in your room. Giant misunderstandings would occur.

"He's the bad guy, and he's about to get his upcommance." It's not so hard to figure out in my view. Like I said, it definitely wasn't being glorified or overly sexualized here (yes, he ripped her shirt, but they were careful to limit what they showed).

In terms of anime that can cause a misunderstanding, I think I'd rate this as sort of "low-to-medium", personally.

[Krono]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

"He's the bad guy, and he's about to get his upcommance." It's not so hard to figure out in my view. Like I said, it definitely wasn't being glorified or overly sexualized here (yes, he ripped her shirt, but they were careful to limit what they showed).

In terms of anime that can cause a misunderstanding, I think I'd rate this as sort of "low-to-medium", personally.

It's certainly much more explainable than say, To Love-ru Darkness.

[Shinji103]

Originally Posted by Krono

It's certainly much more explainable than say, To Love-ru Darkness.

Mai-Otome? (episode 6, as I recall, had the scene I'm referring to)

[Izayoi]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

"He's the bad guy, and he's about to get his upcommance." It's not so hard to figure out in my view. Like I said, it definitely wasn't being glorified or overly sexualized here (yes, he ripped her shirt, but they were careful to limit what they showed).

In terms of anime that can cause a misunderstanding, I think I'd rate this as sort of "low-to-medium", personally.

I see where you are coming from but it was still embarrassing. It is mostly my bad because despite the previous sexual scenes, I thought the series is still suitable to watch with a 12-13 year old. Clearly I am wrong and part of me resents the fact that I could not differentiate. It was an explicit rape scene dammit! Maybe I am too sensitive .

[EroKing]

I'm fairly certain they will add the nipples for the BDs just to boost the sales, clearly this isn't PG-13 stuff. I am glad to have watched this and love the fact they (Japan) still make shows like Psycho-Pass and Jormungand for it helps balancing with all the moe and loli stuff every season being pumped out like free water